The Dragon of the Deep Forest
by testament5524
Summary: Follow the journey of the young heir of the Lin Family as he uncovered the secrets of his legacy and his past life. Witness how a knife in the crowd ended the Great War. Any reviews will be appreciated. Enjoy!
1. Prologue

**Prologue - A Boy Was Born**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

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_He lay on his bed, almost lifelessly. Time has etched numerous wrinkles on his skin and dyed his hair white. Around his sickbed men, women, and children kneeling and sobbing, praying to the spirits to grant the old man just a little more time. The man's amber eyes blinked as a tear rolled down his face. Half a century ago, he was the one kneeling beside the very same bed as his wife lying on it, struggling against an incurable illness that ate her from inside. His heart ached as he looked at the full moon outside his window and being reminded of the sapphire glint of his wife's eyes._

_"__Nala, my love… I will find you again…"_

_That was the last moment of Yi, the founder of the Lin family, as remembered by his children and grandchildren who attended to him at he drew his dying breath.

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It's funny how time affected human's life. A man grew from a weak infant to a powerful warrior, only to gradually grow again into a fragile old man, as weak as he had been during his infancy. Yet, the moon stayed the same, untouched by wrinkles caused by time.

The full moon shone that night, the same full moon that illuminated the Fire Nation's Lin family's estate as the Great General Yi, the founder of the prestigious Lin family, passed on to the spirit realm hundreds of years ago. That night, as if trying to make up to the ancient bloodline of firebender warriors, the full moon offered its faint light to usher in the birth of a new life in the Lin family. A baby was born that night.

A loud cry was heard from the nursery room. A loud and healthy cry. Jiang, the heir of the family, hurried his way to the room.

"It's a boy, young master", said the midwife. She placed a bundle of tiny red baby on the new father's arms. Jiang looked down to his son and saw a pair of amber looked back at him. He smiled for the first time for that night. _He has his mother's nose,_ he thought. The sight of the boy successfully softened his mouth again. The screams that his wife produced during the delivery earlier somehow managed to freeze his jaws.

Wait! His wife-

Lian had been screaming all way through the delivery of the baby, but after that, she had been very quite. Jiang glanced at his wife and felt a sickening jolt on his stomach when he saw how pale she was. Any paler and her face would be transparent. He had never seen his wife in such vulnerable state before. Jiang approached his wife with the baby in his arms, not knowing what to say.

Lian spoke softly, "how is he?"

"He's perfect."

And she smiled. The delivery had been rough to her. Very rough. The woman had always been weak and sickly. Being able to safely conceived and deliver a baby itself had been a real blessing from the spirits.

The midwife and the handmaidens assigned to assist her had left the room to give the new parents some privacy with their newborn, and to announce the happy news to the rest of the family, of course.

"Name him", said Jiang to his wife. They had made an agreement before, back when they were still young lovers. Growing up as the oldest of five sons, Jiang knew how disastrous raising a son could be; therefore he wanted his firstborn to be a baby girl. Lian, on the other hand, wanted her firstborn to be a baby boy. She did not have any particular reason for her preference, really. She just loved messing with Jiang.

That's why they made an agreement: if their firstborn was a girl, Jiang would name her and if it was a boy, Lian would have the privilege. Lian smiled faintly as she remembered the good old days.

But she could barely speak. She knew that her life was fading away. An old life for a new one. A mother's for her son's. And she did not regret it. She opened her mouth, but she could only make a weak choking sound.

Jiang, understanding his wife's gestures, lowered his head so that she could whisper to him.

"I… name him…"

Jiang nodded his head as his wife whispered their son's name to him. An hour later, Lian of the Lin family passed on to join her ancestors in the spirit realm…

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Author's note:

hey guys!! hope you enjoy it!!

btw, the first part of this chapter is actually a flash back

and also i realize that this chapter is a bit boring. but, worry not! it'll get more interesting in the later chapter.

oh, and some notes about the names:

1. Yi means 'one' in chinese. it is a reference to the character being the founder of the clan

2. Jiang is a generic chinese surname. i don't know what it means though (sorry... my mandarin sucks... T_T. well, my english sucks, too for that matter)

3. Lian means 'lotus' in chinese. but it can also mean 'paradise' or 'weeping' which is a reference to her death early in the story.

and that's about all! review plz!


	2. Chapter 1

**Book 1 - Destiny**

**Chapter 1 – A Grandfather and His Grandson**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

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"So, Dad wished I was born a girl?"

"Yep, he did."

A boy and an old man were sitting under a tree in a well-maintained lawn. The boy had just finished his daily firebending exercise under his grandfather's supervision. Jiang had an important war meeting to attend that day and thus unable to supervise his son's training himself. The grandfather was telling him the story of when the boy was born. The boy's face cringed in disgust as he learnt that his father once wished him to be born a girl.

"It's your fault", he scowled at his grandfather. "Had you not have so many sons, Dad would have wished me to be born a boy too. But, nooooo… you just had to go and have five sons. FIVE! How did you do that, anyway?"

The older of the two let out a hearty laughter. The robust youngster in front of him could always brighten up his days. As he reached his fifties (he was fifty two, to be precise) and having spent most of those fifty years in the battlefront, he realized that there were not many things or people left in his life that could make him laugh so freely and whole-heartedly. There were times, of course, when he had to, as he often called, 'laugh in a choir' when he attended war meetings as per his duty as an admiral of the Fire Nation Navy. But, his grandson always managed to bait the real laughter out of him, be it by the regular pranks he pulled on certain people in the household or by his witty remark.

He smirked, "Well, child, I would _really_ love to tell you. But, you're still _ten_. This kind of talk should be reserved for when you're older."

The boy narrowed his eyes, knowing well that the old admiral was messing with him.

"Grandpa, you're a pervert", he said curtly. A second later, he stood up from the spot where he and his grandfather were sitting. His ember eyes narrowed as a mischievous glint in his eyes revealed that he had formed an equally mischievous plan in his mind.

"I'm telling Grandma", he said with a sing-song tone as he walked away towards the women's living quarters. The older men, sensing a danger approaching (in the form of his wife waving a broomstick at him for teaching her ten year old grandson …err… things that a ten year old was not supposed to know) quickly rose to his feet jumped in front of the youth.

"Please don't! Come on, I was just joking", he said, grinning.

"Hmmm…"

"Please…", the older man said as he made a childish pleading face.

"Hmmm…" the boy made the typical expression that students put on their faces when they were taking a written exam in Fire Academy: hand scratching the chin, wrinkles on the forehead and whatnot. The older man relented.

"Alright… Come on, then", he said, rolling his eyes, turning his back, and starting to make his way to the main gate.

"I knew you'll come through", said the boy grinning, after he ran after his grandfather and caught his extended hand. The boy then walked hand-in-hand with his grandfather to the one and only place where he could claim his 'reward' for outsmarting the old admiral…

"But, just one', the older man said. 'I swear, you eat more almond cookies than rice lately."

… the sweets store.

"Two", the boy bargained. "You still owe me one from the time I beat you at Pai Sho game."

The grandfather abruptly stopped. "Wha-, you've never beat me at Pai Sho game", he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, technically no. But, you cheated. You stole my dragon tile when I wasn't looking. So, I won by default", he stuck out his tongue at his grandfather, clearly still sore at the underhanded tactic his grandfather used at their game of Pai Sho the previous week.

"Hahaha… Oh, come on. It was just to spice things up a bit. I don't need any dirty trick to beat a midget like you", he challenged.

"Oh yeah, we'll see about that old man", the boy reciprocated.

And they laughed at the insults they threw at each other. They loved each other too much to mean what they said.

* * *

"Grandpa, tell me more about mom", asked the boy.

He and his grandfather were sitting in a tea shop. The boy was nibbling on his almond cookies while his grandfather sat beside him, staring at the vast blue sky holding a cup of jasmine tea. The boy's request was not odd, considering that he grew up without ever knowing who his mother really was. His father once commented that he had his mother's nose. His grandfather couldn't agree more. Although, the boy had actually inherited most of his mother's facial traits. Her nose, her forehead, her thick brows… He even tied his jet black hair into a simple, and rather messy, ponytail, like her mother used to do with hers, and not to a top-knot like most Fire Nation's boys do. The only thing he had similar with his father's face, and his grandfather's for that matter, was his piercing amber eyes (Lian's eyes had been pale grey). He also inherited his father's prodigious talent in firebending. At the age of eight, the boy had already mastered ten of the16 basic forms of his family's secret firebending style. The Lin family was respected and feared throughout the Fire Nation and beyond for their unique firebending styles that was supposedly invented by the founder of the clan: Yi, the Great.

He sighed. "What else do you want to know about her?" The older man had lost count of how many times the boy asked him this question.

But before the boy could say a single word, a firm hand grasped his shoulder from behind.

"There you are", a stern male voice announced the arrival of General Jiang, the boy's father.

"Oh, hey Dad", the boy's voice suddenly lost all its cheerfulness. He sounded just as cold and monotone as he usually was whenever his father was present. His face turned blank and indifferent.

"You were supposed to be training."

"I've done it. I had rehearsed all 16 forms perfectly this morning. You can ask Grandpa if you want."

"He had. Which is why we are here. An early celebration for his success", the older man butted in, grinning and not wanting to be the cause of a bad father-and-son relationship.

"Father, we will have the _real_ celebration next week. He will have to perform in front of the entire family _and _the royal family. Do you not think it is wise for him to train just a little bit more?"

The older man were about to rebut, but he was cut short by his grandson. "Good idea. See you later, Grandpa."

He stood up and began walking in fast paces to the Lin's estate without even looking back at his grandfather, followed closely by his father.

The older man simply sighed. Taking a sip from his cup, he muttered, "sometimes I wonder if that kid is really ten years old."

He knew all too well that being raised in a militaristic family like the Lin's _with_ a father like Jiang, that kid had no choice but to grow up as fast as he could.

"Seems like a part of my son died along with you…" he muttered, reminiscing about a certain lady who were once his daughter-in-law.

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Author's note:

no need to scroll up and check... you didn't miss anything: the boy's and his grandfather's names are not revealed in this chapter. their names will be revealed in later chapters.

but, here's a hint: the grandfather is someone we all know and love.

and with that said, on to the next step: begging for review

so, review plz... :)


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – Two Mothers, One Son**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

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'AAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!"

The scream could be heard across the Lin's Estate. It came from the male's living quarters. But even so, Umma could hear the scream as she was sitting in her room in the female's living quarters. She abruptly caught his grandson's hands on her shoulder, bringing them close to her heart. The boy was rubbing Umma's shoulder before she caught his hands. He now embraced his grandmother from behind as he was gently pulled forward by Umma. His head rested on her left shoulder. Umma turned her head toward the boy and found his pair of bright amber eyes stared at directly hers. Their noses rubbed against one another.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"It wasn't me…" the boy said nonchalantly.

"… who screamed", he muttered under his breath, looking away from his grandmother.

"I heard that."

"Heard what?" he grinned innocently.

Umma narrowed her eyes threateningly at the boy, her grip tightened. The boy gulped. The old lady might be fifty years old, but no one person in the entire Fire Nation could afford to get on her bad side without getting their butt whooped.

Spirits know how many Agni Kais the woman had won during her youth, more than half of them with her as the challenger. Not to mention she was once a captain in the Fire Nation Army. She was only a captain of a medic corps, yes, but she did not gain her infamous moniker, 'The Tiger-Hawk Medic-Lady', only by treating the wounded on the battlefield. Her heroism during the defense of Pohuai Stronghold against a siege by the Earth Kingdom was still considered a legend to this very day. During the battle, not only did Umma show off her superior medical skill by saving countless of her wounded comrades in matter of seconds, she also unleashed a terrifying display of firebending by tearing through the enemy's rear flank single-handedly in one, decisive night raid. When Colonel Shinu, the commander of Pohuai Stronghold, demanded an explanation for such reckless move, Umma simply said the she found it annoying to see so many of the soldiers she treated rejoined the battle only to return to her for another treatment and that it was a major waste of the stronghold's medical supplies. So, she thought it would be more efficient if she jumped to the frontline to help fighting the enemy off. Rumor has it that she alone caused more damage on the enemy's rank on that one single raid than the damaged they caused on the Fire Nation army during their one week's worth of military siege.

That was long time ago, of course. Long before a certain captain (now admiral) who served together with her in a naval siege along the northwestern coast of the Earth Kingdom asked her hand in marriage. Now, old and retired, Umma had contracted a chronic asthma and had decided to dedicate the rest of her life raising her grandchildren.

Although the boy she currently had in the grips of her hand had mastered the 16 basic forms of Lin's family firebending style, he couldn't help but felt intimidated by the old lady. She might be old and ill, but the mere presence of the lady was enough to make any grown-up's knees go weak.

"But I didn't --"

"ARRRGGGH!!!! SHORTY!!! YOU ARE SO DEAD!!!!!!"

"-- do anything" he added with a weak innocent smile.

Umma stared sharply right at the boy's eyes. Her amber eyes seemed to bore through the boy's own. "Now, what did I tell you about lying?"

"Umm… Don't get caught…" he smiled sheepishly.

Umma intensify her stare.

"It was just a bullfrog."

"And, what about the bullfrog?"

"Well...", he fidgeted, but the old lady's grips held on. "I kinda sneaked into the bath house when Yan was taking a bath and slipped one inside his pants." He laughed nervously, awaiting the Tiger-hawk Medic-Lady's wrath to fall upon him.

Umma let out a sigh and soften her grips on the boy's hands. Surprisingly, the boy did not pull his hands away. _He really is your son_, she said, inside her mind, to a certain grey-eyed lady whom she sure was giggling in the spirits world. She could see traces of Lian's genes on the boy's gentle face. The boy did not look girly, of course. He was a handsome boy, in fact. It was just that he looked _so much_ like his mother: his nose, his eyebrows, his forehead... and his ponytail, of course. And Lian was also quite a prankster when she was a younger, a trait that was also shared by her one and only offspring. Umma couldn't help but smile when she thought about all sorts of prank the duo could have thought of, had Lian not died ten years ago.

Umma softly put her left hand of the boy's head, pulling it closer to hers until their foreheads rested against one another." All this ruckus isn't good for an old lady's health, you know…"

And those magic words did what they were supposed to do as the boy plunged himself into Umma's embrace, holding her tight as if he would never let her go. Ever since Lian's death, Umma had taken upon herself the responsibility to raise the boy. It was a custom in the Fire Nation that, during childhood, a boy must be raised by his mother or other adult female in the family if the mother was, for some reason, unavailable. The boy would be raised and monitored closely until he reached a certain age, usually until the age of eight because the number eight was considered a lucky number. After that certain age was reached, the boy would have to spend his times with his father, learning whatever arts or disciplines that his father dedicated his lives on, so that when the time came, the boy would be able to follow his father's footsteps. But Umma wouldn't let Jiang take her grandson away from her. She did everything she could to keep the boy with her. As such, they came to a consensus: from morning till afternoon, the boy would be taught the family's art of firebending as it was his duty to keep the family's secret art alive because he was the next in line to be the head of Lin family after his father; and only during the night would the boy be allowed to spend some time with Umma. Although the agreement was not so much in favor for her, Umma agreed to it. During the night, Umma would teach the boy literatures, moral values, and music; all the things that were considered soft by most males in the family.

The boy did not seem to mind, though. He enjoyed his grandmother's company. Through Umma, he found the joy of reading. By reading, he could see the outside world without having to move from his study room. He learnt many things by reading: from the varieties of flora and fauna, the history of his nation and his family, to the art of warfare and strategy planning. Umma also taught the boy how to play a flute, a skill that she inherited from her mother. She also recited to him the ancient lessons of virtues and moral values. Sometimes she did this as she tugged the boy in his bed. She would sing songs full of moral lessons to the boy as lullabies.

To the boy, the wrinkled old lady who was stroking his head gently at the moment was the only thing closest to a mother that he had ever had. He had four aunts, yes, but they all seemed to be too busy being real mothers to their own children to played the role of a surrogate mother for the poor boy. But Umma was always there for the boy, like a mother should.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered to her chest as Umma stoked his head gently.

He then raised his head slowly…

"I can put beetle-ants instead of a bullfrog next time, if it makes you feel better", the boy grinned widely.

"Oh, you wouldn't dare!" Umma attacked every inch of the boy's sides with her lightning fast tickling fingers, causing both of them roaring with laughter.

"Alright, enough joking." Umma sat straight and pushed the boy's face up by his chin. Sometimes, she had to be strict to the boy, even though she didn't seem to enjoy any of it.

"What did Yan do to you that make you put a bullfrog in his pants?"

"He called me shorty", the boy huffed. Even though his father was the older than any of his siblings, he was the last to get married and, therefore, the last to have an offspring. As the result, all his cousins, who, coincidentally, were all males, were already in their adolescences while the boy was still ten years old, and therefore, they were all taller than him.

Umma sighed. "But, you _are_ sho-", she stooped in the middle of her sentence as the boy shot a childish offended look at her.

"Ahem... I mean, you are _not_ as tall as the rest of your cousins. But I wasn't your fault. You still have much time to grow. Trust me", she smiled kindly. The boy was still sulking.

After a few moment of silence, Umma finally said," Alright… Will a story make you feel better?"

A smile suddenly spread on the boy's face, "tell me the story of how Grandpa got his scars", he said enthusiastically. He had been curious about how his Grandpa got the two vertical scars next to his right eye for quite a while now. But, the old man always managed to wiggle his way out whenever the boy asked him about the scars.

Umma suddenly regretted ever making that offer…

"How about another story… Like the story when I whooped ten elite earthbenders' butt at Tianjin Fortress, perhaps?"

"No."

"Or maybe the story when your Grandpa led his fleet to harass the Earth Kingdom's navy fleet at Chameleon Bay?"

"He told me that one already."

"Oh… Ok… How about-"

"Grandma", he crossed his arm, pouting, 'if you are worried that grandpa will be mad because you told me about his scars, then trust me, it's totally alright. Grandpa once told me to ask _you _about it if I ever had a chance.'

"Really?" Umma asked. It didn't sound like her husband to want to talk about _that _particular story.

"Yep. I beat Grandpa at Pai Sho and he promised to tell me about his scars if I win. But, as always, _something_ came up and he had to leave. But, he told that I could ask you about it if I wanted to."

"Hmm…" Umma was still half convinced by the boy's story. It _was _true that his husband was busy lately with the upcoming Ceremony of Ascension, the first one in almost 40 years. The ceremony was a ritual to honor any members of the family who managed to master the 16 basic forms of the family's secret firebending style _before_ they turned 18 (18 years old being a National standard for coming-of-age). The coming ceremony was, of course, held to honor the pouty boy's achievement. During the ceremony, the boy would have to perform all the 16 basic forms consecutively in front of the whole family and the guests of honor (including members of the royal family). If the boy succeeded, his grandfather, as the current head of the family would remove the white armband that he was wearing at that time in front of all audiences. The white armband was worn by all family members who hadn't mastered the 16 basic forms. Umma absent-mindedly ran her fingers to the armband on her grandson's left arm. The armband was plain white with the family crest sewn on it: a Taiji circle, which symbolizes Yin and Yang, with the character 林 (Lin) printed on the middle.

When the boy succeeded in his Ceremony of Ascension, he would be the youngest ever to achieve such feat. The current record was held by none other than Umma's own husband, the current head of Lin family, who completed his Ceremony of Ascension at the age fifteen. Those who successfully completed a Ceremony of Ascension would be awarded the honor to use the family name, Lin, as their own which symbolized the whole clan recognition of the person's skill. In other words, the boy would have to throw away his name and replaced it with 'Lin' if he succeeded in his ceremony. Umma's husband was the 25th Lin, meaning he was the 25th person to ever complete a Ceremony of Ascension, although he refused to change his name. His refusal almost resulted in the head of family during the time of his ceremony, who turned out to be his uncle, _almost_ challenged the bratty teenager to an Agni Kai.

It _was _an honor to be able to use the family name as one's own, but deep down, Umma did not want the boy to have to accept such an oppressive reward. _It would be such as shame_, Umma thought; _he has such a nice name too_. His mother, Lian, was really thoughtful when she named him-

"Grandma!" Umma shook her head a bit as the boy's voice caused her to snap herself out of her little contemplation.

"Yes, dear?"

"Umm… You were about to tell me a story." The boy had returned to his original position, standing behind her, ready to give the old lady a shoulder rub as she went on with the story.

"Ah, yes… About your Grandpa." Umma hesitated a little, she still wasn't completely convinced. _Oh, well... He'll find out anyway, _she told herself_._

"But, you must promise me that this will be our little secret", she winked, extending her pinky to the boy.

"Okay", the boy said happily, hooking his own pinky with his grandmother's. Umma took a deep sigh. _I shouldn't have taught him warfare and strategy planning, _she regretted_.

* * *

_

--During a Pai Sho game--

"ACHOOOO!!!!"

"Are you alright, Father?" asked Jiang, halting his white lotus tile in the air.

"I'm fine. -snort- Just a little dust on my nose", the admiral said, rubbing his nose.

But, the cold sensation he felt down his spine told him that it was more than just some measly dust that made him sneeze.

* * *

The old lady and her grandson were roaring with laughter in her room. The boy was rolling on the floor laughing, clutching his side, while Umma had descended from her chair to the floor, sitting and laughing with her grandson.

"Haaah… Haaah…" he gasped. "No wonder Grandpa doesn't want to tell me _this_ story", he said after he calmed himself a little. The trail of his laughter still lingered on his face.

Anyway, the story about the scars on Umma's husband's face happened to also be the story of how they first met. It involved her being mutated, after an "incident" at Pohuai Stronghold, to a warship led by a young captain of the prestigious Lin family. The captain also happened to be the most stubborn patient young Umma had ever encountered. And that was where the scars kicked in.

"Oh… Even after all these years I could still remember that one as if it just happened yesterday." She chuckled, wiping a tear at the edge of her eye.

"Were those all true, Grandma?" the boy asked, adjusting his lying position on the floor and landed his head on Umma's lap. "About the bathroom incident? About you tying Grandpa to a bed? About Grandpa accidentally throwing the engagement ring into the ocean?"

"Of course they were. Why would I lie to you?" she said, feigning an offended look that drew a giggle from the boy.

"Alright", she cleared her throat. 'Now's the time for the truth', she raised an eyebrow as she look at his grandson's still giggling face.

"Well… the Pai Sho game and the bet were true. Grandpa _did_ say something about asking you to tell me the story, but he said it like this", the boy cleared his throat a bit and imitated his grandfather's coarse voice, _"you may ask your Grandma to tell you the story, child, but trust me. It is futile. _And then he walked away laughing like a maniac."

Umma ran her left hand to the boy's left cheek, and after choosing the most fleshy part of his cheek, she pinched it.

"Ow… Ow… Ghrandmah!"

"Now, what did I tell you about lying?"

"Bhut, I dhidn't laih. I jhust whasn't thelling the wholeh thruth!" the boy's speech were hardly comprehendible as a he struggled to reclaim a large chunk of his cheek from Umma's pinch.

"It's just the same." Umma tried to sound serious and grandmotherly. Still she couldn't help but grinning as she watched his Grandson's futile attempt to free himself from her, err… clutch.

"Anything you want to say?"

"I whon't dho ith aghaint!!! I phromiseh!!! Ghrandmah… phleaseh shtop!!"

"If you say so", Umma release his cheek. The boy immediately sat up and ran his hand on his cheek, grinning due to the pain he was in.

"Now, for your punishment!"

"Wha- wasn't that a punishment?" he moaned, still rubbing his cheek.

"Of course not. It was an _interrogation_", she stood up and stretched her back and sat down again on her chair. _Maybe I should make him sweep the main hall again, _Umma thought. By the way, the Lin's Estate main hall was HUGE. The boy's father, General Jiang, once assembled his entire battalion inside the hall for a pre-departure briefing. Fortunately, Umma's conscience kicked in.

"Get the flute", she ordered.

"Umm… can I sweep the main hall instead?" the boy said, knowing what her Grandmother's had in mind earlier.

"No", she said firmly. "Get the flute", she ordered again.

The boy grudgingly made his way to the decorated shelf behind Umma's chair. He opened the second shelf from top and pulled out of it an object that looked like a straight, thirty centimeters stick covered with a piece of white silken cloth. The boy made his way to a spot a few feet in front of Umma. He undid the silken cover as he walked, revealing a simple looking flute. Unlike some of the more luxurious flutes, this flute had no carving on it and the only the decoration it had was the thin red tassel hanging from one end of the flute. The flute was one of Umma's most prized possessions because it was the only thing she had left to remind her on her own mother. And also, because of the fact that the flute was made of pure hard jade. The flute was even hard enough to break a person's skull (Umma put it to a test once when she was active in the military), therefore it was suitable to be used as a blunt weapon. The boy picked up the brilliant green instrument to his mouth, but he suddenly lowered it again.

"Grandma… Must I?" he moaned again.

A smile curved at the edge of Umma's lips. The boy was quite talented in music, actually (another legacy of Lian). But, he was too shy to perform in front of anyone, including his grandparents.

"Oh, come one, honey. It'll be fun. Besides, do you know that the song I taught you is magical?" she caught a little glint of interest in the boy's ember eyes.

"Really?"

"Yep. Believe it or not, I captured your Grandfather's heart with that song."

The boy pouted again. He was expecting something about the song being able to make things spontaneously combust or something. "But, Grandma… Why would I want to learn a song that can capture a _man's_ heart? I'm a boy."

"Well, it can be used for girls too", teased Umma. The boy turned his face a little, trying to hide his blushing cheeks.

"Well, alright", he finally said. "But only because you asked me to. You once told me that filial piety is a mark of a true gentleman. Well, you're my Grandma, so I'll play this for you because you're my Grandma-"

Umma tried to hold back her laughter as she watched her grandson rambling on, trying, and failed, to hide his embarrassment.

"- and remember: I'm not doing this for any other reason!"

"Alright… Alright…", Umma chuckled a little, "I get it. Now give me my song."

The boy shot a suspicious glare at Umma for a moment before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Okay", he pulled the instrument up to his lips, "here I go."

And he closed his eyes and began playing. Umma closed her eyes too. She could feel the boy's emotion leaving traces on the music he produced.

It was sad yet hopeful. Sweet yet contained a tint of bitterness. Happy yet alone.

Serene and peaceful. And at the same time she could sense a faint trace of anger and fear in it…

The music was wonderful.

Umma opened her eyes and what she immediately saw almost drained out what little life she had left in her. Right there in front of her, where the boy should be standing, drowning in his musical performance, stood a woman. The last time Umma saw her, she was so white and pale, exhausted after giving birth to a baby boy. But now, there she was, with a mysterious bluish tone surrounding her body. Her jet black hair tied into a simple ponytail, hanging behind her back. Her face looked so calm and peaceful as she played the heavenly tones from the green jade flute. She closed her eyes while she played the flute, putting every ounce of her feelings into the music. The red tassel fluttered a little as if being blown by an otherworldly breeze.

Umma remembered an old superstition that her mother used to tell her when she was a little girl. It was said that when a spirit showed itself in front of you, they usually did that to warn you that your own death was approaching. She should be afraid. But Umma couldn't help but feel happy for the chance to see her beloved daughter-in-law again.

Happy … but also sad.

Lian was as beautiful as she used to be when she was alive.

The spirit slowly opened her pale grey eyes. She lowered the flute from her mouth and smiled. The music did not stop, even though the Lian was no longer blowing the flute. A drop of tear silently rolled down Umma's wrinkled cheek as she extended her right hand forward, trying to reach out to the rightful mother of the boy she had been raising for the past ten years.

She saw Lian shook her head, her smile did not falter on her face. Lian moved her mouth, as if she was speaking, but no voice was made. Even so, Umma knew what Lian was trying to say. And it drew more tears from her old amber eyes.

As the music slowed down, Lian was fading away, bringing with her the bluish light she emanated inside the room. But, Lian did not turn her face away from her mother-in-law the whole time she was there. Not even once her smile faltered. She kept fading and fading as the music was coming to a stop. And finally, she was gone. The boy opened his eyes and found tears rolling down his Grandmother's cheeks.

"Umm… Grandma…" He wasn't sure if he should say anything to her. _Was my play really that bad?_, he innocently thought, not knowing that for an instance, he had shared the same play with his mother for the first and final time.

Umma hastily wiped her tears away. She then extended her arms, gesturing the young boy to come into her embrace. The boy complied.

"Ooh… my boy", she said as she squeezed the boy against her chest. "Your play was so magnificent you moved the spirits."

Lian could not speak in the mortal realm because she no longer belonged among the livings. But, she managed to make her voice heard.

_Thank you…_

"You're welcome", whispered Umma, hoping that her message could reach the spirit realm.

* * *

Jiang stood alone in the Estate's backyard. His Pai Sho game with his father had ended some time ago. He lifted up his head to the full moon, shining brightly in the night's sky.

"Happy birthday… my wife…"

* * *

* * *

A uthor's note:

1. Umma is inspired by the Japanese word 'uma' which means 'horse'.

more about Ceremony of Ascension and the Lin's family firebending style will be revealed in the upcoming chapters.

oh, and also in some culture, especially japanese, there's a superstition that says you will sneeze or feel chill down your spine if someone if someone is talking about you

and with that said, review plz...:)


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – Two Masters, One Pupil**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

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"Again!" ordered Jiang.

The boy took a deep breath and closed his yes. A second later, he opened his ember eyes as he thrust his palms at his right and left. As he did so, a ball of fire formed itself, one on each palm of his spread arms. He then made a circular motion with his hands: right hand circling up and left hand circling down. The balls of fire on his palms left some residue for a moment on the spot where they had been before being moved. His hands stopped as they reached the front of his torso, right hand in front of his chest and left hand in front of his abdomen, his palms faced each other, keeping the joined flame alive between them.

And suddenly, he dragged his right leg backward and bent his left knee, forming a solid stance, as he made a violent spreading movement with his hands. The fire between his palms spread into a thin long arc right before launching itself at a stone dummy (they didn't use wooden dummies because those were not as durable as the stone ones when you use them as firebending practice targets).

The boy smirked as the fire he launched hit the dummy. The move he just demonstrated was one of the 16 basic forms of his family's secret firebending style. The move had a rather long and complicated name so for the sake of simplicity everyone just called it "fire arc".

"Wrong!" Jiang barked. He glanced at his father who was sitting on a stone bench in a safe distance, peacefully sipping a cup of tea. The old man merely shrugged at Jiang, indicating that his tea, at that moment, was more important than his grandson's training in firebending.

"_It's not like he needs any lecture from me," _he thought, as he savored the warmth and the fragrance of his jasmine tea. Jiang made his way to his son who was now standing straight, awaiting any further order from the master.

"Watch!" he ordered as he halted at the boy's side. Jiang made the same movement as the boy did earlier. The only difference was the arc of fire Jiang produced was larger and significantly thicker. It also traveled faster than his son's did and when it hit the dummy it left a smoking burnt mark on the dummy's stony surface.

Jiang then assumed a more dignified standing position as he finished with his demonstration. He turned to his son who did the same.

"You rely too much on your muscle. Firebending does not rely on muscle —"

_"__Got that right, have you ever seen General Iroh?"_ the boy interrupted in his mind as he listened to his father lecturing him about firebending 101, err... I mean, about the most basic of the basics of firebending.

"— your mind. Fire is created when you connect your chi with your inner fire. Your chi will absorb your inner fire. Then you unleash your chi out, guiding it with a proper breathing technique, and form fire. And only then you control your fire, bending it to your will. Remember: chi, inner fire, breathe, unleash chi, form fire, and then control. Do you understand?"

"Yes, father", the boy said with an indifferent expression on his face," chi, inner fire, breathe, unleash fire, form chi, and control", he repeated quickly.

"Exactly, and—" Jiang stopped abruptly, sensing something was wrong with what his son just said.

"Yes, father?" the boy asked giving him an innocent quizzical expression. It took all the chi he could muster…..

"What did you just say?"

"Umm… 'Yes, father'? "

….. just to keep himself from laughing. The dumbfounded expression on his father's face was _priceless_. Even his grandfather was smirking behind his tea cup.

"No, no… before that. About firebending."

"Chi, inner fire, breathe, unleash chi, form fire, and control", the boy repeated again, slower this time.

Nothing was wrong with that, but Jiang was still unsure. He could have sworn his son said something different before but he couldn't put a finger on it. Even the expression on his son's face, which he deemed as an expression of innocent confusion, couldn't shake the feeling of.

"Never mind", he finally said.

"You mean… never mind about the chi and inner fire stuff?"

Jiang could hear his father spattered the tea in his mouth behind him.

"No! Not that. I mean never mind about what I said just now."

"Which is the chi and inner fire stuff, is it not… ?", the boy said, still keeping his innocent facade. Now, it was the old admiral's turn to struggle against laughing at his grandson's antic.

"No, not—", Jiang's head hurt from all this," just … go on with your training", he said rubbing his right temple.

"Yes, father', the boy said bowing before his father made his back to the admiral's side (who thankfully had regained his composure) to give his son some space.

_"__Oh, the joy",_ the boy smirked behind his father's back.

After his father reached his grandfather's side, which meant that there was no other living things around his firing range, the boy assumed his ready position again. He took a deep breath before he ran through the firebending movement. He could feel his chi connect with his inner fire, causing a familiar burning sensation inside him as his chi flowed out and turned into two balls of fire which placed themselves on each of his extended palms.

The control he had over the fire he now held in front of his torso was delicate, but the feeling he had when he formed and controlled the fire was exhilarating. His grandfather once said that controlling fire was like balancing a ball on a finger: it was fun when you managed to do it but one small mistake and the ball would fall. That was actually why Lin's family firebending style was special. It focused more on _controlling_ the fire rather than _producing_ it, unlike the rigid army's standardized style that taught soldiers to simply form fire and throw at their opponents in some fashionable ways. That was also why, according to General Iroh, the crown prince to the Fire Nation and his grandparents' personal friend, the natural enemy of firebenders was not the waterbenders (the general had some experience dealing with them), but a master of the Lin's secret style. At a certain degree of mastery, which, by the way, was supposed to be very high, a practitioner of the style will be able to control his opponent's fire, meaning he could bend his opponent's fire away as it was thrown at him or as it was forming at the opponents hand, or they could _catch_ the opponent's fire and throw it back to the sender.

The boy, having secured a safe footing, abruptly spread his hands, launching a large and thick fire arc. The fire soared through the air and hit the dummy spot on. The boy smirked again when he saw that the fire he launched left the dummy cracked and burnt. A rather large chunk was missing from the surface of the much abused stone dummy.

The boy turned to his father and bowed respectfully, hiding his mischievous grin. He could have done that from the beginning, of course, but messing with his father's head was too tempting a chance to let go. Jiang was dumbfounded by his son's prowess while his father merely smiled at the boy's direction. He turned his head at his father, and then turned his head again at his son before he shot an accusing glare at the old admiral beside him, suspecting a conspiracy between the two. The said admiral, sensing a rather unfriendly stare from Jiang, turned to him.

After a short while the admiral said nonchalantly, "what? So, you're a good teacher. Don't look at me like that."

Jiang's eyebrow twitched a little. 'I need to lie down', he said before making his way to his quarter. Two smirking faces watched as he walked out of the training hall.

"Don't forget to tell the servants to replace the dummy!" the admiral yelled.

* * *

Author's note:

oh, i forgot to explain the significance of the family name's Lin. Lin is also a generic family name, one of the most common surname, and it literally means 'forest'

there. review... :)


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Partners in Crime**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender

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Another peaceful afternoon at the Lin's Estate…

Birds were chirping cheerfully, perching on a tree outside a window of a private guess room where three old people, two men and one woman, sat around a table laughing merrily while they reminisced about the good memories they had shared during their youths over a cup of tea.

But suddenly…

"AAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!"

Well… maybe that afternoon wasn't so peaceful after all…

Umma sighed. "Seems like they're at it again," was all she said to her two companions.

"I wonder what is it this time. I hope they didn't spike anyone's drink", Iroh could still taste the unholy flavor in his mouth from the time his son, Lu Ten, and the grandson of his two friends put vinegar on his tea when the later visited them at the palace a week before.

"Or set up another ink-bomb-booby-trap", Umma, too, could remember equally well the time when her husband accidentally set off a rather simple but ingenious contraption the two boys set up which contained a pouch of liquid ink coated with exploding jelly. It took a few days for the ink to completely fade from the admiral's graying hair.

"SHORTY!!! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!'

"Yep", the old admiral said, calmly sipping his tea,"they're at it again."

Iroh and Umma nodded their agreement.

* * *

Two boys could be seen lying on the grass, panting. Just a moment ago, they had to run from a milk-covered definitely-enraged cousin of the short—ahem, I mean, the _younger_ boy.

"Good call with the milk, Lu Ten," the boy said, raising his left knuckle. Lu Ten raised his right one and bumped it lightly on his friend's raised knuckle.

"Yeah,' he chuckled,' told you it'd work."

And the two boys' laughter exploded again as the image of Yan opening a bathroom door only to drop a bucket of spoiled milk, which was carefully set up above the door frame, on his head came flying to their minds.

It was no surprise that the noble boy and the Fire prince could bond so well despite their age difference. They had so much in common: both lost their mother shortly after being born, both were firebending prodigies, and both had their paths set up for them, being the heirs to their respective families. Oh, and of course, because both of them were master prankster.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you", Lu ten said after he regained his breath,"I'm going to the war."

"What? Really? When?"

"After your ceremony," Lu Ten said to his friend who was now sitting, looking at him curiously," I'm going to join Dad's battalion. We're gonna march to Ba Sing Se next. A direct order from grandfather Azulon", he said, shrugging.

Lu ten could see an unsure expression on his friend's face. He sighed and rose up to a sitting position, grinning at his friend." Hey, at least I'll still be here to attend your ceremony. Wouldn't want to miss it for the world. Finally, you'll rid yourself of that armband."

His friend now absentmindedly touched the white armband in his left hand. After a short moment of silence he asked," your dad _let_ you to join the army?"

"Not at first," Lu ten said, pulling a strand of grass and put it on his mouth. "We had quite an argument. He said I'm still too young." Lu ten spitted the grass on his mouth somewhat bitterly," But, I'm already _thirteen_! I'm ready for this. I know it. At the end he agreed, with one condition: I'll be assigned to his battalion. He wouldn't want it any other way", he said.

Lu Ten caught a glimpse of worry on his friend's face. "Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it," he said, determination burning in his eyes," with The Dragon of the West leading the attack, Ba Sing Se will fall in the matter of seconds," he said confidently.

"As long as you don't get yourself killed", his friend sighed as he plopped his back on the grass.

* * *

"So it has come to it."

"Yes, I'm afraid it has."

Iroh had just finished telling Umma and her husband about his new order, given by the Firelord himself, to lay a siege on the Earth Kingdom's capital, Ba Sing Se. The city had repelled any siege or assault launched by the Fire Nation before. Fire Lord Azulon clearly thought that the time had come to put an end to the wretched city and its wretched Wall that had been a thorn at his side for far too long. That was why he decided to sent his son and his best general: the crown prince Iroh, the glorious Dragon of the West. Not only Iroh had the required experience and capabilities to lead such an important campaign, having a crown prince leading an assault to the heart of Earth Kingdom would also raise the soldiers' morale. A good commander and high spirited soldiers. If those two things couldn't rip down the wall of Ba Sing Se, Azulon didn't know what else could.

Umma closed her eyes for a moment, her hand rubbing her chest. Her asthma had gotten worse lately. His husband, noticing Umma's gesture, turned his head to the door and called, "Ning Ma!"

A servant girl who was standing by the door the whole time hurried her way to the old woman. Ning Ma was actually the family doctor's attendant. She was sent to be Umma's personal maid to help take care of the old lady's health, mainly to make sure Umma took her daily medicine. Ming Na now stood behind Umma, rubbing Umma's back gently to ease her breathing. Iroh look at the old woman solemnly. He still remembered how ferocious the old lady had been during her youth. The Tiger-Hawk Medic-Lady had never been one to back down from any fights or run away from any challenges. Always the one who dared any kinds of danger and laughed at the face of death. But the old lady who sat next to him now was no longer the tough-as-nail, strong lady, and powerful bender she once was. Time is a cruel to us human.

"I'm alright now, Ning Ma', Umma smiled weakly to the girl," thank you, my dear. But, I must ask you to leave for a while. There is a… say, _delicate_, matter I must discuss privately with my guest."

"Yes, ma'am", Ning Ma bowed to her and the men before she took her leave. Umma then eyed her husband, silently asking him to leave, as well.

The admiral stood up and said softly to his wife," I'll be outside if you need anything."

And with that, he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Now Umma turned her head on Iroh. The general stood up and bowed formally to her," Is there anything I can do for you, Sifu."

Umma smiled weakly at him, _the old fool hasn't changed a bit._

Umma coughed once before asking Iroh to sit down. He waited for the chubby old man to sit down before saying," There is a reason why I summon you here."

Iroh waited nervously as his Sifu coughed a little, again. Time had certainly not been kind to her.

"I need you to take care of him after I'm gone", Umma said after she regained her breath.

Umma's request shocked Iroh," Sifu… surely you don't…"

Umma simply laughed, waving her hand in front of her and then coughed again. "It's not important right now", she said," what important is making sure _someone _will be there to guide the boy when the time comes. I'm not gonna last long-- _don't_!" she said sharply as Iroh was about to interrupt her. "Just listen to an old friend's request, will you."

Iroh obeyed her, listening closely to what the old woman had to say. "Iroh, you're the only one who can do this. I was planning to have Lian guiding the boy, but…" Umma halted as she relieved the painful memory of her daughter-in-law's untimely death. "…but Lian had to go before me. And now, you and I are the only ones who know of this secret. Unfortunately, I won't be there when the time comes."

Umma stopped. She appeared to be regretting over her fragile health. She let out a deep sigh and continue," so Iroh, it leaves you. _You _will be the one who's going to teach the boy everything he needs to know, to guide him so that when the time comes, he'll be able to choose the right path."

Iroh now gave Umma a pleading look," but, Sifu… I… I don't know if I will be able to…"

"Of course you will", Umma cut him in before he could finish, giving him a sharp look. Iroh was surprised to see the fire in the old lady's eyes. It had been quite a while since the last time he saw the same fire in Umma's eyes.

"You have to, Iroh! The boy's life depends on this. Please…", she now pleaded, her eyes soften," You _must_… please, Iroh. Promise me that you will take care of him…"

"I…", Iroh was about to start again. He closed his eyes, trying to take everything in. His sifu was dying? It couldn't be true? It _mustn't _be true! Umma was many things, but never… _ever_ weak. She was always the one who somehow managed to pull through, no matter how difficult the situation was for her or for her comrades.

Iroh first met the lady when they were but youngsters, actively serving their country in the war. Twice he owed the woman his life. The first time was when an earthbender shot a huge boulder at him from behind during an assault at one of the Earth Kingdom's stronghold (Umma literally kicked Iroh out of the crashing boulder's way). Ever since that day, young Iroh and Umma formed a steadfast friendship.

And the second time Umma saved Iroh was the time shortly after his wife's death. Iroh could still remember clearly the time when his wife died. It was the hardest period in his life, having someone with whom he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with taken away from him. And suddenly having an infant's life put on his hands didn't help either. It was agonizingly hard to describe. But then Umma came along. Unable to see her friend in such a miserable state, Umma, again literally, beat Iroh out of his depression. She was almost charged with high treason for assaulting the crown prince and beheaded had Iroh not intervened. He wasn't angry with Umma's unconventional way of cheering people up, of course. Actually, he was grateful for that: he needed the beating. It showed him that his wife's death did not mean the end of the world for him. Umma also showed him, with her rather violent method, that there was still one thing left for him to live for: his son, Lu Ten. Not only that, Umma was even kind enough to take him as student and teach him a secret that, now, only the two of them shared. Iroh owed Umma too much to turn his back on her, now of all times.

Iroh opened his eyes and bowed," I will, Sifu. I swear it", he said with a conviction. His words seemed to put Umma at ease.

"Thank you, old friend. Thank you…" Umma said. Her face displayed an exhaustion that only a very ill person could have.

"I think I will rest now", Umma said, rising slowly from her chair. Iroh quickly moved to assist her. "but first, you have to make sure you survive Ba Sing Se. I have a bad feeling about your next campaign."

Iroh simply laughed." You don't have to worry about that. I have everything planned out."

Umma sighed at his pupil's confidence. "For your sake I hope you're right."

_The old fool really hasn't changed.

* * *

_

Author's note:

!. the name Ning Ma is inspired by the name of the actress who voiced Mulan in the animation err .. 'Mulan'. her name is Ming-Na. i just interchanged the first letters of her name and i DO NOT own the name.

and now, please review...:)


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – The Fire Dome**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The last Airbender

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_He was watching her dancing around in the middle of the snow covered field. Her movements were as graceful as a flowing river as she waved her hands around in a rhythmic motion, bending the water around her. Her face smiled as gracefully as the water that danced around her. Not even once she took her sapphire eyes, which enrich her angelic complexion, off the mass of water she waved around herself. _

"_Hey, Snowflake! Are you done, yet? I'm freezing here. Let's go back already", he said, standing up from the spot where he was sitting rubbing his cold hand._

_The waterbender girl turned to him, looking slightly annoyed. "Then conjure a fire storm or something! You're a firebender, for crying out loud."_

"_Yeah… a firebender in the middle of a freezing ice tundra. Real comfy", he retorted sarcastically._

_A smirk crossed the waterbender's face as she suddenly turned the water she was bending into a giant ball of liquid and hurled it to the firebender.

* * *

_

-SPLASHED-

"Arrrghh!!"

The admiral smirked as he stood beside his grandson's bed. He had just thrown a bucket full of cold water on his sleeping grandson who was awakened suddenly. The boy now sat on his bed, soaking wet, and put on a comical fighting stance.

"Grandpa!" the boy lowered his stance after spotting the old admiral, and his bucket, standing beside his bed.

"Good morning to you, too", the admiral said cheerfully. The boy took a deep breath and blew a hot air to his body, drying his soaking wet cloth.

"Five more minutes", he said before plopping back to his bed and pulled his blanket over his head.

"You would like to take a bath, then", the admiral threatened, pulling out the second bucket of water from spirits-know-where and shaking it threateningly.

The boy, hearing the incoming splashing cold danger, rose from his bed quickly," okay, okay… sheesh, and I was having a nice dream, too."

"And what was the dream about", the admiral curiously asked as his grandson yawned ungracefully and stretched his arms.

"About Grandma chasing you with a broomstick", he said lightly, running through the door before the admiral could throw water at him again.

A few minutes later, the boy was already at the training hall. He was going through his daily practice while his grandfather sitting at a safe distance, watching him. Jiang had to deal with the final preparation for the upcoming Ceremony of Ascension which would take place the following day. The old admiral paid a close attention to his grandson's display of prowess with a solemn look on his face. The boy displayed an almost otherworldly skill for a ten years old firebending student. And that was why the admiral worried for what his grandson's future could possibly become. Great powers tend to bring out the worst of people.

"_It's time he learn _something_",_ he thought as he rose from his usual sitting spot and approached the boy.

"Alright, stop now!" he commanded. The boy paused in the middle of punching a fire blast when he heard his grandfather's command. He then proceeded to stand straight slightly intrigued, waiting for his grandfather to approach.

"That was excellent, to be honest," the boy smiled appreciatively at the old man's compliment.

"I think it's time we take your training up to a completely new level, don't you agree", the admiral said. The boy raised an eyebrow at his grandfather's last sentence.

"But before we start", the admiral said again before the boy could comment," a little test."

The admiral now crossed his arms on his chest. It was a body language that he often used when he was teaching the boy. It meant: _I'm serious, so listen well._ The boy seemed to acknowledge this because a second later, he bowed formally to his grandfather.

"Now, tell me what know about our family's firebending style."

"It is comprised of 16 basic forms and 36 advanced forms", the boy replied not knowing why his grandfather asked a question as trivial as this.

"Very good", the admiral smiled. "And why the basic forms are different from the advanced forms?"

"Each of the 16 basic forms is a one single technique. The advanced forms, however, are consisted of 18 more advanced techniques and 18 katas or sequences of techniques."

"Exactly", the admiral said, satisfied with his grandson's answer. "And now, tell me about the Ceremony of Ascension!"

"The Ceremony of Ascension is a ritual ceremony held to honor any member of the Lin family who managed to master the 16 basic forms before they turned eighteen. During the ceremony, the participant will have to perform the 16 basic forms consecutively in front of the entire family and the guests of honor. And after that, he will have to defend himself against four masters, four senior practitioners, and eight students who will each unleash one the 16 basic forms on him. It is done to signify that the participant has a _complete_ mastery over the 16 basic forms", the boy answered smoothly, emphasizing the word 'complete'.

"And what happened after that?"

"The white armband on the participant's left hand will be removed in front of all the audiences. It symbolizes the participant's ascension from his status as a 'student' to a 'senior practitioner'. As a senior practitioner, he gains the right to learn the 36 advanced forms", the boy said.

"And what happens after a senior practitioner masters the 36 advanced forms?"

"After a senior practitioner masters the 36 advanced forms, he will be pronounced a 'master' and received a tattoo of the family emblem on his left arm. It symbolizes his unity with the family's art of firebending", the boy answered confidently, imagining himself receiving the tattoo. What a great honor it would be…

The admiral smiled at the boy, satisfied with his knowledge. "Very good, child. Very good. Remember what you just said well. Understanding your heritage is an important step you have to take to better understand yourself."

"Yes, Grandpa", the boy bowed respectfully.

"And now, time for your _real_ lesson", the admiral let a mysterious smile slid across his face. "I think you are ready for a little lesson on the 36 advanced forms."

The boy's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, "You're serious?"

"Yes, of course", the admiral smiled again, bending backward with his hands on his waist to stretch his back. "I will teach you one of my specialties…." He now turned his torso sideways to stretch his waist.

"Yes?" the boy anticipated to hear a cool and extremely deadly offensive technique, like 'the raging dragon' or something…

"… the fire dome ", the admiral said, now cracking his knuckles.

"The… fire dome?" the boy repeated, disappointed.

"Yes. The fire dome", the admiral repeated again. "I know what you're thinking: sounds like a lame technique, Grandpa", he said, imitating a childish voice. The boy snickered.

"Child, I understand why you would think that way", he crossed his arms again. "The 16 basic forms you've been learning are _all_ offensive moves. They aim to unleash the destruction that fire brings onto the enemy", he explained.

"However, fire is not all about destruction and power", the admiral held out his right fist. "It is also about creation and control", he held out his left palm.

"Always have control over your power and strive to bring creation rather than cause destruction,…", he slowly brought his hands together to form the Fire Nation customary hand symbol: left palm held upright on top of right fist,"… that is the true essence of a true firebender", he bowed.

The boy, understanding the importance of what the admiral was trying to say, bowed back at him. "I understand… master", he said respectfully.

The admiral beamed at his grandson's response. The boy might act childish sometimes. But he knew that the boy wasn't childish at all. The boy was surprisingly mature for his age, especially when it came to firebending. However, teaching the boy the burden he had to carry as a firebender was imperative before the boy could advance with his training.

The admiral cleared his throat before he continued," Now, the technique I'm about to teach you is actually the fifth level of the 36 advanced forms. The movement itself is quite simple really." He held out his right hand, gesturing the boy to back up a little.

"Now", he continued once the boy paced back to a safer distance. "All you have to do is assume a wide stance", he widened his foot stance, followed by his grandson. "And then you extend both your hands", he extended both his palms to his right and left, his grandson did, too. "As you do so; let your chi connect with your inner fire. Once it absorbs your inner fire, let your chi travel freely across your body. This is important: do not command it! You are merely its humble container."

The boy nodded. The admiral continued with his instruction," Once your chi covers every inch of your body in the inside, you disrupt its flow and _force_ it to come out. Your chi will be forced out through any and every exits it possible for it to use, including every pores on your skin. You do so by clapping your hands together, like THIS!" the admiral clapped his hands together and as he did so, a fire dome materialized all around his body, shielding him from every directions.

The boy was amazed at the mass of fire his grandfather produced. The fire dome the old admiral summoned seemed to be strong enough to block any technique the boy had in his arsenal. And also it covered the old admiral from all direction, which meant a sneak attack from behind wouldn't be able to penetrate his defenses.

The fire now subsided, exposing the admiral who was standing straight with his arms crossed. "Remember: you _do not _form fire. Your chi will do that for you. You just have to _trust_ it. Now you try!" he commanded.

The boy took a deep breath. He felt the familiar burning sensation inside his body as he connected his chi with his inner fire. After that, he let his chi flow freely inside his body. It was something he had never done before and it felt a bit weird. He was used to commanding his chi to flow out of his hands or feet and turn it into a fire blast or fire stream that was connected _directly _to his limbs. But, simply letting his chi formed its own fire? Now, _that_ was something new.

Once he felt a hot and tingling sensation all over his body, the boy clapped his hands with all his might! ….

Nothing happened.

"Huh?" he clapped his hands again… and again… and again…

The admiral, however, looked unfazed. He was expecting this.

* * *

An old woman was half hidden behind a tree few meters away from the training hall. Umma had been spying on his grandson since the beginning of his training this morning. She was taken aback quite a bit when she realized that her husband was teaching the boy a high tier technique like the fire dome.

"This old fool hasn't changed, either", she muttered to herself smirking before she turned and left.

* * *

The boy was now completely surrounded by fire. It had been hours of trying and failing. But now, he managed to create a fire dome. It was hard work. But, it was worth it. Every bit of sweat, every screams of frustration, every brain-wrecking, energy-draining effort… it was really wort-

-THUD-

"Ow!"

A tiny pebble just broke through the dome and accurately hit his forehead. It broke his concentration and his fire dome. As he looked up at his grandfather, while rubbing his forehead, he saw the old man playfully throwing a pebble up and down on his right hand.

"It was impressive producing a fire dome at your first day of training. It took your father a full week before he could produce _any _fire at all."

"But what was that pebble for?" the boy grunted.

"To test your defenses, of course", the admiral grinned.

"Must you use a pebble?" the boy complained again. His forehead was still throbbing with pain

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, child. I didn't know that you'd rather me use my other specialty: the raging dragon blast", the admiral replied, conjuring a ball of fire on his left palm which roared and flickered dangerously.

"Err… on the second thought, I'm fine with the pebble."

"That's what I thought", the admiral put off the fire with a satisfied smirk. "And remember: as you master this move and get more comfortable at using it, you can try other varieties of ways to summon your fire dome. You can spin around, you can punch or kick... a true master can even summon the fire dome without moving at all. You just have to always remember to trust your chi to produce the fire for you. "

"Yes, master. I'm ready to go again", the boy fell into his stance again, but he was interrupted by his grandfather.

"No, that would be enough for today."

The boy was about to clap his hands when he abruptly stopped, "Wha- but I can still go on."

The admiral could see that, of course. For a ten year old boy, his grandson had one hell of stamina. "Yes, I can see that. However, the sun is already setting. If we don't get back for dinner, your grandma's gonna kill the both us."

"Not to mention we skipped lunch", the boy agreed, rubbing his growling stomach.

Suddenly, a realization came to the two firebenders. A realization that Umma hated it when there was any of her family members skipped a meal. She always believed that a balanced diet was a key to a long and healthy life. And whenever Umma found out that someone in her household was skipping meal… it was unimaginable at best.

"Uh… I just remember that I had an appointment with General Iroh this evening. I think I should get going _now_ or else I'll be late", the admiral said, nervously glancing around looking out for his wife.

"Yeah… Can I come with you? I… uh… promised Lu Ten that I… uh… would come and visit this evening, too. He said he needs my help with the… uh… improved ink booby trap", the boy grinned nervously at the admiral.

"You're lying, aren't you?" the admiral narrowed his eyes.

"You're lying, too" the boy retorted.

But before any of them could say anything else, they heard someone screamed their names. It didn't take very long for them to notice that it was Umma who screamed and from the sound of it, she was unhappy… _very_ unhappy.

"Run!" the boy and the admiral hissed at each other before they made their escape and sought refuge in the imperial palace.

The Tiger-Hawk Medic-Lady was a very frightening individual, indeed…


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – Ceremony of Ascension, Part 1**

**- Red Handkerchief-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"_So, remind me. Why are we here again?" he asked as he rowed the small canoe on which he and a girl were sailing on. The girl was peacefully leaning back on the other end of the canoe, humming a song and enjoying the soft rocking on the small boat as it sailed through the frozen water just outside the Northern Water Tribe ice fortress, before she straightened up and gave the man an irritated look._

"_For the fifth times: because I'm bored. I wanna get out of the city on a canoe and go fishing or something."_

"_And why do I have to come along again?" the man started again._

_The girl shot him an incredulous look. "Because, my dear Hothead, women are not allowed to even get on a canoe without a man on the steer. And that's where you came into the picture."_

"_Oh yeah, I remember now. Apparently, today's my lucky day because I, a lowly peasant of the Fire Nation, am honored to be appointed by her highness princess of the Northern Water Tribe herself to be her personal canoe rower", the man, 'Hothead', replied sarcastically, giving the princess an equally sarcastic polite bow." Thank you, your majesty. Would you like me to serve your lunch, as well?"_

_The princess snickered at her companion's remark. She decided to play along._

"_Why, yes. That is very thoughtful of you, Hothead" she said, crossing her legs in a princess-like manner. "So, what's for lunch?"_

_Hothead tapped his finger on his chin and pretended to be in deep thought. "Hmm… well, how about some grilled clown-tuna, your Highness. I believe it is your personal favorite, no?"_

"_Yes, it is", the princess said regally._

"_Here, catch!"Hothead threw a fishing pole to the princess. "No work, no food."_

"_Hey…" the princess was slightly bemused," I'm a royalty, aren't I? Surely fishing is so beneath me."_

"_You're not just a royalty, Snowflake. You're a 'hungry'_ _royalty. Come on, now. I mean, it was your idea to go fishing, not mine", Hothead replied offhandedly._

_The princess, 'Snowflake', said nothing. She just continued to stare at her firebender companion fondly. It had been almost two weeks since she found him floating outside the fortress wall, almost frozen to death. _

_Being born a free-spirited and rebellious girl, and a princess at that, Snowflake really hated the racist patriarchal customs of her tribe. Being told what to do, having to lead the life her father had chosen for her, and, on top of that, being prohibited from learning waterbending for self-defense… It had really started to get into her nerve. That was why she decided to run away from her home. That was also why she happened to stumble upon the almost dead firebender, whom she assumed was a soldier, judging from the armor he was wearing at that time, floating on the sea. Fortunately, her conscience prevented her to go on with her escape and prompted her to rescue and bring back the man with her back to the Tribe. She went on as far as nursing the firebender, whom she nicknamed Hothead, herself. _

_Hothead and the princess, whom he in turn nicknamed 'Snowflake', grew close and formed a close friendship. Hothead was the only male she knew who didn't address her as 'Princess' or 'Your Highness' (not seriously, at least) and treated her as a friend… a real friend. No forced politeness or sugar-coated words. _

"_Hey, Hothead", Snowflake said, after a few moment of silence. Hothead had finally relented to Snowflake's persuasion to let go of his habit of wearing his soldier armor out of pride and started wearing a male Water Tribe outfit which was warmer and more fitting for the cold climate of the North Pole. He, however, insisted on keeping his hair on a top-knot. Hothead turned to Snowflake, curios why she sounded so serious just now. _

"_Yeah?"_

"_Thanks for coming."_

_And that did it. The robust and slightly tomboyish princess normally had never acted so formal or polite to him. So, when she actually did, it usually meant that she was planning something…_

"_Oh, it's not working", he said in an 'I-know-what-you're-up-to' tone. "You're still gonna have to catch the fish"_

"And I was trying to be **nice**", _Snowflake thought incredulously, her eyebrow twitched as her temper started raging wildly._

"_Seriously, Snowflake… Do you really think I would fall for that?" Hothead scoffed. "You, thanking me for_—_ "_

"_YOU'RE UNBELIEVEABLE!!!" Snowflake suddenly stood up, finally losing her temper, causing a huge tidal wave to rise behind her back._

"_Oh, no…" Hothead looked in terror as the huge mass of water engulfed the canoe and both its riders.

* * *

_

"Oh, no…"

"Oh, yes…"

The boy tried to run but Umma managed to catch the scruff of his neck with agility that no women her age should have. "Come back here!"

The boy, knowing that his resistance was futile, sighed and surrendered himself to Umma's grip. The Ceremony of Ascension was going to be held that very night and therefore, Umma had to make sure that her grandson looked resplendent. It meant that she had to make sure that the boy wore his custom-made leather armor, which bore a family crest in the middle of the breastplate, and, more importantly, to make sure that he tied his hair in a traditional top-knot. That was why they had their little argument that afternoon: the boy hated having his hair tied into a top-knot, saying that it was too troublesome.

"Must I?" he whined as he plopped down on a chair in front of a mirror while Umma stood behind him, making another escape attempt impossible.

"Yes, you must", Umma replied with a strict tone." We will have the Royal Family and many nobles as guests at the ceremony. We must make sure that you look nice."

"But, I don't wanna look nice", the boy grumbled again as Umma untied his ponytail and combed his hair. "You said it yourself: vanity is a luxury a warrior shouldn't have."

"Yes, I did", Umma replied as she pulled the boy's hair up, forming the intended top-knot. "But, vanity is a luxury that a noble born, such as you, _must_ have. You don't want to look sloppy in front of the guests of honor, do you?"

"I don't mind."

"But, I do", Umma snapped, now tying a thin hair ribbon to keep his grandson's top-knot from falling apart." No grandson of mine will go through any formal ceremony looking like a beggar."

Umma now finished tying the top-knot landed a peck on the back of the boy's head. "You look handsome", she said kindly. As she did so, she noticed that the boy was slightly pale.

"Are you alright, honey? You look a bit white."

"I'm fine, Grandma", he replied as he leaned back into Umma's embrace.

"It's okay to be nervous, you know?" said Umma, patting the boy's head carefully so that she didn't accidentally ruin the top-knot.

"I'm not nervous, really. Just feel a bit sick."

"Which is caused by nervousness?" Umma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope, by a weird dream", the boy corrected. " I had a dream about sailing on a canoe."

"Oh, right… I forgot that you get seasick easily. Remember when you threw up all over your Grandpa's ship when he brought us to Amber Island?"

"Yes, thank you very much for reminding me", the boy dramatically sighed. "I ruined what little dignity I had that day".

"Oh, come on, dear. You were seven. A seven year old has no need of dignity", Umma smirked.

"Hey… That hurt."

And they laughed together.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set when Iroh knocked on Lu Ten's room.

"Son, are you ready yet?" he shouted at the door.

"I'm coming", Lu Ten's reply could be heard from the room. A second later, he opened the door to join his father. Both of them wore their finest formal robes.

"Looking sharp there, junior", Iroh chuckled, pulling a strand of hair that was out of place of his son's neat top-knot.

"You're not bad yourself, old man", Lu Ten commented as he dusted off a single thread on his father's robe.

"Uncle?" a little girl, accompanied by her sitter, approached them. She also wore a fine robe and tied her hair into a top-knot. She was no more than six years old and at the peak of her childish cuteness.

"Why, Princess. What a pleasant surprise", Iroh looked slightly bemused at her niece's choice of clothing: she was wearing a male robe that had trousers instead of a female robe that had a long skirt. It seemed like Ursa had failed to persuade her daughter to wear a more fitting cloth for a young princess.

"Uncle, Daddy asked you to hurry up. The palanquins are all ready to go."

Iroh laughed and apologized to the princess before he bent down and patted Azula's head." And you come to inform me as your father asked you to, don't you Princess?"

"Yup", Azula said, smiling proudly.

"That's wonderful, Princess. You did very well", Iroh kindly praised.

However, being a man with high affinity for spirituality, Iroh sensed something… _disturbing_ as he looked into his niece's amber eyes, as he always did since the day she was born. He now knew why the sages of the old insisted that the future is best kept a mystery as he sensed a thick darkness in the girl's future.

"Well, then", Iroh said again as he straightened up and gestured to his son, "We better get going then."

And he left for the palace's main gate, followed by Lu Ten, Azula and her sitter.

* * *

"Pfft…"

"If you laugh, I'll kill you."

The Lin's Estate main hall was crowded with people. Family members who lived in the Estate, family members who didn't live in the Estate, and guests from many noble families of the Fire Nation flooded the spacious hall, chatting merrily while helping themselves to the food and drinks served at the ceremony. As soon as the Royal Family arrived, Lu Ten separated himself from his father, uncle, aunt, and cousins to find his best friend. However, he did not think that his friend would also be subjected to the formalities of dress code that night. It was the first time he had ever seen the younger boy sporting a top-knot. The sight almost caused him to burst out laughing when he ran into his friend who was accompanied by his grandmother.

"Now, now…" Umma nodded at the prince when he bowed politely to her, still suppressing his laughter, while she herself tried to stifle her own before turning to her grandson. "Killing a prince is considered a high treason, you know. I once _just_ assaulted one and almost got myself beheaded."

The two boys broke out into a guffaw at Umma's comment. They, of course, had heard the story from the aforementioned prince himself who convinced them that Umma had nearly burnt his head to cinder.

"Cookies!!" Lu Ten exclaimed, pointing at one of the long tables at their right which had numerous plates of cookies and sweets placed on it.

"Where?" the other boy asked. And as he turned to the direction of Lu Ten's pointing finger, he spotted a large plate with a mountain of almond cookies on it. Both boys sped up to the table, not remembering that they were in the presence of an old lady. Umma merely sighed at their impulsiveness before smiling to herself and muttered, "Boys will be boys".

"Nervous?" Lu Ten chewed on his custard cake rather un-regally, casting a worried look on his friend who was munching an almond cookie with equal vigor.

"Yeah, I know I look a bit pale", he retorted with mouth full of cookie." But trust me, I'm fine. It's just the top-knot. I think it cut off any blood circulation coming to my head."

"But it looks good on you", said a soft female voice from behind the boys. Both boys turned around and found Ursa and her two children standing behind them. The younger boy quickly swallowed the cookie in his mouth before bowing formally to Ursa.

"Ah… Lady Ursa. How art thou? Fine, I prithee", he greeted gentlemanlike.

Ursa giggled at the boy's overly polite respond. "You don't have to be _that_ formal, dear."

"I know. Just messing with ya."

Ursa and the boys let out a hearty laugh. "I see that you're not nervous after all. That's a good sign. And from what Lu Ten told me, you really don't have any reason to be nervous at all."

Ursa then turned to Lu Ten, gesturing to Zuko and his younger sister Azula, who shyly tugged on her brother's sleeve and partially hidden behind him. "Lu Ten, dear, could you keep an eye on your cousins for me? Your uncle and I need to have some serious talk."

"Sure thing, Aunt Ursa", Lu Ten wrestled Zuko in a headlock, both of them giggling while Azula looked a little annoyed having his meat shield wrestled away from her. "I'll make sure these two midgets don't get into any trouble."

"Thank you, Lu Ten", Ursa then kneeled down and addressed her children. "And you two, behave. Stay close to your cousin, okay."

Zuko and Azula said their 'yes, Mom' s and Ursa stood up and turned to the prodigy of the Lin family, the star of tonight's ceremony.

"I know you will do just fine, my dear. You have trained long and hard for this. But a little 'good luck' won't hurt", she bent down and landed a kiss on the boy's forehead and said, "Good luck."

"Thank you, Lady Ursa", the boy blushed a little. Ursa smiled fondly at him and a glint of pride was clearly visible in her eyes. Both the boy and Lu Ten were like sons to her. And tonight, the little boy would take on a challenge none had ever managed to take on before: completing the Ceremony of Ascension at the age of ten.

Words couldn't describe the pride Ursa held in her heart for the boy's almost godly prowess. However, her motherly side couldn't help but felt a little sad and worried… like the feeling a mother has when her child has fully grown up and must take on the journey of life without her at his side. However, she quickly shook off the feeling.

_This is a night of celebration_, she thought. And she convinced herself, like she had done hundreds of times before, that the uneasy feeling and sadness that was currently piercing her chest only proved her love for the boy… a mother's love that she knew the boy desperately deserved. And without another word, she turned away and walked toward her husband who was chatting with General Jiang few tables away.

"Big night, huh", Zuko, who had managed to release himself from his cousin's arm, commented.

"Yep", the other boy answered, suddenly feeling queasy. Seemed like the nervousness had finally gotten to him. Fortunately, he was saved from having to give a more adequate response to the young prince by Lu Ten.

"No need to worry, Zuko. I've seen this guy in action," he said, giving his friend a slap in the back, which caused him to comically cough. "You've never seen anything like what he can do, I tell ya—"

The said boy, however, wasn't listening to the animated and not-entirely-true explanation Lu Ten gave to his eager cousin regarding his prowess. He, instead, scanned around the hall in order to calm himself a bit.

He could see that there were hundreds of people flooding the hall, not including the servants and guards. In the middle of the hall, a large stage with four sets of wide stair, one on each side of the stage, had been set up. He would be displaying his prowess on that very stage soon enough. At the moment, some of his relatives were performing a dragon dance on the stage, accompanied by music from a huge drum, also played by another relative, and occasional appreciative applause from audience when they performed an acrobatic and difficult maneuver with their dragon dummy.

Below the stage, he saw his cousin, Yan, talking to eight other cousins. Five of them, including Yan, were wearing white bandanas with the family crest on the middle of it aside from their armbands, signifying that the five teens were among the eight chosen 'students' who would test his skills in combat. Apparently, they were all laughing at what Yan just said. _He was probably talking about how to embarrass me on the stage_, the boy bitterly thought.

Just a few feet way from them, he saw his grandfather and General Iroh having a 'laugh in a choir' with few other guests who showed up at the ceremony wearing armors under their robes. He recognized three of them as Admiral Chen, a slender and slightly smug-looking man; War Minister Qin, a grey-haired man with an intelligent yet sly face; and Commander Zhao, a young and muscular man with big sideburns and, according to his grandfather, bigger ego and self-esteem who once served as a captain under him.

A little away from them, a group of women was no doubt gossiping, judging from their uniform giggles and their occasional pointing at someone behind their backs before talking in soft voice to each other, so that no one but them could hear, and giggled again. The boy felt a bit ashamed as he spotted two of his aunts among them.

He averted his sight from them and spotted a group of teenagers few tables behind the gossiping women. They were standing in a circle, clapping and cheering at a teenage boy in the middle of the circle who was trying to put as much fireflakes as possible inside his mouth. The more fireflakes the teen put inside his mouth, the more the crowd around him cheered. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves, laughing and cheering as the teen in front of them looked more and more like a tuna-bass fish.

Not feeling entertained, the boy turned to the other side of the stage. There, he spotted more or less similar kind of crowd. His gaze did, however, fall upon a pair of young girls, not older than the princess who stood a meter away from him and was casting a curious look on him occasionally and listening to Lu Ten at the same time.

The two aforementioned girls looked like total opposites. One of them, who had her hair tied in a long braid, was practically bouncing where she stood, munching a piece of sweet cake she held in one hand while her other hand was holding a glass filled with fruit juice. She was talking to her friend in a bubbly manner which suited her bright and cheerful complexion. Her friend, however, who fashioned her hair into two buns and had a gloom expression on her face, looked uninterested, almost bored, at their rather one-sided conversation. Suddenly, the bubbly girl turned and her big grey eyes met the boy's own. Instead of blushing and turning away, like what her friend did when she also realized that the boy had been watching them, the bubbly girl enthusiastically waved her hand at the boy with a huge grin on her face. The boy, a bit taken aback, smiled back awkwardly before turning away from the girls.

And a little distance away from the two girls, between them and the boy, Ursa, Umma, Jiang, and Ozai were having a rather serious conversation. Ursa was talking rather uncharacteristically forcefully. Ozai seemed like he'd rather not be there, having that conversation. He looked around uncomfortably, as if trying to find a way to escape his wife. Jiang crossed his arms, locked his jaws, and looked somewhat colder than he usually was. Even Umma had a dangerous glint on her amber eyes; her expression was hard to read.

"—I insist, Ozai! This is important!" Ursa's unusually stern voice drifted to the boy's ear even though they were standing a good distance away form each other. Lu Ten, Zuko, and Azula, however, didn't seem to notice. The boy wondered what on earth was so important that it made the always-gentle-and-kind Lady Ursa to act the way she did towards her husband tonight. However, not wanting to intrude the adults' privacy, the boy turned away from them and forced himself to listen to Lu Ten's rather exaggerated verbal explanation of how awesome and magnificent he was.

"—and the fire blast that missed me by an inch caused a hole as big as Azula on the wall behind me", Lu Ten dramatically recounted the experience when he and the boy had a friendly spar at the palace's training ground.

"Wow…" Zuko was completely amazed by Lu Ten's historically inaccurate story. Azula, however, merely looked at his cousin with her big amber eyes, still stealing glances at the boy who was standing beside Lu Ten.

Even though she was still six, Azula wasn't dumb enough to believe everything her cousin said. Nevertheless, she did feel a bit intrigued by the boy who was about to have to prove his worth tonight. She had met the boy several times when he was visiting Lu Ten at the palace, and once when the boy coincidentally visited Amber Island with his family when Azula and her own family were having their annual summer vocation there three years ago (she could still remembered how pale he was when he staggered down from his grandfather's warship). However, she had never interacted much with the boy, as he often spent his visit with Lu Ten, and occasionally Zuko, planning and pulling some mischievous pranks on some unfortunate souls (Iroh, for example, who happened to be their favorite guinea pig whenever they boys invented new pranks or booby trap). Azula wasn't even sure if she even remembered the boy's name. Nope… As she quickly scanned through her memory she realized that she didn't remember the boy's name. She, however, was sure that she had never seen the boy firebend before and she would love to see for herself if the boy was really as powerful as Lu Ten said he was.

She had tons of questions exploding in her mind right now that she would like to ask the boy directly: _what's your name again? are you really ten? your top-knot makes you look funny, what happened to your ponytail? you look a bit pale, are you alright? what does that black and white circle on your armor mean? are you nervous at all?_ and many more…

But before Azula could say anything, a gong rang loudly from the stage, drawing attention from everyone in the hall to it. The head of Lin family was now standing in the middle of the stage, wearing his clan's ceremonial armor: a magnificent looking set of gold-trimmed ebony leather armor complete with a cape that has a big family crest on it. The performers had cleared the stage along with their instruments to allow more space for the boy to show off his skills soon. But before the boy could start, the admiral would have to formally welcome all the guests and deliver a speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as the head of the Lin family and the twenty-fifth Lin, I welcome you to the eighty-seventh Ceremony of Ascension", the admiral proudly exclaimed, rounding up a loud applause from the audience. "As you all probably know, a Ceremony of Ascension is held to test the skills and, hopefully, to celebrate the success of any members of this humble household who has mastered the 16 basic forms of the Lin's secret firebending, the Celestial Dragon Style, before they turn eighteen. I, myself, was fortunate enough to attend the last ceremony as a participant, although things didn't quite go well that time."

Few guests who also attended the said ceremony nearly forty years ago laughed along with the old admiral. They, of course, knew that the admiral was referring to his refusal to wear the name 'Lin' and the almost-Agni-Kai issue with his uncle.

"Eighty six have faced the challenge and only twenty five came up the winners. Tonight, I am blessed by the spirit to hold this ceremony, to issue this challenge, to one who is none other than my own grandson", the admiral said the last few words rather slowly and louder for dramatic effect, gesturing his hand, just as slowly, at his grandson. Soon, all eyes fell on the boy and a second later the admiral led the audience to applaud the boy.

The boy nervously smiled back to the crowd, cursing his grandfather inside his mind for directing the unwanted attention to him. The admiral, however, went on with his speech and kept rambling on about the significance of the ceremony, some background information and his personal assessment on his grandson's skills.

"I better go now", the boy murmured at his companions. The royal siblings, plus one cousin, were deeply absorbed in the admiral's speech before he snapped their attention.

"Good luck, buddy", Lu Ten bumped his fist on his friend's fist.

"Good luck", Zuko squealed. He looked nervous and excited at the same time. Azula, however, simply stared at the boy, not knowing what to say.

"Azula, aren't you going to say anything", her big brother asked her.

Azula didn't answer. After hesitating for a moment, she reached inside her pocket and pulled out a neatly folded crimson handkerchief.

"Umm… g-good luck…" she stuttered weakly, nearly inaudible, holding out the handkerchief to the older boy in front of her. Her face turned as red as the piece of cloth she held in her hand. The boy, however, heard her and took the handkerchief from her.

For a moment, his hand touched hers…

"Thank you, Princess", he also blushed, feeling rather awkward. That was the first time he had any physical contact at all with the princess. Moreover, in the Fire Nation girls don't usually give boys any presents, or in this case good luck charms, unless they are really close to them, like close friends, siblings or lovers. And the boy certainly didn't feel that he and the princess were close at all. They didn't even talk to each other often, other than saying their courtesy 'good morning/afternoon/evening/night' or 'how are you today?' whenever they met. Lu Ten and Zuko snickering in the background were no help either…

Fortunately, a soft grip on his shoulder saved both him and Azula from further embarrassment. Umma had come to joined them, followed by the rest of the Royal Family.

"It's time", she said with a trembling voice. She also looked a bit pale, although the boy suspected that it was caused more by her illness and exhaustion rather than worry. Ursa had similar expression on her face and was significantly pale when she smiled encouragingly at the boy. Ozai, whom the boy seldom met and never talked to, just stared at him. His face looked as if it was carved of stone. Iroh, however, maintained his usual cheerfulness when he nodded his good luck to the boy.

The boy took few steps back to address them all before he cast them a determined gaze and bowed formally. "I won't fail you", he swore, confidence seemed to find its way back to his voice. The group in front of him gave him one final encouraging smile or approving nod or both, except for Ozai who kept his cool attitude and the still blushing Azula who looked away to hide her crimson cheeks, before the boy spun on his heels and walked towards a group of fifteen people, his father and Yan among them, who were standing the nearest to the stage.

"—and I present to you…" the admiral roared on the stage while the boy was mentally preparing himself and battling a nervous breakdown with the people around him, including Yan, wishing him luck or offering last minute advice or patting his back encouragingly.

"… the youngest person ever to perform a Ceremony of Ascension, may he be victorious tonight… Ladies and gentlemen! My own grandson!! SH—"

The boy walked up to the stair, accompanied by a loud applause from people behind him, loud enough to engulf the admiral's voice when he announced the boy's name to the audience.

The applause only subsided when the boy arrived at the admiral's side, giving the audience a customary Fire Nation bow, which was returned by the group who was with him earlier, the fifteen people who would join the admiral to barrage him with the 16 basic forms: eight students (including Yan and four of his cousins who were talking and laughing with him earlier), four senior practitioners (he saw one female cousin and three uncles wearing bandanas like Yan's but no armbands on their left arms), and four masters (his own father who look as menacing as ever; an elderly lady, his grandfather's older sister, scowled back at him; another uncle, his father's younger brother, who was the largest of the sixteen; and of course, the admiral himself, the experienced veteran and battle-hardened warrior. None of the four wore bandana or armband).

After the formal bow, the boy knelt down ala Agni Kai, facing the crowds. The admiral paced down the stage as slowly as he could, covertly trying to buy his grandson more time to mentally prepare himself.

"You may begin when you are ready", the admiral roared again after he arrived at his intended position. He stood directly in front of the boy with the other three masters at his sides. The senior practitioners and students had taken their positions and formed neat lines at the back and the sides of the stage respectively, surrounding the boy from below the stage. Four people on each side of the stage. All of them, minus the masters, were also kneeling down ala Agni Kai.

The boy closed his eyes summoning every ounce of his strength, every bit of courage left in him. Performing all 16 forms in a row was demanding enough. He would also have to defend himself from the very same techniques afterwards _and_ being watched by hundreds of people too…

"_I shouldn't have eaten those cookies"_, he regretted, feeling the half-digested meal threatened to come out through his mouth. He took a deep breath to calm himself, thinking instead of the teachings he had received from his father and grandfather, of the bitter work he had to go through to enable himself to stand on the stage that night, of the wishes of people who care for him.

Of the red handkerchief he had safely tied around his sash…

He raised his head and caught the glance of Umma and Ursa, who looked at him with both pride and worry; Iroh, who gave him a reassuring smile; Lu Ten and Zuko, who looked giddy and excited a the same time; Ozai, who shot him… _was that the infamous death glare_?

And the princess…

Azula, no longer blushing, looked back at him. For the moment their eyes met, the boy could have sworn that he saw Azula smiled at him briefly before averting her amber eyes from him. Although brief, the encouragement she gave managed to restore some color to the boy's pale face.

And finally he stood up, clenching his fists … tall and proud.

"Let the ceremony…" the admiral shouted to the audience, "…BEGIN!!!"

_**To be continued…

* * *

**_

**Author's note****:**i think you know who those two girls are...

and the dragon dance is not the Dancing Dragon from the episode 'the firebending master'. the dragon dance (wǔ lóng) is a chinese ceremonial dance where several people wave a dragon dummy around and perform some acrobatic maneuver with it. to be performed perfectly dragon dance requires upper body strength and, especially, teamwork. just one person out of the rhythm, the whole dragon will fall apart. you can find more information on wikipedia.

oh, and it would be great if someone can comment on my grammar. english is my second language (well, third if you count my chinese which, by the way, gets crappier by the day). it'd be awesome if you can give me some feedback, especially in my use of prepositions (in, at, on,... those little cretins are frying my brain)

enjoy!


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 – Ceremony of Ascension, Part 2**

**-His Name is Lin-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"Let the ceremony…" the admiral shouted to the audience, "…BEGIN!!!"

And nothing else mattered anymore…

It was now only him, the stage, the 16 basic forms, and his inner fire. All those were the things that stood between him and his honor.

And so he danced, performing the fluid movements of the basic forms. Punching, kicking, twirling in the air, performing somersault and other movements. Fierce or acrobatic, soft or hard, swift or slow… none of that mattered to the boy. What mattered was he _must _perform all of them flawlessly. All the while fire danced gracefully around him, submitting itself to the will of its master. It would swim around him as he molded them and launch itself at its master's invisible opponents at his commands.

The audience below let out some 'ooohhh' or 'aaaahhh' out of admiration of the boy's firebending prowess. None of the audience dared blink an eye from the spectacle because they knew that it was a privilege to witness the fabled Lin family's Celestial Dragon Style of firebending as an innocent spectator, safe outside the practitioner's perimeter and not as the intended target of the hurling flames. The family was known to be extremely secretive about their style, although over time some of the basic forms were taught to outsiders as the means to avoid antagonism. But even so, most of the times you had to challenge one of the family members to an Agni Kai in order to get a decent look at the style.

And soon after the boy finished his performance, sweating from all the effort, he leaped back to the center of the stage and fell into the initial Agni Kai kneeling position once again. The audience broke into applause and as they did so, sixteen stone dummies descended from the ceiling. Each dummy was tied by a piece of rope which was connected to a pulley. A total of sixteen pulleys had been installed weeks before on the ceiling. The mechanism was cleverly set up so that sixteen men could lowered the dummies by manipulating the other end of the ropes which were tied to sticks protruding on the wall at the farthest side of the hall. The sixteen dummies had completely descended when the boy finally regained his breath. He noticed that the dummies were intentionally located on random spots all around him. Some were far, some were nearer… not that it mattered to him, he thought as he smirked.

And so he danced again, performing the 16 basic forms from the beginning. Only this time he had _real_ targets to focus on. The audience again gasped in amazement, some even applauded and cheered on him, like what Lu Ten and Iroh did, as he wreaked havoc upon the dummies, leaving them burnt, cracked, or utterly destroyed.

And with the last move, the Sweeping Flaming Wrath of the Dragon King or better known as 'the fire arc', the sixteenth stone dummy was reduced to a pile smoking burnt pebble. The boy was starting to lose his breath and sweating heavily now. He straightened up his standing position and with a hand gesture he neutralized his chi and his breathing. But before he could totally control his flow of energy, the sixteen people who were waiting patiently around the stage jumped up to the stage without any warning. As soon every one of them stepped on the stage, one of the students shot a fire stream at him. The boy had no choice but to force his slightly exhausted body to counter it with his own fire stream which was proven to be superior as it engulfed his opponent's fire. And with that, the student jumped back down from the stage, admitting his defeat.

Luckily for the boy, the sixteen people would attack him one after another and not altogether at the same time. He knew that they would attack by the order of their ranks: students first, then senior practitioners, and finally the masters. He also knew that they had planned and rehearsed the onslaught, who would go first and which technique they would be using. The problem was the boy, according to the tradition, must never be included in the rehearsal or told about it. As the result, he didn't know specifically which technique he would be up against at the first assault or the second one, and so on. And also, he was not allowed to e_vade_ any attacks. He must stand his ground and counter all of it with his own firebending.

The second student, who happened to be Yan, twirled in the air and sent another fire stream from his foot. The boy extended both his arms and secured a safe footing right before the fire hit him. As the fire got within his arms reach, he swiftly connected his chi with the fire and forcefully claimed the fire as his own before gracefully spinning and, with a hand thrust, sending it back to his dumbfounded cousin. The flame, however, dispersed just few inches away from Yan's face, dying out before it could cause any harm. It was merely because the boy wasn't putting much chi into the fire he redirected in order to conserve his strength. Redirecting fire is a more delicate process than producing fire and therefore, requires more effort and energy to be performed perfectly. Furthermore, the boy had never really been taught properly about the art. He was merely improvising.

Given another condition where he didn't have to defend himself against the vast assortment of firebenders, the boy would laugh at the dumb expression on his cousin's face. However, having to survive from fourteen more techniques, the last four be unleashed by master level practitioners, the boy had no mood for comedy.

The boy somehow managed to defend himself against six more assaults. It meant that he was halfway through completion of the ceremony. However, it also meant that he would be up against people who outranked him from here on out. He barely managed to send a fire arc to counter a swift fire blast sent by his female cousin, the first the senior practitioner he had to defend himself against. The tomboy, adhering to the conventional rule of Agni Kai, like most people on the stage did, had taken off her armor and shirt and wore only a piece of crimson under-cloth on her upper body which strapped her private area tightly, shielding it from the crowd's eyes. The boy's fire arc and the girl's fire blast caused a small explosion when they collided and dissipated into the thin air shortly after. The girl then jumped down from the stage to floor below to join her cousins whom she outranked but her feet barely touched the floor when her uncle, another senior practitioner punched a bigger fire blast on the boy.

The boy calmly waited for the fire blast to approach before he extended his arms to stop it like what he did to Yan's fire stream. He, however, didn't redirect it like what he did before. Instead, the boy literally ripped the fire blast apart, diminishing it into the thin air.

Through an enormous effort, the boy survived his other two uncles and lost most of his energy in the process. And now, he must face the real challenge: the masters. The largest man on the stage, who was his father's younger brother, released one of the biggest fire streams the boy had ever seen in his life. The fire quickly engulfed the boy's tiny body and elicited some screams of horror from the audience. Many women and children who had never seen such atrocity committed to a child closed their eyes or sobbed at the sight of the terrifying mass of flame. Umma looked like she was about to faint.

It took about ten seconds for the fire to subside. And as the fire faded into the thin air, the boy was sighted still standing on the spot where he was. Panting, the fire had vaporized his sweat, and his body was slightly smoky, but the boy was otherwise unharmed. He assumed his fighting stance as he prepared himself for another onslaught. Realizing the boy survived the fire stream, the entire hall, including the students and senior practitioners whom he defeated earlier, exploded into an ear-splitting yell. Many who cried before now cried even harder, but due to relief.

The boy's grand-aunt, however, didn't shared the crowd's enthusiasm as she sent a twin fire blast from both her palms. The boy abruptly performed the same technique to counter the assault. He miraculously succeeded in countering the master level attack, but only barely. His fire blasts were smaller and weaker, but he managed to send his blasts directly to the core centers of his grand-aunt's blasts, disrupting their momentum and power. This desperate yet ingenious move greatly astonished the lady as the collision of their fire blast resulted in a loud explosion and diminished both their fires into thin air. She, nonetheless, jumped down from the stage, admitting her defeat.

"Clever", Iroh muttered, stroking his beard. At his sides, Lu Ten and Zuko were panting as if they had just been running over a great distance. Both of them were as white as paper, worrying for their friend's life. Oh yes, deaths do occur during the Ceremony of Ascension… a lot.

As soon as his aunt landed on the floor below the stage, Jiang, who also wore no shirt, exposing his well-toned muscles, swiftly charged and punched a huge thick fire ball to his son, who was panting and clearly exhausted. The boy instinctively countered his father's attack with another fire ball. Unfortunately for the boy, Jiang's fire ball soared so quickly through the air that the boy had only halfway through at sending his own fireball when it collided with his father's perfectly charged fireball. The collision caused an explosion that sent the boy flying and he landed unceremoniously on his back few feet away.

According to the rule, when the participant of the ceremony got knocked down and still couldn't get up after the count of ten, he will be disqualified. And once a person is disqualified from a Ceremony of Ascension, he will never be permitted to take another.

And there the boy was, lying flat on his back half-consciously. The explosion of the fireballs and the landing was rough on his small body. He could hear someone counting," Ten… Nine… Eight…". It sounded very far away but since he was at the verge of losing his consciousness, he didn't realized that it was one of his cousin who were shouting the count from the side of the stage only a few feet away from him.

_It's over,_ the boy thought as the darkness starting to engulf his blurred vision. Coughing and gasping, he could feel his lungs burning inside him, threatening to explode, and his heart pounding like crazy, protesting the abuse. Every inch of his body was aching and his tidy top-knot was now messy and on the verge of falling apart. _I can't do this anymore._

As he lied on the ground, many things came flashing on his mind …

Umma's worried and exhausted expression…

Iroh's calming smile…

Ursa giving him a good luck kiss, _"—a little 'good luck' won't hurt"…_

Lu Ten and him bumping fists, _"Good luck, buddy"…_

Zuko's excited face when he wished him luck, _"Good luck"_ …

And of course, the princess…

The boy slowly ran his finger on the handkerchief, the lucky charm, tied around his sash.

The sweet princess who out of innocent kindness battled her own embarrassment to wish him luck and give him the lucky charm, _"Umm… g-good luck…"_

And most of all, a visit the day before… _ "I'll make you proud, Mom…"_

And then, he remembered the promise he made to all of them, _"I won't fail you"…_

And suddenly he found his strength back. The darkness left his vision when he, despite all his pain and suffering, rolled to his side and struggled to push himself back on his feet as the count stopped at "Three…". Every inch of his body ached and he could barely move. However, he felt his chi multiplying at a rapid pace. His grandfather once told him that fire is an element of passion and a firebender's emotion closely affects the magnitude of his firebending. Now he finally understood what his grandfather meant to say as he experienced the sensation himself. His chi was starting to boil inside his body keeping its pace with his renewed fighting spirit. It did not, however, strengthen his much abused physique at all and he was now moving solely on sheer will-power.

Jiang, realizing that his son was not going to give up, quickly jumped down from the stage. The pride he felt for his son's stubbornness and unwillingness to fail, however, did not leave any trace on his face and stayed locked in his heart. And now the boy, who was still struggling on the floor, must face the last and the greatest challenge: the admiral and the purportedly strongest technique of the 16 basic forms, the Sweeping Flaming Wrath of the Dragon King.

As much as the admiral loved the boy, he was there not as his grandfather but as his master. And as his master, he must show the boy no mercy. That was why, as soon as the boy got on his knees, the admiral unleashed a very powerful fire arc. The boy's body, despite his multiplying chi, was at the verge of breaking down. He kept one of his hands on his sash, tightly gripping his lucky charm. And in a split second before it was too late, he held his head up and saw an arc of flaming and flickering death soared through the air towards him.

"_Gaahh!! I can't do it!!!" he let out a yell of frustration. He had been trying to conjure a fire dome for almost two hours now. And yet he still hadn't produced anything, not even a tiny spark!_

"_You must trust your chi, child", the admiral wisely advised. "Trust your firebending and it won't easily fail you."_

Trust…

The boy abruptly leaped up, landed perfectly into a wide stance. He quickly clasped his hands, releasing every chi he had. As he did so, he unknowingly pulled off the handkerchief from his sash and clasped it between his palms. The boy bet everything on his final desperate move, putting all his trust into his chi and his firebending. He had never been one who carelessly used a half-mastered technique in a fight but his body wouldn't allow him to perform any other technique. The fire dome was the only technique he knew that wouldn't toll his body much.

And there he was. He, a ten year old boy, trusted everything on his final line of defense, clasping a crimson handkerchief between his hands as he prayed, begging the spirits to not abandon him and his firebending to not fail him. With that, the young prodigy let out a mighty battle cry…

"EEEEEEEEAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!"

The master's fire arc exploded the moment it made contact with the boy's fire dome, which was empowered by his sheer will-power. The explosion engulfed half of the stage, the part where the boy was fighting for his life, with thick smoke. The audience turned mute right after the explosion, waiting in silent tension for the smoke to lift.

As the smoke grew a bit thinner, the admiral spotted a silhouette of a hunching and panting boy inside it. He narrowed his eyes and tried to gaze through the smoke to see if his grandson was alright. But, it was not his grandson that he saw…

She stood there bluish and transparent. Her arms outstretched, protecting her one and only son from the terrifying destruction her father-in-law unleashed upon the boy. But even so, Lian smiled as her grey eyes stared directly into the astonished amber eyes in front of her, silently telling the admiral that she completely understood why he had to risk killing the boy with his fire arc and that she wouldn't hold any grudges against him for endangering the boy's life.

Lian slowly lowered her arms and brought them onto her chest, as if begging, and she moved her mouth, as if speaking; only no voice came out. However, by the will of the spirits, the admiral somehow understood what she was trying to say to him. The admiral suspected that no one but him could see the spirit standing there, shielding the boy from further harm.

"I-I … Are you sure?" he stuttered, his eyes began to be filled with warm tears.

The spirit nodded gently before closing her eyes and disappearing quickly as the smoke began to dissipate. And finally the last of the smoke was gone revealing the boy standing in his tattered burnt armor. His eyes half-closed and a little part of his top-knot had come undone. Soot covered almost every inch of his exposed skin and stained the crimson handkerchief he tightly grasped on his right hand. The right sleeve of his outfit had been completely burnt off and the rest of the rag was not in any better condition, either. The boy stood limply, panting and gasping. Exhaustion etched every inch of his face. And yet he managed to let out a triumphant smile before he slumped down on his knees.

And as if on cue, the audience once again exploded into a booming cheer which almost sent the hall's ceiling flying. Right in front of them their champion had accomplished the seemingly impossible feat. The boy had overcome the challenge many before him had failed to overcome. The ten year old prodigy had bested destructions that were unleashed upon him by sixteen older and more experienced firebenders.

He had finally completed his Ceremony of Ascension…

Among the cheering crowd, Ursa and Umma hugged each other in relief. Both ladies had shed considerable amount of tears and now, though their eyes were still puffy, they were beaming and grinning from ear to ear. Iroh laughed hard and free, applauding the boy while Lu Ten and Zuko were jumping on the spot shouting 'He did it! He did it!', along with many other people around them. Azula had watched the whole process with a terrified look on her face and she was sure that the boy didn't survive the last attack. But now, knowing that the boy was safe, she couldn't help but felt a warm feeling spreading inside her as she struggled to keep her calm, cool and collected façade befitting those of a princess. Her faint smile, however, occasionally slipped on her angelic face no matter how hard she tried to stifle it. Ozai, in the other hand, managed to stay completely calm during the whole ordeal.

And Jiang had never felt so proud before in his life. Even though he did feel somewhat upset because his son used one of the 36 advanced forms that he wasn't supposed to know, he didn't show it. The boy did not break any rule, after all. He had to defend himself with firebending, yes, but it was not stated anywhere that he must not use any techniques other than the 16 basic forms.

"Must be the old man's doing", Jiang muttered already accusing his father for teaching the boy the fire dome as he joined his brother and aunt beside him in their applause. Nevertheless, he was glad that the admiral did what he did although Jiang would rather die than admitting it to anyone.

The admiral slowly approached the kneeling boy. Once he was close enough to the boy, he roughly gripped the boy's tattered armor and pulled him up to his feet forcibly.

"Get Up!"

The boy was barely conscious. He had a significant cut on the corner of his forehead, burnt his right hand slightly, and twisted his left ankle during the fall. But he tried to stand on his own, anyway. The admiral reached out to the sooty armband on the boy's left arm, loosening the knot. He then turned towards the audience who fell silent under the admiral's stern gaze.

"And with this, I present to you…" he bellowed to the audience, grasping the armband on the boy's arm.

"Mommy," Azula tugged her mother's long robe to gain her attention. She could no longer contain her curiosity. "What is that boy's name, Mom?"

Ursa knelt down and caressed her daughter's face gently," Azula, my dear, don't you remember about the significance of this ceremony?"

"… a student who, by skills and by hard work, ascends to the rank of senior practitioner. Earning honor by being the twenty sixth to complete the Ceremony of Ascension. From now on he shall be known as—" the admiral continued.

"From now on his name will be—" Ursa explained patiently.

"Lin", Ursa told Azula, in unison with the admiral who declared the name "LIN!!!!" to the entire hall as he wrenched the armband from his grandson's left arm.

And henceforth, the prodigy would be known far and wide as 'Lin'

* * *

The crowd was still cheering loudly when Lin, supported by two of his cousins, slowly made his way down of the stage. Lin's exhausted and battered body wanted nothing more than going back to his room and sleep but courtesy condemned him to stay until the ceremony was totally over. He was the star of tonight show, after all. His female cousin whom he fought earlier had thoughtfully brought a chair for him to sit on.

"Well done, Sh— I mean, Lin", the senior practitioner grinned, patting his cousin's shoulder and congratulating him. The girl had, thankfully, all dressed up again. And as Lin carefully sat down on the chair, he saw Umma, followed by the Royal Family, tried to break her way through the crowd to him.

"Thanks, Biao. Nice 'Fiery Phoenix's Rage', by the way. Almost killed me", Lin grinned back weakly, commending the girl's fire blast. Biao laughed at the joke.

"How did you do it, man? You… you _redirected_ my fire", Yan asked in disbelief mixed with awe. Fire redirection was only taught to someone who had achieved the rank of senior practitioner.

"Figured it out myself", Lin muttered weakly. He was really, really tired. And before anyone could say anything else, Umma broke through the wall of people around Lin and knelt down in front of him.

"Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?" she frantically asked. Instead of answering, Lin half-consciously leaned forward and hugged the aging lady.

"I love you, Grandma", he deliriously said in exhaustion thinking that Umma had come to tug him in his bed, eliciting the crowd's 'aww' at the cute display of affection between a grandson and his grandmother. Umma, however, was still concerned, suspecting that the boy hit his head when he fell down earlier and suffered a concussion as the result (well, his head _was_ bleeding). She released herself from the boy's embrace and ordered people around her to get her some medical supplies to treat her grandson's burns and bruises; and a bucket of water and a piece of cloth to clean the boy's sooty face. Luckily, Iroh managed to gently convince her to leave her grandson for a while as many other guests wished to congratulate the boy personally. Umma relented, but not before giving the boy a hug and saying that she was proud of him.

Next was Ursa who knelt down and gently pulled the boy into a warm embrace. She was still tearful and seemed to be lost for words. However, Lin understood and smiled warmly at her. After Ursa stood up and step away, Iroh approached the boy and gave him a bone crushing hug which caused the already injured boy to writhe in agony. Fortunately, he was cut short by Ozai who congratulated Lin in formal tone without any physical contact. Both of them, too, step away as Lu Ten and Zuko bounced their way to their friend, grinning and commenting loudly on how terrible he looked.

"Dude, you're on fire! Pun intended", joked the older prince.

"Well, sixteen people _did_ try to light me on fire", Lin joked back, drawing laughter from people nearby. Azula, however, didn't imitate her brother and cousin's enthusiastic attitude as she approached Lin and muttered a soft 'congratulation' before striding towards her mother.

And then, other guests and relatives came before him and either enthusiastically or formally congratulated the boy for his success although Lin recognized less than half of those people. War Minister Qin offered him a customary Fire Nation hand symbol without a bow, a gesture that was followed by most military officers who came after him. However, most of the younger guests gave Lin friendly handshakes, including the two girls he noticed earlier who introduced themselves as Mai (the gloomy girl with two buns) and Ty Lee (the bubbly girl with a long braid).

After politely nodded, smiled, and thanked many other guests later, Lin finally earned some moment of peace as they went on with the celebration. The stage had been cleared of any rubble and entertainment was once again performed to the crowd. Lin sat on the chair, gulping a glass of water Zuko brought him. His wounds had been tended and his face had been decently cleaned by Umma who found no sign of concussion. He had also regained enough strength to chat with people around him: Lu Ten, Zuko, Azula, his relatives, and some friends. Ursa and Ozai had resumed their conversation with Jiang and Umma a good distance away from him. Only this time, Iroh and the admiral joined in.

Around Lin, most people who had participated in abusing him on the stage recounted the experience from their own perspectives to anyone who would listen to them. Lin, however, only listened half-heartedly, occasionally approved or corrected their statement when prompted to do so. He noticed that Azula still glanced at him every now and then, and smiled a little if their eyes met. But he had no courage to start a conversation in front of the crowd. He had once again tied the handkerchief the girl gave him around his sash.

And as the night went on, the crowd grew thinner and thinner until there was only a handful of people left in the hall. Iroh and Ozai had long left the Estate, muttering something about a war meeting early in the morning, leaving the rest of the Royal Family behind. Lu Ten and Zuko had been planning to have a sleepover with Lin after the ceremony with the intention to cheer their friend up if he somehow failed to complete the ceremony or to have their own celebration if he miraculously survived the challenge that had claimed many lives of older and more experienced firebenders in the past. Ursa had said that she was too tired to go home and the admiral had generously offered her to stay for the night which the princess gratefully accepted. Azula, not wanting to be separated from her mother, insisted that she stayed with her at the Estate.

And as the last guest had finally gone home, Lin was sitting on his chair letting out a satisfied sigh every now and then while Lu Ten gave him a shoulder rub and Zuko massaged his leg.

"Ahhh… that's the spot", he sighed. Umma, who sat on the floor nearby, smirked at sight. Even Ursa, who also sat on the floor with Azula's head resting on her lap, giggled. Few days earlier, Lin and Lu Ten made a bet: if Lin failed in the ceremony, he would do anything the prince said; but if he succeeded, Lu Ten and Zuko would be the one who do whatever he desired. And Lin, as the winner of the bet, ordered them to pamper him with a good relaxing massage.

"This _is_ your own fault, Lu Ten", Ursa chided in, still smiling. "Maybe you should learn a thing or two from this experience."

"Yeah, Lu Ten", Zuko added, slightly sarcastically. "Maybe you could learn from this experience. For example, you could learn not to include _me_ in your bets."

"I said I was sorry", the other prince replied sheepishly. He 'forgot' to ask Zuko's participation before proposing the bet.

"Guys, less talking more massaging, please", Lin ordered with his eyes closed as his tensed muscles enjoyed the comfortable sensation. "Oh, and Lu Ten, a little bit to the left, please."

Lu Ten obeyed. Lin went on again, "Ahh… a massage from two princes after being attacked by sixteen people, all in one night. I should write this memory down on my diary."

"You have a diary?" Lu Ten raised an eyebrow.

"Nope", Lin answered nonchalantly. "But, I might consider having one after tonight."

Zuko snickered at Lin's remark when Jiang and his father, the admiral, approached them.

"My lady, your room and the princess' room have been prepared", the admiral informed Ursa politely.

"Thank you, admiral. But one room is enough. Azula can sleep with me tonight, right sweetie?" Ursa asked as she stroked Azula's hair. The little girl simply nodded, yawning and rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"As you wish, my lady", the admiral politely bowed. "My son will take you to your room."

Ursa got up, and so did Azula. They said their goodnights to the boys and Umma before following Jiang to the room where they would be staying for the night. The admiral remained in the hall. He turned to his grandson and pulled out a sooty armband from his pocket.

"Keep it", he ordered as he held out the armband to his grandson. "It is to remind you of who you were yesterday and who you have become tonight."

Lin said nothing. He took the armband from the admiral and tied it around his sash, right beside the crimson handkerchief he received from Azula earlier. The admiral returned to his less formal self and snickered at his grandson.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh, just fine", Lin snidely replied. "I'm doing great, considering that you almost killed me about two hours ago."

The admiral grinned at the boy's witty remark, "Hahaha... But really, it was quite an impressive fire dome you produced. I thought that—"

"Grandpa…" Lin tried to interrupt. Lu Ten and Zuko had abruptly stooped their chores. Both princes and Lin cast a weird look at a certain someone who was lurking behind the admiral and radiating a nasty dark aura. The admiral, however, didn't notice and kept rambling on.

"—a pebble. But, you managed to pull that one perfect—"

"Grandpa!" Lin interrupted again, a little louder this time while keeping his eyes peeled on the figure behind his grandfather.

"What?" the admiral finally acknowledged the boy. Instead of answering, Lin simply pointed at the figure behind the admiral and silently mouthed '_behind you'_.

The curious admiral turned back and suddenly realized what the boy was trying to warn him about. As he turned around, he came face to face with none other than the Tiger-Hawk Medic Lady who looked really unhappy and much scarier than an actual tiger-hawk.

"So", Umma drawled dangerously at her husband who gulped loudly. "Do you have any dead wish, you slimy old man?"

"Err… I can explain" the admiral squealed under his wife's deadly gaze. "Y-you see, it was the rules. I, uh, I had to do that. Hehe…"

He laughed nervously, flinched a little. "I mean, even the boy knows the rules. Right, child?"

The admiral turned to his grandson for support only to find him and the two princes each holding a glass of fruit juice and munching on snacks which mysteriously appeared on their hands as they watched the admiral and his wife's confrontation—ahem, sorry, I meant _conversation _with great interest.

"Oh, never mind us. Please, go on. It's about to get more interesting", Lin grinned slyly, taking a bite of an almond cookie.

"You're not helping", the admiral hissed from the side of his mouth, sweating profoundly.

"Hey, no offense but I'm still bitter at you for trying to kill me", Lin shrugged.

"Enough talking, old man", Umma cut in, causing the admiral to shrink even more before her menacing gaze. "How dare you throw that fire at my grandson when he was still _on the floor_!"

"This is usually the part where people run, Admiral", Lu Ten suggested as the terrified old man snapped out of his gape.

"Goodnight, boys", the admiral hastily said before heeding Lu Ten's advice and ran as fast as his legs could take him, thanking the spirits that he was wearing his leather armor tonight and not his metal one which was three times heavier. Umma, not wanting to let go of her prey also said goodnight to the boys, albeit more sweetly but just as hastily before she sped up and gave his husband a chase around the main hall waving a fire whip on her right hand and a flickering fire ball on her left hand, followed by the three boys' laughter and shout like 'No, no, Lady Umma. To the left, to left!' or 'Yeah!! Use the twin fire blast, Grandma!'.

Ah… What a harmonious husband and wife.

* * *

"Are you sure?" Umma whispered her question.

"Yes. It was unmistakable", he heard his husband replied, solemn and stern.

It was late at night and the admiral had just finished telling Umma about his vision of Lian and her wish that the admiral bestowed the family name upon her son. Weeks before the ceremony, Umma had expressed her objection that the boy would be forced to change his name had he succeeded in his Ceremony of Ascension to her husband. Being an 'almost-victim' of the clan's oppressive reward himself, the admiral shared Umma's disapproval and had planned to give the boy a choice to either accept or reject the chance to change his name. Only Umma knew about this plan.

However, in order to pull off this daring move successfully, the admiral would have to declare the proposal in front of the entire guests _after_ the boy had completed his challenge. That way, the Elders of the clan (like his older sister) and the more orthodox clansmen (like Jiang) wouldn't be able to challenge his notion because withdrawing a proposal as important as this after declaring it in front of the many noble guests and the Royal Family would result in great shame tainting the family's reputation.

"Are you sure this is for the best?" Umma asked again although she realized that it won't change anything. Even the boy didn't seem to mind his new name.

"I don't know", the admiral admitted. "But it was her wish. I have to honor it."

"I bet Jiang was overjoyed", Umma retorted. The admiral sighed, silently concurred his wife's statement. It was a common knowledge among the clansmen that ever since Jiang failed to master the 16 basic moves in time for his Ceremony of Ascension, he had sworn that one of his offspring would one day succeed his dream and become the next 'Lin'. It was the sole purpose why he trained his son like crazy, drilling the boy like he would do a fully-grown soldier. And now, his wish had come true. A long moment of silence followed as the admiral stared at the starry night above.

"So, can I come in now?" he finally asked, casting an hopeful glance at the door of his bedroom behind which Umma was leaning her back on, sealing the entrance. Instead of answering, Umma opened the door and angrily threw a pillow at her husband's slightly bruised and bandage-covered face before slamming the door closed again. The pillow slowly slid down the admiral's face, exposing his hilarious teary eyes. He sniffed once, just as comically, at his wife's cold heart as the night's cold breeze passed through behind his back.

_Another night sleeping outside_, _I guess_, he thought sadly as he set the pillow down on the floor and rested his head on it…

* * *

He stood inside his room, gazing the starry night sky above. He had cleaned himself properly and worn a white sleeping robe, ready for his well-deserved rest after completing his Ceremony few hours ago. Zuko and Lu Ten were already snoring on his bed, but Lin wouldn't sleep before doing his night ritual. And so, he waited for his friends to fall asleep before he crept down from his bed as silently as possible and took out a scroll from his drawer.

And as he opened he scroll under the stars' light, he glanced longingly at the scroll and found a kind face adorned with a pair of cheerful grey eyes and a smile as gentle as the night breeze, glancing back. Lin knew that his life would never be the same again from that day on. In a sense, he had grown up much in just a single night. He was now the youngest 'Lin' in the history.

_The day before_…

"_It's getting late, child", the admiral whispered, kneeling by the boy's side, embracing the boy's shoulder._

"_Just a minute", the boy muttered, not taking his eyes off the slab of stone standing before him on which the name of his mother was carved. _

_The admiral, understanding his grandson's need for privacy, softly told him that he would go and wait by the gate before turning away and leaving the boy alone in the clan's graveyard._

_The boy looked up to the setting sun. A single tear rolled down silently on his cheek, but his face shone with an unwavering determination._

"_I'll make you proud, Mom…"_

"I hope I make you proud, Mom", he whispered letting a drop of tear fell on the scroll he held in his hand.

And before he rolled up Lian's picture, he added with a smile, "And… _thank you_."

* * *

**Author's note: **

1. the name 'Biao' means 'cousin' when used in conjuction with other words that means 'siblings (older/younger brother/sister)'. for example 'biao jie' means 'older female cousin' (jie= older sister)

and also some might find three dudes sleeping on the same bed a bit weird. but in ancient china, men sleeping on the same bed signifies their friendship and trust for each other. for example, in 'the romance of the three kingdoms' Liu Bei and Zhao Yun slept on the same bed in a war camp. they just slept mind you, no funny bussiness.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 – Another Lucky Charm**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"_Snowflake…" he tried to catch up with the girl. But Snowflake strode fast in front of him, seemingly unaware of his presence._

"_Snowflake, wait up! Snowflake…" he was in the verge of shouting now. But alas, the girl was now running. _

"_Snow_—_ Nala!" he dashed forward, caught the girl's elbow and forcibly turned her around. To his surprise, he found tears rolling down on the girl's tanned cheeks. Her sapphire orbs which were usually filled with either playful light or mischievous glint were now heavily red and blurred with tears as her sockets poured down the salty liquid that she had been holding in during the heated argument she had with her father earlier._

"_I-", Hothead didn't really know what he could possibly say to soothe the crying girl in front of him. All he could do was gently stroking the girl's head as she abruptly dived into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. An awkward moment for the Fire Nation private. He had always been bad at dealing with crying girls, a weakness that his younger sisters had used against him on many occasions. _

"_What is the meaning of this!" a booming angry shout came from behind him, causing the two youths to break away and turn to the source of the voice. A tanned-skinned man in his male Water Tribe outfit approached them. His blue eyes flickered dangerously with flames that Hothead considered ironic since Omba was a very accomplished waterbender, the best he had ever met._

"_Answer me, outsider!" the waterbender barked. Hothead was now lost for words. His wound hadn't healed completely yet and he couldn't firebend well in the cold climate of the North Pole. Plus, with Snowflake a breath away from him, starting a fight would be unwise._

"_I-I was just—", Hothead managed to stuttered, trying to remain calm. But his sentence was cut short by a water whip that hit him square on his chest, sending him flying backward and causing Snowflake to scream._

"_Leave him alone!" Snowflake angrily shouted at the master waterbender as she rushed to the Hothead's side, helping him to get on his feet again. _

"_Stay back, Princess", Omba coldly stared at the pair as he prepared another mass of water, ready to launch it at his prey. "Chief Mudhra will not be happy to see his daughter got hurt defending this… petty life form."_

"_And as the daughter of your Chief, I order you to leave this man alone", Snowflake yelled again. Though her eyes were still puffy and wet, her gaze was stern and her voice had become so fierce and threatening that even Omba took one step back in surprise. It was the first time any females ever ordered him to do anything. _

"_Stay out of this, Snowflake", Hothead pushed the girl aside, readying his fighting stance. Having his honor insulted by the smug waterbender warrior, who was now smirking cruelly, was bad enough. He didn't want to let the princess got hurt too._

"_Are you crazy?" Snowflake protested."You're still injured! You won't last a second against_—_STOP!!"_

_But it was too late. Hothead had rushed forward, sending jabs of fire which couldn't penetrate a wall of water Omba summoned with a lazy wave of his left hand._

"_Is that all you've got…" Omba snickered mockingly before he hardened his face as he added an insult, "… lowlife?"_

_With a roar of anger, Hothead sent another barrage of fire blasts from his fists and legs. The fire he bended was extinguished the moment it met Omba's second water wall. Frustrated, Hothead summoned every ounce of chi he could muster and used it to launch the biggest fire stream he had ever produced. He could no longer hear Snowflake shouting her plea for him to stop. The fire stream quickly engulfed Omba and melted the icy floor around him, dissipating it into hot steam. _

_Unfortunately for Hothead, as the steam subsided, his opponent was still standing unharmed inside a water orb he conjured up to protect himself from the firebender's attack. Hothead, now losing breathe and energy, felt stinging pain on his side. Well, Snowflake did warn him about his injury. But he had no choice but to go on with the fight. To retreat now would be dishonorable and Fire Nation people are well-known for valuing honor above anything else. _

"Besides_", he thought as his old mother and two little sisters came drifting to his mind, "_I still have much to live for_." _

_Omba, on the other hand, intended to end that life. He turned his water orb into ten ice daggers and sent them flying at the insolent firebender's direction. As much as Hothead wanted to move away from the flying ice daggers ways, he could barely stand let alone leaped to his side. _

"_Enough!!" a figure yelled as she jumped between Hothead and the ice daggers, forming an ice wall to block the ice daggers and Omba's view from her and the firebender. A second later, the wall melted and divided itself into two mass of water and launched themselves at the greatly astonished Omba who realized that it was his fiancée, Princess Nala, who protected the firebender. The rushing water knocked Omba off his feet before he could react. Enraged, he shot a murderous glare at the girl who had just hurt his pride as a warrior and desecrated his culture._

"_You!" he pointed at Nala whose sapphire eyes widened with guilt and fear. Omba shot up, still glaring at the princess before turning his back on her and the firebender and ran towards the Chief's hut._

_An awkward silence ensued. Hothead now felt really guilty and ashamed as he glanced Snowflake's back. He only gave in to Omba's provocation because he didn't want to let Snowflake got hurt. But the result was quite the opposite now that Omba knew the secret that, until that night, only he and the girl shared: Princess Nala of the Northern Water Tribe had been secretly training herself in the combat art of waterbending._

"_Snow—", Hothead started but stopped as he noticed that Snowflake's shoulders were trembling. He suspected that the girl was crying again. He didn't blame her, though. It was a tough night for both of them. _

"_Nala", he said more softly, putting a hand on the girl's trembling shoulder. Snowflake turned to him. She was indeed crying, but she didn't look afraid or sad or even guilty. She was mad…_

"_Uh-oh", Hothead knew all too well the expression on the princess' face as he had seen it so many times before when he accidentally (or not) made the princess angry and gave her a valid reason to pummel him._

"_YOU IDIOT!!!" Snowflake screamed at the top of her lungs as her hand landed on Hothead's cheek, harder than she was hoping, sending the bewildered firebender comically flying into a nearby river.

* * *

_

"Ufffgh", Lin was abruptly woken up as Zuko's left hand crashed his face. He shot an annoyed look at the young prince who was snoring loudly at his right before the other prince at his left, who was also snoring, landed his right fist on his stomach.

"Offgh", Lin lost his breath for a second. He forgot that despite their royal origins both Zuko and Lu Ten slept like peasants when he accepted their plan for a sleepover. He glanced at the window at the other side of the room where he and his friends were sleeping. The sky outside was dark blue, tainted by a dim orange streak. It was dawn already. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember his dream.

_There were a girl and a man, _he thought. He had been dreaming about them for almost a week now. But who were they? Lin had no idea. Also, the tundra he saw in his dream… for a boy who had never been outside of the Fire Nation and its tropical climate, the snowy scenery was so_— _ah, what's the word again? Beautiful? Pristine? Intriguing? …Mystical? maybe.

Suddenly, Lu Ten's hand flew at him again. Only this time, Lin was prepared and he held out his palm to block the incoming 'attack'. And as if on cue, Zuko's hand, too, flew at the boy lying between the royal cousins. Lin also blocked this one. And after that, Lu Ten's foot unexpectedly came crushing to his face and almost snapped his nose. How the older prince managed to do that, Lin would never know.

Couldn't take anymore abuse, Lin leaped to his side jumping over Zuko (who punched the empty air above him) and landed unceremoniously on his injured leg. He let out a silent scream of pain as he rolled on the floor clutching his leg.

"_What the— are they having an Agni Kai against each other in their dream or something?" _he thought frowning on the floor as he watched Lu Ten and Zuko, still snoring, punched and kicked the thin air around them. Suddenly, a wide mischievous grin appeared on his face as he formed a plan for an equally mischievous payback.

* * *

The Lin's Estate was huge. Everybody who had been there before knew that. Sadly, a certain princess who had never been anywhere in the Estate, except for the main hall and the guest's quarters, didn't have any idea how big the Estate was. The sun had barely risen when she woke up from her sleep due to an urge to use the bathroom. Ursa had offered to take the princess to the bathroom. But being an ever-independent girl, a trait she learnt from her father, Azula had insisted that it was unnecessary to trouble her sleepy mother over this and instead only asked for directions. Ursa, knowing how headstrong her daughter could be, relented. Bottom line, Azula did find the bathroom without any significant trouble. But on the way back to her room, she took a wrong turn and ended up in a completely unfamiliar location.

Azula was now standing in a dark hallway leading to a small but well-maintained lawn that had a complete set of a round stone table and four chairs. She was about to turn back when she heard a grunt from the lawn. She narrowed her amber eyes and spotted a silhouette, not much bigger than her brother, sitting on one of the chair trying to tie something on his right hand. A box could also be seen sitting on the table. Finally, someone whom she could ask for direction, she thought as she approached the figure.

"Hello?" she announced her presence to the figure… who wore a simple white sleeping robe, had a messy ponytail and bandage covering his left leg, right hand and across his forehead.

"Oh! Princess?!!" the ponytailed stranger tried to stand and give her a courtesy bow but fell down with a loud 'ouch' instead. Azula barely managed to stifle her laughter and feeling of relief when she realized that the strange silhouette was someone familiar. Lin quickly scrambled himself up, trying to save what little dignity he had left in the princess' eyes.

"What're you doing up?" both of them asked at the same time.

"Well, I_—_", they immediately said, again in unison… which caused both of them to blush and fidget in the ensuing awkward silence.

"You first", Lin finally said, unable to contain the awkwardness any longer.

"I, um, I got lost and ended up here", Azula admitted rather shyly, "What about you?" she asked, trying to fight back a hot sensation on her cheeks.

"Oh, me? Lu Ten and Zuko _kicked_ me out of my room", Lin made a quotation mark with his hands at the word 'kicked'. His unfinished and untidy bandage dangling as he did so. Azula let out a full-fledged giggle, knowing exactly about the bad sleeping habit the males of her family had. As she recalled, she once heard a rumor that even his father and uncle used to have the same habit when they were younger. Her mother even admitted that Ozai almost broke her nose at their wedding night. The thought, however, didn't help her to break the silence that had once again ensued between the two. Seemed like it required more than a crimson handkerchief and a good luck wish before a dead match against sixteen firebenders to break the ice between the two.

"Um… need a hand?" she timidly said, pointing at the messy bandage covering the boy's right arm. Lin, still dumbfounded, quickly glanced at the bandage then at Azula and then at the bandage again before he registered the gesture.

"Oh! Err…, yeah sure. Why not? I mean, if it's not too troubling. Not that I think you can't even change a bandage, of course… I mean…", he stuttered, feeling more and more stupid after each words. Azula, however, found the stuttering noble kid, who was beating himself inside his mind, amusing and her giggle sent more blush on Lin's already burning cheeks. He finally let out a sigh and weakly said, "Yes, please."

Azula, still smiling, told him to sit. The boy obeyed and the princess proceeded to sit on a nearby chair and undo his bandage. Her tiny hands worked slowly as she dabbed some ointment to treat Lin's burnt hand. Azula wasn't sporting her usual top-knot at that moment. She instead fashioned her hair, well most of it, into a tidy ponytail. She still had her usual bangs framing the sides of her forehead, though.

"_She's cute when her hair's down"_, Lin thought, watching Azula gently wrapped his hand with fresh bandage she took from the medical box on the table. Lin almost immediately shook the feelings off, _"She's a princess for spirits' sake! And she's only six!"_

An sudden image of Iroh peacefully sipping tea, telling him that '_love transcends age and social status_' didn't help at all…

"Finished", the princess announced, snapping Lin back to earth.

"Huh? Oh… erm, thanks a lot, Princess", he stuttered, smiling awkwardly. As he did so, the bandage on his forehead slid down on his face, covering his left eye. Clearly, he tied that one himself, as well.

"Maybe I should work on that, too", Azula giggled as she leaned closer to Lin and undid the bandage.

* * *

"Where did that child go?" Ursa muttered to herself as she frantically strode along a dark hallway, searching for Azula. It had been nearly half an hour since Azula left for the bathroom. Even though Ursa had been in the Estate for countless of time and she pretty much knew her way around the vast establishment, she was still afraid that she herself would get lost. That was why she dared not wander too far from the guest's quarter. And besides, how far could Azula have wandered off to? she optimistically thought.

But as she walked past the hallway for the umpteenth times, she began to get really worried. And it was dark outside too. She had begun imagining the little girl curling herself in some dark corner crying her eyes out.

Ursa decided that it was more prudent to wake Lu Ten and Lin up and ask them to help her with the search because the two boys knew the layout of the Estate like the back of their hands, thanks to the many occasions they had to run and hide from their pranks' victims. And with that thought, she made her way towards the male's living quarter.

* * *

Two kids were laughing merrily at the lawn in the male's living quarter. As Azula helped Lin to change his messy bandage, the two kids seemed to have succeeded in having a decent conversation which started from clichéd questions met with monosyllabic answers to all-out hilarious stories.

To Azula, Lin told the story of the time when he and Lu Ten spiked Iroh's tea causing the infamous tea lover to lose any appetite for tea for two whole days, a feat that none had ever achieved before; the time when they were punished by Ursa when she caught the boys red-handed when they were setting up a trap on Iroh's doorstep (Ursa made them wrote 'I will not play around with exploding jelly anymore' a hundred times under her strict supervision); and the time when Lu Ten, Zuko and himself had a three-on-one spar with Iroh, during which the boys had to 'kidnap' Iroh's most prized pouch of rare tea in order to defeat the mighty Dragon of the West (he could still remember how Iroh begged them to spare his tea like a child begging for candy, which was quite hilarious).

Azula, too, shared her stories which made Lin realized that the princess was a fellow prankster. Only her preference of victim was exclusive to her brother, Zuko. The princess had put a vast assortment of dead animals on Zuko's pants, which caused the prince to run crying around the palace; put sands inside his swimwear during one trip to Amber Island, causing a massive itch on Zuko's royal behind; and convinced him that the palace's bathroom was haunted by Sozin's ghost who was a out searching for his lost beloved underwear that has a cute dragon-horse picture on it, occasionally kidnapping anyone who was unfortunate enough to use the bathroom when he was out for blood_— _er, sorry, I mean out for underwear (poor Zuko wet his bed for a week before Ursa managed to convince him that there was no such ghost and even if there was, it was no reason for him to skip bathroom before bed).

"That was a bit cruel, you know", Lin chuckled as Azula finished telling a story when she put some extra spices on Zuko's fireflakes.

"What?" Azula drawled, feigning an innocent offended look. "I was just making sure, like any other good little sister should, that my big brother Zuzu got his fireflakes spicy enough to his liking. My hand just _slipped_ a little."

"Yeah… and you dropped the whole jar of chili powder. _And_ a bottle of black pepper. God, you're clumsy."

"Oh, well", the princess merely shrugged, still grinning. And once again the all too familiar silence ensued as the two kids had exhausted their conversation topics.

"So…" after about a minute of total silence, Lin tried to start again. " Lu Ten told me that you're going to enroll in the Royal Fire Academy for Girls soon."

And he regretted ever asking that as Azula's smile suddenly fell when he brought up the topic. "Azula", the princess had given him permission to call her by name. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah…" Azula forced a smile. "It just that—"

The princess hesitated. She somehow felt that the boy, who was staring at her with a concern look on his face, was mysteriously familiar. She had never been particularly close to the boy. Even now, she was still wondering what spirit had possessed her when she gave Lin the red handkerchief. She hadn't stop mentally beating herself for doing something so embarrassing. But she couldn't shake off the odd feeling that Lin was so… _compatible_ to her. Like a friend she had known for all her life. Like a missing puzzle piece.

"Well…" Azula braced herself for more embarrassment, even though she was sure that Lin wouldn't laugh at her. "It just that… I won't be able to spend much time with Mom anymore."

She hanged her head down, waiting for Lin to laugh at her. However, Lin kept silent, begging her to continue. And so she did, "Not that she ever spent much time with me…"

Azula raised her head again and suddenly began rambling on and on about how her parents seemed to care more about Zuko than about her. "—it was always about training with Zuko, and Dad won't even let me watch them. And Mom! Always Zuko this, Zuko that. She won't even let him attend his study with the imperial tutor without her by his side, let alone let the maid tend his injuries whenever he finished his training with Dad."

And she kept pouring her heart out with Lin faithfully listening to her without interrupting even once. With a loving grandmother like Umma around, he had never counted himself as unfortunate for not having a mother although he did sometimes wonder how it felt like to have one. He also had always believed that never knowing one's own mother was one of the worst things that could ever happen to anyone. But now, he realized that having a mother but thinking that she doesn't love him is even worse than having no mother. He knew, of course, that it was just a misunderstanding from the princess' part: Ursa was a mother anyone would kill to have. She wasn't one who played favorites. Now the problem was how to make Azula see that point.

"—and it was Mom who decides that I should attend the Academy", Azula finally finished with a sour expression. "Maybe… she just wants me gone."

The princess turned away, trying to hide her teary eyes. Lin's stare, however, held fast on her. Deciding that he must said something; Lin cleared his throat before softly called her name.

"Azula…" Lin softly spoke. Azula looked up and surprised to see Lin's solemn expression. "Let me tell you a secret."

He gestured her to lean closer with his healthy hand. Azula complied. "When my Grandpa attacked me during the Ceremony, I failed to defend myself."

Azula's eyes grew wide and she opened her mouth in shock. Lin, however, waved his hand asking her not to interrupt. "Well, technically I did manage to defeat his technique with my firebending. But the explosion that occurred… it should have knocked me down for good."

Lin looked up to the rising sun briefly, thinking back on the fight that had just occurred less than twelve hours ago but seemed so much longer than that. He could hear some movements around the Estate as some residents woke up from their sleep and started their morning ritual.

"I felt… _someone._ Someone embraced me from behind, bracing myself against the impact. Then, that was a lot of smoke and I couldn't see clearly. But…"

Lin hesitated for a moment for the thing he was about to say was very absurd: "I think I saw my mother."

Azula gasped. Even though she had used ghost stories on many occasions to scare Zuko, it didn't mean that she herself was not afraid of ghosts and spirits. She was, after all, only a six year old girl. And how many six year old girls are not afraid of ethereal beings? Lin, however, misinterpreted Azula's reaction as those of amazement or shock, not fear, and so he went on with his story.

"And when I tried to see what's in front of me, I saw a figure. A woman, and she has a ponytail like my mom's. She had her back on me and I couldn't se her face, but I'm quite positive that it was her, Azula. It was really my mom", Lin said, smiling sadly to himself. And since Azula said nothing, he pressed on with his point.

"So, you see, there is absolutely no mother who wants to be apart from her children", he chuckled. "Even my dead mother came back from the spirit world for me."

Azula now looked solemn, thinking deeply on Lin's argument. Maybe he's right, she thought… or rather _hoped._

"And for your enrollment at the Academy…" Lin continued, taking off a bead bracelet he was wearing on his left wrist. The bracelet was composed of black beads and white beads, stringed together by elastic fiber that went through the hole on each bead. The black and white beads, like the Taiji circle on the Lin's family crest, symbolized Yin and Yang, and was worn by every family member.

"…Grandpa would kill me if I lost this", he muttered as he took Azula's hand and put the bracelet on her wrist. "Oh well…"

Lin smiled brightly at Azula, "I hope this bracelet brings you good luck while you're at the Academy."

Now it was Azula's turn to blush as she stuttered her thank you to Lin. From the corner of the hallway, a pair of amber eyes beamed at the two kids. _Maybe it can work out after all_, Ursa thought as she peeked at her daughter and Lin from her hiding place. She had been there for pretty much the whole time, eavesdropping at the two kids' conversation while justifying her action by convincing herself that it was done out of pure maternal concern for her daughter and the boy who was like a son to her. Her heart, though, ached a little when she heard Azula's confession earlier. She also felt a pang of sadness when Lian was brought up. She could still remember Lian as the kindest and the most cheerful person she had ever known. And of course, Ursa smiled, as a prankster of no equal, a trait that her son inherited.

"Azula", a voice came from behind the kids. They turned to the voice and found Ursa walking towards them. Azula abruptly shot up and ran towards her. Ursa knelt down and caught her daughter in a warm embrace.

"Are you alright, honey", Ursa asked. "I was really worried about you. Did you get lost?"

"Yes", Azula answered sheepishly under Ursa's 'I-told-you-so' look.

"And you ended up in the male's living quarter, hmm", Ursa smiled, pinching Azula's nose causing the little princess to giggle. "Thank the spirits you run into Lin."

Ursa turned to the boy and fondly said, "Thank you for taking care of Azula, Lin."

"Oh, no problem, Lady Ursa. Besides_—_" Lin waved his injured right hand and pointed his bandaged forehead with his left hand, "_—_it was Azula who was taking care of me."

And Lin went on to tell Ursa that Azula helped tending his wound while Ursa pretended to be surprised (she had seen the whole thing) and expressed her genuine pride when she praised Azula. The sun had risen completely now, casting its rejuvenating light on the Estate, chasing away the traces of the dark cold night.

"It's beautiful", Ursa sighed at the sight, hugging Azula, as she and the other two watched the scenery. "I love you _so_ much. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, Mommy", Azula hugged her mother back, exchanging meaningful smile with Lin over her mother's shoulder.

"By the way", Ursa said to Lin, still squeezing Azula. "It's about time we wake Lu Ten and Zuko up, don't you think so?"

"Oh, right", a mysterious smirk appeared on Lin's face as he glanced at a door to his left across the lawn which led to his room. "We should be hearing from them in about…"

Lin held out five fingers and folded them one by one as he counted, "Five… four… three… two…"

"AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!"

"There", Lin grinned to the clearly astonished Ursa and Azula before standing up and starting to limp away as fast as his injured leg permitted. "Well, a very good morning to you two, ladies. I'd love to stay but alas, for my own safety I must be on my way."

However, his escape was quickly foiled by Lu ten and Zuko who burst out of his room and snatched him in front of the still astounded Ursa and laughing Azula before both princes forcibly abducted him and dragged him to his own room.

* * *

The admiral sat up suddenly shouting 'It wasn't me!!', raising his arms to shield himself before he looked around and realized that he was just having a bad dream. A scream from somewhere in the Estate had awakened him from his sleep. And as he yawned and stretch his arms, he spotted a blanket lying on top of him, keeping him warm during the night.

"_Guess she had forgiven me",_ he thought, guessing that it was Umma who had covered him with the blanket. Well, not that anyone else had an access to his favorite blanket, a wide red blanket, wide enough for two person, framed with flurry yellow weave, and it had a big childishly cute tutleduck on the middle surrounded by countless of tiny equally childishly cute turtleducks (Lin gave him the blanket as a birthday present three years ago).

Born and bred a warrior, the admiral had trained himself to always be mindful of his surrounding. And as such, he quickly turned back when he noticed a presence nearby. Behind him, Jiang was standing and judging from the forced and over exerted calmness on his face, he had been standing there for quite a while. The admiral, ignoring the annoyance his son held within, calmly turned away and began to lazily fold his turtleduck blanket. And as he got up, hugging his blanket and pillow, he shot Jiang an innocent inquiring look.

"What?"

Jiang's brow twitched a little at his father's indifference. "Shouldn't we be discussing about the journey right about now, Father?"

"Oh yes… that", the admiral nodded. "Well, go round the Elders up in the meeting room. I'll be there shortly."

"They _are_ in the meeting room, Father, waiting for _you_", Jiang retorted sharply, keeping a predatory stare at his father who pushed the door of his room open and randomly threw the bundle on his hands inside.

"Good. Now go to the kitchen and get me some tea for the meeting", the admiral ordered again still nonchalant at Jiang's annoyance. "I'll be there after I wash my face."

"Te_—_", Jiang looked like he was about to explode. He was a _general_ for spirits' sake, not some manservant. However, years of dealing with the old man had taught him that arguing with him was like fighting a flock of angry dragons with a piece of stick, it was an impossible victory. So, still fuming and clencing his jaws tightly shut, Jiang grumbled, "Yes, Father."

With that, he turned and waltzed away as fast as he could before his father could_—_

"And some dumplings would be nice too", the admiral shouted just when Jiang was about to turn at the corner.

… too late.

"Yes, Father", Jiang gritted his teeth, trying to keep his temper in check while the vein on his temple was clearly bulging. And with that he stomped away, leaving the smirking admiral behind.

* * *

**Author's note:**

1. 'Mudhra' is inspired by 'samudra', an Indonesian word that means 'ocean'

2. 'Omba' is inspired by 'ombak', another Indonesian word that means 'wave'

oh, and about 'He let out a silent scream of pain as he rolled on the floor clutching his leg' part, yes people, it's possible. i've done it before when i landed on a puddle during one of my wushu lessons (we were practicing flying roundhouse kick)


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 – Secrecy**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"I've been sworn to an eternal secrecy regarding that matter. None shall break my resolve as I take the secret to my grave."

"What did you do to them?"

"I've been sworn to an eternal secrecy regarding that matter. None shall break my resolve as I take the secret to my grave."

"What did you do to them?"

"I've been sworn to an eternal secrecy regarding that matter. None shall break my resolve as I take the secret to my grave."

Lin and Azula had been going on like that for almost fifteen minutes. They were having breakfast with Ursa, Zuko, Lu Ten, Umma and the admiral in a dining room inside the guest's quarter. Two hours had passed since Zuko and Lu Ten 'abducted' Lin and made him swear that he would never ever tell anyone, not even a single soul, about what he had done to them, or rather what he made _them_ do_._ And Azula, being one of the two eye-witnesses of the kidnapping process, had been trying to pry the heavily classified information from the three boys ever since. Lu Ten and Zuko had been unwaveringly silent and therefore, she turned to the last person who could quench her curiosity and was conveniently seated next to her.

"What—"

"Azula", Ursa chided in, picking a grain of rice on her daughter's cheek. "Don't speak while your mouth's full!"

The little princess quickly chewed the food in her mouth and swallowed it just as hastily before she turned to Lin to resume the interrogation. But before she could even mutter a word, Zuko chimed in, "Enough Azula! You're annoying."

Azula furrowed her brow at her brother. Time to change the target. "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing, _baby_! Go back to your food", Zuko barked.

"What did he do to you…" Azula asked again but this time she added, "…_Zuzu_?"

"Nothing", Zuko seethed, his brow twitched when he heard Azula called him by his nickname. "And don't call me that!"

Azula's eyes narrowed mischievously at him. "Zuzu", she called again, testing her brother's defenses causing Zuko to shoot her a warning look.

"Zu~zu…" she teased again in a sing-song tone plus a cute smile.

"Stop that!" Zuko was clearly fuming now. However, Azula showed no sign of stopping.

"Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu… Arrghh!! MOOOOMMMIEEE!!!" Azula impishly chirped before bursting out from the dining room screaming for help as a very annoyed Zuko leaped to her seat, missed her by an inch, and gave her a chase.

Zuko chased Azula across the hallway until…

"Whoa there!" Iroh was sauntering the hallway with Jiang. He abruptly caught the rushing red thing, which turned out to be Azula, and lifted her up off the ground a second before they collided, keeping her from Zuko's arm reach, who came rushing afterwards.

"Uncle!" Azula exclaimed, hugging her savior who was cradling her tiny frame, before putting on an irresistibly cute pleading face that only children her age could make. "Zuzu is bullying me…"

"Zuko…" Iroh reprimanded the prince, completely taken in by Azula's flawless acting.

"But, I wasn't— I didn't —!" Zuko tried to rebut but the incredulity of the unexpected turn of event engulfed the rest of his words.

"Well, what do you call chasing your sister across the hallway then?"

"But, I—" well, he did chase her across the hall, even Zuko admitted as much. Azula stuck her tongue mockingly at him from her pedestal in Iroh's arms.

"Zuzu!" she flippantly snapped, safe in the Dragon's arms. A victorious smug adorned her innocent face as she watched Zuko steaming.

"Alright now, kids", Iroh laughed, amused by the antics of the two siblings. "Now let's go see your Mom."

And he made his way toward the dining hall still cradling the smug looking Azula, followed by Jiang and the clearly annoyed Zuko who exchanged silent insults with his sister.

* * *

"_Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu… Arrghh!! MOOOOMMMIEEE!!!" Azula impishly chirped before bursting out from the dining room screaming for help as a very annoyed Zuko leaped to her seat, missed her by an inch, and gave her a chase._

Ursa sighed at her children's impulsiveness without even trying to stop them. She coolly picked up the bowl Azula knocked down on the table and calmly scooped the rice scattered on the table back in it. Umma and her husband, too, didn't seem to be bothered by the Royal siblings' behavior because they were used to the same kind of trouble themselves. The three adults exchanged sympathetic looks briefly before they returned to their meal.

Lu Ten, however, was fazed by his aunt's indifference. "Aren't you going to chase after them, Aunt Ursa?"

"Nope. No need for that, Lu Ten. It's their idea of a healthy brother-and-sister bonding", she answered nonchalantly.

"Oh, right…" Lu Ten retorted, thinking back on certain similar incidents. "Like the 'fire lilies fiasco'."

"Exactly", Ursa concurred. "Like the 'fire lilies fiasco'."

"Morning, everyone", every heads turned to the door. Iroh had entered the room chuckling and still cradling Azula, followed by Zuko and Jiang. "Look what I've found in the hallway."

He carefully sat Azula down on the empty chair between his sister-in-law and Lin. He then bowed politely to Umma and the admiral who offered him to join their breakfast. Iroh naturally accepted the offer.

"Did you receive my message, General?" the admiral asked.

"Oh, yes", Iroh laughed, receiving a bowl of rice from Umma. "But I must say, old friend. You sounded too formal in your letter. Surely such courtesy wasn't necessary when you talk to your best man, eh?"

And while the admiral and Iroh laughed, rekindling the memory of the former's wedding in their minds, Umma mouthed silently to his bewildered grandson, '_bathroom incident_'. Lin's mouth formed a comprehensive 'o' as he nodded at Umma's additional info. Unfortunately, the admiral caught the exchange between the two and shot an accusing look at Umma.

"You told him?" he hissed dangerously.

"Yep. All of it", Umma hissed back, rather cheekily.

"Why?" the admiral hissed again.

"Because you don't want to sleep outside again tonight", Umma hissed back, playing her trump card.

The admiral shot her an incredulous look, seemingly mulling over the deal before he finally hissed, "We're even."

While Umma and the admiral were having their snake-wise conversation, Iroh and Lin had one of their own too.

"I'm sorry my Grandpa was such a klutz, sir", Lin started, whispering softly at the chubby man with a sympathetic look on his face.

"He told you the story?" Iroh curiously murmured, leaning closer to the boy.

"No, _she_ did", Lin whispered again. "How did you get a new ring, anyway? You were in the middle of the ocean."

"Well…" Iroh, chuckled. "I melted my golden headpiece and forged a new one. I had to lie to my father, saying that I lost it somewhere in the sea. There's no way I'm going back into the ocean just for a ring when I can just make another."

And while the four were having their hissing and whispering fiesta, the rest of the Royal Family plus Jiang stared at them. All thinking the same thing: _'what the hell are they whispering about?'_

Well, Jiang didn't really care and Ursa was too courteous to intrude their privacy so she too, feign ignorance. Lu Ten, Zuko, and Azula, however, were fighting a losing battle against their curiosity. Now, asking either Umma or the admiral was practically impossible. Iroh might probably answer their inquiries with some confusing and elusive proverbs about tea, clouds, and silver sandwich, so no hope there either. Thus, the three youths shot a 'you-better-tell-me-what's-going-on' look at their last hope for salvation: Lin.

As soon as Lin finished his conversation with Iroh, he noticed the stabbing look from the three royalties. Grinning calmly, he raised his hand and said, "I've been sworn to an eternal secrecy regarding that matter. None shall break my resolve as I take the secret to my grave."

* * *

"It seems like they are getting along quite well", Iroh commented, stroking his beard.

"It does, doesn't it?" Ursa agreed, beaming at the sight they were watching from the window.

After the breakfast, the adults moved into a small but comfy guest room for a cup of tea while the children played Pai Sho under the shade in the lawn just outside the guest room. While Lu Ten and Zuko had lost their zeal in trying to extract the secret regarding what Iroh and the admiral said beore from Lin, Azula persevered. Well, she was a stubborn kid, both princes admitted to themselves. And as such, Azula had challenged Lin to a Pai Sho match with the secret information as the wager. Needles to say, the older boy defeated the princess effortlessly.

"Check mate."

"Once again", the princess issued another challenge… for the tenth times…

"Okay. As you wish, Princess", Lin shrugged, putting back the Pai Sho tiles back to the original position. Zuko and Lu Ten, who were watching from the side, seemed to be having a hard time deciding who to support: their friend or their sister/cousin?

Well, if Azula won, they would get to know the secret. But, watching the smug princess' frustrated frown as Lin kicked her royal behind at Pai Sho games wasn't so bad either. Either way, it was fun for them. And after mulling it over for about five minutes, both princes decided that Lin didn't need any help to beat Azula and so they turned their attention to the princess, offering helpful advices that caused more harm than good as they disturbed the girl's concentration.

"No, no… Tiger tile over there", Lu Ten pointed at the corner of the board.

"Wha— we don't use tiger tile in the Flying Boar gambit, Lu Ten! Swan tile over there, Azula", Zuko suggested, pinting at a different corner.

"Huh? Isn't she using the White Tiger gambit?" Lu Ten asked Zuko, scratching his head.

"I'm using the _Red Phoenix_ gambit, dumb-dumbs", Azula seethed at the annoyance, putting a falcon tile at the center of the board.

"And we use the _sparrow_ tile, not falcon tile, in the Red Phoenix gambit, Princess", Lin commented as he devoured Azula's falcon with his tortoise tile. "And it's a check mate, by the way."

Lin yawned as he reveled in his boring victory while the three royalties shot a look of disbelief at the Pai Sho board.

* * *

-Meanwhile-

"— and I'll drop you off here", Iroh stabbed a finger on a map spread on the table, pointing at a small strait leading to Chameleon Bay. He and the admiral had moved to a different room because the thing they were discussing was quite sensitive.

"And then you could make your way to the town of Gaipan (he moved his finger north). Stay for a night there. Our brother will be waiting in this ruin to the northwest", Iroh continued, pointing at another point near Gaipan. "He will take you to your destination. You can contact him personally during the night."

The admiral stroked his chin, assessing the plan in silence. "Sounds like a good plan. Are you sure this is safe?"

"Yes, I am. General Lu will lead my battalion and march to Ba Sing Se one day before our departure. We are expecting some ambushes from the Earth Kingdom soldiers, so Old Lu will act as my decoy clear the way for my ship", Iroh looked solemn for a moment. Had it not been a direct order from his father and his liege, he wouldn't have fought this war at all. Many of his brethren were, after all, of Earth Kingdom origin.

"Anyway", he continued." Nobody will notice three extra passengers on my ship, which will be commandeered by my most trusted crews. And even if they do, I can think of some convincing reasons."

"And now the problem is how to convince the child to come along", the admiral muttered "He is no fool, that kid. A 'special vocation trip' to celebrate his success at the Ceremony won't fool him."

"Ah, you forget who lives near this ruins", Iroh pointed the map again, smiling mysteriously as a mutual understanding dawned on the admiral's face.

"Of course", the admiral hissed venomously. "_Her_."

"And Miyuki", they both added in unison while Iroh laughed and the admiral looked rather unhappy.

"This might work", the admiral scrutinized. "But I don't want to meet _her."_

Iroh sighed at his friend's childishness. "Oh, come on. It's been almost thirty years. I'm sure she won't even recognize you."

"I don't care", the admiral insisted. "Just ask Pakku to meet me at any point one mile away from that woman. Oh, and ask him to get the medicine while he's at it."

* * *

-Meanwhile in the guest room-

"I'm not sure about this, Milady."

"Why not, General?" Ursa incredulously asked. "I mean— _look at them_!"

Ursa pointed at the kids playing Pai Sho outside. Azula and Lin sat on the grassy patch facing each other with a Pai Sho board sitting between them. Zuko and Lu Ten squatted behind Azula occasionally pointing at the board, suggesting some advices or strategies. Well, Jiang, who was also watching the kids playing outside, had many reasons why he wasn't sure that Ursa's proposal would work out. But, he couldn't express any of them without hurting the lady's feeling.

"My son is…" Jiang turned to the royalty and paused for a second, trying to find the right word. "… _special_. I don't think it will work out."

"But, General—", Ursa argued again, she was getting frantic now.

"More tea, Milady?" Umma cut in sharply, pouring more tea into Ursa's half-filled cup and snapping the younger woman out of her desperate attempt to make Jiang see her point.

"Wha— oh… yes, Lady Umma… Thank you…" Ursa muttered, taking a sip of her cup to calm her nerves. Thinking that the argument wouldn't go anywhere as both sides were unwilling to relent, Umma decided to intervene. She shot a sympathetic look at Ursa.

"It's true that Lin is special— _shut up, son!"_ she glared at Jiang who was about to smugly interrupt before she went on with her speech. "But, don't you think that it's too early to talk about this?"

She grasped the bewildered royalty's hand gently. "However, I understand why you keep insisting to push this matter forward. And I also deeply grateful that you don't force this on us by using your influence as a member of the Royal Family—"

Even though the old lady was saying it with a soft and gently tone, Ursa couldn't help but felt a shiver down her spine as if Umma had just warned her '_use your executive power and you're dead!'. _Umma, however, didn't notice this.

"—and the fact that you care so much for our dear Lin brings warmth to this old lady's heart", she continued warmly as she glanced to the lawn where Azula was angrily throwing Pai Sho tiles at Zuko while chasing him around the lawn with Lu Ten and Lin laughing in the background.

"But I personally believe it would be more prudent if we give it a year or two before we decide anything", she said with a finality on her voice and added in her mind sadly, _'though I won't be there by the time you decide anything.'_

Umma's suggestion seemed to have quite an effect on both Jiang and Ursa because they both exchanged a consensual look with each other as Umma finished with her argument.

* * *

"Come again, kids", Umma kindly smiled as Lu Ten, Zuko, and Azula bowed to her and her husband politely. It was the time for the Royal Family to go home, partly because Ozai had sent a messenger hawk demanding Zuko to go back immediately for his daily training. Umma, the admiral, Jiang, and Lin were standing at the main gate, where four palanquins were ready for the Royal Family, to send their guests off. And while the adults engaged in their goodbyes, Lin turned to Azula after saying a rather sympathetic good luck to Zuko and bumping his fist with Lu Ten. He held out his right hand to the princess.

"Good luck with the Academy", he said. Azula took his hand and Lin noticed that the beaded bracelet he gave to the girl hung a loosely on her tiny wrist. Lin felt a funny inexplicable sensation as he suddenly became aware of the crimson handkerchief that had been thoroughly washed and cleaned from any soot or stain and folded neatly inside his pocket. It was as if the handkerchief had come to life and squirming inside his pocket. But it was not the only thing he felt…

"_Be careful, sir", the guard warned, holding his pronged staff at ready just in case if the monster tried to attack the man who was put in his charge._

_The 'monster' curled in the corner on the cell in her white loose robe, hugging her knees and hiding half of her face behind her arms. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the all-white furniture-less room had been covered with padding to prevent her from banging herself on any hard surfaces. She didn't seem to realize that she had a visitor as she absent-mindedly chattered with her invisible friends, or rather enemies because she would occasionally muttered something like 'I'll kill you, peasant' or 'I'll pluck your eyes out if you don't stop' or 'go away' without any change of tone on both her voice and her empty lifeless face. Her once silky-smooth raven hair was now messy and covering most of her face, and her once bright amber eyes seemed dead behind the dark curtain of her hair as she silently sobbed._

_The visitor turned to the guard and politely asked him to leave and close the door on the way out, an order that the guard more than happily complied. And after he heard the sound of the closing door behind him, the man took a few steps closer to the broken girl before he sat down in a seiza position, patiently waiting for the girl to acknowledge him. It took awhile before his patience had finally paid off when the girl turned to him and shot him an empty gaze. And it took another five seconds for her to start shrieking and laughing uncontrollably before she lunged at the man. _

"_AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGHHH!!!! HEEEE-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" he could hear her insanity screaming and laughing as her talon-like nails charged at his face. Closer… closer… _

"Lin, we must go now", Ursa's voice snapped Lin out of his… what should we call it? _Vision? _Lin shook his head a little to re-register himself to the real world. He quickly let go of Azula's hand before bowing politely to Ursa and wished her a save journey back home. Luckily, nobody realized that he was zoning off (or was he?), not even Azula who was grasping his hand at that moment.

Nobody but Umma and Iroh…

Both elders glanced at him with strange expression on their face. Scritinizing… solemn... even sad. Well, Umma was sad. She knew all about the destiny that awaited the young boy and she wished nothing more but to be able to guide the boy as he confronted his destiny, to help ease the burden that was shoved onto his shoulder just because he was born the way he was: as an heir… _her_ heir. But being a person who had tasted the bitterness of destiny, Umma knew that there was nothing she could do for her grandson because it wasn't her role to guide the boy, who was playfully patting Azula's head and jokingly telling her off for calling her brother 'dumb-dumb'. It wasn't her destiny…

"_It was Iroh's destiny_", she pondered as she shot a meaningful glance to the general. Iroh appeared to understand this because he replied the lady's gaze with a small nod.

"_Maybe destiny __**is**__ written on a slab of stone", _Umma sadly ruminated as she gazed the palanquins marched back to the imperial palace.

* * *

"A trip?"

"Yes, a trip."

"To the Earth Kingdom?"

"Yes, to the Earth Kingdom."

Later that day, Lin and his grandfather were having a Pai Sho game in the lawn. Since Lin's leg was still injured, he was excused from his daily training and as such, he found a lot of leisure time in his hand. His grandfather had just informed him about his plan for a trip to the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom.

"Where's the catch?" Lin asked bluntly, sensing that something was amiss with this sudden trip.

"Sharp as ever", the admiral sighed. He was expecting this. But instead of answering immediately, he pulled out a scroll and spread it on the Pai Sho board, showing a world map. He stabbed his fingers on the spot where the town of Gaipan was located.

"This is our destination, the town of Gaipan", he explained. And then he traced his finger a little to the northwest, pointing another spot. "And this is the catch."

Lin examined the spot his grandfather was pointing before he matched it with the map's legend to find out more about the place. His face lit up with a bright smile after he read the name of the place he was about to visit on the trip. The admiral beamed back at him as he received his grandson's silent approval.

"_Well, that was easy"_, the admiral thought, praising Iroh for his brilliant idea.

* * *

**Author's note:**

gotta love Azula and Zuzu.**  
**

Azula mocking Zuko at breakfast was inspired by the wake-up call by my brother's girlfriend. she would usually barge into my room, that has no lock by the way, and scream my name. if i didn't respond, she would start kicking me and and sing-song my nickname. if i still didn't respond, she would start beating me with my pillow or stuffed chihuahua she and my bro gave me as christmas present and shouted my name at the rate 5 names/second.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 – Goodbye**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"First aid?"

"In my backpack."

"Emergency money?"

"In my pouch, on my sash."

"Emergency knife?"

"In my boot."

"Second emergency knife?"

"In my other boot."

"My hug?"

"Here…"

Lin warmly hugged his old grandmother. They were standing at the main gate of the Estate with some other family members, ready to send Lin, Jiang, and the admiral off. A week had passed since the last Ceremony of Ascension and General Iroh's battalion had marched for Ba Sing Se one day earlier, ready to join some other battalions stationed around the walled city to launch a full-scale attack on the capital of the Earth Kingdom.

However, Iroh hadn't really gone with his battalion the previous day. As soon as his men set sail from the Imperial City's pier, he snuck himself back to the city and sought refuge at the Lin's Estate for a night. It was all part of the plan because the Dragon of the West was a well-known and respected figure, even among the Earth Kingdom's soldiers. His march would most likely be interfered by numerous ambushes along the way set up by Earth Kingdom's soldiers who didn't want him to reach their capital unharmed. And to counter that problem, Fire Lord Azulon formulated a plan by utilizing a decoy to draw out and clear the ambushes so that his firstborn could reach the destination unscratched. He appointed General Lu, the Red Maelstrom, to lead the decoy unit that would bear Iroh's imperial banner: a big jet black banner with a crimson red Fire Nation insignia on the middle, framed with golden weaves and ornated by two light golden tassels on the two corners. General Lu himself was an experienced senior general who earned his nickname, the Red Maelstrom, due to his magnificent crimson armor, awarded to him by the Fire Lord himself, and his ferocity during numerous battles in which he unleashed unspeakable destruction upon anyone who dared to stand in his way.

As per his plan, Iroh would follow his battalion from behind a day after. He would be travelling with his son, Lu Ten, and a handful of his most trusted guards on a small ship. Only few people knew about this plan. And even fewer people knew that Iroh would be accompanied by three members of the Lin household, two of them were high ranking officers of the Fire Nation military.

"Grandma, I can't breathe", Lin managed to mutter as Umma squeezed him tightly. Smiling, Umma let the boy go and landed a peck on his cheek.

"Hey, cousin", a girl called, holding up a cloth-covered lunchbox. "A little something for the journey."

Lin approached her and peeked inside the lunchbox after the girl put it on his hand. Cookies…

"Have I ever told you that you are my favorite cousin?" he asked with sparkling eyes, his arms spread widely

"About twice a week", Biao jokingly replied, welcoming the younger boy's embrace.

"What's that, cousin?" Lin suddenly spoke loudly, pretending that Biao had just whispered something to him. "A doll? Wearing the latest fashion of the Earth Kingdom's girl? Alright, no problem."

"What? You little—", the tomboy realized that Lin was toying with her and tried to jerk the lunchbox back. But the boy was too fast for her and he, and the lunchbox, darted to the waiting carriage followed by laughter and smiles from the people around, including Biao's. Inside the carriage, Iroh and Lu Ten were sitting, hidden from the crowd's eyes. A second later, Jiang and the admiral too entered the carriage. Both of them intentionally took the seats the nearest to the door in order to keep the two royalties away from anybody's sight. And just before the carriage moved, Lin and the admiral waved their last goodbye to their family while Jiang simply nodded.

Iroh had convinced his crew that his three companions would be travelling with them as his and his son's personal bodyguards: The veterans, the admiral and General Jiang, would act as his bodyguards, while the young boy, Lin, the twenty sixth would be in charge for his son's safety. He had also informed his crew that once they reached the city of Gaipan, the three escorts would be released from their duty because from that point on, his safety would no longer be an issue because Fire Nation soldiers would be flooding all over the soil and water all the way to Ba Sing Se.

"Any moment now", Lin whispered to Lu Ten who sat next to him inside the moving carriage while the adults engaged in a serious conversation about the upcoming battle. They lifted up their fingers and counted together under their breaths. "Five… four… three… two…"

"AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Yan's scream could be heard from a mile away. "THERE ARE BEETLE-ANTS INSIDE MY PANTS!!!!"

"Nice", Lu Ten grinned, bumping his fist with Lin. The three adults were startled by the scream and now shot an accusing look at the laughing boys. The said boys suddenly acknowledged the 'what-did-you-do?' gaze from the adults and stopped laughing.

"His idea", the said in unison, pointing at each other.

* * *

"— which the Air Nation militia formed a barricade—", a stern looking middle-aged woman was preaching in front of a class full of about thirty young girls. They were all listening to her intently behind their desk, taking notes ever now and then. All, but one…

Azula was sitting and absent-mindedly taking notes on the Purge of the Air Temples with her left hand supporting her chin. Her face unconsciously slid down and she pressed her check against the cold beaded bracelet she wore on her left wrist. She smiled to herself as she recalled the event that took place yesterday when two boys snuck into the Royal Fire Academy for Girls looking for her.

"_Psst."_

_The hissing sound from outside the window to her right distracted her from the lecture. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed that Mai and Ty Lee who sat behind her also noticed the noise and found it annoying. Well, Mai did anyway. Ty Lee, in the other hand, had a curios look on her face as if she was hoping for something interesting to happen._

"—_and during the Raid of the Northern Air Temple, General Lin, the twenty fourth led a small rider unit to cut off—", the teacher went on, unaware of the disturbance caused by two boys who were lurking inside a bush just outside her classroom._

"_Psst… Pssst… PSSSTTT…" the hissing grew louder._

_And when the teacher turned to the blackboard to write down some names on it, Azula turned her head back and exchanged glances with Mai who shrugged at her, indicating that she didn't knew what that hissing sound was._

"_Psst... Pssstt… Azulaaaa…"_

_Azula abruptly turned to the window and caught a glimpse of Lu Ten and Lin whose grinning heads shot out from a bush. Her eyes widened in shock as they waved their hands frantically at her to gain her attention. Azula, too dumbfounded to do anything else, waved back weakly. She could hear Mai sighed behind her and Ty Lee let out a girlish giggle as the two boys jerked their heads to their side with a terrified look on their faces before diving back into their bush right before a guard coincidentally walked by._

"_Yes, Miss Azula?" the teacher's stern voice snapped Azula out off her gape. Apparently she misinterpreted Azula's small wave as a timid raised hand._

"_Bathroom", Azula managed to croak. She felt hot sensation spread across her cheeks and her heart beat faster inside her chest. The teacher sighed her permission, prompting Azula to dash out of the classroom accompanied by her classmates' giggles._

_But instead of heading to the bathroom, Azula's small legs carried her to the opposite direction. She turned to the direction of the lawn where Lu Ten and Lin were hiding inside a bush. But she was just halfway across a hallway that led to the lawn when two pairs of hands pulled her off her feet into a nearby bush and gagged her mouth. _

"_Hmmmphh!!!!"_

"_Shh!!!" Lu Ten frantically hushed her. He was the one who gagged her mouth. Although she disliked the rough treatment as she squirmed inside the bush to regain a more dignified crouching position, Azula admitted to herself that she enjoyed the thrill of her adrenaline rushing as she, Lu Ten, and Lin hid from few guards who ran pass their hiding place shouting things like 'over there!' and 'Professor Liu saw them lurking around the lawn'._

"_Where's Lin?" Azula asked when she realized that Lin was nowhere to be found inside the bush._

"_Making sure you have a fluffy landing", the boy's muffled sound came from below her. Azula looked down and what she thought to be a soft mass of dirt turned out to be Lin. She was sitting on his stomach and steeping on his face._

"_Sorry", she grinned, half-guilty half-amused, and scooped closer to Lu Ten, who was trying to stifle a guffaw._

"_Bwah", Lin heaved as he entangled himself from Azula. "I thought I was gonna die…"_

_The three youths sniggered as quietly as possible inside the bush before a realization hit Azula, "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_Aaa…" Lin averted his eyes from Azula who shot him an offended look and Lu Ten who let out a chortling sound from her other side. Azula leaned closer to the noble boy menacingly like a tiger-wolf before…_

"_I heard a noise over there!" a man in his red Fire Nation armor gestured to the hallway. A second later he and at last five other men strode along the hallway, passing by the bush in which Azula, Lin, and Lu Ten were putting their hands on each other's mouths, each keeping the others from making any sound._

"_It's safe", Azula hissed, peeking from the bush. "What're you two doing here?"_

"_Saying goodbye", Lu Ten replied, glancing around._

"_What? I thought you won't be leaving until tomorrow", Azula asked, not believing what she had just heard._

"_Change of plan", Lu Ten said again, staring at the girl's widened amber eyes. She doesn't need to know about the decoy, he thought._

"_Listen Azula", Lu Ten softly addressed the bewildered girl. "I'm gonna go to the war this afternoon. You know what that means, right?"_

"_That means you won't be able to bail me out anymore?" she chuckled, wiping a single tear._

"_Exactly", Lu Ten grinned. "So, I won't be there to pull out whatever animal you put inside Zuko's pants or throw water at him whenever you put itchy powder on his robe anymore. And you know what __**that**__ means, right? No, cousin. It doesn't mean could do all those things anytime you want now", Lu Ten shot a stern look at the giggling girl. "It means that you should use smaller animals and use chili powder instead of itchy powder while I'm gone. Wait, that didn't come out right..."_

_Lu Ten slapped his forehead not believing that he had just imparted some of his dark wisdoms of 'the way of pranks' to his yet innocent young cousin while Azula and Lin snickered. "Well, try to behave, okay?" Lu Ten pulled the girl into a warm embrace and added a whisper. "I've hidden my personal stash of chili powder and dried bugs under your bed. Use it wisely."_

_Azula let go of her cousin, grinning and Lu Ten nodded his head to Lin while keeping his eyes fixed on Azula, gesturing her to turn to the other boy. And so Azula did and she noticed a similar expression on Lin's face: the expression of someone who was about to say goodbye._

"_You're going too?" she arched her brow at him, doubtful that she would get a 'yes'. Lin was a powerful firebender, yes, she admitted but he was too young to join the army. Three years too young._

"_Only halfway. I'll go tomorrow morning with my father and grandpa and secretly catch up with General Iroh's fleet. I've been appointed as Lu Ten's bodyguard until we reach Chameleon Bay. Once we arrive at the bay, your uncle will join the other battalions and I'll go home", Lin replied. His grandfather had instructed him to keep the truth about his trip a secret from everyone, even from the rest of his family (although Lu Ten knew the truth)._

_A silence ensued as Azula and Lin sat there fidgeting uncomfortably not knowing what else to say. Lu Ten's soft grip on Azula's shoulder pulled her back into reality. "Azula, we must go now."_

"Azula, let's go now", Ty Lee enthusiastically shook her shoulder, snapping her out of her daydream.

"Huh?"

"I just said that the palanquins are here. Let's go now", Ty Lee repeated.

Azula complied, still feeling lightheaded because she didn't even realized that the bell had rung and half of the class had left the room. She quickly gathered up her belongings and shoved them into her bag before she and her two friends trotted out of the classroom. And when they passed the hallway where Lu Ten and Lin kidnapped her, Azula absent-mindedly glanced at the rather disarrayed bush in which the boys said their goodbyes to her.

"—zula? Azula!"

"Huh?"

"What do you mean 'huh'?" Mai asked back.

"You're a bit weird today. Is everything okay?" Ty Lee shot her a concerned look.

"Yeah. I'm fine", Azula mumbled at the other two girls. Mai and Ty Lee, though, still looked concerned. _Well, at least Zuzu's still around_, Azula thought already planning various ways to put Lu Ten's farewell gifts which were stored safely under her bed into a good use and soon she was her cheerful self again.

"Who's that?" Ty Lee asked, pointing at a tall man in a fancy robe and a long goatee who was standing regally right beside a big red gold-ornamented palanquin used only by the members of the Royal Family.

"My Dad", Azula's answer came out more like a question rather than a statement.

* * *

"Feeling better?"

"A little", Lin muttered. Lu Ten was rubbing his back while they sat on the ship's upper deck letting the sea breeze comforting the younger boy's seasickness.

"Bucket… Bucket!!"

Lu Ten quickly shoved an empty bucket to his seasick bodyguard. Lin snatched the bucket just in time to spew up his breakfast with a sickening sound which caused Lu Ten to cringe. After he finished emptying his stomach, Lin shoved the bucket back to Lu Ten who investigated the content with a disgusted expression.

"Yuck", he exclaimed at the porridge-like content of the bucket. "What did you have for breakfast?"

"Same thing you had", Lin shrugged. "You were staying at my place, remember?"

"Oh, yeah", Lu Ten retorted pointing at something inside the bucket. "Look! I think that's the possum-chicken your grandma cooked for us."

"Please don't mention food in front of me for at least the next three days."

"Sorry."

* * *

_This is awkward_, she thought as she sat on the palanquin with her father sitting beside her, so close to her that she could feel heat emanating from him. It wasn't that she disliked Ozai. On the contrary, she adored him. In her eyes, Ozai was a model gentleman, an epitome of how a man should be: cool, calm, collected, a clever politician and powerful bender. Well, he was a bit scary, she admitted. But a man of his stature had to be scary from time to time. _And he is kind_, she defended her father from her own thought, just like how she defended him when Ty Lee commented that he looked scary. What about all the trips to Amber Island and all the fun they had together while they were there if not kindness. Family tradition? Yes. But it also proved that he is devoted to his family, unlike a certain Fire Lord after whom she was named who had never joined them in any of their trips or in other family stuffs, dinner for example, who forced his own family to refer to him as 'Fire Lord Azulon', not 'Dad' or 'Grandfather'.

"So", Ozai drawled. "What are you learning at school?"

Ozai's cold voice distracted Azula from the argument that was going on inside her head. _See_, she triumphantly gloated inside her mind, _he does care._ "We're learning etiquette, classical literature, history, and basic martial arts", she beamed.

"Martial arts?" Ozai turned to his daughter. "What kind of martial arts?"

"It depends. If you are a firebender, you'll learn firebending. But if you're not, you'll just learn some basic hand-to-hand combat", Azula answered smoothly.

"Really?" Ozai raised a brow. "And what kind of martial art are _you_ learning there?"

Azula could felt her heart swelled. She was anticipating this question. "Firebending, of course", she proudly declared. Normally, a baby firebender is born with a high body temperature that will prevail for a few days before settling down to normal level. That was the indicator parents used to assess whether their baby had a gift of firebending or not. In Azula's case, she was born with a normal temperature which caused her family to think that baby Azula was born a non-bender. It wasn't until she was four when she accidentally sneezed fire (and burnt down her bed cover as the result) that her gift of firebending was discovered. She could still faintly remember how brightly Ozai smiled at that time. Just as brightly as he did now…

"That's wonderful, Azula", Ozai praised. A satisfied smile hung above his goatee. However, Azula was only a six year old child. And like any other six year olds, whose worlds are consisted of either black or white, she couldn't decipher his father's smile as anything other than an expression of joy, of pride. Little did she know that there was something else than simple joy or pride behind Ozai's smile. Something deeper, something dark… something sinister.

"That is wonderful, indeed", Ozai praised his blushing daughter again. "So tell me. What have you learnt so far?"

"Well", Azula fidgeted. She wasn't anticipating this one, because… "I will still be learning basic breathing and chi control and physical exercise until next year. Our teacher, Instructor Huo, said that firebending can be dangerous if we learn it at our first year at the academy."

"Really now", Ozai snickered. "Well, that is what people who are afraid of fire used to say. Tell me, Azula. Are you afraid of fire?"

"What?" Azula asked back. She definitely wasn't anticipating this one. "No! no… I like fire. I like being a firebender. I—"

"Good", Ozai cut in. "In that case, show me what you have learnt so far. Now!"

"N-now? Here?" she threw her hand around the palanquin.

"Yes. Here. Now", Ozai ordered again.

"O-okay", Azula stuttered, feeling excited and puzzled at the same time. Excited because her father was showing so much interest in her, puzzled because… well, _her father was showing so much interest in her._ As long as Azula remembered, Ozai had never shown much interest in anything that was going on with his family aside from Zuko's firebending training. Even when they were having their trips to Amber Island, Ozai would still dedicate some of his time to drill the boy as he normally would in the palace's training ground, much to Ursa's dismay. The most he would do when Azula was around was nodding back when she greeted him or shoving her into Ursa when she tried to peek at her brother's training. But now, inside the four corner of the moving palanquin, Ozai showed his interest in his daughter's skill, in her life. And as such, the little girl tried not to disappoint him as she assumed a meditative lotus position and rehearsed the breathing and chi control exercise she learnt from the Royal Fire Academy for Girls.

"Good", Ozai said as he watched the girl inhaled cool autumn air and exhaled steam, blending her chi with her inner fire perfectly. "And now, extend your hand and direct your molded chi out of your palm. Keep it flowing as long as you can."

Azula obeyed. And as she extended her hand and let her chi flowed out of her palm, Ozai conjured a small flickering fire and brought it closer to her palm. Azula was expecting the fire to die out as soon as her father disconnected it from his own palm but to her surprise, the fire remained flickering on her palm, feeding on her chi to keep itself alive.

"Good, Azula. _Very_ _good_", she could hear her father chuckled and it sent a shiver of joy to her spine. "And now, tell me. What do you think of the fire you have on your palm?"

"It's—", Azula paused for a second, trying to find a fitting word to describe the flickering fire on her palm. "It's _beautiful_, Dad."

"It is, indeed", Ozai grinned, not on Azula's response but on the expression on her face as she stared at the fire she kept burning on her palm. The expression of pride and curiosity, of interest … an expression of hunger.

And as Ozai instructed earlier, Azula tried to keep her fire as long as she can. But when the palanquin came to an abrupt stop, signifying that they had arrived at the imperial palace, Ozai swept his hand at the fire, erasing it from existence.

"That's enough for today, Azula", he said satisfied with the girl's achievement and with her disappointed expression because she wanted to hold the fire a bit longer. _She didn't even break a sweat_, Ozai pondered, realizing that he had been putting his hope on the wrong child all along. Azula had more potential than Zuko.

And when Azula got up and was about to hop off from the palanquin, Ozai snatched her tiny shoulder to halt her and leaned forward to her. "Azula, starting tomorrow you can train with me every day after your school till dusk", he whispered, and it came out as an order rather than as an offer. Nonetheless, Azula beamed at her father's decision.

"Yes, father", she squealed, barely able to contain her glee.

But wait, what about Zuko? Would she be training with him? But first, why did his father pick her up from school today? Shouldn't he be supervising Zuko's training right about now? Ursa was supposed to be the one who pick her up from school because Ozai would usually be too busy with Zuko's training at this hour. Something wasn't right…

"What about Zuzu?" Azula asked. She felt her body tremble a little as she watched her father's smile fell and his face turned into a scowl.

"Your brother is weak and a failure. Do not concern yourself with him", Ozai muttered unmercifully, not caring for his choice of words in front of his six year old daughter.

"But, Dad—", Azula stuttered. She somehow felt an urge to say something to defend her brother because she knew how hard Zuko tried to improve his firebending, mostly because he wanted to keep up with Lu Ten and Lin who were both firebending prodigies. But under Ozai's stern gaze, she just couldn't think of anything to say. He had that effect on people.

"Enough talking, Azula!" Ozai snapped. He slid down of the palanquin gracefully, leaving the dumbfounded girl on it. "I'll be expecting you around this hour tomorrow. You are dismissed."

And with that, he turned and strolled into the palace, leaving the sweating and pale Azula behind, keeping his stone cold attitude all the way. But, when he turned to a corner where no one could see him, he let out a triumphant smile. _She will be perfect_.

* * *

"Feeling better?"

"Nope."

Lu Ten sighed at his friend who was supposed to be his bodyguard. Their role had somehow reversed. He had been babysitting Lin the whole day as the younger boy's seasickness didn't get any better. It was night already and he was tugging the younger boy to bed in their quarter. Although Lin was a very talented firebender, he was still just a human being. And like any other human beings, he had his own weaknesses, one of them was a chronic seasickness. Even though he was probably the most powerful ten year old firebender in the whole world, he still couldn't win against the ocean. Water does put out fire; Lu Ten snickered at the irony.

"Well", he said pulling a blanket over Lin's shoulder. "Your 'yucky-bucket' is right below your bed. And if you need anything else just kick me, okay? (their beds were only few centimeters apart)"

"Okay", Lin muttered.

"Goodnight, buddy", Lu Ten said again but he couldn't resist an urge to tease the sick child a little." Need a goodnight kiss?"

"Yeah. Here, kiss this", Lin lit a fire on his finger. Lu Ten laughed before plopping down on his own bed.

"Hey, Lu Ten", Lin called after about a minute of total silence. "Will everything be… you know, _okay_?"

"Of course it will", Lin heard Lu Ten yawned. "The enemy totally took the bait. This morning General Lu sent a messenger hawk informing us that they encountered, and neutralized, at least ten ambushes along the way since yesterday. We will be safe following them from behind."

"No, that's not what I meant", Lin said again, feeling an uneasy feeling on his stomach that had nothing to do with the swaying ship. "I was talking about… you know, everything. The attack on Ba Sing Se and all."

Lu Ten, finally catching on, simply laughed it off, "Oh, come on. It's _the_ Dragon of the West we're talking about. He's never lost a battle before. Besides, the ambushes our fleet encountered prove how the Earth Kingdom fears my dad. Ba Sing Se won't be a problem."

That's true, Lin thought. But the uncomfortable feeling just won't go away. Besides, it wasn't Iroh he was worrying about; it was Lu Ten's safety he feared for. Even though Lu Ten was an accomplished firebender despite his age, he had a tendency to be reckless and to underestimate his opponents, which was why Iroh forbade him from joining the military at first. Lin felt an urge to say something about it, but he knew that it would be pointless because the older boy would probably just laugh it off. So instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a sooty armband, the same armband he was wearing until a week ago.

"Hey, Lu Ten", he rolled to his side and held out the armband to the prince. "I want you to have this."

Lu Ten, understanding the gesture, took the armband. Well, they did think of each other as a brother and as such Lu Ten felt grateful that his friend was worried for him, not disappointed or ashamed or suspecting that Lin doubted his ability. But, as a prankster, Lu Ten felt that it was his duty to tease him again.

"Yeah, sure", he put on a fake dissatisfied expression. "Azula attends an academy and got a pretty bracelet and I'm about to go to war and only got a dirty rag. Geez, thanks a lot, pal."

"Shut up", Lin retorted, rolling on his bed and turning his back on Lu Ten to hide his burning face. _How does he know about the bracelet_, he thought.

* * *

Miles away from the ship where Lin and Lu Ten were on, a certain princess was also lying on her bed after a rather interesting day. Azula was lying awake in her room, unable to sleep due to her experiencing numerous emotions at the same time: excited because tomorrow she would start her firebending training with her father; a tinge of fear as she was reminded of her father's cold disposition towards weakness and failure and the possibility that she would fail to meet his expectation; pity for Zuko because he won't be able to train with their father anymore; a bit upset when she found out that Ursa didn't pick her up from school because she was busy treating Zuko who was suddenly came down with a fever (she could have let the palace physician to do that, Azula thought). And of course, lonely, because her cousin was no longer there to make her laugh with his witty jokes or ingenious pranks. It was an exhausting day, indeed…

And as she lied awake on her bed, she replayed a certain memory inside her head.

_She peeked at the corner. The front gate was just a few meters away. Behind her, Lin and Lu Ten was hiding inside yet another bush, awaiting her signal. After carefully assessing her surrounding, she turned to the bush and waved her hand._

"_It's safe", she hissed. A second later, Lu Ten and Lin leaped out of the bush looking rather untidy with few tiny leaves stuck on their hair and few light scratches visible on their faces. And as they approached her, she decided to quench her curiosity by asking the question that had been nagging her ever since she found out that the boys snuck themselves into the Academy._

"_Why did you have to sneak in, anyway?" she asked Lu Ten, puzzled by their rather unnecessary action. "You could have just told him who you are. I'm sure they would let a Fire prince and the twenty sixth Lin in even though this is an all-girl school."_

"_Well, my young little cousin", Lu Ten grinned mysteriously, playfully patting her head. "It's more interesting this way."_

And the memory from the day earlier sent smile on her face and drifted her to her well-deserved sleep. Tomorrow's training would be _interesting_.

Little did the three youths know that their lives would change forever…


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 – Training**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"Nice move, young man", Iroh commented stroking his beard.

"Thank you, General", Jiang bowed politely on his seat causing Iroh to mentally roll his eyes. They were having a Pai Sho game at the ship's upper deck. Behind them, Lin and Lu Ten were having a spar with the admiral supervising them, mainly to make sure they didn't set the ship, or each other for that matter, on fire. Iroh smiled to himself as he assessed the strategy that Jiang used in their game. Iroh could still remember well the time when he almost offered a place in the brotherhood he led for Jiang more than a decade ago. Jiang had all the potential in him, after all. He was wise, clever, and a powerful firebending master.

When Iroh first had his eyes on him, Jiang was a twenty year old senior practitioner of the Lin Family and a captain assigned to the Fire Nation Expeditionary Force. During that time, Captain Jiang and his thirty-man squad were ordered to seize and maintain a small fishing village of Yu Guo located on the westernmost coast of The Earth Kingdom. During this mission, Jiang showed not only his strength but also his wit. He quickly overwhelmed the village's uncoordinated resistance by using a swift surprise attack. The resistance didn't last a minute against Jiang's assault. And after seizing the village, Jiang quickly set up barricades and placed scouts around the village to counter retaliation from the Earth Kingdom soldier.

This move proved to be prudent because few hours later, the famous General Hwang of the Earth Kingdom Army mobilized part of his army, a unit worth a hundred men, from his battlement south of the village to chase the invaders away from Yu Guo. Jiang, realizing that he was greatly outnumbered, devised a clever strategy. He ordered his men to dismantle the barricades and confine all villagers inside their houses. Then he divided his men into two groups: five selected men stayed with him in the village and disguised themselves as villagers while the rest of his men hid themselves around the clearing north of the village. When General Hwang arrived, Jiang and the men who stayed with him approached them and claimed that the other villagers were taken to Senlin Village north of Yu Guo and that the six of them survived because they were at sea when the Fire Nation attacked. General Hwang took the bait and headed north to the ambush area. When General Hwang arrived at the clearing, Jiang's men who were waiting there attacked them from two sides in a surprise pincer attack. The Earth Kingdom's soldiers hadn't overcome their surprise yet when Jiang and his five men took advantage of the confusion and charged at them from behind. During the ensuing battle, Jiang had almost killed General Hwang. The general survived thanks to one of his soldiers who distracted Jiang's ferocious attack while the general escaped.

After this humiliating defeat, General Hwang mobilized a greater unit to retake Yu Guo. But when they arrived at the village, they found out that Jiang had already left the village taking his men with him. Feeling that he was no longer needed in the village, General Hwang decided to retreat back to his battlement, leaving few of his men to help defend the village, just in case. However, during the night, Jiang and his men staged a successful night raid and once again gained control over Yu Guo. General Hwang, enraged, led another wave of army. But when he arrived, he found no trace of Jiang's squad. Even the soldiers he placed in the village admitted that the said night raid was just an unfounded rumor. The dumbfounded General Hwang then ordered his army to march back home, this time taking all the soldiers he placed in Yu Guo with him because one of the soldiers he put there testified that the Fire Nation army had retreated from Senlin village which meant that Yu Guo was no longer under any threats.

However, during their march back, General Hwang was startled by a chaos that suddenly broke out inside his corps. The soldiers he stationed in Yu Guo suddenly attacked their own comrades. It turned out that Jiang did stage the night raid and after retaking Yu Guo, he disguised himself and his men as Earth Kingdom's soldiers. And it was one of his men who fooled General Hwang with the false information about the night raid and Senlin village. During the ensuing chaos, Jiang managed to blast his way to the general with his firebending, defeating many of the general's elite earthbender warriors in process, and hold the enemy general hostage, sparing his own men from having to fight a losing battle against the entire Earth Kingdom corps. Due to his bravery and his achievement in bringing not only the village of Yu Guo but also General Hwang's battlement to their knees with only thirty men, Jiang received a double promotion and the Medal of Agni Flame, which was awarded only to soldier who displayed unusual ferocity in battle worthy of the name Agni, the very first firebender who was taught the secret of manipulating fire by the dragons (the same medal his mother received after the infamous defense of Pohuai Stronghold).

Even though Yu Guo, Senlin village, and General Hwang's battlement was recaptured by the Earth Kingdom soldiers a month later, Jiang's heroic success still lived on. Winning battles after battles, it took Jiang only three years to rise to the rank of general. As a general, Jiang proved himself to be a fair leader, punishing wrongdoers unmercifully and rewarding good deeds generously. He was also a clever strategist. By many a time he had to face adversaries who outnumbered and outmatched his army and yet he always managed to pull through somehow. General Jiang's battalion was also famous for being not only one of the most effective fighting force but also as the most disciplined battalion in the entire Fire Nation military. His men had never ransacked villages or cities that they conquered, never broken their formation when under attack, never taken a step back when ordered to move forward no matter how fearsome the enemy in front of them was. In short, Jiang was a model military man.

But the admiral, Jiang's father, strongly rejected the idea of including Jiang into the brotherhood when Iroh asked for his opinion. The admiral had said that even though Jiang was certainly a powerful master firebender and a great warrior, he had a certain personality that made him unsuitable for the offer: he was too much a Fire Nation man. He was too proud, too orthodox, believing honor and patriotism to be the main reasons for his existence; which manifested in his methods of raising his son and implementing discipline to his men.

Iroh smiled to himself as he moved his boar tile. He knew the admiral was right, of course. After all, who knows a man better than his own father? But at the time when Iroh was considering his offer, Jiang was a very different man. _His wife's death was harsh_, Iroh thought, knowing all too well about the pain of losing a spouse. But hope for Jiang was not lost, Iroh thought again, casting a glance from the corner of his eyes to Lin who redirected Lu Ten's fire blast. After all, the boy had so much of his mother in him: her looks, her kindness, her wit, her gentle nature, and, of course, her uncanny talent for pranks. Iroh believed that the boy would be Jiang's salvation. After all, he had 'seen' it that Jiang and Lin's future were intertwined. But then again, he pondered moving his tiger tile to counter Jiang's offensive, future is not written on a slab of stone. Experience had taught him that much. It meant that there is always a room for changes, for mistakes, for choices.

"Check mate."

If Jiang felt any surprised by his lost, he masked it very well. He just bowed again in silence admitting his defeat, causing Iroh to mentally roll his eyes again and physically sighed. "Another match, General?"

"As you wish, sir."

* * *

"More ferocity!"

Azula complied. She sent more jabs of fire under her father's strict supervision. It was her first day of training and she had mastered the basic of producing fire only an hour ago. After a five minutes quick lesson of blending chi with inner fire to produce fire, Ozai ordered Azula to punch fire as many times as possible as the second step of her training. At first, Azula didn't always produce fire through the jabs of her tiny fists. But as she got more and more used to the burning sensation of her chi blending with her inner fire and the process of sending the burning chi out of her fists, she could produce fire continuously without failing now. But even so, she couldn't ignore the exhaustion that had claimed her tiny body. But the idea of asking her father for break, it frightened her.

Sweating profoundly and panting for air, she forced her body to keep up with the training. Besides, she thought, she only had to stand in a central stance and sent jabs of fire, nothing complicated. But still, doing it for almost one hour non-stop for a six year old girl at the first day of training… it was too demanding.

"Get up, Azula!" Ozai snapped. Azula had finally given in to exhaustion and slumped down to her knees. She could feel her lungs burning inside her and her heart pounded so heart it hurt her head and eardrums.

"Get up!" Ozai unmercifully ordered again.

"I-I… ", she panted. "I'm… tired…, Dad", she heaved. When she started her training that day, she thought that it would be only about producing fire considering that it was her first day. She wasn't expecting that Ozai would put her through the martial aspect of firebending so soon.

"Your opponent will not let you catch your breathe just because you tell him that you are tired", Ozai coldly scoffed. "He will take advantage of your weakness and strike you when you are unable to strike back. Therefore, you must eliminate your weakness so that your opponent won't have anything to manipulate. Get up, Azula!"

"But—", Azula tried to reason again.

"GET UP!" Ozai's roar greatly shocked her. She quickly scrambled herself up and assumed her stance despite her exhaustion. The sight made Ozai smiled proudly and the little girl cried silently. Ozai's smile quickly turned to scowl as he approached her daughter and wiped a single tear from her cheek with a finger. And then, he lifted up his watery finger to Azula's face menacingly.

"This", he made sure Azula get a good look of his finger before he went on, "will be your last tear. Crying is what weaklings do. And you, my daughter, are not a weakling. So you will never cry again in front of me. Do you understand, Azula?"

"Y-yes, Dad", Azula sniffed, terrified by his father's threatening stare. Her stance was getting unsteady now due to fear and exhaustion. "I'm sorry…"

"Good" Ozai said before he added, "And no more apologies. You are a Fire Princess. You do not apologize. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Dad", Azula repeated. She was about to apologize again but fortunately she managed to hold her tongue.

"That's my daughter", Ozai grinned. "Now, go on with your training."

And the princess obeyed, not that she had any other choice. Her sweat masked her tears that rolled down even faster on her cheeks. At her side, Ozai stood proudly watching his daughter pushing her limit.

"_She is perfect", _he smirked.

* * *

"You're putting too much power on your muscle. Concentrate more on your breathing", the admiral advised, catching a fire blast from Lu Ten lazily and squeezed it of. The spar Lu Ten had with Lin had turned into a two-on-one spar against the admiral after Lu Ten politely asked the veteran for some firebending tips. Luckily, the admiral himself had learnt the standard army firebending style and thus, was able to instruct the prince without having to give away his family's secret firebending style. Why, the admiral was once appointed as a temporary army firebending instructor himself. Therefore, instructing the prince wouldn't cause him to be challenged into Agni Kai by another orthodox family member (cough*Jiang*cough).

"Breathing, child, breathing", he said to Lin whose fire blast he redirected. "You are _still_ relying too much on your muscle."

Both boys were now panting. They had been barraging the admiral with fire blasts for almost two hours but the old man showed no sign of exhaustion. He didn't even break a sweat.

"Is this how you train at home?" Lu Ten hissed to Lin, panting.

"Pretty much", Lin replied, also panting.

"Geez, no wonder you're—"

Lu Ten didn't get to finish his sentence as the admiral energetically cut in, "Alright boys. Now it's my turn to attack. Defend yourselves!"

Both boys barely managed to counter his quick fire blasts when he abruptly attacked them one by one. And now, Lu Ten regretted ever asking the admiral for tips because never before in his life his father put him in this kind of training regimen…

* * *

"It was a very good first day, Azula", Ozai said, satisfied with his daughter's performance. Azula, though, said nothing. Two hours of punching fire had made her too tired to even talk. Her arms and legs had gone numb and she could feel her shoulders and knees burning from the inside. She cast a glance at her father with her half-closed amber eyes and tried to give him a smile although it made her looked like as if she was writhing. Ozai, noticing the gesture, knelt down so that his face could be more on the same level as her daughter who was sitting on the floor leaning her back against the wall. He changed his tone into a softer and more fatherly one.

"Azula", he lifted her chin up. "You are marvelous today. And I want you to know that I am very proud of you."

"_See, he does care_", Azula thought, trying to smile again. She had been battling a voice inside her head who said some mean things about her father. Her father's smile and praise had sent an inexplicable feeling of joy into her system causing her to regain some strength and banishing the mean voice. "Thanks… Dad…"

Ozai's smirk grew wider. She is perfect, indeed, he thought. And like any other good father out there, he pulled Azula into an embrace. "I am very proud of you, my daughter."

But the cold and calculating smirk that hung on his face as he patted her daughter on the back was those a good father would never have on his face.

* * *

"So, you're really feeling better now?"

"Yeah", Lin answered, breathing in the night's salty air. He and Lu Ten were sitting on their bed, ready to sleep. That morning, Iroh brewed him a special herbal tea to conquer his seasickness. Even though the tea tasted like nothing any human being should taste, it worked wonder. Lin had stayed healthy enough to assume his duty as a bodyguard and even to have a spar earlier that day.

"Great", Lu Ten yawned and dived inside his blanket. He didn't get enough sleep yesterday because the younger boy kept waking up in the middle of the night to vomit into his 'yucky-bucket'. The noise and the smell had awakened the prince each time and he had to empty and clean the bucket every time he was awakened. "Finally, some sleep. Goodnight, buddy."

But before Lin could say his goodnight, the ship rocked violently as it came across a rather big wave causing Lin to turn pale as fast as a white paper turned black when burnt.

"Bucket… Bucket!!!"

"Oh, crikey", Lu Ten sighed, quickly shoved Lin the 'yucky-bucket'.

* * *

She woke up from her sleep in her dark chamber. She didn't remember how she managed to drag herself back to her room after her training with her father. She didn't even remember how in the name of spirits she managed to climb up onto her bed. She did remember that it took awhile for her to fall asleep on her bed. Her pain and exhaustion didn't allow her to fall asleep instantly. And so, she sobbed into her pillow, calling for her mother until she had finally cried herself to sleep. She was still wearing her training garb and she could feel her skin sticky with dried sweat. And even though faint, she could still feel the traces of exhaustion on her body: her lungs were no longer burning but she could still hear her loud heartbeat clearly, her body was no longer in so much pain but she could feel numbness still claiming her feet and arms.

She turned to her side hoping that her mother was there, lying beside her like she always did whenever the little princess couldn't sleep at night. But she wasn't. And so Azula cried again.

"Mom…" she whispered to the dark night among her sobs. "Where are you?"

She tried to get up. It took more effort than she thought it would be. And when she stepped down on the floor, she slumped right down on the floor as her weak knees gave up on her. "Mom…" she sobbed again.

And as she crawled back up, she noticed a folded parchment lay on top of a tray of food on her nightstand. She wiped her tears and crawled her way towards it. She reached out to the parchment and unfolded the paper. She recognized her mother's neat writing informing her that Zuko's fever had gone worse and she had to stay with him at the palace's infirmary for the night. Azula felt another wave of emotions inside her: sadness, loneliness, emptiness… anger. Suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore. But her growling stomach demanded to be filled. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.

"_So, you see, there is absolutely no mother who wants to be apart from her children"_

"_Liar!!!" _the mean voice came back again inside her head_. _She took a fierce bite of her cold bread. Any traces of the warm and gentle kiss Ursa landed on her cheek when she was sleeping were cleansed away by yet another stream of warm tears.

* * *

**Author's note:**

1. Yu Guo means 'fish country'

2. Hwang is a common korean and chinese surname. it means 'yellow'

senlin village is the village where Hei Bai appeared in the episode 'winter solstice part 1: the spirit world'

and for hpswst101, sorry for the long update. i was spending my semester break in indonesia and the internet connection there was quite slow. but worry not! chapters 6 to 11 are now ready and dedicated to ya! thanks for the review


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 – Separate Ways**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

A week. That was the time needed for a ship to navigate through the water between the Fire Nation imperial city and the town of Gaipan. With the ship only a few meters away from the city, General Iroh released the admiral, Jiang, and Lin of their duties. And now the three of them was sitting around a table with Iroh and Lu Ten, having their farewell tea.

"May you be victorious on the battlefield, General", the admiral proposed a toast.

"And may you find what you're looking for, old friend", Iroh retorted, raising his cup. Everyone around that table knew the reason why the three members of the Lin Family were on that ship: they were heading to the Earth Kingdom Herbal Institute to look for a cure for Umma's chronic asthma. It was a long shot but it worth a try. Well, that was what the admiral told everyone, anyway. The real destination for their journey lies beyond the Earth Kingdom. They actually had to reach the Herbal Institute to meet someone who would guide them to their real destination. But, they would grab whatever medicine they could for Umma while they were at it so it wasn't a complete lie, the admiral convinced himself. And besides, it was Iroh's idea to use herb hunting as a cover so he could always blame him if things went wrong.

"General Iroh", a soldier entered the room and bowed politely at them. "We have docked at the town of Gaipan, sir."

"Thank you, private", Iroh nodded at the soldier before turning to his companions. "Well, shall we?"

And he rose to his feet and led them out of the room to the ship's upper deck. He would drop the three passengers off go on with his journey to Chameleon Bay. And as the adults engaged in their final farewell and wished each other luck, Lu Ten raised his fist to Lin. "Good luck, buddy."

Lin too raised his fist and slowly bumped it on Lu Ten's fist, "You, too."

He wanted to say so much more. _Be careful. Don't overdo it. Remember your breathing technique. Come back alive. Don't die …_ but most of them sounded ominous and so he instead said, "Try not to wear the armband, okay. It'll make you stand out on the battlefield."

Lu Ten grinned, fingering his pocket in which he put the sooty armband Lin gave him. "I know."

And after pausing for a second, the two boys pulled each other into an embrace patting each other on the back. Lu Ten and Lin had spent pretty much all their lives together as friends, as brothers: training and pulling pranks, practicing and goofing around, sharing rewards and receiving punishments together. They were inseparable ever since the day they became friends. But today, they must walk their separate ways. One would step into adulthood and prove his worth on the battlefield while the other would adhere to the traditional value of filial piety and prove his fidelity by finding his sick grandmother a cure.

And after they released themselves from each other, Lin took a few steps back. He and Lu Ten proceeded into giving each other a solemn Fire Nation customary bow. And after casting a final look at his brother, both Lin and Lu Ten turned their backs and walked to their respective father, Lu Ten traced back to Iroh who was standing behind him and Lin paced to Jiang and the admiral who had descended from the ship to the pier. It was finally a goodbye.

* * *

"So, how's your training with Dad?" Zuko tried to casually ask trying to hide a tinge of curiosity in his voice.

"Good, I guess", Azula casually answered not trying to hide anything not taking her eyes off an orange she was peeling for her sick brother. It was true, after all. The first two or three days of her training were complete hell. She had always come back to her room too exhausted to even sleep and the following day her hands would be too weak and shaky to hold a pen and she couldn't take any notes during her lectures at the academy. But soon, her body adapted to the harsh training regimen her father gave her. And by the end of the week, she could perform her daily training naturally without having to drag herself back to her room afterwards, she could now walk normally even after the torture; something that took Zuko a month to do.

"Good?" Zuko tried to ask casually again as if he was referring to the weather outside the infirmary where he was lying and not his sister's prowess.

"Yep", Azula again answered casually. She raised her head a little and caught Zuko scratching his face. "Hey! Mom said no scratching."

The fever Zuko had had manifested into chicken pox. Now, almost every inch of his body was covered with itchy red spots that made him looked like as if he was stung by an angry swarm of wasp-bees.

"Mom said it could leave marks if you scratched it", Azula had abandoned her orange and tried to catch Zuko's hand when he didn't stop scratching.

"I know", Zuko growled trying to release his hand from Azula's clutch while his free hand clawed his side. "But, it's so damn annoying."

Azula sighed, frowning at Zuko's choice of word to define his suffering. She then stood up and made her way to the cupboard where the palace physician stored some menthol powder. She took from the cupboard a bamboo tube filled with the fresh-smelling cool white powder and uncorked the cap.

"Here, take off your shirt", she ordered pouring some of the powder onto her palm. Zuko complied and did as he was told. He sat up and gave Azula some room on the bed so that the younger girl could apply the powder on his back.

"Where's Mom, anyway?" he asked, secretly scratching his chest.

"I dunno", Azula answered casually while her powdery hand rubbed her brother's back. It was also true, after all. Ursa had been so busy with taking care of Zuko; and Azula with her firebending training that they seemed to always miss each other. Although Ursa would daily check with the guard to make sure that Azula had come back from the academy every day and Azula would always find a tray of food on her nightstand every night, they had almost never run into each other. This week, they had only met twice during breakfast. But both of them were too exhausted to have any quality mother-and-daughter time during both occasions, Ursa because she was mostly awake during the night to apply menthol powder on Zuko's itch and Azula because she was still feeling the repercussion of Ozai's unmerciful training regimen. And that day, Ursa had gone to the market to acquire some herbs and spices to concoct a medicinal soup for Zuko and Ozai had to attend an important war meeting. And as such, Ursa had been gone since morning while Azula was excused from her training that day and she decided to check on Zuko in the infirmary.

"Done", Azula announced. An impish smile crossed her face. "Now take off your pants."

"What!" Zuko blushed. "Hell, no!"

"Aww… come on, Zuzu. It's not like I've never seen it before", Azula teased, her smirk grew wider as she added innocently. "I'm trying to be a good little sister who wants to help her sick big brother here. Cut me some slack, will you?"

"I can do it myself", Zuko still blushing snapped while his mind involuntarily replayed the memory of when the siblings were taking baths together when they were younger. He put his shirt back on and ordered, "Turn around."

Still smirking, Azula complied. She descended from the bed and plopped down on the chair beside the bed with her back on Zuko.

"No peeking!"

"Geez, thanks for the offer, Zuzu. But I just ate."

And Azula's smirk grew a little bit wider when she heard a growling sound from behind her. She could hear behind her Zuko applying some cool menthol powder on his lower body while her eyes wandered off on the blue sky outside.

"Hey, Zuzu?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think they will be okay?" Azula sounded unexpectedly timid. She absent-mindedly twirled the beaded bracelet on her left wrist.

"Of course they will", Zuko answered nonchalantly, rubbing some powder on his upper thigh. He, of course, knew that Azula was referring to Lu Ten and Lin and he understood why his little sister was worried about them. Both Lu Ten and Lin were strong and could take care of themselves, no doubt there. But both them lack the experience of fighting a real battle where lives, their lives, were put at stake. Technically, Lin had such experience thanks to his Ceremony of Ascension. But, according to his uncle fighting a firebender is very different from fighting an earthbender. Rocks are more solid than flames, after all. And Zuko was sure as hell that even Lin had never encountered an earthbender before.

"They'll be fine", Zuko assured Azula. "Uncle's with them, remember?"

"Yeah", Azula responded, still sounded a bit timid.

Zuko eyed Azula's back and he saw something different in the girl but he couldn't put a finger on it. She seemed so… lonely. _Well, Azula and Lu Ten were quite close. Partners in crime and all_, Zuko thought, _or rather a master and an apprentice_. Whenever Lu Ten had some free time between his firebending training, he would always try to spent it with Azula, sharing with her the dark secrets of the forbidden and frowned-upon discipline of the pranksters: some useful tips in applying itchy and chili powder on somebody's clothing, how to set up a simple yet effective and completely safe booby trap, how to make fake yet realistic-looking, equally disgusting and scary animals from clay, and most importantly the locations of dark corners or empty rooms where they could hide in order to shake off any pursuers.

Azula and Lu Ten were so close that Zuko had actually felt sorry for the girl when she couldn't send Lu Ten off at the day of his departure because she had to attend the Academy. The original date of the departure had been suddenly moved forward by a day and thus they had to cancel their farewell dinner. He had felt a little better when Azula came home and told him that Lu Ten, along with Lin, had snuck into the Academy to say goodbye to her right before his departure. He felt somewhat bad again when he heard from Azula that Lin would also be leaving the following morning. He was kept so busy by his firebending training and had neglected the outside world for the last few days before he got sick. Maybe that was why he didn't notice that Lin would also be leaving.

Then he caught a fever and had to be confined in bed. And then his fever had unexpectedly turned into chicken pox and he hadn't seen anyone aside from his mother and the palace's physician for a whole week. This was the first day he saw his little sister since the red spots conquered his skin, thinking maybe his mother prohibited her from visiting him because chicken pox could be contagious or maybe because Azula was still adjusting herself with the academy and was unable to find time between her study and homework to visit him.

So, yeah, he was quite surprised, in a pleasant way, when Azula showed up at his door carrying a basket of fresh fruit. He was surprised even more when Azula informed him that she was unable to visit him because she had been too exhausted after all the firebending training with their father. Zuko, knowing all too well about Ozai's harsh method of teaching firebending, sympathetically assented. It made more sense this way, he pondered. Azula had her chicken pox two years ago and the curriculum for the first year student at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls doesn't include homework plus Azula was a smart kid. Safety or educational excuses didn't apply for her anymore.

But he was still perplexed of why Ozai had decided to train Azula. He suspected that it was because torturing a person through firebending training had become some sort of hobby for him and since Zuko had to skip his training because he was sick Ozai had to search for a fresh victim so that he wouldn't have to break his daily ritual. But still, why Azula? Zuko had heard the story of Azula being born with normal body temperature and the bed cover incident. As far as he knew, Azula had never bended fire before, aside from the accidental fire sneeze two years ago. So why would a perfectionist maniac like Ozai be interested in Azula?

"I'm done", Zuko informed, dusting off some excess powder on his hands. Azula spun on her seat and face him again. She returned to peeling orange while Zuko started to apply some powder on his neck. A silence ensued between the two, broken only by the sound of chirping birds outside the room.

"Hey, Zuzu?" Azula stated again, cleaning the pith on the orange. She sounded more timid, almost afraid because the question she was about to ask was the real reason why she hadn't visited Zuko for almost a week: "Are you mad at me?"

Zuko turned to her, his hand paused in the mid-air. He could see that Azula was avoiding eye contact with him while her hands still trying to clean pith on the already cleaned orange. He had never see the girl looked so awkward and nervous before, except for one time when Ursa caught her trying to sneak into the palace training ground to peek on his training with Ozai.

"Why would I be mad at you?" Zuko asked back scanning his mind for any misdeed done to him by Azula. Well, he did find some dead beetle-ants on his pants a week ago but it wasn't something to get all work up for.

"Because, um…" Azula hesitated but she steeled herself for Zuko's response and went on. "Because Dad decided to train me in firebending."

Zuko blinked at Azula who was still trying to avoid any eye contact, but then he burst into a guffaw. "Seriously Azula", Zuko laughed, wiping a single tear. "I thought you just—"

The rest of his words were swallowed by more laughter while Azula shot him an offended and puzzled look. "Oh…" Zuko sighed. "That was a good laugh."

"So you're not mad?" Azula asked matter-of-factly, still feeling a bit hurt because of her brother's unexpected response.

"Why would I be mad?" Zuko grinned while Azula herself felt an inexplicable hopeful feeling expanding inside her...

"We can train together from now on. Isn't that great? You don't have to sneak into the training hall anymore."

… which disappeared as fast as it appeared… and replaced by confusion, followed by a terrible realization.

"Um…" Azula fidgeted, wanting to make sure and at the same time afraid of the answer she might get for her next question."Didn't Dad tell you?"

"'Course not", Zuko replied under Azula's quizzical look. "Dad didn't tell me anything about it", and when Azula's widened eyes didn't relent, he added, "You know, about you training together with me— _what?_"

Zuko innocently asked when Azula slapped her forehead and muttered 'dumb-dumb' under her breath. Well, Zuko was strangely happy when his sister visited him today that he had even tolerated her calling him 'Zuzu' all day but 'dumb-dumb' was quite offending.

"What did I say?" he asked the bewildered girl. "I just said I was happy that you're going to—"

"Well, I'm not!" Azula suddenly snapped. Zuko, a bit taken aback, felt a jolt of surprise when Azula suddenly shouted at him and he felt somehow guilty for causing the girl's outburst even though he didn't know what he did or said wrong.

"Well", he started after a moment of awkward silence. "If you don't want to train together with me, we can just ask Dad to—"

"No! It's—" Azula interrupted him. She had returned to her timid self and felt a subtle anger for her brother's thick-headedness. It was clear to her that Ozai hadn't informed Zuko about his decision to sack him and she would have hated to be the one who had to break the bad news to Zuko and regretted ever bringing the topic up. But there's no turning back now.

"Dad—", she paused briefly and gulped. Zuko's confused look didn't help at all. It would be easier if they were angry at each other. "Dad said— ", she tried again while hoping that someone would walk into the room and, I don't know, start throwing fire around or something, anything would be fine as long as she didn't have to say what she was about to say.

"What is it, Azula?" Zuko's voice snapped Azula out of her imagination of some dark figure, who strangely looked like her father, sending jabs of fire around the room, burning the whole place down and laughing maniacally as the rubles collapsed around him.

"Well", she steeled herself again and hung her head down so that she wouldn't have to see Zuko's face. "Dad said he won't train you anymore."

Azula's voice was near whisper at her last sentence but Zuko, who was sitting less than a meter away could hear her well. His eyes widened by the shock while his mouth hung open and a weird sensation, like someone had just punched his gut, hit his stomach. That can't be true, he thought. He had always been a great firebender. Well not at Lu Ten or Lin's levels but still he was pretty good, even the two aforementioned boys admitted it. His uncle Iroh even said so once. And Zuko had always been able to make torches or candles exploded when he was angry, which according to Iroh was the sign that he had a tremendous raw power as a firebender. While Azula, she just sneezed fire once when she was four. _That can't be true_, he convinced himself again. _It's gotta be a joke. Yes, a joke!_

"Yeah, funny Azula", he waved her sister off.

"It's true", Azula said again while she cursed herself in the inside for pressing the matter. _If Zuzu wants to believe otherwise, let him_, she cursed in her mind. But no! Zuko needed to know the truth and she doubt that her father would say it nicely to him. At least she would never call him weak and a failure, not seriously at least.

"It's not funny the second time, Azula!" Zuko unexpectedly snapped, trying to banish the awareness that his progress in his firebending training had been stagnant recently. It felt like he had hit an invincible ceiling and unable to break through higher.

"But, it's—"

"I said enough!" he snapped again at Azula, who was so scared she was about to cry. "There's no way Dad would—"

Zuko stopped abruptly, panting with anger. He turned his face away while he himself tried to bite back his tears and fear, unable to finish his sentence because he knew what he said wasn't true: sacking him was the thing that Ozai would do. "You're lying, Azula", he snarled through his clenched teeth. He knew that the girl had nothing to do with this but he felt an unbearable urge to blame someone, anyone other than himself. A classic case of 'kill the messenger' it seemed…

"I'm not lying", Azula seethed, trembling with anger for being accused of the crime she didn't commit. "Dad said—"

"I SAID ENOUGH!!!" Zuko roared, causing Azula to flinch. The sight of Azula trembling before him sent a strange wave of guilt inside him. Well, it wasn't so strange really. Zuko knew well that he was taking on his anger on an innocent victim but it didn't make his anger and anxiety disappear. But it still hurt to see his sister in such condition, so he plunged back inside his blanket and rolled to the side so that his back would be turned on Azula. And he wouldn't have to see the damage he had inflicted on the girl.

"I'm not lying", Azula whispered to Zuko's back, only to be met by a silent treatment. Her dam had almost broken at Zuko's outburst, but although her eyes had begun to water her tears didn't fall down. She clutched the orange that she had meticulously peeled for her sick brother but softly so that she didn't accidentally crush it. _Just in case if Zuzu come to his senses_, she thought, fighting the mean voice that said '_Zuzu doesn't have any senses'_.

"I'm not lying", she repeated.

"I don't care. Go away!" Zuko growled back, still refusing to see her.

"Oh, Azula", a soft female voice from behind the royal siblings announced Ursa's arrival at the scene. She walked through the door while carefully carrying a tray with a bowl of hot soup on it. She cast a quick glance on Azula, the orange, and Zuko who was lying inside his blanket and came to a half-correct conclusion. "Do you come to visit your brother, Azula? Well, it seemed like he's still sleeping."

She put the tray on the nearest table, sat down on the bed side and shook Zuko's turned shoulder lightly. "Zuko, wake up honey. Look who's here. She's got oranges. Zu— _Azula!"_

Ursa let out a flabbergasted yelp when a perfectly and meticulously peeled orange hit the back of Zuko's head. She quickly turned to Azula who burst out of the room as fast as her leg could take her, knocking down the chair she was sitting on earlier. Ursa sighed at her daughter's uncalled for action and turned back to Zuko and found that the prince wasn't sleeping at all.

"What's going on here?" she asked Zuko.

"How should I know?"Zuko asked back angrily before pulling the blanket over his head. Inside his cocoon, however, he picked the orange that his sister threw at him earlier and muttered his silent apology as he took a bite of the crushed fruit.

* * *

Contrary to popular belief, Ozai hated war meetings. It was only a bunch of old people who got together to solve some problems that 'play an important role on the wellbeing of our glorious Fire Nation'. Well, it that was really the case, Ozai wouldn't mind at all. But the council needed about five hours to decided whether they should sent more supply of exploding jelly to help Iroh tearing down the wall of Ba Sing Se or not. Five hours, for spirit's sake, just to decide between a 'yes' and a 'no'! Ozai blamed it all on his father. He believed that Azulon had grown weak and indecisive in his old age and the council was taking advantage of it.

"Were I the Fire Lord, I wouldn't allow such tardiness in discussing such matter. That old fool didn't even realized that those old cronies are more interested in making themselves look important in front of his crown. Were I the Fire Lord, I would personally blast those arrogant mugs if they dared trying to suck up to me", he pondered as he strode in a hallway that led to the palace training hall knowing well that his fantasy would remain a dream only because he was a second born. A Fire Lord, after all, was born not made. He cast a scornful look to the sky above as if challenging the heavens for their unfairness. The dark night sky, however, remained unfazed. Not that it mattered to Ozai. What mattered was to get the scroll containing a detailed report of the preparation of the 242nd squadron of the Fire Navy's Eastern Fleet under the command of Admiral Chan who was about to begin an operation to hunt down some pirates on the waters east of the Crescent Island. He left the scroll in the training hall yesterday when he was training Azula, a mistake that he rarely made.

And when he opened the door to training hall and he was greeted with the sound of flickering fire, panting, and frustrated battle cry. Inside the training hall, he found Azula, sweating and heaving, punching and kicking fire ferociously to the thin air around her. He assumed that the girl had been there for quite some time, judging from her heavy breathing and massive amount of sweat that covered her tiny body from head to toes. Ozai also noticed something different in Azula's fire. It was so much more intense and hotter than usual that even though Ozai was standing few meters away from her, he could still fell the heat. And the scene sent a satisfy grin on his face. At least there was one good thing happened today. And with that he turned away and closed the door behind him as silently as possible. The scroll was suddenly not important anymore. The worthless scrap meant nothing compared to his daughter's training.

* * *

**Author's note:**

i forgot to explain about General Lu in chapter 10. his name was inspired by 'Lu Bu' from the romance pf the three kingdoms. his red armor and ferocity on the battlefield was inspired by the the way Lu Bu was potrayed in the game that was inspired by the story, 'dynasty warriors' in which he almost always appears wearing a red armor.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 – Friends**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"_What the hell were you doing? How in the name of Tui and La can a firebender burn himself with his own fire?" Snowflake asked while bending stream fresh clean water from her water pouch to treat Hothead's burnt arm._

"_Well, accident happens", Hothead grinned sheepishly._

_It was a fine morning and Snowflake had been looking for Hothead in his tent because he had to take his daily medicine for the wound he received when Snowflake found him afloat outside the Northern Water Tribe fortress wall. He had something pierced through his side and whatever that thing was it went through his gut and left a significant and infected flesh wound. After a week of waterbending treatment and special Water Tribe horned whale soup, Hothead had recovered enough to walk and firebend but he noticed that his firebending was extremely weak thanks to his wound and the cold climate of the North Pole. That was why he, despite Snowflake banning him from firebending, snuck into the isolated clearing east of the city where he usually kept watch while Snowflake practiced her waterbending, to practice his craft. When he first seen Snowflake waterbend, he was fascinated by the way she controlled the water and bended the element to her will. It was as if the water had become an extension of her own limbs. The water was so graceful, so alive, so whole…_

"_Hey, moron", Snowflake flicked his forehead. "What're you gawking at?"_

"_You know, I used to think that a princess would be more, ah, what's the word again", Hothead, rubbing his forehead, frowned appeared to be in deep thought while Snowflake shot him a dangerous look. He wouldn't dare, she thought._

"_You know", Hothead's face lit up into a mocking smile as he said the forbidden word: "feminine."_

"_Hothead", Snowflake smiled sweetly at the firebender while her sapphire eyes flickered dangerously. "I think I'm gonna start a bilateral dispute between our two countries. Say, do you think a brutal murder of a Fire Nation scumbag, oh, sorry, I mean 'soldier' would do the trick?"_

_Hothead, realizing his mistake, gulped loudly. And he had to be wounded at this unfortunate time. "Sorry", was all he could say to save himself from his self-inflicted death sentence._

"_If 'sorry' could resolved anything, we wouldn't need a soldier like you to keep us safe now, would we", Snowflake replied, forming an ice dagger from the snow around them._

"_Eh… good point", Hothead tried to smile but an awkward grin was all he could muster. "Would it make you feel better if I tell you why I got burnt?"_

"_Why would I want to know that? For what its worth I hope I could burn you myself right now. So yeah, tell me how you got burnt. I might pick some useful tips", Snowflake replied sarcastically. She plopped down beside the firebender and threw the ice dagger away while Hothead silently thanked the spirits for granting him a little more time on earth. Luckily, Snowflake was the kind of person who got easily distracted. _

"_Well", Hothead started. "I was trying to, you know, bend fire like you do."_

"_Um…" Snowflake frowned. "I'm a waterbender. Are you sure you didn't fall on your head. I mean, snowdrift can be pretty hard if it has solid ice buried in it."_

"_No", Hothead replied curtly before he rephrased his sentence. "I mean I was trying to bend fire like how you bend water."_

"_And how exactly are you going to do that?" Snowflake asked. The conversation had finally got somewhat interesting. All she knew was, unlike waterbending, firebending didn't rely on outside source. Firebenders made their own fire. Her first assumption was Hothead burnt something first and then he tried to control that fire. But they were in the middle of tundra and that was nothing to burn. Surely Hothead wasn't burning his own hand…_

"_Well", Hothead paused for a moment, trying to find a way to express his thought. "When you bend water, you can control the water freely, right? You can expand the water, freeze it, unfreeze it, and change the shape as much as you like, right?"_

"_Yes", Snowflake drawled, still a bit confused._

"_Well, I thought I could do the same with fire", Hothead's eyes lit up with enthusiasm." If I can conjure fire and then bend it, imagine what I can do with it. I can make it bigger or smaller or more intense or softer or alter its shape. Imagine the possibilities."_

"_And exactly how did you burn your hand again?" Snowflake raised an eyebrow, already suspecting what the coming answer was._

"_Well", Hothead scratched his head sheepishly. "The fire kinda exploded when I tried to bend it."_

"_Thought so", Snowflake sighed. She then stood up and dust off some snow on her pants before she paced forward to the clearing a good distance away from Hothead. After reaching a safe distance, she gracefully waved her hands as she spun on her heels, turning the snow around her into a wave of water that rhythmically danced around her._

"_The key to waterbending is unity", she lectured as she waved the water around. "Water is the element of change. Waterbenders must adapt themselves with the water they're bending. If they do so correctly, the water will, in turn, adapt itself to the waterbenders flow of energy. So, in a sense, the waterbender and the water become one. Unity with one's element. A waterbender must learn humility and respect for the water. Only than the water will accept her as its master."_

_Hothead listened intently, not taking his eyes from Snowflake's demonstration of waterbending. He had seen the scene countless of times before, be it done by Snowflake or other waterbenders in the city, but it had never failed to amaze him. And since Hothead said nothing, snowflake went on with her lecture. "To explain it in a more practical way, when you waterbend, you extend your chi to the water. You reach out to it. And then you pull or push the water via the connection formed by your chi. It's like playing a kite, actually."_

_Snowflake waved her hands more swiftly causing the water to spin around more ferociously while still attaining its beauty and grace. "Your chi is like the string and the water is like the kite. You control the string, you control the kite. Do you get the general idea?"_

"_Huh? Yeah, I guess", Snowflake's unexpected question snapped Hothead out of his gape. "So, the key is control, right."_

"_Yep", Snowflake lowered her arms. The water she was bending fell down gracefully to the ground and blended with the snow below her feet. She shot a look at Hothead who was appeared to be in deep thought. A mischievous smirk spread across her face as she summoned another wave of water from the snow around her. "And now, for doubting my femininity…"_

"_Oh, crap", Hothead abruptly got on his feet and tried to run but…_

—_SPALSHED—

* * *

_

—_SPLASHED—_

"Must you do that every time you wake me up?" Lin asked the admiral irritatedly after the older man gave him another cold and wet wake-up call followed by Lin's usual ritual: waking up suddenly and putting on a comical fighting stance, realizing that it was his grandfather and not some giant sea monster, bending hot steam to dry his soaking cloth, and complaining.

"Good morning to you, too", was all he got from his unusually cheerful grandfather. "What a lovely morning we're having_—_ I wouldn't do that if I were you", he warned his grandson, waving a second bucket of water. Lin had resumed his sleeping position when he noticed the incoming danger. He shot up and cast a murder glare on the admiral through his black and baggy eyes. He didn't sleep much last night due to some reasons. One of them being the weird dream he had.

"You look terrible", the admiral commented rather untactful, eliciting an angry growl from his grandson. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Well, what about you?" Lin asked back. He noticed that his grandfather's bed, which was located between his and Jiang's bed in their three-bed inn room, was empty last night.

"Sharp as ever", the admiral smirked, a little proud at his grandson's constant awareness of his surrounding, a trait that he and Jiang tirelessly drilled into the boy. "I was out for an evening walk."

"In the middle of the night?" Lin asked again. "I'm not that stupid, Grandpa."

Lin's bratty response caused the admiral to break into laughter. "Well", he chuckled. "We'll see about that."

* * *

"Are you okay? Your aura look, you know", Ty Lee asked Azula before turning to Mai. "It has 'ing' sound."

"'Dingy'?" Mai, who had the largest vocabulary among the trio suggested.

"Yes! Dingy", Ty Lee squealed.

"I'm fine", Azula replied, still not taking her chin up from her folded hands. They were having a break at the academy and Azula had refused to move from the spot where she was sitting in the classroom when Mai and Ty Lee tried to bring her along to the cafeteria for lunch.

"No, you're not", Mai retorted curtly, unfazed by the deadly glare Azula gave her. "You won't be sitting here sulking if you're fine."

Unable to rebut, Azula turned away from the goth and drowned her face inside her arms. "Is it about your brother?" Mai asked again. She deciphered Azula's awkward fidget as a 'yes'.

"He still hasn't apologized to you?" Mai went on with her interrogation.

Another fidget, that was another 'yes'.

"And you still feel guilty despite you having nothing to do with your father's decision to sack him?"

Another fidget, another 'yes'. Mai sighed while Ty Lee looked concerned. The bubbly girl was used to a more colorful world where people got along well with each other, where 'angry' and 'upset' were nothing but words that almost nobody used let alone experienced.

"You know", Mai continued. "It might help if you apologize first."

And it didn't take Ty Lee nervously nudging her arm for Mai to notice the dark ominous aura the princess suddenly emanating. "Hey, I'm just saying", Mai replied offhandedly while Ty Lee cowered behind her back using her as a meat shield against Azula's demonic glare. A long moment of silence ensued, filled with Azula trying to pierce through Mai's solid defenses with only her stare, both waiting for the other to break first. Sadly, Mai's goth-liness was too powerful for Azula's unrefined death glare. The princess broke her glare and returned her face to her arms, followed by Mai's bored rolled eyes and Ty Lee's relieved sigh.

"You won't get anywhere if none of you are willing to swallow your pride and apologize first", Mai continued, sounded wise beyond her age. "And truthfully, no males in our nation are particularly known for their humility."

"Yeah", Ty Lee energetically added. "Like this guy I met on the market few days ago. He was selling this big fish, right, and he said his fish was the biggest on the market. Well, his fish was big but certainly wasn't the biggest. Then there was another man who also sells fish and got an even bigger fish than the first man."

She grinned as she finished her story. It took a while, about five seconds, for her to register a puzzled look her two companions shot her. "What?" she innocently asked, still grinning.

Both Mai and Azula exchanged glances before Mai said, "I think you have to stop braiding your hair. The extra pressure on your scalp must have prevented your brain to function normally."

"Huh?" Ty Lee blinked. Another moment of silence ensued, broken finally by Azula who failed to stifle her laughter.

"Pfft…" the princess stuffed her mouth with her hands just in time. Not that she needed to do so because a second later Ty Lee joined her in her laughter. Even Mai let out some of her rare snickers.

"And I heard that, by the way", Mai said curtly, pointing at Azula's gut after they were done laughing. "Come on, you're having lunch with us."

Azula sighed, a bit embarrassed because Mai noticed her stomach growling. She surrendered to Ty Lee, who enthusiastically pulled herself up, and walked hand in hand with her friends, Ty Lee in the middle, to the cafeteria.

"You know", Ty Lee happily chirped, grinning widely. "I have a feeling that we're gonna be best friends forever."

Azula snorted her response while Mai sighed before adding a more verbal reply, "You said that already at our first day of school."

* * *

"I hate you, Grandpa."

"Why, I love you too, child."

"Old man!"

"I _am_ old."

"Scar face!"

"And I wear it like a trophy."

"Afraid of your own wife!"

"Who isn't? Nobody's not afraid of your Grandma."

Lin paused for a moment, trying to think of another insult he could possibly throw at the admiral. It was kinda hard if to do if your grandfather was a model citizen, he thought. It was even harder if your grandfather was one of the most patient men in the Fire Nation. The admiral merely smirked at Lin, unfazed by the boy's snide remarks. He had this crazy notion that Lin must resume his training as soon as possible and proposed an ingenuous idea of making the boy carry all their luggage to enhance his upper body strength. It wouldn't be too difficult if their luggage weren't as big as the boy himself. And if they didn't have to climb a long and tall set of stairs to reach the ruin of the Earth Kingdom Herbal Institute. Yes, ruin. Apparently the city of Taku, where the institute was located, had been destroyed long ago by the Fire Nation. The institute, however, survived but not for long. With the intention to help end the war, most of the inhabitants of the Institute had decided to join the war by offering their services as field medical officers to the Earth Kingdom. According to rumor, there was only one person left in the Institute, an old woman who was a professor in the establishment. She survived by trading medicine with nearby cities and villages and according to people who had tried her self-concocted medicine, it worked wonder and had saved many lives. Maybe there was still hope to cure Umma's illness.

"We're here", the admiral announced. Jiang and Lin stopped behind him and cast a glance around. They were standing in the middle of what used to be a city square. A rather large fountain was standing on the middle of it. The fountain was surprisingly still working considering that a large chunk was missing from a badgermole statue that was spewing stream of water from its mouth.

"Where's the Institute?" Lin asked while unloading his burden on the ground, still looking around for a sign that said 'the institute is here' or something.

"Oh, we're not going to the institute", the admiral replied casting a glance around. Lin noticed that his grandfather had grown somewhat giddy since they entered they ruined city. The admiral cast a glance around every two steps as if he was expecting someone or something to jump at him out of nowhere.

"You stay here", the admiral ordered Lin. "Your father and I are going to pee."

"Huh?" Lin gaped at his grandfather, who dragged his slightly bewildered father behind him walked into a nearby empty building. _"Why did they have to go together?"_ he incredulously pondered. _"I hope they just pee, no funny business",_ he hoped… or maybe prayed… okay, begged. The very idea caused him to shudder.

—_SPLASHED—_

Lin leaped away just in time to avoid a crushing water wave that landed on the spot where he was standing earlier. He readied his fighting stance, casting a sharp glance around to locate his assailant. Whoever threw the water hadn't showed himself yet but Lin knew that he would attack again. The initial attack had missed after all. It just hit his luggage. The contents of the three large backpacks were thrown out and now lying on the puddle. He could see his father's spare shirts floating on the small puddle of water, his grandfather's underpants right beside it, and a black box cracked with a gooey brownish mud-like substance all over it. Somehow the box looked familiar…

"My lunchbox!" Lin exclaimed, finally recognizing the black box as the very same box Biao gave him which contained his favorite almond cookies. The box had been cracked beyond repaired and the cookies had been destroyed and dissolved by the water and turned into the gooey brownish mud-like substance. The sight of his spoiled treasure caused the boy to tremble with anger and he clenched his fists while hot steam spewed out of his nostrils. _Somebody must pay_, he felt a beast raging wildly inside him. _Whoever did this must pay… with BLOOD!!!_

A clapping sound behind him made him jerked his head to the annoyance. There, Lin saw an old man, about his grandfather's age, clapped his hands as he paced towards him calmly. He was wearing a rather thick blue fur coat which would seemed familiar to Lin had he not so hell-bent on revenge.

"Impressive", the stranger commented, he had stopped clapping now. "I thought my sneak attack was_— _Whoa!!" he barely managed to sidestep a fire blast Lin sent to him.

"Feisty, aren't we?" he smirked, avoiding another quick barrage of fire blast from the boy.

"Die, you old man!" Lin screamed, sending a fire arc at the stranger.

"It's that all you young people could say?" the stranger sighed at Lin's insult, lazily summoned a water wall to block the incoming fire arc. With a graceful hand sweep, he sent the water splashing to Lin and added, "I don't need you to remind me that I am old, you know. I do have a mirror at home."

Lin, who was getting frustrated because neither his attack nor his insult worked, summoned a fire dome to block the water wave and then molded the fire into a charged fire blast and sent it flying to the stranger with another death threat, "Die, baldy!"

And the last word caused a vein to bulge out on the waterbender's forehead. Well, Pakku had been worrying about his receding hairline recently and as his hairline got thinner and thinner, he couldn't help but get a little tiny bit worry about going bald completely. Okay, he got very worried but as a master waterbender of the Northern Water Tribe, he got a pride to retain and he wasn't supposed to care so much about his appearance, more specifically his receding hairline. And, he even asked Yugoda to_—_ okay, enough about the baldy.

Pakku conjured another water wall from a nearby fountain to block the fire ball. "Who are calling 'baldy', shrimp?!!" he shouted back, sending numerous deadly ice daggers at the boy. The insult he threw caused more damage than the ice daggers as Lin melted the daggers with another fire dome. An identical bulging vein decorating his forehead.

"Who're you calling 'shrimp', octopus-fish face?!!" Lin shouted back, punching a fire stream while he was at it.

"What did you just said, you girly-face under-height shorty?!!" Pakku yelled back sending a water stream with a rather uncharacteristically violent hand thrust.

"ENOUGH!!!!"

A dark figure leaped between the fire and water stream a second before they collided. The figure conjured a powerful fire dome to block the two elements. The collision with the water and fire streams caused a loud explosion and produced a thick vapor-mixed-smoke. Thankfully, due to the higher altitude they were in, there were a lot of breeze around the ruin and it didn't take long for the smoke to lift, revealing the admiral who stood at the spot where the collision occurred with hands spread to both sides: left palm extended to Pakku and right hand pointed at Lin, keeping the two from attacking each other.

After making sure that both Pakku and Lin had lowered their fighting stances, the admiral gestured both of them to approach him. They both complied and walked toward the admiral while keeping one eye at each other as if both were expecting the other to attack again. And when they got within his arm reach, the admiral placed a hand on each person's shoulder signifying that they were all comrades there and they had no reason to kill each other and, of course, to prevent them from attacking each other. Pakku was, after all, infamous for his temper and Lin wasn't exactly a person who would be polite to someone who had just assaulted him out of the blue.

"You know this baldy? Aouw! " Lin asked the admiral only to be answered by a forehead flick.

"Show some respect to your elder", the admiral chided.

"So this is the rumored protégé? A bit shorter than I imag_—_ Ouch!" Pakku's comment too was met with a sharp forehead flick.

"And you, act your age", the admiral reprimanded before giving the waterbender a Fire Nation customary bow. Pakku, despite his red forehead, bowed back with a customary Water Tribe bow: left hand grasping right fist, symbolizing unity. A second and a smirk later, both elderly pulled each other into a quick embrace. It had been more than a decade since the two friends met.

"This", the admiral continued, gesturing to Jiang who had joined them and standing behind him, "is my son, Jiang."

"Ah, yes. Of the 212th Battalion. Your reputation precedes you", Pakku also bowed to him, a gesture that was returned by Jiang.

"And this", the admiral put his hand on Lin's head, who was still sulking, and remarked rather proudly, "is the twenty sixth Lin. The youngest in the history."

Lin bowed briefly to Pakku and muttered a soft 'I hate you' replied by Pakku who also bowed to him and whispered 'likewise.'

But before any of them could say anything else, Pakku placed a hand on the admiral's shoulder and glanced around nervously. "I tried to hold her as long as I can. But, boy, that woman is something, alright."

"Huh?" was all the admiral said before his amber eyes grew wider as a realization hit him.

"_Run!_" Pakku hissed.

And so the admiral did. But he had only darted a good two meters away before a rather large bundle hit him square behind his head causing him to fall down on his face. A second later, a swift green flash passed through the other three bewildered males as fast as lighting and landed roughly on the admiral's back, who screamed painfully as a white-haired old lady in her green robe almost snapped his spine. The woman had her long white hair fashioned into a big tall bun which somewhat resembled the Fire Nation top-knot. The bun was held in place by what looked like a fence of green leaves and had a tree branch piecing the middle of it, keeping both the leaves and the bun in place, and she let the rest of her long hair fall freely behind her back. The old lady laughed maniacally, sitting on top of the horror-stricken admiral. Pakku sighed and rubbed his forehead. He had foreseen this turn of event. Jiang and Lin, however, were wide-mouthed and downright dumbfounded. Both were thinking the same thing, _'How in the name of Agni can the head of the Lin family got beaten by an old lady? In one hit, too!'_

"So", the old lady drawled. "You have the nerve to come here after all this years, eh?"

"Y-yes", the admiral stuttered, still trying to free himself from the old lady.

"After thirty years?" the old lady shifted her behind violently on the admiral's spine, eliciting a cracking sound and the admiral's agonizing writhe. "Thirty long years you abandoned me! Who do you think raised you after your mother died, you dimwit #$&* ungrateful piece of #%$!"

Lin didn't quite catch what the old lady was saying because Pakku and Jiang, who were conveniently standing on his right and left, covered his both ears right before his yet innocent mind got tainted by the totally uncalled for used of foul language.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the admiral was on the verge of crying now. His lower body had begun to go numb as the stinging pain on his back grew more and more profound. "I didn't mean it! I swear!"

"So, apologize to me! Or have you lost your manner?!!"

"But, I just di_— _ARRGHH!!!" the admiral tried to argue but was cut short by another shift and cracking sound. "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Good boy", the old lady smiled sweetly, patting the admiral's head as if he was a five year old boy before standing up and letting the admiral go. She then turned to the other males who, except for Pakku, looked slightly on guard. Her amber eyes fell on the youngest of the three, Lin. Her face suddenly softened into a more cheerful expression, which made her looked even scarier, and she approached the boy.

"Dad, I'm scared", he whispered to Jiang while still keeping his eyes on the approaching danger.

"Don't worry, son", Jiang whispered back, putting a hand behind Lin's back while keeping his eyes peeled on the old lady as well. "I'm right behind you."

Lin tried to step back but Jiang's firm hand prevented him to do so. And when the old lady finally reached him, she unexpectedly knelt down and hugged him. Flabbergasted and not knowing what to do, Lin awkwardly hugged back. It felt like hugging Umma, he thought. And when the old lady released the boy, she put both hands on Lin's face wiping his bangs off his face as she scrutinized the boy's facial texture.

"Good thing he doesn't have your mug", she yelled at the admiral, who was stretching his much abused spine behind her. The old lady went back to studying Lin's face and she noticed a confused expression on the boy's complexion. "You didn't tell him about me, did you?" she drawled dangerously to the admiral.

"Err… no", the admiral answered avoiding eye contact.

A silence moment ensued, broken by the old lady who picked up a pebble and threw it spot-on at the admiral's forehead. "Well, introduce us, you nimrod!" she barked.

"Okay, sheesh!" the admiral rubbed his forehead. He then gestured to Jiang and Lin and introduced them to the old lady. "This is my son, Jiang. And the little one is my grandson, Lin."

"Son, child, this _charming_ old lady is…" he then turned to Jiang and Lin and reluctantly added, "…my aunt."

* * *

**Author's note:**

Gotta love Ozai's Angels... when they were still 'angels' without 'Ozai' of course. I agree with hpswst101: we all hate Ozai!!!

And don't worry if you don't get the big fish and bigger fish joke. I don't get it either :)

And also some note about the locations. The town of Gaipan is the town Jet nearly flooded in the episode 'Jet' and the ruin of Taku is the ruin where Sokka and Katara got sick during 'The Blue Spirit'.

The admiral's aunt is beyond doubt the Herbalist. I took a liberty of making her a Fire Nation. She does have golden eyes...

And thanks hpswst101 and Ardala91 for the reviews. I really appreciate that. Thanks guys!

Oh, and hpswst101, don't worry about 30 chapters in a day. lol. New semester is starting and in about a week or two I won't be able to update more than one chapter a week.

And I hope you all enjoy the story!


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 – Burden**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"Bearded cat?"

"No. Cat."

"Rabbit-cat?

"Nope. Cat."

"Elephant-cat?"

"No, dear. Cat."

"That's weird."

But Lin took the white fur ball anyway and hugged it. He always had a soft spot for animals, even though he had no such luck when it came to taking care of one. He had countless of pet animals before from mammals, like bearded cat, wolf-husky, and hamster-dog, to avian and fish, like cat-owl, gold-clown fish, and a handsome messenger-hawk he received from the admiral at his tenth birthday. Sadly, all of them met untimely end which usually involved tragic accidents, ranging from food poisoning, accidentally hit by somebody's fire blast, to being eaten by another of his pet animal (like what happened when his cat-owl ate his gold-clown fish only to die when it choked on the fish bones).

"It seems like Miyuki likes you", the Herbalist said, smiling when Miyuki curled itself on Lin's lap and purr.

"Why did you attack me, anyway?" he asked Pakku who was playing Pai Sho against the Herbalist in the Institute's guest room.

"Oh, no reason really", the elderly shrugged, advancing his wolf tile. "Just one of my hobbies, I guess."

Lin narrowed his eyes at the smug waterbender, fantasizing at least five different extremely brutal ways to kill him. But since there was no way he could do any of that, he glanced to the Pai Sho board examining the moves Pakku was using. A smirk crossed his face when he recognized the gambit Pakku was playing with and he proceeded to leaning forward to the Herbalist and whispered some suggestion on the countermoves she could use. The old lady nodded and did as she was told. And in less than five moves…

"Check mate", the Herbalist announced, placing her red rose tile on the center of the board completing her victory.

"Ha!" Lin gloated. "Beaten by an old lady."

"Hmrph", Pakku's brow twitched. "She's got some help from you. It's two against one."

"Okay then. Let me rephrase that", Lin cleared his throat before putting on a very annoying mocking expression. "Ha! Beaten by an old lady and a kid."

"Why, you_—_!" Pakku was about to retort but thankfully he managed to suppress his temper.

"Oh, a Pai Sho game?" the admiral commented. He had just entered the room, followed by Jiang. They had been gone since morning before Lin woke up. Both of them looked a bit tired.

"A match, old friend?" he challenged the waterbender, taking the seat where the Herbalist was sitting. When the admiral and Jiang entered the room, the lady had got up from her seat to prepare some tea.

"So, how's the condition?" Pakku asked, moving his whale tile.

"It's safe", the admiral observed the board for a moment before moving his black-orchid tile. "The fighting is concentrated to the east around Ba Sing Se. The way to the north is completely empty."

"Good", Pakku stoke his chin, placing his wolf tile. "We can reach the North Pole in less than a week then."

"Ahem", Lin cleared his throat drawing both elderly attentions. "What do you mean 'North Pole' and 'we'?"

Pakku blinked once at the boy before he turned to the admiral and said, "You haven't told him?"

"I forgot", the admiral shrugged. He then turned to Lin and casually said, "Child, we're going to the North Pole."

"Why?" Lin narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Wasn't the plan for the trip to get Umma some medicine?

"There is a thing I haven't told you yet", the admiral said again returning his attention to the board. "It is our family tradition that every 'Lin' must pay a visit to the place where the Celestial Dragon style was born: The North Pole."

"The North Pole?" Lin asked again, wanting to make sure.

"Yep, the North Pole", the admiral said again.

"What about Grandma's medicine?" Lin asked. He felt a sting of anger because his grandfather would abandon finding the cure just for some stupid tradition. Well, the admiral wasn't exactly one who always upheld their family tradition to the letter. What's with his refusal to change his name and all. So, why not break some rules again this time?

"The medicine requires a certain flower as a key ingredient", the admiral explained, shifting his sitting position so that he could face the boy. "A flower called the moon-drop blossom. It only blooms during the full moon and the next full moon is due in two weeks."

"The journey to the North Pole, if everything goes well, will take about five days. The journey back will take the same amount of time", Pakku added. "That means you will have about four days to do whatever you have to do in the North Pole."

"What do I have to do there?" Lin asked.

"How should I know?" Pakku shrugged. "Ask your grandpa. He's the one who's done it before."

So, Lin turned to the admiral who suddenly looked rather solemn. For this journey, the admiral had to think of many covers to hide their true destination. To the royal family, minus Iroh and Lu Ten, he, Jiang and Lin were traveling as Iroh and Lu Ten's bodyguards. To his own family, including Umma, they were traveling to the Fire Nation colonies for a vocation to celebrate Lin's success in the Ceremony of Ascension. To Lu Ten, Jiang, and Lin himself, the admiral said that they were going to the Institute to find Umma a cure for her chronic asthma. In reality, only himself, Iroh, and the family elders knew about the real reason why they were performing their journey: a family tradition that stated that everyone who bears the name of Lin must perform a journey to the place of birth of the Celestial Dragon style of firebending, the North Pole. It was told in the legend that Yi, the Great went there and studied the fluid movements of the Northern waterbending style and implemented it into his firebending, resulting into a completely new firebending style. A moment before he completed his style, he had a vision of a golden dragon flying in the horizon, that was why he named his style the Celestial Dragon style.

"Does the old man know about this?" Lin asked, still suspicious.

"Sharp as ever", the admiral commented. He knew, of course, that 'the old man' meant Iroh. "This is the time of war. What do you think would happen if the Fire Lord found out that the head of the Lin family brought his heir and heir's son into the enemy territory?"

Lin nodded submissively. He knew what would happen, of course: they would be suspected for staging a conspiracy with the Water Tribe. The Lin Family was, after all, a very influential family. Most of the military high ranking officers were members of the clan. Furthermore, there was a bad blood between the Lin Family and the Royal Family which resulted in an Agni Kai hundreds of years ago. Even though the feud had been long forgotten, nobody in the Fire Nation could ignore the growing influence the family had over the Nation's military.

"So, what should I do in the North Pole?" Lin asked, absent-mindedly fondling the cat on his lap.

"I mustn't tell you that", the admiral replied curtly. Somehow, Lin was expecting this answer.

"Are you sure we can make it back in time?" Lin questioned again. He didn't want to waste a single day and wanted to bring the cure back to his grandmother as fast as he could. It always broke his heart whenever he saw Umma coughed and gasped painfully due to her illness. Not a single night he spent without praying to the spirits to heal his beloved grandmother. And now, he finally had some hope, real hope.

"I honestly don't know", the admiral said solemnly. "In my case, I stayed for a whole week."

"What?!!" Lin shot up angrily, waking up Miyuki and causing the cat to hiss menacingly before walking away towards the kitchen where the Herbalist was. "I can't waste a week there! We have to go home as fast as we can with the cure. We need to_—_"

But he didn't finish his sentence. He looked away from his grandfather and trying to bite back his tears. Even though both the admiral and Umma tried to hide it from him, Lin knew that his grandmother's illness had gotten worse. He was afraid that if he wasted just another day longer in the Earth kingdom, it would be too late. He didn't want to lose another mother…

"I know", the admiral reply sounded unexpectedly calm. He looked up to the boy's face with a confident expression. "She is my wife, you know. And I love her more than anything in the world."

His eyes soften as he said the last sentence. Lin was still refusing any eye contact while Pakku looked a bit uncomfortable being in the middle of the family conversation. He was an outsider, after all. Even Jiang looked solemn and kept silent the whole time.

"Child", the admiral shifted his sitting position, facing the boy completely. "You are a 'Lin'. And even though you may deny it, you are special."

Lin turned his head a little to face the admiral. He could see the old man smiled warmly at him as he continued. "You are the youngest ever to be bestowed the greatest honor our family could ever give. You are the youngest 'Lin' to ever walk the face of earth. I completed my visit in a week, so what? I wouldn't be surprised if you could finish yours in less than a week. You had done the one thing that I could never do, after all."

The admiral raised his chest proudly before he continued, pride and confidence were apparent in his voice when he said, "You become a 'Lin' at the age of ten. And I am very proud of you, child."

Lin, however, didn't share his grandfather's pride. So what if he was a 'Lin'? Or if he completed his Ceremony of Ascension at the age of ten? It didn't change the fact that he was only a ten year old boy. The journey to the North Pole, facing whatever challenge he had to face there, the fear that he might not finish whatever it was he had to do in time to get the medicine back to his grandmother… no ten year old should have all those burdens placed on his shoulder.

"What if I failed?" he said weakly, unable to suppress the tone of fear and anxiety in his voice.

"You won't", the admiral said kindly. "I know you won't."

How the admiral hated to be the messenger of bad news. It was inevitable, true, but it didn't make it any easier for him to break the news about the trip to the North Pole to the boy. All he could do to soothe his grandson was embracing him warmly and stroking his head gently as the boy dived into his chest.

* * *

One difficulty about being an elite school for Fire Nation nobles was the school had to make sure that the food it provides have the highest of quality, tasty but healthy. The Royal Fire Academy for Girls, being the most prestigious school for Fire Nation noble's daughters, understood this guideline. Therefore, the Academy always made sure that its students received a balance diet every lunch time. The menu usually composed of a bowl of rice, meat or fish, a plate of vegetable, a bowl of soup, and, of course, fruit for dessert. And today, the menu for dessert was an exquisite blood orange for each student. The fruit, despite its ominous name, was actually a very tasty treat and quite rare too because the tree can only grow in the Earth Kingdom's soil. Everyone seemed to like it, even the goth, Mai, showed some interest in the crimson colored fruit. Everyone enjoyed their dessert, everyone but Azula. She gulped down all her lunch except for the fruit she was clutching in her tiny hands as she walked down the corridor in the imperial palace. Not that she hated oranges, no. She didn't eat it because she wanted to give it to her brother Zuko, who was still confined in the infirmary.

She hadn't talked or seen her brother ever since she threw an orange at his head two days ago. _Who knows_, her innocent mind thought, _I might bait an apology out of him with this. _Yes, the siblings hadn't made up yet. One was stubborn the other was temperamental, so no surprise there. But, after mulling over what Mai said about apologizing first, Azula, the stubborn one, felt that it was time she made peace with her brother, the temperamental Zuzu, with the blood orange as a tribute. Orange was, after all, Zuko's favorite fruit. And besides, today was perfect. According to her sitter, who picked her up from school today, Ursa had to go to the Lin's Estate because Umma, after hearing about Zuko's chicken pox, had concocted a family secret potion to treat the sickness. And Ozai, unsurprisingly, had another war meeting to attend. That means there would be no interruption when she conducts her peace negotiation with Zuko.

A satisfied smile spread across her face as she imagined Zuko's expression when she gave him the rare treat and she sped up her pace to the infirmary, still carrying her school bag on her back but it didn't matter really. What matter was the orange she clutched between her tiny hands. Just another block, two more turns and about four minutes walk, two if she ran, and she would be in the_—_

"Azula."

She stopped abruptly and turned to the direction of the voice. It was Ozai who called her. He appeared almost out of nowhere in the corridor to the girl's left. Apparently the war meeting ended faster than usual. Azula waited for her father to approach her before giving him a customary Fire Nation bow. It was kinda hard to form the hand symbol because of the fruit she was clutching in her hand which was at least twice the size of her fist.

"What is that?" Ozai nodded to the fruit Azula had in her tiny hands.

"It's a blood orange, Dad", Azula timidly answered. For some unknown reason, she found her father more intimidating than usual.

"Oh, blood orange", Ozai drawled, sounded interested. "It is a rare treat, my daughter. One of the few good things the savages of the Earth Kingdom can ever produce."

Ozai then noticed the bag on Azula's back and the direction she was running to before he stopped her. His forehead wrinkled as he came into a conclusion, but it wouldn't hurt to make sure first and so he asked, "What are you going to do with it?"

"I… Um…" Azula fidgeted. She could feel sweat pooping out on her forehead. "I-I'm about to visit Zuzu. T-this orange is for him."

Her voice was as soft as a whisper but standing less than a meter away, Ozai could hear it clearly. His face formed an angry scowl that made the little girl shrunk and he snarled, "Haven't I told you that you mustn't concern yourself with that weakling!"

"I-I…" Azula stuttered.

"Enough!" Ozai snapped. "You do not concern yourself with your brother anymore! Do I make myself clear?"

"B-but—", Azula tried to reason but Ozai's menacing stature had never failed to make the princess as speechless as a mute beggar.

"No buts! It's a yes-no question, Azula", Ozai snapped venomously. "So, which is it?"

"I-I…" Azula was at the verge of crying now, but one of the first lessons her father taught her was that she must never cry. "Y-yes, Dad."

"Good", Ozai hissed. But not wanting to take any chances, he extended her hand to Azula gesturing the orange. Slowly and hesitatingly, Azula put the orange on her father's palm letting him confiscate the fruit. Ozai took the juicy treat and put it inside his robe before issuing another order.

"Go change into your training outfit. You're going to train with me today", he noticed Azula's trembling lips and added venomously. "And no crying."

"Y-yes… yes, Dad", Azula bowed before turning on her heels and ran as fast as she could to her room. She could barely see where she was going because her eyes were blurred with tears. But she mustn't cry so she tried to hold her tears the best she can while the mean voice inside her head taunting her loudly, urging her to break down into sobs.

"_Come on, big baby. Just cry."_

"_No, I mustn't! Dad said I must never cry. I'm a princess. A Fire Princess. I must never cry!"_

She ignored some maids who greeted her as she darted past them.

"_Why listen to him. He's mean. He won't let you cry? Hah! What kind of father doesn't let his own daughter cry?"_

"_No! He's not mean. He just wants me to be strong. That's all. That's all… right?"_

And intersection. Left, right, or middle. Left! Yes Left. And so her legs took her left without slowing down even a little bit.

"_Of course not! Stop fooling yourself. He's mean. He's evil… You know it. I know you do…"_

"_NO!! Dad's not mean. He just wants what best for me. I'm a Fire Princess and I have to be strong. That's… That's… shut up…"_

Just a bit more. Turn right, the second door at the left.

"_Dad's mean."_

"_Shut up…"_

There! She could see her door now. Just ten more meters…

"_Come on, crybaby. You know perfectly well that—"_

"_Shut up!"_

She burst the door open and jumped to her bed...

"_Dad's mean. Come on, admit it! DAD'S MEAN!!"_

Her front landed safely on the fluffy mattress and her face on the pillow…

"SHUT UP!!!!!"

There were at least two hundred and fifty maids and two full battalions of elite guards inside the palace. Yet there was no one, absolutely no one, not even a single soul, heard the princess' muffled scream as she sobbed into her pillow.

* * *

**Author's note:**

-sniff- poor Azula...

I'm gonna hate myself for making her go through what she went through in this chapter.

oh, and you might notice the joke from 'City of Walls and Secrets' about Bosco the bear. I change it into cat, though.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter although it's a bit emotional.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 – Fire and Water**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

A boat for a male Water Tribesman is like sideburns for Fire Nation males or sky bison for Air Monks or big bulky biceps for the Earth Kingdom brutes: it's a necessity and a symbol of masculinity. Like a sword owned by a swordsman or a bag of seed by a farmer, almost every Water Tribesman has their own personal boat. Pakku certainly had one. A medium size boat. Large enough to shelter ten adult males inside its hull but small enough for one person to man the steer. Although Pakku didn't use it often, he took good care of it. It was given to him by his father, after all. And it was the very same boat he used in his ice dodging ritual when he was but a fourteen year old brat. Everyone in the four nations acknowledge the Water Tribe's expertise in ship-building. Their ships are light but durable, sturdy and fast, able to withstand the fiercest of storms and go up against the tallest of waves. The pinnacle of nautical transportation. But like any other boats, it has one teeny-weeny bit of a problem…

"Bwargh!!"

… it still couldn't solve the seasickness problem.

"Hey! Stop polluting the water", Pakku chided in, unable to hide his smirk at Lin who was leaning on the edge of the boat emptying his stomach. Lin turned to the waterbender and shot him a murder glare. When they set out for their journey to the North Pole this morning, nobody said anything about boats. Well, not that anybody had to say anything, though. Even the weakest student at the subject geography knew that the Earth Kingdom and The Northern Water Tribe are divided by a vast strait and, therefore, naval travel is inevitable. But, with the intention to avoid being spotted by both the Fire Nation soldiers and the Earth Kingdom military who might be lurking in the north, Pakku had suggested that they set out on ship as soon as possible. He had, after all, hidden his boat nearby, on the riverside east of the ruin. The river itself goes north to the open ocean that connects the Earth Kingdom and the North Pole, so it was all for the better.

"I hate you", Lin hissed.

"Likewise", Pakku replied nonchalantly not taking his hands off the steer.

"Old man!"

"Oh, come on, shrimp. We've been through this before."

"Baldy!"

"Hey! Watch it, bean-boy!"

"Kids!" before Lin could retort, the admiral came out of the hull and interrupted their verbal spar.

"What!" Lin and Pakku shouted back in unison. Funny, Pakku answered to 'kids'…

"Grow up", the admiral said, rubbing his temple. "Both of you haven't stopped bickering ever since we set sail. At first, it was kinda cute but it gets a little annoying after some time. So, stop it!"

A second and a deviant grumble later, Pakku returned to his steer and Lin to his throwing up. The admiral walked to the bow to join Jiang who took the role as a lookout.

"How is it?" he asked.

"Safe so far", Jiang said lowering his telescope. The admiral nodded his response and leaned on the edge of the bow letting the breeze run through his graying hair.

"Why do you take me along?"

"Hmm?" the admiral turned to Jiang. He was lost in his own thought that he didn't registered Jiang's sudden question.

"Why do you take me along?" Jiang repeated his question without changing either his tone or his expression.

The admiral cast him a scrutinizing look. It was true that the tradition of the journey to the North Pole must be kept secret from anyone, including the other family members. Only the elders and the current Lins knew about it, in this case a handful of older members of the clan and the admiral himself as the twenty fifth Lin. But, although Jiang was as powerful or wise as any family elders, he wasn't old enough to be counted as one; he was only thirty six, after all. The admiral's decision to bring him along on the journey had caused some raised eyebrows among the elders, but he persisted on bringing his eldest son along even though he didn't say why. It was tough convincing the elders to agree with his decision, especially after his outrageous refusal to wear the family name nearly forty years ago which caused the elders to cast a certain amount of antagonism to him. But he believed that it was necessary for Jiang to come along. Even Iroh agreed with him when the admiral told him the reason...

"Because you need to learn something."

"Learn what?" Jiang asked again, rather sharply. He always hated it when his father gave him vague answers rather than a more specific one.

"I don't know", the admiral shrugged and he noticed an expression of anger flashed on Jiang's face for the briefest of moment. "There are times when a master has to provide only the opportunity to learn, not direct teaching. That way he could keep his student aware."

Jiang didn't say anything in reply. He knew that his father was right. A master teaching a student is very different from a general drilling his soldiers. While soldiers perform best when given direct specific orders, a student won't learn anything if his master keeps feeding him with direct teaching. Experience is the best educator, after all. And students who figure out the wisdoms his master imparted to him indirectly are always better and wiser than the others because they will have not only knowledge but also experience.

"Just trust me, son", he assured Jiang, staring deep into the cold amber eyes in front of him. "I'm your father and your master. I know what's best for you."

* * *

"I think it was Admiral Haian who led the Northern Fleet to intercept the Western Air Temple survivors", Ty Lee frowned, raking her brain.

"No", Azula rebutted, scratching her chin. "I'm pretty sure it was Admiral Kaigan."

Both girls then turned to Mai who was sitting between them and had the strongest memory among the trio. "It's Kaigan", she monotonously concurred Azula's answer, eliciting a smug grin on the princess' face.

Since Ozai had yet another war meeting and she was forbidden from visiting Zuko by her father, Azula had much free time today and she had invited her two friends to come over to the palace to study together for their upcoming history test. They were sitting in the palace's library, surrounded by shelves of books, around a round table on which scrolls, books, and ink-brushes scattered messily.

"Say", Ty Lee started after writing down the admiral's name on her parchment. "Do you guys remember that Lin kid? We attended his Ceremony of Ascension a while ago. Remember?"

"Yeah", Azula drawled suddenly aware of the beaded bracelet that hung against her skin on her left wrist while Mai gave Ty Lee a non-verbal response (that means she just looked at Ty Lee with bored expression).

"Well", Ty Lee enthusiastically dug into the pile of books and scrolls on the table, looking for her notes. "Do you know that his great grandfather led the attack on the Northern Air Temple?"

"Really?" Azula's face lit up by sudden interest while Ty Lee, after finding her notes, shoved the scroll under the princess' nose.

"Yep", Ty Lee sounded rather proud for knowing something that the princess didn't. She pointed a certain paragraph on her note and continued, "Look! It's here. It is said that he led an elite rider unit to cut off the enemy's escape route. And then in a huge battle he took down five of their leaders himself. _And_ he was the twenty fourth Lin, too. Cool, huh?"

Azula, after reading Ty Lee's messy handwriting, pondered. _How did I mi— oh…_, as she scanned her memory, she remembered why she couldn't recall this topic of lecture: she was being held hostage inside a bush by her cousin and the great grandson of the person mentioned in the class at that time. The flashback of how she landed on the ponytailed boy, steeping on his face in the process, made her smile.

"What's so funny?" Ty Lee innocently asked.

"Oh, nothing", Azula evaded, still grinning. "Just your handwriting."

"Hey", Ty Lee pouted, with Azula and Mai snickered at her. Well, Mai had once rather un-tactfully pointed out that the bubbly girl's handwriting looked like men's handwriting, and almost no man in the Fire Nation were known for having neat writing. Ever since then, Ty Lee had been practicing extra hard on her calligraphy although it was apparent that the result was less than satisfactory.

"I tried, okay", she sulked, eyeing Mai and Azula's neat and feminine handwritings enviously. "How did you guys do it, anyway?"

"My parents had me practice calligraphy since I was three", Mai replied.

"Same here", Azula added.

Ty Lee, who had just started learning how to write less than a year ago, was speechless. Therefore, she decided to steer the conversation away from this particularly sensitive topic. "Say, Azula", she turned to the princess. "I heard that you knew this Lin kid well."

"W-what?" Azula stuttered. She could feel her cheeks get a bit warmer. "W-well, he's my cousin's and Zuzu's friend", she tried to explain, covertly pulling down her left sleeve to hide her bracelet. "I just know him. That's all."

"Really?" Ty Lee grinned.

"You're red", Mai added curtly, drawing a dangerous glare from the princess to her.

"Are you okay, Azula", Ty Lee looked concerned. "Mai's right, you know. Even your aura looks a bit red."

"Of course she is", Mai answered Ty Lee's inquiry. "The red cheeks aren't caused by fever, if that's what you're thinking."

"So what caused it, then", Ty Lee asked Mai, ignoring Azula who grew more and more crimson like the cloth she was wearing.

"Ty Lee", Mai smirked mysteriously. "One day you'll know."

* * *

"Ouch!!"

"Stop squirming", Pakku grinned, trying to hold the boy down.

"You're killing me, baldy!" Lin yelled over his shoulder to the waterbender who was sitting behind him.

"What was that, shorty?" Pakku asked, a bit annoyed by the word 'baldy', as he scraped the coin harder on Lin's bare back.

"OUCH!!" Lin squirmed again. "You did it on purpose, did you?!!"

"Nope", lied the waterbender before he unmercifully gave the boy another cruel back scrape.

Gua Sha, or commonly known as 'back scraping', is a traditional Water Tribe's medical treatment. It involves the victim—, I mean, the 'patient' having his back scraped by a coin or something else with dull surface. Although painful, it is extremely effective to ward off a wide variety of minor ailments, from the common fever, muscle stiffness, flatulence, and fatigue to the more troublesome digestive problems, headache, and, according to Pakku, seasickness. For safety reason, lubricative substance, usually tiger balm or cajuput oil, must be applied on the skin first. It will act as grease for the coin in order to avoid any external bleeding. But sadly, it didn't do a thing to lessen the pain the scraping process caused.

"Ouch!!" Lin exclaimed, squirming on the spot for the umpteenth times.

"Stay still, you big baby", Pakku held his shoulder firmly. Lin could have sworn he heard the baldy snickered under his breath.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Lin hissed venomously.

"It's like my birthday", Pakku openly laughed.

"Baldy!"

"Shorty!"

"Who're you calling 'shorty'?" Lin couldn't help but feel a vein bulging on his forehead.

"You, of course", Pakku also had a similar bulging vein when Lin called him 'baldy'. "See anyone shorter than you around?"

"I'm not short!" Lin yelled. "I live in a big world!"

"Says the under-height shrimp."

And while the two were bickering, the admiral, who was replacing Pakku on the steer, sighed at them. Jiang, who was standing beside him, asked, "Aren't you going to stop them?"

"Nope", the admiral answered curtly. "I give up. And besides, I could use some entertainment."

* * *

"And remember", Ursa said to the three girls. "Try not to spill any soup on the bed, okay?"

The three girls said their 'yes, Lady Ursa', 'yes, Mom' in Azula's case, in unison. Ursa smiled fondly at the sight. The three girls looked really cute when they do that and she was glad that Azula had managed to make some friends at the Academy. She was a bit worried that her daughter would be ostracized, or, even worse, worshipped, because of her royal origins. But seeing Mai and Ty Lee, whose parents she knew well, got along so wonderfully with her daughter, she felt a bit relieved. After all, one of the reasons she decided to send Azula to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls was because she wanted the girl to learn how to be sociable. And, she admitted, to lessen whatever influence Ozai had on the girl. That was why when she heard that Azula had started firebending training with Ozai; she was so enraged that she confronted her husband personally. But Ozai was… well, Ozai. He was never one who would listen to someone he deemed inferior, in this case Ursa. He was, after all, a Fire Prince and her husband. Both politically and traditionally, he outranked her.

"Now", she smiled. "You girls play nicely, alright."

Another 'yes, Lady Ursa/Mom'. After landing a warm kiss on her daughter's forehead and patting the other two's heads, Ursa walked out of the room with a smile on her face. There was still hope, she thought. As long as Azula had some good influence, be it from her friends or other family members like Iroh or Lu Ten, there was still hope. _And besides_, she thought as she took the walkway leading to the infirmary, _it will be just until the girl turns sixteen, ten more years... just ten more years. _Just until the girl turn sixteen. After that, Ursa would make sure that Azula would be cut off completely from Ozai and all his demonic influence, safe under the protection of the Lin Family.

"Your mom's nice", Ty Lee commented.

"Yeah, she is", Mai unexpectedly concurred.

The two girls, after sending messenger hawks to their respective parents asking for permission, had decided to have a sleepover at the palace. It was mainly because they hadn't finished all their studying yet. And after some persuasion from Mai and Ty Lee, Azula, accompanied by the two girls, had visited Zuko in the infirmary earlier that evening… almost. They had only walked halfway when they coincidentally ran into Ursa who informed them that Zuko was sleeping due to the side effect of the medicine he took and advised them not to disturb him for the time being. And after the three girls told her about their sleepover plan, Ursa kindly offered them to have dinner of their own in Azula's bedroom. She reasoned that dinner with Ozai in the dining hall would be awkward for Mai and Ty Lee. Needless to say, both girls, who had seen the frightening Fire Prince before, gladly took the offer.

"Do you think your brother would be fine?" Ty Lee asked with mouth full of rice.

"I guess so", Azula replied, with mouth full of vegetable. She, however, felt a strange sensation on the pit of her stomach when Zuko was brought up, caused by the memory of his outburst when she informed him the news of Ozai sacking him, a meticulously peeled orange she hurled at her brother's head, and the exquisite blood orange she failed to give him. It caused her to lose her appetite.

"Which one is he, anyway?" Ty Lee's face scrunched up as she raked her memory of when she saw the prince with Lu Ten at the Ceremony of Ascension. "He's the shorter one, right?"

"Yep", Azula answered.

"He's cute", Ty Lee giggled, almost causing Azula to spit out the soup in her mouth.

"What?" Ty Lee innocently asked under Azula's 'you-did-not-just-say-that' stare. "Even Mai said so. Right, Mai?"

And Mai, unlike Azula, failed to retain the food inside her mouth. Ty Lee's unexpected question successfully caused her to spit the rice in her mouth out… on Ty Lee's face.

"Eww!" Ty Lee exclaimed, wiping her face while Azula laughed at the scene and Mai turned as red as the crimson bed cover sheet.

"Is that true, Mai?" Azula asked the goth in between her laugh. _Payback time…_

Now, one thing about Mai: when she was lying, she would stutter.

"Aaah… er… ", she looked around uncomfortably. "N-no…"

"So, why are so red?" Azula asked again. It was payback time, indeed.

"Yeah. Just like Azula in the library", Ty Lee innocently pointed out. She, with all good intention, placed her palm on the goth's forehead to check her temperature.

"It's not fever if that's what you're thinking", Azula said slyly.

"What is it, then?" Ty Lee turned to her.

"Ty Lee", the princess mimicked the goth perfectly. "One day you'll know."

* * *

**Author's note:**

Is there anything worse than 2 lectures and 1 tutorial in one day? Yes, there is: 2 lectures and 1 tutorial _in a row_. I hate Fridays...

Okay, now let's talk about something's fun. Names!!

1. Haian and Kaigan are, respectively, the Chinese and Japanese pronounciation of the phrase '海岸' which means 'coast' or 'shore'.

And also, Pakku and Lin always at each other throats is the classical personification of fire vs water (Lin being a firebender and Pakku a waterbender) and hence the tittle 'Fire and Water'. Clever, eh?

And to hpswst101, thanks for the review! And your relationship with your brother is like how Zuko and Azula are in this story? No kidding! That's great! I kinda modeled Zuko and Azula's relationship based on my brother and I when we were kids, he was the 'Azula' of course despite me being the younger one. I've been bullied, annoyed, lied to, toyed with, etc. etc. Until I got hospitalized when I was in Junior High for burst appendicitis. He suddenly stopped being annoying. And the I got hospitalized again in December 2007 for severe intestinal obstruction (My stomach hates me... T_T), and he suddenly became somewhat overprotective.

Well, big brothers will always be big brothers...

oh, Gua Sha is real. Check wikipedia, there's a picture there.

And there is a hint of 'chapter 10' in this chapter too.

I guess that's all. Hope you all like it!!


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 – The Northern Water Tribe, Part 1**

**-The Sanna Plain-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"_Slowly now", the firebender said, walking literally blindly behind the girl. He had his eyes covered by a blindfold and a hand on the girl's shoulder. Snowflake had a surprise for him, or that was what she said when she snuck into his tent just before the first light of dawn. After a rather painful persuasion, involving a water whip, two water splashes, and at least five death threats, Hothead relented to Snowflake who gave him a male Water Tribe outfit and blindfolded him before taking him to spirits-know-where. Thankfully, Snowflake had been thoughtful enough to provide him with a warm fur coat although his pride prevented him from being grateful; he was a soldier after all. His armor was his pride and not wearing it in a place that wasn't his home country made his felt naked._

"_Just a little bit more", he could hear Snowflake goaded him. The girl sounded strangely excited. And the only times Hothead had ever had the privilege of being in the presence of the girl when she was excited before usually involved him being water whipped, water splashed, and, once, downright pummeled by her bare hands. So, it was understandable why Hothead felt a shiver on his back that had nothing to do with the cold climate of the North Pole._

"_We're here", Snowflake cheerfully announced, stopping abruptly and causing Hothead to collide with her from behind._

"_Great", Hothead said after regaining his balance. He was about to take off his blindfold but Snowflake caught his hand._

"_Wait!" the waterbender exclaimed. "Not yet."_

"_What is it, really?" Hothead asked, a little annoyed because he hated not being able to see. It made him feel so vulnerable. "If this is another snow-rabbit, I am NOT catching it. Seriously Snowflake… you're too old to be playing with rabbits. You're six_— _Okay I'll shut up now."_

_Even though he was blindfolded, he could hear an angry growling sound indicating a coming waterbending attack had he not shut his trap. "The best thing you've said all day", Hothead could hear the girl snarled. And so they stood there, waiting…_

"_I'm cold", Hothead complained. Snowflake ignored him._

"_I'm hungry", he complained again and his sixth sense told him that the funny tickling feeling he had on the back of his neck was caused by a deathly glare cast by Snowflake._

"_Let's go home", Hothead said again, decided to gamble his life away._

"_Shhh!!!!" Snowflake shushed him. "Any moment now…"_

_And so they waited again. How did I end up here? What am I doing here? Hothead had never stopped reminding himself what the answers to these questions were. He was a soldier of the Fire Nation Navy. His ship was attacked and sunk by pirates. He was found floating outside the Northern Water Tribe fortress by Princess Nala of the Northern Water Tribe aka Snowflake. She saved his life. She treated his injury tirelessly day and night. He owed her his life. He owed her a friendship. He shared with her the secret of her waterbending prowess. It had been fun but, he would have to leave her and the Tribe once his wound healed completely. He had to report back to the Fire Nation military post or he would be regarded as a deserter and his family would feel the repercussions of it. And it would be difficult leaving the Northern Water Tribe behind. Because Hothead had fallen in love with this icy tundra, with the people who had warmly taken him in, with their food and festivals, with the blue eyes, the flowing brown hair and tanned skin… with her._

"_Okay", Snowflake suddenly said, snapping Hothead of his thoughts. He could feel Snowflake slid her hands under his blindfold, ready to rip it off._

"_And now…", she said slowly, sounded excited. "… Let me welcome you to…"_

_She swiftly pulled the blindfold of and shouted: "The Sanna Plain!!"_

_Lay before them was the most beautiful scenery Hothead had ever seen. A vast snowy plain with tall mountains on the horizon. The sun was peeking shyly from behind the mountains, casing bright blinding light on the plain. The color of sunlight falling on the snow… the harmony, unity of the two elements… it was magical. It was definitely the most beautiful thing the firebender had ever seen._

"_Not bad, huh?" Hothead heard Snowflake sighed. Hothead turned to her and he realized that the scenery wasn't the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The princess, with her dark brown hair flowing behind her, the eyes as blue as the ocean, and smile more beautiful than any angels and goddesses told in fairytales, to Hothead, the Sanna Plain, no, the rest of the world pale in comparison to her._

"_I used to come here whenever I wanted to be alone", Snowflake sighed, not taking her eyes from the plain. "Nobody comes here, of course. Because of Amarok."_

"_Who?" Hothead frowned, curious of who Amarok was. He didn't remember encountering anyone with that name in the city._

"_Amarok", Snowflake repeated. "He's the wolf spirit that haunts this part. That's why nobody comes here."_

_Snowflake turned to Hothead and misinterpreted his horror-stricken expression as those of interest and so she continued. "People said that he is a big snow wolf. He has blue eyes, snow-white fur, and can conjure snow storm. Cool, huh?"_

"_Has anyone ever seen this Amarok before?" Hothead asked, trying to remain calm. He couldn't see why Snowflake would think a snow storm conjuring spirit beast cool. Well, the ability to call forth a snow storm was quite cool, Hothead admitted. But still…_

"_Oh, many actually", Snowflake nodded, her eyes sparkling with childish interest. "My father, for once, said that he met Amarok when he was hunting in this plain. And my friend Iumi also said that she saw what looked like a giant wolf when she came here to play hide-and-seek when she was a kid. And_—"

"_We're going home", Hothead cut in curtly. He took Snowflake's hand and dragged her back to the city but Snowflake resisted._

"_No", she whined, pulling back._

"_Yes", Hothead said adamantly. He pulled harder but Snowflake still refused to move. She's strangely strong for a girl, Hothead thought. When he looked down, however, he saw that the girl had frozen the snow below her into solid ice encasing her feet._

"_Hey! That's cheating", Hothead frowned. "Look! Catching a snow-rabbit is one thing. But there is no way I'm catching a spirit wolf for you."_

"_That's not why I brought you here, dummy", Snowflake laughed while Hothead still looked suspicious. "I want you to be my lookout."_

"_Urgh", Hothead moaned. "Not again!"_

"_Hey! No complaining", Snowflake ordered. She let go of the firebender's hand and paced forward into the clearing. Not having any choice, Hothead sat down on the snow, grumbling. There was always a catch, he should have known better. And now, he had to be a lookout and warn the princess if someone approached them while she practiced her waterbending. Needless to say if the words got out that Snowflake was secretly practicing waterbending, the consequences would be unthinkable._

_Not that he hated it when he had to be a lookout for the princess. He secretly liked it. He loved watching the graceful and fluid movements of the waterbending. He liked it even more if Snowflake was the one who was performing. Even though she had never been properly educated in the art, Snowflake's waterbending was amazing. She waterbended like no other, it was like she had truly become one with the water she controlled. To the other waterbenders, waterbending was a discipline, a weapon, a way of life. But snowflake managed to turn it into an art… like the air she breathed, the flock of brown flowing behind her back, the sapphire orbs on her face. Water was a part of her. And so, after what feels like hours, there he was…_

_He was watching her dancing around in the middle of the snow covered field. Her movements were as graceful as a flowing river as she waved her hands around in a rhythmic motion, bending the water around her. Her face smiled as gracefully as the water that danced around her. Not even once she took her sapphire eyes, which enrich her angelic complexion, off the mass of water she waved around herself. _

"_Hey, Snowflake! Are you done, yet? I'm freezing here. Let's go back already", he said, standing up from the spot where he was sitting rubbing his cold hand._

_The waterbender girl turned to him, looking slightly annoyed. "Then conjure a fire storm or something! You're a firebender, for crying out loud."_

"_Yeah… a firebender in the middle of a freezing ice tundra. Real comfy", he retorted sarcastically._

_A smirk crossed the waterbender's face as she suddenly turned the water she was bending into a giant ball of liquid and hurled it to the firebender._

—_SPLASHED—

* * *

_

—SPLASHED—

Pakku woke up abruptly and put on a comical fighting stance. He looked around frantically for his assailant and found a smirking ten year old boy standing beside him holding an empty bucket.

"Morning, baldy", Lin cheerfully greeted.

"I hate you", Pakku said curtly, drying his cloth with waterbending.

"Likewise", Lin smugly retorted. He pulled out another bucket of water from behind his back and threatened the baldy who was about to go back to sleep. "There's still plenty more where it came from."

"Go away", Pakku yawned and rolled to his side.

"Had a nice dream?" Lin flippantly asked.

"Yeah", Pakku grumbled. "Before you ruined it."

"Bet in your dream you've got some hair", Lin chortled.

"You little—"

—SPLASHED—

Pakku shot up and was about to confront Lin when the boy threw the second mass of water, along with the bucket, to the waterbender's head. Pakku now wore the bucket like a full-face helmet while the water dripped all over his body and a quick footstep sound indicated that the firebender brat was making a run for it. He slowly lifted the bucket off his head, exposing his bulging vein and twitching eyebrow. He shot a murder glare at the stair leading to the deck and muttered, "I'm gonna kill that shrimp!"

* * *

" … _is the most magnificent thing I have ever seen. The outer wall is strong and tall. It is truly a marvel to behold and a troublesome obstacle, indeed…"_

Ursa was sitting in the infirmary. She was reading a letter Iroh sent from the warfront of Ba Sing Se out loud to Zuko, who was sitting on the bed listening intently, and Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee who were sitting on the side of the bed. When she woke up this morning, Azula had lost all her enthusiasm from four days ago about visiting Zuko. But, after some persuasion from Ursa, Azula, accompanied by Ursa, and Mai and Ty Lee who were visiting, had finally visited Zuko at the infirmary.

After mediating an awkward apology between the siblings, Ursa pulled from her sleeve a scroll that had just arrived two hours earlier from the warfront of Ba Sing Se. Zuko and Azula was excited, of course. News from a warfront was, after all, a rare thing. Exchanging letters with the warfront has to go through a delicate and carefully-planned process. First of all, messenger hawk is strictly a 'no'. The bird might get hijacked by enemies and the content of letter compromised. Even worse, the enemy might forge a false letter by mimicking the handwriting on the letter and cause confusion among our allies. So, letters from the warfront are usually delivered using a real messenger guarded by a small detachment of army, or big detachment of army depending of the content and the importance of the news. It is a hectic and long process because the messenger and guards must be carefully selected; only the most trusted are given the responsibility, and not to mention that human messenger takes a longer time to deliver the message since they can't fly. That was why not many people would send letters from the warfront.

"… _should have seen Lu Ten. He took down a small squad of earthbenders all by himself. But then he charged too deep into the enemy's camp and got himself surrounded by a full battalion of Earth Kingdom soldiers. Thankfully I got to him in time to save his sorry butt."_

Ursa paused for a moment to give time for the kids to laugh. Charging blindly into the enemy rank was something that Lu Ten would do.

"_And yesterday, we met some strange men. They wear triangle hats and robes instead of helmets and armors like the other Earth Kingdom soldiers. After investigating it, I found out that they are called 'Dai Li' and are the Earth King's personal guards. Those people are insanely strong. They are swift, deadly, and aggressive. We have to send General Zhu home because of them. They staged a night raid on General Zhu's camp and they almost killed him. Thankfully General Lu and I were visiting his camp for a night tea and Pai Sho game. We arrived just in time to help fight the Dai Li off."_

Ursa paused again for dramatic effect. She glanced at the kids and noticed thrilled and curious expression on their faces, including Mai's.

"_There were only ten of them. We managed to take down three but on our side, forty two, including General Zhu, were gravely wounded. They even managed to injure General Lu, but fortunately his wound wasn't life-threatening. He'll be fine as soon as we find his missing left arm."_

The kids gasp in horror, Ty Lee looked like she almost fainted. Even Ursa looked greatly shocked. She blinked on the scroll, making sure that she didn't misread anything.

"_Just kidding, ha ha ha."_

Ursa and the kids let out a relived sigh.

"_General Lu is fine. Apart from some bruises and a greatly hurt pride, Old Lu is otherwise unharmed. General Zhu, however, might never be able to walk again."_

Ursa looked away from the scroll and caught a sad expression on Zuko and Azula's faces. Both kids remembered General Zhu as a cheerful boisterous man, friend of Iroh who once visited the palace and taught them how to play Pai Sho.

"_And today, we will send another blow onto the wall. I am not sure how long it will take to break down the outer wall but I swear, for General Zhu's sake and for those who had sacrificed themselves for our Nation, I will not come home before I planted my banner inside the cursed wall. And thus, I ask you to pray for my victory in this battle. I will not be able to send any letters after this one for a very long time but I want you to know that you all will always be in my dream and my prayer. P.S. Lu Ten said hi." _

And as she finished reading the letter, Ursa rolled the scroll. She cast a glance at the kids who all had similar expression on their faces: satisfied because of the news they had received, worried because of the news about the Dai Li, and disappointed because they wouldn't get any more letters for a very long time. They were mostly worried. It was true that Iroh was a very powerful firebender and beyond doubt the best general in the whole Fire Nation Army. If he, the Dragon of the West, couldn't tear down the wall of Ba Sing Se, nobody else could. Sozin and Azulon had tried and failed to do it, and honestly nobody in the Fire Nation had much confidence that Iroh would succeed where his father and grandfather failed. But Iroh was the best they've got so, yeah, if he couldn't do it nobody could.

"How long does uncle have to be there, Mom?" after a moment of silence, Zuko asked. He missed the old man and all his antics.

"I don't know, honey", Ursa sighed, unable to say anything else. It was difficult to explain to an eight year old boy that a military campaign usually lasted for months, even years. She knew that, like any other kids his age, Zuko thought that his uncle would only be gone for a week or two, a month top. "We can only pray for his speedy return."

* * *

"Child, do you need help with—", the admiral entered the hull and asked but he stopped suddenly as his question was non-verbally answered by the Water Tribe garb and fur coat Lin was wearing neatly. After five days on sea, they had finally approached the North Pole. In about an hour, they would be greeted by the Water Tribe's patrol. In order to avoid any unnecessary attention, Pakku had prepared three sets of male Water Tribe outfit and asked the three firebenders to disguise themselves with it. The admiral had worn that kind of outfit once and after helping Jiang with his, he went down to the ship's hull to help his grandson. It might get a bit tricky to tie the end of the sleeves with the tight leather armband.

"Nice", the admiral commented. Lin had all dressed up. "How did you know how to put the clothes on?"

"I don't know", Lin shrugged. He was lying, of course. But still, he was sure that the admiral wouldn't believe him if he told the old man that he learnt how to put on a male Water Tribe outfit from his dream.

"We should get up to deck soon", the admiral continued, tidying his grandson's collar to make sure that his neck stay warm. "Nervous?"

"Nope", Lin replied. This time he wasn't lying. He wasn't nervous at all even though he knew not of what awaited him in the North Pole. He was ready.

"Good", the admiral believed him. "We better go up now."

They climbed the stairs up to the upper deck. There, Pakku was steering the boat skillfully to avoid the protruding icebergs on the frozen sea while Jiang spied around on his telescope.

"Remember", Pakku reminded the other three. "No firebending."

The other three nodded submissively. They were in disguise after all. And all they could do now was waiting for the Water Tribe patrol to spot them. They waited in silence. Yes, silence. You might think I'm lying but trust me I'm not. Miraculously, Pakku and Lin were not bickering like two annoying children Lin was and Pakku wasn't. Pakku was deeply absorbed I making sure his ship didn't hit any iceberg and Lin in suppressing his impatience because he just wanted to finish his visit as soon as possible.

After sailing for about ten more meters, the ship was suddenly stopped. The sea below the ship had mysteriously frozen and thick mist suddenly engulfed the vehicle along with its four riders. Jiang and Lin tensed up and fell into a fighting stance. The admiral and Pakku, however, looked unfazed.

"Relax", Pakku grinned, walking away from the steer. "We've arrived."

* * *

"Chief Arnook", a young warrior entered the room and gave a deep polite boy. "Master Pakku has returned."

Arnook, the chief of the Northern Water Tribe, nodded at the warrior, dismissing him. After the warrior walked out, he rolled the scroll he was reading pertaining to the patrol report of the city's perimeter. He carefully put the scroll back on the shelves and followed the young warrior footsteps out of the room. And as he walked in the hallway, he ran into a girl. She was wearing a purple female Water Tribe hooded coat. She was staring into the city below through the railing she was leaning on. The little snowflakes on her head and sad expression on her face told Arnook she had been made fun of by her friends again. The girl jerked her head toward him when she heard his footsteps. _Yep_, Arnook thought, noticing the girl's red puffy eyes. _She's been made fun of again_. And like a good father he was, Arnook knelt down on one knee and spread his arms, allowing the girl, who had her hood on, to run into his embrace.

Arnook was a good father, no doubt about that. But, he was only a human being and, according to Iroh, every human being must have a weakness, a certain level of imperfection. Because only by being imperfect will a person become a truly perfect human. A confusing paradox, I know. But if you think about it, it actually makes sense. And one of Arnook's weaknesses: he wasn't exactly good at soothing a crying girl. His wife was the one who usually do the job, before she died a year ago. All he could do was stroking the girls head and patting her back gently.

"Feeling better?" he smiled warmly, masking his own sadness.

"No", the girl pouted, burying her head even deeper in his chest. "I don't wanna go out anymore."

Arnook chuckled. He lifted the girl's chin up and his eyes met the girl's wide blue eyes. "You can't stay inside forever. There's a lot of nice thing you would miss if you just locked yourself in your room", he reasoned, still smiling.

He dusted off the snowflakes on the girl's hood and shoulder and wiped the little traces of tears on her face before leaning in and landing a peck on the girl's forehead. "Come on", he offered his hand. "Master Pakku has returned with some guests. Let's go greet them."

The girl hesitated for a while. Going out meant a chance of running into the rude children and they might make fun of her again. But, why not? At least she would be with her father this time. None of those little cretins would dare say something about her hair if her father was around, she thought. And so, she took the man's hand and walked with him hand in hand towards the Tribe's private guest room.

* * *

Jiang and Lin had never seen such sight. The wall of the Northern Water Tribe fortress might not be as magnificent as the wall of Ba Sing Se. But it was certainly beautiful to behold. The ice wall had, after all, shielded its inhabitants from a hundred years of war.

Pakku's boat was escorted by what looked like four extremely well-made ornamented rafts. On each rafts, eight men were standing. Two of them were steering the raft with waterbending while the other six were at battle ready. Pakku couldn't help but smile at one of the young Water Tribe warriors. Nearly forty years ago, he was one of the warriors on the rafts and it was his master who was guiding the guests: the fifteen year old Lin, the twenty fifth, and his uncle. Ironic, that the fifteen year old brat from four decades ago was now standing on his uncle's place as the guardian of the newest Lin and Pakku himself was taking his master's place as a guide. For the first time in his life, Pakku realized how far he had come ever since the day the two of them met. The admiral seemed to be thinking the same thing as he cast a meaningful glance and exchanged smirk with Pakku.

"Been a while", he snickered to Pakku.

"And no Fire Nation bow", Pakku snickered back, reminding the admiral of the mistake he made during his visit nearly four decades ago.

* * *

"I don't need any rest."

"Yes, you do."

"I just wanna get this over with quickly", Lin snapped.

The admiral understood the reason behind the boy's impatience. They were striding fast along the hallway leading to the guest room where Chief Arnook was waiting. And when they had finally arrived at the room, Lin opened the door without taking the trouble to knock first. Inside the room, Chief Arnook sat on a couch with a little girl, not much older than Lin, sitting beside him. Both of them had a similar surprised look on their faces.

"What should I do?" Lin asked, not caring about the courtesy of introducing himself first.

"You must be the rumored prodigy", Arnook greeted after overcoming his surprise while his daughter clutched his arm tightly. "I am Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe. Welcome to our humble city."

"What should I— Ow!"

"As you can see, sir", Pakku had entered the room and used Lin's improper way of conduct as a valid reason to smack the boy's head. "Despite his obvious bad attitude and lack of respect, not to mention his under-height stature", Pakku ignored Lin's angry growl, "this is indeed the twenty sixth Lin."

"A pleasure", Arnook stood up and gave Lin a deep bow. "I believe you are tired after a long jour—"

"No", Lin cut in after returning Arnook's bow hastily. "I want to do this quickly."

"I agree."

Lin turned to his supporter who was none other than the master waterbender. Even the admiral and Jiang who came into the room after Pakku looked surprised but not as surprised as Lin himself.

"Master Pakku", Arnook sounded unsure. "Surely our guests need some rest before—"

"I agree with that, too", Pakku nodded. "But the longer they stay here the greater the risk of their identities being compromised to the public."

Pakku cast a scrutinizing look at the wide-mouthed Lin before he continued. "But if the boy believes that he is fit enough to do the ritual right away, I say let him. It's better for them and for us that way. I'll take him to the place myself if I have to."

"If you say so, Master Pakku", Arnook submitted to the waterbender's reasoning. "You may take him to the plain as soon as possible."

"Thank you, sir", Pakku bowed.

* * *

"So, what should I do there?"

"Geez, shrimp. Haven't I told you to ask your grandfather about that?"

"What was that, baldy?"

"What was what?"

"What did you just call me?"

"Oh, you mean 'shrimp'?"

Lin was about to retort but the admiral cut in. "When we get there", he said, intentionally paced between Pakku and Lin, "you will need to meditate. You need to think on everything you've been through up until now."

"And then what?"

"I don't know", the admiral shrugged.

"What do mean you don't know?!" Lin angrily asked.

"You have to stay there and meditate", the admiral repeated firmly. "That's all I can say. Until you get… _something,_ you must never return to the city."

"What do you mean 'something'?" Lin asked again, already suspecting what the answer was.

"I don't know", the admiral said again while Lin rolled his eyes. _Figures…_

"But", the admiral added. "You will know what that something is. It's different for everybody."

"We're here", Pakku announced.

In front of them lay a vast plain. The whole landscape was covered by thick white snow. A tall mountain range fenced the horizon. The plain was so wide, so empty and somehow Lin felt that the landmark was strangely familiar. But it was impossible, he never even seen snow before in his life. So, how could this snow-covered plain seem so familiar?

"Gentlemen", Pakku turned to his companions. "Welcome to…"

"The Sanna Plain…" Lin sighed, finishing the waterbender's sentence.

_**To be continued…

* * *

**_

**Author's note:**

1. Sanna is another name for Sedna, the Inuit goddess of maritime animals.

2. Amarok is a giant wolf in Inuit mythology

3. Iumi is a Finnish word for 'snow'

3. Zhu (朱) is a generic Chinese surname.

Oh, and the last part of Snowflake-Hothead scene at the beginning was actually taken from chapter 5.

And to Hpswst101, I wish I could see your friend's face when you spat food on her face. lol. I once spat water on my brother's face. It was intentional, though. I was drinking a glass of water and he was being annoying by making funny faces and trying to make me laugh. And then I thought since I had water in my mouth and he was asking for it, I might as well give it to him. :) Was I not such a sweet little brother? haha

Oh, and for the Chinese/Japanese names, I primarily use two websites: dictionary . com and wiktionary.

Dictionary .com has a nice feature we could use to translate words into many other languages. The thing is, say we want to translate 'snow' into Chinese. It will give you the Chinese character '雪' instead of 'Xue' which is the pronunciation of the character. And that's where wiktionary come into the picture. Just copy-paste the Chinese character into the search bar and enjoy the ride.

And thanks a lot for the review. I hope you enjoy Iroh's joke. :)


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 – The Northern Water Tribe, Part 2**

**-Something-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"_Private!" the man called, glancing around. When he turned to his left, he found the man leaning on the ship's railing. Upset because the private didn't respond to his call, the commander strode to him and roughly pulled his shoulder, only to have the seasick private threw up all over his armor._

"_I'm so sorry, sir", the private apologized, fidgeting awkwardly between giving a Fire Nation hand symbol without a bow (which is the form of salute in the military) and trying to wipe his vomit off his commanding officer's cloth._

"_What the hell are you doing?" the commander slapped the private's hand away. "You are supposed to be mopping the deck!"_

"_I was, sir", the private sheepishly grinned, glancing the mop and the bucket of water he had abandoned below his feet before he had an urge to empty his stomach. Commander Gan seemed to understand this gesture. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, cursing the spirits, or rather his own commanding officers, inside his mind for assigning this clumsy seasick private under his command. _

"_Why in the name of Agni did you sign up for the navy if you can't handle seasickness, private?"_

"_I… uh, I didn't, sir", the private scratched his head nervously. "I wanted to join the army, sir. But they don't have any openings and so I, uh, I was transferred here."_

"_Figures", Gan muttered under his breath. In peaceful times under the rule of Fire Lord Hizen, forming and maintaining friendly relationships with the remaining three nations were considered a top priority. Overseas trading, cultural exchanges, and formal visits by the leaders happened often and for the Fire Nation, it meant the demand for larger and more efficient navy was greater than the demand for army's foot soldier. It's an island nation, after all. And an island nation that had trading ships and royalties from the four nations, including the Fire Lord himself, sailing its waters at least twice a month, it meant only one thing: pirates!_

_Just a month ago, for example, Chief Mudhra, the Tribal Chief of the Northern Water Tribe, was attacked when he was visiting the Fire Nation by pirates. The chief survived, thankfully. The pirates were certainly stupid enough to attack a ship full of elite waterbender warriors. However, a conflict almost broke out between the nations when the enraged chief demanded the Fire Lord to catch the perpetrators rather forcibly. And that was why the 51__st__ naval squadron under Commander Gan was sent out. With the order to find and execute the pirates, Gan and his squadron set sail to the north where Chief Mudhra's fleet was attacked and with the information provided by the Western Air Monks who had witnessed the said attack, he set sail to the southern waters of the North Pole where the pirates were said to be hiding._

"_Listen private", Gan took off his vomit stained breastplate and threw it to the private. "Go clean my armor."_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_And", Gan hesitated for a moment. "Go get some rest after you finish with my armor."_

"_Sir. Yes, sir", the private grinned. Serving under Commander Gan wasn't so bad, he thought. The guy might be grumpy and scary sometimes but he was a nice guy. _

"_One more thing", Gan added just before the private about to turn on his heels. "We're expecting an attack from the pirates soon. So, I want everyone at battle ready, understood?"_

"_But, sir", the private frowned a little. "We're in the middle an open ocean, sir. Surely the helmsman will spot them if—"_

"_Trust me, private. I know how they work", Gan cut in and he added bitterly. "I used to be one of them."_

_The rumor of Commander Gan being an ex-pirate was known to almost everyone in the Fire Nation. Gan the Leviathan was what he was called in his youth. A daring pirate and skilled seaman, his band of outlaws was feared throughout the four nations as the most ruthless pirate until Fire Prince Hizen, the Crown Prince of the Fire Throne at that time, led a naval squadron to subdue his group. _

_In a monumental naval showdown, the prince and the pirate engaged in duel which resulted in the prince's victory. Gan was captured and his fleet was utterly destroyed. Prince Hizen, however, spared his life out of respect for his skill. He even pleaded with his father, Fire Lord Zurya, to grant Gan an amnesty and bestow him an official rank in the Nation's navy. Needless to say, Hizen's proposal was met with less than satisfactory response, even from Gan who thought the prince was a brainless idiot. Hizen, however, persisted. Therefore, Fire Lord Zurya offered a deal: he would fulfill Hizen's plea if Hizen relinquished his birthright as a crown prince. Zurya though his son wouldn't sacrifice his status for a mere pirate, but he was gravely mistaken. Without showing any sign of hesitation, Fire Prince Hizen took off his royal headpiece and respectfully offered it back to his bewildered father. When Zurya asked him why he would go so far for a brutish pirate, Hizen argued that Gan had so much potential and it would be for the best interest of the Fire Nation if Gan could be persuaded to serve the country rather than executed for his past crime. And for the best interest of his country, Hizen would gladly relinquish his birthright. Zurya was moved by his son's sincerity and decided not only to let Hizen kept his status but also to fulfill his plea. The news of the prince's selflessness spread throughout the entire nation and Gan was greatly moved by the prince's trust in him. And when he was brought to the royal court, Gan tearfully thanked the Crown Prince for his kindness and vowed an eternal loyalty to him and to the crown. _

_Years later, Hizen succeeded his father, and Commander Gan's 51__st__ naval squadron was feared and respected as the most effective pirate hunter. Both men also formed a steadfast friendship, thanks to the many occasions they fought together side by side in their pirate hunt. And therefore, when the delegation of the Northern Water Tribe demanded Hizen to deal with the pirate who assaulted their liege, Gan volunteered his service. _

"_No wonder he's so nice", the private muttered to himself as he rubbed some detergent on the commander's armor in the ship's washing room located inside the hull. "Soldiers and pirates have different way of conduct. Soldiers rely more on respect and superiority of ranks but pirates rely on trust and friendship. That's why Gan treats his men better than other military officers. He knew that trust is much better than fear."_

_BOOM!!!_

"_What the—", the private jerked his head to the sound of explosion. Behind him, he spotted a huge hole on the ship's hull and water was flooding inside the ship through the hole. Abandoning his chore, he quickly ran into the stairs leading to the upper deck. Somebody must tell the commander, he thought. But when he reached the upper deck, he was greeted by a scene of fighting. The ship he was on was boarded by countless of pirates. To his right and left, his comrades were fighting for dear life against a swarm of enemies and right in front of him, Commander Gan was fending off at least five armed outlaws all by himself. _

"_Commander!!" the private darted to him and struck two of the assailants on the back with fire blast. Not very honorable but it was necessary, he convinced himself. He rushed to his commander's side to aid him. And now, he and Gan were standing back-to-back surrounded by more pirates, at least ten of them. _

_The private cast a look around the sea and the sight terrified him. The 51__st__ squadron was surrounded by at least eight outlaw's ships, two of them were galleon class ships. The other three ships of the 51__st__ squadron were engulfed in fire, one of them was at the brink of sinking. The squadron's flagship where he was on was in no better condition either. _

_BOOM!!!_

_Another explosion caused by a shot from the pirate's catapult. The shot landed only a meter away from where Gan and his private were standing. Both of them along with their assailants were thrown to the ground. Gan quickly scrambled himself up and caught sight of his private who was lying on the floor only two meters away. _

"_Get lost!" he roared, sending a fire blast at a pirate who was about to stab the private with a long sword. He quickly rushed to his man and shielded him from three more enemies before he crouched down and checked whether the man was still alive or not._

"_Oh, spirits", he gasped. The private had his side pierced by debris from the explosion. He was bleeding profoundly and grew paler due to his excessive blood loss. Something must be done._

"_Bite this", Gan offered his hand to the private's mouth. Luckily, three of his soldiers had come to his side and were now fighting the enemy around him, protecting him and the injured private. After making sure the private bite his hand, Gan reached out to the debris and said, "Hold on, soldier. This will be ugly."_

_The private let out a muffled scream as Gan pulled the debris out as fast and painlessly as he could. He then conjured flames on his palm and pressed it against the man's injury, burning the flesh wound and eliciting yet another scream of pain. After he finished the emergency treatment and made sure the bleeding had stopped, he ripped off his shirt and tied it around the man's gut tightly, covering his injury._

"_Stay here, private", he ordered before he joined the fight once more, aiding his remaining three men in their losing battle._

_BOOM!!!_

_Another catapult shot, sending two of Gan's men to the spirit world and the third one into the ocean, Gan himself was almost thrown overboard. The 51__st__ squadron was lost, he thought as he witnessed his remaining squadron engulfed in flames. In front of him, at least fifteen pirates were approaching slowly and carefully with swords and spears at ready. To his left, the injured private was slumping against the railings, unable to do anything other than staring half-consciously at the coming death. NO! Gan's mind snapped at the sight of the writhing soldier. He might have lost the battle but there's no way he'd lose another man, another son of the Fire Nation. Full with resolve, he sent a huge fire blast at his opponents. He then lunged forward and sent jabs and kicks ferociously at the outlaws. Ten fell victims to the Leviathan's wrath but it didn't last long. One of the pirates managed to stab him from behind. Screaming from pain, Gan turned to the backstabber made the coward regret he was ever born. The remaining pirates were greatly astonished by the commander's ferocity and decided to retreat and to organize another assault by bringing more men. _

_Sweating and panting, Gan staggered back to his private. The man was still half-conscious and Gan knew that there was no more hope for them. Not really, Gan realized as he spotted a mass of iceberg to the north. They were near the North Pole. If one of them could get to the Northern Water Tribe, there could still be some hope. But, one of them must stay and hold the enemy off, and obviously, it wouldn't be the private. Gan snickered at the irony of his fate. He was once a fearsome pirate, then he became a pirate hunter, and now he would be killed by pirates. Doesn't matter, he thought as he blasted a significant chunk off the ship's wooden floor. He then pulled off his sash and used it to tie the wooden plank to the private, improvising an emergency float._

"_Soldier", he lifted the soldier's face rather roughly, making sure the man stayed conscious enough to listen to him. "To the north is the North Pole. You go there and ask for help, understood?"_

"_Y-yes… S-sir…" the man hissed back weakly. _

"_Good man", Gan encouraged him, unable to hide his sympathy. The private was so young. He was only fifteen or sixteen by the look of it, not even old enough to share a drink with him. "Remember private. You are a proud son of the Fire Nation. You must never give up!"_

_Shouting the last sentence, Gan pulled the man and the plank off the ground and threw him into the sea. The ocean will do the rest, Gan thought. He turned back and met the sight of at least twenty pirates who were screaming for blood, for his blood._

"_Come!" the private who was floating away from the burning ship could hear Gan's yell. "Taste the wrath of the Leviathan!!!"_

_And then a mighty battle cry followed by the sound of flickering fire, sword swinging, and screams of pain and death. And it was the last thing he could hear or feel or even see. The pain on his side and the cold arctic water sent him deep into unconsciousness. _

_The next thing he saw when he regained little consciousness was an angel. Or just an ordinary woman… he wasn't sure. His vision was blurred. But it was certainly a female, with a pair of the most beautiful blue eyes, tanned skin and beautiful brown hair, clad in blue fur coat. Her face was frantic as she muttered 'come on… come on…'. The next thing he felt was a comfortable cool sensation on his side. It was like someone was pressing a cold chunk of ice on his burning wound. The cool sensation seemed to restore some degree of his consciousness as his vision became somewhat clearer. He noticed the giant ice wall to his left few feet away. And at his side, between him and the wall, the blue eyed girl, no, angel, was frantically trying to resuscitate him by shaking his shoulder violently and shouted "Wake up! Come one, wake up!"_

_And the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness again was the girl's swinging hand landing on his face._

—_SLAPPED—

* * *

_

—SLAPPED—

"Ouch!!" Lin suddenly shot up, awaken from his sleep. He glanced around frantically looking for whoever it was who slapped him. And his amber eyes fell upon a trembling girl sitting beside him. The girl looked nervous and afraid, shivering in her purple hooded coat.

"Sorry… I couldn't wake you up so I, uh, I have to slap you and then you wake up and you… Um…" the girl stuttered. "A-are you alright?"

"Huh?" Lin blinked. It took some time before he could register what the girl meant by 'alright'. He was meditating in the plain. And then, everything blacked out… he fell asleep, maybe. "Yeah… yeah, I'm fine."

Lin tried to get up but his back and limb felt very stiff. And half of his torso was buried in snow. "How long have I been here?" he asked the girl, anticipating a bad news.

"Two days", the girl replied.

"Wha— two days?!" Lin exclaimed. But then his stomach growled… The girl giggled a little at the blushing Lin and pulled out a water pouch and a loaf of bread from inside her coat.

"Here", she offered the pouch first which was strangely warm. "It's warm milk."

"Thanks", Lin muttered, taking a huge gulp of the warm blessing from heaven. "What are you doing here?"

The girl suddenly fidgeted and looked guilty. "I kinda snuck here…" she laughed sheepishly. "I'm sorry. It's just that you've been here alone for two days and I thought you might be hungry and… I don't mean to disturb you."

"No. no, no. It's okay", Lin shook his head. He placed his palm on his face, trying to regain his thought. Two days? How did that happened? He was out for _two_ days?

"Are you okay?" the girl asked again with a sincere concerned look.

"Yeah", Lin muttered. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He cast a look at the girl and recognized her as the girl he saw sitting beside Chief Arnook when he met the chief right after his arrival. The girl was wearing a purple fur coat, not the more common blue ones, and she had her hood on. Her eyes were big and blue like the ocean, like the eyes of the angel he saw in his dream.

"Oh", Lin suddenly remembered and extended his hand. "I'm Lin."

"I'm Yue", the girl smiled, accepting the handshake. And it happened…

_She missed the ocean. She would try to pull him closer to her with her power which at its peak when she shines the brightest once a month. And the ocean missed her too because he would always try to jump up and reach to the night sky where she belongs…_

_----_

"_This is not wise" Koh the Face Stealer warned them. "Your immortalities will be lost in the mortal world."_

_----_

_The man lowered the baby down on the pond slowly. She could see that the baby would not survive. She pitied the baby, such a fragile and beautiful thing… the baby deserved to live… _

_And so she gave the baby a part of her. She prayed for the baby's safe and happy life as her hair turned as white as snow and for the first time in her life the baby cried._

_----_

"_Look!" a rude looking kid exclaimed to his friends, pointing at her. "It's the white haired weirdo."_

"_I'm not a weirdo!" she cried._

_----_

"_Hi, Princess Yue", the teenage boy greeted. "I made you something. I carved it myself."_

"_It's a bear", she guessed._

"_Actually… it's supposed to be a fish", he turned the thing he carved on his palm for a better angle. "See, it has a… fin."_

_----_

_She must left everything behind, she must repay the debt she owed to the moon. Sadness… emptiness… her heart was ripped and broken. But strangely, she felt an inexplicable sense of peace._

"_Goodbye Sokka", she gently touched the boy's face. "I will always be with you."_

_----_

—SLAPPED—

"Ouch!!"

"Sorry…"

Lin sat up groggily rubbing his sore cheek. "What happened?"

"I don't know", Yue replied timidly. "You just… passed out."

"Really?" Lin scratched his head. He then stood up, stretching his back. "I must be hungry. Let's go back to the city."

"B-but", Yue looked bewildered. "What about your meditation"  
"Oh, don't worry about it", Lin waved his hand dismissively. "But before we go back, there's something you must do."

"What?" Yue asked curiously.

"Close your eyes", Lin grinned. After casting him a suspicious look, Yue did as she was told. _Even her eyebrows were white, _Lin thought as he slowly slid the girl's hood down. _How did I miss that?_

"You can open your eyes now", Lin announced cheerfully. Yue blinked at him for a few second before she realized that her hood was no longer covering her snow white hair.

"No!" Lin caught her hands just in time. The girl was frantically trying to put her hood back on. "It's okay! Please, listen to me. It's okay."

"Let go!" the girl yelled, struggling wildly to free her hands. "Don't look at my hair!"

"It's okay, Yue", Lin said softly as he pulled the girl into a warm embrace. "It's okay. I know. Trust me, I do."

And he softly caressed the girl's hair as she sobbed into his arms on the empty vast plain.

* * *

"Here goes", Lin said. "Nervous?"

"Yeah", Yue shot a stabbing glare at him.

"Oh, come on", Lin grinned taking the girl's hand and pulled her into the crowd. "It'll be fun."

Yue grudgingly followed the older boy. It took a while for Lin to convince her to come with him to the city without covering her hair with her hood. Lin had argued that her hair was not weird or strange, it was just _different_. And it was actually quite pretty.

"They'll make fun of me", Yue tried to reason again even though it was a bit too late because they had mingled inside the crowd.

"I know."

"So, can I—"

"No", Lin said curtly. "You can't hide forever, Yue. They make fun of you because you try to hide it."

"I think I _hide it_ because they'd _make fun_ of me", Yue rebutted.

"Nah", Lin shrugged it off. "Have a little confidence. Come on."

He walked faster in crowd, dragging the reluctant princess behind him. They walked through the market place with Lin cheerfully pointing at things that were foreign to him like the ice buildings, some strange fish, a buffalo-yak, and a group of kids playing snowball fight.

"Hey look!" one of the kids shouted after he spotted Yue and Lin. "It's the white hair weirdo!'

Lin and Yue seemed to hear the kid while he and his friends were laughing. Lin turned to Yue and noticed the girl's trembling lips. But the kid who shouted didn't seem to care because he continued pointing and mocking. "What happened to your hair, weirdo? Mistaken your shampoo with bleach? Ha ha h—"

—SPLATTED—

A meticulously formed and rather large snowball landed on his face.

"Oo... what happened to you face? Hungry?" Lin mocked back cruelly, his face shrunk into a cruel evil heartless grin. "Your mama forgot to feed you, big baby?"

The kid, who wasn't expecting Lin, who was older and taller, to throw a snowball at him was terrified and was about to cry. Even Yue looked surprised and flinched a little when he saw Lin's demonic expression. After about five seconds of thick terrifying silence, Lin soften his face and snickered, "How does it feel?"

The kid didn't answer. He looked back to his friends, who cowered a few feet away behind him, for support but it seemed like even they was terrified by Lin. "How does it feel?" Lin asked again a little softer this time.

"N-not good", the kid finally answered timidly.

"Not good", Lin repeated louder so the other kids could hear him. "That's, my friend, is how Yue feel. Fun, huh? Well, yeah… if you're the one doing the mocking."

The kid and his friends hung their heads down; they couldn't bring themselves to look at Yue or Lin in the eye.

"I'm sorry", the kid's head shot up at Lin's unexpected apology. He noticed Lin's friendly smile and felt ashamed of himself. "Well", Lin added, putting a hand on Yue's shoulder and pushing her forward. "Anything any of you want to say to her?"

It took another five minutes before the kid walked forward and muttered a soft 'I'm sorry' to Yue. Never a vindictive person, Yue smiled and forgave him. The other kids, encouraged by this gesture, marched forward to the princess and muttered their apologies, too.

"_That_ _was easy_", Lin thought, grinning at Yue and her new friends.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me about the spirit wolf?!!" the admiral yelled at Pakku. He and Pakku were striding away from the Sanna Plain. They went there to check on Lin and, naturally, they didn't find him because Lin was currently munching on the bread Yue brought him while watching the princess playing snowball fight with the other kids in the city.

"I thought it was just a rumor", Pakku defended himself. When they didn't find Lin in the plain, Pakku jokingly mentioned about Amarok the snow storm conjuring spirit wolf and the possibilities that Lin was eaten by him. The admiral, who was a loving grandfather, sadly took the waterbender's words seriously. At first Pakku was trying to calm him down but the admiral's panicky response was contagious and even Pakku gradually grew a little worried. Even though they were always at each other throats, Pakku actually liked the kid. He advised the admiral to come back to the city with him to inform Chief Arnook that Lin had gone missing. He assured the admiral that he would sent each and every one of his students to look for Lin and that Lin was a strong kid and he would be fine while Pakku himself was trying to erase the image of the firebender kid screaming for help as he was dragged away by a giant snow wolf of his mind.

"He'll be fine", Pakku assured the admiral, and himself, again.

* * *

Lin smiled as he sat on a mound of snow, watching the kids playing snowball fight. Yue looked happy as she dodged and threw snowballs at her friends. After exchanging a smirk with the princess, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind. It was hard to believe that he spent two days unconscious in a snowy plain and didn't freeze himself to death. He suspected that it was his inner fire that kept him alive. But, what did he learn from this experience? Did he get 'something' from it? The 'something' he was supposed to get? He had had another weird dream, but that's all. In his dream, he learnt about trust, about second chances from the Hizen. And about selflessness from Hizen and Commander Gan. Commander Gan sacrificed his life for a lowly private just like Hizen sacrificed his birthright for Gan. But was it all he learnt? There must be something else, something more important…

"There you are", a rough grip on his shoulder almost made him jump. He turned around only to find his grandfather panting and pale as a paper. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Oh, hi Grandpa", Lin cheerfully greeted.

"Don't 'hi, Grandpa' me!" the admiral snapped at the unfazed Lin. "Where in the name of spirits have you been? I thought Amarok got you!"

"Who?" Lin raised a brow. The name sounded familiar somehow.

"You know", the admiral threw his hand around, imitating something terribly big and scary. "That giant… wolf."

"Oh, that", Lin scoffed. "I thought it was just a rumor."

"But—", the admiral was bewildered by his grandson's nonchalant attitude. After taking one or two calming deep breath, he asked the question that he was supposed to ask from the beginning: "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, me", Lin replied, still unfazed by his grandfather's bulging vein. "I got hungry and came here for food."

"Okay", the admiral sighed submissively before he shot the boy a stern look. "Now tell me what you've got from all this. Have you found… 'something'?"

"'A lot of thing'", Lin replied, reminding himself of his contemplation. "A lesson of trust, selflessness, and the importance of second chances."

He cast a quick glance at Yue, who was dodging a snowball, and continued more confidently, stating the lesson the girl taught her. "And also the pride one must have of himself. The importance of having a friend, a true friend, someone who can see you for who you really are."

He cast another glance at Yue, who was running around chased by another kid. She was no longer overly conscious over her white hair. "And that I am a firebender. I am the twenty sixth Lin, the youngest in the history", Lin continued, his chest swelled with pride. "I found my pride in the plain, Grandpa."

The admiral looked rather satisfied with his grandson's response. "Is that all you found?" he asked again.

"One more thing", Lin cast yet another glance at Yue who glanced back and waved at him, before he said, smiling proudly. "I found a friend."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

1. Gan was inspired by Gan Ning, a general in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms who was also an ex-pirate.

2. Hizen was inspired by two Japanes words: Hi (火) which means 'fire' and Zen (前) which means 'past' or 'former', hence the name Hizen means 'the fire from the past'.

3. Zurya is inspired by Indonesian word 'surya' which means 'sun'. Lame name, I know...

And you might recognized some scenes from the main series regarding Yue and Sokka.

and for hpswst101, I was actually planning to have Amarok attacked Lin during his meditation but I just couldn't make it fit so, yeah...

and about the dreams, it will be explained in later chapters.

Enjoy!


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 – The Deal with the Devil**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"Remember well what you've learnt from this journey", said the admiral wisely.

"Yes, master", Lin bowed his head. Both of them was sitting in a polite seiza position, facing each other.

It was time to conclude Lin's inauguration as the twenty sixth Lin. And in the Sanna Plain, the very same place where Yi the Great, the founder of the clan, invented the Celestial Dragon Style, Lin would be officially bestowed the right and privilege of using his family name as his own. It was a great honor in the Fire Nation. Being bestowed the family name meant that the person would be the representative of his family at all time, all his glory and deeds would all be reflected on the whole clan. It was also a great responsibility. His misdeed and shame would also affect his family's reputation. And the admiral found it hard to believe that his grandson would mature so much in less than a month. He had grown from a prankster who had an uncanny knack for practical jokes, a prodigy who brought nothing but pride to his demanding father, a son who had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge regarding his mother's life… and now, sitting before him was the twenty sixth Lin, the youngest ever in the history. Pride… it was all he felt when he looked at the boy in front of him.

"And one more thing", the admiral reached into his coat and pulled out a small scroll. "Keep this with you always."

Lin received the scroll with both his hands and touched it on his forehead briefly before placing it down on his lap (it was respectful to do so). He then unrolled the scroll and read what was written in it. A poem…

_With these two things does a man raise his fist._

_Hatred, that I no longer have._

_And courage, that I have never had._

"What's this?" Lin asked.

"A death poem by our forefather, Yi, the Great", the admiral answered.

"What does it mean?" Lin asked again after casting a quick glance at it.

"That's your job to find out", the admiral smirked. "According to legend, Yi wrote down the true essence of the Celestial Dragon style of firebending shortly before his death. That scroll you're holding, it contains a secret to a great power."

"And you know what the secret is, do you?" Lin narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Maybe… maybe not…" the admiral drawled evasively. "Keep this a secret, though. Only us 'Lins' are allowed to know about this scroll."

"Yes, master", Lin bowed again.

* * *

Weakness…

He hated it. He hated it so much he hated his son who was full of it. Weakness! He cast a brief cold glance at his daughter who looked back at him with horror etched on every inch of her face before she ran away as fast as she could, away from the Pai Sho board she was playing with her brother. He would deal with her later. Insubordination, even though committed by his own flesh and blood, must be dealt with severely. He had warned her not to concern herself with her weakling of a brother, not once… twice! His son looked back at him. His expression… _weak!_ He looked like he almost wet his pants. Good for him…

And _her_! The reason why he took the trouble to visit the infirmary this morning. Her, his wife, looked back at him defensively. _Must be her doing_, he thought casting a glare at the direction where his daughter was running to.

"Ursa", he called, his voice was cold and calculating. And the tinge of wicked glee made the woman shiver. "I need to talk to you", he said, ignoring his son.

"What is it?" she asked back adamantly.

"In private", he gestured the door with a wicked smile.

Ursa hesitated a little. Ozai wasn't someone she could go up against. And besides, with Zuko around… maybe it was better if the conversation was held somewhere else, somewhere far. After landing a peck on her son's forehead and assured him that she would be back as soon as she could, Ursa walked out of the room, followed by Ozai who didn't even look at Zuko and pretending as if the boy was some sort of a worthless piece of furniture. _He is_, Ozai sneered in his mind.

Ozai led Ursa to the palace's Agni Kai arena at the other end of the vast establishment. The building was quite spacious, not as big as the Lin Estate's main hall but it was quite big. A medium size stage made of stone was erected right on the middle of room and surrounded by seats for spectators on the four sides. Inside, he led Ursa to the Royal Seat, reserved only for the member of the Royal Family, which was located higher than any other seats and provided more security and a better view. The room was completely empty save for three men who were kneeling on stage, each was bound by ropes and shackles had a sack covering their heads, and at least ten armed guards pointing their spears at the three.

After making sure that Ursa was seated and had a good view of the stage, Ozai took off his robe and let it slide down on the floor, exposing his iron-like muscles to the whole room. After receiving a hand gesture from Ozai, the guards removed the sacks from their prisoners' heads. Ozai smirked at them: one had a pair of amber eyes like him, jet black hair and pale skin like him, and a top-knot, indicating that he was a Fire Nation; the man next to him, who was kneeling in the middle, had a pair of green eyes, roughed and scrawny moustache and beard, and muscles just like Ozai's bulging from his tattered prisoner's robe, and a indignant expression on his face; and the last man has a pair of blue eyes, tanned skin and he cast a hateful glare at Ozai and Ursa.

"Gentlemen", Ozai snickered demonically. "You have committed grave crimes against the Fire Nation. Desertion (he pointed at the Fire Nation prisoner), rebellion (he turned to the green eyed Earth Kingdom), and murder (he pointed at the last prisoner, the Water Tribesman)."

Ozai cast a glance at Ursa from the corner of his eyes and noticed that the woman had tensed up on her seat. She knew what was going to happen.

"But", Ozai continued, ignoring his wife's short gasps. "The Fire Lord is merciful. He is willing to give you a second chance. However… you must fight for it."

"We are not your toys, Ozai!!" the Fire Nation prisoner yelled back angrily. He tried to get up but his leg was shackled and only allowed a minimum movement.

"And now", Ozai continued, ignoring the prisoner's remark. "My guards will release you of your bounds. But, I warn you! One single suspicious movement and you will be put down immediately."

And after receiving another hand gesture from Ozai, three of the guards approached the prisoners and carefully untied the ropes and shackles on them while the other guards maintained their battle ready positions. After all prisoners were freed, they slowly descended down from the stage and somebody threw a pouch of water on the stage. The Water Tribe grabbed the pouch as fast as lightning before he returned back to his fellow prisoners, clutching the pouch as if it was his child.

"And now!!" Ozai roared before leaping from the Royal Box to the stage and landed perfectly in front of the three prisoners.

"Let us begin", he sneered, taunting his prey.

With an angry roar, the Fire Nation deserter punched a fire blast at Ozai. Ozai, smirking cruelly, punched a bigger fire blast which engulfed his opponent's feeble flames and still had enough force to soar through the air and hit the prisoner square in the face. The Fire Nation was thrown back after receiving the full force of the blast, followed by the horror stricken stares of the other two prisoners. The remaining two prisoners turned back to Ozai just in time to defend themselves from the prince's next attack. Ozai had punched another fire blast at the Earth Kingdom prisoner, who conjured an earth wall from the stage's floor that couldn't hold against the fire blast as it crumbled on the impact and allowed its master to take a direct hit on the chest. The waterbender had similar luck as his water shield vaporized and allowed the fire stream from Ozai's leg blasted him off the stage. Both he and the Fire Nation deserter were killed in an instance. The earthbender, however, had no such luck. He slumped on the floor, gravely wounded on the chest but his spirit was neither broken nor intimidated. He cast a deviant look at Ozai who walked toward him slowly and menacingly. Ozai grabbed his neck with his left hand and lifted him up off the ground, displaying his enormous strength and demonic cruelty. The earthbender let out some chocking coughs while Ursa watched the whole scene with terror on her face.

The earthbender cast another deviant look at Ozai who was smirking and charging a fire ball with his free hand. "LONG LIVE THE EARTH KINGDOM!!!!" he managed to scream between his chocking right before Ozai blasted a huge bunt hole on his chest with the point-blank attack. The earthbender slumped down on the floor like a broken ragdoll, lifeless and burnt, his skill and discipline in his art were no match against the Fire Prince. Ursa closed her eyes and looked away just before the man died in front of her, but the man's patriotic shout pierced through her ears and her heart. She was tempted to break down crying on the spot, but, no, she wouldn't give Ozai the satisfaction.

"Now, my wife", Ozai's low cold voice almost made her jump on her seat. How her husband managed to get back to the Royal Box that quickly, she would never now. She watched Ozai, with his satisfied mug, slumped down on the seat right next to her. "How was I?"

"Why are you showing me this?" she asked with a trembling voice.

"Oh, that?" Ozai chuckled evilly, pointing casually at the stage where some guards were dragging what was left of the earthbender warrior away from the stage. "I was having a dead match, wasn't I? I could be killed. It would be understandable if I wanted my beloved wife to be by my side, wouldn't it?"

He ran his hand gently on Ursa's cheek, caressing her skin and Ursa closed her eyes so that she wouldn't have to see her husband's mocking grin. "Please, Ozai", she finally said, still trembling. "I am not stupid."

"Of course you're not", Ozai laughed, only to make Ursa shivered more violently. "One of the reason why I married you, my love. Unlike any other women, you are not stupid. Never stupid."

He laughed even harder. Ursa, gathering all courage left in her, turned to him. There were times when Ozai's laugh was sweet and soothing, when his smile was warm and calming, when she loved him more than anything in the world. It felt like so long ago when she would do anything to hear her husband laugh, to see him smile… long ago, when his laughter was free and sincere while watching Zuko trying and failing to perform a rather complicated firebending technique to impress him, when his smile was wide and kind while guiding Azula's tiny hand during the girl's calligraphy lessons… when their family was truly happy…

"Just tell me what you want from me", Ursa asked again with a forced calmness in her voice, trying to hold back her tears.

"Well, if you're that impatient", Ozai stopped laughing and reverted back to his usual cold self. "I want to talk to you regarding _my_ daughter."

Ursa involuntarily clenched her jaws, biting her anger back when she noticed the emphasize on the word 'my'. "Yes", she decided to fight back. "What about Azula_ my_ daughter?"

Ozai chose to ignore her; he had a trump card, after all. "I've been thinking about your proposal."

"Well?" Ursa asked again when Ozai suddenly paused.

"Well", Ozai cleared his throat. "I think I agree with you. I accept your proposal and I will see to it personally that it will be fulfilled."

"And?" Ursa wouldn't let her guard down, there must be a catch.

"Nothing", Ozai shrugged. "Aren't you happy, dear wife? Your wish will come true."

"Just spit it out, Ozai!" Ursa unexpectedly snapped, she was tired of Ozai's mind games. "What do I have to do in return?"

"Well, since you insist", Ozai replied offhandedly, making it sound like as if Ursa was forcing him to give her a condition. He threw an evil sly grin at the seething princess before offering smoothly, "Let's make a deal."

* * *

"Don't worry", Lin assured the girl. "I'll come again."

"Really?" Yue asked, sniffing. She was sad because her first real friend would be leaving after only staying for four days, two of them alone in a haunted empty plain buried in snow.

"Yep", Lin assured her again, pulling her into an embrace. Yue was no longer covering her hair with her hood. And after saying a polite goodbye to Chief Arnook, Lin turned back and ran into the ship where Pakku, his grandfather and father was waiting. He waved his last goodbye to Yue and Arnook who waved back until they could no longer see each other as the ship sailed farther and farther away from the Northern Water Tribe city.

"You shouldn't make promises that you couldn't keep, child", the admiral said. It was true, after all. Lin was a Fire Nation, not to mention a member of the Lin Family. Nine out of ten members of the family were active in the military. The only chance Lin would ever get to visit the North Pole again, pondered the admiral, was not as a friend of Princess Yue but as a soldier trying to conquer the Tribe.

"Don't worry, Grandpa", Lin chuckled. He had seen it, foreseen it to be more precise… "I'll make sure I keep this promise."

* * *

Hollow… painful… empty like the dark night sky out there, felt like someone was pricking her heart with thousands of sharp needles. Her heart wanted to scream, her soul was shrieking, and her mind was thinking desperately of ways to entangle herself and her loved ones from the— the _monster's_ clutch. She had miraculously held her tears back the whole time but her dams were at their limit. One more torture and she would break down, she knew it. But still, she wouldn't give Ozai the satisfaction of knowing that he had conquered her.

She could take Zuko and Azula with her and run away, far away from the monster her husband had become. But it was futile, she knew. While it was true that she was quite a talented firebender and she could pretty much hold her own against most warriors, Ozai was _not_ like most warriors. If she ran away bringing her children along, Ozai would make sure that she paid dearly for it and there would be nobody else who could protect them from Ozai's influence.

Iroh! But, he wasn't here, no. Iroh was busy fighting a war far away in the heart of the Earth Kingdom. Iroh would protect Zuko, she knew. But, Azula? She noticed that Iroh had always kept a certain distance from Azula, it was like he set up an invisible barrier whenever he was with his niece. He must have a good reason for that, Ursa knew. Iroh was never a bad uncle; he would never do anything like that unless he had a good reason to do so.

Lu Ten! He was too young. The boy loved Zuko and Azula like his own brother and sister, Ursa knew. But he was no match against Ozai. He never would be…

The Lin Family was her only hope. Only to them Ursa could plead for Azula's safety. The Lin Family was, after all, the only clan in the whole Fire Nation, no, in the whole world that stands a chance against the Royal Family, against Ozai. Only to them Ursa could entrust her daughter. _Ten years… just ten more years…_ Ursa recited to herself. It had become some sort of a mantra whenever she was being reminded of her own inability to protect her daughter, her sweet little angel she cherished more than life itself…

Ozai suddenly stopped walking, pausing at the long corridor. At the end of the corridor in front of them, Azula was walking lazily, yawning and unaware that her parents were watching her. It seemed like she was about to go to sleep because she turned to the corner and disappeared to the direction of her room. Ozai was taunting her, Ursa knew. But she didn't care, she would spring that trap. She wanted her daughter… she wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to say that she loved her more than anything in the world.

"Let me say goodnight to her", she pleaded, her voice was trembling so much she almost stuttered.

"No", Ozai replied curtly, unaffected by his wife's pitiful expression. "Remember the deal, wife."

"I-I know…" Ursa bit back her tears. "But please… just this once. J-just this once, please. I'm begging you, Ozai."

"No", Ozai said again even colder. "You've made your choice, remember? She's _mine_."

"Please, Ozai", Ursa could feel her eyes filling with tears. "Just this once. This will be the last time, I swear. _Please!_ Let me say goodnight to her."  
"I said no!" Ozai snapped, he was getting impatient by Ursa's childish demand.

"Please…" Ursa persisted. "I'm begging you…"

"Don't worry, my dear wife. I'm not that heartless", Ozai chuckled before grinning like a demon from hell, cruel and wicked. "_I_ will say goodnight to her for _you_."

"What?! No, no…"

But it was too late. Ozai had paced to the direction where Azula had gone as slowly as he could, adding insult to Ursa's injury.

"Remember, Ursa", Ozai paused and turned a little, warning her. "You've made your choice."

And with that he strolled away from his wife while Ursa reminding herself that she had chosen Zuko and not Azula. Not that she had any choices: the three prisoners were a warning. Had she chosen to keep Azula away from Ozai, Zuko would have to pay the price, the ultimate price. By choosing Zuko over Azula, at least she could make sure that both her children would live. _Ten more years… only ten more years… _her heart was ripped and broken, it ached so much. Oh, the pain… no word could describe the pain she suffered. A true suffering of a mother is not when her children hate her or abandon her, but when she is not allowed to love them.

And Ursa's heart, a mother's heart, could only take so much. As Ozai turned at the end of the corridor and paced to Azula's room, her defenses finally broke. She caught the nearby pillar for support but her weak trembling knees gave up on her, anyway. She slumped down on the floor and cried…

A deal with the devil will always end with the devil taking all.

* * *

_She was clutching her chest, coughing wildly. Air refused to enter her weak lungs, suffocating her from the inside. "Not now", she pleaded with the spirits. "Not now. Please..."_

"_My lady!" Ning Ma gasped. The girl finally noticed the ruckus the old lady was causing in order to gain somebody's attention. Ning Ma frantically shouting at the corridor, screaming for help, trying to notify anyone who could hear her of Umma's condition. When she noticed someone running towards the room, Ning Ma quickly entered the room and ran to her charge's side. She pulled Umma's thin body up, forcing her to sit. She then pressed some acupressure points on the old lady's back but it was useless, her cough wouldn't stop. Surrendering to her fate, Umma focused all her strength into one final action, one last bit of concentration…_

"_Iroh", she thought fondly of her old friend. "Remember your promise."_

Hundreds of miles away to the east, in the camp just outside the wall of Ba Sing Se, the Dragon of the West woke up abruptly from his sleep, bathed in cold sweat.

"No…" for the first time since his wife passed away, Iroh let tears rolled down his face. "No… Not now. Not…"

But Iroh was wise. He knew that no matter how hard he pleaded, destiny cannot be changed. His promise, yes, he would keep it. Even if it cost him his life, even if he would be branded as a traitor by his own country, he would keep it. Full with resolve and sadness, Iroh got up from his bed. He put on his best armor and tidied his top-knot. He must look representable, he thought even though he knew that Umma wouldn't mind. After making sure he was dressed up neatly, he walked to his drawer and caught sight of his white shirt. He ripped the shirt's sleeve and extracted from it a long white piece of cloth and wore it around his forehead as a headband.

Iroh then walked out of his tent. The camp outside was almost empty save for some soldiers on night patrol. He then turned to the direction of west, the direction where the Fire Nation was located, and he fell into a deep solemn Fire Nation bow.

"I will keep my promise, Sifu", he swore, and then he added with a trembling sad voice. "And goodbye, my old friend."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Who hate Ozai? WE HATE OZAI!!!

In the next chapter (I hope), the admiral's true identity will be heavily implied, so heavily that you only need to guess once and your guess won't miss. maybe...

Iroh's promise can be read in chapter 4, in case you don't remember.

And to hpswst101, thanks again for the review and for staying with me this far! Your reviews are always nice to read and very encouraging, not to mention fun. :)

And yes, the private was beyond doubt Hothead.

And by the way, seiza position is the sitting position the Royal Family used when they were having an audience with Azulon in Zuko's flashback in the episode 'Zuko Alone'. For more information about the sitting position, you can look it up in wikipedia.

And about the death poem. Actually, I made it up myself. I just thought of it as I lay on the hospital bed two years ago under some kind of anesthetic the nurse gave me to help me sleep. It was my own reflection on my prowess in martial art (which was never even good, I'm lousy... T_T) and on the fact that I might never be allowed to practice the art again due to my health condition. Yeah, my stomach hates me alright.

And about Ursa's proposal and the deal she had with Ozai, I'll leave it to your speculations.

Enjoy!


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 – Storm**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"Oh, land! Solid land!!" he leaped down from the ship like an overly excited rabbaroo and landed on his stomach and started to kiss the earth melodramatically. Judging from his behavior, anyone would think that he had been drifting on the sea for at least a month without ever seeing a land during the whole ordeal while in fact it had only been five days. Five long days for the admiral, who descended from the boat more gracefully. Five long days full of empty sea and the only entertainment was watching two kids bickering. Well, technically Pakku was too old to be called a kid but since he was acting like one …

"Get up, child", the admiral chuckled, pulling the boy up with one hand with ease. He understood why his grandson was so happy. He was happy, too. It was going to be full moon tonight. That means they only had to stay for one night at the Institute. The admiral had been secretly hoping that Lin would take more time to complete his meditation ritual in the Sanna Plain just so that they could get back to the Institute _after_ the full moon, which meant they wouldn't even have to stay with his aunt at all, just grab the medicine and go. But the boy managed to complete his obligation in just three days and they could arrive at the Earth Kingdom right at the full moon. Well, it wasn't so bad. It was what his grandson wanted, anyway: to arrive as soon as possible so that he could bring the cure to Umma as fast as he could. The admiral imagined Umma would be overjoyed when Lin brought back a cure for her. He had intentionally kept the herb hunt a secret from his wife to surprise her. Everything's going to be perfect, he thought.

Well, almost everything. The admiral eyed his son who was pacing slowly behind him. He had planned to have Jiang witness the sophistication of the Northern Water Tribe. He had tried to bring his son out for a stroll or to lecture him about the culture of the Water Tribe, but Jiang had been extremely resistant. The general had spent most of his time in the North Pole stubbornly shutting himself in his own room, refusing to step outside of his cage unless when he was eating or going to the toilet. The man's pride as a Fire Nation was too thick, the admiral thought.

"Aren't you coming?" the admiral yelled at Pakku who stayed on his boat even when all other passengers had come down.

"No", Pakku yelled back, sailing away. "I have to go back immediately."

"See you later then", the admiral yelled again, waving his goodbye.

"Yeah, of course", Pakku waved back, snickering. 'Later', in this troubled time, could possibly be equivalent to 'never', he knew. They were technically enemies after all: one was a high ranking admiral and the head of the most prestigious noble family of the Fire Nation; and the other was the waterbending instructor and the member of the Elder Council of the Northern Water Tribe. And the last time they said goodbye, 'later' turned out to be more than a decade, fifteen years to be exact.

"Hey, Baldiiiieeeee!!" Lin yelled cheerfully as Pakku's ship was getting farther away. "Thanks a loooot!!"

"You're welcome, Shortiiiieee!!!" Pakku yelled back. So the shrimp was a sweet little kid after all, he thought.

"Wait for it", Lin muttered to himself, grinning slyly. "Five… Four… Three… Two…"

A small explosion could be heard from Pakku's boat about ten meters away from the coast, and then…

"SHRIMP!!! I'M GONNA KILL YOU THE NEXT TIME WE MEET!!!!"

"Bull's eye", Lin laughed… before he noticed an all too familiar accusing glare from his grandfather and father.

"Just a little goodbye gift", he shrugged, grinning. "You know, courtesy."

* * *

"Where's Mom?" Azula asked.

"She's busy", Ozai answered. "Eat your breakfast."

"Busy with what?" Azula asked again, ignoring her order.

"I don't know", Ozai replied, a bit more aloof this time. "Eat your breakfast. You're going to be late for school."

Azula sighed loudly, frowning at her bowl of rice. She usually had breakfast with her mother, not with her father. Even when Zuko was still at the worst stage of his chicken pox, which meant Ursa would be panicking all over the infirmary, she would always tried to find some time to spent with Azula at breakfast. And when Zuko's chicken pox had gotten a little better, their morning ritual had become normal again even though Ursa would had little time to spend with her daughter after breakfast. Ozai? Well, he was always too busy with… yep, you guessed it: war meetings! It was actually the first time in about three years when Ozai had breakfast with his family member.

"It doesn't matter", Azula reasoned while chewing her food, not very ladylike. "They give us ten extra minutes before they actually close the front gate."

"Yes, I know", Ozai frowned at his daughter's not so princess-like table manner. "They give extra time for those who come late. You know why people come late to school? It's because they are lazy."

"Lazy?" Azula frowned.

"Yes, lazy", Ozai repeated. "But you, my daughter, you are not lazy. You must never be lazy. You must be perfect."

"Perfect?" Azula scoffed. "Nobody's perfect, Dad."

"Well then, Azula", Ozai grinned. "You will prove them wrong, won't you?"

"Huh?" Azula gawked. _Me? Prove them wrong? How? By being perfect? How's that even possible? Nobody's perfect, right?_

"Yes, you", Ozai laughed. "Because, my daughter, _you_ are perfect."

Azula blinked at her father's statement. Her? Perfect? Well, she didn't really think that she was perfect in any way. But, if her father said so, then it must be right. Her father had never lied to her. And, she admitted, it felt nice hearing it from her father.

"I am?" Azula asked again, beaming.

"Yes, you are", Ozai repeated, his voice full with fake sugar coated kindness. He then picked a single grain of rice from Azula's cheek and added. "As soon as you stop talking when your mouth's full."

"Hey", Azula feigned an offended pout. And then, the father and her daughter laughed at the joke together like a happy family they were not.

* * *

"Don't you like having breakfast with me?"

"Of course I do, Mom."

"Well then", Ursa passed Zuko a bowl of rice. "Eat up."

Zuko grinned at his mother, accepting the bowl. It was the first time ever since he was sick that Ursa would have breakfast with him in the infirmary. He knew about Ursa and Azula's morning ritual and he had never minded when Ursa had to leave him every morning to have breakfast with his sister. Ursa belonged to both of them after all, not just to him.

"Mom?" Zuko asked, noticing that Ursa hadn't touched a single grain of rice. She just stared at her food with an empty expression. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh", Ursa shook her head a little, trying to collect her thought. "Yes. Yes, everything's fine, sweetheart."

She smiled a little before forcing two or three scoops of rice into her throat. She didn't have any appetite but there was no need to make her son worried. But, Zuko knew something was wrong. Her mother was unusually pale and since she came back from her conversation with his father yesterday, she had been spacing out a lot. Something was definitely wrong.

"Mom", Zuko said softly as he got down from his bed and hugged his mother. "It will be fine."

Ursa, wide eyed by the unexpected gesture, couldn't help but shed another stream of tear. Her emotion was all jumbled up inside: sadness, loneliness, hopelessness, disappointment, anger, hatred... Her dams broke again as she hugged her son back. _It's not the same_, she thought. She didn't mind having her son in her embrace, but it wasn't what she wanted at the moment. She wanted her daughter. Hugging Zuko was never the same as hugging Azula. When she hugged Zuko, the boy would hug back. But when she hugged Azula, the girl would squeeze back. Zuko would only put his hands on her back and sometimes he would caress her back, but Azula… she would always, _always _clutch her robe tightly as if she would never let her go. She missed her already. She missed those petite arms that would always squeeze her neck tightly, those tiny hands that would always grip her robe from behind and made her felt so loved, so needed by the little girl. But the privilege had been taken away from her. She must never love her little angel anymore; she must never be needed by her anymore. But just for ten years. _Ten more years_…

"I'm fine, honey", Ursa said, releasing the boy and wiping her tears, forcing a smile. "I'm fine. I'm just tired, that's all."

"Really", Zuko wasn't convinced.

"Yes, honey", Ursa smiled, reassuring her son. His young mind mustn't be burdened by this. "I'm fine. Come on, go back to your food."

And Zuko had just got back to his bed when a guard knocked on the door. A young girl was standing behind the guard and Ursa recognized her.

"My lady", the guard bowed. "A messenger from the Lin Estate, my lady."

"Yes", Ursa nodded at him dismissively. After the guard left the infirmary, leaving the messenger girl, Ursa quickly walked to the door and guide the girl into the room.

"Biao", she cast a concerned look at the girl as she gently sat the girl's down on her seat. She noticed Biao's red and puffy eyes. "What happened?"

"M-my Lady", Biao started to sob. "I-it's my grandmother. L-last night, s-she… she…"

Ursa didn't need the girl to finish her sentence. Her eyes were widened with shock. No, it couldn't be, her mind couldn't accept it. She pulled the sobbing girl into her embrace and tried to sooth her while her own tears fell even faster than the girl's.

* * *

"And who led the Western Fleet to conquer the Southern Air Temple?" Ozai questioned the girl.

"Umm…" Azula's face scrunched up. "Admiral Haian."

"Good", Ozai chuckled. They were walking down a corridor towards the main gate. Ozai had offered to take Azula to school himself and naturally the girl accepted. She adored her father, after all.

"And who—"

"Ozai!"

They both turned back and found Ursa standing behind them with a maid. She openly cast a scornful look on Ozai who coldly stared back at her.

"Mom!" Azula exclaimed, running towards her mother and hugged her feet. She was too short to reach Ursa's waist. Ursa looked down at her daughter and wanted nothing more than to kneel down and hug her back. But it wasn't possible, not with Ozai standing few feet away. Ozai seemed to know what she was thinking because he shot her a warning look. _Remember the deal_, he wordlessly reminded Ursa.

"Azula", Ursa managed to croak, holding back her motherly urge. "I'm sorry, Azula. I need to talk to your father about something important. Could you go to school with Hua, please?"

"But…" Azula pouted. She thought her mother had suddenly found some free time and could take her to school, along with her father. Both her parents taking her to school, wouldn't that be great?

"Azula", Ozai turned to her. "You've heard _her_. Now go!"

Ozai purposely used 'her' and not 'your mother'. Ursa realized this too because she shot a hateful glare at Ozai, but fortunately, Azula didn't notice anything. She grumbled before stomping off, followed by Hua the maid to the front gate. After making sure that Azula was out of hearing range, Ozai turned to Ursa and cast her a scowl. He was having a perfect morning with his perfect daughter and the woman just had to come and ruin everything. Wasn't the deal meant that he would have _his_ daughter all for himself? She played dirty! Weak! Just like _her_ son!

"What is it?" Ozai hissed dangerously, suppressing an urge to strike down the woman right where she stood. But no, Azula was still too attached to her. Killing Ursa right now would turn his daughter against him. He mustn't harm her, not yet…

"Have you heard the news?" Ursa seethed.

"What news?" he snapped.

"The news about Lady Umma", Ursa growled. He was pretending, she knew.

"Oh, that", Ozai scoffed. "What about it?"

"I want to make sure that you'd keep your promise", Ursa said with a forced calmness. Umma's death was unfortunate and she knew that Ozai might use it as a reason to call off the deal.

"I am a man of my word, dear wife!" Ozai barked, offended by Ursa's suspicion. Well, since she was asking for it, he might as well give it to her. "But still, the death of Lady Umma was, ah, what's the word again? Oh, yes: _traumatic_ for the whole family. Surely you wouldn't be so heartless to have me re-offering them your proposal during their time of mourning, would you?"

Ursa was trembling with anger under Ozai's mocking sneer. She was angry at him for being such a cruel and calculating— _monster. _And she was mad at herself for being so helpless. When she offered her proposal to the Lin Family, namely the admiral, Umma, and Jiang, at the Ceremony of Ascension, she thought she had gone ahead of Ozai. She thought she could secure a safe haven for Azula as soon as possible, her plan was perfect. Had it not been for Jiang who was adamant of his refusal, she would have won the game and beat Ozai once and for all. But Jiang's resolve was unshakeable. She didn't blame him, though. After all, the proposal also concerned his own son. And Ursa knew all too well about the feeling of a parent who wanted the best for their children. And Umma… she had always been kind to Ursa. Umma had always been her supporter including the time when she was relentlessly persuading Jiang to accept her proposal. Umma was at that time thinking about her grandson too when she advised her to reconsider a little. And she was grateful for the old lady for it. It made Ursa realized that she was blinded by her love for Azula and that she had completely ignored Lin, the boy who was like son to her. She felt so ashamed when Umma gently nudged her about her inconsideration; she was really ashamed as a mother, and as a friend of Lian.

"No", she said firmly, trying to retain her cool. "Wait until the mourning period is over."

"Gladly", Ozai retorted coldly, trying to hold back his grin. He had won a small victory over Ursa again. A small victory in the form of one year, one year of mourning for the Lin Family.

"But I'm warning you, Ozai!" Ursa took a menacing step, her voice and face hardened as she found the courage she never thought she had. "If you back down on your words, if after one year you don't fulfill your promise, I swear to the spirits I'll make you pay!"

It was the first time Ursa had ever threatened someone, she had always been a kind lady after all. It was also the first time anyone had ever threatened Fire Prince Ozai, mostly because nobody in the Fire Nation was crazy enough to do so. Ursa's unexpected menacing attitude left Ozai dumbfounded. He had never known that his wife was capable of making a death threat to anyone, let alone to _him_. He didn't know how to respond. Ursa had won this round.

Feeling a tad better after lashing out a small portion of her burden on the very cause of her suffering, Ursa left her dumbfounded husband for her room. Once there, she changed into a clean white robe. She cleaned her face of any facial make-up and retied her hair with a simple white ribbon. Vanity is never for the time of mourning, as a cultured Lady Ursa understood this custom. After making sure her appearance was appropriate to visit the bereaved Lin Family, she made her way to the infirmary where she left Biao with Zuko. She would take the girl home herself. And no palanquins, she thought. No guards, too. That way, on the way back she could take the girl for a cup of tea in the city or something. She felt an inexplicable urge to cheer the young girl up. It would be hard to convince the guards to let them walk to the Lin Estate alone, she thought. Well, she'd think of something. Not that they needed any protection, one of them was a senior practitioner of the fabled Celestial Dragon style of firebending while the other was, even though nobody but her knew, the granddaughter of Avatar Roku and, like the Fire Nation Avatar, was a decent firebender.

She snickered bitterly at the thought. Her grandfather, Avatar Roku. Had he stopped the war before it could happen, maybe she wouldn't have to suffer like this. The war, the damned war. It was the thing that changed her husband, turned him from the most enviable husband and father in the whole Fire Nation into a power-hungry monster. Sozin started the war, Roku failed to prevent it from happening. And now, a hundred years later, their grandchildren were paying the price for their mess.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to stay tonight?" the Herbalist asked.

"No, Aunt", the admiral replied. "There's a ship going to the Fire Nation early in the morning. We must reach Gaipan this very night or we'll miss it."

They were standing at the front door of the Institute. The Herbalist was sending her guests of. It had only been about an hour since she had finish concocting a cure for Umma's illness, a pouch of pills safely stored inside Lin's backpack. As soon as she finished her job, the admiral, her nephew, suddenly insisted that they leave for Gaipan as soon as possible. Apparently, while he was out for a night stroll, he ran into the Rough Rhinos, a small group of Fire Nation elite cavalry roaming around the Earth Kingdom. They had informed him that Commander Zhao was supposed to go back to the Fire Nation to resupply General Iroh's battalion but he was held up in Gaipan. He couldn't continued his journey because some Earth Kingdom's soldiers had blocked his route by capturing a village southwest of Gaipan and set up a barrier on the river leading to the Fire Nation. The Rough Rhinos, who was coincidentally passing the area, had offered to help liberated the captured village because Commander Zhao had only few men with him, only enough to guard his ship. They told the admiral that if he helped them in liberating the village, maybe Captain Zhao would be grateful enough to give him a ride. So, the admiral agreed. He knew Zhao, the man had been his student when he was appointed as a temporary Military Firebending Instructor.

"I couldn't pass this chance", the admiral said as he finished with his explanation.

"Hrmph", the Herbalist snorted. "Sounds like an excuse to get away from me."

"I've never said it's not", the admiral muttered, rolling his eyes. Sadly, the Herbalist heard him and gave him a slap on the forehead.

"Ouch!" the admiral exclaimed, rubbing his forehead.

"Well, son", she ignored the admiral and turned to Jiang. "Don't forget to take your medicine. After two days you should feel better."

"Yes, Grandaunt", Jiang muttered weakly. Apparently the reason he was shutting himself the whole time in the North Pole was because his stomach couldn't hold Water Tribe's food. He had a minor case of food poisoning that had gone unnoticed until he got back to the Institute. But after some medicine from the Herbalist, he got a little better although the bitter pills made him a bit drowsy.

"And you, little one", the Herbalist smiled and pulled Lin into a warm motherly embrace. "Remember the medicine for your grandmother. Three pills each dose, three doses a day."

"Yes, Great-grandaunt", Lin squealed back, happy because finally his grandmother would be healthy again. He had found a cure for her.

"And you", the Herbalist turned to the admiral. "Come visit me again soon. And don't wait for another thirty years to do it. I don't think I'll still be alive by then."

"Don't say that, Aunt", the admiral muttered back, feeling a bit guilty. "You're a strong woman. You'll live for another hundred years!"

"What are you? Five?" the Herbalist scoffed. "An old crone like me, a decade is the most I could go for."

She laughed at her ominous joke, while her three relatives looked at each other uncomfortably. It was understandable; joking with death is the same as inviting death. It was nothing but superstition, of course. But somehow, only old people realized this little fact.

"Oh", she suddenly remembered. "Don't forget to say hi to Grandmaster Iroh for me."

"Grandmaster… Iroh?" Lin repeated, casting a puzzled look at his grandfather while the admiral shot a warning look at the Herbalist who realized her mistake and shut her mouth with both her hands.

"Grandmaster of what?"

"Grandmaster of the Tea and Pai Sho Lover Society", the admiral answered evasively.

* * *

"_This is madness."_

His grandfather's trembling voice woke him up from his sleep. Well, almost. He was just half awake, conscious enough to register little bits here and there of his father and grandfather's argument and unconscious enough to stay asleep physically. Thanks to the rejuvenating jamu (some sort of traditional medicinal drink made of mixture of spices and herbs) his great-grandaunt made for his leftover seasickness. The medicine knocked him out into a deep comfortable sleep when he drank it before he went to bed tonight.

"_Father, Father! What happened?"_

"_T-they're dead. All of them. Burnt... They're all burnt. This is insane. T-this is savagery."_

"_Dead? Who?" _Lin thought. He wanted to get up, to ask the question himself. But, no… he didn't feel like it. He was too tired.

"_Father, get a hold of yourself!"_

"_No. Fire is… I-I thought. It's not supposed to be like this… This— This is madness!"_

"_Father!"_

"_I-I must go. Run, hide!"_

"_Go? Go where? You're coming home with us, right Grandpa?" _Lin rolled in his sleep breathing deeply.

"_No! You must not go anywhere! You will go back with us. We'll explain everything to—"_

"_No, son, no. You don't understand. It was a set up. And I— I killed all those people."_

"_We will go home and explain this to the Fire Lord. If you run now, it will mean you—"_

"'_Running away from a problem won't make the problem disappear'. Grandpa, you taught me that. You're not going back on your own teaching, right?" _Lin thought in his sleep. He really should be waking up now, he knew that. But his eyelids were too heavy, just too heavy…

"_Don't you understand! If I go back with you, it would be— NO! You go back! You go back with the child! Keep him safe… keep our family safe."_

"_Father… what are you doing? Put the knife down. NO!"_

"_What? What happened? Grandpa?!" _Lin shouted in his mind. Knife? What knife? What did Grandpa do with the knife?

"_Take this! And this. From this moment onward, I am no longer affiliated with the Lin Family. I am no longer the head of the family. You are, son. You will take my place to lead and protect our family."_

"_What?! NO! You're coming back with us! Grandma's waiting for us! Don't go!!" _Lin exclaimed even harder in his mind, trying to fight his herb-induced sleep.

"_No, father! No! I'm not ready! I have still much to learn."_

"_Yeah! That's true. Dad's not ready for this. And nobody can do the job like you do, Grandpa. So stay. Please, stay", _Lin was now squirming gently on his bed.

"_That you do, my son, that you do…"_

"_Don't walk away from me!!"_

_CRACKED!_

"_I am so sorry, child. I hope you'll understand one day", _Lin could feel a sharp tickling feeling on his forehead. His grandfather must have kissed him there. It always felt like that when the old man kissed him, thanks to his thin moustache. And then it was quiet…

When Lin finally woke up, feeling lightheaded, he noticed that there was a storm outside. The inn room was a mess. One of the chairs was broken on the floor as if someone or something heavy was thrown on top of it and it broke down due to the pressure. Maybe it was what the cracking sound about, Lin thought. His father was sitting on another chair rubbing his forehead stressfully. On the table where Jiang was resting his elbow on, two suspicious looking things lay the top of it. He recognized one of them as his grandfather's beaded bracelet: similar to the bracelet commonly worn by other family members, the only difference was it had a pendant, as big as a coin, hanging from it. The pendant had the shape of Taiji circle. Lin recognized that bracelet, there was none like it, after all. It was worn only by the head of the Lin Family and had been passed down from generation to generation. And the other thing lying on the table, it took a while for Lin to realized that the hairy white thing was actually a flock of hair… tied into the form of Fire Nation traditional top-knot!

"Where's Grandpa?" Lin panted. He scrambled down from the bed as quickly as he can. His body felt surprisingly light and well rested, thanks to the jamu.

"I don't know", Jiang hissed. Lin had never seen his father this angry before.

"Where is he?" Lin repeated, unknowingly sounded forceful.

"I don't know, son", Jiang turned to him and cast him a reprimanding look. "Go back to sleep."

"What happened?" Lin persisted. "He's gone, isn't he? Where did he go to?"

"I said I don't know!" Jiang snapped. "Go back to— STOP!!"

But Lin had run off outside. It was raining heavily and the moment he took a step out of the inn, he was soaked to bone, but he didn't care. He had to find his grandpa. He had to. His grandmother needed him, his father needed him, the whole family needed him… he needed him. He didn't know where to look for the old man but it didn't matter. He just had to keep running, just keep running! _Don't stop_, he goaded himself. _He might not be too far. Is that him?! Oh, just a tree… Well, keep running then!_

"Stop!" after running for about twenty meters, Jiang caught up to him. The man managed to catch his hand and grip it tightly.

"Let go!" Lin angrily shouted at him. Why wouldn't he understand? He must go, he must find his grandfather.

"Let go of me!! I need to find Grandpa!" Lin turned to the forest in front of him and yelled out, "Grandpa!! GRANDPA!!!"

"Son, stop it!" Jiang violently jerked his hand.

"NO!" Lin tried to pull himself free but a ten year old boy's strength was nothing compared to a veteran war general's. "Let go of—"

"LISTEN TO ME!!!" Jiang roared to his face, his booming voice engulfed the sound of the storm around them. Jiang then bent down a little and gripped the trembling boy's shoulders and shook him violently as he spoke. "Listen to me!! I am your father! Listen to me when I'm—"

"Why?" Lin seethed. Jiang was shocked by his son's interruption. The boy fooled around a lot but he was never disrespectful.

"What do you mean—"

"WHY?" Lin roared back to his father's face, he couldn't take it anymore, he just couldn't. He secretly loathed his father and the reason why he did so… "WHY? ANSWER ME!!!"  
Jiang was wide mouthed by his son's outburst. Why? What did he mean by why? He knew the answer but he was too afraid to say it.

"Why? Why must I listen to you… "Lin asked again before adding venomously, "… _Father_?"

"Son", Jiang spoke as gently as he could but his voice was trembling. "It's raining here, let's—"

"WHY!!" Lin cut him. "Why must I listen to you? You? My father? Hah! Then, where the hell were you when I fell down from a tree and broke my leg?!! You were having an important guess over and too busy to do anything about it! It was Grandpa who brought me to the infirmary!!! Where were you during all those Father's Day celebrations?! You were training alone at the training hall! It was to Grandpa I gave the gifts that were supposed to be given to YOU!! Grandpa was my _real_ father, not YOU!!! NOT YOU!!!"

A silence ensued between the father and son, filled only by the sound of rain and thunder. Jiang was gaping; he understood all about it, he really did. He knew that he had kept a distance from his only son and it was… he didn't mean it. It was just…, he thought. It was just too painful for him. Every time he saw the boy he saw Lian. Every time he heard the boy's laughter, he heard Lian's laughter. Every time the boy sulked at him, it was Lian he saw… it was painful…

"Why?" Lin sobbed, the raindrops of his face masked his tears. He didn't really secretly loathe his father, he secretly loathed himself. His father's cold disposition to him made him loathe himself even more each day. He had a reason for it, but he was too afraid to admit it. He was too afraid to ask the question, to know the truth. He was afraid because he always thought that… "I-Is it because of Mom? I-Is it my fault s-she died?"

—SLAPPED—

For the first time in his life, Jiang slapped his son…

And for the first time since the death of his wife, Jiang did the two things he had stopped doing since the night ten years ago when his beloved wife passed away: he embraced his son and he shed a tear.

"Don't you _ever_ think that way again", he choked, kneeling and embracing the one thing he cherished the most in his life.

It's funny how time affect human's life. Ten years of fear and misunderstanding doesn't always need ten years of tears and forgiveness to resolve itself. Sometimes, one night is enough. One stormy night when a father's heart finally reaching out to his son, when a son finally recognized his father's love for him. Just one night was enough for Jiang and Lin. Time is a mysterious little thing, isn't it. And yet, the full moon, hanging in the night sky above, will stay the same.

* * *

"Are you warm?" Jiang asked, pulling a blanket over his son's shoulder.

"Yes, Dad", Lin whispered. That night was tiring for him.

"Goodnight, son", Jiang smiled at him, caressing his head. He was about to go to his own bed, but…_ just this once_, he thought as he sat down on the floor beside his son's bed and rested his head on the bed. He owed his son that much.

"Dad", Lin called for him and Jiang noticed that the boy's amber eyes were filling with tears. "I-is it my fault Mom d-died?"

"I thought we've agreed not to talk about this anymore", Jiang sighed. How he wished Lian was here. She would know what to do, she would know what to say.

"I'm sorry", Lin whispered.

"Don't be", Jiang sat up straight and wiped his son's tear. "Never apologize for it, son. It was never your fault."

He really looked like her, Jiang thought. It was still painful for him.

"_Hey, a boy or a girl?" the grey eyed girl cheerfully asked._

"_A girl, obviously", Jiang chuckled. "A boy would be too troublesome."_

"_Hmm", Lian narrowed his eyes mischievously. "Well, in that case, I want a boy."_

"_What?" Jiang asked incredulously, pinching her nose. "No! You, my love, are troublesome enough. I need a girl to help me keep you in line."_

----

"_It's a boy", Lian whispered softly, a weak smile spread through her pale exhausted face. "You lose."_

"_Yes", Jiang chuckled, cuddling the bundle between them. "Yes, I lose. So, you must—"_

"_I can't", Lian sobbed, she knew what her destiny was. "I'm sorry…"_

"_No, no…" Jiang wouldn't let her go, he couldn't. "No, please don't go. I need you…"_

"_I'm sorry…"_

----

He really is like her.

"Don't apologize, son", Jiang smiled warmly at the boy. "It was never your fault."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Okay... I think the admiral's identity wasn't that much implied but I believe it won't be too hard to guess who he is at this stage, will it? There had been a change of plan a little. I was about to insert the scene where the admiral was fighting to liberate the village with the Rough Rhinos and _then_ his identity would be very very heavily implied but I decided to keep the scene for later chapters.

And hpswst101, this is another sad chapter, sorry... It was necessary, although I did manage to insert some funny scene at the beginning. So, uh, cheer up. :)

Also, in Chinese culture white is the color of mourning and that was why Ursa changed her cloth into white robe before she visited the Lin Estate. This might get a bit confusing since in the Western culture the color of mourning is black (I think...). Interestingly, red which seemed to be the color of Fire Nation err... stuffs is the color of celebration in Chinese culture. That's why traditional Chinese wedding and Chinese New Year celebration are dominated by red.

And about the mourning period, I have little information about it but I believe it can vary depending on who passed away. I just decided on one year

And a little reminder, Lin was born on the night of full moon.


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20 – His Reason to Leave**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for another night", Jiang asked.

"No, Dad", Lin replied firmly. "We need to get back quickly. We need to get the medicine to Grandma as soon as possible."

"Well, if you say so", Jiang sounded unsure. Ever since the event last night, Lin had somehow calmed down. Jiang should have been happy, relieved. But, is that how a child normally acts? he thought. For the first time he had finally recognized how mature his son was. Granting him the family name was not a wrong move after all.

"Is that the ship?" Lin asked, pointing at a black metal ship, a Fire Nation Navy ship.

"Yes, that's the ship", Jiang replied. The morning before his son woke up, he went to the town to find the Rough Rhinos to ask them about what had really happened the night before. His father hadn't given a clear explanation about what happened when he joined the group to liberate the captured village, only a vague innuendo that he had killed people that he shouldn't have killed. Being a wise man himself, Jiang understood why his father would keep the matter from him; it was to protect his family. The Lin Family's growing influence could no longer go unnoticed by the Fire Lord. A crime committed by the head of the family might be exploited by Fire Lord Azulon to lessen the clan's influence or worse, to annihilate them all together. That was why his father relinquished his position last night. Not only that, he had also cut off his top-knot, a symbol that he had abandoned his nation. He had become a deserter. It was all done to protect his family. By doing that, the admiral declared that his crime was his alone and his family had nothing to do with it.

Anyway, Jiang couldn't find the Rough Rhinos. He did, however, found Commander Zhao and after some negotiation he had secured a ride home. When he asked about the Rough Rhinos, however, Commander Zhao denied ever seeing them again after he asked them to clear the blockade erected by Earth Kingdom soldiers in the captured village. On his way back to the inn, however, Jiang overheard a news going around the town about a village southwest of Gaipan that was annihilated and burnt to the ground in a single night. Nobody knew why anyone would do such a thing. The village was only a highway village and had no defenses at all. They suspected that it was bandits. But Jiang suspected that his father had something to do with it.

"General Jiang", Commander Zhao greeted. Two bodyguards stood at his sides.

"Commander", Jiang nodded curtly. He didn't like the guy for some reason… _must be the sideburns_.

"Please", Zhao gestured to his ship politely, letting Jiang and Lin to walk in front of him. Courtesy, Zhao might be a commander of the ship and Jiang's ticket back to the Fire Nation but Jiang was a general of a battalion, he outranked the smug commander.

"I heard that your father had gone missing", Zhao said with a fake sympathy.

"Yes", Jiang replied curtly, placing one hand on Lin's shoulder and noticing that the boy had tensed up. "It was an unfortunate tragedy for our family."

"Yes, quite", Zhao sounded a bit sarcastic. He gesture his bodyguards to stay behind a few feet back while he paced to the ship's bow with Jiang. Jiang also gestured his son to stay. He had a feeling that the conversation wouldn't be pleasant.

"You don't happen to know where your father is, do you General?" Zhao asked once they got out of the bodyguard's earshot.

"No", Jiang replied coldly. "He just disappeared. I tried to stop him but, sadly, he overpowered me. He is my master, after all."

"And a deserter", Zhao added, eyeing Jiang cunningly. "By running off just like that without leaving any explanation about his action, he will be declared a deserter. Desertion, done by the head of the prestigious Lin Family, seems like the make anyone the head of the family these days. Surely some—"

—THUDDED—

Zhao was thrown to the ground, his lips bleeding. Unable to stomach anymore arrogance from the commander, Jiang punched him on the face.

"Do you have anything to say about _my _family, Commander?" Jiang drawled anger etched every syllable.

"Your father—" Zhao was about to angrily retorted by Jiang cut him.

"_My father_ is not the head of the Lin Family", Jiang barked. He then slowly pulled his left sleeve and showed the wide eyed Zhao the beaded bracelet on his wrist, the bracelet that was worn by the admiral until last night. "_I _am."

Few seconds of silence ensued between the two with Zhao lying on the floor staring at Jiang and his bracelet angrily and Jiang glared back at him coldly.

"My father is no longer part of the Lin Family, mock him if you want", Jiang declared coldly. "But badmouth my family again, Zhao, and an Agni Kai it is between us."

"Y-yes, General", Zhao stuttered. He may be a fool but he wasn't an idiot. An Agni Kai with Jiang? He'd be sooner throwing himself into a volcano, no difference really. Jiang's skill was reputed to be second only to the admiral.

"Good", Jiang replied. He then turned to his son and found the boy standing over two unconscious soldiers, Zhao's bodyguards.

"What?" Lin flippantly replied his father's stare. "I need to blow off some steam, too."

* * *

"_I can come with you, Father", Jiang offered. The admiral simply laughed it off._

"_No way, son", he laughed, picking a long saber and inspecting it. "You need some rest too. Stay with the child, some father-son bonding with him wouldn't hurt."_

_And he placed the saber back and took a short sword, ignoring his son's growl. "It's been ten years, son", he continued, waving the sword around. "I believe Lian would—"_

"_Stop!" Jiang hissed. The admiral turned to him and noticed him trembling with the mixture of guilt and sadness. _

"_He's your son", the admiral sighed. "He needs a father."_

"_I know", Jiang muttered, casting a glance at the afternoon sky. They had left Lin at the inn where the boy was currently sleeping. Before the admiral went to help the Rough Rhinos with their mission, he decided to get a weapon in the town's market, not that he actually needed one but he just wanted to make it more interesting._

"_So, go for it", the admiral said as if it was the simplest ting in the world. "Ah, now this is perfect."_

_He took a tiger hook sword, and weighted it in his hand. Surprisingly light, the bladed weapon had a hook in the end, a spear tip at the end of the hilt, and an arched blade above the spot where the user placed his hand. The hook could be used to trap opponent's weapon or limbs, the spear tip and arched blade enabled the user to fight in a close quarter. _

"_Perfect", the admiral beamed._

"_It comes in pair, sir", the arms vendor informed, handing over another tiger hook sword. _

"_Oh", the admiral exclaimed, receiving the other sword and handing in some coins. "I'll take it."_

_He then put the weapon around his waist and turned to Jiang. "Go back, son", he sighed. The man looked like a bit under the weather. "Take some rest, talk to your son, take him to have fun somewhere or something. It'll worth it."_

_And with that, he paced away humming a song, leaving Jiang who muttered something about 'not feel like it' and 'stupid old man'._

_----_

"_This is the village", Colonel Mongke, the leader of the Rough Rhinos stabbed his finger on a spot on the map. "My men and I work best when we're together, so I hope you will excuse us for asking you to attack from this side (he pointed another spot, a forest trail south of the village) alone while we attack from the north."_

"_That's alright", the admiral chuckled. "So, what will the signal be?"_

"_Fire", Mongke grinned. "Big fire."_

"_Fire, huh", the admiral grinned back although it was nothing more but courtesy, he didn't share Mongke's enthusiasm._

"_Yes", Mongke rolled the map and gave it to the admiral. He then got up to his komodo rhino and said. "We will commence attack at nightfall. It's about one hour from now."_

_----_

_The village was quite big. It was located right beside the river and by the look of it, it was a highway village. The admiral noticed many merchant stands and inns in the village but he didn't see any soldiers or any barricades on the river. They're probably hiding in the houses, he thought lurking in the forest thirty meters away from the village. Must be earthen barricade set up by earthbenders. That sort of barricade could be set up and dismantled at the blink of an eye._

_Suddenly, a sound of screaming and a big fire came from the other side of the village. One of the houses was caught on fire and some people were running around. Some people got out from the houses the nearest to him. It was quite dark but the admiral noticed that some of the dark silhouettes were carrying weapons. _

"_Now!" he darted to the village, brandishing his twin tiger hook swords. It was quite dark and there were a lot of smoke. Some of the dark silhouettes seemed to have spotted them because one of the was shouting something he could hear properly, thanks to the chaotic screaming and the burning house, and then suddenly at least ten armed men were charging at him. The side of the village he was attacking hadn't caught on fire yet and it caused his surrounding to be very dark. But the admiral was trained warrior and he was used to fighting in area with low visibility. He skillfully sidestepped the spear that was aimed at his gut and punched the assailant on the face. It would leave a scar, the admiral was grabbing on to his tiger hook sword and that meant it was the sword's arched blade that collided with the man's face. He didn't die, thankfully, judging from the scream he let out as he rolled on the ground. But yeah, the admiral thought feeling the man's warm blood on his fist, it would leave a scar._

_Another spear stab. The admiral parried it with his left sword, guiding it to his side and then he swung his right sword at the opponent's shoulder (he hope, he couldn't really see). And the man dropped his spear and slumped down on his knees clutching his wound and screaming from pain._

_Realizing that one-on-one attack wouldn't work out, the rest of the dark silhouettes charged together at the admiral. The admiral decided that it was time for some firebending, though he didn't like it. The reason he bought his swords was that because by using swords, he would have less chance to kill his opponents. Firebending is dangerous and deadly and the admiral was purportedly one of the best firebender in the world. But no choice, it was the time of war. With a deep breath, he channeled his firebending skillfully into his swords. And with a wide twin slashes, he sent out a thin fire arc on his enemies, weak enough to ensure none of them dead but strong enough to knocked them out. _

_After making sure that all his opponents were all incapacitated, the admiral darted deeper into the village. Above his head, he could see the fire burning even stronger. Mongke wasn't kidding when he said 'big fire', the admiral bitterly thought. The fire seemed to have spread into the center of the village but it hadn't spread into his side yet. If he could finish the fight quickly, he could somehow save some part of the village, he thought._

—_SWOOSH—_

_A spear almost hit him from the left. He managed to leaped out of the way and instinctively swing his left sword at his assailant, harder than he was hoping. The dark silhouette fell down on his face and stopped moving. Deaths are after all part of war, the admiral knew this. He had been trained for this; he had experienced this guilty disgusted feeling many times before. And he had learnt how to deal with it._

_Without looking back at his victim, the admiral sped up into the fire to join up with his comrades. However, he had only stridden few feet away when his path was blocked by a group of people. And within seconds, he found himself parrying and countering countless of assaults in the dark of night. He didn't use firebending because it could give away his position. Fighting in the dark is best done alone. If you had friends with you, you would hesitate to attack because it could be your friend you sent lying on the floor. But if you're alone, you are free to strike down anyone who isn't you. And that was what the admiral did. Dodge this, counter, parry, counter, that guy's not moving, attack! All of them by using his hook swords._

_About five minutes later, he found himself standing over a dark mass of people. He had killed some of them, he knew and he didn't like it. One thing about reflexes: it's not only your movement you can't control but also the amount of strength you put into that movement. _

"_Admiral!"_

_The admiral turned back abruptly, his swords at ready. But it wasn't an enemy. It was too dark to see his face but judging from the huge horned thing he was riding and a big polearm he was brandishing, it was one of the Rhinos, Kahchi the Guan Dao master and, according to Iroh, a jasmine tea lover. _

"_Where are the others?" the admiral asked, lighting a flame on his palm._

"_What have you done, Admiral?" Kahchi replied coldly. He readied his weapon and his steed to charge._

"_What are y—", the admiral didn't really need Kahchi to answer. The fire he lit illuminated his surrounding and he realized that none of the people lying on the ground was wearing armor. They didn't wear armor because they didn't have one. They didn't have one because they were not soldiers, they were peasants! And what the admiral thought to be spears and halberds turned out to be fishing harpoons, shovels, spades, and pitchforks._

"_W-what?" the admiral's eyes widened in horror. "What the hell is th—"_

_He ducked just in time to keep his head from being shaved off by Kahchi who charged at him wielding his polearm without any warning._

"_This is a mistake!" he yelled._

"_Yes", Kahchi turned his steed around, ready for another charge."This is. YAARRRGH!!!!"_

_The admiral had no choice but to fight back. He leaped to the air and performed a mid-air twirl while Kahchi's polearm slashed the air few inches below him. The admiral landed on his feet and sent a fire slash from his swords to Kahchi's turned back. The rider let out a grunt and was thrown off his steed to the ground, unconscious. He had no time to make sure if Kahchi was alright because he had to find Mongke, to ask for an explanation and because Kahchi's komodo rhino, after noticing that its master had been knocked down, was pacing side to side around Kahchi, protecting him from any potential attackers._

_The admiral ran towards the direction of the fire. There! He saw the burning village now, but there was no sign of anyone, well anyone who was alive. There were numerous bodies lying on the floor, some were pieced by arrows or had bloody skulls but most were burnt badly. He darted away from the sight through the burning houses to the other side of the village. From his position, he saw two of the Rough Rhinos over there, one was wearing a full face helmet, Yeh-Lu the master of explosives and the other one, the admiral spotted the red feathers protruding from his almost bald head, Colonel Mongke! All around the two, some survivors were running away for their lives. And in front of them, a kid was standing, frozen by fear…

* * *

_

_He hated it. He hated the fact that he was weak. He wasn't supposed to be weak. He was stronger than any boys in the village, after all. And he was the leader of their small group. But now, he could only run dragged by his father. His mother was nowhere to be found and when he asked his father about it, his expression was weird. You know… like the one people make when somebody they know die. No! No,no,no,no! That's impossible. His mother was an earthbender. She couldn't be killed. She mustn't!_

"_Don't stop!" his father goaded him, pulling his hand even harder. It was hard for him to keep up with adult's pace. He was only eight years old, it was understandable. But he knew he mustn't stop, they weren't out of the village yet. And there was a chance that they'd run into one of those scary komodo rhino riders. They must at least get out of the burning village. They could hide in the forest. It would be safer there._

"_Dad!!" the boy yelled. His father suddenly collapsed behind him._

"_Go…" his father hissed, trying to get up. He shoved the boy away when the boy crouched down to help him get up. "Go…"_

"_No!" the boy started to cry. He finally noticed an arrow digging deep on his father's back. _

"_Go!" his father shouted, pushing the boy away. The boy didn't want to go. He wanted to stay, with his father. His father, with a mighty heaved, pushed himself off the ground. The boy was amazed by him. His father might be a simple farmer but, boy, wasn't he strong?_

"_Go, son", his father ordered again, turning his back on him, his voice was trembling but full of determination. _

"_But, Da—"_

"_Go. I'll be fine."_

"_B-but—"_

"_GO!!!"_

_He was shocked. His father had always been a gentle man, he had never yelled before. And so, he turned away and ran as fast as he could. His father said he would be fine. He just had to trust him. His father had never lied to him. His father would be fine… he had to run. His father told him to do so. _

_The boy didn't see his father, standing there wounded. He didn't see his father shot a glare full of hate and anger at one of the Rough Rhino who approached him slowly on his steed with his bow steady at his side. He didn't see his father sacrificed himself to buy him some time so that he could run. Run… far away from the village._

_He was tired, but had kept running like what his father told him to. Just a bit more… just a bit more and he would be outside of the village, safe from the burning rubble and from the Fire Nation riders. Just a bit more… on the left, old man Chang's hut! Or what's left of it… just two more houses. So, he kept running. One house… keep running! Another house… a little bit more! He saw some people around him, other villagers, running away from the village into the woods. So, he ran with them. Run… and run… until he reached a clearing outside the village near the forest. He used to play with his friends there. He turned back and caught the sight of his burning village._

"_Where's Dad", he felt tears rolling down his cheek._

"_Run!" one of the villagers shouted at him while darting away into the forest. But, no. the boy didn't want to run. He wouldn't move from his spot until his father caught up with him. He wouldn't… Even when two of the riders stormed into the village outskirt with their steed few meters away from where he was standing, attacking everyone within their reach, one was shooting fire balls from his fists while the other was throwing something that exploded shortly after he threw them. No, he wouldn't move. He couldn't. His father was still in the village and even if the boy wanted to move away from his spot, he couldn't, just couldn't. His body had frozen from fear. _

_One of the riders, the one who was hurling fireballs, turned away slowly to him. The rider, the boy noticed, was almost completely bald. His little hair on the top of his head was tied into a tail and it had some red bird feathers protruding from it. As the rider slowly turned to his cold cruel face to him, the boy could see that he had moustache and goatee. His moustache had rings on both its ends and similar rings pierced his nose and both his ears. The man finally noticed the boy. He grinned cruelly as he approached the boy slowly and menacingly._

"_The boy's not running", Mongke cruelly thought. He hated it when his preys were running. It made them harder to kill. Mongke stopped just a few feet away from the boy. He could see that the boy was crying, the boy was scared._

"_Die, kid", Mongke heartlessly taunted. He punched a deadly fire blast at the boy who was still refusing to run._

_Suddenly, a fire wall appeared out of nowhere! The flaming wall shot up from the ground between Mongke and his prey and Mongke's fire blast was engulfed the moment it hit the wall. Few seconds later, the wall disappeared, exposing the admiral who was kneeling on one knee with the boy in his arms. He shot Mongke a cold stare while readjusting the boy in his arms. The boy had fainted._

"_What is the meaning of this, Colonel?!!" the admiral roared. "Why are we attacking citizens?!!"_

"_We're not, Admiral", Mongke chuckled. "You are!"_

_The admiral's eyes were lit with anger and disbelief and he clenched his teeth as a dawn of realization hit him: he was trapped! It was a set up all along. There was never a barricade. It was all a lie. And all those people in the village, they had died for nothing. Another fire wall shot up from the ground, shielding the admiral and the boy from another fire blast. But as the fire wall disappeared, the admiral was nowhere to be found. _

"_He's run off into the woods", Mongke yelled to his companion._

"_Should we chase him?" Yeh-Lu asked._

_Mongke might be ruthless and hasty in nature but he wasn't stupid. He glanced at the ground where the admiral formed his fire walls. He noticed that even though the spot had had two fire walls erected on it, the ground showed no sign of being burnt at all. The grass was as green as it should be and the dirt was as brown as it had always been. He secretly praised the admiral's prowess as a firebender, no wonder the old man was hailed as one of the greatest firebenders in the whole world. The control he had over his element was outstanding, like he was a dragon incarnate. Mongke pondered on his situation: Ogodei, Kahchi, and Vachir was probably still in the village having fun, he only had Yeh-Lu with him. And Yeh-Lu wasn't exactly an effective close-quarter combatant. Two of them against the admiral, it wouldn't even be funny._

"_No", he decided. "He's dead either way."

* * *

_

_Run… just run…_

_He was tempted to kill Mongke and his minions on the spot but he shouldn't. Not that he couldn't do it if he wanted to. But because he had a child to protect. The boy, the admiral cast a quick glance at the boy he carried in his arms. He felt sorry for the boy, the boy wasn't that much younger than his own grandson… his grandson! He must warn Jiang! He must get back to Gaipan somehow and warn him. They might be targeting them, too. But how? He must protect this boy, who was squirming slightly in his arms. They boy had regain some consciousness. _

"_Are you okay?" the admiral asked without stopping. He must keep running._

"_Dad…" the boy moaned weakly._

"_HALT!"_

_The admiral stopped abruptly. In front of him, a battalion of Fire Nation soldiers were barricading his escape, all of them pointing their spears at him and the boy. He was expecting this…_

"_If you go now", he said calmly to the soldiers."I'll let you live."_

_Yes, it wasn't time to play good guy. It wasn't only his survival that he was fighting for but also the live of the boy. He was ready to kill. Sadly, his taunt only incited the soldiers' angry shouts. He set the boy down and knelt beside him and although the boy was trembling and crying silently, he could stand alone without support._

"_Child", he said softly to the boy. "Can you run?"_

"_Y-yes, sir", the boy replied._

"_Do you know a good spot to hide far away from here?" the admiral asked again, not taking his eyes off the flock of red in front of them. The boy threw a look around. He recognized the place; this was the place he and his friends usually passed by whenever they went to their secret hideout. His hideout! It would be safe there._

"_Yes, sir", the boy sniffed._

"_Good", the admiral took his twin tiger hook swords and handed them to the boy. Thankfully the weapons were light enough for even a kid. "Take this. And when I count to three, you run. Run to that hiding place and hide there. Understand?"_

"_Y-yes, sir", the boy stuttered, taking the swords._

"_Good man", the admiral turned to him a little and smiled encouragingly. The boy felt some warmth spreading inside him, banishing his shivering._

"_Get ready", the admiral whispered. "One… two… THREE!"_

_At the count of three, the admiral leaped forward taking down four opponents at once with fire blasts from both his hands and startling the other soldiers. At the same time, the boy dashed into the forest, leaving the scene of fighting behind._

"_NO!!" the admiral shouted as two soldiers hurried their way to the boy, trying to catch him. The boy turned back and caught the sight of two soldiers running towards him in horror. But suddenly, a fire wall appeared between him and his pursuers, barricading the two soldiers. Thanking the spirits, the boy ran again faster than before. He needed to run, ignoring the sound of fire flickering and people screaming and shouting behind him. He had to run…_

_And so he ran, farther and farther away, deeper and deeper into the forest. Just a bit more, he thought after five minutes of running. His knees were burning and his breaths were short, but he must keep running. His hideout was just few meters away from here. Just—_

"_Over there!" he heard some shouting. "I think I heard something!"_

_The boy quickly dived into the nearby bush, holding his breath and waiting. Two men in Fire Nation soldier's uniform came shortly after. He was ducking inside a bush and could only see their feet but he recognized their boots. He had seen them hundreds of times before and he hated each of the occasion equally. But why are the soldiers here? Shouldn't the old man be fighting them far away from here? Has the old man lost? The boy clenched his teeth in anger and grabbed his weapons tighter. He wished he was bigger, older, stronger. That way he could avenge the old man, he could avenge his village… he could avenge his father and mother. The soldiers muttered something to themselves that the boy didn't quite catch, something about 'mistake' or 'wild animals', and then they turned and leave. The boy waited again for a few minutes, wanting to make sure that he was safe before he got out of the bush. And as he got out of the bush, the exhaustion that had disappeared briefly while he was hiding suddenly overcame him. He realized that he was tired. Dragging his swords, he walked slowly to his hideout. No need to run, he convinced himself. The hideout was only fifty meters away. _

"_Psst…" _

_The boy turned to the hissing sound. _

"_Psstt…" _

_The boy cast a glance around, trying to find the source of the noise. His body tensed up._

"_Psstt… Jeeeetttt…"_

_The boy turned to his left and among the trees, he spotted two of his friends waving their hands frantically to get his attention. Glad because he met some familiar faces, he ran to them._

"_Jet!" one of his friends ran to him and squeezed him. "You're okay!"_

"_Smellerbee", Jet muttered. "Where's everybody?"_

"_I don't know", Smellerbee answered sadly, pointing at the other kid behind her. "Longshot and I are the only one here. I don't know where everybody else is."_

_Jet eyed her and the other boy. Judging from the soot all over their exhausted faces and tattered clothes, they had a rough time getting out of the village. _

"_Let's go", Jet muttered, leading the way to their hideout: a small tree house in the heart of the forest._

"_Jet?" Smellerbee threw a puzzled look at Longshot who shrugged before she ran to catch up with Jet. "What are we going to do?"_

_Jet clenched his fists, clutching his swords. "We're going to have revenge. Someday."

* * *

_

_Fire is the element of passion. A firebender's emotion closely affects the magnitude of his firebending._

_He had stressed this lesson over and over, tirelessly, to anyone who had ever learnt from him: to his sons, nieces, nephews, his many grandchildren who after some point thought it was boring; to Zhao and the other soldiers he trained during his time as a Military Firebending Instructor who used the knowledge in some wicked way; to Prince Lu Ten who was gawking at his lecture, clearly bored. He knew this fact by heart. And yet he committed the mistake he had relentlessly tried to avoid and tried to steer his students away from: he had let his emotions got the best of him. He was angry for falling into a trap, anxious because he wanted to protect the boy, impatient because he had to warn his son. Anger, hatred, fear… he had let them got the best of him. And the result? A battalion of Fire Nation soldiers lay dead on his feet. None of them alive, all of them were burnt. All of them were blasted into the spirit world by his firebending._

"_It was wrong…" he panted, down on his knees, holding his palms in front of his face and disgusted by them. "This isn't right…"_

_He remembered the lecture he gave to his grandson a month ago, right before he taught the boy 'the fire dome'._

—_Flashback—_

"… _fire is not all about destruction and power", the admiral held out his right fist. "It is also about creation and control", he held out his left palm._

"_Always have control over your power and strive to bring creation rather than cause destruction,…", he slowly brought his hands together to form the Fire Nation customary hand symbol: left palm held upright on top of right fist,"… that is the true essence of a true firebender", he bowed._

—_End of flashback—_

_Fire is creation. Fire is live. It brings warmth. It brings tranquility. Give it respect, it'll give you life. Underestimate it, it'll take your life. The paradox of fire, the two sides of the universe. It was what the Taiji circle hanging from the beaded bracelet on his left wrist symbolizes: the two sides of fire, creation and destruction, and the balance he must strive to retain. But what he brought upon these souls here tonight… where's the creation in this! Only destruction…_

_His bracelet! He got on his feet. He still had things to do. He must warn Jiang. He must warn him and urge him to take his grandson away. Jiang and Lin must not be harmed! He is a criminal now. He must relinquish his position as the head of the family right away, that way his crime would be his alone and his family wouldn't be dragged along with him. But that would also mean that Jiang and Lin must not be hurt. If both of them were killed, it would mean that the Lin Family would be leaderless and heirless, and the clan whole would be thrown into chaos. _

_And so he dashed away to the town of Gaipan.

* * *

_

_It was the full moon tonight. The full moon always reminded him of his wife. As Jiang sat beside the window, staring at the round beauty in the sky, he recalled what his father said that afternoon. He cast a quick glance at his son, only for a second, exactly a second. _

_Spirits know how he wanted to go to over his son, to hold him, to laugh with him, to say that he was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him. But he couldn't… it was too painful for him. It hurt so much just to look at the boy. The boy had so much of his mother in him. He had her nose, her forehead, her mischievous glint in his eyes. He was even a silent sleeper like her, Jiang thought. He missed her so much. He had missed her for ten years and he would never ever stop missing her until the day he dies. And every day, he cursed himself for his weakness, for his inability to—_

_Jiang quickly jerked his head to the door, ready to strike down whoever it was that slammed the door open and disturb his thought. In the dim candle light, he recognized the intruder as his own father. After casting a glance at his son to make sure that he was still sleeping (just a second, of course), he paced towards his father who looked very pale._

"_Father, you have returned", he said. His father looked around the room and let out a relived sigh when he saw Lin on the bed, sleeping peacefully._

"_Father?" Jiang asked cautiously. "What happened?"_

"_This is madness", the admiral grabbed Jiang's shoulder. He sounded and looked like a deranged man._

"_Father, Father! What happened?" Jiang asked again although he knew that the answer wouldn't be good._

"_T-they're dead. All of them. Burnt. They're all burnt. This is insane. T-this is savagery" the admiral rambled like a madman. _

"_Father, get a hold of yourself", Jiang shook the old man's shoulder, trying to snap him out of his delirium._

"_No. Fire is… I-I thought. This is madness!" the admiral grasped his hair in terror, ruining some of his neatly tied hair._

"_Father!" Jiang raised his voice, still grabbing the old man's shoulder._

"_I-I must go. Run, hide!" the admiral looked around before stabbing his eyes at the door, as if he was expecting someone or something terrible to walk into the room._

"_No! You must not go anywhere! You will go back with us. We'll explain everything to—" Jiang tried to calm man but he was cut._

"_No, son, no. You don't understand. It was a set up. And I— I killed all those people", the admiral turned to him and tried to argued more forcibly._

"_We will go home and explain this to the Fire Lord. If you run now, it will mean you—", Jiang calmly spoke._

"_Don't you understand! If I go back with you, it would be— NO! You go back! You go back with the child! Keep him safe… keep our family safe", the admiral suddenly snapped. Enough words, it was time for action. He stepped back and pulled out his emergency knife, safely hidden inside his boot. _

"_Father… what are you doing?" Jiang backed away a little; he still didn't understand what was going on but he didn't want to provoke the admiral into doing something stupid. "Put the knife down. NO!"_

_Too late. The admiral had cut off his top-knot._

"_Take this!" he threw the white flock of hair to Jiang. He then reached to his left wrist and pulled off his bracelet as well. "And this. From this moment onward, I am no longer affiliated with the Lin Family. I am no longer the head of the family. You are, son. You will take my place to lead and protect our family."_

"_No, father!" Jiang shook his head in disbelief clutching the two items in his hands, he noticed from the corner of his eyes that Lin was squirming gently in his sleep probably disturbed by the noise they were causing. "No! I'm not ready! I have still much to learn"_

"_That you do, my son, that you do…"the admiral smiled sadly, concurring his son's confession. Jiang still had much to learn but he had no choice… the Lin Family had no choice. He turned his back on Jiang and walked towards the door. But…_

"_Don't walk away from me!!" Jiang snapped into a rage. If his father didn't want to see reason, then he would make him!_

_CRACKED!_

_The admiral punched Jiang in the gut before the general could even touch him. The punch sent Jiang flying backwards and landed on the chair and the chair that crumbled below him. The admiral walked over to his unconscious son to make sure that he wasn't killed or fatally injured by the fall, he kinda punched a bit harder than he was hoping… and, nope. Jiang was fine. When he was about to turn away again, he caught the sight of his grandson lying on his bed. The admiral felt an unbearable feeling of sadness. He loved the boy. The boy was one of the few things that he lived for. And the boy needed him, he knew. The boy needed a father. And Jiang was refusing to be one. The boy needed him…_

_He walked over to the boy and caressed his hair. He didn't want to leave the boy but he had to. The boy would be upset, he suspected that much._

"_I am so sorry, child", he whispered sadly. "I hope you'll understand one day"_

_And then he leaned to the boy and kissed his forehead. He must leave. After painstakingly taking his eyes off the boy, he stormed off from the room, leaving his son unconscious on the floor and his grandson sleeping on his bed. He must leave…

* * *

_

"_Come on, Jet!" Smellerbee yelled over her shoulder. Behind her, Jet and Longshot were running as fast as they could, trying to keep up with her. They were chased by at least five armed soldiers._

"_Longshot!" Jet exclaimed. He and Smellerbee stopped running when a grunting sound from behind him indicated that their friends had tripped on something and fallen down. The soldiers stopped too, grinning cruelly at the horror-stricken Longshot while Smellerbee was trembling on her spot struggling between wanting to save her friend and to run while Jet clutched his swords tighter, ready to defend himself and his friends even though he had never wielded a sword before. He leaped forward, landed between Longshot and the soldiers. He could feel his knees knocking but he had to be brave. One of the soldiers laughed at Jet's clumsy stance and took a menacing step towards him._

"_Arrgggh!!" the soldier screamed and fell down on the ground as a fire ball hit him square on the chest._

"_Are you alright, kids?"_

_Jet gaped at their savior. His hair was no longer tidy but Jet recognized him. The old man from before leaped out of nowhere and landed in front of him while punching a fire blast on the soldier. The remaining soldiers were startled but they readied their weapons once they overcame their surprise._

"_Y-yes, sir", Jet stuttered._

"_Take your friends and go", the admiral ordered._

_Jet complied. He pulled Longshot to his feet and rejoined Smellerbee in their escape, far away from the soldiers. Two of the soldiers suddenly charged at the admiral. The admiral parried their spears with his bare hands and then he quickly sent two fire blasts from his fists to his attackers' guts. Without waiting for them to attack first, the admiral used the momentum built by his punch to launch himself forward to the remaining two soldiers and took them down with another double fire blast before they could react._

"_Over there!" _

_He could hear some shouting and rustling noises in the woods around him. There were more soldiers and he needed to divert their attention. He needed to keep them away from the children._

"_I'M HERE!!" he shouted into the darkness. "I'M RIGHT HERE!!!"_

_His plan worked! Four soldiers emerged from darkness and charge at him. He quickly took down the first one with fire stream from his kick. Witnessing their comrade fell so easily, the other three decided to tread more carefully. One of them was pointing his spear at ready with the other two standing approximately a meter behind him at his right and left, the standard army's wedge formation._

"_I'M HERE!!" the admiral roared as he sent a mid-air fire kick at the soldier in the front and landed right in the middle of the other two bewildered soldiers._

"_I'M… " he focused his chi and sharply punched to his right and left and roared to the sky, "… HEEEEEERREEEEE!!!!!"_

_With the last word, he punched streams of fire at the soldiers and breathed fire to the heaven above. His plan worked. The fire served as beacon for the soldiers. Soon, he found himself surrounded by more soldiers. But it's not all, he thought. There must be more of them. And with a mighty battle cry, he lunged towards the forest of spears and swords, wreaking havoc among his countrymen._

"_I'M HERE!!! ADMIRAL JEONG JEONG IS HERE!!!"

* * *

_

_The moon… Zhao hated it. He noticed that his firebending was weaker during the night. He suspected that the moon had something to do with it. Well, he knew that the moon strengthened the waterbenders, it strengthened his enemies! He hated it. The moon was a traitor, the ally of his enemies._

"_Commander."_

_Zhao turned his head and nodded at Colonel Mongke and his riders._

"_Has it been done?" he asked._

"_Yes, sir", Mongke reported. "There was no survivor."_

_Not true, a bunch of children got away. But the man didn't need to know, Mongke thought. Besides, what harm can a bunch of kids cause? And thankfully, Zhao believed him. The commander grinned smugly at the night's sky and took in a deep breath of the salty air. He smelt it: a storm is coming. A storm for the Lin Family. Perfect…_

"_Good work, Colonel", Zhao said, smirking. "Fire Prince Ozai would be pleased."

* * *

_

**Author's note:**

A long chapter... full of deaths and killing. I've been trying to avoid using the words 'kill' or 'dead' or other words that would make us picture a real dead body out of respect for the creators of the show who are against showing people die in the Avatar. But it's just impossible, isn't it... T_T

I won't stop trying though.

And more than half of this chapter is in italics because this chapter is basically one big flashback. And now, I think you know why I didn't insert the admiral's scene in the last chapter. Fighting scene can be longer than normal scene.

And be honest now, who actually guessed that the boy the admiral saved was Jet before he caught up with Smellerbee and Longshot? :)

Some names:

1. Chang (场) means 'field' or 'market'

2. Guan Dao is what we called Kahchi's polearm in chinese.

You might recognized some lines from chapter 5 and 7 regarding firebending. And you gotta love Jiang and Lin's father-son combo when they knocked some respect into Zhao and his bodyguards. And about the admiral punching and breathing fire, it looked similar to Aang in 'The Phoenix King' when Zuko ordered him to 'roar'.

And to hpswst101, congratulation! You've guessed correctly! *applauded* The admiral is Jeong Jeong!!! And the prize for guessing corretly, this chapter is dedicated to you!!!

I always like Jeong Jeong. He is a man who chose to see the bad side of his element and in the process avoided from being tempted by its power. He reminded me so much on my martial art teacher. My teacher wasn't a bitter old man, though. He was only twelve years older and quite fun to hang around with. But, like Jeong Jeong, he always tried to avoid teaching his students the fighting aspect of martial arts, he had his share of violance in the past so it was understandable. So, while other martial art instructors taught their students some cool and effective ways to hurt people, my teacher had us do push-ups, sit-ups, running laps; basically physical torture in the name of training our physique and stamina. We hated it when he did that, until the day we managed to persuade him to do the exercise with us so that he could taste his own medicine... MWAHAHAHA. Suprisingly, he accepted and beat us down in anything, push-ups, sit-ups; you name it, he win it...

Have fun, love life!!


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21 – Rain**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

Home at last.

It hadn't been exactly an entertaining journey but at least it was over now. And it was quite productive, Lin thought clutching the pouch containing his grandmother's medicine in his hands. He had a cure for his grandmother's illness, he met his great grand-aunt, he made some friends, learnt a lot of things, got a chance to see the Northern Water Tribe, got to kick some butts, but he lost his grandfather. He was sad, of course. He had asked his father about it but his father had confessed that he himself didn't know much about the admiral's disappearance. Lin, however, overheard Zhao's crews talking about the rumor of his grandfather's desertion. He didn't know whether it was true or not, but if it was true, his grandfather must have a good reason to do such a thing. Desertion was a crime punishable by death in Fire Nation.

But now, what matter wasn't his grandfather. The old man could take care of himself. Now, what matter was to take the medicine to his grandmother. Grandma would know what to do, the boy thought. She always knew what to do. The Herbalist had said that after taking the medicine for at least a month, Umma's illness would be cured completely. Maybe after she was cured, Grandma would go to the Earth Kingdom and turned the whole Kingdom upside down to search for Grandpa, Lin thought again. It was the sort of thing Umma would do…

"Are you alright, son?" Jiang asked. He was worried about his son because the boy had been staggering for awhile, not to mention he was a bit pale. Seasickness…

"I'm fine", Lin muttered not convincingly.

"Want to stop for a cup of tea?" Jiang offered, pointing at a simple tea shop on the Imperial City's pier.

"Nah", Lin declined, gesturing the pouch on his hands. "We better get home fast. The medicine, Grandma…"

"Of course", Jiang nodded.

"What should we tell her about Grandpa?" Lin asked.

"I'm not sure", Jiang sighed. He wasn't looking forward to telling the Tiger-Hawk Medic Lady that her husband had gone missing. "The truth?" Jiang asked for his son's opinion.

Lin didn't answer. He just stared at his father who stared back, both suddenly stop walking. And about five seconds later, both broke the silence at the same time.

"Nah…"

"Nope…"

"Grandma would kill him…"

"She definitely will…"

The stopped again, looking at each other before breaking into laughter, the first laughter in about a week.

"Come on, son", Jiang chuckled, starting to walk. "We better get going. Your Grandma's waiting."

"Yep", Lin sighed, grinning. "Grandma's waiting."

He might have lost his surrogate father but… he regained his real father in this journey. Maybe it wasn't so bad, after all.

* * *

The front gate of the Lin Estate: a magnificent front door made from the highest quality of hard wood, framed by engraved magnificent black metal frame. It had two pillars, one at each side; both pillars were red and cylinders and had a dragon encircling each, at one pillar the dragon was white and at the other pillar the dragon was black. At the upper middle of the gate, a rectangular golden framed black signboard bore the golden words 'The Lin Family Estate (林家庄园)'. Two guards were standing at the gate, faithfully guarding its inhabitants from any danger the outside world might pose. Not that they were actually needed… I mean, what kind of idiot would even think about breaking into an estate where ninety percent of the residents were talented firebenders?

The Lin Family was famed for producing the best firebender warriors the Fire Nation had to offer. The front gate of the Estate itself was a testament to it, the gate sent out the air of respect and pride. But something was different today; something that made Jiang and Lin felt a strong jolt on their stomachs. A piece of white cloth was hung around the signboard neatly, framing the black board and the golden letters solemnly. Two tall white banners were erected on the inside of the gate and although nobody could see the flagpole from outside, they could see the banner itself fluttering in the crisp late autumn air. Both of the guards wore their usual black uniform but they also wore a white sash and had a small white handkerchief covering the base of their spear tips, hiding the red tuff of their weapons. Jiang and Lin knew what all those white cloth meant: somebody had died.

After exchanging an uncomfortable look with each other, both father and son approached the door, exchanged greetings with the guards who opened the door and let them in, and walked slowly towards the Estate's main hall. Jiang knew that everyone must be in the main hall. It was the only place large enough to hold all of the residents. Lin himself was lost in thought. Somebody had died while he was away? That sucks…

As they walked down the last corridor towards the main hall's door, Lin was guessing inside his mind of who they were mourning for. Must be Aunt Bing, he pondered. Aunt Bing was always sickly and Lin felt really sad about her. Aunt Bing had always been nice to him… Poor Biao must be sad, he thought. Aunt Bing was her mother, after all.

And he halted his contemplation as he and his father stepped into the main hall where countless of chairs and tables had been set up and at least a hundred people sitting inside; men, women, old, young, all of them looked sad and gloom. The moment Lin and his father set foot inside the hall, all heads turned to them. All of them, without exception, were wearing white robes and some of them even wore white headbands. A second later, his uncle Masa who was the nearest to the door approached them and, after casting a weird look at Lin, placed an arm around Jiang's shoulder and led him away from Lin. Both men talked in low whisper a few feet away and after they finished, Lin noticed that his father had turned as white as a ghost and he cast a weird look at him as well. Lin furrowed his brow questioningly at him, silently asking him of what was going on. But before he could say anything, a female approached his father and gave him a white sash and a white headband to wear. Another female also approached Lin and softly whispered to him to wear an identical sash and armband. And the one who were putting a white headband around Lin's forehead; it was his Aunt Bing…

"Aunt Bing?" Lin asked, his voice trembling and his heart beat faster than ever. _It can't be…_

"It's alright, child", Aunt Bing whispered, tears were rolling down her pale cheeks.

"W-wha—", Lin could feel his eyes pouring down his warm tears. He unconsciously dropped his medicine pouch as the horror claimed him. No, it couldn't be true… it couldn't, I have a cure! No… NO!

"Lin!" Aunt Bing tried to catch him but Lin was too fast. He had dashed away from the woman towards the other side of the main hall where an altar was set up. On top of it, he saw a painting of an old lady. It couldn't be true…

"Let go!" Lin punched one of his cousins who managed to grab his hand. He knew his grandmother wouldn't like it, but… it couldn't be true. He had a cure…

"Let go of me!" he yelled. At least five other cousins jumped at him and pulled him from behind. "LET GO!"

"Lin! That's enough!" his great-aunt scowled at him from her seat, but Lin didn't care.

"LET GO!!" with a strength that even he didn't know he possessed, Lin shoved his captors away. He then darted as fast as he could to the altar, but…

"Enough Lin!" Biao had appeared out of nowhere and caught him from the side, grabbing his waist and struggling to keep the younger boy from the altar. "Stop, please."

"No!" Lin yelled, still trying to get himself free. But then Biao knelt down and hugged him.

"Enough", she sobbed, embracing her cousin who suddenly stopped struggling. "It's alright…"

"B—but…" Lin's eyes were widened as he stared at the portrait on the altar, the portrait of his grandmother's kind amber eyes staring back at him. "I-I have a c-cure. T-this…"

"It's okay", Biao sniffed, hugging him tighter. "It's okay…"

* * *

"Are you ready, Zuko?" Ursa asked, popping her head on her son's door.

"Yes, Mom", Zuko answered weakly. Ursa entered the room and make sure that her son was properly dressed for the occasion today. Both of them were wearing simple white robes. A day after the return of Jiang and Lin, the Lin Family would hold a funeral for Umma's ash. The cremation itself took place the day after she passed away but the funeral couldn't commence without the presence of his husband. But since Admiral Jeong Jeong had gone missing, Jiang as the eldest son would take his father's place to carry his mother's ash to the clan's private cemetery.

"Are you alright, honey?" Ursa asked although she knew the question was rather clichéd and rhetorical.

"I don't know, Mom", Zuko muttered back. Even though he wasn't related to the Lin Family, he somehow felt an inexplicable sympathy for them, especially for Lin. He knew how close the boy was to his grandmother. When he heard the news of Umma's death, his heart had actually ached so much he almost cried himself. He had never known that he could feel this way about a stranger's death. His father would call it a weakness, he knew.

"But it is not weakness", Ursa convinced him, smiling kindly at her son's explanation of what he was feeling. "It shows that you have compassion, Zuko. And it is the thing that makes you strong."

And she stroked the boy's head gently as Zuko dived into her arms sobbing.

* * *

The Lin Family Private Cemetery, located on the hill south of the Estate. It took about fifteen minutes walk from the estate. And in front of the Estate, hundreds of people were flooding the street. Most of them were mourners and family members who wore white robes, while some others were citizens who wore either white sashes or white armbands, staring at the mass of a safe distance away.

The mourners would march with a jar containing Umma's ash to the hill. At the front of the march was Jiang, tall and proud as ever but sad and solemn, carrying in his hands a porcelain jar. At his side, two of his brothers, Masa and Kang, were carrying white banners. A few feet behind the three, stood the clan's elders and older members of the family. Right behind them were the guests, some nobles and the Royal Family minus Azulon. And a few feet behind them were the rest of the family, including Lin who was standing between Biao and Aunt Bing, around them were his aunts, uncles, and cousins. And at the tail of the march were the servants and maids who worked for the family, among them was Ning Ma, crying silently and cursing herself for failing her mistress. And surrounding the mass were some guards who, although still wearing their uniform, honored the procession by wearing white sashes and covering the red tuffs of their spears with white handkerchiefs.

And after making sure that the preparation was complete, Jiang began the march. In a slow and steady pace, the sea of white moved slowly towards the south. Some of the civilians were following them from behind but nobody tried to stop them. They understood why the civilians wanted to follow the procession and they were grateful for that. Umma was a national hero, after all, a living legend. Many people, military or not, looked up to her. None of them present that day were smiling or laughing or showed any kind of happiness. Some might flash a weak sad smile at each other, but that was it. Nobody was happy, everyone was sad. All but one: Ozai.

Ozai was glad, sure. His plan had worked. He knew why Ursa had proposed such- such _outrageous_ thing at the last Ceremony of Ascension to the Lin Family regarding Azula's future. He knew that she had planned to separate him from their, no, _his_ daughter. But he was grateful for that. Ozai had never showed any interest in Azula until Ursa came with her proposal out of the blue. Sensing that something was amiss, he tested the girl himself and found the girl's prodigious talent in firebending, all courtesy to Ursa of course. Had his wife not been so persistent, he wouldn't have even known about Azula's talent. His win, he thought.

And then, to ensure a complete victory, he had to do something about the Lin Family. Umma and her husband were showing some interest in Ursa's proposal while Jiang shared his own distaste in the very idea. So, he had to remove Umma and her husband. Removing the admiral was difficult; he had to sacrifice more than two battalions of soldiers to do so. But Umma, her death was a gift from the spirits. And now with Jiang as the head of the Lin Family, there was no way Ursa's proposal would become reality. He had promised that he would make sure that the Lin Family accept her proposal, sure, but he could always reason that since Jiang kept refusing, he had to called off the deal. And, he had secured himself some time to paint Azula with his color, one year to be exact. One year would be enough, he thought. Everything was going his way.

Ozai cast a look at his left. Ursa was walking there, looking sad and all. At her left, _her_ son was having a similar expression, the expression of weakness! Ozai then turned to his right where Azula was tugging the end of his long sleeve. The girl's expression was hard to read but he noticed that the girl would timidly turned her head back and tried to look through the crowd behind them as if she was looking for someone from time to time. "_Must be looking for her friends, those two girls_", Ozai thought.

But he was mistaken. Azula wasn't looking for Mai and Ty Lee. She was looking for Lin. She felt sorry for the boy but she didn't have enough courage to openly show it. She had make the mistake of suggesting that she and her father visited the bereaved Lin Family few days ago and the response she got… she didn't even want to remember it. And so, she hid her true feelings about Umma's death from her father. She was sad, really, well maybe a little. Azula had never had a grandmother and during her short visit to the Lin Estate, Umma had been kind to her.

There! She exclaimed inside her mind. As War Minister Qin and Admiral Chen walked a bit farther from each other, she caught the glimpse of the ponytailed boy among the crowd behind, clutching some sort of green flute. She noticed that the boy looked very sad: his eyes were fluffy and red, the mischievous glint in his amber eyes were gone and replaced by emptiness. The boy had once again sporting a top-knot and he wore a white headband around his forehead. Lin was pacing slowly, almost absentmindedly, with his eyes fixed on the ground below. At his side, Biao placed her hands around his shoulder, silently comforting the boy while warm tears were flooding her own cheeks. Lin had never felt so empty in his life. His grandfather had gone missing and his grandmother was no more. It felt like someone was clutching his heart with an iron grip. It hurt… it hurt so much…

On his hands, he clutched the green flute his grandmother always made him play. Umma's will was found shortly after her death safely hidden under her pillow. In her will, Umma left most of his earthly possessions to her relatives: her priceless jade flute to Lin, her pearl comb to Biao, and many others, even her old treatise of medicine to the servant girl Ning Ma who was taking care of her. Nothing was odd in her will, except for a small locked box that she would like Iroh to keep. In her will, she had written that it was something that she must 'return' to the general and that Iroh had the key to the box. Strangely enough, she didn't mention anything about her husband. It was as if she had already known that the admiral would mysteriously disappear.

The procession came to halt as they reached the iron gate of the cemetery hill. Two of the guards walked forward to open the gate for the mourners. The march then continued inside but the civilians stayed outside out of respect for the mourners. Inside, the mourners retain their standing position with the guards standing in a neat formation behind them. Jiang, with his two brothers at his side, walked slowly towards the altar prepared in front of a burial mound in front of which Fire Sage Shyu was standing. After placing his mother's ash ceremoniously on the altar in front of the Fire Sage, Jiang and his brother's knelt down solemnly in front of the altar. And after receiving a nod from Jiang, Fire Sage Shyu began chanting prayers for the departed soul, accompanied by some sobs from the mourners.

Lin, like the other mourners, hung his head down, silently praying for his grandmother. He could feel Biao's hands trembling on his shoulders. He himself was unsuccessfully holding his own tears as the drops of warm liquid fell down from his amber orbs to the ground below. He still couldn't believe that his grandmother was gone. He had the cure… he really did… so… so, why? Why…

He wiped his tears away and looked to his right. Biao was crying. She was holding onto the comb Umma had left her. The very same comb when…

"_I don't want to!" she tried to run but the old lady was surprisingly agile._

"_Come back here!" Umma managed to catch the teenager's collar and forcibly dragged her back in front of the mirror. Biao, grumbling, surrendered to her grandmother's grip and sat down on the chair._

"_But, I don't want to", Biao moaned._

"_Nonsense, dear!" Umma snorted, untying the girl's top-knot and let her long hair fell down gracefully. "You have a beautiful hair. This will look good on you."_

"_But it's so…" Biao looked disgusted as she said the word, "… girly."_

"_But, you are a girl", Umma replied, smiling as she comb her granddaughter's black hair. "And a beautiful one, too."_

_Biao grumbled again although she blushed a little. Being the only girl born into the Lin Family in her generation, it was natural for Biao to grow up into a tomboy. And tonight was supposed to be her inauguration along with ten other cousins (all males) to the rank of senior practitioner. She was about to attend the celebration wearing her usual cloth and her usual hair until Umma broke into her room bringing with her a beautiful red dress-robe and an ornamented pearl comb. And yes, it was a make-over._

"_Come on now, dear", Umma teased, pulling Biao's hair into a feminine ponytail. "Let's give the boys something to look at."_

"_W-wha—", Biao stuttered, blushing even deeper under Umma's snicker. "Grandma!"_

"_What?" Umma grinned. "Some noble sons would be attending too, right. You're nineteen now. Technically you're qualified to marry three—"_

"_Never", Biao hissed in terror while Umma openly laughed at her._

"_Well, my dear", Umma said wisely, "That's what I said before I met your grandfather."_

_Biao grumbled again. Umma ignored her as she showed her the pearl comb and continued with her story._

"_And then he proposed to me, although things were a bit, say, unconventional", Umma frowned a little. "It was on a warship, so…"_

"_Warship?" Biao grinned, sounded interested._

"_Anyway", Umma returned to her comb. "He gave me this comb as a gift on our honeymoon."_

_Umma then secured the comb on her granddaughter's hair and sighed lovingly at how the white pearl accessory complimented the girl's look._

"_See", she said. "It looks good on you."_

Biao's tears fell down even faster as she reminisced the fond memory she shared with the old lady. Her mother Bing was also lost in thought…

"_You don't have to trouble yourself, Mother", Bing coughed on her bed._

"_It was no trouble at all", Umma chuckled. "Oh, and Lian, please get me the soup."_

"_Yes, Ma'am", a grey eyed lady saluted like a soldier before bouncing away from the room._

"_And now", Umma turned to her sick daughter-in-law and placed a wet piece of cloth on her burning forehead. "Just lie down. And don't worry about Biao. Ning Ma is taking care of her."_

"_And here we are", Lian chirped, entering the room with a tray of steaming hot soup. "Mother made the soup herself, by the way."_

"_Oh", Bing looked surprised by the gesture. "T-thank you, Mother."_

"_It's alright, dear", Umma laughed, blowing a spoonful of hot ginseng soup._

"_And remember the time when Mother almost killed us when we almost stepped on a ginseng plant?" Lian grinned at Bing._

"_You mean the time when Mother almost killed 'you' when 'you' almost stepped on the ginseng plant", Bing raised a brow._

"_Yeah, that time", Lian giggled. "Well, that's the ginseng on the soup."_

"_What?" Bing looked surprised; she knew how valuable the plant was for Umma. She turned to Umma and said. "Mother, you shouldn't have..."_

"_What do you mean 'I shouldn't have'?" Umma laughed again, offering a spoonful of soup to Bing's mouth. "I raised this ginseng for you. Of course I should have."_

And Bing broke down into an even harder sob. Her heart ached so much as she recalled the kindness her mother-in-law had shown her, the kindness that she would never be able to repay. And kneeling in the front, Jiang had finally shed a tear as the memory of her mother flooded his mind…

"_I'd rather die…" Jiang declared coldly._

"_Just meet her!" Umma snapped. "It's just a lunch and— Come back here!"_

_Jiang tried to run but Umma tackled him from behind and caught him in a headlock._

"_Ouch! Ow, ow!" Jiang grimaced, trying to release himself from his mother. "Okay! Okay!"_

"_That's better", Umma said smugly, releasing her son._

"_But, just this once", Jiang said curtly._

"_Of course", Umma replied with a sly smile that made Jiang worried. She opened the door and dragged his son into the Estate's dining room where her husband and a grey eyed ponytailed girl were sitting around a dining table._

"_Good afternoon, Lian", Umma greeted sweetly, covertly pushing Jiang, who was gawking at the stranger, forward. "Have you met my eldest son, Jiang?"_

Jiang could still remember that day. It was his mother who introduced the love of his life to him. And as a son, he felt so useless for not being there for his mother at her last moments, the feeling that was shared by his son. Lin, staring at the flute, had so much memory of the old lady. His grandmother was always there for him. She was always the first who praised his achievements, the one who laughed the hardest at his jokes or pranks, the warmest hug when he was sad…

"_Come on, honey", Umma offered kindly. "Let's join the celebration."_

"_I don't want to", her seven year old grandson sniffed into his pillow. Below the bed, a box containing a blanket the boy had painstakingly saved his allowance to buy was neglected. Umma picked the box and placed it on the nightstand before returning to the boy._

"_Come on, dear", she baited. "There'll be cookies…"_

"_I don't want any…"_

_Umma sighed at the boy. She understood why he was upset. The boy was the only one who didn't get a chance to give his father a gift in the Father's Day celebration. Jiang had muttered something about war meeting and excused himself from the family's celebration._

"_Well", Umma raised a brow, deciding to use her secret weapon. "If you don't want to cheer up, I'll just have to make you."_

_And with the last word, she attacked the boy's side with her tickling fingers, causing to boy to squirm and giggle on the bed. And soon, he was his cheerful self again._

"_And what do you have here?" Umma asked, opening the box. From the box, she took out a red blanket with a big picture of a turtleduck on the middle. She couldn't help but smile at the childish design of the turtleduck._

"_Your father will love this gift", she smiled although deep down she doubted Jiang would be thrilled by the gift._

"_Nah", the boy pouted again. "I'll give it to Grandpa for his next birthday."_

And his grandfather. Lin was wondering if the old man knew that his wife had passed away. Probably not, he thought. Lin knew quite a lot about warfare and politic, thanks to the education Umma gave him. He knew that Fire Lord Azulon would want to contain the news of his grandmother's death inside the Nation's border. Umma was a hero. Her death would be a great morale blow on the soldiers who were fighting in the warfront.

"…and by the spirits she shall rest", Fire Sage Shyu concluded his prayer. And as he did so, he stepped down from the altar and let Jiang moved forwards and took the Umma's ash. After muttering a short prayer, Jiang took the jar containing his mother's remain and slowly put it on the freshly dug grave. And then, he ceremoniously took a handful of dirt and scattered it on top of the jar. It was all he should do. After he got up and stepped back from the grave, two men started to fill the grave, with Umma's ash in it, with dirt. The process was done slowly and respectfully until the grave was fully filled. The whole time, almost none of the Umma's sons, grandchildren, and daughters-in-law stopped crying. In her long life, the old lady had touched many lives, especially those who were the closest to her.

And as the procession came to an end, some mourners decided to go home. Guests were sent back to the Lin Estate first by the guards where they would later go home with their personal guards. Some family members, however, stayed in the graveyard. Ursa and Zuko approached Jiang and the elders to express their condolences. Ozai stood still waiting for them. And Azula, after some moment of hesitation, ran towards her mother to join her in expressing condolences much to Ozai's dismay. He would deal with that later, it was obvious to Azula but she didn't care. And as they finished talking to Jiang, Ursa turned to Lin who stood a few feet back with Biao. Lin was no longer crying. He was spacing at Umma's headstone with an empty expression. Ursa understood how he felt and she felt a great sympathy for the boy. Lin had lost another mother…

"Lin", Ursa softly called. Lin turned to her and the look in his eyes, it broke Ursa's heart. His eyes were empty, almost lifeless. Ursa didn't know what she could possible say to him. All she could do was kneeling down and pulled the boy into her embrace. "I'm so sorry."

"Thank you", Lin muttered.

And the crowds got thinner and thinner until they were only three people left in the graveyard: Lin who was standing in front of the grave, Biao who was kneeling beside him, and Jiang who stood a few feet back. The three stayed there in silence, each praying silently for Umma's departed soul.

"Let's go home", Jiang said finally. Biao hesitatingly got up, she wanted to stay longer. And both of them walked away from the grave but Lin didn't move a muscle.

"I wanna stay a bit longer", he muttered when Biao asked him to come. Jiang and Biao, understanding Lin's need for privacy, left him after saying that they would wait by the gate. Lin stayed there in silence for another minute before he pulled the flute he was clutching to his lips and started playing it. The song that Umma taught him.

And as if the heaven itself was sympathizing with the boy, a rain fell down on the graveyard. Lin didn't mind, he liked that way. That way, nobody would see the fresh stream of tears flowing down his cheeks as he played the unsung melody to the heaven…

* * *

**Author's note:**

1. '林家庄园' is read 'lin jia zhuang yuan' and it means 'Lin Family's estate', I guess...

2. Masa means 'time' or 'era' in Indonesian. He will appear again in the story.

3. Kang (康) is taken from 'jian kang' (健康) which means 'healthy'

4 . Bing (病) means 'sickness'. It is a reference to her frail health.

This chapter will be the last chapter of the 'Book 1: Destiny'. I'll put the book title on chapter 1 later on.

In the next chapter, I'm gonna speed up time by a year.

And this chapter is dedicated to my grandmothers who both passed away when I was too young to appreciate their existance. May they rest in peace...

I might be taking a break for a few days. I haven't been sleeping well this week which ironically was why I could update almost daily. Anyway, I'm at my limit and I really really need some sleep. But who knows, I always belive that nothing is impossible so I might be able to update pretty soon. :)

Hope you like this chapter! God bless you all!!!


	23. Chapter 22

_**Book 2 - Dragon**_

* * *

**Chapter 22 – Ignorance**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

**

* * *

**

A peaceful afternoon for General Jiang, the current head of the Lin Family. He was strolling along a corridor in a relaxed pace, reading a scroll while walking. From the looks of it, the scroll was quite important because it had a Fire Nation insignia on the back. Some of you might think 'how the hell did he read while walking and not bump into anything?'. Well people, practice makes perfect, or so what Jiang said when his son asked him about it. Only few days ago the white cloth and banners were put down from the Estate signboard and the main gate, signifying that the mourning period for Umma had ended. And now, Jiang stopped at the door of his room. It wasn't his room until a year ago. The room had been his father's because the room was meant to be used by the head of the family. It took time to get used to the bigger room for Jiang, he didn't like a sudden change in his lifestyle; a trait that was shared by his son. Lin had to change his room too. Lin had to move to his father's old room because as his father was pronounced the official head of the family, Lin was automatically an official heir.

Jiang, without taking his eyes from the scroll, pushed the door of his room open. In a split second he heard a 'twing' sound and swiftly ducked as a medium sized ink ball flew through the air above his head and hit the pillar behind him. He then slowly and calmly paced away from the door to the nearby bush. After ruffling the bush for a few seconds, he pulled out his grumbling son by the scruff of his collar from it with one hand. All of it done while reading the scroll.

"Need more practice, son", Jiang commented, still not taking his eyes from the scroll.

"But, it was perfect", Lin grumbled, defending his hurt pride as a master prankster.

"Oh, please", Jiang sighed, sounded bored. He rolled the scroll (finally!) and turned to his son. "Your mother could build a better ink ball trap with a bundle of toothpicks."

And Lin grumbled again, crossing his arms. Well, if there was one thing both of them liked from the changes in their lifestyles, it was the fact that both father and son had never been so close before.

"How's your training?" Jiang asked, feeling a bit guilty because he had to cancel his promise to teach his son a new technique this morning. War meeting…

"Fine, I guess", Lin shrugged. "Well, not so fine for Biao. Last time I see her, she was dragging herself away from the training hall like a sea slug."

Jiang blinked once at his son in disbelief. He kinda asked his niece Biao to take his place in training Lin. And it seemed like even for Biao, who had been a senior practitioner for a year, Lin was too much for her to handle. The boy might be only eleven but he had one hell of stamina. He could even keep up with Jiang and still have enough energy to spar with his uncle Kang, the big guy who was one of the masters who tested his skill in the previous Ceremony of Ascension.

"Good news?" Lin asked, eyeing the important looking scroll.

"Same old", Jiang answered. "General Iroh's still pounding the wall."

"That bad, huh?" Lin sounded concerned. He hadn't heard any news from Lu Ten since he went to war. Naturally, he was a bit worried.

"And I've been assigned to secure the western coast of the Earth Kingdom, by the way", Jiang added.

"What?" Lin gaped. "When?"

"Next week", Jiang unrolled the scroll again. "I'm gonna lead my battalion to capture the Western Earth Base, _again_."

The Western Earth Base was the base Jiang captured when he was a captain of a thirty-man squad.

"And this time", Jiang added after hesitating for a while. He was unsure if he should say what he was about to say or not. He cast a scrutinizing look at the boy briefly. Nothing much had changed, Lin had gotten taller, a bit, but he still had his messy ponytail and still wearing the same kind of cloth. The only significant change was now he always carried his jade flute everywhere, safely tugged behind his sash on his back. "You're coming with me."

"What?" Lin's eyes widened, not believing what he had just heard. He? An eleven year old boy going to war? The minimum age requirement for new recruits in Fire Nation Military was thirteen. "Are you serious?"

"With one condition", Jiang suddenly sounded strict. "You must never ever leave my side. And you must never fight anyone until I said it's okay to fight. Understood?"

"Uh, Dad", Lin grinned. "Those are two conditions."

"You wanna come or not?" Jiang raised a brow.

"Yes!" Lin squealed. "But, it's that really okay?"

"Well", Jiang grinned. "I pulled some strings. And being the head of a noble family doesn't hurt, either."

"I meant the elders", Lin asked more specifically.

The elders wouldn't agree to have Lin go to the war. He was Jiang's only heir, after all. If something happened to him, Jiang's bloodline would end. That was also why the elders had been urging Jiang to remarry soon, to produce more heirs. Needless to say Jiang refused, but subtly. Unlike his father, who was very vocal about his opposition to the elders, Jiang preferred a more discreet method thanks to a suggestion by his own son, Lin. After Jiang expressed his objection regarding the elders' request to his son, Lin proposed a cunning strategy. The elders, according to Lin, were a bunch of stubborn old crones. If Jiang refused vocally, they would just keep pressuring him. And so, he advised his father to pretend that he agreed with the elders, but say that since he was a busy man and he had no time for courting women on his own, the elders must provide him some eligible ladies to court and if things went smoothly, Jiang would marry one of them. The problem was, things would never go smoothly, courtesy to Jiang.

The courting process usually involved a romantic dinner somewhere in the city. So far, approximately forty six ladies had been courted by Jiang and none of them ended up marrying him. There was always something: the lady had a bad habit of picking her nose, or an ugly mole here or there, or a weird laugh, or a crooked nose, or too short for Jiang and many more. And if, by chance, a perfect lady came by, which was quite a rare occurrence, Jiang would make a fool out of himself to drive the ladies away: he had snorted while laughing, burped loudly like a barbarian in a fancy restaurant, spat his food on the lady's face when he was talking with his mouth full, and, once, thrown himself into a mud hole when he was taking his date to a carnival. And yes, General Jiang could be shameless when situation demanded. And soon, Jiang was infamous in the Fire Nation Imperial City as the number one on the black list of 'eligible bachelors you must avoid'. He couldn't care less. And soon, the elders were pulling their hair out as they got more and more desperate in finding a perfect woman for Jiang, with Jiang and Lin snickering behind their back, of course.

"Oh, don't worry about the elders", Jiang assured his son, grinning. "I can handle them."

"Another date", Lin guessed.

"Yep", Jiang snickered. "With the second daughter of War Minister Qin, no less."

"Didn't you date his first daughter?"

"No, son. That was his youngest sister."

"…….Good luck, Dad."

* * *

Ignorant.

It was one word that could describe her. Ozai taught her that much. He taught her that all the pain and hardship she had to go through in her training, she must ignored all that. Keep her mind calm, empty if necessary, and the result would worth it. He taught Zuko that simple truth but that boy was a complete idiot who couldn't even remember it.

Ignorance.

Azula had become a master of it and Ozai was the proudest father in the whole world. Started from ignoring her physical pain, Azula had extended her ignorance to other things like her feelings, her emotion, her conscience… her jealousy of seeing her mother spending time with Zuko when she was too busy to even send her off to school. _But, who needs Mom_, Azula thought. _I have Dad._

"Again!"

And Azula complied. She ignored her joints that were burning with exhaustion from the two hours non-stop training and forced her body to cope with the training that had doubled up in term of duration and difficulty in this past year. She was now at the level which, according to her father, took Zuko three years to achieve, something that he encouraged Azula to gloat on Zuko every chance she got. And Azula did that, too. She gloated on Zuko every chance she got. Why? She didn't know, really. She forgot, because she ignored it. And she had ignored it for so long that she had forgotten it completely. All she knew was her father would praise her if she did that, if she did what he told her to do.

"Good, Azula", Ozai laughed. "Very good."

_See, _Azula grinned back_. He praises me!_

And Azula had grown to like it when she ignored things. Well, yes, her mother would sometimes scolded her when she ignored her conscience and teased Zuko till he cried but she could just ignore her mother too, or Ty Lee and Mai who commented that Azula had changed much but she could just ignored their comments, or when her mother brought Zuko to the city to have some fun while she was confined in her study in the palace; she could just ignored their laughters and happy smiles when they got back. She could just ignore them all. She was grateful for her father to teach her about ignorance, because most of all she could ignore the 'mean voice' inside her head. It was tough at first because the mean voice was hard to ignore. But after a few months, the mean voice never spoke anymore. And Azula was glad for it.

And what's more, by ignoring everything, she ignored herself. And by ignoring herself, she found her true self. She sounded like Uncle Iroh, she thought. But who cares. It enabled her to see things for what they really were. Or so she thought…

For Ozai, Azula was seeing things for what he wanted her to see: as something inferior. Well, it was true if the things were regarding firebending, no one was as talented as his daughter; or formal education, Azula was the top scorer in her class, in the whole Academy even. Ozai was proud of her. And speaking of Azula, Ozai realized that the time had come for him to re-offer Ursa's proposal to the Lin Family. But, he grinned, Jiang had to go to the warfront soon. Ha ha! Another delay.

"Yes, Dad?" Azula asked. Her father's sudden grinned scared her a bit. If there was one thing Princess Azula could never ignore, it was her father, Fire Prince Ozai. He would make sure that the little girl could never ever ignore him.

"Nothing, Azula", Ozai's grin got even wider. "Nothing at all."

* * *

Ignorance.

That was what Jiang put on his face when he was with his son for the first ten years of the boy's life. He had hidden behind his love for his departed life and ended up denying the love he should have given to his son. And now, he was making up for it. No more hiding, no more denying. The boy had lost his mother. He had lost his grandparents in one sweep. And there was no way Jiang would let him lost a father, too. He had sworn to be the best father he could. That was why he had decided to bring his son along to the warfront despite the objection from the family's elder, despite the many raised brows from the military council. He didn't care, he would make up for the lost ten years he had spent ignoring the boy.

"Ouch!"

"Hold still", Lin grinned, combing his father's hair with a tight comb.

"Another one, eh", Jiang could hear his brother Kang teased. They were all in Kang's room where Jiang had asked his sister-in-law, Kang's wife, Bing, to help him with the preparation for his next date. The woman was currently sewing Jiang's robe that had been torn a little from his last date when things got a bit out of control. What had happened that time? Well, let's just say that Jiang had made some, err, rather offensive comment about his date's hairdo which caused the enraged woman to attack him with her razor sharp nails. Lin laughed at the mark on his father's cheek for a whole week.

"Yep", Jiang grinned. "Another one."

"And don't worry, Dad", Lin snickered. "This one doesn't have sharp nails."

And the whole room exploded into laughter. Fire Nation's noblewomen tend to have long pointed nails although some, usually the younger women, didn't.

"Know what, Uncle", Biao butted in, turning away from her Pai Sho match with her father. "I'm starting to think that you're actually ruining your dates on purpose."

Jiang and Lin exchanged glances before both said in unison.

"Nah…"

"No way…"

"Impossible…"

"I've nothing to do with it…"

"Yeah, convincing", Biao retorted sarcastically while Bing and Kang laughed at them.

"Hey", Jiang feigned a very not convincing offended look. "It wasn't my fault Admiral Chen's daughter had huge mole on the back of her neck…"

"…or General Bujing's niece went hysterical when she saw Dad's battle scar", Lin added

"Oh yeah, her. She scared the hell out of me."

And both of them went on with their list of Jiang's failed dates. Kang and Biao laughed at them but Bing, she just smiled. Unlike Kang who believed that his brother actually sucked at romance and Biao who _suspected_ some foul plays in her uncle's misfortune with ladies, Bing _knew _that there were some foul plays in her brother-in-law's streak of ruined dates. She was the closest to Lian when she was alive, after all. And she knew exactly just how much Jiang loved his wife and understood why Jiang would refuse to remarry.

"But still", Kang continued, playing against Lin now because Biao had to help tying Jiang's top-knot. "This is War Minister Qin's daughter we're talking about. You gotta make sure this one go well, Brother. I mean, remember when you flunked the date with his sister?"

"Ah, yes", Jiang remembered. "I suddenly found myself doing some nasty paperwork the very next morning."

"And speaking of dates, Biao—", Jiang grinned, turning the attention to his niece who was tying his hair.

"Yes, _Uncle_", Biao replied sweetly but she jerked Jiang's hair a little at the last word.

"Never mind", Jiang muttered apologetically, understanding the threat.

And after Jiang finished having his hair done, he put on his mended robe. As he inspected his appearance in front of the mirror, Lin approached him and shoved a bush of fire lilies.

"First impression", he grinned.

"Hmm", Jiang received the flower, raising his brow suspiciously.

"She's allergic", Lin leaned closer and whispered.

"How do you know?" Jiang whispered back.

Lin didn't answer. He just gestured to his Aunt Bing with his eyes.

* * *

Ignorance.

Lin was a true master of the art. He first learnt about it from the philosophy book his grandmother made him read during his earlier childhood. He still remembered clearly his favorite lines of the book:

_What is the world?_

_The earth we stand on? _

_The air we breathe? _

_The rain drop on our faces? _

_The fire that keeps us warm?_

_The world is nothing. Nothingness is the world._

_The world is not black and white._

_But black and white is the world._

_See the world for what it really is. _

_Not for what it really isn't._

Lin understood completely what this confusing paradox truly meant. The world isn't all the same for everyone. Some see the world as boring, some as exciting. Some think the world is just cruel, while the other cruelly just. The two sides of the world: the black and white, the right and wrong. Lin understood it very well, just like how he understood the Paradox of Fire: life and death, creation and destruction. Often times, people picked a side; black or white, creation or destruction. It is wrong! We must never take side. Taking side will blind us, it will cloud our judgment. Human must strive to remain neutral, to put themselves as the third person. _See the world for what it really is, not for what it really isn't._

So, how can we do this? By being ignorant. By being ignorant, we can ignore the urge to take sides. We can remain neutral; see the world for what it really is, if you may. See not only the black or only the white; but both black _and_ white. Ignorant in choosing sides…

And that was what Lin did. He ignored his longing for his grandmother because he knew it was futile no matter how he wished to see her again, it was impossible. He ignored the fact that his grandfather had been declared a deserter. He knew that no matter how hard he denied it, he was just a kid. And what chance does a kid have to go up against the Fire Lord's decision. He was grateful for knowing about ignorance. It enabled him to make a clear judgment regarding his grandfather's disappearance.

So here's the fact:

1. Commander Zhao asked the Rough Rhinos for help.

2. The Rough Rhinos asked Grandpa for help.

3. A village was annihilated, no survivor.

4. Grandpa disappeared.

5. The Rough Rhinos also disappeared.

6. Commander Zhao said he didn't know where the Rough Rhinos are.

7. Commander Zhao was mocking Grandpa in front of Dad.

Everything led back to the sideburns-freak Zhao! He must be hiding something…

So, see. Ignorance helps.

And Bing knew that her nephew was being ignorant. She knew how it felt to lose someone you love. She herself had lost someone who was like a sister to her, Lin's mother, Lian. And she was being ignorant too the few first days after Lian's death, until…

"_I can't", a lady said._

"_Well then", Jeong Jeong turned to his other daughter-in-law. "What about you?"_

"_I'm sorry, Father", the lady said sadly. "I-"_

"_I'll do it", Bing stood up full of determination. Jeong Jeong turned to her, cuddling his newest grandson in his arms._

"_Bing", Jeong Jeong said, sounded unsure. "Are you sure about this?"_

"_Yes, Father", Bing replied; her pale face hardened. "I'll raise the boy. That's the least I can do for Lian."_

Lian's child needed a mother and Bing was willing to be one for him. But it was impossible for her, her health was too frail. Fortunately, Umma stepped in and took the responsibility herself. But still, Bing loved the boy liked how a mother should. She knew the pain of being ignorant, of denying one's true feeling. And after Umma's death when Lin had lost another mother, Bing had begun to spend more time with her nephew and urge her daughter Biao to do the same. Fortunately, Lin didn't mind.

"Check mate", Kang announced his victory and proceeded in scratching his daughter's face with his powdered finger. "Another one?"

Biao simply grumbled her 'yes'. Bing and Lin, who was rubbing her shoulders, smirked at Biao's powder covered face which signified that she had lost many matches against her father. There was a reason why Lin didn't mind spending time with Aunt Bing and her family. He liked how childish his Uncle Kang was when he was with his children, especially with his daughter. She liked Biao who always looked out for him like a real sister. And he liked Aunt Bing who reminded him so much of his grandmother.

Suddenly, all heads turned to the door. Somebody had just opened it and stepped into the room. It was Jiang. And it had been about three hours since he went to his date.

"Brother?" Kang called but Jiang ignored him. He absent-mindedly walked towards the tea pot on the table and poured himself a cup.

"Uh…" Biao hesitated. "Uncle? What happened to your cloth?"

"Oh, this", Jiang gestured his somewhat burnt robe after gulping his tea. "A good advice for all of you: never give a firebender who is allergic to fire lilies fire lilies."

* * *

**Author's note:**

New book, new chapter...

This chapter is a bit weird, even for me. But it was a necessary step to take to better understand the characters' eventual transformations, especially Azula, Jiang and Lin.

And about the poem about the world, I made it myself. It was heavily influenced by some Oriental philosophies. The meaning of the poem was pretty much explained above.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!!


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23 – Festival and Stuffed Panda**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"A festival?"

"Yeah, I thought it'd be fun", Jiang said casually.

"Okay", Lin drawled, suspicious. "So, where's the catch?"

"Your cousins need some help with the younger children", Jiang confessed, moving his tiger tile.

"And?" Lin asked again, countering his father's move with a falcon tile.

"Well, I said you'd help", Jiang replied, mulling on his next move.

"But, am I not one of the 'younger children'?" Lin raised a brow.

"Well, yes, technically", Jiang shrugged, advancing his crescent moon tile. "But, since you are, say, not so cute anymore, you are now counted as one of the older children."

"Awww… weally", Lin grinned, imitating a baby talk.

"Yes, really", Jiang chuckled at his son's antic. "So, tonight you will help Biao, Yan and the others to babysit your countless young cousins, nephews and nieces at the Fire Festival."

"Will you come?" Lin asked, threatening to break his father's defenses with his tortoise tile.

"A date", Jiang sighed, suddenly looked gloom.

"Who?" Lin curiously asked. The elders just wouldn't give up, would they…

"Admiral Liang's fourth cousin."

"Didn't you date her before? Date #36, wasn't it? You spat food on her face, right?" Lin chuckled before he added. "My favorite."

"Exactly", Jiang sighed again, moving his red rose tile. "Apparently, Young Lady Wen is kind enough to give me a second chance."

"Good luck, Dad", Lin snickered, placing his dragon tile. "And it's a check mate, by the way."

* * *

The Fire Festival. It's a festival held annually after every third moon of autumn and had been going on for centuries. Nobody seemed to remember what the festival was about although some scholars and historians persisted that it was held to celebrate the birth of Agni, the very first firebender who learnt the secret of controlling fire from the dragons. The festival itself looked just like any other festival: food stands, trinkets vendors, game stands, fireworks, etc. And of course, kids! Lots of them would be flooding the city. And in the front gate of the Lin Estate, Biao and many other of her cousins were struggling to keep about a hundred kids in order while the adults were watching from behind the kids.

It was a tradition of the Lin Family that younger kids would go to the Fire Festival in groups with their older siblings or cousins and not their parents. It was to promote a sense of unity among the younger members of the family, you know… so that they could get a chance to get to know their relatives that they might never knew very well before and have fun with them.

"Alright!" Biao yelled over the chaos. "Everybody, hold hands!"

And the kids broke into a deviant moan…

"Hey!" Biao put her hands on her hips, annoyed. "I don't like it either. But, I don't wanna have any of you go missing in the festival. So, you, you, you, and you. Go with Cousin Yan (four kids went over to Yan)! The next four, go with Cousin Li. No, the _other_ Cousin Li. And then—"

And as Biao divided the kids equally among her cousins, Lin who was standing beside her, caught a glimpse of his father walking out of the gate. He was wearing a rather fancy robe, very tidy hair, and holding a bush of red rose. After grinning at the adults, Jiang walked confidently towards the older children, accompanied by some catcalls, wolf whistles, and laughter from everyone, both kids and adults. Even Biao gaped at her uncle's unusually sharp look. Jiang was the head of the family, after all. And as such, he had to deliver a speech or two to his family before they could commence with the festival.

"Thank you", Jiang playfully bowed causing the crowds to burst laughing, much to the elders' dismay. "Kids! Have fun!"

And the younger kids broke into a loud cheer and applause while the Biao and her cousins were laughing behind Jiang, some were also applauding. Until a year ago, Jiang had a bad reputation for being a very strict uncle who never laughed. It wasn't until he was the head of the family that Jiang had begun to show his more childish side. He was now often caught playing with younger children, joking while giving firebending lessons to them, and making a fool out of himself to entertain them. His brothers, sisters-in-law, some close nephews and nieces suspected that something had happened during his trip with his father and son to the Earth Kingdom that changed him into the person he was today, but they wouldn't ask what it was. The journey was quite disastrous after all, with Jeong Jeong's disappearance and all. But it didn't matter to them; at least Jiang was happy again like how he used to be when his wife was alive.

And as Biao resumed dividing the kids, Jiang turned to his son and cast him a look of 'what do you think?'.

"Red rose?" was all Lin said, stifling his laughter.

"Yep", Jiang twirled his rose. "She likes it."

"Likes it?" Lin raised a brow questioningly.

"Admiral Liang's Western Fleet will be our escort in the next mission", Jiang leaned forward and whispered. "I have a bad feeling that if I flunked this one, we'd find ourselves at the bottom of the ocean before we even reach the Earth Kingdom."

"Ah, I see", Lin nodded, grinning and tidying some creases here and there on his father's robe. "Well, good luck, Dad."

"...... you're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"More than you know, Dad."

* * *

"So, where should we go first?" Ty Lee cheerfully asked in between Mai and Azula.

"I don't know", Mai sighed, looking bored at Ty Lee's left.

"Say", Azula grinned from Ty Lee's right. "How about we go get some fireflakes?"

"No, Azula", Zuko said firmly from Mai's left. Well, ever since Azula put some 'extra spices' on his fireflakes few years ago, he had formed some sort of trauma at the spicy snack.

Oh, the kids were holding hands, by the way, much to their dismay. For the first time in about a year, Zuko and Azula had come into a consensus: they both believed that they were old enough to go to the Fire Festival without either their parents or a battalion of armed guards tailing them from behind. They had decided to go to the festival with their friends, well Azula's friends. Since Zuko didn't attend public education like Azula, he didn't really have any friend aside from Lin. Anyway, unfortunately for the royal siblings, Ozai and Ursa both disagreed with them, which was quite ironic because like their children, it was the first time the husband and wife agreed on something in a long time. And after a heated argument with their parents, Zuko and Azula had somehow managed to convince their parents to let them go but with one condition: they must never let go of each other hands as long as they were in the crowd and both Ozai and Ursa had warned their children that they would know if any of them break their deal.

And when they met up with Ty Lee and Mai, Azula had slyly managed to get Zuko to walk right beside Mai so that they both would hold each other hands just to tease them. Childish, yes, but Azula _was_ a child, a seven year old. And so, with a smug grin, she led Ty Lee, who was too innocent to notice the matchmaking, and Mai and Zuko, who were as red as tomato, into the crowd. Both Zuko and Azula were tempted to break their promise about the holding hands thing but they suspected that their parents had sent some guards to spy on them, which was true. Ozai and Ursa, unbeknownst to each other, had each secretly sent a unit of plain-clothed imperial elite guards, the Royal Procession, to tail on their children. They couldn't do the spying themselves; Ozai was planning to have a private audience with his father and Ursa had an urgent business in the town of Shu Jing. And so, while the four kids were having fun in the festival, at least fifty elite firebender guards were secretly keeping an eye on them among the crowd.

* * *

"Oh, come on", Biao grinned, trying to reason with her sulking cousin. "Just like the old time, right?"

Lin just grumbled. Apparently, the number of younger kids in the Lin Family had somewhat dwindled since the last Fire Festival. And as such, Biao and Lin along with five other cousins were excused from having to babysit some kids in the festival.

"Do we have to hold hands?" Lin complained.

"Hey!" Biao huffed, gripping her cousin's hand even tighter. "Remember the festival two years ago?"

"It was an accident."

"Be that as it may, I'm not letting you out of my sight this time."

And with that, she dragged the reluctant younger boy into the crowd.

"Know what, cousin", Lin started after he and Biao got themselves some drinks. "You need to find a boyfriend."

And Biao spat her juice and stuttered, "W-w-w-what was that?"

"Someone's a bit red on the face", Lin teased.

"Hey!" Biao snapped after regaining her cool. "What does it have to do with anything?"

"Oh, nothing really", Lin shrugged, sipping his juice offhandedly. "Just messing around…"

"I'm gonna deal with you later", Biao threatened but Lin wasn't listening anymore. He dragged the girl further into the crowd until they accidentally passed by a signboard… which had a wanted poster of their grandfather on it. Both of them paused and looked at the poster with sour expression. Beside the picture of Jeong Jeong, a description was written about him being an admiral before he became a deserter and that he was a dangerous man. But, that was it. It wasn't explained why he deserted the military.

"Lin!" a voice came from behind them. Both Lin and Biao turned to the voice and found Zuko dragging three girls behind him as he walked through the crowd to reach his friend.

"Same treatment, huh?" Lin asked, showing his and Biao's conjoined hands after he noticed that Zuko and the others were also holding hands.

"Yeah", Zuko sighed. "Imperial decree from our parents. Don't ask."

And then the kids exchanged greetings with Biao while Lin turned to Azula. He hadn't seen her much lately as she had never visited the Lin Estate anymore after the Ceremony of Ascension and although Lin visited the palace several times in the past year, Azula had always been busy with her firebending training and so they had never met.

"Hi", Lin said after struggling with his throat which suddenly became very dry.

"Hi", Azula replied, almost inaudible.

And an awkward exchange of clichéd questions ensued for about a minute, maybe two… okay three. Well, long enough for Biao, Zuko, Ty Lee, and Mai to disappear without either Azula or Lin noticing. The next thing they knew, they were standing there alone, just the two of them, while their companions disappeared without a trace like a glass of sweet cold orange juice in the middle of summer heat.

"Are you sure this is alright?" Biao whispered from behind a barrel a few meters away from Azula and Lin who looked around for them.

"Of course", Zuko whispered back from behind another barrel. "I mean, they're not kids anymore."

All heads turned to Zuko…

"Well", Zuko whispered again, trying to make them see his point. "Ugh… You know what I mean."

"Strangely, I do", Biao nodded, before she cast another worried look at Lin and Azula who were talking to each other. "I just hope he didn't get into any trouble."

"I'm more worried about _her_ getting into trouble", Zuko argued, casting similar worried look at his sister and Lin who decided to enjoy the festival on their own and entered the crowd.

"Hey, guys!" Ty Lee exclaimed, pointing at a nearby food stand, clearly forgetting that she was hiding. "Candies!"

"Wait a sec, young lady", Biao caught the bubbly girl's collar just before she darted away from their hiding place. "Hold hands!"

And, a deviant moan later…

"Seriously, guys", Biao looked like she almost cried. "What is it with you children and holding hands? If I lost any of you, it'd be my neck on the line."

"…………. You need a boyfriend."

* * *

She always loved the town of Shu Jing. She grew up there. The town was full of nice people, beautiful scenery, and many fond memories of her childhood. She walked through the festival; it had been forever since she had been in one in Shu Jing.

Some older folks who still remembered her from her childhood greeted her warmly, commenting on how much she had changed. She greeted them back politely; she loved these people after all. And talking with them was a nice change from her routine in palace where she had almost no one to talk to, well, no one pleasant. But enough talking, she thought. She must first shake off that two men who had been following her since she got off from the ferry. Must be Ozai's man, she thought, turning to a corner deeper into the crowd.

It took awhile, but she finally lost her pursuers. Taking in a relieved breath, she covertly made her way out of the festival. She must go to the waterfall at the northern side of the island. He had agreed to meet her there. Before Iroh went to the war, he had left her a secret message saying that should the need arise, this man could help her. And so, Ursa arranged a meeting with this man, she needed help. No doubt Ozai would use General Jiang's imminent departure as a reason to delay fulfilling his promise. Furthermore, Jiang was taking Lin with him. What the hell was he thinking, Ursa found herself cursing as she strode along the empty plain. Lin was too young to go to the war. If Umma were alive…

No, no, Ursa shook her head. Umma was no more. She could no longer rely on the old lady's support. The chance of getting her proposal accepted was already small as it was. There was no doubt in her mind that Ozai would do anything to avoid having to fulfill his promise. Perhaps, he would even take a drastic move to do so… killing her. That was why Ursa needed help, not that she was afraid to die. She had no concern for her life anymore, no. Ever since Azula—

No, Ursa couldn't even finish her thought. It was too painful for her, felt like someone poured a bottle of burning acid inside her chest. She had failed her, she had failed her daughter. By giving her up to Ozai, she had failed her. She had condemned her daughter into a fake life of perfection and sweet promises. She had failed her. _But, if everything goes well, it'll be just for nine more years, just nine more years_, she reminded herself. But, the thought didn't comfort her at the least because she knew just how much damage could be done to the girl by Ozai in nine years…

And there's the waterfall. Ursa halted at the top of the hill that overlooked the most magnificent mass of water in the whole Fire Nation. She used to come here when she was a child. Her mother was the one who introduced her to this place.

"My lady", a deep male voice from behind her almost made her jumped. Ursa quickly turned and met the hazel eyes of the man. His hazel eyes matched perfectly with his heavily tanned skin. His thick brows, well maintained moustache and beard, and tanned skin might enable him to pass as a Water Tribe or an Earth Kingdom anytime had he not sported a top-knot like most males in the Fire Nation. He approached Ursa slowly; his light steps left almost no sounds and his sword steady in its sheath as he gave Ursa a polite Fire Nation bow.

"Master Piandao", Ursa bowed back, pulling a small package from inside her robe, something she must deliver to Iroh no matter what. "I need your help."

* * *

"So", Lin tried again to strike a conversation. "How's your firebending training going?"

"Good, I guess", Azula replied, feeling her hand sweating in the older boy's grasp. After losing each other among the crowd for approximately ten times, Azula and Lin, battling embarrassment, were holding each other's hand as to not get separated again in the crowd. Both wishing that they didn't run into someone they knew, which was quite hard for Lin since about half of the people there were related to him.

"That's great", Lin replied, feeling awkward before he added another question. "I've asked that one already, haven't I?"

"Twice."

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

And silence…

"Isn't that your dad?" the silence was broke by Azula who pointed at a couple right in front of them a good ten meters away. Jiang and a young lady were standing in front of a cotton candy stand and from the looks of it, they were buying some. Both of them looked like they were having a good time, what's with the laughing and smiling and all that. And after giving some coins to the vendor, Jiang took from him a big pink cotton candy on stick. And then, he and his date talked about something, both gesturing at the cotton candy. A second later, Jiang held the candy between their faces and then, in unison, both leaned forward slowly but steadily to the candy.

"Pffttt", Azula barely managed to stuff her mouth with her free hand when she realized what the adults were about to do while Lin looked stunned.

"Oh, Dad… please don't", he said to no one in particular, horror etched every inch of his face as he witnessed the romantic scene. "No…(Jiang and his date got closer to the candy) No, Dad, no… (closer) No, please… (closer…) no, no… (two more centimeters…)"

And touchdown! Lin slapped his forehead, not wanting to believe what his father and his date had just done while Azula broke into a full-fledged laughter. Unfazed by the crowd, and certainly not realizing that two kids were witnessing them sharing a candy, Jiang and his date sauntered away from the stand.

"Me and my Dad need to have a serious talk after this."

"Oh, come on", Azula laughed. "I think that's sweet."

"The candy, yeah", Lin said curtly. "The scene, yuck!"

"I don't know that your dad is dating someone", Azula said again, wiping her teary eyes.

"Long story", Lin sighed.

And they continued with the festival, somehow more cheerful than before. At least they didn't stutter anymore when they talked to each other.

"Wanna play some game?" Lin asked.

"Um… I don't know", Azula hesitated. She had never played any games before in the festival. It was usually Zuko who played the games with her annoying him from behind.

"How about arrow-in-a-pot?" Lin dragged Azula to the nearby stand. In the stand, a man was standing waiting for customers. Beside him about ten pots with different sizes were set on the floor and a box of arrows sat at the corner. The aim of the game is to throw the arrow inside the pot. The smaller the pot's mouth, the harder it gets, the bigger the prize.

"Ah, young master", the vendor greeted Lin. "It's been awhile."

"Hey, Chu", Lin greeted back, exchanging a coin with three arrows. "How's business?"

"Same old", Chu smiled, casting a glance at Azula who failed to insert an arrow. "I see you're not with young lady tonight."

"Nope", Lin waved him off. 'Young lady' meant Biao. "She got lost in the crowd."

"Clumsy as ever", Chu shook his head. Somewhere in the crowd far away from them, Biao sneezed.

"No luck?" Lin turned to Azula who failed for the second time.

"Nope", she pouted, handing over the last arrow. "You try."

"The key is concentration", Lin advised, aiming at the smallest pot. And after holding a breath, he threw the arrow gracefully and it landed perfectly inside the pot.

"First prize!" Chu happily announced. He walked to the prize box and pulled out a stuffed panda.

"Thanks Chu", Lin grinned, walking away from the stand with Azula.

"How'd you do that?" Azula asked, puzzled at how Lin managed to insert an arrow at the pot with so much ease.

"Lots of practice. Biao and I always stop by Chu's stand to play every yearl", Lin grinned, handing the girl the stuffed animal. "Here, for you."

"Thanks", Azula smiled sweetly, receiving the panda.

"Oh", Lin suddenly remembered. "Have I told you that I'm going to the war next week?"

"What?" Azula's eyes widened, looking genuinely surprised.

"Yeah", Lin said. "I'm joining my Dad's battalion to attack the Earth Kingdom's western coast."

"Really?" Azula asked again, still wide-eyed. She had never heard about it before. "B-but—"

And she paused. She didn't know how to respond to the shocking development. How could she miss something like this? She had heard about General Jiang being sent to secure the western coast, yeah. But, about him bringing his eleven year old son along? How could she miss that?

"—zula?"

"Huh?" Azula asked back, she was lost in her own thought.

"Are you okay?" Lin looked concerned. "You're a bit pale."

"Really?" Azula blinked at him.

"And now you're red", Lin pointed out, still sounded concerned.

"R-really?" Azula stuttered now.

But, she was saved from having to give a more adequate answer by Biao, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee who arrived shortly, all of them grinning. And after a few death threats exclusively aimed at Zuko, they said their goodbyes as Biao and Lin went home to the Estate and the royal siblings plus their friends went back to the palace. And on the way back to the Estate…

"Have fun?" Biao teased.

"Huh? What?" Lin asked back. He was lost in his own thoughts, more specifically the thought about a 'vision' he had for the briefest of moment when he held the princess' hand. Of a girl, as beautiful as an angel, sleeping peacefully in his arms while they sat on a beautiful sandy beach… Lin didn't recognize the girl, but a part of him were convinced that he did. But, who was that girl?

"Hmm", Biao smiled mysteriously. "Well, if you don't want to tell me…"

"Tell you what?"

And meanwhile on the way back to the palace…

"So, Azula", Ty Lee grinned at the princess. "Have fun tonight?"

Azula didn't answer immediately. She glanced at the stuffed panda she held on her arms, smiling.

"Yeah", she said finally. "It was fun."

* * *

**Author's note:**

1. Wen (顽) means 'stubborn'. Maybe because she's stubborn at wanting to have a successful date with Jiang. :)

2. Chu (主) means 'owner' because he owns a stand.

And you might notice the joke about Piandao's comment 'there's a million Li's' in the Fire Nation.

That's about all, I guess.

Enjoy the chapter!!!


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24 – Hate Me, Hate Me Not**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"_Whoa!" he ducked just in time to avoid a boulder. He was surrounded. The room he was in was full of them, about fifty of them. Men in their uniform: green robe and triangle hat, with gloves and boots made out of earth. And they were everywhere! On every surface of the room; the floor, the walls, the ceilings. Everywhere. And, to make matter worse, the only exit from the room was sealed by an earth wall one of those men bended. He was completely surrounded… or so he wanted them to think._

_He smirked at them, clearly they didn't know that his companions were with him. His companions always followed him everywhere, after all. One signal and they would come running to him. Although he might need to reconfigure his order: from 'never show yourselves until I give you my signal' to 'never show yourselves until I give you my signal but if I was surrounded by a battalion of Dai Li agents, then for Agni's sake show yourselves and help me'._

"_Surprise, surprise", he sneered at them, snapping his fingers twice. And, right on cue, he heard three almost simultaneous loud thuds behind him. He smirked again at his opponents for his cavalry had come. Probably by jumping down from spirits know where like usual._

_But, wait a second! Loud thuds? His companions were all master assassins, highly trained in the art of stealth. Loud thuds? They had never landed with loud thuds; they always landed perfectly, as silently as the dark of night, without any sound at all. And so, he slowly turned to his back and found that the three thuds weren't caused by his companions, but by three more agents landing just two meters behind him. And suddenly, a female could be heard shouting from behind the rock wall blocking the exit._

"_ROCKY!!! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!!!!"_

_Of course… those three dimwits must have got separated from him. No choice but to fight alone, he thought unsheathing his sword. Well, at least until those three found a way to break down the wall and join him, hopefully he would still be alive by then._

"_I hate Dai Li agents", he sighed.

* * *

_

Lin woke up from his sleep, rubbing his head. He hadn't been sleeping well the previous night, thanks to the excitement from the festival, maybe that was why he dreamt about being surrounded by countless of strange people. He spent most of the night trying to figure out who the sleeping girl he saw in his… oh, what was it again? vision?

That girl was certainly the most beautiful he had ever seen, even though he didn't know who she was or even if she was real or just a product of his imagination. He hoped she was real; he would like to meet her. But, just who was she? Lin still couldn't shake off the feeling that he knew that girl, that girl with the most beautiful long raven hair fluttering softly on the beach's warm breeze; her angelic face so calm and docile as she slept in his arms; her small frame, light and fragile; he could even remember the scent of her hair, soothing and calming like the smell of fresh jasmine; the warmth of her body, so sacred and alive; her smooth skin caressing his hand. But, who was she?

But since he had no progress in jogging his memory, probably because he had just woken up from his disturbed sleep, he decided to do his morning ritual: yawning and pulling a scroll out of his nightstand's drawer. He unrolled the scroll and read the poem for the thousandth of times.

_With these two things does a man raise his fist._

_Hatred, that I no longer have._

_And courage, that I have never had._

But, it didn't matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to understand what it meant. His grandfather said it was supposed to be the secret to the true essence of the Celestial Dragon Style. So, it must be some sort of a riddle.

_With these two things does a man raise his fist._

What did it mean? _Raise his fist_… people raised their fist when they were fighting. Maybe it referred to firebending. So, logically the first line meant that in order to embrace the true essence of the Celestial Dragon Style, to bend fire like how a true master should, two things were needed. Or rather, two things _were not_ needed, because the next two lines explained that even the Great Yi didn't have them: hatred and courage.

_Hatred, that I no longer have._

His grandfather had stressed over and over again about the importance of the absence of emotion in firebending. 'Fire is the element of passion. A firebender's emotion closely affects the magnitude of his firebending'. Lin had heard these words thousands of times before. And yet, Yi in his death poem was insinuating that 'hatred' is needed in his style, that 'hatred' is a key to achieve a true mastery of his art. But, he also said that he 'no longer have' hatred, meaning he didn't use hatred. So, which is it! Is hatred needed or not?

_And courage, that I have never had._

Courage. The same problem here. Yi was insinuating that 'courage' was important, but he didn't have it, 'never had' it even. But, unlike 'hatred', not having courage is absurd. Without courage, how can someone move a muscle in the presence of danger? How could Yi become the great general he had been without courage?

Lin hastily cast his scroll back into his drawer as someone opened his door rather noisily. Jiang, however, caught the sudden movement and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"What are you hiding?" Jiang asked cautiosly, suspecting some new ink ball or something.

Lin was tempted to say 'nothing', but he knew better. There was no way his father would take 'nothing' as an answer. He had never told anyone about the scroll, not even his father. It was a direct order from his grandfather, after all. And so, sighing submissively, Lin reopened his drawer and pulled out a scroll, a completely different scroll, and handed it out to his father. Thankfully, the two scrolls were almost the same size.

Jiang hesitated for a moment. _He's at that age already, _he thought, feeling an inexplicable sadness and, strangely, pride. _It's time for a serious father and son talk, _he thought again, receiving the scroll and unrolled it. And as he did so, he saw his wife smiling back from the scroll. And Lin, for the first time in a while, saw the familiar expression of loneliness on his father's face as if Jiang had suddenly reverted back to his cold and distant self. But, as he sat down on the bed beside his son, still not taking his eyes from the portrait, his face soften.

"She had a tiny thin scar here", Jiang said lovingly, pointing at his wife's right temple which was covered by her bangs. "One of her traps went off."

"She was caught in her own trap?" Lin incredulously asked. How could his mother, the greatest prankster of all time, the matron of all practical jokes, do the most foolish mistake any disciples of the delicate art of prankster could ever make: getting caught in her own trap?

"No, not really", Jiang scoffed. "She was setting a trap. For me. And then I accidentally walked in on her and surprised her from behind. And then, 'poof'. Whatever it was, it exploded and the shrapnel cut her forehead."

"So, it was your fault", Lin accused, trying to stifle his laughter.

"Well, in a way, yes", Jiang laughed, taking his eyes of the scroll and cast a fond look at his son. "She refused to talk to me for a week until a pay a tribute."

"What tribute?"

"A box of almond cookies."

* * *

Inner fire, chi, breathe, fire…

Inner fire, chi, breathe, fire…

Inner fire, chi, breathe, fire…

In just one year, these things had become as natural as breathing or sleeping for Azula. She had mastered at least the mid-level of the Royal Family style of firebending, a feat that none had ever done before. But that wasn't enough, not for Ozai. As he watched his daughter danced, performing the kata in the training room, he realized that something still wasn't quite right about her.

Still too much of her mother in her, too much weakness. And Ozai swore that he would never stop until the very last bit of Ursa was drained away from his daughter. He was running out of time, who knew how much time General Jiang would take to conquer the western coast of the Earth Kingdom. He was still relying on the general's mutual distaste on Ursa's proposal, yes, but he also noticed that the general had changed, Jiang had become weak! Ozai used to like the man: cold, cunning, calculative, powerful, and full of pride; very much like him. But now, the man had weakened.

Ozai suspected that he could no longer rely completely on Jiang's refusal, he even suspected that Jiang had somehow reconsidered to accept Ursa's proposal. It would be a tragedy for the Fire Nation Royal Family, for him to be more specific, if Ursa's proposal was accepted by the Lin Family. There was no way he would let anyone take his precious daughter away from him, even if it wouldn't be happening until the girl turned sixteen.

The only thing he could rely on now was the mission General Jiang had been sent to do: to secure the western coast of the Earth Kingdom. Being located directly on the border between the two nations, it was no surprise that the Western Earth Base was reputed to be the strongest military base of the Earth Kingdom. Located strategically at the foot of an impassable tall mountain range, there were only two ways to capture this base: the easier but more time consuming way by attacking via land from the north (which was what Jiang did more than ten years ago) and the harder but faster way by attacking the base from the west by ships. Jiang would choose the former option, Ozai knew. But, Ozai pondered, when Jiang captured the base more than ten years ago, he only had thirty men with him and it took him less than a week. Now, he would lead a full battalion. Ozai wouldn't be surprised if this mission would be over in days time. Something must be done…

"I'm finished, Dad", Azula's voice snapped Ozai off his thought. If there was one thing that had never failed to amaze him, it was his daughter, his perfect little daughter. Look at her… she was like a sponge, absorbing whatever it was Ozai taught him with so much ease, be it firebending techniques, basics or advanced; or knowledge like politics, history, and set of values and beliefs. His little perfect apprentice. But, she still had her most fatal flaw and Ozai, for one, abhorred flaws. Something must be done about her, too. And Ozai knew just what had to be done…

"Good, Azula", Ozai smiled, cunningly, of course. He was incapable of smiling kindly, even though it was just pretending. He then patted the seat next to him, gesturing his daughter to sit down there. "Come, Azula. Sit next to me."

And Azula, as innocent as she was, beamed with happiness by the gesture. She literally flung herself to the seat, grinning, much to Ozai's delight. It was a good thing, Ozai thought again. At least his influence was growing.

"So, Azula", Ozai drawled, his cunning smile still lingered on his face, _she won't see it coming, all for the better_. "Did you have fun in the festival last night?"

And Azula's smile faltered a bit. She thought her father would be mad at her for being separated from her bother and friends. Little did she know that Ozai wasn't interested it the least about such trivial matter.

"Y-yeah", Azula stuttered a bit. "It was fun."

"Really?" Ozai asked again, noticing the girl's blush and awkward fidget, _a flaw! _"Tell me about it."

And after hesitating for a while, Azula begun telling Ozai the story of what went on in the festival, omitting a little part here and there, obviously, especially about the part where she got separated from Zuko and the others. She made it sound like they met up with Lin and his cousin and then they went to the festival together as a big group without actually denying that she was separated from Zuko and the others, praying to the spirits that her father really hadn't sent any guards to spy on them. But, Ozai didn't really care although the fact that his daughter was lying to him ticked him off a bit. Well, Ozai reasoned in his mind. She wasn't lying, she just wasn't telling the truth. A smart move…

"—then we went home together", Azula concluded her story, sweating nervously under her father's stare.

"I see", Ozai nodded, not showing any sign of emotion so it was hard for Azula to decide whether her father was suspecting if she was hiding something or not. Hopefully no, Azula prayed.

"It must have been fun", Ozai spoke again with the usual calmness in his tone.

"Yup", Azula beamed, relief because her father didn't show any sign of anger.

"Say, Azula", Ozai said again, pulling something from behind his back. "I found this in your room."

Azula's eyes widened as she noticed that the black and white furry thing his father was holding was the stuffed panda Lin won for her last night. Azula, unlike any other girl her age, was never fond of dolls and stuffed animals, especially stuffed animals, since Zuko traumatized her when she was two by shoving a giant komodo rhino plushie inside her baby crib with her in it. Azula could still faintly remember how the horrible black thing, which was almost as big as herself, looked almost alive as she rocked her cage violently, crying out for her mom. But the stuffed panda, somehow Azula liked it. She couldn't explain why, maybe because it was a gift and it was polite to like a gift.

"Did you win this?" Ozai asked again, putting the panda on the girl's lap.

"Umm", Azula hesitated for a while, hugging the panda. "Nope."

"No?" Ozai raised his brow questioningly. It was just an act, of course. He had received a full report from the guards he sent to spy on the girl. "Did Zuko win it for you?"

"What? Zuzu?" Azula laughed. She didn't realize that her father intentionally used 'Zuko' and not 'your brother'. "Oh, come on, Dad. As if Zuzu could win anything."

"True, my daughter", Ozai laughed. Azula felt relief, partly because she managed to distract her father from the topic...

"So, who won it?"

…_Dad's a tough opponent, isn't he?_

"W-well", Azula fidgeted, for some reason she didn't want to tell anyone that it was Lin who won the panda for her. Even when Mai and Ty Lee asked about it last night, she had to wiggle her way out by saying that she was tired and needed to sleep. It worked for Ty Lee, not so much for Mai. And since she didn't see any opening here, she decided to tell the truth. "It was Lin who won the panda for me, Dad."

"I see", Ozai said calmly, although Azula could have sworn she saw his eye twitched. "Do you like it, Azula? The panda?"

Azula stared at the panda for a moment, with a smile that… Ugh! Ozai was tempted to slap that smile off her face. Weakness! That smile was full of it! Azula still couldn't really understand what about the stuffed panda that make her like it so much. She even hugged it when she was sleeping last night, something that made Ty Lee commented about her aura suddenly turning pink. The panda was cute, no doubt, as what all stuffed animals are supposed to be, maybe with the exception of that demonic komodo rhino plushie Zuko used to scare her when she was two. And the panda was squishy, too.

"Yeah", Azula said finally, beaming. "I like it."

"Burn it!"

Ozai's order sounded like an axe swinging down on her. Her eyes widened with shock as her father's arctic cold words pierced through her ears. Her warm sweat from all the training suddenly turned cold and she could feel blood leaving her face, and she didn't need any mirror to tell her that she had turned as white as ghost.

"W-what?" Azula dared herself to ask. Maybe it was a joke, she thought… or hoped.

"Burn it", Ozai repeated again, his face suddenly hardened.

"B-but, why?" Azula tried to reason, pulling her panda closer to her chest.

"Because dolls are for weaklings", Ozai remained unfazed, struggling to keep himself from wrenching the abomination of a toy from her daughter's embrace and burn it himself. No, she must burn that thing herself for this lesson to take effect.

"B-but", Azula stuttered, trying to defend her panda although inside her mind she was beating herself for challenging her father. "I-it's not a doll. It's a stuffed animal."

And she shrunk under her father's glare. _See!_ She cursed herself again. _I shouldn't have said that_.

"Does it make it any different?" Ozai hissed, hatred and cold anger fumed every word. Azula, feeling helpless, cast another look at her panda. She liked it really, the panda looked really cute and, for some reason, its funny face always made her wanted to smile. But under her father's cold gaze, the panda didn't look so funny anymore.

"I-I—", Azula stuttered, trying to reason again with her father.

"Weak", Ozai's acidic scoff punched a hole on Aula's chest. He got up from his seat and slowly walked to the door, leaving his horror-stricken, dejected-feeling daughter behind. He, however, halted his pace and suppressed his victorious smug as he heard a sound of flickering fire from behind him. He had won…

"Good, Azula", he said, still trying to suppress his joy. Azula had lit the stuffed panda on fire and let it burn on the floor at her feet. She slowly turned to her father and Ozai was pleased to see her expression, the expression of emptiness, of skillfully suppressed emotion, of obedience. It was necessary if Ozai wanted to claim his daughter completely, to make her reborn into a perfect warrior. Emotions were for the weak! And Azula, the perfect daughter she was about to become, must _never _be weak.

"Very good, Azula", Ozai praised her again, it was also necessary. "You have proven yourself to be strong. You are not a weakling… unlike_ your brother_."

It was also necessary to use the term 'your brother' this time although Ozai was revolted by those words. But, it was absolutely necessary, a small sacrifice on his part to win this game, a small offering to the dragon to obtain a great fire.

"Thank you, Dad", Azula's words were as empty as her face, full of ignorance, of denial. And Ozai loved it, it was perfect.

"Good", Ozai replied dismissively, spinning on his heel. "Go wash up before dinner."

And with that, he walked out of the door leaving the girl behind. She might break down crying or something, Ozai thought. But it didn't matter now. Even a mighty phoenix hatched as a weak chick before turning into the most majestic of beast. Azula needed some time, but eventually she would grow into the perfect thing Ozai wanted her to become. Eventually…

And Azula, she waited for a minute or two inside the training hall, averting her eyes from the burnt doll. And after she was sure that her father had walked a good distance away, she ran out.

Ignorance.

Azula had become a master of the art. But, even a master had a flaw, something she couldn't ignore. One of her flaws was her father; there would be a price to pay if she ignored him. And her other flaw, she didn't know why she couldn't ignore him. Maybe because he was kind to her, she didn't know. And of course, other flaw was her mother who had become so distant from her, she couldn't ignore her too but it was natural, wasn't it? But, _him_, why couldn't she ignore him? What's so special about him?

Azula turned on a corner without slowing down, there was still a good distance away between her and her room, and she had to get there as quickly as possible, to make sure that it was still there. _Come on, come on_, she goaded herself. Nobody knew about it, nobody but herself, who received it from him a year ago; her mother who said that it was pretty; and Lu Ten who explained to her the meaning behind the black and white beads. She had never told anyone about it. She certainly would never tell Zuko who, she was sure, would make fun of her. She hadn't told either Mai or Ty Lee as well, because they probably wouldn't care.

Another corner. She was panting heavily now, although it was caused more by fear than by exhaustion. Why the hell was her room so far away from the training hall, she cursed. She had always worn it everywhere, except for when she was asleep, of course. She had also always taken it off when she was training; she didn't want to accidentally break it. But, why did she give so much concern over a piece of jewelry? She was still mulling over the answer to that question because, unlike any other girls, Azula paid little heed to vanity; a trait that she inherited from her grandmother as she was once told. She did own some girlish stuff like fancy dresses or a necklace or two but she had never liked them and would never like them. She always preferred to wear a trouser than a long skirt and she just hated it when she was forced to wear her golden headpiece whenever she was attending some formal gathering with her parents.

A little bit more. She sped up now although her knees were protesting the exercise. She didn't know why she liked it, perhaps because it was simple and looked humble, not like the engraved golden bracelet Uncle Iroh gave her for her birthday two years ago. She hated golden jewelry for some reason, just like how she hated dolls.

Azula burst open the door of her room, almost broke it down from its hinges. She wildly ran towards her nightstand on which she always put it. It wasn't there! Azula felt a chill down her entire body as she frantically opened her drawers and dug her hands into it hastily; maybe she put it in there. _Maybe Dad took it, too. _She quickly shook the thought off. No, no… why would he be interested in a plain looking bracelet when there was a box full of golden ones right beside it.

"There!" Azula let out a relieved sighed as she ducked on the floor and found it under her bed. Apparently, in her hurry to get to the training hall that day, she hastily threw her beaded bracelet on her nightstand. It must have been knocked down and ended up under her bed. She took it hastily and just as swiftly, the terror came back to her. She must hide it.

In her jewelry box, along with the other useless piece of metal she would never wear? No, it would be the first place anyone would search for.

Inside the drawer of her nightstand? It would be the second place anyone would search for.

Azula was getting a bit frantic as she scanned around her room for a perfect place to hide the bracelet she was clutching. Where? Where would be safe enough to— there! She ran to her wardrobe. She opened the door and inspected the shelves for a moment. There! At the top shelve. That was where she put the clothes she would never ever wear, at the topmost shelve, the area where even she couldn't reach without some support. She pulled a nearby chair and set it in front of the wardrobe. She climbed on it and shoved her beaded bracelet under the mound of dresses and skirts. It would be safe there, she doubted even her father would mess with a little girl's clothes just to look for a bracelet _if_ he was really looking for it, but better safe than sorry, right? The only person who could ever find it by accident would be her mother, an even the chance for that was really really slim. And even if her mother found it, it would be just fine.

_Because she doesn't care about me… _

_No! Because she already knows about the bracelet and she doesn't have any problem about it. _

The mean voice was coming back again, Azula realized as she slumped down on the chair, exhausted by the day's excitement.

* * *

It was just a bracelet. Just a simple bracelet. Would she really risk losing her father's love over one simple bracelet? Why did she have to hide it in the first place? Her father didn't show any sign of dislike about her having a bracelet, well he didn't even know she had it. Maybe because her father's weird expression when Lin was mentioned in their conversation. But, why? Lin was a nice kid. What reason did her father have to hate him so much? More importantly, why was she so concern about what her father thought of Lin?

After hiding the bracelet, Azula had gone to take a bath, gone back to her room to get her homework, taken her homework to the palace library and worked on her history essay, finished her essay and gone back to her room, stopped by the palace kitchen on the way to get some snack, got back to her room and prepared her books for tomorrow's school. All of that took about four hours, and not a second of those four hours was spent without her asking herself all those whys.

Why? Why? Why?

Why did she care so much about the bracelet? Azula asked herself again, chewing her cherries absentmindedly. Why did she care about Lin? Because they were friends, obviously, she convinced herself. A sudden knock on her door almost made her choked on her cherries. She quickly opened the door and there he was, her father standing on her door.

"Come, Azula", he said, his expression was calm as usual. "It's dinner time."

Ozai cast an observing look on his daughter's face. He noticed that she was a bit pale, probably because of what he made her do after her training. There were times when Ozai had to be the girl's master. And there were times when he had to act more like a father, a good father he was not. _This is one of those times_, Ozai thought, extending his hand to the girl. _It is necessary._

Azula, smiling sweetly, took her father's hand and walked to the dining room hand in hand with him. _See_, she gloated inside her mind. _Dad doesn't hate me.

* * *

_

**Author's note:**

About the dream sequence, I'll leave it to your speculation. :) But don't worry, it will appear again in later chapter. Much later...

And about Azula being traumatized by a komodo rhino doll, it was inspired by my friend's experience. When he was a kid, his brother scared him with a rubber snake. Being an innocent kid, he was terrified and ran to his mom, who scared him with a rubber lizard. And so, he ran to his dad... who was hiding another rubber snake behind his back (yeah... his family's evil). And since then, he was terrified of rubber animals.

And to hpswst101, about Azula being separated from Zuko, obviously it was a revenge from Zuko's part (based on a personal experience, please don't ask. T_T). And also, Ursa and Ozai fobid Zuko and Azula to get separatred from each other was for security reason, it's safer if they stick together. But, since Azula would be going with the twenty sixth Lin and Zuko with a senior practicioner, I think they were quite safe. :)

Thanks for poiting it out though. I was planning to insert this in the conversation between Zuko and Biao but I forgot. Sorry, ran out of coffee... :)


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25 – Father and Son, Mother and Daughter**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"_Avatar Sanna?"_

"_Yup", Snowflake said casually, tending Hothead's burnt arm with her waterbending._

"_I've never heard of her before", Hothead replied, frowning._

"_No surprise there", Snowflake sighed sadly, clearly disappointed of how little respect the world paid to the Water Tribe Avatar. "Even here in the North Pole only few still remember who she was. The very first Avatar in the cycle and the founder of the Northern Water Tribe."_

"_I've always thought that the Northern Water Tribe was founded before the Southern Water Tribe", Hothead admitted._

"_A common mistake", Snowflake replied, still casually. "Avatar Sanna was born in the Southern Water Tribe. At that time, Amarok ran loose in the North Pole and naturally nobody lived here."_

_Snowflake bended her excess water back to her pouch and sat down beside Hothead before she went on with her story, with Hothead listening intently. "And then, she discovered the, uh, we call it 'the Secret of the Universe'. You know, it enabled her to be the Avatar."_

"_You mean it enabled her to bend all four elements?" Hothead raised a brow, interested._

"_And all the other stuff: the incarnation cycle, the bridge between the mortal world and the spirit world—", Snowflake added._

"_And the ability to bend all four elements", Hothead persisted, grinning._

"_Ugh", Snowflake sighed, feeling hopeless. "Yes, and the ability to bend all four elements… What is it with you men and having more power? Is fighting all you men could ever think about?"_

"_It's fun", Hothead shrugged, still grinning. "Anyway, continue."_

"_Well, if you insist", Snowflake replied sarcastically. "Avatar Sanna discovered the Secret of the Universe and became the first Avatar. She then came her and battled Amarok. It was said that she defeated Amarok and sealed him in this plain."_

"_And so, this plain was named after her and people started to dwell in the North Pole", Hothead concluded her story._

"_Precisely", Snowflake yawned and stretched, her eyes were black and clearly she was sleep deprived. _

"_So, technically Amarok is harmless now, isn't he?" Hothead asked, wanting to make sure._

"_Technically, yes", Snowflake replied. "But still, a giant spirit wolf… harmless or not, people are still afraid of him."_

_Both of them fell quiet, casting a deep look at the Sanna Plain before them. It was hard to believe that centuries ago, the very first Avatar, Avatar Sanna of the Southern Water Tribe, fought a giant wolf spirit right where they were sitting and won the battle. The plain before them looked so pristine, so beautiful and it didn't bear any scar from the epic battle between the two worlds that occurred centuries ago._

"_One question", Hothead turned to Snowflake, realizing something was odd in her story. "How did Avatar Sanna learn the Secret of the Universe?"_

"_There were a lot of different versions to the story", Snowflake shrugged. "Some say she just found it in a meditation. Another version said that she found the secret while reading a sacred scroll in Wan Shi Tong's Library. And another version, uh, I can't remember well but it involved pirates and storms. And my favorite version, somebody taught her the secret."_

"_Somebody taught her the secret?" Hothead scoffed. "What do you mean? Who taught her?"_

"_A hermit, I guess", Snowflake frowned, trying to recall the story she heard when she was a kid. "A hermit or something. His, or her, name was lost in history. But, that person was a Fire Nation."_

"_So, this person, this Fire Nation", Hothead sounded serious. "This person could bend all four elements, too?"_

"_No", Snowflake shook her head. "Avatar Sanna learnt about the spirit world from this person, the secret about incarnation cycle and the bridge between the two worlds thing. She learnt about the secret of bending the four elements from the spirits themselves."_

"_I see", Hothead nodded._

"_Yeah", Snowflake sighed sleepily._

_An another moment of silence ensued between the two, both of them were too absorb in the view of the setting sun in the plain and the story they had just shared._

"_You're okay?" Hothead asked, sounded concerned._

"_Yeah", Snowflake yawned, resting her head casually on Hothead's shoulder. "Didn't sleep well last night."_

"_I-I see", Hothead croaked, nervous. Why shouldn't he be nervous? The girl he fell in love with sitting so close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. It was nothing romantic, of course, at least not from Snowflake's side, while Hothead could feel his heart pounding hard like a war drum. And to Hothead, the idea of confessing his love to the girl, it frightened him. He didn't fear rejection, he was just afraid that it would offend Snowflake somehow and she would clobber the feeling out of him. She was a princess after all and Hothead, he was just a lowly private, a son of a simple farmer and a homemaker._

"_H-hey", unable to hold anymore of the heart pounding physical closeness, Hothead suddenly exclaimed, getting up quickly and letting Snowflake slid down from his shoulder to the snowy ground below. "See what I can do."_

"_What?" Snowflake asked, brushing some snow from her brown hair, annoyed by Hothead's sudden movement. "Oh, no you don't!"_

"_Relax", Hothead assured her. He had paced a few steps forward and bended a small fireball on his palm. The fire ball was about the size of an egg._

"_You're still injured", Snowflake warned. "And you burnt your hand again today, remember?"_

"_Yes, yes", Hothead scoffed. "But, I've finally got it. Look!"_

_He breathed calmly and slowly placed the fire between his palms. The fire flickered softly as he connected the chi from both his palms to it. He then slowly made a graceful sweeping hand movement, imitating the waterbending style and the fire slowly elongated itself, surrendering itself to its master's will. _

_Hothead frowned a bit, concentrating deeply on his fire. Manipulating the shape and the mass of fire is very hard; it requires a calm mind, one that bears no emotion at all. Excitement, frustration or anger might fuel the fire, caused it to overload by energy and exploded. Hothead then molded the fire together in front of his chest. He then made another sweeping move, one that was more violent. He spread his hands apart slowly; making the fire grew longer and wider between his palms. He then brought his hands behind the fire and made a sharp pushing movement, as if he was pushing the fire away forward. The fire, obeying its master's will, launched itself forward and caused an explosion when it hit the mound of snow in front of him._

"_Cool, huh", Hothead grinned at Snowflake. His injured side hurt a bit, but the demonstration was a success. His theory worked! Since the cold climate of the North Pole weakened his inner fire and disabled him from shooting big fire directly, he thought that if he could somehow conjure fire and then alter its shape and mass before sending it flying at his target, he could produce bigger and stronger fire. His smile, however, fell a bit as he noticed that Snowflake didn't look impressed, not even one bit._

"_Oh, come on", Hothead said, feeling a bit hurt. "Even you have to admit that—"_

"_It's not that, dummy", Snowflake cut him, stone-faced and pointing at something on the ground in front of them, more specifically the mound of snow Hothead had just destroyed. Hothead followed the direction of Snowflake's pointing finger and noticed that there was something odd lying on the ground near the mound of snow, something small, long, and orange; a carrot._

"_Uh-oh", Hothead's eyes widened. He finally realized what that carrot meant._

"_YOU KILLED MY SNOWMAN!!!!" Snowflake yelled angrily and bended a giant water ball at him._

—_SPLASHED—

* * *

_

—SPLASHED—

"And now, we scrub him", Jiang instructed after throwing a bucket of water on his komodo rhino's back.

And as per his order, Lin scrubbed the komodo rhino's back lazily, he had a lot in his mind while on the other side of the giant beast, Jiang talked rather enthusiastically about the history he shared with the beast. The steed had served him faithfully through countless of battle and it was highly trained. At least, it was trained enough to stay still when someone was cleaning it.

"—and then he ran and tackled that soldier out of the way", Jiang laughed, scrubbing the komodo rhino's thigh. "And then he—"

Lin wasn't listening. He was thinking about the poem and about the raven haired girl and about Snowflake and Hothead (just who are they?!). He had been thinking about them so much he hadn't been sleeping well lately and the weird dreams weren't helping either.

"Son", Jiang called.

"Huh? Yes, Dad", Lin answered immediately.

"Are you alright?" Jiang asked, popping his head up of the komodo rhino's behind. "You looked tired."

"Yeah", Lin replied, rubbing his eyes. "Didn't sleep well last night."

"Oh, I see", Jiang nodded. "Well then, after we finish with this big fella, you go get some sleep. I'll go to the leathersmith myself."

"Leathersmith?" Lin asked, scrubbing the komodo rhino's side. "What for?"

"Oh, I've ordered a new saddle, a bigger one", Jiang answered casually, returning to scrubbing the komodo rhino. "You know, so that you can ride with me."

And Lin dropped his sponge, his eyes widened, his mouth wide opened in horror: riding with his father?

"Yeah…about that", he drawled hesitatingly, or hopingly. "Dad, um, don't you think maybe… possibly, I'm old enough to… you know, have my own ride?"

Jiang popped his head up of the komodo rhino's back again, frowning at his son. "Do you want a komodo rhino?"

A rhetorical question. A komodo rhino is huge, simply too big for an eleven year old. Riding a komodo rhino requires not only skill but also physical strength, strength that an eleven year old kid couldn't possibly possess.

"No", Lin answered curtly. "Maybe something smaller."

"A dragon moose?"

"Too slow."

"A mongoose dragon?"

"Too ugly, I hate reptiles."

"A giant eel hound?"

"Are you crazy?"

"Hmm", Jiang scratched his chin, furrowing his brows. He then sighed and gestured his son to follow him. Lin followed his father curiously as he led him to the stable. The Estate had its own stable, yes. Unlike other noble families who favored palanquins, the Lin Family favored steeds or carriages, a tradition introduced by the founder Yi who believed that no man must be forced to do the job of a beast of burden. Jiang led his son to a stall which entrance was covered by a piece of cloth. It was usually used as a room for a female steed to give birth or to keep a newly born steed. The cloth was used to prevent the young steed from being spooked by the outside world.

"It was supposed to be a surprise for your next birthday, but…" Jiang opened the cloth and revealed the inhabitant of the stall to his son. The next thing he knew, he was out of breath as his son leaped to him, hugging him tightly and squealing happily.

"Oh, Dad! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the coolest dad ever!" Lin squealed, grinning from ear to ear. Just as swiftly, he ran to his gift and sighed at it. The gift? A handsome black ostrich horse, fully strapped and saddled. Tall, prideful, calm, and stirring its brown hairy tail a little bit, the ostrich horse bent its head, allowing its new master to touch it.

"Wow", Lin sighed, caressing the steed's head gently. "He's cool."

"_She_, my son", Jiang informed, smiling at his son. It was understandable why he'd give a female ostrich horse to his son. While the male ostrich horses are generally faster and stronger than the female ones, they are more temperamental and harder to calm when angered. "Just came in yesterday from the Earth Kingdom. Just don't ask how I got her. Slowly now, slo— Whoa!"

Too late. Lin had got on the steed and rode her out of the stable at the speed that would make any father worry. But not Jiang; he had seen the boy rode wilder and bigger animals with so much ease before. Lin was natural rider, a trait he got from his grandmother. A fully trained and domesticated ostrich horse wouldn't even be a challenge for the boy, Jiang thought, smiling at his son who rode the ostrich horse around the stable.

"Boys will be boys", Jiang sighed at his son's impulsiveness. "I knew I should have taken off the saddle."

* * *

"When!" Ursa asked angrily, her voice was uncharacteristically sharp.

"When they return from the Earth Kingdom", Ozai hissed just as sharply. He had had enough of Ursa on his ears asking him to talk to General Jiang as soon as possible. "He's about to go to the war, _dear wife_. Surely you wouldn't want to burden his mind with this matter now of all times."

Ursa didn't answer. She clenched her jaws, swallowing the poisonous insults she was so ready to spit on her husband's face. She wanted nothing more than to drag the man by his goatee to the Lin Estate and forced him to fulfill his promise, but it was practically impossible. Ozai was too powerful and, like him, Ursa didn't want to disturb Jiang with this matter, not now. General Jiang was about to depart for his new mission tomorrow morning and she didn't want to burden his mind. It was all for the better, in order for her plan to be successful, Jiang and Lin must survive this battle. Furthermore, she wasn't worried about Jiang, the man had stepped on more battlefields than any of them could count. She was worried about Lin. The boy was too young to go to the war. General Jiang might have convinced the military council to let him take his underage son to the war but Ursa wasn't convinced at all. Sadly, Ursa didn't have a say in this matter.

"Just don't forget your promise", Ursa said coldly, exiting the room before Ozai could say anything else. She could feel Ozai victorious smug on her back but she chose to ignore him. There was nothing she could do at the moment. She just had to retreat, go somewhere, somewhere far from her husband. To her room, perhaps. And so she did, she strode fast to her room, away from—

"Mom", a voice came from behind Ursa. She turned around and found Azula there. Ursa must have walked past her without noticing, she tended to do that when her mind was occupied.

"Good afternoon, Azula", Ursa smiled at her daughter. Her heart ached when she remembered that a year ago, her daughter would run to her and hug her _before_ she call. But now, Azula seemed to have distanced herself from Ursa and Ursa had only herself to blame.

"Mom", Azula asked. "Do you see my notebook? I left it on my nightstand and now it's gone."

"No, Azula", Ursa smiled again, sadly this time. "I'm sorry but I don't know where your notebook is. Have you searched the library? It's probably there."

"Okay", Azula suddenly smiled, extending her tiny hand. "Will you come with me?"

"I-I—", Ursa gaped. She was dying to say 'yes' and take her daughter's hand, but no, she couldn't, she mustn't. "I'm sorry, Azula. I'd love to but… but I have things to do."

"Oh", Azula pouted, letting her hand fall to her side. "Okay then."

And she just turned and left. Usually, Azula would hug her mother and _then_ turn and leave. Ursa watched her daughter vanished as she turned on the corridor, finally letting her tears fall on her cheeks. She had been holding them since she had her conversation with Ozai, the tears of anger which was replaced by the tears of sadness when she ran into Azula. How she wished Iroh was here right now, he'd know what to do. He always knew what to do.

"Mom?"

"Yes, dear", Ursa hastily wiped her tears but Zuko saw her crying.

"Is something wrong?" Zuko asked, approaching his mother.

"No, honey", Ursa managed to smile. "Everything's fine."

Zuko didn't believe her. But still, if his mother wanted to keep the matter to herself, Zuko had to respect it. All Zuko could do was embracing her gently and caressing her back, hoping that it would ease her burden a little. And all Ursa could do was embracing her son back and forcing a smile on her face. She didn't want to trouble her son's young mind with the matter of adults.

"Thank you, sweetheart", Ursa smiled, releasing herself from the embrace. She gently caressed her son's face. She loved the look on her son's face; his gentle face had never failed to remind her of the old days when her husband wasn't a— wasn't a_ monster_.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Zuko asked again, genuinely concerned.

"Yes, honey. Everything's fine", Ursa said again, smiling more convincingly this time. She had to distract him somehow. "Well, how about we go and feed the turtleducks?"

"Okay", Zuko replied. He didn't like feeding turtleduck, actually. He thought it was boring, just throwing some pieces of bread to the pond. Where's the fun in that? But, his mother seemed to enjoy it somehow, and so, to cheer her up, he decided to go along with it.

With that, he took his mother's hand and went to the turtleduck pond, both of them smiling. Both of them didn't notice a pair of amber eyes peeking from the corner of the corridor…

"Liar…" Azula muttered under her breath, clutching her notebook in her fists.

* * *

"Does she have a name?" Lin asked, brushing his ostrich horse's neck.

"Yep", Jiang looked rather smug when he announced the name: "Birdie."

"Oh, spirits", Lin's smile faltered. "Please tell me you didn't name her yourself."

"What's wrong with 'Birdie'?" Jiang asked, looking slightly offended. So, he did, in fact, name the ostrich horse himself. And, as we have agreed before, no man is perfect, everyone has a flaw. One of General Jiang's flaws was a bad sense of naming.

"Oh, come on, Dad. An ostrich horse named 'Birdie'?" Lin snickered. "Am I not glad I was born a boy. Had I been born a girl, you'd have probably named me 'Mei Mei' or something."

"How'd you know the name I chose for you had you been born a girl?" Jiang incredulously asked.

Lin blinked at his father, noticing that he wasn't joking. He then cupped his hand on his chest, looked up to the sky and said. "Thank you, Mom."

And the father and son laughed together at the joke. As they had resolved their misunderstanding prior to the fateful stormy night in the town of Gaipan, they had been closer than they had ever been before. And also, they had been more liberal at talking about Lian. Usually, Jiang's face would turn to stone when his wife was brought up, like the time when his five year old son asked him about Lian. It was understandable; the gravest pain a man could experience, the most deadly injury a man could endure is losing a loved one. But now, they could talk about Lian without hurting each other's feeling.

"Dad?" Lin asked after they stopped laughing, suddenly sounded timid. "Do you, uh, do you think Mom would mind about you dating someone?"

Jiang didn't answer immediately. He cast a solemn look at the horizon, colored crisp golden by the setting sun. "Well, son", he said finally without taking his eyes from the sky. "All I know is she was laughing when I burped at a fancy restaurant during my date."

"And when you fell into a mud hole", Lin added, grinning.

"Yes, especially that one", Jiang snickered. "Trust me I know. She shoved me into one in our first date."

"What did you do?" Lin asked, already accusing his father for mistreating his mother and thus earning the punishment.

"Oh, nothing really", Jiang smirked mysteriously. "Well, nothing much. I just won her a stuffed turtleduck in a Fire Festival and said that she looked like the turtleduck and then she shoved me into a mud hole. End of story."

And Jiang's smirked grew wider at his son's blush. Unknowingly to Lin, Jiang had witnessed him winning the stuffed panda for Azula at the festival and Jiang was dying to tease his son with that. And now, he finally got his chance. He didn't actually like the pairing; a Fire Princess and the heir of the Lin Family. It was too political, especially with Ursa— nah, perhaps he was over thinking things, Jiang convinced himself. But still, a chance to tease his son, he wouldn't want to miss it.

"So", Jiang cleared his throat. "Win any stuffed animal for a girl lately? Like perhaps… a stuffed _panda_? Hmm?"

_He didn't_, Lin slapped his forehead in his mind. He decided to counter the attack, using his trump card.

"Geez, Dad", Lin replied offhandedly. "I honestly don't remember. Hmm, maybe because I was upset at that time. You see, I was looking forward to eating some cotton candy but, *sigh* they ran out of it. They even said that the last customers, a dating couple, by the way, had to share _one_ candy."

_He didn't_, it was Jiang's turn to slap his forehead in his mind. He should have known better than to challenge a master prankster.

"Call it even?" he offered a hand.

"Okay", Lin took the handshake.

* * *

**Author's note:**

I just realized that I made a huge mistake regarding the characters' age. In 'Book 2 - Dragon' I said that Biao had been a senior practitioner for 3 years, which meant she is 22 but Jiang should be 33. The age gap between them would then be eleven years!! It's impossible, isn't it. So sorry...

So, I'm gonna make some changes. The new ages for the characters in chapter 1 of 'Book 1 - Destiny' are:

1. Jeong Jeong: 52 (no change)

2. Jiang: 36

3. Kang (Biao's father): 35

4. Biao: 19 (which means she would have been a senior practitioner for one year)

It meant that Jeong Jeong and Kang both became fathers when they were 16. It might sound strange but remember, Yue was supposed to get married when she turned 16. And also, in ancient times it wasn't unusual for people to become parents when they were still teenagers. One example was the famous Tokugawa Ieyasu who had a son when he was 16 (I think, I'm not quite sure). And in 'Book 2 - Dragon' just add everybody's age by one. I'm going to make the necessary changes in previous chapters as soon as I can, namely chapter 15 and 22. Just some minor changes, you don't have to re-read the chapters although if you want to, you are very welcomed to do so. But if you don't want to, just reading this note should be enough.

A dragon moose is the animal that pulled a cart in the episode 'The Runaway' when Toph pretended that she was run over by a cart. A mongoose dragon is the lizard thing that Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee rode in 'The Chase'. A giant eel hound is what Sokka, Suki, and Toph rode when they went to intercept Ozai's air fleet. And I believe you all know what an ostrich horse is; that chocobo-like creature.

And about the name Mei Mei, it is a very very generic Chinese name for girls. I have at least five friends with that name when I was in high school… plus one cousin and two nieces. The name means 'pretty' or 'beautiful', and I have nothing against people with that name. It was just a joke on how common the name is, so please don't hate me… :)

And again, I am really really sorry about the age mistake. Lack of sleep does that to anyone...


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26 – The Battle of Western Earth Base, Part 1**

**-He Plans the Battle-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"It'll be just for one more day, nephew", Kang tried to cheer Lin up, rubbing his shoulder as they sat on the upper deck.

"Can't they sail faster?" Lin muttered weakly.

"Sadly, no. Not in this fog", Kang shook his head. The three days they spent at sea had been a torture for the seasick Lin. He missed the land already.

"I'll never join the Navy", Lin swore.

"Good news for the Navy then", Kang laughed.

"Sir", a soldier approached them, saluting while carrying a cup of hot drink. "Tea for the Young Master, sir"

Kang nodded at the soldier, allowing him to kneel down and offered the cup to Lin. Lin gratefully took the cup and cast a scrutinizing look on the soldier. The soldier was no doubt huge, as big as Kang, at least from Lin's point of view. Big, muscular, with a pair small gray eyes, very thin moustache, thick but short beard, and thick lips in between, adorned his refined jaw line. The man had somewhat scary face and his hands were probably big enough to hold Lin's whole head between them and crushed it just as easily.

"What's your name and rank, soldier", Lin asked after receiving the cup.

"Sergeant Chit Sang, Young Master", the soldier smiled, unexpectedly friendly. We mustn't judge a book by its cover; Lin was reminded of this proverb.

"Thank you, Sergeant Chit Sang", Lin smiled back, just as friendly.

"You're welcome, Young Master."

Since Lin wasn't old enough to formally join the military, he joined the 212th Battalion as his father's tag along unlike Lu Ten who received a formal rank upon his admittance into General Iroh's battalion. That was why Lin was referred to as 'Young Master'. It was a common practice in the Fire Nation for a general's son to take his father's seat if his father passed away or retired. That was why, to Jiang's men, Lin could be their next leader and hence the title 'Young Master'.

But before Lin could even take a sip of his tea, the ship rocked violently. An attack! Kang and Chit Sang quickly rose to their feet, ready with their stances. Below him, Lin could see that his father and Admiral Liang quickly burst out of the inner deck, followed by about fifteen soldiers. All of them flooded the ship's deck, waiting for the enemies to show themselves. The heavy fog that morning was a great disadvantage for the defenders because it allowed them almost zero visibility.

Lin could hear from where he was sitting his father shouting some orders, Lin couldn't quite catch what he was saying. But, a second later, Admiral Liang and the other soldiers moved away from Jiang who paced to the center of the deck, keeping a healthy distance between them and the general. Jiang then assumed a wide central stance, breathing in air noisily. It must be a higher level technique of the 36 advanced forms because Lin didn't recognize that move. And with a violent palm thrust to his right and left, Jiang let out a booming battle cry and Lin could feel a wave of heat hitting his face. Apparently, Jiang used his chi to heat up the air around him, making the air warmer and the fog ceased to exist. As the fog lifted, everyone could see that at least ten Earth Kingdom small boats were surrounding the Western Fleet. Realizing that their sneak attack had been foiled, the Earth Kingdom soldiers swiftly went on with their assault.

Lin had been strictly ordered by his father not to fight without a direct order so, he just sat there. Not that Lin was that eager to fight. His head was still spinning and he didn't feel like fighting anyone right now. Plus, with Uncle Kang at his side, he wouldn't need to fight anyone. Uncle Kang would take care of anyone who dared to get in one meter radius from Lin. So, while his father and the other soldiers were busy fending off the enemy, Lin curiously observed at one of the enemy's boats. He was interested about how the Earth Kingdom Navy fought. As we all know earthbenders are helpless at sea because they won't have any bendable material. So, how do they fight? His question was answer by one of the boats.

On one of the Earth Kingdom boats, Lin saw that the middle part of the ship's deck had a hole and from the hole he noticed that the boat was filled with sand. Two earthbenders, staying on the boat while their comrades were boarding the Fire Nation ship, bended the sand up, causing a mass of it to float between them. Then, they made some sort of forceful grasping movements with their hands, like they were squeezing something hard and invisible with their hands, and the sand suddenly balled up, becoming denser, more solid.

"They're compressing the sand", Lin muttered, amazed by the tactic the enemy used as he watched the two earthbenders threw the 'sand stone' up to their comrades who were fighting onboard the Fire Nation ship. "Hey, Uncle Kang."

"What!" Kang shouted back, fending off two earthbenders at once. At his side, Chit Sang was also fighting multiple opponents alone.

"Come here for a sec", Lin called, not taking his eyes from the earthbenders on the ship.

"I'm busy!"

"Okay", Lin replied casually. He was intrigued by the 'earth compression' technique. He was about to show Uncle Kang the sand compression process and ask if it was possible to do it with fire. But… nah, Uncle Kang would say it was impossible. Unlike earth, fire is not solid. Compressing fire could be dangerous, the fire could explode or something. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained, Lin thought, already thinking of ways to make fire compression possible.

"Uncle Kang."

"What!"

"Nothing. Just messing with ya."

* * *

"Feeling better, son?"

"Nope", Lin muttered weakly, still feeling the repercussion of his seasickness.

Jiang sighed, carrying Lin on his back. After four days at sea with the Western Fleet, General Jiang's 212th Battalion had finally arrived at the Earth Kingdom. As soon as his battalion hit the land, he quickly organized a full scale assault on the Earth Kingdom's Senlin Village, located north of the Western Earth Base, his real target. Though we may call it an assault, it was more like a parade. All Jiang did was marching into the village, then he talked briefly to the village elder (with at least ten armed guards behind him), and planted his banner on the village square, claiming the ground as his own. Senlin Village was a small village and had no way of defending itself against a full battalion, especially one that was led by a famous general like Jiang.

"Is it really so bad that you can't walk?" Jiang asked.

"Yes", Lin smirked weakly before imitating a dying man's voice. "Oooooohh… the ground is shaking… my head… oooohhhh…. My heaaaaad…."

"Alright, I get it", Jiang laughed.

Jiang had secured himself and his officers a more decent place to stay in the village's inn while the rest of his men and Admiral Liang's men would make camps around the village. And as he walked into his lodging carrying his son, some villagers could be seen standing in front of their houses or peeking from their windows, all were pointing at him and talking in low voices. He didn't actually like the attention. He was there as a conqueror, after all. He could have ordered his men who were standing guard around the village to shut them up but it would risk an open rebellion. It was best to leave the villagers alone, that way there would be no unnecessary sacrifices.

"And here we go", Jiang announced, putting his son down on the bed inside their inn room.

"Dad", Lin asked as his father pulled a blanket over his shoulder. "Is everything fine here?"

"Yes, everything's fine", Jiang smiled, sitting down at the side of the bed. At first he was worried that his son wouldn't be interested in the matter of warfare. But so far, Lin had shown nothing short of interest in the matter. He had asked everything about their battle plan, from the arrangement of the battalion; how many people were there, who led which unit, their supplies limit, to the layout of the surrounding area that they would attack.

"Would you like an advice?" Lin offered hesitatingly. He suspected that his father wouldn't take his offer seriously. His father was a famous general, after all while Lin, he was just an eleven year old kid who had never been to the war before.

"Of course", Jiang unexpectedly replied. He was taken aback by his son's offer but he knew that he must take it seriously. He knew that his son was wise. Jiang knew that his mother Umma had taught the boy many things about warfare and strategy planning, a skill that the boy had never had a chance to use aside from in Pai Sho game. Nevertheless, Jiang knew that he mustn't underestimate Lin's skill. _All he needs is a chance_, he thought.

"Well", Lin cleared his throat, trying to sound serious. "First of all, go around the village. Talk to the people, ask them about local things: the food, the events, the geography, anything. Remember to watch your manner. Be polite and smile a lot, be friendly."

"Okay", Jiang nodded, although he didn't fully understand why his son would suggest this action.

"There's more", Lin added. "This village is quite small. So, have no more than one hundred men in this village, standing guard at every corner, fully armed and looking scary if possible."

"Looking scary?" Jiang asked, snickering.

"Yeah", Lin grinned back. "The villagers must _respect_ you, but _fear_ your men. That way, we could worry less about them turning on us and attacking us from behind when we marched south."

"I see", Jiang nodded again, impressed.

"One more thing", Lin hastily added. "Have the soldiers guarding the village eat in the local restaurant or something when they need to eat. And order them to pay regularly, punish them in public if they eat for free. We must leave a good impression on the villagers. We must make them feel as if we are guests, not enemies."

"Understood", Jiang nodded again, even more impressed. He silently thanked Umma for persisting to keep the boy in her care even after the boy had turned eight. "Is that all, son?"

"Yes, Dad", Lin replied weakly, his head was still spinning and he could have sworn that the whole room was swaying.

"Well then, you get some rest", Jiang ordered, getting up. "I'll go and issue your order. And then I'll stop by a local blacksmith and ask him to make a suit of armor for Birdie."

"You're gonna pay for the armor, right?" Lin raised a brow.

"Do I have to?" Jiang asked, testing his son.

"Absolutely, even if he refused to be paid", Lin replied very seriously. "Better yet, throw in some bonus if he did a good job."

"Yes, sir", Jiang imitated a military salute.

* * *

"Prince Zuko?"

"Yes", Zuko quickly answered. He was zoning out during the lecture Imperial Instructor Kaji gave him.

"Were you listening?" Kaji asked, rather snappishly.

"I… uh…" Zuko nervously drawled, casting a hopeful look from the corner of his eyes at his mother who sat on the corner of the training hall and seemed to be zoning out herself.

"Well, Your Highness", Kaji sighed, looking really disappointed. "If you weren't listening, then let me repeat that for you. Although, I would appreciate it if you pay more attention this time, hmm?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry", Zuko bowed, grinning sheepishly.

And as Kaji repeated his lecture on firebending to Zuko, who was struggling to stay awake, Ursa gazed the sky above absentmindedly, wondering how Lin was doing, and, of course, hoping that he didn't do anything dangerous. With a reckless father like Jiang, a daredevil of a mother like Lian, a stubborn grandfather like Jeong Jeong, and a strong-headed grandmother like Umma, it wouldn't be surprising if Lin would get himself into a lot of trouble. All the more reason for Ursa to worry.

"Mom", a sweet voice snapped Ursa off her thought. Azula trod quickly to her, grinning. Ursa smiled back at her and instinctively threw her arms open. But, Azula didn't dive into her mother's arms like she used to do. She instead landed on the seat beside Ursa, forcing Ursa to mask her open embracing arms with a clumsy stretch.

"Mom", Azula happily chirped, pulling out a book from her back. "Can you help me with my homework?"

"I—", Ursa gaped. Azula not diving into her chest felt like a slap on the face for her. Moreover, the deal… she mustn't concern herself with Azula again but… Ozai violated their deal first! The deal was Ozai would talk to Jiang _right after_ the mourning period for Umma was over but Ozai had postponed the talk until Jiang came back from the Western Coast of the Earth Kingdom. It was a violation, right? And so, he shouldn't complain if Ursa helped Azula with her homework, right? Yes, Ozai had no right to complain, no right at all! And it was a good thing Ozai was sent to the Outer Island for inspection and wouldn't be back until the day after tomorrow, too.

"Yes, Azula", Ursa smiled, taking the book from her daughter's hand. "I'd love to."

And for the first time in what seemed like forever, Ursa felt really happy.

* * *

"—is complete, sir", a middle aged captain, one of Jiang's officers concluded his report.

In the village's meeting room, Jiang and his officers were having a strategy meeting. In the middle of the room a long rectangular table was set up. At the sides of the long table, sat ten officers on each side, with Kang and Masa at each end of the line. At the end of the table, Jiang sat with Lin at his side. After nodding dismissively at the middle aged captain, Jiang turned to his son.

"What do you think, son?" Jiang spoke a bit louder than usual, wanting to make sure everyone in the room heard him. And they did, because Jiang's question raised a loud murmur from his officers. Even Masa looked more stern than usual and Kang raised a brow questioningly at Jiang. Almost everyone in that room had been with Jiang since the very beginning of 212th Battalion and they knew that Jiang had never let them down. But now, Jiang was asking a counsel from an eleven year old kid? Seriously?

"Uh…" Lin drawled, casting a nervous look around the room. "Are you sure about this, Dad?"

"Men!" Jiang instead addressed his officers. "Give me the report of the situation of the village."

"Yes, sir", another middle aged captain rose from his seat. "We were expecting a certain extent of animosity or even an open aggressiveness from the villagers but…"

The captain swept the room with his eyes, making sure that everyone was listening before he continued. "… so far, the villagers had been very welcoming. Even with our army surrounding the village and patrolling their streets, the villagers didn't seem to mind, sir."

"Good", Jiang nodded then turned to everyone. "Nobody will doubt my son's judgment, then."

Another murmur, extinguished by Jiang who confessed that the counter measure they were using in maintaining the village's order was his son's idea. And it raised an even louder murmur but this time, it was of amazement not doubt. Some, like Kang, even openly praised Lin's wit, causing the young boy to blush a little as he thanked them for their kind words. And Jiang kept silent while his men showered his son with their praise, smiling proudly.

Yes, Jiang smirked, all Lin needed was a chance and Jiang was creating one for him. Even though he took his son to the battlefield, there was no way in hell Jiang would allow the boy to actually get involved in a real fight. He'd thrust the role of a strategist to his son, hoping that it would distract Lin enough from fighting.

Lin, despite his young age, was already a powerful warrior; Jiang knew that better than anyone. In the whole battalion, there were probably only three persons who could take Lin on one-on-one combat and win: himself and his brothers, Kang and Masa; all three were master level practitioners of their family art. But, Jiang also knew that war is a dirty business, killing people is a dirty business. Lin was still innocent and there would come a day when Lin would have to lose that innocence, the day when Lin must take someone's life as a soldier of the Fire Nation, to stain his hands with blood. It was his destiny as the son of General Jiang, as the heir of the militaristic Lin Family. But, Jiang was determined to let his son hold on to that innocence as long as possible.

"And so", Jiang turned to his son again, so did all his officers. "I must seek your counsel again, son."

Lin, felling awkward under the stare of a room full of veteran soldiers, didn't know what to say. He was flattered that his father and the other officers would trust him so much, of course. But still… it was nerve wrecking.

"Ahem", Lin cleared his throat, addressing one of the officers. "Cousin Shi, please remind me again about our troops divisions."

A young lieutenant of seventeen, with a cold and stern face and a white Lin Family armband on his left arm rose from his seat, drawing all eyes on him. He then spoke with an equally cold but calm voice.

"212th Battalion consists of 1000 men, divided into ten divisions. Divisions one to four make up the right wing, which was led by the Right Commander Masa", Shi gestured to Masa, his foster father, who nodded back. "Division seven to ten make up the left wing, led by the Left Commander Kang", Shi gestured to Uncle Kang who grinned back.

"And division five and six", Shi continued, "are under direct command of General Jiang."

"Do we have any additional units?" Lin asked again.

"We have five medic squads and an elite demolition team, courtesy to Admiral Liang", Shi saluted the admiral.

"I see", Lin sounded interested. A demolition team, huh? "What about our supplies?"

"Our ration and water should last for two weeks. We should receive a new supply shipment by the end of this week", Shi replied smoothly.

"Troops' condition and morale?"

"Healthy and eager, Young Master."

"And what about our weapons, medical supplies, explosives?"

"Weapons are well maintained and distributed evenly among our men; swords, spears, and bows and arrows. We have excess one hundred swords, two hundred and forty two spears, one hundred and twenty three sets of bows and quivers of arrows. Medical supplies, however, are barely adequate. Same thing with explosives, we only have five barrels of blasting jelly. Captain Chey…" Shi gestured to a young soldier. "…has requested more blasting jelly from the nearby Fire Nation post but it will take at least five days before we can get the supply."

"What can five barrels of blasting jelly do, Captain Chey?" Lin asked the demolition expert.

"That depends, Young Master", Captain Chey politely bowed. "One barrel could make approximately fifty small bombs, so it is about two hundred and fifty small bombs, give or take. But, if you use them together…"

"Yes?" Lin raised a brow. He had a plan already, and he needed to use the barrels all together.

"Well", Captain Chey sounded unsure. "You can pretty much take down half of the battlement."

"That strong?" Lin asked again, wanting to make sure.

"If the explosions are timed correctly, yes", Captain Chey nodded, he looked gloom for some reason.

"I see", Lin scratched his chin, thinking deeply. But, there was more he should know. _Know yourself and know your enemy, and you shan't fear the result of a hundred battles_. "What about our enemy? Who lead them? How many men they have?"

"According to our latest report", Shi rose again, this time reading a scroll. "They are a full battalion of 1500 men, led by General Fong."

"What can you tell us about this General Fong?" Lin asked again. He had never heard of General Fong before, a disadvantage he should deal with soon.

"Ruthless, aggressive", Shi looked up from the scroll, casting a sharp look at his cousin. "Unlike any other Earth Kingdom generals, Fong started as a lowly soldier. He worked his ranks up without any connection or influence. His rank as a general is purely bestowed on him based on his skills and achievements on the battlefield."

Ruthless, aggressive… Lin knew they were military terms for 'brave' and 'courageous'. Fire Nation Military often used bad connotations to disdain their enemy's good qualities; a clever tactic in itself as it boosts their morale by feeding their own egos.

"His men will be loyal to him", Lin concluded. If Fong was a foot soldier before he was a general, he must have known how to treat his men with respect, to win their loyalty. "Tell me what other information we know about him. A famous battle in which he participated before, perhaps."

Shi took out another scroll and started to read a report on a battle that took place almost sixteen years ago, the battle to retake the Western Earth Base a month after Jiang conquered it. Apparently, Fong, a captain at that time, staged a night raid at the battlement with only fifty men, taking down the battlement which was guarded by five hundred Fire Nation soldiers. Impressive, yes, but the tactic he used… it was, yes, it was ruthless.

Captain Fong used the cover of night to infiltrate the base and set the base arsenal, which was filled with explosives, on fire. In the ensuing confusion, he and his men took down the Fire Nation soldiers with ease, killing the commanding officers in the process and blowing up a significant chunk off the base wall. _Ruthless, indeed… and aggressive_, Lin found himself agreeing with Shi's initial description of General Fong.

"Enough, Cousin Shi", Lin interrupted the lieutenant in the middle of his speech. Shi saluted to him before returning to his seat. Lin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calculating his advantages, disadvantages, his strength, the enemy's strength, the layout of the surrounding area, the topography advantages he could exploit, the supplies and how to make use of them…

Fong was indeed ruthless and aggressive. 212th Battalion was outnumbered by half and judging from the battle tactic General Fong had used before, he would used this advantage to the fullest extent, Lin knew. He could exploit this and turn the table against Fong. Yes, he had a solution to this problem, a strategy they could use, but… his father wouldn't agree with him. But, nothing ventured nothing gained, in war we must take a certain risk sometimes. And so, Lin decided to go on anyway…

"Father", Lin opened his eyes and turned to his father. "May I issue the next orders?"

"What?" Jiang asked back, genuinely surprised. Even though Lin had become an unofficial battalion strategist, the right to issue orders should always remain with the general as the supreme commanding officer, not with the strategist. But, he decided to trust his son. "Yes, of course. But…"

Jiang cast a doubtful look on his men. He expected them to voice any objection but none of them said anything. Lin, knowing what was in his father's mind, rose from his seat.

"Honorable officers of the 212th Battalion", he spoke with a loud prideful voice. "It is a great honor for me, a mere kid who isn't even old enough to shave, to stand before you this evening."

Few officers chuckled at the joke, some were still stone faced.

"I am the twenty sixth Lin, son of Jiang and Lian, and the heir of the Lin Family", Lin spoke even louder, his charisma glowing and drawing looks of admiration from around the table, even from Jiang who had never known that his son could emit such a commanding aura. "I have a plan that will ensure our victory…"

Lin cast a look around the table, making sure that everyone was paying attention before he added, full of confidence: "…in _one day_."

Another loud whisper spread across the table. Taking the Western Earth Base in one day? How could that be possible? The Western Earth Base was the most powerful base in the Earth Kingdom. Conquering the base in _a week_ was a miracle in itself. A day?

"If you give me the honor", Lin politely and humbly bowed. "I swear by the name which was bestowed upon me, by the name 'Lin', I will bring you victory."

Another loud murmur as the officers talked among themselves, trying to decide if they should trust an eleven year old boy with their battle plan or not. Lin's idea of winning the Senlin village's affection was ingenious, no doubt. But, could the young boy really be trusted with the matter of sending the men into the battlefield, with the lives of one thousand brave soldiers of the Fire Nation?

"Aye", Kang roared, rising from his seat and proudly staring at his nephew. "I agree."

Captain Chey and few other officers also rose from their seats, all with confidence and trust radiating from their faces. Masa, still casting a doubtful glance at Lin, rose slowly, followed by his foster son, Shi. Encouraged by the two commanders' action, more than half of the sitting officers also rose from their seats. At the end, only five, including Admiral Liang, stay seated. Jiang also stayed seated but it was because he was the mediator of the meeting and thus, he had no right to vote.

"Alright, then", Jiang announced. "Henceforth, your Young Master Lin will be put in charge with our strategy!"

And he clapped his hands, sparking a thunderous applause from the other officers. Jiang had never felt so proud of his son before, not since his son became the youngest Lin in history. And tonight, his son had grown up yet again. The pride Jiang felt, no words could describe it. _Are you watching? _He silently asked his wife. _Our son, our little boy, is becoming a man…_

"Then, let me start with our strategy", Lin spoke seriously with a refined commanding tone as the applause subsided and everyone but him sat down again. "This strategy is comprised of two parts. The first part is the securing of the route to the south. Unc— I mean, Commander Kang, Commander Masa!"

Both Masa and Kang rose from their seats again, both saluted the boy respectfully.

"I need both of you to take all your men to seize the village of Yu Guo. Set out right away after this command. When you get there, make sure you let some of the villagers escape south to the Western Earth Base and make sure that they knew that the 212th Battalion under General Jiang only has 1000 men in total."

A loud murmur again, even Masa and Kang looked dumbfounded. It was a basic knowledge of warfare to make our own army appear greater that it actually is, to fool the enemy.

"I know what you're thinking", Lin addressed the whole room before returning to the two commanders. "But, this is necessary, trust me. After you take Yu Guo, set a camp around the village, set barricades. If my calculation is correct, General Fong will lead his full army to intercept us tomorrow midday."

The officers looked at each other questioningly, all thinking the same thing: _how could this kid predict such thing? Midday? What if he miscalculated?_

"General Fong is ruthless", Lin continued, knowing well the doubt in everyone's mind. "But, he is not stupid. He will not attack at night when traps could be laid for him, or at morning when his army is not fully prepared yet. He will attack us when he believes that his men are at their best, and it won't be sooner than tomorrow midday."

Some officers nodded comprehensively at Lin's explanation, all silently praising the boy's meticulous calculation.

"Commander Kang, Commander Masa!" Lin spoke again with a thicker commanding tone. "Gather your men and set out immediately! And good luck."

Kang and Masa saluted Lin and Jiang, respectively, before exiting the room, followed by some officers who served under them, Lieutenant Shi among them. The room now was only half filled, but Lin hadn't finished yet, because he still had…

"The second part of this strategy is the taking of the base itself. Captain Chey!" Lin addressed the young captain. "I'm gonna need your full cooperation."

"Absolutely, Young Master", Chey stood up and saluted, completely amazed by the boy's leadership qualities and eager for his order.

Lin, however, turned to his father. He noticed that even Jiang had a mild admiration expression on his face but… Lin still doubted that his father would agree with what he had to say next. But, there was no turning back now…

"Dad", Lin started hesitatingly. "You're not gonna like this…"

**To Be Continued…

* * *

**

**Author's note:**

Names:

1. Shi (死) means 'die'. Masa and Shi is a pun for the Japanese name 'Masashi' as in Kishimoto Masashi, the manga artist who created the worldwide phenomena called 'Naruto'. And as I explained before, Masa means 'era' or 'time' in Indonesian, it also means 'time' in Malaysian. The name of the duo is, therefore, a pun for the all time favorite taunt: '**time** to **die**!!' :)

2. Kaji (火事)means 'fire' or 'an occurrence of fire in a certain place that caused its destruction'

3. Fong, Chey and Chit Sang, you knew them from the series, I believe.

'_Know yourself and know your enemy, and you shan't fear the result of a hundred battles' _is an excerpt from the book 'Sun Zi Bing Fa' or 'The Art of War by Sun Tzu'. It's famous…

Most of the tactics Lin proposed in this chapter and also his humility in asking the permission from the officers before he gave them orders are derived from the application of 'The Art of War by Sun Tzu', some are also influenced by other literatures about warfare and strategy planning, such as 'The 36 Stratagems' by Zhuge Liang (he's famous, too… the cleverest strategist in the history of China) and 'Sun Bin Bing Fa' or The Art of War by Sun Bin' (Sun Bin was Sun Tzu's descendant, if I remember correctly).

And for hpswst101, I would like to apologize personally about the age mistake I made in the previous chapters. So sorry…T_T

And you've figured out the poem? Nice job… seriously, nice job. I'm impressed :)

The meaning of the poem will be revealed much much later, probably in the very last chapter. Hopefully… lol

And thanks for the review, nice to have you back. I have to admit, without your review I have a trouble writing the author's note. :)

Oh, and 'the Battle of the Western Base' might be divided into three parts, not just two. I think I'm gonna delve deeper into Jiang and Fong as rival generals. Maybe… one thing is for sure, 'the Battle of Western Earth Base' will be and will lead to the cornerstone of the main characters' lives.

Have a nice life, everyone!


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27 – The Battle of Western Earth Base, Part 2**

**-He Leads the Charge-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"Be careful", Jiang reminded again for what seemed to be the millionth times.

"Yes, Dad", Lin replied patiently, smiling reassuringly as he let his father set his armor straight here and there.

"Take this sword", Jiang shoved a short sword to Lin. The sword might be short for an adult but for Lin, it was perfectly balanced.

"Okay", Lin took the sword and strapped it behind his back.

"And this crossbow", Jiang shoved a loaded crossbow and a quiver of bolts.

"Yes, Dad", Lin obediently took the weapon and hung it on Birdie's saddle. The ostrich horse had been fitted with black leather armor. The black layers of protection covered its face like a masked helmet, its neck like segments of scales, and its two legs like shin guards. Though it provided less protection than metal armor, the leather armor could suppress a certain amount of blows without sacrificing much of the steed's mobility, a perfect choice according to Lin.

"And—", Jiang was about to hand over a halberd, but…

"Dad", Lin cut in, casting an unsure look on the polearm. "That's too big."

"Oh", Jiang realized his mistake. He then just threw the weapon away over his shoulder clumsily (which almost cleaved an innocent soldier behind him in two) and cast a confused look around him, as if he was trying to find anything, any weapon he could equip his son with. "Well, then… aaah… I-I'll just have to…"

"Dad", Lin spoke a bit louder.

"Yes, son?" Jiang turned to him, he looked a bit pale and clearly worried and anxious.

"I'll be fine", Lin said, softer this time.

It had taken him a while to convince his father to accept his proposal in the strategy meeting. After a heated argument in front of the other officers, who all seemed to be a bit uncomfortable being in the middle of the family quarrel, Jiang had finally relented to his son's idea, to the second part of the strategy.

The second part of the strategy involved Jiang joining up with the rest of his men in Yu Guo, which had been captured without any significant resistance like Senlin, and waiting for General Fong to attack them. They would have to stand their ground, to keep General Fong and his main army busy while a small team of ten, eleven plus the leader, covertly sailed with one of the Western Fleet's ships to attack the Western Earth Base by tearing down the gate, taking down its sentry guards, and claiming its central command tower. That way, General Fong would be surrounded from two sides and forced to surrender. A perfect plan, yes. But, the problem was Lin proposed that he should lead the assault team himself! Needless to say, Jiang refused and hence the argument.

"_NO!"_

"_But, Dad…!"_

"_No buts!" Jiang spat. "I will not allow you to do this!"_

"_So, who will lead the team?!" Lin asked angrily._

"_W— Your Uncle Masa or Uncle Kang—"_

"_They can't! They're famous like you! If General Fong didn't see them with your battalion, he will suspect something!"_

"_W-well", Jiang frantically searched the room for another officer who could lead the team. "Admiral Liang—"_

"_He can't!" Lin snapped. "He must stay here to secure our flank."_

"_W-well", Jiang heaved, his face red with anger and desperation. "Then take some more men! Ten is—"_

"—_the most we can afford", Lin cut in, finishing the sentence. He, too, was heaving. He knew that his father would disagree with him but he just didn't see any other option. "We can't take many men from your battalion, it will be too suspicious. And Admiral Liang must keep most of his men here. Ten is the most we can afford."_

"_B-but…" Jiang frantically tried to reason but he knew that his son was right._

"_It'll be fine, Dad", Lin spoke again, softer and full of determination, his fists tightly clenched at his sides._

"I'll be fine", Lin repeated, hugging his father. Jiang looked like he was about to break down but he mustn't, not in front of his army.

"Take this", Jiang pulled out a Lin Family traditional beaded bracelet from his pocket and put it on his son's left wrist. "I-it's… I mean, I noticed that you lost yours a-and… and t-this is the one I used to wear, so… so…"

But Lin understood. He embraced his father again, muttering his thank you while Jiang finally shed his tears. He didn't want to let his son go but he knew that he didn't have any other choice. Though he refused to admit it, he knew that his son was the only one capable enough to lead the assault team. _Spirits_, he chuckled, kneeling down so that his face could be on the same level with the boy. _He is as stubborn as his mother._

"Your mother…" Jiang whispered, wiping the bangs off his son's face so that he could see the boy's face clearly. "…would be so proud of you, son. So would your grandmother…"

"Thanks, Dad", Lin hugged his father's tightly, feeling his own eyes filled with tears. "I'll make you proud, too. I promise…"

"Just come back safely, son", Jiang pat his son's back, still not letting him go. "Remember your basic. Chi—"

"— inner fire, breathe, unleash fire, form chi, and control. I remember, Dad", Lin smiled, releasing himself.

"Yes, and— hey…" Jiang chuckled, realizing that he had been had again.

"Gotcha", Lin laughed, before he pulled his father into another embrace.

"General, Young Master", Captain Chey saluted them; he was a part of the assault team. "It's time."

"Yes, Captain", Jiang nodded, raising up and wiping his eyes. "I know this is very selfish of me, but please… please keep an eye on my son, Captain."

"I know this isn't much, sir", Captain Chey saluted again, he sounded determined. "But, I'll keep both my eyes on the Young Master. Nobody will touch him without facing me first, sir. I swear it."

"Thank you, Captain", Jiang gave the man a deep Fire Nation bow pleadingly. Captain Chey looked stunned at Jiang's gesture and quickly returned the bow. Jiang outranked him by _that_ much and still, Jiang displayed such humility to him. Chey assured the general again before he led Lin and Birdie to the ship that they would be sailing with. Jiang stayed there, watching as the ship disappeared into the morning horizon. But, he couldn't stay for long. In order for the plan to be successful timing was the key. Jiang had to rejoin Kang and Masa before midday and he couldn't waste anymore time. If he arrived too late, Kang and Masa would be pulverized by General Fong's battalion. And so, with a heavy heart and praying to the spirits to protect his one and only son, General Jiang set out to the south.

* * *

—CRACKED—

Ursa let out a startled gasp as the tea cup cracked in her hand. She set the cup down and felt really anxious for some reason, like something wasn't right, something was missing… something bad would happen.

"Mom?" Zuko asked. "What's wrong?"

"Hmm?" Ursa turned to him, still dumbfounded. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all, honey."

"See", Azula chided in, sitting beside his brother at the breakfast table. "You worry too much, Zuzu."

"Don't call me that", Zuko snapped.

"Zu~zu", Azula impishly teased in sing-song tone.

"Stop. That!" Zuko seethed, anger etched every syllables.

"Zuzu", Azula attacked again, grinning mischievously. Zuko tried to ignore her.

"Zuzu", Azula teased again, drawing a murderous glare from his brother. "Zu— MOOOOOOMIEEEE!!!!"

"Kids", Ursa called but, too late… Azula had burst out of the room chased by Zuko. Ursa simply smiled brightly at them. It had been a while since the simple happiness such as this filled her life. And since _a certain Fire Prince_ would be back tomorrow, today could be the last for Ursa to enjoy the company of both her children. And so, she intended to enjoy it as much as she could. After all she had been through, she deserved it…

"Alright, kids", Ursa chuckled, getting up from her seat and approached the two struggling kids at the end of the corridor. It seemed like Zuko caught Azula.

"Alright, now", Ursa said again, laughing as she got closer to her children. "Okay! Azula, stop pulling your brother's ponytail!"

She really did deserve the peaceful moments with both her children…

* * *

"Young Master?" Chit Sang asked full of concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Sergeant", Lin nodded. "I'm fine."

In the ship sailing towards the western shore of the Western Earth Base, Lin and ten other men, among them Captain Chey and Sergeant Chit Sang, were standing on the deck right behind the ship's bow. The ship's bow was actually designed to be some sort of a releasable platform to allow the passengers to charge out right after it touched the land. And so, Lin and his assault team were standing behind it, all anxiously waiting to get off the ship. Behind them, Captain Chey and his four men from the elite demolition team were preparing fuses on five blasting jelly barrels that were arranged on a small cart.

The battle plan was: while General Jiang and General Fong fought, they would begin their operation by tearing down the base's gate using the blasting jelly. It could be risky since they only had one shot. After reading some updates last night, Lin realized that the gate of the Western Earth Base had been reinforced with metal frame.

After consulting Captain Chey, he was told that it shouldn't be a problem as long as all five barrels exploded at once in one concentrated spot. And hence, Chey had proposed the use of cart and fuses. The plan would be, as soon as they arrived, Chey would personally push the cart to the gate and light the fuse. The explosion should tear the gate down and in the ensuing confusion; Lin would lead the whole team inside to take down any soldiers left in the base. He had predicted that the most they would encounter there would be fifty. General Fong would want to bring as many men as he could. He was fighting Jiang, after all. Both generals were legendary in their respective nations and often compared with each other, mostly because when they were both still captains, they had achieved a similar feat: capturing the Western Earth Base with only a handful of men.

Jiang of the Fire Nation and Fong of the Earth Kingdom… the clash between the two generals, it would no doubt be monumental. That was why Lin proposed this strategy, because he knew Fong would think the same thing, that the battle between the two was fated or something and it would be told in history for centuries to come. And Lin would exploit that fact to the fullest extent, he would turn Fong's ego against him.

"It has started, Young Master", Chit Sang said, pointing at the smokes rising from the shore line distance away. Must be caused by the catapults…

"Sergeant", Lin asked. "Do you have a family?"

"Nah…" the man chuckled. "But, I do have a girlfriend."

"Oh", Lin laughed, elbowing the sergeant. "That's nice."

"Yeah", Chit Sang grinned, casting a dreamy gaze on the shore, lost in his own thought about his girlfriend.

"What about you, soldier?" Lin asked another soldier.

"Both parents and two little kid brothers, Young Master", the soldier chuckled. He then, too, had a similar daydreaming expression on his face.

"You?" Lin turned to yet another soldier.

"A beautiful wife and a beautiful baby inside her, Young Master", a muffled voice came from behind his mask. The soldier was wearing his helmet with his mask on, but Lin knew he was having the same dreaming expression as his thought drifted back to the motherland, to his wife and unborn baby.

"Cool", Lin smiled. "A boy or a girl?"

"Hopefully a boy, Young Master", the soldier chuckled.

"Good luck, then", Lin chuckled too, turning to another soldier. "And you?"

"Just my brother, Young Master."

And it went on until Lin reached the last man, Captain Chey.

"No one really, Young Master", Chey laughed, pointing at Chit Sang. "No one but that big cow hippo of a distant cousin there."

And the whole deck burst with laughter. His men were just as nervous as he was, Lin realized this. Therefore, to ease his and his men's anxiety Lin brought up this conversation. And so, all the ten men there suddenly started a lively conversation on their own regarding their families, all were laughing.

"We're about to hit the land!" the ship's captain shouted from the steer room. "Prepared to descend!"

The men abruptly stopped chattering. They all quickly assumed their marching position: Chey and his cart in the front, Lin, mounting on Birdie, and the rest of his men at the back with another kart filled with hay dummies wearing Fire Nation armors and full face helmets. Just a few minutes before they hit land. The team had assumed their seriousness again but they looked different somehow. They looked lees anxious now, more determined. And Lin, marching in the middle of the blasting jelly cart and the men on Birdie, delivered a speech.

"You all have families waiting for you at home!" he yelled. Just five more meters to the shore…

"Remember them well as you marched to the enemy's base",

Four more meters…

"But, if for some reason you suddenly found yourself marching in a mysterious place filled with strange odd things…"

Three more meters…

"… well, don't worry, friends. That would mean you're dead and marching through the spirit world!" the men laughed at the joke.

Two more meters…

"But! As long as you don't see all those odd thing and odd place, you must keep on charging for you are still alive! You are not dead yet!" Lin readied his steed.

One more meters…

"And until we take the base, no one…" the ship hit the shore, the platform was released. "…absolutely no one is allowed to die!! CHARGE!!!!!" Lin spurred his steed past Chey and his cart, riding past his men who were running behind, screaming a thunderous battle cry.

Lin rode diagonally forward toward a spot few meters away from the gate. He must wait there to picked Chey up just in case something went wrong with the ignition process. Chey, yelling his battle cry, pushed the cart with all his might. He ran ten meters away from the ship before the front of the cart crashed the gate, harder than expected. The cart's wooden axle cracked due to the weight of the barrels and the collision with the gate but Chey didn't notice this. He quickly took out a pair spark rock from his pocket and ignited the fuse. But, as he ran away from the cart, filled with barrels of blasting jelly with lit fuses, to a safe distance, the axle finally gave up, snapping and causing the cart to collapse and one of the barrels to roll away from the cart.

"No!!" Lin quickly raced Birdie forward to Chey who went back to roll the heavy barrel back to the gate all by himself. Lin knew something like this would happen. That was why he rode ahead and secured a spot a safe distance away from the gate but close enough to pick Chey up should he trip or something after he ignited the fuse. Chey barely managed to roll the barrel back closer to the kart before Lin rode pass him. He caught the boy's extended hand, the boy pulled him up to the steed and they rode away to safety.

—BOOM!!!!!!—

An earsplitting explosion rang all way through the shore as the five barrels exploded simultaneously. The surrounding area soon was covered by thick smoke. And as the smoke subsided, the assault team let out a disappointed gasp because the explosion wasn't enough to tear down the gate. The gate was heavily damaged, though. It was cracked and almost blasted off its hinges but it still stood still, ten meters high, solid and strong enough to hold the assault team outside.

"No…" Chey gasped, sliding down from Birdie. "No… No, no!"

"Stand back", Lin ordered, shifting Birdie so that the ostrich horse stood sideways and Lin could face the gate without the steed's head protruding in front of him. Lin took a deep breath and sent a strong fire blast at the gate. The fire hit the gate, leaving a smoking burnt mark… and that was it. The gate didn't budge at all. Lin cursed under his breath and he noticed that fear had swept through his men. The explosion had no doubt attracted General Fong's attention and it meant that there could be a risk of him coming back anytime. Lin could withdraw but that would mean his father would have to fight General Fong's larger army to the end, many Fire Nation soldiers could die… his father could die… No! There was no turning back. Lin desperately raked his brain for plan, for ideas, for anything, anything that could be used to break down the wretched gate.

"Young Master", one of the soldiers' shout snapped Lin of his desperate thought. "The earthbenders will be here soon, Young Master. We must do something!"

_Earthbenders! Of course_. Lin thought. This was the only hope. He didn't know if he could do this or not, but he must try, he had no choice: _fire_ compression! If he could produce a thicker fire blast, he could tear down the gate. Calming his mind, Lin conjured a fire ball on his palm. The fire ball was as big as a kuai ball. He then concentrated his chi on the fire, trying to alter its shape, to compress it, to make the fire tighter, thicker, stronger… and poof, the fire disappeared.

"At least it didn't blow up on my face", Lin muttered, summoning another fireball. He then did the same thing… and received the same result.

"Young Master—" Chey tried to ask but Lin shushed him.

"Just a moment, Captain", Lin muttered, summoning another fire ball. _Okay_, he breathed calmly. _Relax, no emotion_.

"…_controlling fire is like balancing a ball on a finger", Jeong Jeong balanced a small ball on his finger in front of his ten grandchildren, eight year old Lin was among them. "It is fun when you managed to do it but one small mistake (the ball dramatically fell from his finger) and the ball will fall."_

"_Remember", Jeong Jeong continued, conjuring a small fire ball on his palm. "Firebending requires control above anything else. Without control…" Jeong Jeong let the fire disappeared. "…your fire will be no more."_

Control, yes, Lin knew. It is imperative in producing and maintaining fire. But what about fire alteration? What about changing its shape, its mass, multiplying its power? It was possible, Lin knew. It was the principal of 'charged fire blast'. But unlike Lin's idea of fire compression, 'charged fire blast' didn't change the structure of the fire itself. It only pumped more chi into the fire, making the impact more profound, like a balloon: the fire as the balloon and chi as the air. He had done it to a certain extent but fire compression, alteration of the structure of the fire itself… it meant that Lin had to mess with the delicate control over fire. _The key is concentration_, Lin concluded. He breathed the crisp autumn air and focused his mind on his fire ball, slowly pulling the fire inward into its core center with his chi. The fire flickered dangerously, threatening to either go off or explode.

"…_waterbender must learn humility and respect for the water. Only than the water will accept her as its master."_

Respect? For some reason Lin remembered the lecture Snowflake gave Hothead in his dream. Respect, unity… Lin knew that he had never showed such thing with his firebending. It was always about _commanding_ fire, _controlling_ it. He was a firebender, thus a master of fire, never one with fire. Respect for one's element… humility… unity with one's element… it actually made sense to Lin. All he ever did was enforcing his will on his fire by using his chi; the bigger the fire, the stronger the chi he used. He must always keep superiority over his fire, be the master. If he respected his element, be one with his fire, to _unite _with it, he could know when to force the fire to pull together, when to stop, to give it a rest. In a way, he became one with his fire, he would no longer be enforcing his will on the fire whether the fire liked it or not, he would take the _fire's will_ into consideration. Be its equal not its superior. Unity… Yes, he must try…

"Help me… Mom, Grandma…" he prayed, closing his eyes and focusing his chi even deeper into his fire. Yes! He could feel it. He could feel his fire flickered, the core beating like a small heart, feel his fire alive. _It's ready_, he used his chi to pull the fire to the core, to pull them together… _and stop_! He felt that the beating grew faster, threatening to break down. He waited for the beating to stabilize before he compressed it again. _And stop! Phew, almost mess it there. Okay, wait… the beating is stabilizing… wait… Now!_

After repeating the process for what seemed like forever, Lin felt that he couldn't compress the fire any further, it had become very thick, as solid and as packed as it possibly could. He opened his eyes and was genuinely surprised when he noticed that his fireball had barely changed in shape. He was hoping for the fire ball to at least shrink into half its original size but the size had barely changed. But Lin knew he was successful, he noticed that the fire almost didn't flicker. It was as if the thing on his palm was a solid burning ball of magma rather than a mass of fire. And the heat, spirits! Held it any longer and Lin's hand would be cooked. Lin smirked at his fire ball. It was time to end this…

With a battle cry, he threw the condensed fire ball at the gate. Upon the collision, the gate was blasted cleaned off its hinges into several large pieces, drawing a dumbfounded gape form everyone, including Lin. _Well, it worked_, Lin shrugged, grinning at Chey who looked back at Lin, flabbergasted.

"Men!" Lin yelled, snapping the rest of the assault's team off their gape. "Let's go! CHARGE!!!"

And with that, he spurred Birdie, leading his men who found their courage back, all yelling their renewed spirits, reflected in their battle cries, along with their Young Master. The real Battle of the Western Earth Base had finally begun…

**To Be Continued…

* * *

**

**Author's note:**

Okay, first of all... sorry...

I was planning to use the title 'He Plans the Battle' for chapter 26. But, apparently I uploaded the wrong data and realized it a bit too late. So sorry... lack of sleep... T_T

I'm gonna change the tittle but don't worry, I've double checked it and there won't be any change in the story content itself. Just the title.

Okay, let's see…

The joke about 'chi, inner fire,…' is taken from chapter 3.

The lecture Jeong Jeong gave about balancing a ball was implied in chapter 3, as well.

The waterbending lecture is taken from chapter 13.

And about spark rock, it's flint. I'm not sure but I think Iroh called it spark rock in the series and so, for continuity sake, I used the term spark rock here.

Oh, and about Lin's speech before they landed, especially about the spirit world and dying part, it was inspired by a movie I watched few years ago. I'm not sure which one but it has Greek or Roman theme. It was 'Gladiator', perhaps…

And about Birdie's armor, it was based on the armor Ostrich horses wore in the series. Just picture it black and not yellow. :)

And to hpswst101, about Tokugawa Ieyasu…

He was one of the three most influential warlords in the history of Japan; the other two were Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Their personalities were often compared in this poem:

_There's a bird that won't sing._

_Nobunaga said, "Kill it!"_

_Hideyoshi said, "Make it want to sing."_

_Ieyasu said, "Wait."_

So, yep… Oda was ruthless and decisive, Toyotomi (who was actually Oda's retainer) was calculative and a diplomatist, while Tokugawa was patient and extremely enduring.

When he was nine, Tokugawa was taken as a political hostage by a neighboring clan. When he was twenty something, Oda defeated this clan, freeing Tokugawa who reclaimed his lost power and allied himself with Oda. Years later, Oda was betrayed by one of his men and killed. And for some reason that I don't remember, Tokugawa and Toyotomi fought each other to a stalemate. Then Toyotomi died of natural cause (I think…) and Tokugawa marched to destroy those who remained loyal to Toyotomi and his successor. He then became a shogun, some sort of supreme military leader directly under the emperor.

Fun fact: the three men were all aiming to be shogun but only Tokugawa managed to do so. As the result of that and of the fact outlived all his rivals, he was often credited as the best among the three.

If you are interested, there's a Japanese novel called 'Taiko' by Eiji Yoshikawa that was heavily based on the lives of the three. I highly recommended that book if you like reading about ancient war and politics. I believe they have English version of the book. It is huge though, as big as a dictionary… You can seriously cause an excessive blunt trauma on someone's head with it (but please don't do it, it's against the law… lol).

And about Lin's flaw, he has flaws alright. Will be revealed in later chapters. :)

Enjoy the chapter!! One more coming up!!


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28 – The Battle of the Western Earth Base, Part 3**

**-They Fight the Battle-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"We are ready, Brother", Kang saluted, riding on a komodo rhino.

"Assemble the man!" Jiang ordered after nodding dismissively at him. He then rode his steed forward, leading his own unit to the assembly area ten meters south of the camp around Yu Guo. Soon, Masa and Kang joined him, bringing with them the rest of Jiang's men. The sun would reach the middle point of the blue sky above soon, and General Jiang's 212th Battalion was ready.

"Load the siege machines!!!" Jiang roared behind his back. An officer in charge for the siege machines yelled the order to his men. A minute later, the ten siege catapults and five explosive-tipped ballistae were all loaded. All waiting for the mass of green and yellow that had just emerged from the Western Earth Base at the south to get into the firing range.

"There you are", Jiang hissed menacingly at the figure leading the Earth Kingdom soldiers. Riding an armor-clad ostrich horse at the front of the enemy's formation, bare footed like the rest of his vanguards, clad in Earth Kingdom high ranking officer's armor complete with a green cape, his hair tied in the Earth Kingdom top-knot which are bigger and thicker than Fire Nation top-knot held in place by a set of green hair holder and pin with a small Earth Kingdom insignia in the middle. His brown eyes had seen many battlefields, his stern face adorned by long bushy beard that reached his chest. The enemy was still about a hundred meters away but Jiang didn't need a scope to see Fong's smug expression on his face. His son had warned him about this: General Fong would be looking forward to this battle.

Jiang first heard about Fong nearly sixteen years ago, just a month after his legendary victory over Yu Guo and the Western Earth Base. Captain Fong of the Earth Kingdom had managed to mimic his victory and it enraged young Jiang. Fong needed fifty men while Jiang only had thirty men to achieve the feat, yes. But while Jiang took six days to do so, Fong only took one night. Jiang won in term of men he had with him but Fong beat him in term of time it took him. And since then, the two had become unofficial rivals; their victories and defeats were often compared with each other. Jiang captured a village, Fong seized a base; Fong attacked a supply division, Jiang pulverized an entire battalion. But even so, the two generals had never encountered each other on the battlefield before. This would be the first time they met face-to-face, man-to-man, in a battlefield and both intended to make it their last.

"Fong of the Earth Kingdom", Jiang muttered. He then turned to Masa and Kang in his right and left, both commanders nodded back to him, confirming their complete preparation for battle. Jiang raised his right hand, signaling one of the officers behind him.

"Ignite the catapults!!!" Jiang heard his nephew Lieutenant Shi yelled behind him, followed by the sound of flickering fire. Jiang kept his hand raised; the enemy was still out of range, just a bit more…

"Jiang of the Fire Nation", Fong muttered, casting a smug glance at the enemy's three banners: two Fire Nation banners at the right and left wing and a slightly different banner in the middle; the banner looked like a normal Fire Nation banner save for the more dominant black and a Taiji circle with the character Lin (林) at the middle of the insignia. Only the head of the famous Lin Family were allowed to wield such banner.

"FIRE!!" Jiang roared, bringing his raised hand down like a hammer. Behind him, his ordered was echoed by Lieutenant Shi. In a second, ten flaming boulders flew through the air above his head straight to the enemy's rank.

"HOLD!!" Fong yelled, pulling his ostrich horse's bridle, to calm it from the spook. Behind him, some of his men were thrown and fell as the boulders landed near them or on them, throwing the whole battalion into chaos. "HOLD THE FORMATION!!!"

"FIRE!!" Jiang ordered again.

Another barrage, but this time Fong was prepared…

"COUNTER!!!" he screamed at the top his lungs. Behind him, a special unit of earthbenders stomped the ground, causing a piece of large boulder to levitate in front of each of them, and shot the boulders to the sky. They managed to shoot down six flaming catapults boulders, the collision caused them to shatter in the sky and break down into countless harmless pieces.

"First division, second division!!!" Fong roared, smirking. "ATTACK!!!!"

With that, a portion of his army, led by one of his most trusted commanders charged at the enemy, screaming for blood. Jiang, seeing that the charge had begun, made a hand gesture with his left hand, still fixing his eyes on the enemy. He could see from the corner of his eyes, Kang roaring his order, spurring his steed to join the brawl.

And soon, the two armies clashed. In between them, Jiang and Fong witnessed their men fighting gallantly with Jiang's men winning. Jiang smirked at this. This was also his son's suggestion. Lin had predicted that Fong would tread cautiously. He would most definitely send a division or two of his army to test Jiang defenses, hoping that Jiang would do the same. And Lin had advised him to take this chance, to sent Kang and the whole left wing into the tray. Kang and Masa might be equal in term of skill and valor but their fighting styles were very different; Kang was the type who would jump into the fight regardless of who he was fighting while Masa was more calculative. That was why Lin had suggested sending him and not Masa; Kang would pulverize a chunk of the enemy's superior number in no time to even their numbers a bit. And it worked.

In less than a minute, Fong's men were utterly defeated while Kang's men suffered insignificant losses. Their victorious yells made Fong's face red with angered.

"MEN!!! WEDGE FOMATION!!!" Fong yelled. And soon, his men were all marching behind him, forming a triangle-like formation with Fong at the front tip. After his men had solidified their formation, Fong yelled again, "CHARGE!!!"

"He's losing his cool", Jiang smiled, observing the enemy's action, silently praising his son. Lin had also predicted this, that Fong would lead his army himself in the second wave for a total onslaught. "CATAPULT, FIRE!!!!"

And flaming boulders soared through the sky again, hitting the middle of Fong's formation but Fong didn't stop at all. _He is ruthless and aggressive, indeed_, Jiang thought. He then readied his steed and issued another order. "MEN!!! ALL AT READY!!"

His men suddenly left their catapults, those who manned the ballistae remained though. Shi, who were standing with the siege machines, threw his small commanding flag to another soldier before jumping on his steed, riding to lead his division behind his foster father Masa. Jiang waited for another minute for his men to get ready and for Fong to get closer before…

"CHARGE!!!!" he spurred his steed forward, leading the rest of his men to join Kang and to face his nemesis. The battle of the two great generals had finally begun…

* * *

"And?" baited Ursa.

"Um…" Azula's face scrunched up, trying to recall her lesson at school. "And… General Lin, the twenty fourth intercepted the Air Nation survivors at… at…"

"At…" Ursa baited again, waving a red grape playfully. "Come on Azula…"

"Um…" Azula's eyes trailed on the grape, still thinking hard.

"It has his name on it…" Ursa hinted, grinning.

"Fenglin forest!!" Azula exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes!" Ursa laughed, feeding the grape to Azula's mouth. But before the grape could even touched the girl's lips…

"Ahem!" a voice came from behind them. Both Ursa and Azula turned to the voice and found Ozai, who looked colder than usual, standing behind them. Azula instinctively let out a startled gasp and ran away to her room while Ursa stayed at her seat, staring back indignantly.

"What?" she growled. _He's not supposed to be back until tomorrow, what the hell he's doing here? _her thought raced with her heartbeats.

"I see you are having fun", Ozai coldly replied, sitting down on the seat Azula left.

Ursa didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say, to be more precise. Well, she did break the deal but she had a valid reason to do so, right? It was Ozai who broke the deal first, she was just getting even on him. It was okay, right?

"The attack has started last night", Ozai informed casually.

"What?" Ursa gasped. She knew that 'the attack' meant the campaign on the Earth Kingdom's Western Shore.

"General Jiang had begun attacking the Western Shore last night", Ozai repeated colder and slower than before as if he was annoyed by his wife's slow brain.

"How was it?" Ursa asked after regaining her calmness while in her mind, she was cursing Jiang. Why couldn't he wait for a day or two? Didn't he know that Lin got seasick easily? That poor kid must have suffered a lot by the sea travel…

"How should I know?" Ozai sneered, pulling out a scroll from his robe. "General Jiang couldn't possibly explain the detail of his strategy in letter now, could he?"

Ursa snatched the scroll away from his hand hastily and unrolled it just as quickly. The letter was just a report stating that General Jiang's 212th Battalion had arrived safely at the Western Shore, captured Senlin Village in about half an hour, had its left and right wings marching south to secure Yu Guo at the very night led by Commander Masa and Commander Kang, and that General Jiang and Battalion Strategist Lin, the twenty sixth, would march with the rest of the battalion in the morning…

Battalion Strategist Lin, the twenty sixth!!!!

Ursa nearly fainted when she read the line…

"Surprised?" Ozai sneered cruelly. "Battalion Strategist, eh? Not bad, not bad at all… He should be the youngest Battalion Strategist in the history of Fire Nation after all. Remind me to suggest Fire Lord Azulon to grant the kid a medal or something when the kid comes back. _If_ he comes back, that is."

And he got up, snickering cruelly, leaving the horror-stricken Ursa behind. As her husband disappeared at the corridor, Ursa let go of her pretense. She began to pant and gasp, horrified, her face pale and she could feel cold sweat on her face as she clutched her chest.

She read and read the scroll over and over again as if she was hoping that she misread the character. Battalion strategist!! What the hell was Jiang thinking? Making his own son the battalion strategist?!! It was like putting a banner that said 'Hey, I'm here. Kill me' on the boy's back. Even though Ursa had never set foot on the battlefield, she knew enough about warfare to know that even though the battalion strategist almost never had to join the battle itself, he would be the most targeted person in the battlefield. Taking down the battalion strategist means disrupting the battalion's chain of command. Like a person's body: the battalion strategist as the brain, the general as the mouth, and the soldiers as the limbs. Without the brain, the mouth will not know what to say and the limbs won't be able to move.

"Mom?" Zuko called. He approached his mother, wiping his sweaty face and neck with a small towel. He had just finished his daily firebending training with the Imperial Firebending Instructor. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing", Ursa choked, swiftly rolling the scroll and hiding it inside her sleeve with her trembling hand. "I-it's nothing, honey."

"What was that scroll about?" Zuko asked, suspicious at his mother's stutter.

"I-it's…"Ursa stooped, didn't know what to say. "It's a report from General Jiang's battalion."

"Really?" Zuko's face lit up. "Have they won the battle?"

"No, honey. Not yet", Ursa smiled awkwardly. "They just arrived there yesterday."

"Oh, right", Zuko snickered. Unlike his mother, he was worried at all about Lin. To him, Lu Ten was the strongest firebender he knew, well one from his generation, of course. And Lin, Zuko believed that Lin was even stronger than Lu Ten. "Well, Lin won't be coming back a hero any time soon, then."

"Zuko!" Ursa scolded. "How could you say something like that about your friend?"

"Huh?" Zuko gaped. "Wha— Oooh!? No, Mom. Not _that_ 'hero'. I meant he won't be coming back bringing victory and glory kind of hero, not— you know, the other kind of hero…"

"A— oh, so that's what you—", Ursa sighed, relieved. "I thought you were…"

"No", Zuko said curtly. "Seriously Mom… how could even think I would say something like that."

Ursa's face lit up. She knew that Lin and Lu Ten were very close like brothers but she had never known that even Zuko felt the same about Lin. Zuko had always been in the shadow of the two, after all and…

"He's the twenty sixth Lin, Mom. He won't go down easily."

…_of course_, Ursa face fell. Why did everyone think Lin was so… so strong and powerful just because he was the twenty sixth Lin? He was just a kid, for spirits' sake!

"He'll be fine, Mom", Zuko assured his mother.

"I hope you're right, honey", Ursa smiled weakly.

* * *

Jiang rode fast through the sea of yellow in front of him. He cut through the enemy's line, his steed trampling anyone who dared to stand in his way. He sent numerous swift jabs of fire at the soldiers around him, sending some to the spirit world, injuring the rest. Luckily, it was midday when firebenders were at their strongest. It was also the advantage Lin took into consideration. Since 212th Battalion was outnumbered, they just had to make it up by outpowering their opponents.

"General Jiang!!"

Jiang turned his steed around. Behind him, General Fong was there, staring at him scornfully on his ostrich horse.

"General Fong", Jiang called back curtly. Courtesy, you know.

But before any of them could move a muscle…

—BOOM!!!!!—

A loud explosion could be heard from behind the Earth Kingdom soldiers, coming from the Western Earth Base south gate by the sound of it. Both Jiang and Fong turned to the direction of the explosion with different expression on his face. Jiang looked relieved, almost excited while Fong looked angry.

"Riders!!" he yelled to the crowd. "Go back to the base!!"

The nearby ostrich horse riders around Fong quickly marched back to the base, calling other riders to join them along the way. Jiang didn't do anything; he must personally keep Fong busy. He didn't need to do anything, though. He had taken all necessary counter measures.

"Come!" he challenged the earthbender, sliding down from his steed. Fong, wanting to ease his pride, also slid down from his steed. Both generals paced forward, closer to each other while keeping a healthy three or four meters between them.

"I don't know what you did to my base", Fong taunted, casting a glance at the riders who had amassed the number of at least fifty and marched in a tight column back to the base. "But, you won't succeed."

"You think so?" Jiang mocked. He had plan, indeed. There was a reason why he hadn't used his ballistae. He was saving them for this, to intercept whatever army Fong sent back to the base. His son, Lin, had predicted that Fong would send fast moving unit, either riders or light infantry. To counter them, they would need a long range siege weapon with high accuracy which meant catapults were out of question. So, Jiang suggested ballistae. They had to remove them from Admiral Liang's destroyer ships. Usually, no admiral would allow such barbaric act done on their ships but since Jiang was dating his fourth cousin… well, let's just say that Admiral Liang didn't dispatch his five medic squads and one elite demolition team to assist Jiang's battalion on a whim.

"Just a bit more…" Captain Pao muttered, observing the enemy's rider unit from his scope. They were still too close to the brawl, he might hit his own comrades if he shot now.

Just a bit more… a bit more… five more meters… four… three…

"Ready", He raised a flag Lieutenant Shi threw him earlier.

Two…

"FIRE!!" he yelled, waving the flag forward. The five explosive-tipped ballistae released their bolts almost simultaneously with a sharp clanking sound.

The bolts soared through the air above the heads of the fighting soldiers to the riders unit. The unit took the full blow as the five bolts landed in the middle of their formation and exploded right after it collided with the solid earth. The explosion sent many soldiers and steeds flying, all screaming from the horror and the pain. And as the dust settled, the riders unit was utterly decimated…

"ARRRGH!!! DIE!!!"

Jiang barely able to sidestep a boulder Fong shot at him. The earthbender was clearly pissed. Now all Fong could do was to deal with Jiang as soon as possible and then marched back to his base and deal with whatever it was that caused the explosion.

"Give it up, Fong", Jiang taunted. "You've already lost!"

Instead of answering, Fong stomped the earth, forcing his chi to penetrate the earth and with a lifting hand gesture caused a chunk of rugged rock to jump up and, after receiving a punch from the earthbender, launched itself at Jiang. Jiang jumped up and twirl in the air, sending two fire jabs and one fire kick in midair. Fong stomped the earth again and raised an earth wall to block the fire. The wall collapsed back to the ground, revealing Fong who levitated five small but solid earth balls before he sent the rocks flying at Jiang one by one. Jiang evaded the first one, the second one, fire punched the third one, and fire spin kicked the fourth and the fifth one.

"You're not giving up, then", he calmly addressed the enraged general, making it sound as if he could kill Fong easily. He was bluffing, of course. General Fong might have lost some of his men and the numbers of both sides were pretty much even now. But, Jiang knew they couldn't win, well not without sacrificing at least half of the battalion. It didn't matter, though. Jiang wasn't there to defeat Fong; he just needed to keep him busy, to buy his son more time.

"Should I?" Fong hissed.

"Yes, you really should", Jiang said confidently. "We have something you don't have."

"What?" Fong barked.

"My son", Jiang smiled proudly, readying his stance and lunging at his nemesis.

And the generals, fire and earth, collided once more…

* * *

"_Men!" Lin yelled, snapping the rest of the assault's team off their gape. "Let's go! CHARGE!!!"_

Lin rode fast forward, his men behind him. Chey and Chit Sang were at the front right behind Birdie and its rider, the rest of the men behind them leaving the second cart behind. Once inside, they found themselves surrounded by thirty or forty sentry guards who formed a semicircle around the gate. Apparently, the first explosion caused by the blasting jelly alarmed them. Noticing a heavy damage on their gate, more than half of guards quickly swarmed the gate, preparing themselves to fight anyone who broke through the gate. Luckily, Lin and his men didn't have to fight all of them, about fifteen of the sentry guards were hit by the large pieces of the door and collapsed on the floor. Dead or just unconscious, hard to tell…

Lin quickly spurred Birdie forward, knocking down two guards who tried to stop him. Man! For someone who was fighting a real battle where lives were put at stake for the first time, Lin found the experience very intense. He could no longer think or feel. He could only react. A man shooting a rock at him! React, steer Birdie to the left, keep moving! Another man was preparing to shoot boulder at him! React, shoot fire quickly, don't stop moving! Lin felt that his senses became strangely sharp but he didn't realize that he could no longer hear the noise of the battle around him.

He could hear when someone was trying to attack him from behind, yes. But, he couldn't hear Sergeant Chit Sang roaring like an angry platypus bear while sending a large fire blast from his punch, taking down two men at once. Or Captain Chey who skillfully caught a soldier's hand when the said soldier swung a polearm at him; when he quickly pulled out a small hand grenade from his pouch, bit the pin with his teeth and pulled the rest of the grenade off to ignite the fuse, threw the grenade at five more soldiers who came running to assist the soldier Chey was fighting, and punching the soldier on the face and claimed his weapon at the same time as the grenade went off, blasting the five soldiers to the spirit world.

"Young Master!" one of the soldiers, the one with the mask and a pregnant wife back at home shouted, snapping Lin of his… his… I don't know what to call it. It can only be felt, almost impossible to describe, and impossible to name. Adrenaline rush, some would say, maybe it is. Excitement of battle? Hell no. It's inappropriate to call it excitement because no excitement must come from hurting or killing someone in battle.

"Over there!" the soldier pointed at the tall tower in front of them. The tower was erected adjacent to the north wall and few soldiers were standing guard along the wall. Two sets of stairs led to the tower itself, stood at the foot of the tower. That was his target. If Lin could claim that tower, take down the commander who could be seen shouting some orders from the tower, he could end this battle right away.

"You, Captain Chey" Lin gestured at the masked soldier and Chey who were the nearest to him. "Follow me! The rest of you stay here, catch up with us later!"

And with that, he rode forward taking down as many soldiers as he could with his firebending to make it easier for Chey and the other soldier to follow him. Chey and the other soldier ran behind their young master faithfully, fending off some remaining soldiers here and there with grenade and polearm, for Chey, and firebending, for the other soldier.

Lin rode skillfully, evading some holes the earthbenders conjured on the ground with their bending. He remembered the lesson Umma gave him when the old lady taught him how to ride. She recounted from her own experience that the natural enemy for riders are earthbenders. Earthbenders could manipulate the earth below the steed, causing it to step on a hole that wasn't there before or to get stabbed by earth spikes that weren't there before. Umma herself admitted that she had lost two komodo rhinos because of that. She also taught Lin the best ways to deal with earthbender as a rider. The first one was to get off your steed if possible. If it wasn't possible to get off the steed, for example if you were running away from them, then don't ever ride in a straight line. And with that lesson in mind, Lin rode zigzag across the front yard to the stairs, shooting fire at anyone he could reach.

"ACK!!"

Lin quickly turned back…

"No!!" he picked up his crossbow and shot the Earth Kingdom soldier before he could swing his sword at the masked soldier who was down on the floor. The bolt soared through the air and nested itself on the Earth Kingdom soldier's shoulder, causing him to drop his weapon and limp away screaming and clutching the arrow. Chey, realizing that his comrade was injured, quickly moved to him, stabbing the dull end of his polearm at the ground to propel himself to the enemy soldier, landing a perfect flying kick. The soldier was thrown few feet back to the floor, unconscious.

"Soldier", Lin slid down from Birdie and knelt down beside the injured masked soldier while Chey moved forward to fend off the approaching enemies. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine… Y-young Master", he grunted, trying to get up. His side was cut and the wound was bleeding. The wound wasn't deep, thankfully. Lin frantically looked around for something he could use to tie the man's wound. There! He reached out to a nearby unconscious Earth Kingdom soldier and tore his head covering. Luckily, all Earth Kingdom soldiers under General Fong wore that kind of head covering under their helmets. Lin pulled out his emergency knife and used it to cut the head covering into a long piece of cloth and tied it as an improvised bandage around the soldier's gut.

"Young Master", the rest of the team approached him, some still fighting the enemy with Chit Sang fending off a flock of Earth Kingdom soldiers at their flank all by himself.

"Keep him safe", Lin ordered, taking the quiver of bolts from Birdie's saddle. He then shoved the bolts and the crossbow at one of the soldiers and slapped Birdie's thigh so that the ostrich horse would run to safety.

With that, he pulled out his sword from his back and joined Chey. Although he was a firebender, Lin knew at least the rudimentary art of wielding swords. He was a noble born, after all, and swords are the gentlemen's weapon. Holding his sword with his right hand, he channeled his chi to his sword, connecting the blade with his firebending. And with a sharp battle cry, he propelled himself to the air, waving his sword in a wide arc, sending a thin yet refined curved fire slash at two soldiers who were about to ambush Chey from behind.

Chey, finishing off his last opponent, nodded his thanks to Lin. and then both of them raced forward to the stairs, Lin to the right stairs and Chey to the left stairs. Some of the soldiers who were standing guard at the wall had descended from the wall and stood guard along the two stairs. Chey and Lin had no choice but to fend them off, easier for Chey since he was an experience soldier who had stained his hands countless of times before. Lin, however, was struggling trying not to kill anyone. He knew that death is an inevitable part of war. He knew really… but he didn't want to kill, or he wanted to but he couldn't. And it was harder to do now that he had a sword in his hand. Furthermore, the sword was a jian type sword, sword with two cutting edges. If only he was using a katana type that only has only one cutting edge instead, he could use the blunt edge on his opponents.

"Back off!!" the boy yelled, kicking one assailant at the gut, causing the man to bend down in agony. He then used the man as a stepping stone, jumping on his back and propelled himself to the air, performing a midair twirl and sending a fire slash with his sword that hit five enemies at once. The remaining two men, startled by the young boy's ferocity, ran back to the command tower. Lin chased after them to the top of the stairs, reunited with Chey who used the dull end of his weapon to smack one of the soldiers at the head, knocking him unconscious, and spin kicked the other soldier, sending him flying backward down to the stair.

Lin and Chey quickly ran to the command tower, they mustn't waste anymore time. Who knows how much longer General Jiang could hold General Fong. And as they entered the command room, weapons at ready, they were greeted by the sight of the base commander and his ten elite guards.

"YAAAARGGH!!" the soldiers suddenly marched, wielding their weapons. They were non-benders, judging from the shoes they were wearing. Usually, in the Earth Kingdom Military, earthbenders were always put at the frontline and non-benders were given the job of guarding a base or something. But Lin knew that the ten guards he and Chey were fighting now were not weaker than earthbender soldiers. The elite guards are usually trained to the extent that they could hold their own against benders in battle, usually by implementing weapons in their fighting style. And there they were, Lin and Chey, standing back to back surrounded by ten elite guards, all were ready to slit the two Fire Nation's throat with their broadswords, all not wanting to be the one to attack first, all were waiting for one of their friends to initiate the assault.

"Young Master", Chey muttered, not taking his eyes off the enemies, his polearm at ready. "Have you ever fought someone who bends elements other than fire before?"

"Well", Lin muttered back, being reminded of a certain baldy. "I fought a waterbender before."

"That's a start", Chey snickered, then he sounded serious again. "I'll deal with them."

"No", Lin hissed, clutching his sword tighter. "They're too many for you to handle alone."

"I'll be fine", Chey replied, steady with his stance. "Chit Sang and the others will be here soon enough. I'll just have to keep them busy till then. Or till you take down the big fella there,"

Chey jerked his head at the commander, standing five or six meters away at a safe distance. The commander wasn't wearing shoes, which meant he was an earthbender, with a spear at his side.

"Are you sure you'll be okay all by yourself?" Lin asked.

"Yes", Chey nodded, full of determination. He had promised General Jiang that he'd keep the boy safe. And from what he heard about the boy's skill, and from what he had witnessed for himself, he knew that the boy could take on the commander alone. At least the boy's chance of survival would be higher if he fought one person by himself rather than fighting ten opponents at once with Chey.

"Alright, then", Lin replied. "I'm gonna need to jump there. Help me."

"Yes, Young master", Chey readied himself. "On three. One… two…"

And Chey swiftly knelt down, holding his polearm horizontally above his head. Lin jumped back and landed on the polearm and as Chey pushed the weapon up, with Lin on it. Lin used the force to propel himself high up in the air out of the circle of enemy and landed in front of the commander. Some of the guards, realizing the trick, tried to chase after Lin but Chey quickly attacked them, forcing them to defend themselves against the his polearm.

As soon as his feet touched the floor, two meters in front of the commander, Lin quickly sent slashes of fire from his sword. The commander, a bit startled, stomped the floor, causing an earth wall to shoot up from the floor, shielding him from the fire. A loud thudding sound caused by the earthbender punching the wall and the mass of earth suddenly flew at Lin. Lin sidestepped the rock and lunged forward. The commander was using a spear while Lin only had a sword, the advantage of range was at the commander's side and Lin must take it away from him. If he could force the commander to engage in a close quarter combat…

—SWOOSH—

Lin barely managed to evade the spear thrust. Seemed like the commander was quite well-versed in the art of spear wielding, too. Another thrust, parry! Another one, evade again! Another one, evade again! Ano— and Lin jumped back, unable to hold off any more spear thrusts. Okay, so the commander was really good at using a spear. Just a short sword wouldn't be enough for Lin. he instinctively pulled out his jade flute. Umma told him once that the flute was hard enough to break a man's skull, so why not use it. And what was that smooth silky thing he was grasping? Oh, the red handkerchief…

Lin had tied the red handkerchief a certain princess gave him a year ago around the flute's handle for good luck. And suddenly, the memory of the morning in the Estate's lawn flashed through his mind. He mustn't lose here. He still had much to do, many people to come home to; he still had to secure the base, to win this battle. He still had to master the 36 advanced forms, to grow up and become an officer in the Fire Nation Army, probably under his own father, didn't matter as long as he could catch up to Lu Ten. And above all, he had to go back home, lots of people were waiting for him there…

And with a sword at his right hand and a jade flute with a red handkerchief wrapped around it, the prodigy of the Lin Family, the proud son of the Fire Nation dashed forward to fight once more…

**To Be Continued…

* * *

**

**Author's note:**

1. Pao (炮)means 'ballista' or 'artillery'

2. Fenglin is composed of two Chinese words: feng (風) which means 'wind' or 'air' and lin (林) which means 'forest'.

And about battalion strategist, I'm not sure but I think in ancient China it was more like a position rather than a formal rank so Jiang didn't really break any rule by making his son a strategist. And yes, in many ancient literature about warfare taking down the enemy's strategist is often considered more important than taking down the enemy's general.

And it also seems like 'the Battle of the Western Earth Base' is going to be divided in four parts and not just three.

And to hpswst101, about Jiang sucks at arguing. Weeeelll… if you asked me, it was more because Lin was good at it. Haha

And about my sleep problem… well, actually it's getting better now. At least I'm starting to sleep at _night _again. But, I begin to have some weird dreams that usually caused me to wake up at the middle of the night. Just last night, for example, I had a dream about my brother working at a bookstore selling one Harry Potter book called 'Harry Potter and the Half-blood Hollow' at a creepy harbor inhabited by a giant black sea monster. Yes, just _one_ book, it's 'Half-blood Hollow' and not 'Half-blood _Prince_' or '_Deathly_ Hollow', and the sea monster was black and huge, not to mention ugly. Anyway, I woke up laughing when I heard the sea monster told my brother (yes, the sea monster was talking) a joke about sandwich, book, and a bottle of water. I don't remember the whole joke but I think it was quite funny to make me wake up laughing. Weird, huh… is there something wrong with me? T_T

Enjoy the chapter! Have a nice day!!


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29 – The Battle of the Western Earth Base**

**-Is It a Victory?-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"Why!!! Won't!!! You!!! Just!!! Die!!!"

Fong shouted the words, each filled with noticeable anger and frustration, each accompanied by a boulder shot. Jiang calmly dodged or parried each boulder, he must stay calm. He was a firebender and a firebender must always keep his emotion in check. That was the lesson his father stressed over and over again. Had he were fighting in an empty space without his whole battalion surrounding him, he wouldn't have minded let his own anger roamed free. But here, now… he could have hurt his own men.

"Just give it up", Jiang offered again calmly. "You can't win this, Fong."

"Yeah?" Fong sneered. "Why? Because of some brat attacking my base from behind?"

Jiang evaded another rock throw. He noticed from the corner of his eyes his brothers, Kang and Masa, fighting a flock of soldiers, his nephew, Lieutenant Shi, taking down a soldier while protecting an injured comrade behind him, and all around him his soldiers fighting for dear lives. The same could be said about Fong's men, the battle had reached a stalemate.

"Yes", Jiang shouted, sending a fire arc. "Because of some brat attacking your base from behind!"

"What can a brat do, HUH?!!!" Fong punched another boulder to counter Jiang's fire arc. The two elements collided and exploded on contact. And from the smoke and rubbles, Jiang emerged, leaping and sending numerous fire blasts from his fists and legs.

"We'll find out together", Jiang replied, landing on his feet and watching Fong raised an earth wall to counter his fire barrage and let it slide down back to earth once the barrage was over. "Shall we?"

Praying to the spirits to help and protect his son, and for the boy to finish his mission quickly because Jiang didn't know how much longer he and his men could hold on, he dashed forward, so did Fong. Fire and earth collided once more…

* * *

—SWOOSH—

"Whoa!" Lin jumped back, evading the spear thrust. _Darn it!_ He cursed inside his mind. _I knew I should have paid more attention to the swordsmanship lesson from Grandpa._

Lin knew that the base commander would be strong. Fong was once a foot soldier so he must have known how to value skills more than family influence. It was a practice in almost every nation to favor someone who came from an influential family, like a noble family, and gave them an important post in the military irrespective of their personal skills. But Fong certainly wasn't that kind of man. He would never put his base in the hands of some incompetent noble snob. But still, Lin didn't know that Fong would choose someone _this_ good.

An opening, just one opening…

Lin lunged forward again, swinging down his sword and his flute with all his might. The commander blocked this with the spear. Lin withdrew both weapon and started to stab his sword swiftly. The commander evaded. Another sword stab, he evaded again. Another stab, the commander parried it this time. The commander held his spear sideway, letting the sword slid to the side and he used the momentum to bring the other end of the spear, the dull end, fortunately, down on Lin's shoulder. The brief sharp pain on the back of his left shoulder almost made him drop his flute. Lin used the blow to push himself to the front, rolling forward on the floor. Upon stooping he quickly turned to the commander and landed a huge blow with both his flute and his sword. The commander blocked again and both he and the boy engaged in a weapon lock.

From this side, Lin could see behind the commander Chey was still holding on against his opponents. He had taken down two of them but he was still at a great disadvantage. Wielding his polearm wildly, Chey was getting desperate at keeping his enemies at bay and away from his young master. _Where the hell are the others?_ Lin cursed in his mind, trying to push the bigger man back with his weapon. An opening, he needed an opening…

This is it! A realization hit Lin. He could turn this into an opening. With his hands and feet occupied, Lin only had one option left. He had never used this move in a fight before but he knew how to do it, at least he knew the theory, courtesy to General Iroh. The old man always managed to make the most complicated of theory sounded so simple and achievable. Yes, this was his only option…

"_Remember, kids", Iroh lectured, Lin and Lu Ten listening intently from two meters away at a safe distance. "The key is breathing…"_

Yes, the key is breathing. Lin took a deep breath while his mind playing the memory of the lesson…

"… _the breath becomes energy in your body. Kinda like tea leaves becomes tea in water…"_

Tea, of course… Lin let go of his breath, feeling his chi connecting with his inner fire. And he took another breath.

"… _and then your focus your energy into your lungs. Like mixing tea leaves and water in a teapot, your lungs become the container like a teapot…" _

And Lin felt his lungs burning with the chi, like the air inside his chest was boiling.

"… _the next step is letting your energy flow through your throat. It is like we must let the tea flows through the teapot neck before it can reach your tea cups…"_

Lin delicately let the burning air flooded his throat, slowly and steadily. The sensation was unfamiliar to him, a bit uncomfortable, like burping and throwing up at the same time. That was why he had never used this technique before.

"…_and the last step was to let the energy flow out. Like—"_

"—_pouring a cup of tea", Lu Ten and Lin lazily cut in. Must he use tea in every lesson…?_

"_Exactly", Iroh chuckled, unaware that his tea anecdote was beginning to irritate both children. "You must provide guidance for your energy with your breath. Like spitting the air from your mouth."_

_Lu Ten and Lin suddenly became interested, the good part was coming. Iroh took a deep breath and both boys saw his chest swelling. Yes, the good part was coming…_

"_Like this!!!" Iroh opened his mouth and exhaled air through his mouth with all his might. But it wasn't air that came out…_

"_Like this!!!"_ Lin opened his mouth and exhaled air through his mouth with all his might. But it wasn't air that came out. It was fire… the Dragon of the West's signature fire breath.

"AARRGGHH!!!" the commander yelled stepping back hastily as the fire hit his face, burning his uncovered skin.

"Now!" Lin leaped back and started to swing his sword around swiftly in front of him, channeling his firebending to the blade and letting the fire spewed up from the sword and lingered in the air in front of him. Lin amassed the thin ribbon-like flickering fire for about five seconds before he dropped his flute and thrust his left palm forward, connecting his chi with the fire. He could feel his left shoulder a bit sore from the blow he took but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't move his hand. Besides, he must do this. This was the only way he could think of to end this fight now.

The commander, in desperation to shield himself, had conjured up an earth wall and hid behind it. But it wouldn't work, not this time. As his chi connected itself with all the fire, Lin, concentrating fully on what he was doing, pulled the many ribbon-like fires together into the core of his palm. The fire subdued to his will and flocked together to the center of the energy like iron dust to a magnet. Why he didn't think of this before, Lin didn't know. In his previous fire compression, he compressed a big mass of fire. But, if he could compressed many thinner threads of fire together, it should be easier. Well, theoretically, anyway. Lin pulled the threads of fire together and they balled up on his palm, solidifying themselves and merging into one single solid fire. The fire this time was smaller, about half the size of a possum chicken egg. But it was enough; Lin didn't want to kill the commander. Just incapacitating him would be enough.

Securing safe footwork, Lin let out a booming battle cry as he launched the compressed fire to the earth wall. The fire punched a hole on the wall and…

"AAARRGGHH!" and loud thud.

The wall crumbled a second later, revealing the commander who was down on his back few feet behind the rubbles, grunting and clutching his burnt face. His left shoulder took the direct hit of the compressed fire and his left hand hung limply at his side. Seemed like the fire hit his shoulder bones, Lin thought, feeling a shiver of horror as he noticed the burnt bloody hole on the man's shoulder. _But, at least he's not dead_, Lin comforted himself.

"YOUNG MASTER!!"

Lin quickly turned to the door, to the direction of the sound, and it seemed like Chey and his opponents did the same. Sergeant Chit Sang burst inside the room leading five other soldiers to join the fight. The remaining Earth Kingdom soldiers quickly moved in to intercept them, all of them but one…

"CAPTAIN!!!" Lin instinctively hurled his sword at the soldier who was about to take the advantage of Chey's absent mind and attack him from behind. Chey jerked his head back to the incoming danger, ready to either defend himself or accept his fate but… the soldier didn't attack him. His broadsword was raised, ready to strike down, but he didn't. There was something protruding from his chest. Something sharp, pointy, and metallic…

All Lin could see was his sword nesting on the soldier's back just before the soldier swung his broadsword down on Chey. The soldier let out some short gasps, slowly lowered his arms and let his broadsword fell on the floor with a loud clanking sound as life left his upper limbs. He then took a few limp steps back and slowly turned to his killer, the wide eyed eleven year old kid. The expression on the soldier's face, his green eyes wide opened in shock, his face empty as life was drained away from him… Lin would never ever forget it.

"Young Master!" Chey ran to Lin as the boy slumped on his knees still not taking his horror-stricken amber eyes from the dead soldier.

"It's alright", Chey knelt in front of him, holding Lin's shoulder and blocking his view from the dead man.

"N-no", Lin pushed frantically pushed Chey away. He couldn't think clearly, he couldn't think anymore, he felt weird… empty, disgusted at himself, and the look the Earth Kingdom soldier gave him… it was etched on his very soul. He had become a murderer…

"It's okay", Chey softly said, trying to calm the trembling boy, ignoring the fighting all around them. "It's okay, Young Master."

Ignorance…

Lin was a true master of the art. But, even a true master had a flaw, something that he could never ever ignore. And Lin, trembling in Chey's embrace, realized that there was one thing that even a true master like him could never ignore: the fact that he had just taken somebody's life…

* * *

Jiang leaped sideway just in time to avoid a big crushing boulder, then another one, and another one. Man! The big guy just didn't know when to stop, Jiang thought, still keeping his cool. All around him, soldiers, friends or foes, were still fighting a stalemate battle.

Kang and Masa were still fighting, too. But Shi, he could be seen running through the battlefield, blasting those who dared to stand in his way, reached to the nearest injured comrade he could find and dragged the man back to the camp. Some men could be seen doing the same thing as well. It seemed like Lieutenant Shi's 4th Division had taken the role of medic assistance which meant Lieutenant Shi and his men had to take their injured comrades back to the camp where the medic squads could treat their injuries since medic squads shouldn't enter the battle itself, too risky. Must be Masa, Jiang thought, sending a blast of fire. His third brother was the only one bright enough to think of this move.

"Look!!" one of the Fire Nation soldiers shouted over the noise, pointing at the Western Base's command tower. Soon, the fighting ceased little by little as the soldiers nudged their comrades and pointed at the Western Earth Base. Even Fong and Jiang stopped fighting, both cast a look at the base. And while Fong looked horrified and angry, Jiang looked happy and relieved. The spot where the Earth Kingdom insignia was carved had been blasted off by one of the demolition team hand grenades. All along the wall, Fire Nation soldiers, around fifty of them, could be seen lining and shooting fire all over to the sky; their distant yells of victory could be faintly heard even from the battlefield. The Fire Nation had won.

"We… we won", one of the Fire Nation said, then shouted. "WE WON!!!!"

Feeling their spirit restored, the Fire Nation soldiers renewed their attack, fighting more intensely than before and driving off the remaining Earth Kingdom soldiers. But, Fong and Jiang stood still, not moving a muscle.

"Give up now, Fong", Jiang taunted. "It seems like a brat had defeated you."

"NEVER!!" Fong lunged at him, losing control of himself.

* * *

"Come on, guys!!" Chit Sang goaded. "Keep cheering!!"

He then yelled 'YEAH!!!WE WON!!', punching fire to the sky. At his sides, eight of the assault team were doing the same. Once they secured the base, they quickly retrieved the second cart from the gate. They then proceeded to putting the hay dummies, which were wearing Fire Nation military armors and masked helmets, along the wall. From far away, it would seem that the number of soldiers Jiang sent to capture the base were at least fifty or sixty, not just ten. A clever idea suggested by Lin. And speaking of Lin, he didn't join the commotion in the wall. He was still in the command room with Chey.

"Young Master", Chey approached him, kneeling down beside the boy who was also on his knees. "Your sword, Young Master."

Lin cast a disgusted look at the blade. Chey had pulled it of the dead soldier's back and cleaned the sword from any blood. The dead soldier himself still lay on the spot where he was… where he was killed… But, one of the Fire Nation soldiers had thoughtfully covered the corpse with a curtain cloth he pulled from the window.

"I don't want it", Lin muttered, still not taking his eyes from the cursed weapon.

"I understand", Chey softly replied, shoving the sword to his side, hiding it from Lin's sight. "Then allow me to take your sheath. A sword that isn't being used must be sheathed so that it won't be able to hurt anyone."

Lin just nodded, wordlessly allowing Chey to undo the cord of the sheath on his back and take the sheath away from him. Chey took the sheath and put the sword back in it before slipping it under his own sash on his back. He sympathized with the kid. Chey wanted to do or to say something to ease the kid's suffering because he knew how it felt like to take a man's life for the first time; the guilt, the disgust, the feeling that you just wanted to rip open your chest or to break open your skull just to ease your own suffering. When Chey took a man's life for the first time, he did it because he was ordered to do so. In this case, Lin was luckier than Chey, at least Lin did it for a good—no, not good, for a _better_ reason: to protect someone.

"Thank you, Young Master", Chey bowed to Lin. The boy turned to him slowly and absentmindedly. His mind couldn't register anything anymore, he was empty. When he opened his eyes, he could only see the destruction the fight caused in the room; the ground shattered by the commander's earthbending, burnt mark by his and his men's firebending, weapon scratches on the floor. And when he closed his eyes, he could only see the dead soldier; his expression none of pain or agony but rich with shock and horror. And he was disgusted even more by himself.

"What for?" Lin asked. The tone of his voice… even though Chey had often pride himself for be strong at heart, like not letting crying women or children affect him, the tone of the boy's voice, it made Chey wanted to just rip off his own ears. It was heartbreaking…

"For saving my life", Chey replied, swallowing his emotion. "What you did, it was… I am grateful for that. And I do not think any less of you because of that, Young Master. And you shouldn't either. Because you saved a man's life"

"Thank you, Captain", Lin managed to smile weakly. "Please tell the man not to stop cheering until General Fong's unit surrender."

"Yes, Young Master", Chey saluted. He quickly got up and strode to the wall to convey the order to Chit Sang and the other.

Lin stayed on the spot. Exhaustion suddenly claimed him but he mustn't rest, not now. When he realized what he had done to the poor soul, he had vowed to do this thing, to calm the soldier's soul even if just for a little bit. The boy took his jade flute and he briefly cast a glance at the red handkerchief tied around it, mulling over whether he should take it off or not. Red is the color of celebration, after all, not mourning. Yes, Lin pulled the handkerchief off and stuffed it behind his sash. He should take it off. And slowly, he pulled the flute up to his lips and started to play the instrument, praying that the melody would reach the spirit world where all those who died that day were now residing…

* * *

"We won! We won! We won!"

The 212th Battalion, all who were still able to walk, anyway, was shouting those words joyously as Jiang led them to the Western Earth Base. All of them were grinning, some were jumping and even dancing around, laughing and cheering for their hard-earned victory. All but Jiang. He strode fast forward with Masa and Kang at his side, not joining in his men's enthusiasm. Even Masa and Kang looked anxious; well, Masa was the type who never laughed so, no surprise there, but even Kang, who was always at the center of victory celebration, looked nervous.

"He'll be fine", Kang calmly assured his brother while he himself was trying to push the image of the boy as a bloody mass of unrecognized pulp away from his mind.

"I know", Jiang absentmindedly replied. When he was fighting Fong, he had shown full confidence in his son's skill but in reality, he was scared witless by the fact that his son was fighting alone in the enemy base. Well, he wasn't exactly alone but… you know, fathers… To Jiang, if he was not there with Lin, it was just the same as letting the boy alone.

As Jiang and his men arrived at the front gate, the gate creaked open very very slowly, drawing silence from everyone outside. The first he saw was Captain Chey, holding Birdie's rein. The man looked tired and he had a bruise on his right cheek but he looked unharmed. The second he saw was Sergeant Chit Sang, also bruised a little, at Chey's right and a man supporting another men who looked quite badly injured, his side was covered by a bloody yellow cloth, at Chey's left. And the gate creaked open wider, still slowly, revealing more and more of the assault team until all ten of them could be seen standing there in line. All ten of them… but, where's Lin!

"Where's my son!" Jiang frantically leaped to Chey, grabbing the man's collar but—

"Shh!" Chey shushed him, gesturing at Chit Sang. "Young Master was tired from the battle, sir. He's sleeping."

Jiang quickly strode to Chit Sang, who turned back and revealed that he was carrying Lin on his back. The boy was sleeping peacefully, clinging to the huge sergeant's back. Jiang's face lit up to a relieved smile and he could feel tears filling his eyes. His son was alright…

"He's fine", Chey hissed to the soldiers behind Jiang. And soon, the words 'he's fine' and 'the Young Master's fine' spread wildly among the crowd until someone shouted 'HE'S FINE!!' among them incited another loud cheer. But…

"SHHHHH!!!" Jiang put his finger on his mouth and hissed at his men, waving his other hand wildly. His men, noticing the gesture, quickly shushed themselves; some even put their hands on the person next to them. After throwing another stabbing killer glare at the lot, Jiang turned his son, who miraculously stayed asleep during the noise, and whispered to Chit Sang, saying that he wanted to carry the boy himself. Chit Sang nodded.

"Be careful, sir", Chey moved in to help Jiang. "He took a blow on his shoulder."

"What?!" Jiang hissed menacingly. "_Who_ did that to him?!"

"Don't worry, sir. It's just a bruise", Chey assured, picturing the burnt and gravely wounded base commander before he added. "Besides, if you think Young Master's injury is bad, then you should see the other man."

"That bad, huh?" Jiang muttered, he knew well how much damage Lin could cause especially when he was angered.

"Yeah", Chey gloomily added, holding Lin so that the boy could descend as softly as possible on Jiang's arms.

"Thank you for taking care of my son, Captain", Jiang smiled at the man, almost stuttering, his eyes sparkling with tears.

"It was the Young Master who was taking care of me, sir", Chey retorted, still gloomy. "I'll fill you in later. For now, please take the Young Master somewhere he could rest. This day has been harsh for him."

"Yes", Jiang nodded. Fill you in later? Did something happen? But, it didn't matter, as long as Lin was okay.

Jiang's men had thoughtfully opened up a path so that the father and son could walk back to the camp with the son sleeping peacefully in his father's arm, all were casting either a respectful look at the boy or a fond smile at the affection the father showed to his son. Jiang could still remember clearly the last time he held the boy in his arms like this; the night when Lin was born. Lin was but a baby that night but now… the boy Jiang was carrying in his arms, he wasn't a baby anymore. He was a hero.

* * *

"Again!!"

Azula obeyed, performing the kata all over again. Ozai was angry it seemed, judging from his face which was colder than usual. Why shouldn't he be angry? _His_ daughter was still too attached to _Ursa. _One year of hard work drawing a wedge between them was almost foiled in one day. He must do something about this, something drastic. But, what? What could he do? All he had ever done was restricting his daughter from Ursa and it worked, he knew it worked. But, it worked too slowly; he needed something… something more efficient.

Moreover, Ozai had just received news from one of the Imperial Spies he sent to the Earth Kingdom that General Jiang's 212th Battalion had just won the battle on the Western Shore. He won the victory just few hours after Ozai received the official report from Jiang. How was that possible? That was the question Ozai spat on the spy's face. And the answer Ozai got, it didn't make him feel better at all: Battalion Strategist Lin, the twenty sixth, led an assault team and successfully claimed the enemy's command tower, effectively surrounding the enemies from two sides and forcing General Fong and the rest of his men to flee to the mountain.

Ozai had underestimated the boy, a mistake that he swore he would never repeat. The boy was a hero now. Removing him would be so much harder because his presence would be more noticeable now. Removing Jiang? No, it would be a fatal blow on the Fire Nation Military. Unless… Ozai grinned evilly. Unless, if he could take advantage of this moment, to turn the boy into a useful tool. Yes, why not? The boy had a potential, so why not?

"Again, Azula", Ozai ordered again, still grinning. Yes, Ozai saw a light of hope. He had a plan…

* * *

**Author's note:**

Phew, 'the Battle of the Western Base' is finally over although this chapter is a bit shorter than the previous three.

And to hpswst101, good luck with your laptop. Maybe it's the graphic card. I remember mine having the same problem last year.

Have a nice day!!


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30 – The Life of a Soldier**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"Son?" Jiang whispered, entering the tent. He caught the glimpse of the boy lying on the bed with his back turned on him. Lin was still wearing his armor, the same armor he was wearing when Jiang put him on the bed this afternoon. The boy had been sleeping since then. Well not really, as Jiang tiptoed closer, he realized that Lin wasn't sleeping at all. The boy was staring blankly at the red canvas. He must still be feeling the guilt…

"Son?" Jiang called again, softer this time, sitting down on the side of the bed. Lin was still refusing to turn back. The boy only grunted weakly.

"Are you hungry?" Jiang asked kindly. Captain Chey had just filled him, and Kang and Masa, for that matter, in about the incident at the Western Earth Base in which Lin killed a soldier in order to save Chey. And Jiang, he had only himself to blame.

"No", Lin croaked back. He didn't feel hungry at all, well not really. He was starving, actually, but he didn't want to eat. He felt that he didn't deserve to eat.

"But, you haven't eaten anything since breakfast", Jiang said again, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come on, your Uncle Kang has made his famous grilled fish. He caught the fish himself, fresh from Yu Guo. Come on."

"I don't want any", Lin replied, pulling his blanket over his head. He just wanted to be left alone…

"I see", Jiang gave up. God, how he wished his wife or his mother was here right now. They'd know what to do. They'd kill him first for bringing the boy to the war but at least they'd know how to cheer the boy up. "Well, I'll save the food if you changed your mind. Okay?"

A muffled grunt.

"Okay", Jiang got up, feeling that he must leave. He then exited the tent and left for the dining tent where Masa and Kang were waiting. He was planning to take his son there, to have dinner together with the boy's two uncles. You know, family thing, to cheer Lin up a little. But, apparently, they were going to have dinner without Lin, after all.

And for the first time in his long years in the army, a victory felt so bitter for Jiang.

* * *

Ursa strode fast to his room, clutching the letter that had just arrived from Shu Jing. Located in the outer islands of the Fire Nation, Shu Jing would be one of the first places where news from the warfront would reach first. And as such, Ursa used his connection there for information gathering, especially regarding the battle on the Western Shore of the Earth Kingdom. And just a few minutes ago, a letter from her connection, a certain master swordsman, had just arrived via a messenger hawk. Ursa entered her room, closed and locked her door, paced, almost ran, to her table, unrolled the letter and read it under the dim candle light.

_Dear cousin,_

_I'm writing to you regarding your embroideries. As you have told me before, you wanted to know my opinion of whether you should make red lotus or white lotus embroidery. After thinking it over, I believe you should make a red one. Red is, after all, the color of our glorious Fire Nation. And as such, I will deliver to you, with my next letter, enough materials to make not only a small lotus bud, but a BIG lotus blossom. You can count on that._

_Your Cousin,_

_Fen._

"Thank you", Ursa sighed, her hands trembling and she began to cry, but not because of sadness but because of happiness. 'Cousin Fen' was Master Piandao himself. The content of the letter was the latest news of the 212th Battalion stationed on the Western Shore. The embroidery they were talking about was Lin, of course. Red and white lotuses were the code Ursa and Piandao used to refer to Lin's fate on the battlefield. Needless to say, 'red' meant Lin was okay and 'white' meant… well, white is the color of mourning, so…

Anyway, Ursa was forced to ask Master Piandao to do the information gathering job because since she received the news about Lin being appointed as the 212th Battalion Strategist, she was completely freaked out, worried herself to death. And any additional news would come from Ozai if she didn't search for any other source of information. If the boy was fine, then that would be fine. Ozai would dillydally in giving her the news, maybe, but at least Lin was fine. But, if something had happened to the boy, something terrible, Ursa knew that Ozai would gloat it on her and Ursa knew very well that she would break down… she would. But, she didn't want to give Ozai the pleasure, no!

Thus, she sent a letter to her 'Cousin Fen' to ask for his opinion on her next 'embroidery', that is to ask Fen aka Piandao to gather what information he could about how the boy was doing in the battlefield so that Ursa would knew what 'color of lotus' she must put on her next craft. A bit selfish of her, she knew, but she believed Piandao would understand. And imagined how surprised Ursa was when she received a reply just few hours after she sent the letter to Piandao. And how happy she was when she knew that she wouldn't have to make a 'white' lotus. But, she was intrigued by what Pi—I meant, Fen meant by 'big' lotus blossom. Did it mean that Lin had a major role in the battle?

"Doesn't matter", Ursa sighed to herself. As long as Lin was safe, it didn't matter whether he had been fighting gallantly in the front line or hiding under his bed in the camp sucking his thumbs, it didn't matter to Ursa at all; she would still love the boy the same way.

"As long as he's safe", Ursa breathed easily now, thanking the spirits for granting her prayer.

* * *

"Why…" Jiang sobbed, like a drunkard, Masa and Kang sitting at his sides. All three men were drinking, yes, but they were drinking tea. So, what happened to Jiang?

"Are you sure that is tea?" Masa asked Kang, pointing at Jiang's cup.

"Yeah, I brewed it myself", Kang answered, trying to hold down Jiang who was beating his own head, crying like a baby.

"How could tea cause something like _this_?!" Masa snapped, catching Jiang's right hand that escaped Kang's grasp. Kang merely shrugged.

"But… you know, I bring my son here just because I want to spend some more time with him *sniff*. I have wasted ten years already and I juuuust want to make up for it. *sob* So, why… Whyyyyy?" and Jiang suddenly clutched Masa by his wrist and started to cry on the man's shoulder.

"There… there…" Masa patted Jiang's head like he was a five year old. He then threw a stabbing glare at Kang, who was about to laugh, and hissed. "Do something!"

"Do what?" Kang asked, grinning. A bit insensitive of him but it was understandable; the sight was somewhat funny. "Know what, just let him be. Maybe he needs to let everything out, he'll feel better afterward."

"So, what did you put in his tea?" Masa narrowed his eyes suspiciously, still patting Jiang's head.

"Nothing, I swear", Kang replied, sounded serious all of the sudden. But, then…

"Hey! Anyone see my cactus juice jug? I left it in the kitchen but now it's gone", a soldier shouted in the middle of the tent, drawing everyone's attention. Some people shook their heads, some say 'no', but Masa and Kang sighed and nodded in unison. The mystery solved: cactus juice!

"How did it get into his cup?" Masa asked again, suspecting some foul play by Kang.

"How should I know?" Kang shrugged.

"Aaaaaaahhh", Jiang suddenly emerged from Masa's embrace, blowing his nose on the napkin noisily. "*sniff* what should I do noooow?"

He turned to Kang, who looked slightly on guard, and shook the man's shoulder.

"What should I do now!!?" he yelled to Kang's face before slumping down face first on the table, sobbing again.

"I think it'd be more appropriate for _us_ to ask that question. What should we do now?" Kang asked Masa, wiping his face from Jiang's spit.

"I don't know", Masa looked gloom. They, of course, knew why Jiang was depressed. They both had children, too. Well, it was a bit complicated for Masa but Kang had never had such problem. None of his children were in the military yet so he didn't really know what to do or say had he been in Jiang's situation.

"Maybe I should go to check on the kid", Kang was about to get up but Masa quickly snatched his arm.

"Don't you dare leave me behind with this drunkard, Brother", he threatened.

Kang gulped and then sit down again. A long moment of silence, filled with Jiang sobbing and talking incoherently about Birdie the ostrich horse, a hand grenade, a bush of fire lilies, and having a family picnic with the whole clan. Until…

"Hey, do you think we should try this, too?" Kang offered, taking Jiang's cactus juice contaminated tea.

"Give me that!" Masa snatched the cup and poured the content on the floor.

* * *

Horrible… Disgusting… Murderer…

That was all he was. Lin lay there, condemning himself with the foulest words he had in his vocabulary. How he loathed himself, how he wished he could turn back time and redo everything all over again. Death is an inevitable part of war, he knew. But, if death was avoidable, why not avoid it. Why did he have to throw his sword at his opponent? Why couldn't he just shoot a fire blast or something, something that would knock the soldier down but not killing him? Why…

He remembered the stories about all the great heroes and warriors of the old, about the Lins before him: the twenty fourth who was the hero of the Battle of Air Temples; the twenty third who was a daring seafarer, responsible for the purge of the fearsome pirates; even the first, the Great Yi himself. And about all other heroes, the Dragons, for example; the Dragon of the Fifth River, a famous admiral of his time; the Dragon of the North Mountain, a firebender whose skill was unequaled; even the Dragon of the West, General Iroh, his grandparents' personal friend. All of them had certainly stained their hands like Lin did. So, did all of them felt this terrible too the first time they killed someone? Or did they not? If they did, how could they still go on with that? What did they do to deal with this disgusted feeling?

_Is this what Lu Ten is doing in Ba Sing Se? Killing people?_

Lin quickly shook the thought off. Well, maybe yes, this was what Lu Ten was doing. But, he was sure as hell that Lu Ten wasn't enjoying this. No, no, no… Lu Ten would certainly not be enjoying this. Even Iroh, that must be the reason why he didn't let Lu Ten join the military at first. Iroh must have known what was in store for Lu Ten in Ba Sing Se. Yes, Lin knew. Iroh was that kind of person. Even when Lu Ten and Lin were younger, Iroh would always try not to tell anything about his days in the military when both kids asked. He had always wiggled his way out by bribing both kids with some sweets, showing them some firebending tricks, or, to the kids' dismay, inviting them for an evening tea.

Ignorance…

That was Lin's only hope. Yes, ignorance. Ignore everything, be a clean empty— No… not this time.

Lin rose up, wiping his teary eyes. No, he mustn't ignore this guilt. If he did that, it would be a great dishonor to the soldier's soul. He would remember this experience, this lesson that he learnt at the expense of one man's life. The lesson of guilt; the lesson of how precious life is. He would never ever forget it. Never…

Full of conviction, he took off his armor and put on his normal cloth. He was a soldier now, the battalion strategist of the 212th Battalion. He mustn't let an enemy's death affect him this much. He would still honor the dead soldier's soul, yes, but he mustn't do this at the expense of the whole battalion, of General Jiang as his father and his commanding officer. He must be strong. Strong for the 212rh Battalion, strong for the Fire Nation… strong for himself.

And so, Lin, the twenty sixth, the 212th Battalion Strategist, walked out of his tent as a new person. He entered the tent as a kid but now, he walked out as a soldier…

* * *

"_Hey, Uncle Kang!" the five year old Lin chirped, standing on a small stool and stirring a vegetable dish in a wok. "Is this right?"_

"_Yep, looks edible", Kang said, peeking from behind the kid. He then turned to his fourteen year old daughter, Biao, who was cooking at the boy's side. "What in the name of the spirits is that, Daughter?"_

_Biao turned to her father, narrowing her eyes and still stirring the weird and black looking err, 'thing' she was cooking. Until a second ago it was green vegetable like Lin's but… well, you know, accident happened._

"_Okay, kids", Kang evaded Biao's ladle swing, grinning. "I gotta go for a sec. You guys keep stirring, okay. I'll be back in a minute."_

_And then Kang got out of the kitchen, leaving his daughter and nephew in there._

"_Hey, Biao", Lin cheerfully called, pinching a piece of vegetable with a pair of chopstick and offered it to the girl. "Try some. Aaaaaa."_

"_Aaaaa", Biao opened her mouth and let the boy shoved the perfectly edible looking food inside her mouth. But right after she swallow the food…_

"_Hey, Biao. What're you doing? Uncle Kang said we must never fall asleep in the kitchen while cooking. Wake up. He— err, Uncle Kang… Uncle! UNCLE!!!! HELP!!! I THINK I JUST KILLED BIAO!!!!"_

"And since then, Father forbid the kid to get into a radius one meter around the kitchen", Kang concluded his story. "He even put some guards there, just in case."

From trying to cheer Jiang up, or rather, to make Jiang sober, Kang and Masa somehow started to recount the experience they shared with the kid, mostly the bad ones. And Kang had just finished telling them the story of when he was teaching Lin and Biao how to cook.

"And the saddest thing is the dish he cooked looked really really good", Kang, an avid chef, sighed sadly. "It was really a shame to throw it away. Oh, the color, the smell… I will never ever forget that. It was heavenly, I tell ya. Too bad the kid mistook sleeping powder with salt. He can be klutz sometimes."

"I'm sorry", Jiang suddenly grabbed Kang's shoulder, crying. He wasn't sober yet, it seemed. "I'm sorry… *sniff* It was my fault, it was my fault! It was my fault Biao died, I'm sorry. *sob*"

"Brother", Kang sighed, patting Jiang's head. "Biao's not dead. She was just knocked out."

"But still… *sob* it was my fault", and Jiang cried even harder. Luckily, the dining tent was almost empty now and no one, well no one significant, would have to witness Jiang in his drunken delirium.

"No, it— Ugh!" Kang shook his head, turning to Masa for help.

"How come we have sleeping powder in the kitchen anyway?" instead of helping, Masa asked.

"Remember our old cook, Old Man Chushi? He retired two years ago", Kang asked back, patting Jiang's head to pacify him.

"Oh yeah", Masa frowned, scanning his memory. "The three of us used to sneak into the kitchen when we were kids to steal some of the food he cooked."

"Yeah", Kang grinned.

"And when we got caught, you two always put the blame on me", Masa added bitterly.

"We were kids, Brother", Kang replied, still grinning. "Let it go. Anyway, those sleeping powder was his. Remember when we were kids, we told him that the kitchen was haunted by Granduncle Lin, the twenty fourth? He was too afraid to sleep there ever since and hence the sleeping powder."

"See!" Jiang's head suddenly shot up. "It was my fault! *sob* I was my idea to tell him that Granduncle Lin was haunting the kitchen searching for his favorite roast duck! See! It was my fault Biao died! My fault!!"

And he dived once again into Kang's chest, sobbing.

"Brother, for the last time: Biao is _not_ dead!" Kang sighed. "It'll take more than just sleeping powder to kill Biao. Seriously, Brother… a stubborn girl like that, even death won't go near her."

----

Miles away to the west in the Fire Nation, more specifically the Lin Estate, Biao sneezed.

"ACHOO!"

"Are you alright, Biao", Bing asked, wiping her face from rice and some other half chewed food. She and Biao were having dinner together and Biao was strategically seated right in front of her and so, when Biao sneezed...

"Yeah", Biao replied, wiping her nose but a bulging vein was somehow clearly visible on her forehead. "I don't know why, Mom. But, I feel a sudden urge to kill Dad."

_----_

"_Uncle Masa!!" _

_Six year old Lin was running, chasing three komodo rhino riders from behind. Masa and his two guards halted their steeds. He turned back just as the boy skidded right beside his steed. The boy panted for a second or two before he held out something square covered with red cloth._

"_Happy Birthday!" the boy exclaimed, grinning widely. "I made these cookies for you."_

_That's unusual… thought Masa. But then again, the boy was that kind of kid, the kind who always tried to make those around him happy._

"_Thank you, Nephew", Masa said, smiling a little and taking the box from the kid._

_Fast forward by a day. On a ship in the middle of the ocean…_

"_Come on!! Fight back!!" a Fire Nation officer from Masa's division yelled, trying to organize the soldier to fend off the pirates' sneak attack. "Where's Commander Masa?!"_

"_Here", Masa muttered weakly, a bit pale and clutching his stomach._

"_Commander, sir!" the officer saluted. "What should we—, sir?"_

_Masa had just grabbed the man's shoulder, grunting painfully._

"_Y-you take command. I- oh, spirits", Masa grunted again, his lips were trembling as he focused every bit of his chi to suppress his pain. He then quickly ran back to the ship's inner deck and slammed the door behind him._

"_Sir?" the officer chased after him only to found Masa dived head first into the ship's lavatory and slammed the door on the officer's face._

"The men somehow managed to hold on but…" Masa sighed. "I literally stayed in the toilet for two days. I had the medic team checked the cookies and apparently the boy mistook salt for sugar and some tiny pieces of black laxative mushroom for chocolate chips."

"Man, that kid sure is a klutz in the kitchen", Kang laughed. "How did he get into the kitchen anyway? I thought Father had put some guards there."

But, before Masa could answer…

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Jiang suddenly glommed onto Masa, who made no attempt to avoid him; he knew it was useless. "It was my fault! *sniff* It was my fault you died!"

"I'm not dead, Brother", Masa replied coldly, but he patted Jiang's head nonetheless.

* * *

"Why did they put you in there?" Lin asked, guiding Birdie by a rope he tied around the Ostrich horse's neck away from the stable tent. The soldiers had put her there among the komodo rhinos. And being the only ostrich horse among countless of bigger and scarier beast made Birdie nervous. When Lin came to see her, she was pushing her locked stable fence with her beak, trying to run away from there.

"You must be really scared", Lin stoked the ostrich horse's neck gently. Birdie, as if understanding her master's mental burden, stroked the boy's check back using her head, causing the boy to giggle, the first smile he let out since the incident.

And they walked in silence around the camp until a loud laughing noise from one of the campfire drew their attention. There, around the fire where some fishes and other avian animals were roasted, Chey, Chit Sang, and about five other soldiers were sitting, each holding a metal tankard. Recognizing some familiar faces, Lin paced there with Birdie.

"—and then", Chit Sang paused to laugh, waving his mug wildly as he animatedly told a story of how he confessed his feeling to his girlfriend. "And then she threw the flower right on my face. And—"

He paused as Lin sat down around the fire. Lin's sudden appearance surprised the other soldiers because they didn't sense him coming at all.

"And what, Sergeant? Please, continue", Lin smiled, patting Birdie's thigh, wordlessly instructing the steed to kneel down. Birdie obeyed, kneeling down and putting its head peacefully on the boy's lap. Chit Sang knew about the incident, of course. He was the one who covered the dead body with a curtain cloth. But, he noticed that there was something different in the boy now, something… he didn't exactly knew what. But, he noticed that the boy had changed somehow, like the boy suddenly looked older… stronger.

"And then, Young Master", Chit Sang smiled warmly. "I offered her the flower again."

And Chit Sang continued with more enthusiasm, acting as if the incident, or rather the battle, had never happened. All other soldiers quickly caught on Chit Sang's gesture and stopped staring at Lin, acting as if Lin had been there with them, conversing happily since the beginning. Lin, too, was acting normal, laughing with the other soldiers at some funny moments in Chit Sang's story, jeering with the other soldiers when Chit Sang smugly exaggerating with his story. Everything seemed normal again.

"Something to drink, Young Master?" a soldier, one of the assault team who had a brother at home, offered a tankard.

"I'm too young to drink, don't you think soldier?" Lin laughed.

"It's milk, Young Master", the soldier grinned, tilting the tankard to show the boy the content. "Nobody in the 212th Battalion drink intoxicants while on duty."

"Really?" Lin arched a brow, receiving the tankard. He had heard that 212th Battalion under his father was the most disciplined battalion in the whole Fire Nation Military but he didn't know that they would be _this_ disciplined.

"Yes", the soldier nodded, sounded serious. "If General Jiang caught any soldiers bringing stuff like that with them…"

The soldier made a gesture of cutting his own head with his finger. Lin nodded. Yes, that would be something his father would do… rubbing his finger around the offender's neck. Oh, wait, sorry, not that. Um, well maybe he would, after lighting his finger on fire or something.

"Young Master", Chit Sang called, already finished with his story. "How about you tell us some story, sir?"

"Oh, no. No, no…" Lin shook his head, laughing. But the other soldiers around him coaxed, clapping and shouting 'Young Master' rhythmically.

"Oh, come on", Lin laughed. "I don't really have anything to tell."

"Really?" the soldier who offered him milk asked, grinning. "No stories about err, maybe your childhood?"

"I am still in it."

"Girlfriend?" Chit Sang suggested.

"I'm eleven."

"Friends?" Chey suggested.

"Don't have that many."

"Okay…" Chey scratched his chin, thinking for another suggestion.

A few seconds of silence filled with the soldiers trying to think of some other suggestion.

"Hobbies?" one of them said.

"I have one, but I almost killed my cousin and my uncle because of it."

"Wha— What's that hobby of yours?" the soldier asked again, taken aback like the others.

"Cooking", Lin shrugged. He then got up, taking a gulp of his tankard. Hey, what do you know… it is milk. He then paced the center of the crowd, ready to tell his story. "Well, it all started when Uncle Kang, Commander Kang, that is, was teaching me and my cousin how to cook—"

* * *

"You're alright, Brother?" Kang asked.

"Yeah", Jiang exited the dining tent with the other two, clutching his head. "Ugh! What happened to me? My head's spinning."

Kang and Masa exchanged a meaningful glance before Kang said. "You don't want to know."

The three men walked, staggered in Jiang's case, into the camp. After being asked for about ten times, Kang finally relented and informed Jiang that he had accidentally taken some cactus juice.

"Oh, I see", Jiang staggered, clutching his head. "So that's why this headache seemed familiar."

"You've drank cactus juice before?" Masa asked curiously.

"No, not really. Not deliberately", Jiang paused, rubbing his head. "Lian put some in my tea once because I missed her birthday party."

And the three walked again until they encountered a group of soldiers sitting around a campfire. A boy was standing, holding a metal tankard in one hand and what looked like a piece of roasted meat in the other, waving his hands around laughing all the while. It seemed like the boy was saying something funny because all the soldiers around him were laughing. Jiang narrowed his eyes, the boy looked familiar somehow. Jiang could only see his back. Was that Lin? Well, let's see… short, ponytail, a green flute strapped on his sash. Yep, that was Lin.

"What was that again? The word you just taught me", Lin asked one of the soldiers, grinning. "'It's so #$%-ly weird'. Do we use it in a sentence like that?"

"Yes, Young Master", the soldier tried to stifle a laugh. Needless to say, they were teaching the boy some rather impolite words.

"Yeah", Chit Sang guffawed. "You can use it as a phrase to, to taunt someone. Like this. 'Hey you! #$%head!'"

Lin repeated. "Hey you! —hmmph!"

Before he could finish the taunt, seven pair of hands gagged his mouth as Jiang, Kang, and Masa approached the hearing range. All of the sudden, the seven soldiers were all sweating nervously.

"What are you doing?" Masa asked sharply, suspicious of why his nephew was receiving such treatment.

"Oh, ah… nothing, sir", Chey grinned nervously. "Just some, you know, campfire story."

"Bwah!" Lin freed himself from the gag and turned around. "Oh, hi Dad, Uncle, Uncle."

"What are you doing?" Masa asked the boy this time.

"Well", Lin gestured to the lot, grinning, while the lot was, well… not grinning. "We were telling this story, right. And then they ended up teaching me a new word. Check this out."

Lin cleared his throat, ready to demonstrate the usage of the newest addition to his vocabulary while seven pairs of eyes widened in horror behind him.

"It goes like this", Lin said. "Hey You! hmmmphh!"

The seven pairs of hands gagged his mouth again. Lin cast them an annoyed look while the soldiers grinned weirdly at the three commanding officers, guilt and nervousness stained their faces. The fact that Jiang, Kang, and Masa were all powerful benders didn't ease their minds at all…

"Do I want to hear this?" Masa drawled dangerously at the lot while Kang tried to hold his laughter.

"Probably not, sir", Chey gulped. He may not be a member of the 212th Battalion but his unit was dispatched by Admiral Liang to help Jiang and so, Jiang and his brothers were his commanding officers temporarily and thus, were justified by military laws to grant either reward or punishment to him.

"A hundred. Now", Masa hissed venomously. "All of you!"

And so, all seven soldiers got down on the ground and started the one hundred… push-ups. Lin narrowed his eyes at this turned of events, from his Uncle Masa to the soldiers, grunting as they did the push-ups, to Uncle Masa again and then to the soldiers again before he finally realized something…

"Was that a bad word?" he asked the soldiers.

"Y-yes, Young Master", the soldier, the member of the assault team who had both parents and two little brothers at home grunted, his arms shaking from the exercise.

"Then it's another hundred fellas", Lin declared, grinning impishly, drawing a defiant groan from the soldiers but since Lin was their Young Master and Battalion Strategist, not to mention related to the three most powerful firebenders around the vicinity who were coincidentally their commanding officers, they had no choice but to obey.

"Son", Jiang called, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. Lin turned to him and noticed that his father looked a bit different.

"Uh…" he started but—

"Cactus juice. Don't ask", Kang popped his head briefly behind Jiang's shoulder. Lin's eyes were widened in bewilderment. His father drinking cactus juice?

"Ah, yes. It was an accident, by the way", Kang added, popping his head again.

"Accident, huh?" Lin raised a brow.

"Your uncle said 'don't ask'", Jiang sighed, rubbing his head. He then knelt down so that his face could be on the same level as his son. "Son, I— I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what happened. I—"

Jiang sighed, he looked really really remorseful for what had happened in the Western Earth Base but he just didn't know what to say. He had never been good with words.

"I am really sorry, Son", Jiang forced himself to look into his son's amber eyes. "I shouldn't have brought you here. I mean— ugh… if your Mom or Grandma were still alive…"

"They'd kill you", Lin added rather bluntly.

"Definitely kill me…"

"Especially Grandma…"

"Yeah, I don't want to even think about it…"

And silence… till laughter broke between the two.

"It's not your fault, Dad", Lin embraced his father. "I'm a soldier remember. I know that someday I must kill people, like you all do."

All of the sudden, a gloom atmosphere fell upon them; Jiang, Lin, Masa, Kang, and push-upping soldiers although they didn't stop doing the push-ups. Ignorance, yes… at some point of our lives, we engaged in it. And soldiers, most of them engaged in it every day. It was one of the ways to preserve their sanities as a great sage once said.

"I don't like it", Lin added releasing himself from Jiang's embrace and stared deeply into his father's eyes, his own amber eyes flickered with spirits and determination. "And I swear I will never ever like it. But, I'm somehow glad that today I took a man's life to save another man's life. At least, I didn't do it just because I want to or because I can. I killed a man, yes. But, I also saved a man."

Chey, sweating, panting, and shaking around the arms, felt a pang of pride. It was weird, really. One of the reasons why he joined the Military was because he wanted the war to end quickly and he thought that if his expertise with explosives could help even if just a bit, then he would dedicate his life to the military. He just hated it when young children got caught up in war. But, as time goes on, ignorance kicked in. He had ruined many lives, he knew. He was continuously ignoring it and he had unknowingly ignored his true reason to join the military as well. He had forgotten it completely. Until today, an eleven year old kid saved his life and reminded him of why he wanted the war to end, why he joined the military: he had never wanted to see any kids hurt someone or being hurt by someone in the wake of war. Never again…

"I know that killing someone, no matter what the reason is, is wrong", Lin continued. "I am soldier; taking lives will be my destiny, yes. But, I swear that I will never take a man's life while I can help it. I will be a good soldier but I will never be a murderer. I'll make you proud, Dad."

"You don't have to, Son", Jiang smiled, his lips and voice trembling full of emotion. He pulled the boy back to his embrace. "I am already proud of you."

"Awww", the push-upping soldiers jumped in, ruining the delicate father and son moment.

"And that's another hundred, men", Masa cruelly added.

The life of a soldier revolves around violence, killing, hurting people. A wise sage once said that 'soldiers hurt people so that the people they hurt could never hurt us and it is, in a way, a sacrifice'. Hurting someone, let alone killing someone, is never a pleasant thing; not for the doers and never for the victims. And yet, soldiers were needed. Soldiers like Chey, who dedicated themselves to the protection of the weak, to make sure that the younger generation would never have to go through the same hell they did. Soldiers like Jiang, who fought to defend the pride of their nations, who risked their lives so that we could sleep safely at night. The sacrifice they made, the ignorance they forced upon their souls; it should never go under-appreciated. Because the life of a soldier is a complicated thing, indeed. A soldier is, after all, a human like us…

* * *

**Author's note:**

This chapter is dedicated to a certain person who passed away recently. He was the greatest teacher in my life, who taught me the importance of seeing the best in everyone. Because we all are equal: equally good and equally bad. Everyone is capable of great kindness and great evil but we must strive to bring the great kindness out and suppress the great evil and encourage people around us to do the same. Evil will never go away, no. But we must always keep it in check, never let it out.

W… Rest in peace, friend. Sorry, I couldn't be there for you at the last moment. We'll see each other again. But, not now, not yet… :)

And names!!

1. Chushi means 'chef'. Pretty self explanatory.

2. Fen is the alternative spelling for the word 'dao (刀) as in Piandao.

Enjoy the chapter!


	32. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31 – The Dragon of the Deep Forest**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender.

* * *

The next morning after the Western Earth Base was conquered, Jiang was already on the way back to Senlin Village, taking with him half of his troops. His injured men would be able to get more adequate treatment in Senlin Village rather than in Yu Guo. And so, leaving Masa and two full divisions with him to guard Yu Guo and the Western Earth Base until relief force from the Fire Nation arrived, Jiang led the formation to the north, taking Kang, Lin, and Shi, now captain, with him. Shi's heroism in saving countless of his comrades had earned him a promotion.

—THUDDED—

A tiny pebble hit Kang's head. Luckily, the pebble was very small and Kang was wearing his helmet. At first, he thought it was some mosquitoes and he just waved it off. But, after the fifth pebbles, he realized that it was actually Lin, leaning on the window frame of the carriage in which he and Jiang was sitting and throwing pebbles at Kang out of boredom. And when Kang finally noticed him, Lin merely grinned, waving his hands cheerfully. Kang scoffed, muttering something like 'kids…' and returned to the road ahead, steadying on his komodo rhino's pace. But…

—THUDDED—

Kang turned to Lin again, casting a scary glare. Lin gasped and quickly dived back into the carriage. A second later, Jiang's head popped out. He cast an even scarier glare at Kang, making a threatening gesture of cutting his own neck with his finger before he returned back to the carriage.

"There", he patted Lin's head. "Uncle Kang won't bully you anymore."

"Thanks, Dad", Lin replied innocently as Jiang went back to the scroll he was reading. Lin then popped his head out of the window again, throwing another pebble at Kang. Kang turned to the boy, narrowing his eyes while Lin stuck his tongue out at him. _Well, at least he's not depressed anymore,_ Kang thought, receiving another pebble throw willingly.

And soon, lack of response from Uncle Kang drove Lin back into boredom. He plopped back into his seat, sighing loudly, cast a lazy look at his father, who didn't show any sign of response, and then sighed again. Jiang, however, remained unfazed, concentrating deeply on his scroll.

"I wanna ride Birdie", Lin pouted.

"No", Jiang curtly replied, not taking his eyes from the scroll.

"Why not?" Lin asked.

"Because you can't ride anything at a pace slower than a rampaging komodo rhino", Jiang answered matter-of-factly, still reading the scroll.

"But why are riding on a carriage?" Lin asked again, still sulking.

"Because we're nobilities."

"Why?"

"Because the Lin Family is a noble family."

"Why?"

"Because it has been so for hundreds of years."

"Why?"

Jiang arched a brow at Lin, finally taking his eyes off the scroll. He noticed that the boy looked bored and he wasn't blaming him. Kids his age were energetic after all, thought Jiang. But maybe something to distract him…

"Do you know what this scroll is about?" Jiang asked, waving the scroll and smiling mysteriously.

"Nope", Lin retorted, not showing any sign of interest in the formal looking scroll. "Some further order from the Fire Lord, maybe?"

"No", Jiang, still smiling, said, straightening the scroll in front of Lin, revealing the content to the boy. "It's about you."

"Huh? Me?" Lin sat up and started to read the scroll.

And the content…

_General Jiang of the 212__th__ Battalion,_

_By the order of His Majesty Fire Lord Azulon, you are to return immediately after the relief force, Commander Zhao's 35__th__ Squadron, arrive to secure the Western Earth Base. You are to return with Admiral Liang's Western Fleet and leave for the Fire Nation Imperial City as soon as you are able. The news of your son's, Lin, the twenty sixth, heroism has reached our glorious Fire Nation and spread far and wide and many people, of nobilities and of humble households, will be waiting for you at the Imperial City Harbor to welcome our young hero. And know that your son's great deed will not go unrewarded. Fire Lord Azulon himself will grant the young hero a reward befitting of his achievement._

_Long live the Fire Nation,_

_Fire Prince Ozai._

"Okay…" Lin drawled. He didn't care about the reward, he only had his mind on the fact that Zhao would be arriving soon. Too bad the sideburns-jerk Zhao would be landing directly on the Western Earth Base. If only he would be landing on Senlin Village, Lin could interrogate him about his grandfather's disappearance. The jerk wouldn't cooperate willingly, but Lin had a way or two to make him cooperate, burning his sideburns off might work. Lin might be gentle in nature but when needed, he could be quite forceful; a trait shared by his father and grandfather.

"A reward from the Fire Lord himself", Jiang added, sounded excited. "What do you think?"

"Probably a medal or something", Lin shrugged, not sounded as excited as his father. "Maybe the Medal of Agni Flame?"

"Hopefully", Jiang grinned, excited like a five year old kid who was promised a box full of candies as he rolled the scroll. "Wouldn't that be great if it is the Medal of Agni Flame? That means three generations of our family will be granted with those. We could start a new tradition here."

"Hmm, yeah", Lin shrugged again. Of course, he almost forgot that both his father and grandmother were recipients of the Medal of Agni Flame. But, he wasn't interested in the least about the medal, like his grandmother. Unlike Jiang who, like many other stereotypical military men, put his many medals and awards on a special cabinet or display stand, Umma had hidden all her military awards, including her Medal of Agni Flame, inside a chest safely stashed under her bed. She had never told anyone why. Even in her last will, she wished for all of those medals to be returned to the Imperial Palace and not to be kept by her family or to be buried with her.

"Aren't you happy?" Jiang asked, his smile faltered a bit.

"No", Lin muttered, casting a deep look at the horizon at the distance. "I have a bad feeling about this."

* * *

"I see you are happy", Ozai said coldly.

"Yes, something's wrong about it?" Ursa snickered just as coldly, not taking her attention off her embroidery. She decided to work on red lotus embroidery to avoid any suspicion, just in case if her letter had actually been hijacked by Ozai.

"Have you, by any chance, heard of the news about the 212th Battalion?" Ozai asked, trying to act as if he didn't care.

"It's hard not to", Ursa replied, suppressing her victories smile. "The word about Lin has spread around the whole Nation like a wildfire. It is, after all, rare to have a war hero as young as he."

That was true, she wasn't lying. While in reality she received the news from 'Cousin Fen', she did hear the rumor going around the palace of Lin and his feat in bringing the Western Earth Base down in one day. When she heard that Lin was sent to take down the base all by himself by Jiang, she felt part of her life left her body for the briefest of moment. How could Jiang be so— so _stupid_, Ursa would never know. But, then again, it might be Lin's idea all along. The boy had a reputation for being reckless. Ursa peeked from the corner of her eyes, trying to ascertain Ozai's expression. But, since Ozai didn't seem to react in the least, Ursa decided to attack again.

"By the way, _Ozai_", yep, 'Ozai' not 'dear husband', Ursa added in her mind smugly. "As I recall, you once told me to remind you something. You said that you would suggest Fire Lord Azulon to grant Lin a reward if he succeeded in the battle."

"Yes, of course", Ozai replied colder than before. _How dare she challenge me!_ "I did say that. To grant the kid a medal or something _if_ he returns."

Ozai added an extra emphasis on the word 'if', causing Ursa to shudder.

"What are you planning?" Ursa hissed, casting a sharp glare at Ozai, unwittingly holding her knitting needle like a dagger as her motherly conscience kicked in.

"Nothing", Ozai smirked, realizing that he had broken through his wife's defense. "I have, in fact, delivered this special request to Fire Lord Azulon and guess what…"

Ozai's smirk grew a bit wider, making him looked like a cruel hyena wolf bullying a weak helpless bunny hamster.

"… he agreed", Ozai finished his sentence, getting up from his seat and stated to walk away. But, Ursa called out.

"Agreed to what?" she asked again, almost unable to suppress her stutter.

"To granting the kid the greatest honor of all", was all Ozai said before he left Ursa trembling in the room.

* * *

A week later…

A day after Commander Zhao's squadron arrived at the Western Earth Base, Masa and the rest of Jiang's man arrived at Yu Guo. And the next day, 212th Battalion under General Jiang went home…

And now, they were approaching the Imperial City Harbor where hundreds of people were waiting for the return of their families and, moreover, to get a closer look at their new hero, the eleven year old son of General Jiang: Lin, the twenty sixth. Lin's contribution in capturing the Western Earth Base had made him some sort of a living legend already. Why? First of all, the Western Earth Base was the strongest military base in the Earth Kingdom, capturing it in one day was amazing. Furthermore, Lin had outdone both his father, General Jiang, and his father's rival, General Fong. General Jiang took down the base in six days with thirty men. General Fong recaptured the base in one night raid with fifty men. But Lin, he tore down the gate and claimed the base in the name of the Fire Nation in less than one day with only ten men!

And so, yes… you guessed it: a parade was in order. In Admiral Liang' Western Fleet flagship's deck, Jiang and his officers were ready for the parade. All of the officers were mounting on their steeds, Jiang in the middle, proud and tall on his faithful komodo rhino. At his right and left were his commanders: Commander Kang at his left, big, muscular, with wild bushy beard, his intimidating face masked his childish heart; and Commander Masa at his right, slender but well muscled, his cold face radiating wisdom and intelligence. Behind them, their officers were forming a line; among them was the newly promoted Captain Shi, Masa's foster son. And behind them was Lin, mounting on fully armored Birdie, surrounded by the ten men, on their feet, who were with him when he brought the Western Earth Base to its knees. A following order from the Fire Lord had demanded that they descended from the ship with a parade and that Lin and the assault team formed their own formation.

Lin didn't like it at all, though. He hated being at the center of some unwanted attention, he had had enough for a lifetime already at his Ceremony of Ascension. His Ceremony of Ascension… how long had it been? Just a year ago but it felt like forever since he stood there on the stage, beaten, burnt, and exhausted but not defeated.

Ceremony of Ascension… his clan's greatest challenge which brings the greatest honor any members of the family could ever achieve: to be a 'Lin'. He had never liked it to be honest. He thought it was outdated, unfair. Why eighteen? The national standard for coming of age had changed to sixteen since four centuries ago, yes, so it was actually a good thing. But, why must eighteen? Many of the clansmen like his father and Biao had never got a chance to complete the challenge just because they were just a bit too late in mastering the 16 basic forms of the Celestial Dragon Style. And Cousin Shi…

Yes, the blood of the Lin Family didn't run in Shi's vein. Lin could still remember the story of how Shi came into the family. It was all started from Masa; he hadn't always been the sour cold man he was. If you looked at him and compared him with Jiang and Kang, you'd think that Masa was the oldest of the three because of the constant scowl in his face made him look old; Kang the second oldest because although he had bushy beard and clearly the largest among the three, he had an undeniable childish glint in his eyes; and Jiang as the youngest because of his cleanly shaved face. The fact was quite the opposite: Jiang was the first born, Kang was the second, and Masa was the third. And there were times when Masa wasn't such, as many children in the clan said, a sourpuss.

Masa used to have children of his own, two sons and one unborn child. When his youngest son turned thirteen, he took both his sons to the war, hoping that they could learn something from it. It was six years ago. Masa's sons had got a bit overconfident in a battle and had to pay dearly for their arrogance. They were killed and Masa was devastated. The tragic loss had also affected his pregnant wife and sent her into a deep depression until Masa went home with the bodies of his two sons only to find his wife and his unborn baby died of it. But, almost everyone blamed it on Shi, saying that the eleven year old Shi was the cause of misfortune.

In the same battle, before his son's were killed, Masa's unit was being ambushed by the enemy. One of his friends took a fatal blow for him. The man was gravely injured but before the man died, Masa had promised him that he would look after the man's young son, Shi. And as soon as they arrived at the Fire Nation, Masa went and took the boy, who was waiting for his real father to come home in the harbor, with him.

And somehow, many people accused Shi to be the portent of the great tragedy. The elders refused Masa's decision to adopt Shi but Jeong Jeong and Umma fought their decision. In the end, Masa was allowed to adopt the boy but he wasn't allowed to teach the boy anything about the family's firebending style, arguing that since the boy didn't have the noble blood of Yi, the Great in him, he must never allowed to learn the art. And again, Jeong Jeong interfered. During one of the public celebrations in which many guests from outside the household were attending, Jeong Jeong formally welcomed Shi into the family, granting him the family traditional beaded bracelet and the student's armband. The elders were aghast because granting the armband meant that Shi would be permitted to learn the Celestial Dragon Style but there was nothing they could do.

And so, Masa taught the boy the 16 basic forms which Shi mastered in four years when he turned fifteen. Logically, he should be allowed to take on the challenge of the Ceremony of Ascension. But, the elders were strongly against the idea; again, saying that the Ceremony was only for the _real_ family member. Needless to say, Jeong Jeong fought back but Shi stopped him, saying that he didn't want to cause any trouble for Jeong Jeong. Shi then vowed to not only obey the elders' decision but also to refuse learning the higher forms family art, which meant that he would stay in the student rank forever and would never learn anything about the 36 advanced forms.

_What a joke!_ Lin bitterly thought, glancing his cousin's back. The elders were a bunch of old fools. Lin knew very well that Shi was one of the most talented firebenders in his generation. After joining the army, Shi studied the army standardized style of firebending and implemented it in his own firebending, creating a unique style of his own. The result? In his generation, maybe only Lin, Biao, and a handful other cousins had skills that could even be compared to Shi's prowess. The elders' decision to forbid Shi to learn the 36 advanced forms was really, really stupid. Moreover, many members of the family ostracized Shi because of his origin, but Lin did not. He had always treated Shi with the respect one should expect from a younger cousin although Shi had always been quite cold and distant to him, naturally, because Lin was the next in line for the seat of the head of the family.

Yes, of course… Lin had always forgotten that he would be the next head of the family. _Well_, Lin thought again, _when I become one, I'll lift the ban from Cousin Shi. To hell with the elders!_

"We're about to land!" the ship's captain yelled from the control room, snapping Lin of his thought. "Ready the formation!"

Jiang cast a glance around him, nodding at his officers who nodded back. He then turned back to Lin who also nodded back. Lin felt like his stomach had turned upside down when he saw the sea of red and black standing on the pier; hundreds of people from various families, occupations, and social status were flooding the pier in the windy winter afternoon. The climate in the Fire Nation was significantly warmer than the other three nations and it had never snowed in the winter, only cold winds and occasionally storm. Even Birdie looked nervous. The ostrich horse stirred around nervously at the spot as the loud booming cheer from the crowd reached their ears. Only ten meters before they docked…

"I hate crowds…" Lin admitted.

"A bit too late for that, Young Master", Chit Sang grinned, handling Birdie's rein; a precaution suggested by Jiang, no doubt, to prevent Lin from running away with Birdie.

"But still", Lin sighed, feeling a strange yet strangely familiar heart pounding sensation. "What's the point? I mean, they don't even know me."

"That's the point, Young Master", Chey replied this time. "They want to know you. That's why they're here."

"But, I don't want to know them", Lin insisted.

"Well, Young Master", Chey chuckled, the ship had come to a stop and Jiang's formation were already descending now. "It's one against, say, three, four hundreds. You lose."

And so, with Lin grumbling, Chey took Birdie's rein at the other side and together with Chit Sang, he guided the steed, with their young hero on it, forward followed by the rest of the assault team. And as soon as they stepped on the land, the crowds exploded into an ever louder cheer. From where they landed, the crowd stood at the sides of a wide path at the end of which Fire Prince Ozai were waiting with the rest of the High Military Council. The crowds were separated from their heroes by two lines of guards, barricading them with their spear handles. And the people who were the nearest to the path were throwing red rose petals to the heroes, symbolizing the nation's color. Lin kept his composure, battling nervous breakdown in the inside while Chey, Chit Sang and the rest of the soldiers waved and smiled back to the crowds proudly, reveling in their hard-earned popularities.

And as the assault team arrived behind Jiang and his officers, Ozai lifted his hand, silencing the crowds. As the representative of Fire Lord Azulon who preferred not to go out at this windy day, he must formally welcomed Jiang and the 212th Battalion.

"Welcome back", Ozai said in booming voice. "General Jiang and the 212th Battalion."

And the crowds cheered again for about a minute before dying out once more. It was understandable why they would be so excited about this victory. A military campaign usually lasted for months, even years. And yet, after being gone for about two weeks, General Jiang had pacified the Western Shore of the Earth Kingdom completely. Moreover, in the battle, a new hero was born. In the time of war, magnificent victories and achievements like this are always a good thing; it gives people hope.

"Your victory is magnificent, indeed", Ozai continued. "With the Western Shore of the Earth Kingdom pacified, General Iroh's flank will be secured. And the Dragon of the West may focus all his strength in conquering Ba Sing Se."

_Although it doesn't matter much_, Ozai added cruelly in his mind, allowing the crowds to cheer again. But in front of hundreds of the Fire Nation citizens, Ozai must keep his perfect magnanimous prince mask on.

"And as I understand, we owe this magnificent victory to a group of heroes, yes?" Ozai said, sounded intrigued. The crowds, reading the gesture, stayed silent although some were pushing around the people in front of them, trying to get a better look at the soldiers.

"Yes, sir", Jiang nodded, smiling proudly, a smile that make Ozai screamed '_Weak!_' inside his head. "May I present to you our assault team, the ones who made this victory possible."

Jiang gestured his hand and his officers moved away from him, making way for the real heroes. Chey and Chit Sang pulled Birdie and Lin forward, followed by the rest of the men. And once they reached Jiang, they formed two neat lines at Jiang's sides with Lin and Birdie with their handlers at Jiang's right.

"And I present to you, Sergeant Chit Sang of the 212th Battalion's 5th Division!" Jiang roared, drawing a loud cheer from the crowd. "Captain Chey, of the Western Fleet's elite demolition team!"

And Jiang yelled out the names of the assault team one by one, stopping briefly after each names to let the crowds cheered on them and the said man to enjoy the admiration until…

"And the leader of this team of brave men!" Jiang roared at the silent crowds. "My own son! The heir of the Lin Family! I give you…"

Jiang turned to Lin, noticing that the boy narrowed his eyes sharply at him. Jiang grinned briefly, realizing well that the boy was annoyed at him. "The Battalion Strategist of the 212th Battalion, Lin the twenty sixth!!!"

The crowds exploded again into a cheer, even louder than before this time. Rose petals flew again through the air and Lin awkwardly smiled back at the crowds. He seriously didn't recognize anyone among them. Well, maybe that wasn't entirely true. He did see some people he knew, most from his Ceremony of Ascension, like some other noble children like Mai and Ty Lee, standing with their families, and those two conceited looking kids, Chan and Ruon Jian, sons of some prominent military officers; Chu, the arrow-in-a-pot stand owner, waving energetically at him; Lady Wen, his father's current date who smiled brightly at him… or at his father, it was rather unclear; and three other ladies whom he recalled as his father's date # 34, #21, and #16. He suspected that there were more of Jiang's ex-dates attending the welcoming but he didn't really care.

"Of course", Ozai addressed the assault team after the cheer died out again. "Know that your efforts and contributions will not go unrewarded. I am pleased to inform that Fire Lord Azulon would like to reward you himself."

Chey and the rest of the assault team's eyes were widened. An audience with Fire Lord Azulon? It was a privilege since Fire Lords didn't show themselves often to the crowds. Lin and Jiang, however, were unfazed. They already knew about it from the letter.

"And now, come", Ozai said in a firm tone. "Fire Lord Azulon is waiting in the imperial palace. We have kept him waiting long enough."

And with that, he went to his palanquin and entered the vehicle; the rest of the High Military Council did the same. Ozai's palanquin then moved ahead, leading the procession followed closely by the High Military Council's palanquins. Ten meters behind them, Jiang and his officers ride slowly, evening their paces with the palanquins, this time with Lin at Jiang's side. Jiang was tempted to allow Chit Sang and Chey to let go of the ostrich horse's rein and join the procession with the rest of assault team, who were following closely behind him, but he thought that it was better to be safe at this time. Who knows what Lin would do if no one was restraining his steed. And another ten meters behind them, the rest of the battalions were marching neatly. And apparently, more people were flooding the sides of the streets all way to the imperial palace, cheering and throwing rose petals.

It took a while before they reached the Imperial Palace's main gate. When they arrived, however, the crowds stopped following them. For civilians to enter the palace ground without permission, it meant death sentence. And so, Jiang and his battalion entered the palace without them, most of them anyway. Nobles who were with the crowds entered the palace too. There would be a welcoming party and they were actually invited. Riders dismounted their steeds, allowing some servants to handle them and took them to the stables. Ozai, after getting off from his palanquin, led the people inside to the palace.

They followed Ozai, striding across the vast front lawn, into the palace's main hall. And as they entered the main hall, they were greeted by the sight of the room, filled with tables supporting varieties of food and drinks on them, and many servants waiting at the tables, ready to serve the guests. While the noble guests and the members of the High Military Council members swiftly moved in and helping themselves with the food and drinks, none of Jiang's men moved a muscle. Admiral Liang and his men were about to go to the tables too but Jiang and his men's steadiness discouraged them to do so. Jiang turned to his men, delivering a short speech, reminding them to watch their manner, and then dismiss them. Ozai smirked at this; Jiang was certainly a good leader. The discipline of his men, it was amazing and Ozai found himself silently admiring the general.

"Come on, son", Jiang jerked his head towards the table. "Let's find yourself some tea."

"Tea?" Lin asked before he realized what that meant. "Oh… Dad, don't remind me…"

He suddenly felt queasy. Seasickness… In the excitement during the parade, he had somehow forgotten about it until Jiang mentioned tea.

"Come on", Jiang snickered, guiding his son who suddenly turned pale to the nearest table.

And soon, everyone seemed to be enjoying the party. Jiang was caught by a flock of military officers who offered them congratulations for his latest victory and asking him to recount the battle for them. Lin, slyly excusing himself from his father, the other officers, and their boring talk, joined Chey, Chit Sang, and some other soldiers he befriended. He seemed to be enjoying the party more than Jiang.

"What do you think our reward is?" Chit Sang started, holding a glass of fruit juice. Nope, no alcohols at the party; a strict order from Fire Lord Azulon since some children would be attending.

"Money", a soldier, the member of the assault team who had a pregnant wife, sighed hopefully. His wound had healed up nicely. "I could use some to open up a store or something."

"You're retiring from the army?" another soldier, the one with a brother at home, asked incredulously.

"No", the soldier with a pregnant wife chuckled. "Not yet, even though I want to. I'm opening the store for my sister-in-law. After hearing about my wife pregnancy, she decided to move in to my home, to help my wife. And well, with me on the frontline, they're gonna need a more stable source of income, right?"

"Good point", Chit Sang nodded.

"What about you?" the soldier asked Chit Sang.

"Me?" Chit Sang laughed. "Well, I did see some pretty bracelet at the jewelry store that will look good on my girlfriend's pretty little hand. A bit pricey, but she's worth it."

The soldiers burst into laughter; some elbowed Chit Sang playfully, while Lin felt a strange jolt on his chest. _Bracelet_? He thought, being reminded of a certain bracelet he gave to someone. He then laughed inside for the coincidence, trying to erase some weird thoughts that suddenly flashed in his mind. He was no longer listening to the conversation as his mind drifted off which was why he was a bit surprised when…

"You, Young Master?" Chey asked, grinning.

"Huh?" Lin gaped. "Oh, the reward? Um, I don't know really…"

"What?" Chey chuckled. "There's must be something you want to spend the money on. Some… erm, pfft… toys?"

Lin narrowed his eyes at the captain while the other soldiers were snickering. Sometimes they forgot that Lin was still a kid.

"No", Lin replied curtly, then thinking hard. What did he want to spend his money on? He really didn't want or need anything. But, wait! There was something he wanted… "I know. I want to use the money to buy some good medicine for my aunt."

Yes, Aunt Bing... of course. How could he not remember!

"Your aunt, Young Master?" Chey asked, no longer laughing. The other soldiers were also suddenly looked serious; the boy's reply had made them felt a bit guilty for making fun of him.

"Yes", Lin replied. "My aunt is sick. She has been for a long time. If there is a cure for her sickness, then I want to buy it."

The rest of them men felt silence, touched by the boy's innocent wish. But before any of them could say anything else, the front door creaked open. Almost all heads turned to the door and stood there was Princess Ursa, elegant in her dress robe, with her children, Fire Price Zuko and Fire Princess Azula. The three of them smiled to the room and stepped in, drawing polite salutes or bows from those who were standing near the door and a scowl from Ozai. He and Ursa might have a deal about Ursa not concerning herself with _his_ daughter anymore but in this occasion, where hundreds of people would be present, Ozai was obliged keep a happy family façade. That was why he must allow Ursa to attend the party with Azula, an obligation that Ursa was sure to take advantage of.

Lin, too, was staring at the three. Zuko seemed to notice this because he waved back enthusiastically and, after whispering something to his mother, strode to Lin. Lin felt that his friends were creeping away from him as Zuko approached. He didn't blame them; Zuko was a royalty while they were just soldiers. They didn't want to risk offending Zuko in any way or it'd be their heads on the line.

"Hey", Zuko grinned, receiving a glass of juice Lin offered. "Heard you played a big role."

"Yep", Lin grinned back. "Battalion Strategist, dude. How cool is that?"

"Wow", Zuko sighed in awe. "I didn't hear about you being the Battalion Strategist. Did you get a rank too?"

"No", Lin laughed. "I'm gonna have to wait for two more years for a rank."

"But still", Zuko snickered. "You took the Western Base all by yourself. They should have given you a rank."

"Military laws don't work that way, dumb-dumb", a sweet but venomous voice came from behind Zuko. Both boys turned to the voice to find Princess Azula, crossing her arms, narrowing her amber eyes at her brother.

"Why not?" Zuko argued, a bit red in the face for being called 'dumb-dumb'. "If someone truly deserves it, then the rule must allow it."

"Rules are to be followed, not broken", Azula shrugged offhandedly. "Or have you forgotten this simple fact, Zuzu?"

"Don't call me that!" Zuko snapped.

"Princess!" Lin stepped in, feeling that he must prevent the incoming Agni Kai. "It's been a while."

"Yes, it has", Azula smiled at him, softer than the mocking smirk he had been giving to Zuko. "How was the battle?"

"Well", Lin hesitated, should he really tell her about how terrible and horrifying war is? Maybe not. "You know, not really good."

"Not really good?" Azula repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah", Lin replied. But, he was saved from having to give a more adequate explanation by a gong that rang loudly, drawing everyone's attention to the stage at the other end of the room.

From the stage, emerged an old man. His imposing appearance masked his great age of ninety five, commanding silence and look of respect from everyone across the room. He then sat on the throne-like chair set in the middle of the stage. Fire Lord Azulon, prime in his old age, cast a sweeping gaze across the room, pausing briefly at Lin, before he addressed the whole room.

"Soldiers", his voice was surprisingly full of force, making his wrinkles and gray hair seemed insignificant. "Your hard work in the battle of the Western Earth Base has reached my ears, along with the great news of a group of brave soldiers led by none other than the son of General Jiang. Where are they?"

A soft murmur spread across the room as Jiang and Ozai paced forward to the stage with Jiang gesturing to the assault team to follow him. Lin complied, leaving Zuko and Azula behind after casting a 'wish me luck' glance. The assault team members formed a line behind the two with Lin at the middle because he was the team leader. And they waited there while Jiang introduced their name respectfully to Fire Lord Azulon, starting from Lin's right, skipping on Lin, continued to his left. And at last…

"And the leader of the team", Jiang announced, his voice trembling a bit but his pride was clearly noticeable. "My son, Lin, the twenty sixth."

Azulon didn't show any response. He stared at Lin who bowed deeply at him. Lin bowed and not saluted because he wasn't a soldier, not officially.

"Child", Azulon ordered. "Come closer."

Lin cast a glance from the corner of his eyes at his father who nodded slightly. He then approached the stage, standing as near as possible to the throne. Azulon cast the boy a scrutinizing look, long and sharp, before he addressed the group again.

"For all of you", he said. "Your contribution will not go unrewarded. Five hundred gold pieces will be the reward for each of you."

Lin bowed again, noticing that the rest of the assault team saluted the Fire Lord, beaming and grateful for the generous reward. Five hundred gold pieces…with that amount of money the soldier with a pregnant wife could open up a whole market and Chit Sang could get his girlfriend a box full of bracelets.

"There is more for you", Azulon added, speaking exclusively to Lin. "Your contribution, young man, was very substantial. Without you, the Western Earth Base would still be a thorn at my son, Iroh's, side. You have assisted not only the 212th Battalion under your father but also High General Iroh who is fighting at Ba Sing Se."

Azulon got up, standing tall and imposing. He then paced forward, closer to Lin who were standing below the stage. Suddenly, a hand gripped Lin's shoulder, almost caused him to jump. Ozai had come to him and dragged him by his shoulder up to the stage via a stair at the side of the stage. He then put Lin standing beside Azulon, facing the crowd.

"Young man", Azulon continued, Ozai moved in behind him. "You have contributed greatly to our glorious Fire Nation's struggle in Ba Sing Se. thanks to you, the Dragon of the West will not have to worry about his flanks and he will be able to concentrate on his own fight. Despite your young age, you have shown great might, courage, and ferocity… worthy of those of a _dragon_."

Azulon smirked at the last word. "Traditionally, you will need to kill a real dragon for this but since my son, Iroh, has made it impossible…"

Azula laughed while Lin's eyes widened. _What does he mean by that?_ he thought.

"Lin, the twenty sixth", Azulon raised his voice, his tone of those that demand respect. "On your knees."

Lin complied, slumping on his knees respectfully ala Agni Kai. Azulon moved closer and put his hand on Lin's head; bending down because Lin was too short… maybe I should say too little. It's less offensive.

"You have shown great prowess in your firebending", Azulon continued. "Therefore, I, Fire Lord Azulon, will bend the tradition this time. With your strength, courage, and might…"

Lin felt a strange shiver down his spine. He felt both excited and anxious. He wanted to glance at his father or uncles just to make sure that they were still there but he decided not to. Azulon's hand was on his head, he had an inexplicable fear that if he moved his head just slightly, the Fire Lord would set his whole head on fire.

"…especially in your young age, you have proven yourself worthy of this privilege. You have proven yourself worthy of the title _dragon_."

Lin's eyes almost popped out and he was gaping. Dragon! Seriously? He? A dragon? A mere eleven year old kid?

"And now", Lin felt Azulon's hand lifted from his scalp but he dare not look up. Azulon's voice grew even stronger as he commanded: "Rise! Dragon of the Deep Forest!"

* * *

**Author's note:**

Phew… finally the title of this story makes sense. :)

Ursa's proposal and Ozai's plan coming up!

To hpswst101, I received both the review and PM. Thanks for going through all the trouble, by the way. I really appreciate that. :)

About the push ups, well… I don't think anybody can, I certainly can't as well. But, nothing is impossible. Maybe someone can actually pull it off. :) But still, Chit Sang and the others kinda deserved it…

And about the cactus juice, thanks for pointing it out. Hmm… well maybe because the cactus juice was mixed with tea. I do remember reading a book saying that freshly brewed tea can be used to cure mild drunkenness. Maybe that was why Jiang was only drunk instead of turning out like Sokka.

And about Jiang's charm. Funny you mentioned that. When I was planning the story at the beginning, I was about to make Jiang and Lin distant to each other till the very end, even turning them into nemesis like Zuko and Ozai. But as I worked on 'Chapter 19 – Storm', the stormy night scene was screaming for reconciliation between the two. And so, Jiang was transformed into a nice guy and started dating again. And then I remembered your comment about Jeong Jeong got beaten a lot by females and thought, 'why not make it a family trait'. And then you might ask 'will Lin have misfortune with females as well?'

All I can say is: will be revealed in the next chapters. Lin is too young to date for now. :)

Enjoy the chapter!!


	33. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32 – Message**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"The Dragon of the Deep Forest!!!"

Uncle Kang boisterously cheered, raising his cup. Those around him who heard him followed his gesture, raising their cup respectfully to Lin. After granting the title, Fire Lord Azulon retired to his chamber. The rest of the Royal Family stayed, though. The party had gotten a bit more alive as Lin, pacing slowly, feeling a bit lightheaded, down from the stage. He still couldn't believe it… He was now a Dragon, the Dragon of the Deep Forest.

As soon as he stepped down on the floor, a swarm of people came rushing to him. Military officers saluting him, nobles bowing to him, Uncle Kang offering a toast, Lin feeling more lightheaded… too many things to respond to at once. Thankfully, after bowing back to all those people, thanking them politely for their kind words for about five minutes, he finally managed to get himself free and strode towards the table, looking for some familiar faces. His first instinct told him to look for his father and so he did. Lin swept the room with his eyes, looking for Jiang but his eyes met with a pair of amber eyes that didn't belong to his father.

Ursa stood alone at the end of the long table, staring at Lin lovingly and proudly. She walked toward the boy, slowly at first but then her pace grew into a stride until she almost ran to the boy with her arms outstretched. Lin, feeling a strange warm feeling, found himself mimicking Ursa's gesture without him realizing what he was doing. It was as if his body moved on its own accord. And when the two were a meter away, Ursa knelt down and letting the boy to dive into her embrace.

"Welcome home, dear", Ursa choked, holding back his happy tears.

"Thanks, Mo—My Lady", Lin also choked, bewildered as why he felt such a longing feeling like this and why he almost said '_Mom_'… and why he had another one of the mysterious sudden 'vision'.

"Let me take a look at you", Ursa let the boy go and put her hands on his face, wiping his messy bangs off his face so that she could take a good look on the boy's face. Nothing much had changed, Ursa thought. No cuts or scars on his face, thankfully although his eyes looked different somehow… the amber orbs; they shone a bit brighter now, a bit older. They boy must have been through so much and Ursa realized that this was time for her to stop treating the boy like a kid. "Were you hurt?"

Lin was about to answer but Zuko, Azula, and Jiang approached them, distracting both Ursa and Lin from their conversation. An all familiar mysterious glint suddenly appeared on Lin's eyes. He turned to Ursa and said in a very convincing sad voice. "I was hit on my shoulder…"

"What?" Ursa looked shocked, so did Zuko and Azula, although Azula suppressed most of it. "Are you alright? Did it hurt?"

"Yeah", Lin said with a well trained puppy eyes, he even added a sniff for a more dramatic effect. Lin then pointed at Jiang accusingly and said. "His fault!"

"Huh?" Jiang gawked, but Ursa had already stood up and cast him a stabbing glare that she had never given to anyone other than Ozai which she interpreted as an overprotective mother glare.

Lin, grinning in 'payback time' manner to his father, muttered a quick, "See you later!" to both Ursa and Jiang before running away dragging Zuko and Azula with him. Just as Ursa about to explode, he dragged both royalties to the nearest familiar faces he found: Mai and Ty Lee. And soon, all five of them were laughing a safe distance away from Ursa and Jiang, watching Ursa giving Jiang a scolding of the lifetime.

"A Dragon, huh?" Zuko started a conversation, drawing everyone's attention from Ursa who was fuming at Jiang who hung his head down guiltily.

"I gotta say, I didn't see that coming", Lin sighed, feeling a bit uncomfortable under Zuko and Ty Lee's look of admiration. The other two? Well, Mai was… Mai, nothing out of ordinary there, but Azula was casting him a weird look as if the princess was scrutinizing him.

"How are you?" Lin asked her, ignoring Zuko and Ty Lee who were talking to each other energetically about Lin's new title with Mai listening with her usual bored expression.

"Good", Azula answered smoothly. "You?"

"Good", Lin replied. He noticed that the princess had changed so much lately. She no longer stuttered when talking to strangers and seemed more confident in herself. A good thing, maybe… if not for the 'vision' Lin saw when Ursa embraced him. It disturbed him...

----

_There she was lying on her bed, panting and exhausted. But, it was worth it. The healthy cry of the red baby girl she just had made it all worth the effort. The room of the door creaked open and her husband walked in. Ozai looked pale, tortured by concern and fear for the worst for his wife and newly born baby._

"_Are you alright?" he flung himself to his wife's bed side, gently caressing her hair._

"_I'm fine", Ursa whispered back, smiling reassuringly. "It's a girl."_

"_Wha— a-a girl?" Ozai asked back, smiling and his eyes shone with genuine happiness. A boy and a girl in his life, he thought. His life was complete. And as if on cue, a midwife approached the couple, cuddling a bundle in her arms. She then placed the bundle in Ozai's arms and left the room to give the family some privacy and to tell the good news to Princes Iroh and Lu Ten who were waiting patiently with Zuko outside._

"_She's… she's perfect", Ozai sighed, gazing fondly at his daughter. He then placed the back of his fingers at the baby's forehead, checking her temperature. The baby's temperature was normal. "Not a firebender, though."_

"_It's alright", Ursa reassured him, gently caressing the baby's cheek. The baby cooed, turning her head to the direction of Ursa's finger and started sucking it. Ursa and Ozai chuckled lovingly at their daughter. "She's a girl. She doesn't need to learn how to fight."_

"_Yes, of course", Ozai whispered, kissing Ursa's head softly._

"_What are you naming her?" Ursa asked._

"_You want me to name her?" Ozai asked back, not believing what he had just heard._

"_Yes", Ursa nodded weakly, still feeling the repercussion of the earlier delivery process. "I got to name Zuko. Now you name her."_

"_Okay", Ozai drawled, raking his brain for inspiration and finally he got one. "Azula…" _

_----_

"_Dad!" Zuko ran towards them. Ursa and Ozai, cradling two year old Azula in his arms, stooped at their track. Both husband and wife turned to their son, who skidded in front of them, grinning enthusiastically. Even Azula jerked her head toward her brother, eyeing him curiously._

"_Dad", Zuko exclaimed, ignoring Azula who waved both her tiny hands at him, trying to reach out to him while chattering 'Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu!' happily. "See what I can do. Cousin Lu Ten just showed me this move."_

_And Zuko steeped back two meters away, facing to the side. He inhaled air calmly, exhaled just as calmly, breathed in again… and then he abruptly jumped and landed in a central stance, his fists set on his sides. In a second, he punched his right fist, exhaling violently and something came out of his fist, looked like fire… well, definitely fire but it would be an overstatement to actually call it fire. The orange streak that spewed out from the young prince's fist was more like a 'spark' than a 'fire'. _

"_Huh?" Zuko looked confused, then punched again, and again, and again… and he failed each times, growing more and more frustrated. Ursa and Ozai smiled at him while Azula, as innocent as she was, laughed out loud. Zuko cast a murder glare at her. Ozai, handing Azula who was still giggling over to Ursa, approached him, distracting him and his hurt pride from his sister's mocking gesture._

"_Zuko", Zuko's annoyed expression made him laughed a bit, but then he was serious again yet still grinning. "This is how you do it…"_

_----_

"_I'll do it."_

"_No, I'll do it", Ursa persisted._

"_Oh, come on", Ozai didn't want to give up. "You've got your chance yesterday. It's my turn now."_

_Ursa raised her hands in a surrender gesture, smiling. Well, Ozai did have a good rebuttal. And so, grinning triumphantly, Ozai entered the room where three years old Azula was sitting in front of a table, a clean sheet of parchment and a set of writing brush and ink plate sat neatly in front of her._

"_Where's Mom?" Azula quickly demanded, pouting at his father._

"_Your Mom is a bit busy today", Ozai pulled his sleeve, allowing him to move his hands more comfortably. "I'll be teaching you today."_

_And so he did, a good father patiently teaching his daughter calligraphy. Ozai slowly guided his daughter's hand from behind as she stroked the parchment, forming the traditional characters of the literature. Every now and then kind praises would escape the father's mouth, met with the daughter's smug smiles or giggles. And a pair of amber eyes peeked from behind the door, smiling as she watched them. And at that moment, Ursa realized that she was the luckiest wife and mother in the Fire Nation._

_----_

"_Is it ready?" Ozai paced quickly toward her, peeking on the content of the steaming bowl she had on the tray she was holding._

"_Yes", Ursa replied, smiling. Her husband had been a bit panicky since Azula caught a cold during their vocation in Amber Island. "It's hot!"_

_But, too late. Ozai had grasp the steaming bowl with his bare hands, grimacing a bit, taking it from Ursa's tray and quickly striding towards Azula's room with the bowl. Luckily, Iroh, Lu Ten, and Zuko were at the beach building a sand castle or something. That meant he wouldn't run into anyone. He quickly entered Azula's room, where the four year old girl was lying on her bed inside her blanket. Ozai almost run, still keeping the bowl steady and trying not to spill any soup, when he approached the girl's nightstand. He put the steaming bowl on the nightstand, taking his red hot hands of the bowl and comically screamed agonizingly, drawing a giggle from Azula's tiny mouth._

"_There, phew…" Ozai acted normal again, grinning and kneeling down beside Azula's bed, ready to feed the sick princess. "Okay… let's see. Spoon… and this… okay! Say aaaa…"_

"_Aa…Aa…" Azula did say 'aaaaa…' but it was because she was about to let go a sneeze._

"_Whoa", Ozai quickly put the spoon back to the soup and pulled Azula's bed cover, ready to cover her mouth when she sneezed. Azula sneezed into the cloth her father was holding and in a split second, fire spewed out from the girl's nose, burning the cloth._

_Both father and daughter's amber eyes were widened at the sight. Ozai quickly pulled the whole bed cover off, throwing it to the ground away from his daughter. He then turned to Azula, still gaping._

"_Sorry…" Azula muttered weakly, grinning nervously. And Ursa watched the whole thing from the door._

_----_

_She didn't know how it happened... _

_All she did know was that love was now fear, smile turned to scowl, the simple 'I love you' she had been taken from granted was now lost forever. Ozai had changed, she knew it. She loved him more than anything in the world; she knew every inch of him, every corner of his heart. And she knew that her once perfect husband was now lost forever._

"_Ouch!"_

"_Sorry", Ursa muttered apologetically, tending her son's injury. How it pained her heart to see her son burnt and beaten each time he finished with his daily firebending training with Ozai. Not too long ago, Ursa would always watch the training, with Azula at her side, watching Ozai and Zuko going through the moves and forms of manipulating fire, hearing screams of frustration from Zuko's mouth met with kind laugh and patient instruction from Ozai's smile. But, it was all in the past now._

"_Mom?" Azula trotted inside the room, carrying a book. "Mom, could you help me with my study? I don't know what this character means."_

"_Just a minute, honey", Ursa managed to smile. "I'll be—"_

"_Go ask Dad to help!" Zuko snapped, annoyed. "Mom's busy with my injury."_

"_I don't want to!" Azula snapped back, pouting and crossing her arms. "I want Mom."_

"_Azula, honey", Ursa cut in, feeling a sharp prick in her heart. "Listen sweetheart, I'll help you as soon as I finished with your brother, okay? Just for another minute."_

"_Hmph!" Azula huffed, sticking out her tongue at Zuko and ran out of the room. Ursa sighed at her, her daughter… innocent and perfect in her eyes. She must save her, yes. Ozai's influence hadn't touched her yet and Ursa must protect her, keep her save._

_But, how…?_

_And suddenly a pair of cheerful laughter came from outside the room as two kids ran past the door._

"_Come on, Lu Ten", a ponytailed boy goaded the prince, running beside him. "Go! Go! I'll hold him!"_

"_Don't die, my friend" Lu Ten melodramatically said, running ahead leaving his friend there to hold the rampaging Dragon of the West off. _

"_Gotcha!" Iroh arrived, not stopping and grabbing the ponytailed kid easily and chasing Lu Ten around while carrying the kid on his shoulder. All three were laughing. "Give me my tea back!"_

_Ursa smiled at them. Yes, of course. There was hope for Azula yet. The Lin Family…_

_----_

_Fear… Anger… Hatred… Sympathy… all mixed up inside her, petrifying her from the inside. She had just seen him finished off three prisoners. What the purpose of showing her all this violence was, Ursa could only guess. But, she must know._

"_Why are you showing me this?" she asked with a trembling voice._

"_Oh, that?" Ozai chuckled evilly, pointing casually at the stage where some guards were dragging what was left of the earthbender warrior he had just killed away from the stage. "I was having a dead match, wasn't I? I could be killed. It would be understandable if I wanted my beloved wife to be by my side, wouldn't it?"_

_He ran his hand gently on Ursa's cheek, caressing her skin and Ursa closed her eyes so that she wouldn't have to see her husband's mocking grin. "Please, Ozai", she finally said, still trembling. "I am not stupid."_

"_Of course you're not", Ozai laughed, only to make Ursa shivered more violently. "One of the reasons why I married you, my love. Unlike any other women, you are not stupid. Never stupid."_

_He laughed even harder. Ursa, gathering all courage left in her, turned to him. There were times when Ozai's laugh was sweet and soothing, when his smile was warm and calming, when she loved him more than anything in the world. It felt like so long ago when she would do anything to hear her husband laugh, to see him smile… long ago, when his laughter was free and sincere while watching Zuko trying and failing to perform a rather complicated firebending technique to impress him, when his smile was wide and kind while guiding Azula's tiny hand during the girl's calligraphy lessons… when their family was truly happy…_

"_Just tell me what you want from me", Ursa asked again with a forced calmness in her voice, trying to hold back her tears._

_----_

_Azula was walking lazily, yawning and unaware that her parents were watching her at the end of the corridor. It seemed like she was about to go to sleep because she turned to the corner and disappeared to the direction of her room. Ozai was taunting her, Ursa knew. But she didn't care, she would spring that trap. She wanted her daughter… she wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to say that she loved her more than anything in the world._

"_Let me say goodnight to her", she pleaded, her voice was trembling so much she almost stuttered._

"_No", Ozai replied curtly, unaffected by his wife's pitiful expression. "Remember the deal, wife."_

"_I-I know…" Ursa bit back her tears. "But please… just this once. J-just this once, please. I'm begging you, Ozai."_

"_No", Ozai said again even colder. "You've made your choice, remember? She's __mine__."_

"_Please, Ozai", Ursa could feel her eyes filling with tears. "Just this once. This will be the last time, I swear. __Please!__ Let me say goodnight to her."  
"I said no!" Ozai snapped, he was getting impatient by Ursa's childish demand._

"_Please…" Ursa persisted. "I'm begging you…"_

"_Don't worry, my dear wife. I'm not that heartless", Ozai chuckled before grinning like a demon from hell, cruel and wicked. "__I__ will say goodnight to her for __you__."_

"_What?! No, no…"_

_But it was too late. Ozai had paced to the direction where Azula had gone as slowly as he could, adding insult to Ursa's injury._

"_Remember, Ursa", Ozai paused and turned a little, warning her. "You've made your choice."_

_----_

"Lin", Zuko shook his shoulder, snapping him from his thought.

"Huh?" he gaped at the prince. Instead of answering, Zuko jerked his head at the man who were talking in a loud voice and rude manner. A tall, slender, and smug-looking man in his high ranking military armor, talking loudly surrounded by some other military officers. Admiral Chan, as Lin recalled, was his grandfather's colleague. Quite a powerful firebender, his grandfather once said.

"—Dragon? Give me a break!" he laughed mockingly. "The kid doesn't look old enough to even change his underpants by himself!"

"Admiral", another officer muttered, holding his shoulder. "Please don't cause any trouble."

"Or what?" Admiral Chan slapped the man's hand away. "I'm just speaking the truth. Hell, I'm speaking for everyone here. Ask around! I'm sure I'm not the only one who doubted if the kid had what it takes to be a Dragon."

He then intentionally stared mockingly at Lin before he continued. "To be a Dragon, you must slay an actual dragon. Dragons are the ultimate firebenders, to defeat one meant you are stronger than a dragon", he snickered. "He doesn't prove anything by taking down a base. Any half good soldier can do that."

Lin noticed from the corner of his eyes his father, Uncle Kang, and some other officers and soldiers from 212th Battalion glare at Admiral Chan sharply. Some had their fists balled up, Jiang looked like he was struggling to keep his temper in check. So, before any of them could do anything, Lin approached the admiral, who was talking even louder at the almost silent room.

"I accept", Lin said simply.

"Accept what?" Admiral Chan spat.

"An Agni Kai, of course", Lin ignored the almost uniform gasps from across the room.

"What are you talking about, kid?!" Admiral Chan snapped, sneering hatefully at Lin.

"Oh, I'm sorry", Lin feigned a not convincing surprised look. "I thought you were doubting my skill as a firebender. You see, normally when you doubt somebody's skill; you challenged them into an Agni Kai, to see their skill for yourself. Oh, or haven't thought about this before. Spirits… I've heard that Admiral Chan of the Western Fleet is dense and stupid but never in my life had I thought you are _this_ dense _and_ stupid."

Admiral Chan's face hardened up, he felt as if Lin had just thrown a heap of komodo rhino dung on his face when half of the room burst into laughter. With his face red with anger and embarrassment and voice cold with hatred, he snarled. "An Agni Kai it is. Tomorrow I—"

"Aw… the idiot needs a break. Can't take me on today?" Lin sneered, realizing that he would just make the man angrier. But, no, he didn't care, this was all part of plan. He would beat the man up even if it was only in a verbal spar. "You know today. Today… To-day… this day. Here… Now… Get it? Or should I go slower?"

Lin spoke slowly as if he Admiral Chan was mentally challenged. Chan's face grew redder; he could feel his blood boiling.

"Then today it is!"

* * *

"Why did you have to do that?" Jiang asked, holding on Lin's breastplate.

"No reason, really", Lin casually replied, throwing another piece of his armor to his father.

Both of them, plus Ursa, were inside a room where Lin would be prepared to face the Agni Kai with Admiral Chan. Ursa had been strangely silent, holding a piece shoulder garment and a pair of red arm circlets that Lin would be wearing later. Needless to say, she was against the idea of Agni Kai. Watching the boy facing his Ceremony of Ascension was enough torture for Ursa but she knew that no matter how hard she persuaded him to take back the challenge, Lin wouldn't listen to her. Recklessness seemed to run in the family, she thought.

"And besides", Lin added, throwing his shirt and his armguards at Jiang. "Don't tell me that you wouldn't do the same."

"Honestly son, I wouldn't challenge Admiral Chan into an Agni Kai if I were you", Jiang shrugged. Ursa turned to the general, her eyes widened and her face lit up. Perhaps, he was wrong about the man, after all… perhaps Jiang was a better man than she thought he was…

"If I were you, son, I'd kill him right where he stands."

… of course he would! Ursa's smile and admiration disappeared as quickly as a raindrop on a dessert.

"Oh yeah", Lin looked up to Jiang, pausing in the middle of unfastening his boot. "Why didn't I think of that? Ugh…"

"Experience, son", Jiang nodded sagely. "Experience."

Ursa cast a nasty look at the general. Thankfully, Jiang didn't notice. Receiving the boots and the jade flute from his son, Jiang turned to Ursa and nodded. Ursa's stare held fast on Jiang for another minute while Jiang turned to the nearest cupboard to store his son's armor. Apparently, Jiang didn't realized that Ursa was imagining some quite brutal ways of what she referred to as 'punishing' him for teaching some inappropriate things involving unnecessary fighting and violence to Lin.

"I'll be fine", Lin's soft voice snapped Ursa of the thought of her strangling Jiang from behind with the shoulder garment and lighting his top-knot on fire.

"I know you will", Ursa sighed, trying and failing to smile.

"I have my own reason", Lin whispered so that Jiang couldn't hear him.

"I know", Ursa lied. She still believed that Lin challenging Admiral Chan was because of the folly of pride.

"You have to trust me, Lady Ursa", Lin said again, smiling reassuringly. Ursa barely managed to hold her gasp. For a split second Lin smiled at her, she could have sworn that she saw Lian in him…

"I do", Ursa knelt down and pulled the boy into an embrace, suddenly feeling an urge to cry. But, she mustn't… not now, at least. Now, she must be strong for Lin.

"But still…" Jiang had joined them but Ursa still refused to let Lin go. "The Dragon of the Deep Forest. Talk about irony…"

"Yeah", Lin chuckled bitterly, Ursa finally let him go. "Who says Fire Lord Azulon has no sense of humor?"

"You know what you have to do, right?" Jiang asked, sounded stern and serious. "And I'm not talking about Agni Kai here."

"I know, Dad", Lin replied offhandedly while Ursa put on the arm circlets on his arms. "I'm not stupid."

Yes, Lin wasn't stupid. The Dragon of the Deep Forest wasn't just a title, it was also a warning.

* * *

Fire Nation Imperial Palace has its own Agni Kai arena. But, Lin and Admiral Chen wouldn't be using that arena. The spectators were too many to fit into the place. And so, they would be using the main hall instead. They would be fighting in the stage where Fire Lord Azulon granted the title of Dragon to Lin, a fitting place for this easy victory, Lin thought. Yes, easy… if there was anything he learnt from his journey to the Western Shore, it was the army standardized style from Chit Sang and some other soldiers. His grandfather once told him that the army standardized style teaches its practitioners to throw fire at their opponents in some fashionable ways and Lin agreed completely with that. The only merits it has was its simplicity and its faster execution of techniques. The magnitude, however, depends completely on the practitioner's physique and forms not on the control and chi manipulation. A very rigid and primitive ways to firebend.

And Lin would use this to create an advantage over Admiral Chan. Lin and Admiral Chan knelt down, back at each other, each at one end of the stage; both were bare-chested and bare-footed, wearing two red arm circlets on their arms and a shoulder garment. Admiral Chan knelt down in front of some officers who sided with him in his objection to Fire Lord Azulon granting Lin the title of Dragon, while Lin knelt down in front of Jiang, Masa, and Kang. Jiang's expression was hard to read, Masa looked stern as usual, while Kang cast a stabbing glare at Admiral Chan's back as if he was trying to kill the insolent moron with his stare.

"As your father", Jiang started, looking serious. "I'd say you shouldn't do this, this is too dangerous, blah, blah, blah…"

Lin looked up to him, smirking.

"But, as your master", Jiang smirked back. "I'd say 'go kick his butt, son'."

"Yes, Master", Lin grinned, standing up, turning back and letting the shoulder garment slide down to the floor. Admiral Chan did the same and, in unison, all but the combatants descended from the stage. Admiral Chan readied his stance but Lin didn't move a muscle. He didn't have to.

The room fell silent once more, waiting for the gong that signified the beginning of the duel to sound. Lin not falling into a stance seemed to fuel Admiral Chan's hatred toward him. The admiral cast Lin a scornful glare while Lin kept his eyes fixed calmly on his opponent. To take your eyes from your opponent during a fight is unwise, Lin knew this. And because of this, he didn't notice a worried look Ursa gave him, the look of excitement on Zuko and Ty Lee's faces, Mai who showed a slight interest in the coming duel, Azula who was struggling between excitement and keeping her cool, Ozai who gazed him with a subtle hunger expression, Shi who remained expressionless, or Jiang, Kang, and Masa who stared at him confidently.

Lin didn't notice them and it didn't matter to Lin, not now. Now, all that matter was teaching some lesson to Admiral Chan. Normally, he wouldn't even care if someone was berating him like what Admiral Chan did. But, he knew that he must do this. Fire Lord Azulon was sending him a warning by bestowing him the title Dragon of the Deep Forest and Lin, he must send a reply. This match, this victory would be a message to the Fire Lord and to those who doubted him.

The Dragon of the Deep Forest… There is an ancient proverb, 'a deer that lives in a forest know not of the life of a city'. The proverb meant an ignorant person is like 'a deer that lives in a forest', he doesn't know 'the life of a city', he doesn't know the way of the world. Fire Lord Azulon was meaning to say That Lin was too young to know 'the life of a city', to live the life of a soldier. Lin's achievement in capturing the Western Earth Base meant nothing to Azulon, and, probably, to many other people like Admiral Chan. They all probably believed that it was just a fluke, a stroke of luck. The Dragon of the Deep Forest… Lin was a 'dragon' that came from a 'deep forest' in Azulon's eyes, a mere kid who knew how to firebend but knew nothing about warfare. Azulon was sending a warning, yes. It could be that he wanted Lin to earn the title by achieving more spectacular feat so that Lin would truly emerge from the 'deep forest' as a true dragon or that he honestly believe that Lin was worthless and belonged in the 'deep forest'.

But, it didn't matter to Lin. Either way, he was sending a message back, saying that he had received the warning. And the gong rang, ending Lin's thought. It was finally time for action.

Admiral Chan waited for a few seconds for Lin to assume his fighting stance but Lin still didn't move a muscle. He was mocking me, Admiral Chan thought furiously, roaring and punching a large fire blast at Lin. Lin held out his left palm, and halting the fire blast right before it hit him, causing the fire to stay motionless in the air. Fire redirection… the most important core in the Celestial Dragon style of firebending. It enables the practitioner of the style to take control of fire that isn't created by him, external fire if you will. The technique was often regarded as the ultimate form of elemental control because it stresses over the control and manipulation of energy more than any technique ever exists. Lin discovered this technique when he was a student by instinct. And now, as a senior practitioner who had learnt the basic of the technique from his father for a year, stopping and claiming a fire blast as weak as this, it was a child play to him.

"You—" Admiral Chan's face grew red with anger again as he watched Lin extinguishing his fire blast with a lazy wave. Admiral Chan, screaming angrily, punched a series of fire blast, even bigger and stronger than the previous blast. The audience below gasp in awe, some were openly cheering for Lin, as Lin caught the fire blasts one by one and literally threw them away. Admiral Chan, after sending his twentieth something fire blast, was now panting. He chose to adapt defensive stance now. Lin, realizing this, felt that this was his turn to attack. He conjured a fire ball on each palm. He then walked slowly and menacingly forward toward Admiral Chan, molding his fire all the way. He brought the fire together in front of his torso, combining his fire balls. He then paused and assumed a firm stance before thrusting both his palms forward, launching the fire blast effortlessly. Admiral Chan brought his forearms forward, engulfing them with fire to protect himself but he was blasted backward when Lin's fire ball proved more superior than his defense.

Admiral Chan, lying on his back with his arms burnt and shacking from the impact with Lin's fire, cast a frightened look at the boy who paced slowly toward him with a small flickering fire ball on his palm. Lin's face was those of cold emptiness, of ignorant… Lin could have severely injured or even killed Admiral Jerk with his previous fire blast if he wanted to but he didn't fight to kill, he had sworn on the soul of the dead Earth Kingdom soldier that he would never be a murderer. By just defeating Admiral Chan, he could successfully send his reply to Fire Lord Azulon and those other who doubted him, including Admiral Chan himself. _But this_, Lin thought as he compressed the small fire ball on his right palm. _This is a personal punishment for him… okay, I admit it, and for fun._

Fire compression… the time Lin spent after the Battle of the Western Earth Base, he spent most of it trying to perfect this technique. Fire compression was extremely deadly, Lin knew. The wound on the base commander's shoulder was a solid prove; the small compressed fire ball punched a burnt hole all way though the man's shoulder bone, the commander could no longer use his arm. But still, the technique was perfect to be used against solid objects. And, Lin smirked inside his mind, to intimidate someone. Yes, intimidation…

Admiral Chan tried to creep away from Lin, but Lin's menacing advance freeze him. The boy paused at his side, standing intimidatingly with the strangely solid crimson fire ball on his palm; the fire ball was small though, about the size of an egg. Admiral Chan, however, was a prideful man. He would rather die than to admit defeat. And yes, in Agni Kai, someone lose if he admitted defeat or received death. Consumed by his foolish pride, Admiral Chan chose death. That was why, when Lin said…

"Surrender, moron?"

… Admiral Chan, steeling himself, hissed, "Never!"

"Okay", Lin shrugged, launching the fire ball at Admiral Chan's head. Well, from the audience's point of view, the fire hit Admiral Chan's head while in reality the fire went through the floor and punched a burnt hole all way to the ground below just an inch from Admiral Chan's head. Admiral Chan was petrified at the instant when he felt the fire swept through his face, feeling Death itself caressing his cheek with its long cold finger. Shivering, sweating cold sweat, and turning as pale as a ghost, Admiral Chan's eyes widened at Lin. Lin's face remained emotionless, empty. It was more terrifying than if the boy was scowling or smirking cruelly or something else.

"Surrender, moron!" Lin said again, conjuring and compressing another small fire ball, but it wasn't an offer this time. It was an order.

"Y-yes…" Admiral Chan stuttered, horror etched deeply in his very soul. His surrendering statement sent the crowd into a booming cheer. All around the room, the soldiers whom Lin had befriended or belonged to Jiang's battalion cheered for him, clapping their hands and yelling 'YOUNG MASTER LIN!!' loudly. Kang laughed with them, applauding, while Masa and Shi looked stern like usual. Jiang just smiled, proud and rather satisfied. He wasn't worrying about Lin losing, of course. He knew just how strong Lin was and that Admiral Chan wouldn't even be a challenge for Lin. Ursa looked relief, Zuko and Ty Lee jumping up and down at her side. Mai and Azula kept silent but while Mai naturally let out one of her rare smile, Azula was fighting an urge to even change her expression. Her father had taught her that emotions are for the weak and Azula was not weak. And speaking of the devil, Ozai was smirking at Lin. _Yes, he knows about the warning_, Ozai thought, stroking his beard, satisfied with this turn of event. _He will be a useful tool, indeed._

Lin cast a glance around the room, his compressed fire still on his palm. One of the weaknesses of fire compression, aside from the longer time and effort it took to compress bigger fire, was that once a fire is compressed, it cannot be returned to normal meaning you can't decompress the fire, turning it into flickering soft flame again. And now, Lin was mulling over what to do with his compressed fire. Yes, of course. Every message needs a stamp or seal of recognition, right? Lin could use this fire for this. And so, he launched the fire into the nearby pillar. The small fire blew a hole all way through the pillar and still had enough force to fly to the wall behind the pillar, punching a similar burnt hole on the wall, and causing a curtain of silence to fall down inside the room. Nobody made any sound; all eyes were directed to Lin whose face shone with ferocity and determination.

"I am…" he drawled at first, raising his fist proudly and roared. "… The Dragon of the Deep Forest!!"

* * *

**Author's note:**

Okay… no new names, I guess. Hmm... have I ever explained about central stance? It was the wide stance that Jeong Jeong taught Aang in 'The Deserter'. Central stance is pretty much the backbone of most known martial arts: wushu, karate, etc. Almost all martial art that incorporate punching techniques use it.

A little peek on the Royal Family when they were 'actually happy' as Zuko put it.

And to hpswst101. About the founder of the Lin Family and Celestial Dragon style, I am quite positive that it will be in the chapter after the next chapter.

Next chapter should be about what Ozai had in mind and Ursa's proposal.

Oh, and can anyone suggest me a name for an earthbender male? I do have a name but it was kinda lame. If you could suggest me a name that I can use, it will be awesome.

Enjoy the chapter!!


	34. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33 – Three Proposals**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

Winter in Fire Nation is not as cold as winter in the other three nations. While in the other three nations snow will fall in the season, in the Fire Nation it'll be a lot windy at most and perhaps a little rainy too. Plus some occasional thunder storms. Firebenders hate winter. In winter, their firebending will be affected by the coldness of the weather and the magnitude of their power will be significantly weak. But, Lin loved winter. Well, he didn't love winter specifically; he loved winds. And in winter, there would be a lot of winds. And therefore, he decided to take a ride along a vast farming field on Birdie, strolling calmly on the road in between the terraces.

It had been exactly a week since his return to the Fire Nation, a week since he became the Dragon of the Deep Forest, the only Dragon in the history of the Fire Nation that didn't have to slay a real dragon to receive the title. He didn't know how to feel about the title. He knew what behind the supposedly great honor bestowed upon him by the Fire Lord himself and he didn't like it. But, he admitted, being a Dragon had its own advantage. At least it was cool, he smirked.

_Oh well_, he shrugged lazily, _tomorrow is tomorrow and today is today. Today is enjoying some fresh air. _He hadn't had 'fresh air' ever since the welcoming party in the imperial palace. Ever since that day, he had always had some guests coming over to the Estate to meet him personally, to congratulate him and give him a congratulatory presents or something. And being born in a noble family, he had an obligation to return the courtesy by at least meeting them and smiling a bit and being polite, blah, blah, blah…

He didn't like it a bit. He just wanted to be left alone; he needed some time alone to think. And it wasn't like the gifts he received were that great. Most of the gifts he received usually had something to do with military: a set of gold-ornamented metal armguard that was too big for him, some brand new breastplate made by some renowned master blacksmith that was too heavy and restraining for him, and, his favorite *sarcasm*, a sturdy and impressive looking golden helmet that was supposed to imitate a dragon's head but would definitely make him stand out in the battlefield and serve more as a beacon to attract the enemy rather than as a protective gear, and many more expensive and impressive but useless trinkets. Some other gifts were related to warfare and strategy planning, probably because the news that he was an official Battalion Strategist for the 212th Battalion had spread widely: some books about classical art of warfare and strategy planning that he had owned, read, and memorized by the letters; some rare first edition books and scrolls that were too old and tattered, threatening to crumble had he tried to touch it, let alone open and read it.

Of all the gifts he received, he had only liked two of them: a small handy silver compass given to him by Lady Wen and a red hooded robe from Lady Ursa. The compass was small and easy to carry and, on the back of it, Lady Wen had engraved his name, Lin (林). For someone who had a below average sense of direction, the compass was surprisingly useful. And the robe, which he was wearing, Lin loved it. The robe was red and not very extravagant, adorned with a red lotus blossom on the back and a small Taiji circle above it. The silken robe was suitable for Fire Nation's winter and Lin loved the lotus; it reminded him of his mother. Although Lin felt a bit pricked in an innocent way when Ursa said that she had used Zuko as the model for the measurement, did it mean that Lin was as tall as Zuko who was two years younger?

Lin smiled and waved at some farmers who smiled and waved back. Almost all of them knew Lin because when Umma was alive, she would often take Lin for a stroll at the field. In winter, no crops would grow and farmers used this time to tend to their land, toiling them and preparing them for spring when they could sow new crops. Lin rode Birdie slowly, closing his eyes and letting the cold winter wind hit his face. He really loved the wind, he found it refreshing and soothing. He kept his eyes closed and he felt that he was smiling as he took in a deep cold air. He then opened his eyes and felt a bit more rejuvenated. He needed it now more than ever. There were too many things happening at once in his life lately; his first battle, his first victory, the first life he took, him being a hero, becoming a Dragon… the Dragon of the Deep Forest. _What an ironic name_, Lin smiled bitterly. How he hoped his grandfather, or at least General Iroh, was here, they'd know what he should do next.

"Are you cold, buddy?" Lin asked Birdie, fondly caressing its neck. Birdie grunted its respond.

Luckily, Birdie's fur kept her warm during the winter. Ostrich horses are locals to the Earth Kingdom, after all, and the Earth Kingdom has an even colder winter. And speaking of winter, he was wondering how Iroh and Lu Ten was doing in Ba Sing Se. It was unthinkable to mount any attack in winter, the soldiers' morale might be low due to the cold.

"Stop!" a booming voice from behind him disturbed Lin from his contemplation. He turned back and saw Uncle Kang, riding on his komodo rhino with two other riders and at least ten more guards on foot.

"Uh-oh", Lin quickly spurred Birdie forward, running away as fast as he could.

"Riders! Single file!" Kang barked his order and rode forward, followed by the riders who rode behind him one by one and finally by the guards on foot. The road was too narrow for three komodo rhinos to run side by side and Kang didn't want to ruin the farmers' land. Lin rode forward, not looking back, away from his would-be captors.

"Not this time, Nephew!" Lin heard Kang shouted, he turned back to see his uncle grinning triumphantly. Lin turned ahead again and found Uncle Masa and Cousin Shi, on komodo rhinos and accompanied by ten more guards, were blocking his path ahead. Lin quickly braked Birdie, turning around at the spot, realizing that his uncles had surrounded him. Darn, he cursed in his mind. Since when did the two of them get this smart, must be his father's doing.

"Psstt… Young Master…" one of the farmers hissed, covertly pointing to his side. Lin followed the direction of the pointing finger and found one small path down the hill across the terrace. The path was narrow, too narrow for a komodo rhino but just wide enough for an ostrich horse.

"Thanks", Lin grinned back, riding Birdie to the escape path. He quickly rode down the hill, leaving his pursuers behind. Kang and Masa, plus Shi and the other riders, quickly descended from their steeds. Kang shouted some orders and soon he, Masa, Shi, and some of the guards ran after Lin on foot. Lin turned back and snickered at them trying to chase him and at the same time to keep themselves from slipping on the slippery narrow path. Winters made earthen roads wet and very slippery. And his snickered broke into a full-fledged guffaw when the guard who were running at the back slipped and knocked down the soldier who was running in front of him, who in turn knocked down a soldier in front of him, and so on, and so on. In short, the pursuers became some sort of human domino and, after all of them fell down, became a human snowball, a human-ball, as they rolled down the hill, screaming from the fright, as one big mass of human beings.

"Oh, no", Lin's smile faltered when he realized that at the foot of the hill, his father, also riding on a komodo rhino and accompanied by a bunch of men, stood guard. All hope was lost…

Wait! Not really. Yes, there was still a chance for freedom. Lin was stubborn to begin with and so when there was no chance of success, he'd just make one. And there! There was a gap between Jiang and the end of the small path. Lin computed a rather complicated calculation in his mind, running a simulation of his escape by taking some key elements into account: Birdie's speed running down the hill, the screaming human-ball behind him, the approximate width of the gap between the end of the downhill path and Jiang, his own riding skill, his father's possible action and reaction, and, just for fun, he threw in the day's temperature and humidity, too, plus the wind direction and velocity.

"Now!" as soon as Birdie's feet touched the level ground below landing just a few centimeters from Jiang and his steed, Lin sharply pulled the rein sideway, skidding and turning Birdie's path to the right. Thankfully being a bipedal steed, ostrich horses' maneuverability is amazingly high compared to other four legged animals and so, a sharp ninety degree turn was no problem for Birdie. But…

"Nuuuuooooooo…." everything went slow motion as Lin bent his body backward, evading his father's clutch that came sweeping just an inch above the tip of his nose.

Fortunately for him, Lin's reaction was well timed and Jiang's hand grasped the thin air where Lin's shoulder had been a split second ago. Lin sat straight again as he turned back, not stopping Birdie, grinning triumphantly as the human-ball came down crashing on Jiang, his komodo rhino, and his guards; ending up as a heap of men and a komodo rhino, all were bewildered of what had just happened.

"Haha!" Lin laughed, shouting and waving at them victoriously. "See you guys later!"

And the young Dragon of the Deep Forest rode forward, leaving his pursuers behind. He was free, at last… well, at least for one or so more hours. He had to go home sooner or later and when he did, there'd be a hell of a price to pay. But, tomorrow is tomorrow and today is today. And right now, all Lin could think about was his freedom and the wind hitting his face. Ever since the day he became a 'Lin', the day he became the person he was today, Lin had never felt so alive…

* * *

The burnt holes on the pillar and the wall of the main hall, they were perfectly round and… _clean_. Zuko couldn't help but being amazed by it. The fire Lin had thrown cut through the solid wood and stone so easily like hot knife cutting through butter while Zuko's fire blast could barely disintegrate a mound of wet sand. But even so, Zuko had felt that his own firebending skill had grown a little, at least Instructor Kaji said so. But, after witnessing how easily Lin defeated Admiral Chan, the leader of the Eastern Fleet and the commander of thousands of men, Zuko couldn't help but felt so little, so insignificant. He was still too far from Lin, to even say that Zuko was shadowed by Lin was an overstatement. Zuko knew that he still had much to learn and that, even though he didn't want to admit it, even Azula was better than him.

What was it that he felt about his sister's prowess? Jealousy… no, no. Not jealousy, Zuko convinced himself. Perhaps just a sense of rivalry. Yes, that sounded more… well, _better_. Jealousy is such a— But Zuko didn't finish his thought. He _was_ jealous of his sister's prowess in firebending, but he didn't want to admit it.

When did it all start? When did his timid little sister change into whatever she was today? When did Azula's innocent smile stop being sincere and turn into a mere act? When did the occasional prank she pulled on Zuko cease to be simply jokes and change into torture? When did 'Zuzu' transform from a nickname into a mock? When did his 'annoying little sister' change into simply 'annoying'? There were times when Fire Prince Zuko loved his sister although he'd never admit it to anyone. But now, Zuko didn't have to admit anything anymore… because he no longer loved his sister, he hated her. When did it all happen? And how? Why?

Deep down, Zuko knew what the answer was but he didn't want to admit it…

"You're here again?" a sudden voice from behind him almost made Zuko jump. He turned and found his sister standing behind him, arm crossed.

"What about it?" Zuko retorted, surprised by how calm his voice was.

"Nothing", Azula shrugged offhandedly although a sly smirk adorned her face. "I just thought you were thinking about something, you know, like about why you suck at firebending."

Zuko didn't answer. To answer is to provoke an even hurtful comment…

"But still", Azula continued, her smirk got a bit wider. "You should've realized by now that sitting here staring at a burnt wall won't do you any good."

Relax… calm down… it'll be over soon…

"Hmm…" Azula continued, showing no sign of mercy as she hit the most sensitive spot: "Maybe that was why Dad decided to stop training you."

And Azula quickly leaped to her side, evading Zuko who charged at her with his fist engulfed in flame. Patience has limit, Azula knew the fact very well and had manipulated it against her brother countless of times before. Azula evaded another flaming punch. At least he was smart enough to use flaming fist rather than fire punch, Azula thought. In this cold winter season, firebending attack that utilized fire that was attached to the bender's limb had more chance to deliver more damage than the attack that send fire flying at the opponent since fire that was attached to the bender's limb could gain extra power and last longer by feeding on the bender's chi. But, again, patience has limit. And Azula's patience for her brother's weak attacks had grown thin already. She decided to counter Zuko's fifth flaming punch.

There are many aspects in the art of fighting, generally divided into three: bending, weapon, and hand-to-hand combat. One of the advantages of the firebending style practiced by the Royal Family is that it teaches the practitioners not only the bending aspect but also the hand-to-hand combat aspect. And Azula, not wanting to show how weak her firebending had become in winter season, utilized the hand-to-hand aspect of the Royal Family firebending style by sidestepping to the left when Zuko's flaming right fist came flying to her, grabbing Zuko's right wrist with her right hand and lock his shoulder joint with her free hand.

"Let go!" Zuko growled, feeling a sharp pain in his joint as Azula applied more pressure to the joint lock.

"Make me", Azula cruelly teased. Funny, she thought as she watched Zuko squirmed in her grip. She had never known why torturing Zuko was this fun. Or had it always been fun but she just hadn't realized it until now?

_No… _

_Yes! It's always been fun! _

_No… _

_Yes! It has! _

_Why then? Why didn't you realize it sooner…? _

_What do you mean?! I've always known it's fun. I've been putting dead animals or something in his pants before I can even walk right! _

_Why? Why is it fun…? _

_No reason! It's just fun! _

_Admit it… _

_Admit what?! _

_You're jealous…_

"Let me go, Azula!" Zuko shouted, grimacing. "You're hurting me!"

_I'm not jealous!!_

_Yes, you are… _

_I'm not! There's nothing to be jealous of from Zuzu! I'm better than him! _

_But, there is one thing… One thing to be jealous of…_

_What?!_

And it was too late for Azula to regret ever asking the question because, almost immediately, the 'mean voice' inside her head calmly muttered: _Mom…_

"Dumb-dumb", she clenched her jaws, her facial expression didn't change a bit although her smirk did disappear. She let go of Zuko and started to walk out of the main hall without so much as turning backward to her brother who was grunting and clutching his sore shoulder.

Ignorance…

Azula was a master of the art. But even a master like her had a certain level of imperfection, something she could never ignore. And one of them was the love her mother showered Zuko with but never her. Not anymore…

* * *

Birdie walked slowly, carrying its master who was checking on the direction with his silver compass. _South… yep, looks promising_, Lin praised himself for not getting lost despite him going to his destination via a completely unfamiliar route. He closed his eyes again as Birdie slowly marched down the empty path; letting the cold fresh breeze hit his face. How long has it been since the last time he was where he wanted to go… hmm, before he went to the battle at the Western Shore of the Earth Kingdom. About time for his next visit, he had always gone there at least once a month. Hopefully, the florist would have some nice fire lilies. He was told that fire lilies were their favorite.

Lin put on his hood, the wind was getting colder now. He gazed the horizon and saw a mass of dark cloud gathering at the distance. Maybe it was going to rain soon, all for the better. That way, he wouldn't have to go to the Imperial Palace today. Oh, wait… carriage, of course. His father would use one and that meant rain could no longer be used as an excuse. Oh well, at least his father wasn't here now. Lin could still have some time to be free, to be alone. He knew that it was only a matter of time for Jiang to figure out where Lin would be going. And it was better that way.

"Good morning, Kaki", Lin greeted, dismounting Birdie.

"Good morning, Young Master", Kaki, an old man with one leg, bowed and greeted back warmly from his seat behind a flower stand right beside an impressive but solemn looking black gate. "The usual?"

"Yes", Lin smiled, handing in two pieces copper coin. "How've you been?"

"Oh, Young Master, an old man like me will always be fine", Kaki laughed, handing two fresh fire lilies to Lin. "If it weren't for this blasted leg, I'd be jumping around right now."

And Kaki let out a heartier laugh although Lin could sense bitterness in his voice. If it hadn't been for the war and an earthbender who crushed the man's leg when he was still active in the military, he'd have been jumping around for real. But before Lin could say anything else, a thunderous grumble was heard from behind him. He and Kaki instinctively turned to the direction of the noise and what they saw was Jiang, looking a bit messy thanks to the little incident in the farming field earlier, leading his men on his komodo rhino. Behind him, all three groups of pursuers had been merged into a large group of more than thirty, most of them, including Uncles Kang and Masa, and Cousin Shi, looked just as messy as Jiang with dirt on their clothes and faces and some grass strands sticking out from their hair. All of them looked like they were ready to kill Lin.

"Uh-oh", Lin muttered, before saying a quick 'see you later' and 'keep an eye on Birdie' to Kaki before running as fast as he could inside the gate. Jiang and his men quickly scrambled inside the gate, running after Lin. And finally, they caught up to him, to Lin who was partially hiding behind a slab of stone, clutching the stone with his arms as if he'd never let it go. His mischievous smirk left no traces as a sad pleading expression took over his face, making him looked like a lost child. Jiang and his pursuer, driven by mild frustration for being outwitted by Lin, were blinded of their surrounding and didn't notice that they were in a graveyard, the Lin Family Private Cemetery.

"Oh…" Jiang and his men looked dumbfounded and ashamed when they realized that in their blind charge, they were intruding the sacrilege of the resting place of their ancestors and their loved ones. Jiang cast an apologetic look at his son, realizing that the slab of stone Lin was hugging was the tombstone of Umma, and sighed submissively.

"Five minutes", he said, his tone was soft and caring. He then bowed down to Umma's headstone, followed by his men, and left the place with his men to allow Lin some privacy.

Lin waited for a while until his father and his lackeys exited the gate before he turned to the headstone and knelt down properly in front of it. He placed one the flowers in front of it and closed his eyes, whispering a short prayer. He then opened his eyes and was suddenly lost for words. He had so much to say to his grandmother, he had even rehearsed the sentences he was planning to say in his head on the way here but now, all of it was… gone. Just gone…

When was it again? When he was five… When he was five, Umma took him to his mother's grave for the first time. Lin could still remember how conflicted he had been before the visit, he had been thinking about it so much to the point that he couldn't sleep at night. His feeling was torn between excitement, because he would be meeting his mother for the first time, and fear, because he didn't know what he would say to her. Then, Umma came to the rescue, assuring him that as long as he said whatever that was in his heart, it would be fine. As long as he was honest.

"I killed a man", Lin started, he could feel a shiver in his face that made his lips trembled briefly and his eyes warm and wet, the kind of shiver you get when you are about to cry. "I'm sorry."

Yes, he was so sorry, so regretful… he shouldn't have done that. His grandmother had always taught him that all life is sacred and taking a life is a great sin. Sounded a bit hypocritical coming from an ex-soldier but Lin knew that it was the truth. His grandmother must have known about the horrible feeling that come from killing a person, that must have been why she taught Lin not to take any lives.

"And guess what", Lin continued, biting back his tears. "They made me a hero, a Dragon…"

He chuckled but not of glee because a single tear rolled down his face…

"Yes, a Dragon, like the old man", he repeated, smiling bitterly. "The Dragon of the Deep Forest. Ironic name, huh?"

Umma's tombstone didn't reply… But, Lin knew what his grandmother's tombstone would have said if it could speak.

"I'd be careful", he said. "I promise. I won't do anything stupid. Well, not before Old Man Iroh and Lu Ten return from Ba Sing Se, that is."

He was getting to the point now, the purpose of his visit…

"I need your guidance, Grandma", another tear rolled down on his cheek as he rephrased the sentence into a much simpler but more sincere: "I miss you…"

And his cry finally broke, his shoulder trembling, his tears rolling down fast, his heart ached so much it felt like his chest was about to explode… all the emotions he kept inside him, all the things he had been ignoring up until now, all the sadness, the longing, the anguish, the pain and suffering… all were flooding out.

"I miss you…" he sobbed, letting his tears fall down on the wet ground below, on the fire lily. "I don't care about all this… I don't care about all the glory I have now, about the rewards, the gifts, the title… I don't want them… I-I… I just want you. I miss you…"

And he bent down, sobbing even harder, placing his forehead on the ground below, on the spot where Umma's ash resided.

"I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye…" he sobbed again, grasping both his fists beside his head so hard that he accidentally snapped the stem of the other flower, the one that was supposed to be given to his mother. "I had a cure. I'm not lying… I had a cure… So… so… why, Grandma? Why did you go...?"

Nobody but him knew that Lin was blaming himself for his grandmother's death. If only he were faster at completing the ritual in the North Pole, if only he was stronger, wiser, he could've made it back quicker. But deep down, Lin knew that it wouldn't have made any difference. From the information given by Masa, Jiang had calculated the day Umma died and found out that it happened on the last day they spent in the North Pole, the day that Lin completed his inauguration as the twenty sixth Lin. And also, the medicine for Umma could only be made during the full moon due to the unique nature of the key ingredient. Either way, the cure couldn't have gotten to Umma in time. But, Lin still blamed himself even though he realized that it wasn't his fault.

Lin got up and pulled out his flute, the flute he inherited from his grandmother. He used to hate the flute. Well, he didn't hate the flute specifically, only the presence of it. He had always thought that the flute was a beautiful piece of instrument. He just hated the fact that whenever he had a chance to see the flute, it would mean a performance in front of Umma or somebody else. He didn't like performing in front of somebody, it had always made him nervous. Not anymore, though. He pulled the flute to his lips and started playing the song, the song that Umma taught him, the unsung melody that reached out to the heaven.

* * *

"Why'd you have to run?"

"I didn't. I was out for fresh air."

"Why did you run when Uncle Kang caught up with you, then?"

"Because he brought guards with him. It was kinda scary, Dad. And besides, bringing guards was totally uncalled for. What do you think I am? A fugitive?"

Jiang opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. Well, maybe bringing the guards was unnecessary, no wonder Lin ran away. It made Jiang felt guilty all of the sudden. Lately, his son had been quite rebellious. _Well, he is at that age already_, Jiang thought, already missing his son who had always fooled around and got himself into a lot of trouble but never caused any trouble, not significantly, to anyone. How did this happen? Must be the earlier ten years the boy spent, ten father's-love-deficit years. And when did it all started to change, when did Lin become somewhat rebellious? Hmm… after the battle of the Western Earth Base, the battle in which he took his son into.

Ah… so, it was all Jiang's fault!

"Dad?" Lin halted his pace when his father suddenly crouched in the corner, one hand hugging his knees and the other hand scratching the floor with his finger like a sulking kid, a dark depressing aura floating around him. "Err, are you alright?"

"Sorry…" a soft muttered penetrated the dark aura.

"What for?" Lin asked, scratching his head.

"For everything…" an even softer mutter could be heard.

"Geez, Dad", Lin sighed. "Come on, the Fire Lord's waiting."

"Sorry…" another soft mutter before Jiang stood up, the aura still lingering, and started walking forward, his head hung down absent mindedly, toward the Imperial Palace Throne Room.

* * *

" …and that conclude the formalities of the award", Ozai spoke, calm as usual. He and Ursa sat in the throne room in a polite seiza position; Fire Lord Azulon sat on the Fire Throne behind them, all three were looking at the direction of Jiang and Lin who also sat in a polite seiza position two meters in front of them. Between them, lay three boxes; the one in the middle was rectangular but thin, the one on the right was long and had a half cylindrical top, and the last one was square and small enough to be held in one palm. The three items were something that must be possessed by a Dragon.

"I, Lin, the twenty sixth, the Dragon of the Deep Forest, thank Your Majesty for such generous reward", Lin bent down and, just to be safe, he added humbly. "I shall do anything in my power to use this reward to bring great honor to our glorious Fire Nation."

"Very well", Azulon replied, sounded very pleased. Even Ozai smirked mysteriously at the boy, but Ursa's expression was hard to read. It seemed like she was conflicted between fear and sadness.

"But, before you go", Azulon continued. "There is something my son would like to discuss with you."

"Certainly, Your Majesty", Lin bowed again, feeling a bit uneasy. He cast a glance from the corner of his eyes to his father and caught his father glancing back. It seemed like Jiang noticed it too: they were in danger, surrounded from all direction! And Ursa suddenly turning pale didn't put Lin's mind at ease at all.

"Lin, the twenty sixth", Ozai started the conversation, smooth and calm with a tinge of glee in his voice. "I'd like to offer you something. But, before we start, I want you to know that you are free to refuse."

_Yeah, right_. Lin sarcastically remarked inside his mind. He noticed that Ursa suddenly was tensed up and frowning at her husband. No turning back now…

"Yes, Your Highness", Lin replied, steeling himself for whatever it was that would hit him next. He faintly felt an unusual wave of heat emanating from his side that had nothing to do with the room's heating; it seemed like his father was silently gathering his chi for self-defense purposes. "I will listen intently to what you have to offer, Your Highness."

And the heat slowly disappeared, thankfully Jiang understood the secret message. They should at least listen before acting, who knows, maybe there might not be any need for things to get violent.

"Well then, Lin, the twenty sixth, General Jiang", Ozai smirked, a mysterious glint briefly appeared in his eyes. "I have three proposals for you."

* * *

The journey back to the Lin Estate was a silent one. Jiang and Lin rode their steeds slowly, allowing three servants, carrying the three boxes ceremoniously, and a dozen of the Royal Procession to keep up with their paces on foot. It wasn't that Jiang and Lin had nothing to talk about, they couldn't talk freely in the public street within a dozen of Royal Family's elite guards' earshot. Plus, even though Jiang and Lin didn't show it, they were aware that they were being followed by at least four groups of people, lurking in the shadow. They must be very good because even though Jiang and Lin sensed them, they couldn't exactly pinpoint their location.

And finally, they were being greeted by the Lin's Estate black gate and its dragon pillars. Jiang quickly organized some of the Estate's servants to receive and carry the three boxes to Lin's room and politely dismissed the imperial envoy while Lin lazily handed Birdie's rein over to a stable boy and let the man take Birdie back to the stable after Lin said goodnight to Birdie. It was a very tiring day, indeed. Lin was tempted to go to his own room and sleep right away but he knew that his father would like to talk to him first. Lin had, after all, made a very big decision regarding his own future by accepting all of the three proposals given by Fire Prince Ozai despite his father's reluctance. Lin absent mindedly walked across the hallways and corridors, almost ignoring some cousins and aunts who greeted him, and was quite surprised when he suddenly found himself in front of Jiang's room. Sighing, he pushed the door open and entered the room, diving down on his father's bed. About ten minutes later, Jiang entered the room and locked the door behind him, the sound of the door woke Lin up from his almost-sleep.

"It was very unwise, son", Jiang started the conversation, striking right to the point.

"I know", Lin muttered sleepily, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"So, why did you accept them?" Jiang incredulously asked.

"Oh, come on, Dad", Lin replied, still sleepily. "It's not like we had any other choices."

_Well, that's true_, Jiang thought. Had they refused the proposals, they wouldn't have been able to get out of the throne room alive. Proposal? More like a blackmail!

"What do you think about them?" Jiang asked again, steering the conversation to some other important points.

"Which one?" Lin asked back, yawning and stretching. Jiang didn't answer, only giving his son a stern look which Lin interpreted as 'all of them'. And so, Lin continued, more seriously this time. "The first one, not so bad, I guess. I'll only have to teach."

----

"_The first proposal: you are to be appointed as a Royal Firebending Instructor and tutor Fire Prince Zuko and Fire Princess Azula in the art of firebending…"_

----

"And the second one?" Jiang asked, sitting down on a chair, rubbing his temple. The man looked very tired…

"I don't know", Lin shrugged. "General Iroh will know what to do."

----

"_The second proposal: you are to join the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination. You will be trained properly and eventually be given a rank of a captain and lead an elite multi-task team…"_

----

"How long do you think you can stall them with that excuse?" Jiang asked.

"I don't know", Lin sighed. How he hoped for General Iroh to come back soon. He would know what to do. "And the third one—"

"I don't like it", Jiang seethed. Lin arched a brow at him, it wasn't such a big deal… so why did his father looked so angry?

"Why?" Lin braced himself for the next answer he might get, somehow he could guess who was truly behind the third proposal and he fully understood why she would do such a thing, and he didn't hate her for that, he would never do…

"It's too risky", Jiang squeezed his right fist with his left hand, a body language signifying that he was stressful. "The elders won't agree."

"It's a good thing I asked for it to be kept a secret then", Lin nonchalantly replied. Jiang frowned at him, wondering how in the name of spirits his son could stay calm in this situation. Jiang suspected that if Lin knew who was truly behind the third proposal, Lin would be broken in the inside. The woman had become some sort of a mother figure for Lin, aside from Bing, ever since Umma passed away. It would be really cruel to tell him the truth, Jiang knew, but, he must tell him, he must prepare him for whatever the future may have in store for the boy, and so…

"It was Lady Ursa who—", Jiang said gloomily but...

"I know", Lin cut in, also gloomily. So, his guess was correct, after all.

"What are you gonna do about it?" Jiang asked again, he couldn't think of any way out from this particular proposal, Ursa's proposal.

"Go on with it, of course", Lin lazily plopped down on the bed again. "Who knows, it might work out. If it does work out, the Lin Family and the Royal Family will be able to overcome the bad blood from the past and become true allies. It will benefit our Nation greatly."

"Marriages don't work that way, son", Jiang was almost angry, but mostly sad and desperate. Jiang was, after all, one of the luckiest men in the world because in his life, he had found the true love of his life. And, naturally, he wanted his son to have the same fortune, to fall in love with someone who was meant to be with him and to build a happy family with that person. But now, Jiang found himself loathing Ursa for ruining his son's potentially bright future with her selfishness. "Marriages—"

"It'll be fine, Dad", Lin cut in, rolling back so that his father couldn't see his blushing cheek. "I _know_, trust me. It'll be fine."

Yes, Lin knew that everything was going to be fine. He finally knew who the raven haired angel who had been constantly in his mind ever since the last Fire Festival was. And he knew that he was meant to be with the angel, and her to be with him. It was their destiny…

Jiang still couldn't understand why his son could act so calm in this kind of situation. He felt like a failure as a father, for not being able to protect his son from the inevitable. He felt so hurt in the inside, knowing that he would lose his son after being allowed only one year to be a father, a real father, for him. How he cursed himself for abandoning the boy for ten years, ten long years wasted and could never come back again. Jiang felt so useless…

And all he could do for his son, as a father, was pulling a blanket over the boy's shoulder as Lin slept peacefully on the bed. Jiang cast a loving look at his son's peaceful face and felt the all too familiar prick in his heart. Only this time, the pain wasn't caused by the memory of his wife but by his helplessness. And so, he walked back to his seat, resting his head on the table and hoping that after he wake up the next morning, all of this mess was just a dream, a bad one.

----

"_And the last proposal", Ozai drawled, sensing that Ursa was fidgeting uncomfortably beside him. Ozai didn't like the idea, not at all. But, he had made an agreement with Ursa and he, actually, had nothing to lose. So, why not? "The third proposal is that you, Lin, the twenty sixth, will be betrothed to Fire Princess Azula…"_

----

* * *

**Author's note:**

More detailed info about the three proposals and Lin and Jiang's initial reaction to the proposals will be revealed in later chapters, maybe the next one. Maybe…

The slow motion joke was inspired by the Avatar Series Pilot Episode in which Aang evaded Zuko's firebending attack in a similar manner. And Jiang sulking in the corner scratching the floor with a finger is how many Japanese manga depicted a depressed person in a comical way.

Names!

1. Kaki (花卉) is Japanese for 'flowers and plants' and coincidentally Indonesian for 'leg'. So, the name is a reference to him being a 'florist' with one 'leg'.

And to hpswst101, in one of your previous reviews, you said 'Maybe we should have Ursa propose the question to Jiang so she can explain why she wants Azula to be married'. My question to you is: _how did you know?_

Was it really that obvious?

I didn't answer your question back then because I wanted to wait until this chapter is up. So, why didn't Ursa tell Jiang the real reason why she wanted Azula to marry Lin? Hmm, one word: politic. Jiang would never ever agree. A Fire Princess and the heir of the most influential noble family. Some aristocrats would think that it was either because the Royal Family is trying to control the Lin Family with the marriage or because the Lin Family is trying to take advantage of the marriage and gain more political power with it. Either way, it is bad for both families and especially to the Lin Family. In order to protect his family, Jiang would never say yes.

And also, in most absolute monarchy kind of government like the Fire Nation, the royal family is usually regarded as the role model for every citizen and so they must keep their harmony within the family and even if there were some conflict inside the family, they must keep it hidden and/or resolve it quietly. If the citizens knew that the royal family had some sort of internal conflict, they'd think 'Hey look! The Fire Lord doesn't even know how to maintain his own family. How can he run a whole nation then?' and it may cause unrest or even an open revolt. It had happened several times in ancient China, I believe. So, that was why Ursa didn't tell anyone about Ozai turning evil and wrecking his children's future. Too risky.

Enjoy the chapter!


	35. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34 – Feel as a Father, Act as the Head of the Family**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"_Come on", Hothead pulled the girl's wrist, dragging her from an ostrich horse she was fondling._

"_See you later", Snowflake cheerfully waved at the steed and its rider, a middle-aged Earth Kingdom merchant who waved back. _

"_Just where is it?" Hothead sounded frustrated, scanning the harbor for any Fire Nation soldiers who might help him find the nearest Fire Nation Military base. _

_But, then again, the military base was set up only temporarily. The purpose of the bases being set up along the Northern Shore of the Earth Kingdom was to help the Fire Nation Navy to round up the pirates in the area and, according to Chief Mudhra, the pirate group that attacked Commander Gan's 51__st__ Squadron had been dealt with by the combined forces of the Fire Nation Navy and Northern Water Tribe Warriors. The damage Commander Gan had inflicted on the pirates was very substantial and while they were still recovering from the damage inflicted by the Leviathan, the combined forces of the two nations overwhelmed them. And now, the base no longer had a reason to exist and logically, it should have been dismantled by now. Hopefully not, Hothead pleaded. He didn't have enough money to buy a passage back to the Fire Nation._

"_There!" Snowflake squealed, dragging Hothead to the side._

"_Where?" Hothead asked, enthusiastically, thinking that Snowflake had spotted some Fire Nation soldiers or, better yet, the base itself._

"_Aww… what a cute rabbit hamster", she cooed, crouching down and started to terrorize— err, to pet, rather rigorously, a stray white rabbit hamster that was too scared to run away._

"_Ugh…" Hothead sighed, rubbing his temple, taking a deep breath to suppress his impatience. "Snowflake?"_

"_What?" Snowflake grinned at him innocently, feeding the rabbit hamster with some wild berries she picked up somewhere in the forest._

"_Focus!" Hothead said curtly, narrowing his eyes at the girl._

"_Meanie!" Snowflake stuck her tongue out at him, looking a bit annoyed._

"_Me—", Hothead looked like he was about to explode but he couldn't really get angry at Snowflake, could he? He didn't blame Snowflake for getting distracted so easily in their journey. For a girl who had never been outside of the North Pole and its vast snowy tundra, the pristine and green plains and mountains of the Earth Kingdom must have looked like a paradise itself for her, full of things of wonder and unknown. Hothead even suspected that Snowflake had never seen a tree before they arrived at the Earth Kingdom._

"_Come on", Hothead said again, with a bit more patience this time, feeling like he was talking to a five year old kid. "We still have things to do."_

"_Okay", Snowflake grumbled, but, her face suddenly lit up (this made Hothead worry…) as she said. "But, I'm taking him."_

"_No", Hothead said flatly, walking away from the girl and the rabbit hamster._

"_Whyyyyy?" Snowflake ran after him, whining, so did the rabbit hamster. _

"_Remember the wolf-husky puppy?"_

"_It was an accident!"_

"_The bearded cat kitten?"_

"_Hey, nobody told me that you shouldn't feed chocolate chips cookies to a cat!"_

"_The gold-koi fish?"_

"_What? I was hungry. You ate him too!"_

"_I did?" Hothead frowned._

"_Yeah", Snowflake pouted, taking the stray rabbit hamster into her arms. "Remember—"_

"_I don't want to know!" Hothead quickly covered his ears, feeling a bit nauseous, poor Goldie... "Bottom-line, we're not keeping him!"_

"_Oi, you two over there!" a loud voice reached their ears before Snowflake could rebut. Both of them turned to the direction of the voice and found a group of red armored soldiers approaching them; red breastplate, trousers, and undershirt, complemented with black armguards, shoulder pads, and helmets; a pair of small horns adorned their shoulders pads, one protruding from each shoulder. Their black metal helmet shone, with another small horn it the middle and a pair of what Snowflake, despite Hothead's protest, had called antennae, reflecting the warm sunlight, their face mask covered the lower half of their faces with a breathing hole in the front, shaped like an opened mouth with four sharp fangs, two in the upper part of the hole and the other two on the lower part._

"_Come on!" Hothead excitedly dragged Snowflake, approaching them. But, when they approached them, one of the soldiers spoke before either Hothead or Snowflake could mutter a word._

"_Soldier", one of the fully armored Fire Nation soldiers said. "You are causing a commotion in a public place. If you have some sort of marital problem, solve it at home!"_

"_Wha—!!" Snowflake and Hothead spluttered, looking at each other incredulously, then turned back to the soldier and said furiously despite of their crimson cheeks. "He/She's not my husband/wife!!"_

"_Oh, really?" the soldier crossed his arms, snickering while his comrades broke into a loud obvious laughter. "I'm sorry then. Since you two were bickering like a couple usually does—"_

"_We're not couples!"_

"_I know", the soldier snickered again. "You've just said that."_

_And he snickered again, less subtle this time. Hothead and Snowflake turned to and stared at each other, felling a bit hot around the face. But then…_

"_Anyway, soldier", the soldier addressed Hothead more formally this time, assuming, from the Fire Nation Military armor Hothead was wearing, Hothead was a member of his unit. "You better say goodbye to your girlfriend here. We're leaving the Earth Kingdom soon."_

"_Huh? Oh!" Hothead gawked for a second, suddenly remembering why he was here in the first place. "Sir! I have— I mean…"_

_Hothead quickly assumed a formal military salute before he said, "I am a member of Commander Gan's 51__st__ Squadron, reporting in for duty, sir!"_

"_51__st__ Squadron?" the soldier suddenly tensed up, so did the other soldiers behind him._

"_Yes, sir!"_

"_You used to serve under Commander Gan then?"_

"_Yes, sir!" Hothead replied again, feeling a subtle and strange wave of anger at the phrase 'used to'. Well, since 51__st__ had been decimated, maybe 'used to' wasn't actually improper but, to Hothead, Commander Gan would always be his commanding officer, the man he respected the most. He owed the man his life._

"_Come with us, soldier", the soldier ordered, jerking his head at his comrades who all nodded back. "We're with High General Izumi's Expeditionary Force. We'll take you to her."_

"_High General Izumi?" Hothead's mouth hung opened in shock. What was the daughter of Fire Lord Hizen doing here?_

"_Yes", the soldier replied. "Come now."_

_And with that, he led the still awe-stricken Hothead and Snowflake, who was cradling her new pet and suspicious of why the other soldiers were walking around the two of them, as if guarding them, preventing them from escaping. None of them spoke another word until they arrived in a camp just outside of the harbor. They went in and walked through the many small tents and soldiers, who were packing their belongings, and toward the largest red tent set up in the middle of the camp, the entrance guarded by two armed soldiers. The leader of the group of soldier who escorted Hothead and Snowflake whispered something to one of the guards. The guard nodded and entered the camp. Five seconds later, he got out and nodded to the group. The soldier, who was with Hothead, ordered him to go in alone. Hothead, goading himself, cast a nervous look at Snowflake, who stared back just as nervously because she didn't want to be left alone in the camp, surrounded by many unfamiliar people. _

"_I'll be back shortly", Hothead assured her._

"_Okay", Snowflake whimpered weakly, hugging the rabbit hamster in her arms._

_Hothead turned to the tent and entered it, his nervousness made him unaware that the two guards also entered with him. Once inside the tent, he was greeted by the sight of a group of men, most of them middle aged and all of them wore high ranking officer' armors, sitting around a long table. A young lady, in her early twenties by the look of it, stood at the end of the table with a large world map spread on a board behind her. Her amber eyes, sharp and commanding, her face was beautiful and charming as what all princesses should be, but cold and brave like most warriors. Hothead couldn't help but gulped loudly under the stare of Fire Princess Izumi, daughter of Fire Lord Hizen, High General of the Fire Nation, and purportedly one of the best firebenders in the world, second only to his father. If he weren't this nervous, he would be admiring the princess's beauty. _

"_Soldier", even her voice was cold, Hothead thought, sweating heavily and trembling slightly. The girl had that effect on people, he guessed. "You were with Commander Gan's 51__st__ Squadron, you say?"_

"_Y-yes, Ma'am" Hothead stuttered, covertly pinching his thigh to calm himself to no avail._

"_Your name and rank?" Izumi asked again but it came out more like an order than an inquiry to Hothead._

"_Private Yi of the 51__st__ Squadron, at you service, Ma'am!" Hothead saluted, wishing that he was wearing his helmet and his face mask, that way he could conceal his pale face, at least. But, of course, his helmet and mask were lost at sea, along with Commander Gan and the rest of the 51__st__ Squadron. Izumi turned her stare to one of the officers around the table, who went on to check something on a long scroll, found whatever it was he was looking for, and nodded back to the princess._

"_Private Yi", Izumi addressed Hothead again. "We have received a report stating that the 51__st__ Squadron was ambushed at sea and annihilated. Tell me, how did you survive? And what exactly happened?"_

_Hothead felt a strange feeling of sadness as he relived the story of how the pirates sneak-attacked the 51__st__ Squadron, of how courageous Commander Gan and his men were when they fought the losing battle, of the chivalry the Leviathan showed at his last moment when he opted to stand his ground and stay behind, holding off a swarm of enemies to save the life of a lowly private._

"_Did you see him die?" Izumi's voice vibrated with anger and anguish, her jaw and fists clenched._

"_No, Ma'am", Hothead shook his head, understanding fully the pain the princess felt. Gan was her godfather and master, after all; it was a common knowledge that Commander Gan had been like a second father to Princess Izumi._

_Izumi turned to the map, turning her back on the others. Everybody knew that the princess was hiding her tears and, out of respect and sympathy, they let her be, nobody made a sound. Taking in a deep breath, Izumi spun back, addressing the room once more; her eyes and face were cold again._

"_Is there anything else you have to report?"_

"_Yes, Ma'am", Hothead reached into his pocket, pulling out two items: a strand of hair and a letter. "Commander Gan's body was found shortly after. He was buried with the Water Tribe's tradition by Chief Mudhra himself, Ma'am. His ash is now one with the ocean. And this is his top-knot, Ma'am. I was able to retrieve it."_

"_A fitting funeral for the Leviathan", Izumi commented solemnly, casting a respectful glance on the strand of hair Hothead put on the table._

"_And", Hothead hesitated, putting down the letter on the table as well. "This letter is from Chief Mudhra. It explains why I wasn't able to report back to the Fire Nation military sooner, Ma'am."_

"_I see", Izumi said, colder this time, receiving the letter from the officers who passed it to her. She opened the letter, glanced it quickly, and put it back to the table. And then…_

"_Seize him!" she ordered._

_The two guards behind Hothead quickly locked his arms behind his back before he could react._

"_What? Princess—"_

"_Silence!" Izumi snapped and now, Hothead finally knew why Fire Lord Hizen entrusted the rank of High General to Izumi despite her young age; the mere stare from the Fire Princess made Hothead's knees go weak and instilled an inevitable fear in his very soul as she walked slowly and menacingly to him._

"_P-prin—"_

—_SLAPPED—_

_Izumi slapped his face, making Hothead felt a sharp pain on his cheek and tasted blood in his mouth. He then turned again to the princess and gave her a pleading and puzzled look. What had he done to deserve this treatment?_

—_SPLASHED—_

_A water whip sliced open the front of the tent, turning into a mass of water that swept Hothead's captors away, freeing him, and curving past Hothead and hitting the bewildered Fire Princess Izumi, knocking her off her feet, all of that happened so fast in no more than two seconds._

"_Come on!" Snowflake burst in, bending two water blasts at once at the other officers who rose to their feet, ready to strike her down, and she grabbed Hothead by his wrist and pulled him up, dragging him away from the tent. When they got out, however, they were greeted by at least fifty soldiers, surrounding the two of them from all direction._

—_THUDDED—_

_Hothead's vision suddenly blacked out, then went back to normal although swaying a bit, and then suddenly blurred and upside down. He didn't know what happened, his mind had stopped working when Izumi had slapped him and everything from that point on had just happened so fast he couldn't register anything; his captors were thrown to the ground, a water blast hit Izumi, also sending her to the ground, Snowflake burst in, her face looked frantic, Snowflake attacked the officers (oh, spirits, Hothead thought, she is so dead!), Snowflake dragging him out, and everything went blurred. And now, he couldn't move a muscle, he could only watch as Snowflake waved water whip around, fending numerous fire blasts and knocking down soldiers to the ground. He wanted to help, to get up and stop the unnecessary fighting although he had not the faintest idea of what was going on. What the hell is happening here? He asked himself as his vision got blurrier and blurrier… until it went completely black._

—_SPLASHED—

* * *

_

—SPLASHED—

"AAAARRRRRGGGHHH!!!!!"

Yan's scream could be heard from miles away and certainly from the training hall because Jiang did hear it and turned to his son, casting Lin an accusing look.

"What did you do?" he asked, ignoring the many children who were stifling their laughter and some teenagers and younger adults standing by his side who were also stifling their laughter.

"Nothing…" Lin shrugged and added under his breath. "…_much_."

Jiang narrowed his eyes at Lin, still suspicious. Normally, like any other good father out there, he wouldn't let this prank go unpunished but since he didn't have enough time for it, he decided to let it go just this once. Yes, to Jiang time was running out. As per the agreement of making Lin an Imperial Firebending Instructor, Lin would have to move in to the palace. Jiang resented the idea, of course. He had just beginning to enjoy his peaceful moments with his son, trying to make it up to Lin for all the lost time during Lin's earlier years.

Time was running out for Jiang. The manner of how the three 'proposals' were delivered by Fire Lord Azulon made Jiang believed that Lin's life would be in danger had the boy stepped on the wrong toes in the imperial palace. And therefore, as the boy's master he wanted to arm Lin in whatever way he could. Lin was no master of the Celestial Dragon style, no. Not yet, at least. Lin had been a senior practitioner and learnt the 36 advanced forms for just one year. And in that one year, Lin had mastered the first ten forms of the 36; five advanced techniques and five katas, not even half of the total. But, the achievement itself was commendable, even for Jiang who had mastered only the first six or seven forms after his first year as a senior practitioner.

"We'll talk later", he sighed, then turned back to the children in front of them.

Firebenders hate winter because winter makes their firebending weak. But, the Lin Family had a tradition: children who are of qualified age, eight and above, will start their first firebending lesson in winter under the tutelage of the current head of the family. '_Those who knows how to break stones with their hand will know how to break it with a hammer'_ was a quote from the founder Yi, the Great. A novice firebender who trains the basic in the most uncomfortable environment and succeeds will have no problem in executing the art in any other situation was the philosophy behind it.

And after a rather long speech, filled with encouragement and warning of how dangerous firebending could potentially be, Jiang performed a demonstration of the very basic of firebending: producing fire. After performing the same technique for about five more times, adding some details each times he produced fire on his palm, he then ordered the children, the newbie, to copy the technique with the senior practitioners, the teenagers and young adults, walking among them, giving hints and providing supports.

Jiang was conflicted between wanting to spend more time, probably going hunting or something with Lin like a normal father does; wanting to teach the boy the more advanced forms of the Celestial Dragon style to prepare him for whatever challenges Lin might encounter like any sane teacher would; and having to submit to the elders and obey the tradition of giving a lesson to some new students as the head of the family. By making Lin helping with the lesson, Jiang thought he could cover at least two of his desires. Not bad…

Jiang should be teaching too but he just couldn't concentrate. His head was filled with the three proposals. The first proposal was ambiguous at best, the second one was truly detestable, the third one was downright disturbing. When was it the last time he was offered the arrangement? Ah, a year before, the Ceremony of Ascension…

----

"_There're some nice ladies", Umma calmly sipped his tea while Jiang almost spat his. He cast his mother a nasty look. Umma glanced back then ignored him, continuing with her scanning over the hall for a eligible ladies for her son to court, despite Jiang's silent disapproval, of course. "Let's see… Lady Ching is still single, I got it from a good source, trust me…"_

"_Mother?" Jiang spoke through his clenched jaw._

"… _oh, or Young Lady Wen over there", Umma smiled and waved at a radiant looking young lady who smiled and waved back. "She's a bit young but she is a nice young lady."_

"_Mother?"_

"… _or perhaps—"_

"_Mom!"_

"_About time you call me that", Umma muttered, sipping her cup to hide her smirk. "How long has it been? Ten years?"_

_Jiang didn't say anything. Deep down he realized it too but he was denying it. Thankfully the arrival of Ursa and Ozai saved Jiang from the coming lecture by Umma regarding moving on, starting dating and enjoying life again, which she could trickily steered into spending more time, quality time, with his son. And after exchanging some pleasant greetings, strictly between the ladies, of course, since Ozai was unable to do anything pleasant unless for himself, and Jiang was his usual self, not a happy person, Ursa addressed both mother and son._

"_Lady Umma, General Jiang", Ursa took the steer of the conversation. "Mu husband and I had been thinking—"_

"_Not now, 'dear wife'", Ozai said weakly, emphasizing at the phrase 'dear wife' and trying to pulled Ursa away as subtly as possible._

"_No, 'husband'. This is a very good opportunity", Ursa smiled although Ozai could sense the venom in the word 'husband'. She then turned back to Umma and Jiang, more specifically Jiang, and spoke more sweetly. "You see, General Jiang. My husband and I had this talk earlier—"_

"_Ursa—", Ozai sounded sterner, grasping Ursa's hand a bit tighter and started to dragged her away but…_

"_I insist, Ozai! This is important!" Ursa pulled his hand back, dropping off all her perfect wife façade. "This involves 'our' daughter."_

_An emphasize on 'our', yes… Even Umma and Jiang sensed that._

_----_

Everything would be easier if his mother and father were still here, Jiang thought. But, Jiang suddenly turned gloom. Maybe it was for the better that Jeong Jeong and Umma didn't know about that this engagement had been agreed. Jeong Jeong had been neutral at best when the proposal was offered to him and Umma had been the only one who had actually given some useful contribution to both parties by not turning down the proposal immediately and suggesting that Ursa took some time to think about it. So, if Jeong Jeong had known about the engagement, what would he have done? Nothing, perhaps. But, if Umma had known, the Fire Nation Imperial Palace would have been burnt down by the Tiger Hawk Medic Lady by now…

"You're putting too much strength in your muscle", Jiang's imagination of his mother standing menacingly over burning rubble of the Imperial Palace was distracted by Lin's voice as the boy corrected a student's mistake. How long ago had it been since Jiang was the one who gave that advice and Lin was the one who received it? Lin's progress as a senior practitioner had been more than substantial, even Jiang admitted it. But, it wasn't enough. So, what else could Jiang do? Who could help him?

The elders? All they knew was that Lin was appointed as an Imperial Firebending Instructor and would exclusively tutor Fire Prince Zuko and Fire Princess Azula; the first proposal. The second proposal, that stated that Lin would be joining the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination? Well, it was called 'Secret' Royal Squad, so naturally nobody must know about it. Even before this proposal was brought up, Jiang had never known about the existence of the secret squad despite him being one of the most influential military high ranking officers in the Fire Nation.

Thinking back on the time when the proposals were being offered, Jiang suspected that it had been the secret squad themselves who had been hiding in the shadows, surrounding them from all sides, and following them home. Surely had they rejected the proposals, Fire Lord Azulon would have ordered their deaths since they knew too much about 'national classified information'. Maybe, Lin accepting the proposals was a wise move. But, what about the third proposal?

Jiang realized that Lin and Azula knew each other but surely they didn't have anything romantic going on between them. Both of them were too young for anything more romantic than holding hands, for spirit's sake! But, Lin had said that everything would be fine although he didn't say anything more specific than that. Jiang had entrusted his own life, along with the life of a thousand soldiers under his command to Lin and Lin had proven himself worthy of the trust. So, could Jiang really put his trust on Lin in this matter, to entrust Lin with his own future and probably the future of both Lin Family and the Royal Family, and possibly the future of the whole Nation? It was too much of a burden to be shoulder by a mere eleven year old kid. But, what exactly could Jiang do about it?

Revolt…

No, no, no! Jiang quickly shook the thought off. Even though he shivered by the very thought, it was true that Jiang had enough power to revolt against the Royal Family. He was the head of the Lin Family, the leader of its numerous firebender warriors. Plus, this was the right time to stage a coup on the Royal Family. General Iroh was away and it was winter, the season when firebenders were at their weakest, but not for those who practiced the Celestial Dragon Style. The Lin Family secret style of firebending was truly unique for being unaffected by winter.

A surprise attack on the imperial palace would be easy for them. But, Jiang would never do that. First of all, he was a man who valued loyalty and patriotism; he would never do anything that would harm his country and his liege. Second, the reaction from the elders when Jiang broke the news that Lin had been appointed as the Imperial Firebending Instructor was mixed, divided between two: those who believed that it was a great honor and those who believed that there were more to the offer that meets the eye. The second group believed that since Lin would be living in the Imperial Palace as long as he was on duty, he was actually being taken as a political hostage. Lin was Jiang's only heir so, it was understandable. But, no matter how much they had argued about it, the fact was Lin had accepted the offer. There was nothing anyone could do now.

Nevertheless, Jiang had to do something, anything! But, what could he do…

Run!

But, where to? The Earth Kingdom, maybe. They could run and seek refuge in the ruin of the Earth Kingdom Herbal Institute, the Herbalist, Jiang's grandaunt seemed really fond of Lin. She would protect Lin. And Jiang? He didn't really care about himself. But then again, the ruin of the institute wasn't exactly the safest place in the world. And the fact that General Iroh was banging the wall of Ba Sing Se should be taken into account too. Jiang's confidence in the Dragon of the West's victory over Ba Sing Se was mixed between the trust he put on the High General's legendary ability and the fact that the walled city had kept two Fire Lords at bay. However, chances were Iroh would be victorious; Jiang had served under the man once and he had never seen anyone fight a war like him before or since. As a general, Iroh was one of a kind. And if Ba Sing Se were conquered, that would mean the Earth Kingdom would finally fall into the hands of the Fire Nation and the Institute wouldn't be safe anymore. So, where else could he go?

The North Pole? Maybe. The Northern Water Tribe had been able to keep the Fire Nation outside its ice wall for a hundred years. Jiang might be able to keep Lin safe there. He noticed that Lin, during their short visit in the North Pole, had formed a friendship with the princess of the Northern Water Tribe, the white haired little girl (Jiang didn't remember her name). Jiang could offer himself up as a war prisoner to buy a safe haven for his son. But, there was a problem, how could he get there? Jiang had never known how his father could contact the North Pole and ask them to send that old man with receding hairline as a guide (Jiang didn't remember his name, too).

But, even if there were a safe place that he could reach easily, Jiang couldn't really just take Lin there, could he? Jiang was Lin's father, yes, but he was also the head of the Lin Family. He had to keep not only his son but also his whole family safe. He couldn't go himself and he couldn't have his son disappear just like that, not after Lin himself had accepted the three proposals; too suspicious. There was no way out. Jiang sighed, feeling as if a heavy stone was dropped on his shoulder. All this thinking and there was no way out…

"Good", again, Lin's voice distracted Jiang. He turned to his son, seeing the boy kindly praised a timid looking little girl who managed to form a small fire ball before Lin left the girl, who was grinning confidently, to assist another new student.

"That's not how you do it", Lin chuckled, giving an advice to a little boy.

"Gah!" the little boy gripped his own hair in frustration. "Why can't I do it?"

"Nobody can form a fire at the first try", Li shrugged.

"Easy for you to say", the little boy pouted at Lin, looking at him both enviously and admirably. "You're the twenty sixth Lin and the Dragon of the Deep Forest."

"Well, my young and inexperienced nephew… wait, you're my nephew, right?" Lin, raised a brow, patting the boy's head; the boy nodded his answer at Lin's question. "Phew, I got this one right. Kinda hard to remember who's who when you live with hundreds family members in the same house. Aaaanyway, my young and inexperienced nephew, each and every one of the senior practitioners who are standing here in this room had to go through what you are going through before."

Lin turned around the room and noticed that almost every eyes feel on him. Lin smiled at all of them before he continued, pointing at a random senior practitioner. "Take Cousin Shi, for example. He is a captain in the 212th Battalion. Cousin Sahn (Lin turned to another young man), who won the previous Firebending Tournament in Shu Jing. Uncle Fu (another young man replied with a smile), who earned the nickname 'the Winged Tiger'. Cousin Biao (Biao grinned back), who also has a nickname, from me, obviously, but I rather keep it to myself."

The children giggled while Biao cast a withering look that said 'I'll get you back for this!' at Lin. Lin continued, realizing that the whole room, even Jiang, was paying attention to him. "And not just them, everyone… each and every great hero we know from the past; the Dragon of the Fifth River, the Dragon of the North Mountain, General Mori the Conqueror of the Southern Forest, Admiral Kaigan of the Northern Fleet. Even the heroes of this era; General Lu the Red Maelstrom, Admiral Liang the Pacifier of the Western Sea, General Zhu and his Black Rhinos, Master Piandao the master swordsman, even High General Iroh the Dragon of the West. All of them… none of them were born bending fire since birth; none of them were born with the knowledge or the ability to be the great heroes they are. All of them, at some point of their lives, were students like you."

Lin cast a sweeping look across the room, noticing that every eye, even those that belonged to the senior practitioners, was steadily fixed on him. His speech had taken its effect.

"So, students", he continued, then turning to the little boy he was assisting and addressed him more personally. "So, nephew, if they all started as students, as beginners like you, and got to be the great men and women they are, why can't you? For all I know, you could be the next 'Lin'."

"Really?" the boy's eyes widened.

"Oh, yes", Lin nodded in all seriousness. He then turned to a nearby kid and said. "Or it could be you. Or you (he pointed at another kid). Or you (another kid). All of you are as strong as any of the great heroes had been when they were students. All of you are as capable of achieving great things as them. It won't be easy…"

Lin paused, sweeping the room again, making sure that every student was listening.

"It won't be easy", he repeated but then added with more encouraging and determined voice. "But, if stay true to your training and never give up, you can be even greater than all those great heroes… Trust me, I know. A wise old lady taught me this."

Yes, a wise old lady had taught him that; the value that one must have on himself and his ability and the importance of persistence and staying true to one's path.

"I wanna be a great general one day", the little boy timidly muttered.

"I wanna join the Royal Procession and protect the Royal Family", another boy said.

"I wanna join the navy and be the first female admiral", the timid girl from before added. And soon, one by one, the children stated their ambitions for the future. Lin and other senior practitioners smiled at them, at the future general of an elite rider unit, the future firebending master who traveled the world to fight injustice, at the future member of the Imperial Firebending Instructor, at the future Dragon who would be the second to be awarded the title by proving himself in the battlefield, and many more…

"Well", Lin said again, after the last kid, the future admiral who purged the sea clean of any pirates, finished telling everyone his ambition. "All of your desires for the future are noble. But, it's impossible…"

"WHAT!!!" the whole room exploded, even the senior practitioners and Jiang himself was greatly surprised, few joined in shouting the 'What!!'.

"… if you don't start practicing now", Lin completed his previous sentence, feigning a look of annoyance. "I wasn't finish talking yet, sheesh…"

And the whole room filled with giggles from the children and relief sighs from the senior practitioners. And after few encouraging words from Lin, the children went back to their training, more enthusiastic than before.

"Can I really do that, you know…" the little boy asked timidly. "Can I really be a general one day?"

"Yes, you can", Lin smiled. "Trust me."

Jiang felt that the last sentence was directed to himself when Lin cast a quick glance, smiling at him. Trust… Could Jiang really do that? Yes, he could, Jiang thought, feeling an inexplicable sense of pride and conviction swelling in his chest. He had done it before and now he would do it again; he would put his trust on Lin. After all, all fathers always have faith in their sons.

**Author's note:

* * *

**

Names:

1. Izumi means 'spring' or 'fountain' in Japanese. I just picked the name because it has 'z' in it and it is a female Japanese name.

2. Sahn is just a random name. It's the anagram of Shan which means mountain, one of the prototype names for the earthbender character I was talking about in chapter 32's author's note.

3. Fu (虎) is Cantonese for 'tiger'.

4. Mori (森) is Japanese for 'forest'

Never feed chocolate chips cookies to your cats or dogs, folks!!!! Chocolate is poisonous for cats and dogs, scientifically proven!!! My dog once stole a slice of chocolate cake and he almost died. He's okay now, thankfully.

The armor Hothead and the rest of Fire Nation soldiers are wearing looked exactly like the Fire Nation armor in the 'Avatar Series Pilot'. Why? it will be explained later, much later. :)

You may notice a joke from 'the Old Masters' when Jun teased Zuko and Katara although I changed Zuko and Katara with Hothead and Snowflake, and Jun with some unnamed soldier. And a little flashback on 'Chapter 6 – the Ceremony of Ascension, Part 1'. And also, the speech Lin gave to the new students is inspired by the speech from the movie 'Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix' which reminded me of a speech my teacher gave me.

To hpswst101, about the hint I was talking about, what do you think? I can't say yes or no at this point, not yet. More about it will be revealed in the next book, maybe… Either way, I shouldn't spoil the surprise. But, I gotta tell you this: you are very good at guessing. First, you guess the admiral's identity, then about Jet, then about Ursa's proposal. I take my hat off to you. :)

And about the assassination squad, don't worry. More about the squad will be revealed in the next chapter and it'll be actually a good thing for Lin. :)

Hey, I've never realized that Jeong Jeong looks like Einstein, haha. Thanks for pointing it out. I've always been too distracted by his twin little moustache that makes him looks like a catfish.

To TwistedGem, thanks for the review!!! I'm glad you like the story. About Lin's first name, don't worry about it. It'll be revealed in a rather fashionable way in the last chapter of this story, if everything goes well.

Okay… and I might not be able to update until this weekend. Gotta start doing my school assignment. T_T

I hate assignments; they ruin my sleep pattern and make me have weird dreams…

Have a nice day everyone!!


	36. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35 – Codes and a Hunt for Assassin**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"_AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!"_

_He ran as fast as he could while the beast chased after him closely, trying to run him through with its giant antler. He ran all around the arena, followed closely by the rampaging saber-tooth moose-lion while the mad king cackled like a madman he was at the sight._

"_Hahaha –snort- ahahahaha!!" the mad king cackled even louder, more maniacally at him as he leaped to the side, avoiding another wild charge from the beast. "Go get him, boy!"_

"_I am so going to kill him", he hissed, glancing at the ancient, not to mention crazy, king and maintaining most of his attention to the charging danger in front of him. The saber-tooth moose-lion was readying another charge, keeping its eyes fixed on him and scratching the ground with its hind leg. He cast a glance around; there was a wall behind him, fifty meters away, barely enough of a space for him to gain enough acceleration to accumulate the needed kinetic force. The moose lion was charging now! No choice!_

"_Okay", he muttered, turning his back on the beast, getting ready to run forward. "Come to me, you little- erm, not so little, jerk."_

_A good warrior always takes his surrounding into account, using it to aid him in his fight. That was what he was doing, using the terrain to his advantage. The beast was fifty meters away, not yet… forty, get ready… thirty, get steady… twenty, wait for it… ten! GO!!!_

_He dashed forward with everything he had; the beast's antler almost greased his behind. He ran forward, toward the wall. Just a bit more, thankfully he was a fast runner. Twenty meters, ten, five… the wall! Upon impact with the wall, he rooted his right foot on it, then his left foot above his right foot, then his right foot stomped on the wall again… wall running. It was part of his training in order to enable him to run over a short wall for infiltration. Depending on the speed and momentum you gained when you ran into the wall, usually you'll get no more than four steps. Some who were really good at it could get maximum six steps. But, he was not really good at it, his skill was average and he had never really had any useful use for it, so he hadn't really been practicing this thing. Therefore, it was understandable that he lost all his momentum upon his third step. It was barely enough, he realized as he propelled himself to backward, using the wall as a launching point in a split second before the beast's skull crashed the wall, to the point where he would have been sandwiched on had he not launched himself in time._

_He twirl in the air and landed perfectly five meters away behind the beast. The moose lion shook its sore head a bit, pulling it from the cracked wall, staggering on the spot a bit before slumping down, losing consciousness from the impact. He sighed, relieved that he had passed the test. He turned to the king, who was munching on some kind of green crystal rock, and said. "I've done what you asked of me. Now, let me go!"_

"_No", the mad king replied curtly. "I could release you now, but I'll just catch you again. But, if you wait until tomorrow, I will release you and will never bother you again. You can wait or you can go now. Your choice."_

"_I will not wait until tomorrow!" he retorted, after thinking about it for a while._

"_Why?" the mad king asked, raising a brow.

* * *

_

He swiftly caught her hand just before he could even touch him, eliciting a short startled gasp from her. It took some time for Lin's body to stop tensing up and his mind to register that it was Ursa whose hand he was gripping.

"Oh, Lady Ursa", Lin sat up, releasing Ursa's hand.

"I didn't mean to startle you, dear", Ursa smiled apologetically. "I came to wake you up."

"Good morning, then", Lin yawned, grinning and stretching his upper body.

"Good morning, my dear", Ursa smiled brighter, casting a fond look on the boy. "How was your sleep?"

"Not good", Lin replied bluntly.

"The bed's not comfy enough?" Ursa asked again.

"No, it's perfect", Lin waved it off. "I just had some weird dream."

"Dream?" Ursa sounded interested, plopping down on the side of the bed. "About what?"

"Hmm", Lin scratched his chin, trying to remember his dream from the previous night. "Well, all I remember is that the dream involves an arena, a weird looking crazy old man which, for some reason, I hate very much even though I don't know who he is, and a saber-tooth moose-lion."

"Oh…" Ursa drawled, not understanding anything. "Sounds interesting."

"You think so?" Lin asked.

"Well, not really", Ursa spoke more honestly this time. She then smiled and opened her arms. "Come on. A little hug will make you feel better."

And Lin threw himself into her embrace.

…………It did make him feel better.

"So, how's your training going?" Ursa asked, caressing the boy's back.

"Pretty good", Lin answered, sounded bored.

Because the Celestial Dragon style had been a secret style practiced only by the members of the Lin Family ever since the day the clan was founded, the Royal Family had been courteous enough not to force Lin to teach any of it to Zuko and Azula although if he wanted to, he was allowed to teach the first five of the 16 basic forms to them because the first five basic forms were allowed for the public to learn.

So, Lin was given a privilege, as with other Imperial Firebending Instructors, to learn the firebending style practiced by the members of the Royal Family and the Royal Procession: the Raging Phoenix style. The style itself, in Lin's opinion, was a more advanced and refined version of the army standardized style. It has all the rigidity of the army standardized style and also stressed more in producing and sending fire at the opponent rather than controlling it. The merit it had over the army standardized style was that it also emphasized on breathing technique and calmness of mind which, according to Head Instructor Kaji, was the key to producing greater and stronger fire. Also, the calmness of mind is essential in executing the ultimate technique of the Raging Phoenix style, a technique so deadly that nobody other than those who carry the royal blood was allowed to learn it: lighting regeneration.

Lin himself would never have a chance to learn it even if he and Azula really did marry. A shame, Lin thought. He had seen lightning regeneration in action, courtesy to Iroh, and would really like to learn the technique himself. But then again, being allowed to learn the style itself all way through the master level forms was a privilege itself; the members of the Royal Procession were only allowed to learn up to the advanced level. Additionally, the other merit of the Raging Dragon style was that the style was suitable, to a certain degree, for hand-to-hand combat purposes. So, for Lin, going through the trouble of learning the Raging Phoenix style for this past week, since the very day he moved in to the palace, wasn't really a waste, he did learn something useful from it.

"Master Kaji said your progress is astounding", Ursa said again, a tinge of pride was clear in her voice.

"Really?" Lin asked, emerging from Ursa's embrace and cast a puzzled look at her. He had been fooling around much during his training, mostly because he liked messing with the grumpy and snappish Master Kaji.

"Yes", Ursa smiled, she sounded a bit reprimandingly. "Although he did say that he would really appreciate it if you would take his lesson more seriously. His old body can't really hold on for much longer if you keep making him repeating a demonstration of the same move ten times in a session."

Lin grinned guiltily. His most favorite way of torturing Kaji was to pretend that he hadn't got a good view of whatever move Kaji was demonstrating and thus, requiring Kaji to repeat the demonstration for a few more times. It wouldn't be much problem for the old master it hadn't happened to be a winter season. In winter, the effort it took a firebender to produce a fire as big and strong as the fire he produced in any other season was practically doubled. So, imagine how irritated Kaji had been whenever Lin made him perform a complicate firebending move for, let's say ten times, and it turned out that Lin could perform the move perfectly in his first try. At least if Lin flunked the first try, Kaji could have a small measure of revenge in disguise of providing the boy with some more detailed instruction, albeit a much stricter one, probably with some yelling and physical punishment, such as push-ups or running laps, thrown in too.

"Okay, now", Ursa beamed, taking Lin's grin as an apology. "It's time for breakfast and (the boy groaned and plopped back on the bed) your training. Come on."

"Five more minutes", Lin chuckled, trying to wrench his blanket back from Ursa.

"Not a chance", Ursa laughed, winning the blanket tug-o-war and started to wrench the boy, who tried to hide his head under his pillow, too. "Come on, dear. Master Kaji's waiting."

* * *

"—maintain the training session. At the end of the year, I believe, it would be wise to—"

The middle aged captain stated his report regarding the maintenance of 212th Battalion's activities during winter to the other officers of the battalion. A long table was set in one of the Lin Estate's meeting rooms; around the table sat the officers, at the end of the table, Jiang was sitting, lost in thought. He was anxious, waiting for Lin to visit the Estate. Funny, Lin was the heir of the clan but his coming to the Estate today would be a 'visit'. According to a letter sent by Lin, he would be allowed to 'visit' the Estate in weekends. In the letter, it was implied that Lin suspected that Ursa was the one behind this leeway and, somehow, it made Jiang's opinion towards the woman heightened up a bit.

"General? General?" Masa called but Jiang didn't notice. Masa cast a look at Kang, asking for assistance. Kang stared at Jiang for a few seconds, scrutinizing the man's face. Absent, pale, anxious, worry, all those things were written as clear as day on Jiang's face.

"Brother?" Kang called. No response… Plan B: "Lin!"

Hearing his son's name mentioned, Jiang abruptly stood up, looking around the room, searching for the boy. Realizing what exactly happened, Jiang cast a nervous look at his officers who all stared at him with sympathy. Almost everyone in room had been serving under Jiang for a long time; some had even been part of the thirty men squad who fought with him in the legendary battle of Yu Guo. So, all of them understood exactly what Jiang was going through and how he must be feeling now that his son lived in the imperial palace, away from him.

"I-I…" Jiang stuttered. "I'm sorry. I was zoning out—"

"Master!!" a voice came from outside the room. Five seconds later the owner of the voice, a manservant, skidded into the room, almost broke down the door in his hurry to convey the news he brought. Must be good news because he was beaming. "Master! Young Master has returned!"

Jiang's face suddenly lit up. He was really about to leap to the door but stopped suddenly as he remembered that he was in the middle of a meeting with his officers. He turned to the lot; the expression of his face clearly broadcasted the conflict inside him, between his obligation as the general of 212th Battalion to his officers and his love as a father to his son.

"Just go", Masa sighed while Kang grinned. "We'll manage somehow."

"Thank you", Jiang grinned before running outside the room, followed by the manservant and accompanied by the smiles of the men inside the room, not including Masa and Shi, of course, since the two didn't smile a lot.

"A good thing?" Kang asked the lot, answered by many nods and murmurs which he interpreted as 'yes'.

Meanwhile, Jiang strode along the corridor, almost ran, with the manservant following closely, to the main gate. But, as he was just about to turn in the corridor that led to the main gate, the manservant stopped him, saying that Lin should be waiting in the dining room for lunch. Jiang quickly turned to the other direction, changing course to the dining room. As he entered the room, he was greeted with the sight of Bing and Biao having a lively conversation with Lin. _He hasn't changed much_, Jiang thought, staring at Lin who stared back, grinning. _Of course he hasn't changed much. He's been gone for just a week, idiot! What should I do now?!! Should I hug him? But, he's been gone for only a week not a month. Should I really hug him?_

And while Jiang was having his internal conflict, gawking from the door, Lin took the initiative of approaching and embracing him, making Jiang faced yet another conflict of whether or not he should hug back. He did.

"How've you been, son?" he choked.

"Pretty good?" Lin replied casually. "Everything's fine at the palace."

And both of them continued the conversation on the table over lunch, along with Bing and Biao, and Masa, Kang, and the rest of Jiang's brothers and sister-in-laws who joined them afterwards; all of them busy questioning Lin about his new life at the palace and about the life as an Imperial Firebending Instructor.

"I'll start doing the instructing next week", Lin answered Uncle Kang's question. "I still need to learn the style up to the advanced form, though. But, Master Kaji said that I should be ready to teach next week."

And the conversation went on with Jiang not muttering a word. His son would be staying for the weekend; the real conversation would take place at night.

* * *

And so, later that night…

In Jiang's room, Lin and Jiang were sitting around a table, having a Pai Sho match. The game was spent casually, filled with little conversations here and there regarding some interesting and trivial things that happened in the Estate, Aunt Bing's health, Biao's progress with her training, Jiang's date, 212th Battalion's activities for the remainder of the year, firebending, weather… nothing unusual.

"Check mate", Lin yawned, Jiang's brow twitched. "Another one?"

"Maybe", Jiang replied curtly. "I can't seem to win."

"Oh, don't worry, Dad", Lin lazily cleared the board for another match. "This next one will be more _interesting_, I hope."

Although Jiang's face didn't change, Lin knew that his father received the message. It was time for the serious talk. So, while engaging in another casual and superficial verbal conversation, both of them let the tiles talk for them. Lin advanced his purple nightshade tile, the flower of assassins (_Dad, it's about my training for the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination_). Jiang halted Lin's progress with a wheel tile (_what/when/who?_). Lin put another purple nightshade tile on the border side of the board, right in the middle (_soon/today_). Jiang then placed a whale tile (_…/no response…/your turn to talk_). Lin placed a dragon tile at defensive position, defensive position meant question (_any news about General Iroh?_). Time for a verbal response…

"By the way, son", Jiang sounded as if he just remembered the thing that he had to say, cutting Lin in the middle of explaining that Birdie took some time to get used to palace's fodder. "You know, we just received an intel saying that General Iroh is making little progress in Ba Sing Se."

"Nothing's new, then", Lin sighed.

"Yes, nothing's new", Jiang concurred, then added. "Although, we do receive another piece of information, still rumor, though, that the battalions under General Wu, General Shu, and General Bujing will return to the Fire Nation and replaced by some fresh battalions."

"And 212th Battalion is among the fresh battalions?" Lin arched a brow.

"Exactly", Jiang sipped his tea, then continued. "According to Fire Lord Azulon, one Dragon might be enough to break through Ba Sing Se but _two_ Dragons will be better."

"I'm not surprised", Lin sounded gloom although he didn't actually dislike the prospect of meeting Lu Ten and Iroh sooner. He wanted to know how Lu Ten was doing and he did need Iroh's help.

"Hmm, yes" Jiang replied absentmindedly, placing a rose tile, subtly tapped it twice, tapping twice meant 'no question'.

Lin, too, didn't have any further question or information he needed to ask or report to Jiang. And so, both of them played normally, after Lin countered Jiang's rose tile with a wolf tile and twice light tapping, of course. Exactly the night before his departure for the Imperial Palace, Lin and Jiang developed this series of secret codes through Pai Sho games; most of them were about the three proposals and other important issues: purple nightshade tile – the second proposal, fire lily tile – the first proposal, dragon tile – General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, dragon tile and coughing twice – Lin, the Dragon of the Deep Forest, red orchid tile – the third proposal, and many more. They had also developed some other code that determined time: placing a random tile on the middle border of the board – soon or today, one grid at the right of the middle one– tomorrow, one grid at the left of the middle one – yesterday, and so on until the seventh grid of both to the right (next week) and to the left (last week), the left corner – last month, and the right corner – next month, 'unsure' or 'unknown' by placing the tile in the middle accompanied by clearing a throat. Also, wheel tile was used to ask the questions 'who, what, when, or how' depending of the context, and whale tile meant 'no response or I don't know', and tapping a random tile meant 'is there anything else' or 'I don't have anything more to say'.

It wasn't like they suspected a spy in their own home but, according to Lin, it was better to be safe. Although Lin hadn't really started his assassin's training yet, in a conversation he had in private with Fire Prince Ozai, he had learnt more about the secret squad and he had a reason to believe that the squad was capable enough to infiltrate the Lin Estate and eavesdrop on their conversation. So, better safe than sorry, right?

In the conversation, Lin had also learnt that the existence of the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination was a heavily classified and only known to member of the Royal Family that was active in the military, in this case, Azulon, Ozai, and Iroh. Ursa didn't know anything about it and it made Lin felt a sense of relief although he was intrigued of whether Lu Ten knew about the squad or not, he _was_ a member of the Royal Family and active in the military. Probably not…

He had also learnt that the squad was divided into four different divisions and he would have a freedom to decide which division to join. Each divisions was named after the four disciples of Agni and specialized in different aspect of the dealing of espionage and assassination

The first division, Seiryu, or the Green Dragon unit, specialized in assault and assassination in a great scale. The 'muscle' of the four since the members of the squad were required to be able to fight off a swarm of enemy alone. Most of the members were big and physically strong, as Ozai put it. Seiryu's job usually revolved around attacking enemy's base head on, destroying everyone who stand in their way, leaving destruction on their trail like a rampaging dragon. Furthermore, Seiryu were often ordered to perform demolition and as such most of them were demolition expert, able to utilize explosives effectively.

Suzaku, or the Red Phoenix unit, were the 'snipers'. Members of Suzaku were all master marksmen, able to shoot arrows from their bows as naturally as spitting from their mouth and throw hidden knives or shuriken with deadly accuracy. Nimble, agile, and accurate, ranged assassination was their forte and taking down enemy before they can reach them was a second nature to them.

Byakko, or the White Tiger unit, were the 'spies'. Infiltration, information gathering, mingling among the citizens, Byakko was truly the knife in the crowd. Members of Byakko were often sent to the enemy territories to perform espionage and information gathering and, if possible, although rare, to silently take down the enemy's leader. Their survival and information gathering skills were second to none.

The last was Genbu, or the Black Tortoise unit. Genbu was the 'black ops', specialized in silent assassination. No fortress was too tightly guarded for Genbu and their demonic stealth; members of Genbu could infiltrate enemy's base, sneak into the commander's room, kill him during his sleep, and get out of the base undetected. If Byakko was the knife in the crowd, Genbu was the knife in the dark, strike before anyone realized that they were there or even strike and still nobody knew that they were there.

Because of the different nature of each division, the members of the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination received different set of training regiment, depending of the division that they were assigned to. Needless to say, Lin chose to join Byakko unit. He thought that Byakko was the only unit whose job required less killing but Ozai's smirk when Lin told him his choice worried Lin. It seemed like there were more about Byakko that Lin didn't know.

"Check mate", Lin yawned.

"Another match?" Jiang offered, which Lin translated as 'are you sure there's nothing more you want to say?'

"Nope", Lin rose from his seat. "I think I'm gonna go to sleep."

"Alright, then", Jiang said. "Goodnight, son."

"Goodnight, Dad", Lin replied, exiting the room. And as he walked to his own room, he couldn't help but noticed that his father hadn't asked anything about the third proposal. Hmm, surely it wasn't because Jiang had suddenly agreed with the engagement. Lin knew the real reason behind the engagement, or rather, he had his guesses. But, he had never told anyone about it, not even Lady Ursa as the 'real reason' or Azula as his fiancée. His fiancée, Lin's face suddenly heated up, somewhat embarrassed by the idea. Well, Azula was… nah, don't think about it, Lin shook the thought off. Besides, what did he, an eleven year old, know about love?

Lin opened the door of his room and was greeted by the air of familiarity. It had been only a week but it felt like months since the last time Lin stepped on the stone floor, or sat on the table, reading books or setting up a new booby traps, or sitting on the chair below the window, talking to his mother's picture under the moonlight, or lying down on the bed, thinking. Funny, Lin thought. It had only been a week. Taking off his shoes and not bothering to change into a more comfortable sleeping robe, he put his flute on the nightstand and plopped down on the bed. It took only few minutes for him to be drifted into a deep sleep. He was tired…

* * *

The next morning, Saturday…

Nothing was unusual. The morning spent with firebending lesson with Jiang and Kang, Jiang reasoned that Lin needed two masters to train more effectively although Kang and Lin knew that Jiang was just too proud to admit that he couldn't handle Lin alone. Then lunch, and after lunch, a hunt in the mountain was in order because some villagers, farmers, of course, had been complaining about a flock of hyena wolf harassing their cattle. It was a common practice by farmers to report this kind of problem to nearby noble families and not directly to the city guards because the city guards would just turn them down, saying that their job was to keep bandits or thieves away, not some wild animals. That was why farmers usually went to noble families; the noble families would then use their influence to mobilize the city guards or their own guards to deal with the problem. It was a common practice in many cities in the Fire Nation and the Imperial City was no exception either.

And as such, there they were; Jiang, Lin, Biao, Shi, and some other teenagers and young adults of Lin's generation. According to Jiang, such activities were important for the 'young ones' to bond. Living in an Estate with a couple hundred people apparently didn't guarantee much social interaction among them. And there Jiang was, leading ten teenagers and young adults, including his own son even though, technically, Lin was neither a teenager nor a young adult, into the forest below a hill, all of them carrying a set of bow and a quiver of arrows.

"Alright, everyone", Jiang halted, after checking some marks on the ground. "It seems like the hyena wolf lair is nearby. That way, I presume."

Jiang turned around, discerning the surrounding area. He then whispered in low voice, addressing the whole group. "We have to split up, we'll surround the lair from all side."

Jiang crouched down and drew something on the ground: an X and five arrows pointing at it from all side.

"Listen, guys", he explained. "We'll form a group of two and surround the area from five directions. We must attack the lair together. Hmm, at midday, I guess. We'll wait for midday before we attack."

And then Jiang divided the group into three groups of two and one group of three, Jiang himself would be taking Lin with him on the ground that Lin got lost easily and it'd be safer if Lin was to go with him. Nobody, but Lin, complained. Needless to say, Lin's complain was met by less than satisfactory reply; it was a reasoning of an eleven year old brat against an order from the head of the family, after all. And besides, it wasn't Jiang's reasoning that he had problem with; it was Jiang's next action, what Jiang intended to do, that worried him. But, Lin thought, as the groups dispersed and Jiang led him deeper into the forest, there was no way to say this to Jiang. It was too risky.

Yes, Lin sensed it, too. It appeared that the spy or whoever that had been tailing him ever since he left the Imperial Palace had been 'gracious' enough to leave him alone when he was inside the Lin Estate. But, the moment he stepped outside the gate of the Estate, the spy had begun following him again. The spy was good, no doubt. Although Jiang and Lin could sense his presence, yes, _his_, not _they_, fortunately, neither Lin nor Jiang could even guessed where he was exactly. Maybe that was why Jiang led Lin deeper into the forest where the trees and grass were taller, packer, and denser. Lin guessed that Jiang was hoping that the spy would make a mistake of steeping on a dry branch or something and, thus, revealing his position.

—CRACKED—

…followed by two sharp 'twang's as Jiang and Lin quickly shot their arrows to their left, into the thick bush. Lin was about to give chase into the bush but Jiang caught his shoulder and pulled him behind his back. Lin was about to sound his annoyance before he realized what Jiang was about to do. Apparently, stopping Lin wasn't a 'it's too dangerous for you' gesture but 'this way's quicker' gesture; Jiang assumed a firm stance, conjuring a fireball on each hand, molding the fire into bigger and deadlier fire before sending it as a huge fire stream at the bush.

"There!" Lin quickly shot his second arrow at the dark figure who leaped high in the sky. The arrow missed, no surprise there since Lin wasn't exactly a good archer. The figure landed behind them; Lin and Jiang turned to him: a man, judging from his posture, wearing an all black light armor garb; black hooded ninja garb under his black lightweight breastplate, adorned with similarly black lightweight shoulder pads, a pair of armguards and black cloth gloves, a pair of shin guards, all black; his hood was put on, a white oni noh mask hid his face, white oni mask indicated that he was a Byakko; a ninjato, short and straight katana used by assassins, strapped on his back. The man stood up, calm and careful, not showing any opening, ignoring a bleeding wound on his thigh. It seemed like one of the arrows Jiang and Lin fired earlier hit him there.

No turning back now, Lin sighed. He was aware of the spy tailing him everywhere, of course. He knew that there was at least one of them shadowing him everywhere when he was in the palace. But, he was planning to start his training in the secret squad before he did anything about it; he wanted to know what they were capable of first. Sadly, Jiang had a different plan. Lin dropped his bow and noticed that Jiang did the same. _This is gonna be ugly_, Lin groaned in his mind, knowing how much damage an angry Jiang could cause, as he and his father lunged forward, so did the assassin. A silent battle between them ensued…

The next morning, everything went on as usual: Lin woke up at the morning, had a firebending training, mastered another set of form, by the way, had lunch, pulled a prank or two on some unfortunate family members, spent the evening with Aunt Bing who couldn't got up from her bed due to her sickness, had dinner, and went back to the palace with Birdie and a small unit of escort. The news of a strange man in black found brutally murdered in a forest on the outskirts of Imperial City that he overheard in some servants' conversation didn't seem to bother him at all.

* * *

**Author's note:**

One short essay down, two lab reports, one long essay, and one electronic assignment to go… don't you just hate school…

About the four divisions, they were inspired by the four divisions in the manga 'Angel Heart'. In the manga, there was an assassin group that trained orphans into killers. After completing the training, they would be sent to join different divisions, depending on their skills: the Suzaku seemed to be the group for snipers; the Seiryu were like SWAT team, always operate on groups and used automatic guns and such, not to mention the tactical vest they used; the Byakko was the spy, infiltrating the enemy's group or something, posing as one of their own to gain their trust, and then killed the leader. The Genbu in the manga was the special black ops unit directly under the boss, like his own personal army. I don't remember what their specialty was, but in the manga they did take down a group of rouge Seiryu by appearing out of nowhere from the shadow and slit their throats up close and personal.

And the assassin's uniform was inspired by the uniform worn by the two ninja guards of some prince from foreign country in the manga Fullmetal Alchemist. The armor's cool!!!

To hpswst101, speaking of dreams, I do have a plan to use one of the dreams I had in the past in the next book. That dream had some philosophical meaning to it.

Oh yeah, 'Five Prompts in One Week'!! I like that fic; it gave me some insight of how people normally act when they're with their friends in modern setting. I have a plan of writing another fic with modern time setting after I finish with this one. Not anytime soon, of course. :)

But, I have a bad feeling that the next fic won't happen…


	37. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36 – Training as an Assassin**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

Few days ago in Ba Sing Se…

"What mess have he got himself into?" Iroh muttered, sipping his tea. But, even the tea couldn't calm his mind now that the grandson of his friends was in danger. And it was winter too, which meant he couldn't launch an assault any time soon. He couldn't senselessly send his men into death by ordering them to attack the wall of Ba Sing Se in this season. He had opted into defensive and he hated it. The Dragon of the West was known for his aggressiveness on the battlefield. And besides, as a young general under his father, whom he thought very highly of, he had learnt that offensive strategy was the more reliable tactic, faster and easier, at least. But, what could he do when he wasn't able to assume the offensive stance?

"Dad?" Lu Ten entered the tent. Iroh looked up to him, smiling weakly. Lu Ten, understanding the smile, grinned back and sat on the chair in front of his father. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, son", Iroh laughed a little; no point of worrying the young lieutenant, he thought. "I have just received news from the homeland."

"Is it about Lin?" Lu Ten beamed although Iroh sensed a tinge of jealousy in his smile. "I heard the rumor going around the camp. Is true, Dad?"

"The young Dragon of the Deep Forest", Iroh sighed. "Yes, it's true."

"Great", Lu Ten replied, snickering. Ever since they were kids, he and Lin had been what he referred to as 'friendly rivals' when it comes to firebending, both trying to outdo the other. And now, Lin had gone way ahead of him, he had to catch up somehow. Lu Ten was the son of the Dragon of the West, after all. he had an honor to retain. "The Dragon of the Deep Forest, huh?"

"Yes", Iroh sounded more solemn now. "What an ironic name."

Lu ten snorted his agreement. Yes, what an ironic name, he thought. And after a moment of total silence.

"Is the messenger still here?" Lu Ten asked. "I want to send a congratulation to Lin."

"No, the messenger has gone just few minutes ago", Iroh replied, noticing a disappointed look on his son's face. "But, don't worry. I have sent my own congratulation and added your name in it."

"What?" Lu Ten sounded even more disappointed. 'Added his name in it' meant 'P.S. Lu Ten said hi'. "Oh well, I have a better method of sending a congratulation, anyway."

"Really?" Iroh sounded interested. "How?"

"By conquering this blasted city of course", Lu Ten said, full of conviction. He then pulled out from his pocket a sooty white armband. "And by tying this armband on highest point of the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace. I won't lose to him."

"Hmm", Iroh smiled. It was a good thing, the rivalry between the two, he thought. At least, the competition brought both Lin and Lu Ten even closer to each other instead of tearing them apart like what usually happened to friends-turned-rivals. Oh! He forgot about something.

"Here", Iroh pulled from his pocket a small scroll. "It came with the letter from the Imperial City. It is addressed to you personally."

Lu Ten took the scroll, unrolled it, and beamed as he noticed the handwriting; it was from Lin!

"What does it mean, anyway?" Iroh asked, unable to contain his curiosity. "I couldn't make a word of it."

"Dad, I'm old enough for privacy, don't you think?" Lu Ten stabbed a sharp stare at the general, looking clearly annoyed. "You _have_ to stop going through my things."

"Oh, son", Iroh laughed. "You are at the age when I _must_ go through your things, if you know what I mean…"

"Dad! Ugh!" Lu Ten sounded disgusted, casting a horrified look at Iroh who laughed even harder and exited the tent to read the letter from Lin in peace. He entered his own tent, closed the tent's mouth. Silent as he read the coded letter. Then, he rubbed his eyes, thinking that he had misread something. He read again and paused a little after he finished, scrutinizing on the codes he and Lin had developed together when they were little. And he read the letter again, more slowly and carefully this time. And then, it was heard throughout the whole camp…

"AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! NOOOOOOOOO WAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!"

* * *

"So, students", Lin said, rather smugly if I may add, crossing his arms in what he thought to be a sifu-like manner (he was imitating Kaji). "First of all, let me see what both of you can do."

"No", a curt short answer came from both Zuko and Azula.

"Hey, I'm your teacher", Lin narrowed his eyes, his brow twitched. "Show some respect."

"Before that, tell us about the deals", Zuko replied, Azula nodded in agreement.

"What deals?" Lin asked.

"The deals you have with Fire Lord Azulon, duh", Azula retorted.

"How'd you guys know about it?" Lin asked again. Shouldn't it be a classified information, how did they— but, on second thought, Lin didn't want to know how both royalties knew about the deals.

"What do you know about it?" Lin decided to play safe; who knows, he might be able to wiggle his way out.

"There are three agreements", Zuko answered.

"And they are top secret", Azula added.

"What else?" Lin baited, there was little chance he could get away…

"You're going to tell us about it", both kids replied in unison.

"Why?" Lin asked curtly.

"Because… we're your friends", Zuko grinned. Not too effective.

"Please…" Azula added sweetly.

"…"

Maybe Lin did have a soft spot for Azula. Sighing submissively, he nodded, drawing a wide grin from both kids. Now, to rephrase the proposals in a way that it wouldn't be too informative.

----

_The three proposals had been delivered. And now, 'yes' or 'no'? Definitely 'yes, 'no' would mean their deaths. Lin glanced at Ursa who glared at Ozai from the corner of her eyes every now and then. Lin felt a bit betrayed but it seemed like Ursa didn't know anything about proposals or about the groups of people surrounding the room from all side. It made him felt a little better, somehow. Lin realized that he was losing ground; by refusing the proposals before he even let the Royal Family to offer them would be a disgrace for the Fire Lord and it would mean his and his father's death, listening to it but refusing would also mean their deaths. They had no choice but to accept… _

_But, Lin had to win some grounds!_

"_I have three conditions, one for each proposal, Your Majesty", Lin addressed the Fire Lord himself, bowing and noticing a death glare coming from Ozai's direction._

"_Of course", Azulon replied, not noticing his son's twitch. "Let's hear it."_

----

"Well", Lin said, Azula and Zuko listening intently. "The first agreement was that I'll be your firebending teacher. But…"

----

"_About the first proposal, it would be a great honor to receive such privilege", Lin said humbly. "But, I have an obligation to my family regarding the art of firebending—"_

"_Yes, of course", Azulon impatiently cut in. "I know, you will not be obliged to teach the secret art of your family. Before you start teaching, you will be trained in the Raging Phoenix style of firebending. Our head instructor will see to it that you will be trained properly."_

"_Thank you, Your Majesty", Lin bowed again._

----

"What!!!" Azula and Zuko exclaimed, clearly disappointed. When they heard that Lin would be their personal firebending tutor, they had imagined that they would learn the, to use Zuko's description, 'super cool, butt-kicking' Celestial Dragon style. Both of them did wonder of how their grandfather managed to convince the Lin Family to allow this, perhaps an imperial decree and being a Fire Lord didn't hurt, either. But, their dream was shattered by this development.

"Sorry, guys", Lin grinned. "Some secrets are to be carried to the grave."

And since both Zuko and Azula seemed to be too disappointed to say anything else, Lin decided to worm his way out.

"Okay, so the first lesson is—"

"Not yet", Azula cut in, casting a sharp glare at the ponytailed instructor. "What about the other agreements?"

----

"_And about the second agreement", Lin said, calm and steady. He needed help! "I assume General Iroh knows about the existence of the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination, no?"_

"_He does", Ozai answered this time, probably tired of being ignored by Lin. But, Lin ignored him anyway, still addressing the Fire Lord himself._

"_Then, my next request is to have General Iroh to personally pick the members of the multi-task team that I am about to lead in the future", Lin said to the Fire Lord, anticipating a fire blast or something; the request was a bit too bold coming from an eleven year old kid. "And I believe that it will also be better if I start my training after General Iroh return from—"_

"_No", Azulon interrupted again; his voice was cold, ironic, since Lin felt the fire around his throne got a bit hotter. "We can't wait that long. I will send my personal envoy to Ba Sing Se, bearing a letter of your request for his recommendation. You will begin your training after we receive a reply from Iroh."_

_Not too favorable, Lin thought. At least he'd have a royal supporter close at hand if something went wrong had he waited for Iroh to return. He had to think of something…_

"_Whoever General Iroh chooses for me will be my instructors then, Your Majesty?" Lin made it as if this point was clear and he merely wanted to make sure, he had to win more grounds._

"_Of course."  
_----

"The second agreement", Lin hesitated. "Hmm… I'm gonna have to kill you if I tell you."

_Or rather, the man who is watching us will kill all of us if I tell you_, he rephrased in his mind, defending his conscience from Zuko and Azula's disappointed groan, more specifically from Azula's cute pleading look. The thought about the content of the third agreement only made it worse…

----

"_And about the third proposal", Lin started, pausing a little as he noticed Ursa twitching on the spot, focusing all her attention to him. "Before that, may I know the reason behind this arrangement?"_

"_You have a potential to be a great man one day", it was Ozai who provided the answer, he looked smug for some reason. "And also the fact that you have a good relationship with __**my **__daughter. I believe that there is no one else worthy of my daughter's hand in marriage."_

_And emphasis on 'my', Jiang and Azulon might not notice it but Lin and Ursa did. While Lin successfully hid any sign of curiosity, Ursa cast an obvious nasty glare at Ozai._

"_Princess Azula is a good friend", Lin answered stiffly. "While I am grateful that you think so highly of me, I can't help but doubt if I am really worthy of such honor."_

"_Of course you are", Ozai smirked, not smiled, and slyly too. "I can't think of any other candidate for my (another emphasis!) daughter's future husband than you. Don't you agree, __**dear wife**__?"_

_Was it merely an emphasis or venom he sensed in 'dear wife'? Lin asked himself. Judging from yet another stabbing glare Ursa cast on Ozai and her curt 'yes, dear husband', it was venom._

"_Thank you, Your Highnesses", Lin humbly bowed, sensing another wave of heat emanating from his father but it seemed like this one was caused by anger. "In that case, my request was to keep this engagement a secret. Nobody but the five of us shall know about this."_

"_What about Azula", Ozai drawled, he understood the reasoning behind the previous two conditions but this one… he didn't get it._

"_It will be my concern", Lin answered, receiving another deathly glare from Ozai. Well, it was a bold statement, the condition made it as if Lin held more authority in this matter than Ozai as Azula's father and even the Fire Lord Himslef. "I must ask all of you to not say anything to anyone regarding this matter. I will be the one who have the right to talk about this matter to whoever I wish and Princess Azula will know of this matter from me and me alone in time of my choosing, of course."_

----

Lin still shuddered when he thought about it. It still amazed him that he hadn't been killed yet after proposing such thing; by making a notion that he had the right to inform anyone he chose about the engagement while Azulon and Ozai didn't, he subtly established a notion that he had leverage on both royalties. But, since Azulon and Ozai had been able to not only swallow their pride, which was very impressive, but also fulfill their other promises, Lin realized that the engagement was important for them. But, why? What did they hope to achieve from this engagement?

"And the third agreement?" Azula asked, hoping that she would hear something interesting at last.

"Well, Princess", Lin snickered, patting the girl's head. "If I tell you, I'm afraid that you're going to kill me."

When he said 'you', he was addressing both Zuko and Azula, of course. On the outside, at least. Inside, he was referring exclusively to the princess who, like her brother, goaded him to say some more specific information about the agreements. _Everything won't be the same again, will it?_ Lin asked no one in particular. Yes, everything wouldn't be the same again.

* * *

Later that evening, Lin was sitting in his room, a rather spacious room, a bit smaller than his 'heir of the family' room in the Estate but somewhat bigger that his old room. He was sitting on his bed, reading a letter that came with three scrolls, a reply from General Iroh. Shortly after offering the three proposals, Fire Lord Azulon sent a team of imperial messenger to the Iroh's camp outside Ba Sing Se. And about a week later, the reply from General Iroh arrived at the Imperial Palace. Lin couldn't help but being amazed by the efficiency of the imperial messenger, he suspected that the messengers were probably consisted of the secret squad.

The reply from General Iroh himself consisted of two letters and three scrolls. One of the letters was for Azulon, stating that appointing Lin as an Imperial Firebending Instructor was a wise decision but recruiting him into the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination was not prudent. Iroh didn't say anything about Lin and Azula's engagement because he didn't know anything about it, of course. Not yet, at least, because with the letter from Azulon, Lin also had sent a personal letter to Lu Ten: personal to the level that nobody but Lu Ten could understand the content of the letter.

Most parents could be a bit, to use a more common but rather rude term, 'nosy' when it comes to the affairs of their young children. Iroh and Umma had been the examples of such parents. When Lu Ten and Lin were kids, they sometimes sent letters to each other via messenger hawk, discussing things like firebending or the next pranks they would pull the next time they met. It wouldn't be much of a problem if Umma and Iroh hadn't always tried to hijack the content of the letters the two kids sent to each other and certainly wouldn't be a problem if Umma hadn't intercepted a letter bearing a blueprint of, according to Lin who was interrogated later, the ink ball booby trap version 5.3; this incident had forced Umma and Iroh to be more vigilant.

So, to counter this problem, Lin and Lu Ten had developed a method to code their letter. _What's the code again? Subject, predicate, object, time, place_, Lin reminded himself, thinking back on the letter he had written for Lu Ten, trying to recall the letter word by word.

_Dear Lu Ten,_

_Regarding the present for your father's next birthday._

_I have a good suggestion: tea. I heard that the Earth Kingdom has a wide variety of tea. Certainly finding some for the infamous General Iroh the Royal Tea Lover won't be too difficult._

_Married couples in the town of Gaipan run a tea shop. I believe they also sell tea leaves, try jasmine or oolong. They're good. Everything's fine here. I live in the palace now, ask your dad why._

_Azula and Zuko said hi._

_That's all._

_P.S. say hi to your dad for me._

Yep, nothing was wrong with the letter. Subject, predicate, object in this particular letter and a 'say hi' to General Iroh. The code was on every first word or phrase of the paragraphs after the first one: I, a married couple, and Azula; I, marry, Azula; _I will marry Azula_, and Lu Ten was allowed to 'say hi' to Iroh, Lu Ten was asked to tell Iroh about it. General Iroh would know what to do, pondered Lin. Although, Lu Ten might be screaming around, horrified by the idea after he read the letter.

And there were the three scrolls too. Lin, however, opened the letter first. In the letter, Iroh said that on each of the scrolls, a profile of an assassin was put on in such a way that '_even a kid like you can understand', _as Iroh wrote on the letter. There's also a congratulation for Lin being a Dragon, a warm hello for everyone, and a 'P.S. Lu Ten said hi'. Lin, understanding the message, unrolled the first scroll. A small portrait of a woman was drawn on top of her complete profile. He unrolled the second one, which contained a portrait and profile of a young man who looked almost identical to the first woman, and the third one, showing a portrait of a burly man, too.

The first scroll, a woman with pale skin and piercing amber eyes. Her face looked intimidating, authoritative, stiff, and humorless. Below the picture…

_Name: Bara_

_Gender: Female_

_Age: 23_

_Division: Genbu_

_Particular skills: above average medical skills_

_Biography:_

_Born the first child into a simple family of farmers. Both parents were killed in an accident when she was thirteen. Has two younger brothers and two younger sisters. The first younger brother is also a member of the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination. She joined the army at the age fourteen due to financial difficulty in his family, drafted into the medic squad of the 255__th__ Battalion under General Shu, promoted into the rank of captain four years later and recruited by my battalion. Her medical skill was astounding even though it is nowhere near you grandmother's (I hope she's doing well, say hi to her for me). At the age eighteen was injured in battle and was sent home for recuperation. A month later, she was framed for desertion and was imprisoned in the Imperial City Prison Tower. Her name was cleared a month after and she joined the Secret Squad of Espionage and Assassination._

_P.S. don't ever call her a 'tomboy'!!_

Interesting… Lin couldn't sense any code within the profile but since Iroh had never used codes to communicate with him and he had never explained any clue for breaking the codes, Lin wasn't really sure. He decided to read the next scroll, maybe there was a clue there. A face of a young man, a teenager, looked identical with the Bara except for his less commanding and authoritative air. This must be Bara's brother, Lin guessed.

_Name: Taka_

_Gender: Male_

_Age: 17_

_Division: Suzaku_

_Particular skills: an excellent tracker_

_Biography:_

_Born a second child into a simple famer family. Both parents died when he was eight. His sister is also a member of the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination. Learnt the way of the bow since childhood. Worked as a hunter while his older sister served with the army. His skill with bows is one of a kind and with his skill, he managed to feed his younger siblings while his older sister was away. Was offered a place in the Yu Yan Archer unit under Colonel Bujing when he was twelve but refused, resulted in him being imprisoned for 'insulting a military officer'. Released two years later after agreeing to join the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination. Completed his training in just two years, a record. Served under Admiral Jeong Jeong once (how's the old fart, say hi to him for me although I am sure that he's doing just fine). _

Lin was beginning to see something here, but he wasn't sure. Shrugging, he unrolled the third scroll. A tanned man with burly beard and brown hair looked back stiffly. His face looked like it was carved of stone: hard, unmoving, uncaring, stubborn, gloom. His eyes were green, though. Unusual, thought Lin. Most Fire Nation has amber eyes, some black or gray, like his mother, but never green. His curiosity was answered by the man's profile.

_Name: Iwa (aka Rocky)_

_Gender: Male_

_Age: 25_

_Division: Seiryu_

_Particular skills: excellent hand-to-hand combatant, earthbending_

_Biography:_

_Born from a mixed ancestry. Father is a retired travelling merchant, mother was an Earth Nation herbalist. His father met his mother when he was traveling to the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom. They got married and returned to the Fire Nation town of Nishi. Mother didn't survive childbirth. Raised as a merchant by his father, worked as a store clerk in his father's store. Accidentally killed a mugger with his earthbending when he was thirteen. Released from prison after father paid a bail and compensation to the magistrate. Approached by Imperial Agents and recruited into the Secret Squad of Espionage and Assassination two months later._

Yes, Lin could see the code now. In the letter, General Iroh had also said that the three assassins had worked for him before in several occasions separately and that they could be trusted. Everything's connected. Now, Lin was sure of what Iroh was trying to tell him. But, if that was true, that would mean Lin had to be extra careful from now on until he could finish the mission Iroh entrusted to him. Yes, the message also came with an instruction, a little errand for Lin. not now, though, not yet. Lin had to finish his training first, to learn everything that is to the art of espionage and assassination.

But, that wasn't all. Iroh said something about saying hi to Umma and Jeong Jeong, so causally. Iroh was trying to say that Umma's death and Jeong Jeong's desertion was still unknown to the soldier fighting in the front. But, Iroh was sure that Jeong Jeong was doing fine… didn't mean that Jeong Jeong had contacted Iroh after his disappearance? But, more importantly, how did Iroh know about Umma's death? Or, did he? Could it be that Jeong Jeong somehow caught wind of his wife's death and told Iroh about the news? His grandfather knew about his grandmother's death but still couldn't be found or even visited Umma's grave; it somehow made Lin angry…

"Give me strength", Lin prayed to the spirits, to the setting sun outside. With that, he rolled the scrolls and the letter and stashed them under his bed. As he got up, he caught the glimpse of the three items on the opposite wall of his bed, gleaming under the evening's orange ray: a scroll hanging on the wall and two golden slabs inside a display case beneath it. The three items of a Dragon, the proofs of his identity as the Dragon of the Deep Forest.

On the wall was a piece of caligraphy scroll, made from the finest materials, and on it was the words '深林太龍' (The Dragon of the Deep Forest), written vertically down by a master calligrapher using the finest brush and ink of the best quality. On the display case, which was thoughtfully provided by Ursa, lay the other two objects: a golden placard, two centimeters thick, thirty centimeters long and fifteen centimeters wide, two dragons were engraved on the long side of the placard, arched their neck at the top corner of the golden slab and at the top side, framing the middle part. The two dragons faced each other and opened their mouth, a Fire Nation insignia in between; it was as if the two dragons were breathing fire in the shape of the insignia, the words '深林太龍' (The Dragon of the Deep Forest) were engraved in the middle, the placard was also made of the purest of gold and crafted by a master craftsman. The last was an emblem, round with eight centimeters diameter, the two dragons were engraved on the side of the emblem, forming a circle this time, and also breathing the Fire Nation Insignia, on the middle the words '深林太龍' (The Dragon of the Deep Forest) were also engraved vertically, on the other side of the coin was a plain Fire Nation Insignia.

Lin sighed at them. He didn't actually dislike being a Dragon, he just thought that trinket were meaningless. They were valuable, of course; Lin was told just one of them could be sold for money enough to save ten villages from famine. It was just that the items were nothing but decorative. Well, maybe the emblem was an exception. Being a Dragon, Lin automatically had the influence of a mid rank officer in the military. The emblem could be useful, Lin thought. _Oh well, now's not the time to think about it_, Lin shrugged again. Steeling himself, he walked out of the room and paced toward the dining room. He would need a dinner. After all, he didn't have a clue of whatever life had in store for him tonight.

* * *

As per Ozai's instruction, Lin was told to head to the south wing of the Imperial Palace after dinner. As Lin walked down the dark corridor leading to the south wing, a part of the palace reserved for Fire Lord's elite guards, he noticed that there was another man stalking him from the shadow. It seemed like Azulon had sent another spy although Ozai didn't show any sin of suspicion when he talked to Lin earlier. It either because Ozai didn't know about the spy Jiang and Lin fought and killed in the forest or because Ozai was a good actor. Either way, they sent another spy on Lin, kinda made him suspicious of why it was just one person like before.

It didn't matter now. What matter was entering the room, that room, ten meters ahead. Inside the room, Lin's new instructors would be waiting. What would he learn from them, some killing techniques? Being a Byakko, being a spy, Lin guessed that the skill he would need to hone would revolve around stealth, infiltration, and perhaps a bit hand-to-hand combat. Maybe he would learn the more effective ways to kill a person with his bare hands. But, Lin sighed, it would be more useful if they could teach him how to kill a person like how Jiang killed that spy in the forest. It seemed like Jiang had taken so many lives that he couldn't feel the disgust and guilt anymore. And Lin shuddered at the thought, praying to the spirits that he wouldn't be required to kill someone as part of his training.

As he opened the door, he was greeted by what looked like a giant training hall. the empty room was completely dark, the only illumination came from the moon outside the windows, the room itself was as big as, if not bigger than, the Lin Estate's main hall. Here and there, training posts stood silently and neatly, almost like a formation of soldiers; it somehow made the tatami floored, black painted room eerie.

"Welcome", the cold female voice made Lin leaped forward to a safer distance and turned around with his stance ready. But, it wasn't enemy who greeted him; it was a female of her early twenties, two males stood behind him. Bara, Taka, and Iwa must have been really good to just appear out of nowhere without Lin realizing it. Or could it be that it was Lin who let his guard down? Maybe. Lin's attention was a bit absorbed by the room and its many training posts, he must do something about it, pondered Lin. He could have been dead by now if those three were here to kill him.

"Do you know why you're here?" Bara asked, her voice remained cold, distant, and emotionless… empty and dark like the night.

"To train", Lin answered.

"Good", Bara replied, still expressionless. "Get ready, then!"

And without warning, the three assassins lunged forward. Each pulled out their daggers, ready to slit the boy's throat. As Taka and Iwa fanned out to attack Lin's from two sides, Bara stayed in her course, punching a vicious fire ball at Lin, who was gawking at the sudden violence. The training had begun, it seemed…

* * *

**Author's note:**

1. Bara means 'rose' in Japanese. Coincidentally, it means 'ember' in Indonesian. It is a reference to her being a female firebender.

2. Taka means 'eagle' in Japanese. Reference to him being an archer.

3. Iwa means 'stone' in Japanese, without doubt because he was an earthbender. The name is courtesy to hpswst101.

More about Iroh's secret message will be revealed in later chapters.

Have a nice day!!!!


	38. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37 – The Lives of a Lin and a Princess**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

—_Flashback—_

"_Dumb-dumb", she clenched her jaws, her facial expression didn't change a bit although her smirk did disappear. She let go of Zuko and started to walk out of the main hall without so much as turning backward to her brother who was grunting and clutching his sore shoulder._

_No matter how we look at it, Azula was the winner; it was Zuko who sprang the trap she lay for him, it was Zuko whose temper exploded like a volcano while she smirked and toyed with him, it was Zuko who was arm-locked and it was clearly Azula who arm-locked him, almost dislocated his joint in the process. So, why… why was she the one who cried? She ran, yes, ran, across the cold windy lawn; she didn't use the warmer route through the corridors, too many people to run into: the maids and servants, the guards, the guests, her parents, too many people she didn't want to show her tears to. _

"_Stupid… Zuzu…" she muttered, cursed in her mind for her own weakness. "Stupid…"_

"_Stupid… …stupid… Mom!" she felt her face scrunched up, the sensation made her eyes even more teary as she ducked into a nearby bush, the one located near the training hall, the one in which a certain cousin used to dragged her into as he imparted his secret methods of pulling pranks and practical jokes. Inside the bush, shielded from the eyes of the unwanted 'stupid' people, she cried silently. _

_She was perfect, wasn't she: a top scorer in her class, honor student, the best firebender ever walked into the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, as Instructor Huo put it, smart, witty, polite and graceful if needed, clever and prodigious at all time. Azula, in all sense, was perfect; a princess worthy of her people and loyal subjects, worthy of the Fire Nation. So, why? Why was she crying when she was clearly a winner, a victor, when she claimed a victory over her own brother, older and more experienced than her? Why? WHY!!_

_She wiped her eyes, her face tensed up into a fierce scowl. When did it all begin to change? Hadn't it been her who spent more time with her mother and her turtle-duck feeding or embroidery crafting? Zuko had been the one tortured, no, no, not tortured, trained, by her father, right? When did they switch place, honestly? Azula couldn't remember… or didn't want to remember. But, why? What! What was it that she wanted? What was it that she truly wanted? Her mother's love? Or, for things to go back the way it had been? Or to defeat Zuko, to outdo him in firebending, in anything?! _

_To please her father…?_

_Ursa thought Azula was different now, that she was no longer the girl she was. Ozai thought she was perfect. Zuko had always believed that Azula was an annoying little sister, a smug princess who needed to learn the lesson of defeat and humiliation. Ozai said she was perfect. Her uncle, yes, she could still remember clearly, would sometimes played with her, defended her from the repercussion of her misdeeds, usually from Zuko; but there was something she couldn't understand: the reason why Uncle Iroh had chosen to go practicing firebending with Zuko and Lu Ten rather than helping her with her calligraphy lessons when her parents were too occupied to help her, the reason why for her birthday this year had sent, from the warfront, a golden locket with the shape of the Earth Kingdom insignia he procured from nearby jewelry shop that she would never wear while Zuko had got a broadsword he claimed from a fallen enemy general, the reason why her uncle loved Zuko more than he loved her…_

"_Stupid… Uncle…" although her tears fell down again, she didn't cry. And she went on with her list: Uncle missed her birthday few years ago and apologized by presenting her another useless trinket which she had received with grace befitting a 'perfect' princess like her, Zuzu was praised by Mom for trying and failing in performing a rather advanced set of firebending kata while Azula had received not even an appreciative look from her mother even though she performed the kata 'perfectly', her writing down a phrase of poem neatly and 'perfectly' had been ignored by her mother and Zuzu was rewarded by a special trip to Shu Jing for completing his calligraphy essay with his trademark chicken scratch and nearly failing the minimum requirement to advance to the level where Azula was, a trip that Azula couldn't participate in because she had to attend the academy while Zuko was excused exclusively from his study with the Royal Tutor for this trip._

"_Stupid… Mom…"_

"_Azula."_

_The cold voice sent a shiver down her spine, tensed all her muscle up. Ozai's presence had that effect of the girl. _

"_What are you doing in there?"_

_Azula slowly got up, getting herself out from her fortress. Messy, tiny leaves sticking out from her 'perfectly' mended top-knot, she wiped her eyes, cursing herself for not doing it earlier inside the bush. There was a list of people she didn't want to see her crying; Ozai was at the top of that list. And, that was why she was extremely afraid when she felt her father warm hand wiping her tears of her cheek. She remembered the last time her father showed similar gesture; on the first day of her firebending training. And that was also why she was extremely surprised when the warmth of her father's embrace banished the cold of the winter as Fire Prince Ozai knelt down and pulled his daughter into a warm fatherly embrace. That was also why she was confused as why she hugged her father back, sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. She had never done this before… or had she? She couldn't remember._

_They stayed that way for a few minutes; a father providing warm shoulder to cry on for his daughter, a daughter realized that even though the whole world seemed to go against her, to abandon her, she would always have her father. And Ozai, the father; what was he thinking? He was thinking that such act was necessary. It was necessary for his daughter to love him, to crave for his attention, his love. To need him… _

"_Are you alright now?" even Ozai was surprised of how loving, how __**weak**__, his voice was._

"_Mmm-hmm", Azula nodded, wiping dry the remainder of her tears._

"_Are you sure?" oh, please say 'yes', just say 'yes', Ozai begged in his mind._

"_Yes, Dad."_

_She said 'yes'!!! Ozai exclaimed in his mind, unable to hide his triumphant smirk which Azula innocently interpreted as a loving smile of an understanding father her father had always been but she had never noticed until recently._

"_Alright, then", Ozai got up, still smirking. "Get ready for training."_

"_Yes, Dad", Azula replied, smiling back. She then ran toward her room, to get change into her training garb._

"_Who needs, Zuzu? Who needs Uncle?" she smiled smugly as her tiny feet carried her across the corridor. And she added bitterly when Ursa came up: "Who needs Mom? I have Dad."

* * *

_

—Present day—

How long had it been? A year? A year and few months. Yes, a year and few months since Iroh lay siege on the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se. And the Dragon of the West was still, to use Jiang's favorite term, pounding the wall of Ba Sing Se; the city had remained unconquerable until now. And now was mid-winter, too. The morale and fighting power of General Iroh's force was undoubtedly insufficient for staging a significant assault on the wall; according to the report that Jiang received, and conveyed to Lin, the most Iroh could do was sending several shots of catapults everyday at the wall. The damage, much to Iroh's bulging vein's chagrin, was repaired easily by the Ba Sing Se's soldiers' earthbending.

Lin sighed at the depressing thought. He still hadn't forgotten about the rumor of the 212th Battalion about to be sent as a part of the relief force next summer. Though it was still rumor, Lin wouldn't be surprised if the 212th Battalion would really be sent to aid General Iroh. With Ba Sing Se under siege and the Water Tribe remained stagnant, the enemies were forced to assume a defensive position and the Fire Nation wouldn't have to worry about a direct assault from any of the two remaining nations. Not that Fire Nation had ever suffered any direct assaults; the Water Tribe's manpower was too little to stage any assaults and the Earth Kingdom was known to be the master of defensive warfare. Fire Nation had never been attacked before. And thus, sending the 212th Battalion, one of the top battalions in the military, to a warfront as important and dangerous as the Siege of Ba Sing Se was pretty reasonable. No point of keeping a tiger in your front lawn when you need only to defend yourself against rats, right?

As for Lin, he was still formally the Battalion Strategist of the 212th Battalion. He would need to worry about the battle plan although he would be subjugated under Iroh as the supreme commander of the force, of course. Unless Iroh acknowledged and granted him a position in his own Council of Strategists, Lin wouldn't have any right to contribute his thoughts and ideas. So, now, Lin needed to concentrate on more pressing matter: Zuko and Azula's firebending training and his own assassin training.

Zuko and Azula… some say siblings were often like fire and water, summer and winter; complete opposites of each other. It was true in Zuko and Azula's case. Not only they had different gender, which Lin suspected had a major contribution to their constant rivalry, their abilities and personalities were like yin and yang. Zuko was hotheaded, temperamental, easy to anger, impatient. Azula? Cool, calm, collected; she did have temper but she had always managed to keep it in check.

In firebending, in the first training session, Lin had them demonstrating the level of their prowess. The result: Zuko was relying too much on his muscle; something that made Lin grateful that his grandfather wasn't the one who tutored the young prince, Jeong Jeong would spent every second of the day to correct such fatal mistake had he been the one who instruct Zuko. And Azula? Only one word in any known human vocabulary could describe her performance: _perfect! _Zuko could produce fire skillfully, more skillfully that kids his age, sure. But, Azula, she could do more than that. Performing kata for Zuko was like a sport. Azula managed to turn it into an art; the way she danced with fire around her, the way the flame looked so alive but, at the same time, intimidating and dangerous as she subjugated them to her will, it was _perfect! _Nothing sort of perfection. Compared to her, it was suitable, although cruel, to say that Zuko was _worthless_, although it goes without saying that Lin would never used that sort of language to describe him.

Lin, as an instructor, found it hard to tutored both royal siblings at the same time; teaching basic moves, Azula had mastered them already; teaching more advanced moves, Zuko had difficulties keeping up. Lin was half tempted to give Zuko an after lesson extra training but he was afraid that he would offend the prince's ego by suggesting such thing. Letting things the way they were; at least one of them would suffer the consequences in the long run. And besides, Lin's daily schedule was already full the way it was: morning to late-morning, training with Kaji; late-morning to afternoon, instructing Zuko and Azula; afternoon to evening, training the Celestial Dragon style in his own room (so that nobody could see the secret style in action) or meditating in his room; evening to midnight, training with the trio assassins in the secret training hall; midnight to morning, sleep.

The first few days were hell, even for Lin. He hated the assassin training. Apparently, the training regiment for Byakko was the toughest one since Byakko were spies and spies needed to be fully prepared to counter any situations, any situation imaginable. In a way, Byakko must possess at least the rudimentary skill of the other divisions. Lin was tutored in the basic hand-to-hand combat, a form of martial art called 'the Death's Touch', methods of using various assortments of weapons; throwing knives (a must for every assassins), daggers and short concealable blades (also a must), archery (just in case if he needed to take out a target from a safe distance), explosives (again, just in case…), and also the basic knowledge of poison making, exclusively to the ones that used common and easily available ingredients.

And, exclusive to Byakko, Lin was also required to learn the culture and customs of the Earth kingdom and the Water Tribe, to aid him if he was required to infiltrate the enemies' territories. It was via books, of course, provided by the Fire Lord's personal collections since books and documents containing the aesthetic values of the nations that weren't the Fire Nation had been purged from the society by Fire Lord Sozin. The Imperial Place had secretly kept some of them safe for future use. Reading wouldn't be too hard for Lin if Bara hadn't proposed that, in order to increase the efficiency of Lin's training, she and the other two would sneak-attack Lin during his study. It was hard concentrating on the pages while having to watch over your shoulder constantly and jumping from any suspicious sound. The trio attacking Lin with REAL weapons didn't help, either…

But, Lin admitted, he did feel the result of the training. He didn't like it, though. He hated the training altogether; it always left him too exhausted to do anything fun in the morning. He had even stopped fooling around during his training with Kaji, much to Kaji's delight. And it had been more than a month since he started his assassin training. He had almost finished his firebending training with Kaji, which meant, he would soon have more time to rest in the morning. A good thing… Until…

"Where's Azula going?" he asked Zuko when both boys spotted the princess, biting a piece of bread in her mouth while carrying a mountain of book, walking down a corridor, still wearing her training garb despite their daily firebending training had just ended and hour ago.

"Dunno", Zuko replied; rather bitterly, Lin noticed. Zuko had changed into his normal clothes.

"Why are you sulking, then?" Lin hit the spot unmercifully. Sometimes, he had to be very direct when talking to Zuko; the prince needed to learn a lesson of humility and since Iroh wasn't there to give it and Ursa was too kindhearted to give it, Lin decided that he would take the responsibility, at least, until Iroh returned. After staring sharply at Lin, who remained immoveable, Zuko sighed submissively.

"Probably having an extra lesson with my dad", Zuko sulked.

"Oh, I see…" Lin drawled, suddenly realizing where Azula's prowess came from. He thought that Ozai had stopped training Azula since Lin became an Imperial Firebending Instructor but, apparently, Lin was mistaken. Somehow, Lin felt uneasy about it. "Oh well, see you at dinner."

"Where're you going?" Zuko asked.

"I dunno", Lin shrugged. He, of course, couldn't tell Zuko that he was going to practiced his own firebending in secret; Zuko might want to have a look and it would be difficult to shake him off. "Sleep, maybe?"

Nope, Lin wasn't lying, not entirely. He did plan to have a little nap _after_ he finished with his training.

"Sleep?" Zuko arched a brow but then, his face lit up as he came across an idea. "Hey, why don't you give me an extra training?"

"Huh?" Lin gawked, feeling an iron slap of irony on his face. He had been trying to find a way to propose this idea to Zuko but was unsuccessful. And now, it was Zuko who came up with the idea. But, the problem is, Lin could really use some extra sleep.

"Alright", he sighed, somehow finding himself cursing his own unselfishness. "With one condition: you will listen to everything I say. You will not disobey me, you will not complain. Understood?"

"Yes, sir", Zuko grinned. And with that, he dragged the Imperial Instructor to an unoccupied training hall. Well, if the yet another mysterious 'vision' Lin had seen in Zuko's future, the one with a scarred teenager, who freakishly resembled Zuko, being encircled by two dragons with one feeble bald kid at his side, Zuko _did_ need some extra training.

* * *

Weekends… one of the things we take for granted sometimes. For Lin, weekends were gifts from heaven; no firebending training with Kaji, no training Zuko and Azula and had to deal with their constant bickering, and, more importantly, no assassin training. No assassin training equals no three well-trained killers trying to slit his throat while he was reading a book about the Moon Festival of the Water Tribe or having to dodge arrows while punching a training post or having to sneak pass a room guarded by the trio who could, Lin could have sworn, hear the footsteps of the spirits themselves.

Lin would still be training with his father and uncles in the Estate but he didn't mind this. At least, they were not snappish and grumpy like Kaji or trying to kill him like the trio (even though Bara had convinced him that he would be perfectly safe; wounded, maybe, but wouldn't be killed). And furthermore, weekends were the times when Lin could really relax, truly relax. In the palace, there was practically no one he could be comfortable with. Ursa and Zuko, maybe, but they were still royalties and when addressing royalties, proper decorum must be maintained to a certain level. In the Estate, he was the 'prince'; the twenty sixth Lin and the heir of the family; the other family members, even though he didn't mind it if they didn't, had to maintain proper decorum when talking to him, with exception for those who were the closest to him, maybe. After spending some time living with the Royal Family, Lin had come to realize how blessed he was being born in his family. He had always thought that his family was strict at maintaining proper and polite etiquette of addressing each other because they were nobles; the Royal Family had proven him wrong. Zuko and Azula were not even allowed to address Azulon as 'grandfather' for spirit's sake!

"Got anything?" Jiang asked.

"Nope", Lin replied.

They were fishing. Father and son were sitting at the edge of a pier located in an empty lake. Jiang and Lin were enjoying a peaceful evening fishing and enjoying the scenery; a lake, empty and calm it was almost mystical, the water so clean and unpolluted you could actually see the fish swimming around, trees, green and lush, surrounding the lake from all sides. It was actually the same forest where Jiang and Lin had confronted and killed the spy the Royal Family sent on them, Jiang was the one who did the killing, of course. The 'incident' didn't make Jiang feel any better at all; it had pretty much the opposite effect, in fact. Even though it was two on one and the spy was wounded on the leg, it took Jiang and Lin a lot of effort to take him down. If just one spy was that much of problem for a master like Jiang, he couldn't even imagine how much damage an army of them could cause. And Jiang was extremely relieved that he hadn't done anything drastic like staging a coup or running off with Lin. Though he hated to admit it, he knew that the Lin Family would be decimated in matter of seconds if an army of that kind of spy attacked them.

"How's life at the palace?" Jiang absentmindedly asked for the umpteenth times.

"Good", Lin replied casually.

It was a perfect evening for both of them, really. Well, almost… beautiful scenery, nice weather, slow and refreshing breeze with warm sunlight. Had it not been for the spy who were watching them from somewhere in the forest, it'd be perfect.

"Oh!" Lin exclaimed, pulling his fishing pole. "I got one!"

"Whoa!" Jiang abandoned his own pole to help his son with his. "Careful now."

Laughing and pretending that they were alone in the lake, both father and son worked eagerly to haul their catch, a rather large fish that would definitely end up as dinner at Kang's hand. Oh yes, Jiang and Lin were having a camping trip in the woods with Jiang's brothers and their children. Some of their children, anyway. Camping in the middle of winter wasn't exactly fun. Furthermore, Biao had decided to not participate because she needed to take care of her sick mother. Lin was about to stay too but Aunt Bing had managed to persuade him to go, saying that Lin deserved some moments of peace and fun.

"That should be enough", Jiang said, putting the fish into a basket in which some other fish they had caught earlier were flipping desperately every now and then. "Let's go back to the camp."

And so, carrying the basket, while Lin carried the fishing poles, Jiang led his son back to the camp, both were talking about superficial things on the way; firebending, 212th Battalion's activities during the winter, some hassles Jiang had to put up with in the military council, Lin's assessment on Zuko and Azula's prowess, etc. Nothing major; nothing that would incite an attack from the assassin, that is.

"How many?" Kang asked, sitting around a campfire, stirring a pot filled with soup. All around the camp, the other family members were setting up the tents.

"Ten", Jiang put the basket near Kang. "Quite a lot of fish this winter. Don't you think so, Masa?"

"Yeah", Masa retorted, casting a meaningful look at Jiang. Apparently, he also realized that they were being watched.

"I see you've got a big one", Kang added, shaking the basket and observed the content. "Quite… _a big one_."

So, Kang notice it too…

"Should we fry it?" Masa asked.

"No", Jiang sat down, yawning. "There's no need for such troublesome method. Grilling should be enough."

"Are you sure?" Masa sounded colder than usual.

"Yes", Jiang smiled although there was a subtle commanding tone in his voice.

"If you say so", Masa sighed. He then turned to the rest of the family member and shouted. "No fried fish tonight, guys!"

They grumbled they response, some of Lin's cousins complained. They looked as if they were really talking about fish. In fact, all of them were aware that they were being watched by someone. Were they to take an action against the stalker, they would have law on their side: the land they were camping in belonged to the Lin Family. The stalker, whoever he was, (nobody but Jiang and Lin knew the truth) was trespassing and therefore, the Lin Family members at the camp were justified to arrest him. But, they couldn't do anything without Jiang's permission and Jiang had clearly said no. So, they had no choice but to trust him.

"Be careful, though", Jiang added. "The fish could be troublesome. It is a _big_ one, after all."

* * *

"So, how was your weekend?" Zuko casually asked.

"Well, nothing out of ordinary", Lin shrugged, munching his meal. "It was quite peaceful."

"Are we gonna learn something new today?" Azula dropped in the conversation, casting a hopeful look at Lin from across the dining table.

"No", Lin smirked, sipping his soup slowly. "Not until both of you—"

"But, we wanna learn something new", it was Zuko who pleaded.

"Was this conversation rehearsed?" Lin asked, suspecting a conspiracy.

"Yeah", Azula replied, surprisingly honest. Shouldn't conspiracy stay secret? But, then again, the fact that both siblings set aside their differences and worked together to gain something both of them wanted, it was a good thing, wasn't it? Teamwork?

"Give me a reason why I should teach you something new", Lin decided to set up a little negotiation.

"Cause I have mastered the one you taught us last week", Azula answered smoothly, then she added. "And Zuzu had almost got it."

"Yeah, just a little more", Zuko supported Azula's reasoning, ignoring the 'Zuzu' part. Hmm, Lin stroked his invisible beard. Azula said something nice about Zuko and Zuko displayed magnanimousness befitting those of a prince; surely they deserved a reward. _Yes, and besides…_

"Alright, then", Lin nodded, causing both royalties to grin widely. "Eat up! You're gonna go through hell today."

… _it's time they learn something.

* * *

_

**Author's note:**

Alright… first of all, I won't be able to update for the next two or three weeks. I have to concentrate on my assignments. Three written assignments due on the same week, I am so dead. Sorry…

But, as soon as the #$% annoying little !%^% are out of the way, I'll update like usual again.

The flashback contains a little part from 'Chapter 34 – Three Proposals'.

To hpswst101, thanks for the name suggestion again, by the way. I'm glad you like the coded letter. It took me quite a while to work on just the letter. :)

Enjoy the chapter!


	39. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38 – A Teacher's Job**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"_Go", the princess goaded._

"_No", Hothead curtly replied, trying not to be provoked by Izumi. He scanned the ballroom for the umpteenth time, trying to distract himself from the Fire Princess' constantly nagging him to ask the Northern Water Tribe ex-princess, who looked marvelous, absolutely marvelous, in her red party gown, talking to a bunch of noble ladies, for a dance. _

"_Oh, come on", Izumi rolled her eyes; she decided to use her trump card: "…chicken."_

"_Shut up", Hothead cast a nasty look at her briefly before went back to scanning the room for somebody he knew so that he wouldn't have to spend the rest of the party with Izumi and her annoying antics._

"_Oh! Look! Look! Somebody's on the move", Izumi forcibly jerked Hothead's head to the direction of Snowflake and a young man, resplendent in his red armor, apparently coming over to ask Snowflake for a dance. _

_Snowflake turned him down…_

"_Lucky you", Izumi snickered at Hothead, waving and smiling at Snowflake whose gaze she met. _

"_Oh, no… she's coming…" Hothead gulped. He then did the unthinkable: asking Izumi for help!_

"_Act normal", Izumi grinned, clearly enjoying the turn of event. "Stand straight (Hothead complied)! Tidy up your hair (Hothead hastily ran his fingers on his hair)! Your clothes (Hothead clumsily pulled his pants up, pulling his armor down, setting his pauldrons straight, etc. etc., looking rather hopeless all the while)! Got something on your face!"_

"_Where!" Hothead frantically wiped his cheeks with his hands, missing a spot, a tiny spot, where a smear of something brown was clearly visible, from ten centimeters away, that is… _

"_C'mere! Spirits, you're hopeless", Izumi licked her thumb, wetting it, before she ran the finger on the smear on Hothead's cheek, as quickly and carefully as she could. Snowflake was only a few feet away!_

"_Please don't do that again", Hothead's face scrunched up, letting Izumi wiping his cheek with her other dry finger._

"_Do what?" Izumi innocently asked. Strange… why did her heat pound so hard? _

"_You know", Hothead's face still scrunched up, displaying an expression of mild disgust. "That finger thing."_

"_What about it?" Izumi asked again, almost laughed at Hothead's expression. "My mom used to do that all the time. Hey, Nala! Enjoying the party?"_

"_Oh, Izumi", Snowflake laughed, fake laugh. After turning to her right and left to make sure no one listening to them, still maintaining the well trained fake laugh, her smile fell as she said a curt: "No."_

_And she went on with the list of things that neither Hothead, who looked as if the mere presence of Snowflake sapped the very life out of him, nor Izumi, who was struggling to suppress her sigh at Hothead hopelessness, paid much attention to: about how she hated wearing a dress, saying that it was too frilly, too loose, about how those men, whom she didn't even know, asking her for a dance, about the music being too loud she could have sworn she had an internal bleeding in her ears—_

"_Okay, listen!" Izumi cut in, seemed like she had to play the matchmaker. "First of all, that dress looks good on you. Or, you look good in it… Argh, doesn't matter; there's nothing wrong with the dress."_

_Izumi then, literally, pulled the still stunned Hothead forward, closer to Snowflake. "You don't trust me, ask him. Isn't that true…" Izumi smirked mischievously as she added, rather teasingly: "…Hothead?"_

"_Umm… w-well…" Hothead gulped, staring at Snowflake who eyed him curiously; apparently, he was too busy gawking at Snowflake he didn't realize that Izumi was teasing him. "Y-yeah. Y-you look p-pretty."_

"_See", Izumi was struggling to stifle her laughter now, her sides hurt from all the effort. "By the way, he wanted to tell you something."_

"_Really?" Snowflake smiled at Hothead. "What is it?"_

_Time to leave, Izumi thought as she crept away as subtly as possible, away from the two, to the nearest table she could find. Finally, few meters away from Hothead and Snowflake, she stopped at a long table that had the least people around it (she wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone), and picked herself a glass of fruit juice form the table. Sipping the sweet substance slowly, savoring the taste, she glanced at Hothead who was struggling with the embarrassment of the lifetime: asking a girl for a dance. He did it! Groggily, he staggered to the dance floor, taking Snowflake's hand in his._

"_Aww… they look like the most harmonious couple in the entire four nations, don't they? Too bad it wasn't me he asked for a dance. And I even wear a dress for this- Ouch!"_

_The bald monk rubbed his head, the spot where Izumi landed her battle-hardened fist on. Grinning, the middle-aged monk looked up to Izumi._

"_You know, Princess", the monk assumed his usual 'wise sage' tone. "Hitting someone, a monk, especially, on the head is not really the nicest thing to do."_

"_And who was it that messed with my inner thought?" Izumi frowned. _

"_Just doing my job", the monk shrugged nonchalantly. Amazingly, the monk was unaffected by Izumi's stare; the stare that had made many veteran soldiers wet themselves._

"_Oh, you know", the monk continued. "It is part of a monk's job to guide people to the right path. And the path of righteousness starts with…"_

_He gestured to the dancing couple in the middle of the crowd; the man was wearing a red Fire Nation armor and the girl was wearing a red frilly dress, courtesy to a certain Fire Princes-cum-Fire Nation High General. The monk was right, even Izumi admitted that much as she watched the couple danced around, who was smiling and laughing every now and then. Hothead and Snowflake did look good together (who says fire and water don't mix?) and, although Izumi would rather throw herself into a nearby volcano than admit this, she did had a small extremely subtle and well hidden disappointment that it wasn't her Hothead asked for- no, stop! _

"…_bring true to oneself."_

_Monks sure know how to hit people hard with words, don't they?_

"_I'm fine with it", Izumi took another sip from her glass. God, she really wanted to have this party over soon…_

"_Really?" the monk raised a brow. "Even after—"_

"_Yes", Izumi cut in. A thick awkward silence ensued, filled with Izumi standing there beside a table with the monk, smiling every now and then to either Hothead or Snowflake, depending on whose gaze she met; she was still staring at the couple._

"_A wise man once said", the monk, feeling that he must try to break the silence and impart some of his wisdom to the young princess, started another conversation. "Chivalry is for the warrior and happiness is for everyone."_

_No response from Izumi, she didn't even show any sign of listening. The monk pressed on; guiding the youth is part of a monk's job after all…_

"_While it's true that you are a warrior and, as a warrior, showing selfless sacrifice, no matter how small or subtle or painful it is, is commendable, you are also a human being, and a woman at that", the monk, receiving another stabbing glare from Izumi, quickly added. "Which is a great thing. We Air Nomad believe that women are more human than men. Being human is more about being able to feel rather than having strong big muscled bodies, and admit it, women are the masters at the matter of feelings."_

_Izumi relented her stare but still refusing to look into the monk's eyes directly. The middle-aged Air Nomad, stroking his white beard, continued._

"_When a man hides his feelings, feigning ignorance, we call him 'tough'. But, when a woman does that, we call her 'acting tough'. Unfair, I know", he added the last sentence quickly, not wanting to receive another punch on the head. "But, that's how it is. Stereotypes like that exist even in Fire Nation."_

_Izumi sighed submissively. Why are monks so good at this kind of thing; arguing, rebutting, talking people into admitting things that they don't want to admit? Izumi asked herself. Funny… she was one of the best warriors in the Fire Nation in every aspect. Skills? She was one of the best firebenders in the world. Experience? She had got plenty; she had spent practically half her life in the battlefield, the other half preparing herself for the battlefield. Looks? She was the fairest in the Fire Nation, no doubt, with her long silky black hair, eyes as bright as a pair of topaz, fair complexion, pearl-like skin. Popularity? Didn't she just turn down her sixth suitor for this month alone? All in all, Izumi was perfect! A perfect warrior, a perfect princess… a perfect woman. _

_She did fell that, that thing the monk, who was waving cheerfully at Hothead, implied in their conversation. But, could she admit it? Heck, did she want to admit it? Of course not! Admitting it would do more harm than good: her father would killed her, and him, for that matter; and Izumi would be betraying her best friend. No, she would never ever admit it… she would never admit that she had fallen for General Yi, the love interest of Princess Nala…_

_And besides, Izumi could think of countless of reasons why she must never fall for the man!_

"_He's not a royalty", Izumi stated, plain and simple. _

"_Your father is considering giving him a noble title", the monk replied teasingly, still watching Hothead and Nala dancing with a fatherly fond gaze._

"_He's not into me", Izumi hated herself for having said that, but if that was what it took to shut the monk up, she'd trample on her own pride._

"_Love is a mysterious little thing, my dear princess", the monk laughed. "You can never know a man's heart until you are willing to find out for yourself."_

"_He's younger than me", Izumi used her ultimate weapon at last!_

"_True love transcends age…" the Air Nomad replied, rather cheerfully. Just to be safe, and to reaffirm his easier statement, he added. "… and social status."_

_Izumi grumbled. Both she and the monk waved in unison at Hothead and Snowflake as their gazes meet, replied by Hothead and Snowflake's grins. _

"_And they say monks are supposed to ignore worldly attachment", Izumi decided to attack the Air Nomad directly. "Who are you to lecture me about love?"_

"_True, normally monks are supposed to let go of their worldly attachment, and, by extension, let go of the feeling of love", the monk assumed his wise sage persona again, still not taking his eyes from Hothead and Snowflake who had stopped dancing and now engaged in a conversation, both of them smiling and look happy. "But, I'm not your ordinary monk, am I?"_

"_And it gives you the right to talk about love?" Izumi raised a brow at him. The last statement was quite arrogant, she thought, and arrogance… you could never expect it from an Air Nomad. Hothead and Snowflake slowly made their way through the crowd towards the Fire Princess and the Air Monk._

"_Everybody has the right to talk about love", it was the monk's turn to frown at the girl; seemed like he had to work extra hard on this one. "Monks just choose not to."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because love is a distraction. A nice one, though, a darn nice distraction."_

"_And why don't you ignore it? You're a monk, too."_

"_If I can't love, or worse, if I choose not to love, how can I do the things I do?" the monk turned completely to Izumi, ignoring Hothead and Snowflake who was halted by a military officer and his wife halfway. "If I chose not to love, my dear princess, I would not be here talking to you about love, urging you not to ignore it."_

_Izumi's eyes widened, her mouth hung open slightly. She suddenly felt a bit embarrassed for berating the monk the way she did earlier. The Air Nomad, as magnanimous as he was, ignored this and continued as Hothead and Snowflake continued their pace, only to be halted by another guest._

"_Love is a distraction that one should avoid, true", he restated, his smile, however, warmed Izumi's heart. "But, love is also the reason why a mother sacrifices her life for her child, why a man goes to the distance to have a glimpse on his loved one."_

_Hothead and Snowflake resumed their pace._

"_And why a princess thinks so much of a peasant it hurts her heart so badly", he added, anticipating another punch that did not come. "And also why a person sacrifices his happiness for his friends. Ah, General Yi! It is very nice to see you again."_

_Exchanging polite bows with Hothead, the monk moved forward and gave the man a warm embrace. He then exchanged an equally pleasant greeting with Snowflake. After a short conversation among the three, Izumi didn't join in as she was still mulling over what she was just taught regarding love…_

"_Would you care for a dance, Princess?"_

_Izumi almost dropped her glass. Darn it! She hated being like this, getting all jumpy and flustered after every word from him, because of him! She was a High General, for spirit's sake! She turned to the monk for support, only to receive the monk's trademark carefree expression. Oh, not now! She needed help now! Now… _

… _She understood…_

_She finally understood what the monk was trying to say. God, why couldn't he just say it loud and clear without the mind games!_

"_But, what about…"_

"_I have a favor to ask from Mr. Khaze", Snowflake answered the unfinished question, grinning._

"_Wha- But-", Izumi stuttered. _

"_Come on, come on", Snowflake moved in and pushed the bewildered Fire Princess forward. "Just for a while."_

_Casting a final look at the Air Nomad, Izumi relented. She took Hothead's hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. Snowflake, waving cheerfully at them turned to the Air Nomad, who looked curious of what the favor might be. But…_

"_Sir", Izumi appeared again, bowing politely at the monk before pulling him into an embrace and whispered. "Thank you, Avatar Khaze."_

"_You are very welcome, princess", Khaze smiled. So, it wasn't futile, after all. Gan sure had raised this girl right, he thought._

_With a bright smile, Izumi darted to the dance floor where she had left Hothead a moment ago. After she found him, she danced with him, knowing that it was the right thing to do. She knew what she must do and she would do that no matter how much it hurt her. At least, the happiness of those dear to her would be her salvation._

"_Mr. Avatar, sir…" Snowflake timidly called; she didn't know anything about Air Nomad's courtesy._

"_Before we start…" Khaze raised a hand, stopping Snowflake at the middle of her sentence. He then turned to his right where he had sensed an eavesdropper for a while now. His face tensed up, his grey eyes grew cold, his kind fatherly expression vanished without a trace, as he said a very uncharacteristically cold and cruel: "What're you looking at, boy?"

* * *

_

"AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!"

"What? What happened?" Zuko screamed, waking up suddenly from his sleep. What the hell happened? An assault? A thief? Or a cockroach, at least?!

"Oh, nothing", Lin shrugged. "Just a dream."

Zuko, grumbling and stabbing a killer glare at Lin, rolled back to sleep, ignoring Lin and his soft 'sorry, my bad'. Lin himself, although keeping his cool persona, felt his heart pounding really hard. He had had bad dreams, _weird_ dreams, like this before but none had ever been so intense like this one! Who the heck was that old man; that weird man who wore some kind of orange, or was it yellow, robe he had never seen before, who had a weird blue arrow on his head, a tattoo or something, who fitted the description of a naughty-child-eating old hag from the horror stories Biao used to tell him, only this one was a man. And Lin could have sworn: the old man was staring straight at him in his dream!

The boy sighed, plopping down on the bed. Why did he have these weird dreams, anyway? Who in the name of Agni were those people?! Why did he dream about them so much when he didn't even recognize them? He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, doing the thing he always did whenever he had one of the 'weird dreams': trying to recall as many details as possible for his memory of the dream. It took a lot of effort, that goes without saying, because remembering dreams is extremely difficult; you could forget it just like that and could never recall it again even though it was the dream that makes you wake up screaming.

There was a party, a dance party, but, maybe not. The party was different from the dance party Lin had ever been in; the one in his dream was more lively, more cheerful, not dry and boring like the one he had been in. And there was the scary old man (who wasn't scary at all at the beginning), and Hothead and Snowflake, although they looked different somehow, and that woman, the one from before. Lin could remember having dreamt about her too but he couldn't remember much about it (see, it's hard to remember dreams!). What was it again? Ah… tents, a camp. A war camp! Yes, she was in a war camp. And that was all Lin remembered…

Lin opened his eyes again, feeling strangely rejuvenated. He had been sleeping for only… let's see, it was starting to dawn outside, so it had been only about four or five hours. He had to sneak out from Zuko's room at midnight to meet up with his assassin trainers. Thankfully, Zuko was the type of kid who sleeps early. He was worried that his midnight training with the trio assassins would be known to Zuko when the latter ask him to help him with his meditation and breathing exercise that evening. Lin once ordered Zuko and Azula to do at least one hour meditation and breathing exercise before sleeping at night and Zuko had said that he had trouble staying focused without supervision and asked Lin to help him. Lin couldn't refused, mostly because Zuko was showing an interest in the soft aspect of firebending, namely breathing control and calmness of mind, and not just the hard aspect, throwing fire at the opponents. As a teacher, he must support this. Besides, Iroh and Lu Ten often commented that although Zuko was no doubt a talented firebender, his temper impeded him in improving his skills. And now that Zuko had finally wanted to change for the better, Lin was obliged to assist him in every way he could.

Slowly and carefully, Lin crept down from the bed, almost steeping on an opened scrolled clumsily lying on the floor. Last night, after the meditation, Lin had taught Zuko a little about designing simple booby trap. Zuko was surprisingly good at this… the gift of prankster must run in the family, Lin thought. And lying all over the room were scrolls and parchments, on them designs of some ingenious booby traps were painstakingly drawn by Lin and Lu Ten, the result of many long years of experiments, of trials and errors. And on Zuko nightstand was Zuko's pride and joy: a catapult-looking mechanism, small and frail, made of sticks and threads; his first ink ball booby trap, made after approximately two hours of effort, supervised by one the grandmasters of pranksters himself, Lin, of course. But, it'd be all for nothing if Ursa found it…

Oh, well, Lin shrugged. This wasn't the time to worry about it. He opened the door and felt a cold morning breeze hit his front. It took a while for his body to stop shivering and adapt to the change of temperature, from Zuko's warm room to the cold lawn in front of the room. He paced forward slowly, finding a good spot under the tree and sat down on the grass. Sitting in lotus position, he closed his eyes and focused his thought on a certain poem…

_With these two things does a man raise his fist._

_Hatred, that I no longer have._

_And courage, that I have never had._

The poem written by the Great Yi on his deathbed, the three lines that were supposed to hold the secret to the ultimate firebending technique. Lin still had the scroll his grandfather passed down to him a year ago; it was safely hidden below his bed in the Lin Estate. He had decided not to bring it with him to the palace for safety reason. But, even after a year, a year and a half, maybe, Lin still couldn't figure out what the poem meant. How long ago was it? Last autumn… it was last autumn when his life begun to change: he became the twenty sixth Lin, he had traveled and seen the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribe for the first time, his grandfather went missing, his grandmother—

Lin took a deep breath, clearing his head from that particular thought. Ignorance…

But, there were some good things: he had made a friend, hadn't he? He befriended Yue, the princess from the Northern Water Tribe. He had also met his long lost great grandaunt, the Herbalist (Lin didn't know her name and he forgot to ask…). And, the best of all, he finally had his father back for the first time in his life. Yes, it wasn't all bad. And his life now? He was still the twenty-sixth Lin, the one and only, because nobody had taken the Ceremony of Ascension after him and, officially, his grandfather was not a 'Lin'; he was now his father's battalion strategist, and, through some strange and unexpected turn of events, he was now an Imperial Firebending Instructor, the Dragon of the Deep Forest, an assassin-in-training, and Fire Princess Azula's fiancée. What a colorful life he had…

Lin took yet another deep breath, trying to stay focus on his mediation, on the poem…

_With these two things does a man raise his fist._

_Hatred, that I no longer have._

_And courage, that I have never had._

Seriously, what did it mean! He hated the fact that ancient writings were often in the form of riddles. When wise men make riddles, it takes another wise man to solve it. And Lin wasn't _that_ wise! He was eleven, for crying out loud. Well, eleven turning twelve, but, it didn't even his odds at all.

Yes, speaking of which, he was going to turn twelve soon. It was already the last moon of spring. His birthday was the first moon of summer, the fourth day, the same as Lu Ten's. Furthermore, he would be going to the warfront soon. His father's battalion had been confirmed as part of reinforcement sent to assist General Iroh's army. Maybe, he could celebrate his birthday with Lu Ten, after all, just like the old time. He was excited at the prospect, of course, but he couldn't help but feel slightly disheartened at how much Lu Ten had probably changed. War has funny ways to change people, he had experienced that firsthand. Lu Ten had changed, he knew that much, but in what way? Good way, bad way? Had Lu Ten changed into a warrior who is used to take the lives of the wicked for the sake of the helpless or into a crazed cold-blooded maniac? Must be the former, Lin tried to convinced himself. Lu Ten was not that weak minded! And besides, General Iroh was with him. Lu Ten would be fine, Lin reassured himself.

There! On the roof behind him!

Dodging attacks from three master assassins in the dark almost every night had its own benefits; it sharpened Lin's senses. His senses were now strong enough to accurately pinpoint the position of the spy, the member of the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination, sent to stalk on him. Just one, like always. The Fire Lord sure was a slow learner, wasn't he? Or was this another message from him? A test, perhaps? Could be… But, would Lin really risk it? And besides, he had made a promised not to kill unnecessarily. Answering this test would require him to take this spy's life. Was he strong enough to do that? Was he cruel enough to do that…?

"Hey", a soft voice nearly made him jump. He turned around and found Azula, already in his training garb, standing so close behind him. Crap! How did he let Azula, _Azula_, of all people, to walk in on him without him knowing it!

"Morning, Azula", Lin greeted, smiling.

"What're you doing up this early?" Azula asked without dillydallying.

"I just awake, could sleep back again", Lin replied smoothly before asking Azula the same question.

"I was looking for you in your room but you weren't there", she shrugged. "So, I thought you'd be here in Zuko's room."

"Know what, Azula", Lin raised a brow. "It is not very ladylike for a princess to wander around males living quarters alone early in the morning like this."

"Yeah, whatever", Azula grinned, pulling Lin by his wrist up and started dragging him away. "Come on. I want to show you the result of my training. I think I finally got that move."

Sighing, Lin let the princess dragged him away to the training hall. A teacher's job never ends, eh?

* * *

Darkness…

It is assassin's best friend, the greatest weapon in his disposal. Darkness instills fear, terror of the unknown and the unexpected in the prey's heart, dulling his senses, rendering his sight vulnerable, encouraging him to make poor judgment. And when it happens, the assassin strikes!!!

Lin quickly leaped backward as he heard the 'twing' sound from his left, evading an arrow that pierced the darkness toward his direction, almost skewered his left arm. Careful now, try not to make any sound, he goaded himself. The darkness, he hated it, really. It made him jumpy and anxious. Calm down, calm down… the others were in the same predicament, they couldn't see him too. Now, Lin must reach his goal, the door at the other side of the room, as quickly and as silently as possible. He crept slowly and carefully sideways; in the dark, human's vision was better when looking at things from the corner of the eyes, he had learnt that much. Slowly… slowly… slowly…

And he leaped backward again as the thin white flash almost hitting him from the front, a sword! Why did they have to use real weapons…?

"_Because in a real fight, your opponents would use real weapons. It is our job to prepare you for that."_

Yep, Bara did say that.

Another flash! Lin dodged, and sent a wild punch into the dark. He felt that his fist connected with something solid, a bit squishy; whoever was attacking him with a sword, probably Bara, Lin hit him. Lin quickly jumped forward, leaping over the dark mass in front of him and dashed forward with all his might.

—SWOOSH—

He ducked and used the momentum to roll forward just in time to avoid being skewered on the head by the arrow. Just a few more meters. Ducked again! The sword cut the thin air where his head had been a second ago from behind. He swung his fist backward, again feeling his punch connecting itself with the dark mass behind him. A short grunt coming out from his assailant confirmed his suspicion; it _was_ Bara! Oh, Agni… he had just hit a girl. He would feel sorry about it had Bara not used a real sword on him. Lin, ignoring Bara, and evading another arrow, ran forward toward the door. He opened the door, into the room that shed some light on the dark room he was in. He quickly entered the room, Bara and Taka (who was shooting arrows at him) hot on his trail. Lin quickly jumped forward and landed perfectly on the chair that was nicely set up in front of a table, Iwa, the earthbender sat on the other end of the table.

"What is the significance of the Water Tribe's Moon Festival?" his stoic voice tore through the silent atmosphere as Lin took a brush and dipped the tip on a bowl of ink swiftly, ready to write on a clean sheet of paper in front of him. Lin hastily wrote down his answer, still panting from all the running and dodging.

"Write down—"

"I'm not finished ye—"

"—the ingredients for Gut-buster Poison."

"But, I'm not— Ugh!"

Less arguing more writing…

This was why he hated written test.

* * *

**Author's note:**

Been a while since the last update. Sorry, the assignments were more difficult than I thought. I still have two more to go but I'm taking a break for a couple of day.

Names:

1. Khaze is inspired by 'kaze', Japanese for 'wind'.

His and Izumi's argument about love being a distraction was inspired by an argument I read once in a book about Chinese folktales in which a monk was giving a paradoxical statement about love being a distraction and the importance of having love in one's life.

About Gut-buster Poison, I just made that one up, really. It'll appear again, in action, in later chapter. (I hope…)

Enjoy the chapter!!


	40. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39 – To Ba Sing Se!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"Cotton?" Zuko asked, examining the seed he was given. He turned to Azula, who was holding an identical seed on her palm and expression on her face.

"Yes, dear students", Lin said in his usual happy-go-lucky tone. "Cotton. It'll grow fast during summer and—"

"Why are you giving us these?" Azula asked; she had absolutely no idea what a cotton seed had to do with firebending.

"Because I'm leaving for the Ba Sing Se soon", Lin replied, still nonchalant as if he was saying that he was going to a market or something… somewhere harmless, much to his students' chagrin.

"But—"

"Okay", Lin cut in. "Look, guys, I'm not gonna be here for at least the rest of this season and I honestly don't know when I'll be coming home… or if I'm ever gonna … come home—"

"Don't say that!" Zuko snapped. Joking about death is inviting death, after all. Even Azula was frowning.

"Oh, come on, pouty", Lin grinned; though, deep inside he appreciated the sentiment. "One thing is for sure: I _will_ come home."

Silence ensued…

And Lin was the proudest friend and teacher in the world. Zuko might not be the greatest firebender in the world, he was not even better than his sister, his _little_ sister, in term of skill. But, he had the right heart. Lin honestly believed that Zuko had all the making of a great warrior and a great prince. And Azula? Azula was great. Amazing. Terrific. Wow! Wonderful.

In term of skill…

There was something about her that made Lin felt somewhat uneasy. He first thought that it was because they were engaged, and boy, was he not happy he had decided not to tell Azula anything about it! Imagine what could have happened if she found out that they were engaged. It'd be a disaster.

But, no, it wasn't the fact that they were engaged that made Lin felt uneasy about Azula, why he felt… odd, distant. He had absolutely no idea why he felt that way. He did try to ask his father or Biao or Aunt Bing, using the 'somebody I know have this problem…' disguise, of course, and the answer he got? It was something about it was a 'natural thing' or 'it'll happen sooner or later' and some other things that were very discreet and unclear that he didn't understand them at all. And so, the conclusion: he did not know what was wrong.

"So, what's up with the seed?" it was Zuko who broke the silence.

"Huh? Oh. Oh, yeah, the seed", Lin continued, feeling somewhat lightheaded. "Well, guys, I want you to plant the seed on this training ground. During summer, they will grow rapidly and before long it'll be a three meters cotton plant."

"Wow", Zuko sighed, examining the seed again. Kinda hard to believe that such a small seed could grow into such a tall tree.

"And, about your training, listen carefully", Lin sounded more serious now, waiting until both royal students paid him their full attention before continuing. "As soon as the plant reaches your waist, I want you to start leaping over it for an hour every day. You got it?"

"Leaping over it?" Azula snorted.

"Yes, princess", Lin repeated, and added. "One hour every day. Five minutes break, two breaks. Breaks are optional. Got it?"

"What exactly is the purpose of this training?" Azula asked again.

"To train your physique", Lin explained. "Fighting is not always about 'offense'. There is a thing we call 'defense'. This training is designed to train your athleticism; by the end of this training, hopefully, you'll be able to jump higher and with much more ease. And when I return, if I believe you've had enough of cotton-plant-jumping, I'll be teaching some new techniques that incorporate cool mid-air summersault. Deal?"

Judging from Zuko and Azula's faces suddenly lit up and their grins, the answer was 'yes'.

"And now", Lin suddenly sounded serious again. "Remember the technique that I taught you that was supposed to be a secret?"

And their grins melted. Well, it was an extremely difficult move…

"Let's see the result of your training…" Lin grinned, pulling out some pebbles from his pocket. "… shall we?"

* * *

Some say, the rich knows how to truly enjoy life. But, seriously, what are they enjoying: the fun, the joy, all the good things that life brings? Or the life itself? Most of them fall into the former category. Not Jiang, though. Although the Lin Family was rich, Jiang was also a soldier. And soldier, a good soldier, knows exactly that life ought to be enjoyed; not the fun or the joy that life brings, but the life itself. They sounded similar, yes, but, they are not the same. And Jiang, a good soldier, knew how to enjoy life. Heck! He knew that he _must_ enjoy his life. He was a soldier and when the word from above (i.e. the Fire Lord) came, he'd be walking the thin line between life and death. So, in peace time, he did everything he could to make his life more enjoyable: calligraphy, Pai Sho, training the kids, fishing, hunting, dating…

Yes, dating. Through some kind of miracle, he was having a quite steady relationship with Young Lady Wen, Admiral Liang's fourth cousin. Kinda funny how it all started; the first date was a disaster, a rehearsed and completely intentional disaster, but a disaster, nonetheless. The second date was quite smooth, but mostly because screwing up was not an option for Jiang. It was on the eve of the Western Shore campaign in which Admiral Liang, the cousin of Lady Wen, was about to be Jiang's escort for the campaign; the life approximately 1000 men, not including himself and his son, was at stake. I mean, if you have to go across the sea on a ship, you don't wanna get on the ship captain's bad side, right?

And so, whistling in an unusual carefree manner and twirling something red, looked like a small red pouch tied on the end of a red strap, he strolled across the dim-lit corridor of the Lin Estate's main quarter where the head of the family, his heir, and the elders, the male ones, lived. Judging from his fancy choice of clothing, a red long-sleeved formal robe, and his unusually tidy hair, he had been in another successful date with Lady Wen.

Finally he reached his room; he opened the door of his room, his pitch dark room. Being trained as a warrior ever since he was eight, the darkness was not a problem for him; he could sense his surroundings. Closing the door, he walked into the room and with a lazy finger flick, he sent a tiny flame spark to the front. The spark hit a candle that was put on a table in the middle of his room exactly on the wick. Simple but marvelous feat; took a lot of practice, according to Jiang. Still whistling, he turned to his wardrobe, opened the wardrobe door and cast his outer robe inside.

Although born a noble, he had still not grown accustomed to wearing a formal robe. The robe was thick, heavy, and the sleeve, why the hell did they make it so long and wide and big! He hated formal robe, really, and he didn't know why in the name of Agni anyone would want to wear such thing. It wasn't comfortable and, definitely, not practical. If he hadn't been dating with a noble lady, he wouldn't even bother to wear such thing. Oh, how he missed the dates he had had with his wife. Lian was never the type who—

_Stop…_

Jiang had stopped whistling now; he felt a painful prick in his chest. Even after all these years, he was still in love with Lian. Sighing, he rested his head on the wardrobe's frame; the solid surface pressing against his forehead felt comfortable somehow. He had lost count of how many times this particular thought crossed his mind, aching his heart: had he betrayed Lian by dating again, by moving on? He didn't know the answer to that question, really. Lian had always been very unpredictable. In a good way, but still, Jiang had always thought of his wife as a very confusing person, again, in a good way; you could never predict what she would do next. That was why he had loved her so much. With Lian by his side, there had never been such thing as a boring day.

And their son? Everyone who had known Lian when she was still alive would have agreed that Lin was the male version of Lian. He inherited most of her facial features, her knack for pranks, her tendency of getting into troubles and getting out of the troubles by causing an even greater trouble, and many more; it seemed like the only things Lin inherited from Jiang was his amber eyes and talent in firebending. Oh, Lian was a firebender too but, she was the type who could barely light a candle with firebending. It wasn't her fault, though, not entirely. While it was true that Lian was a peace-loving pacifist (a rare trait among Fire nation which almost caused Iroh, who was also a peace-loving person, to adopt her as a daughter), she was born with weak constitution; her body couldn't handle anything more than basic firebending training.

Ah, how long had it been? Fifteen… Sixteen…? Yes, sixteen, sixteen years since they first met. Jiang was a young captain and Lian was— Jiang wasn't sure… all he remembered was his mother playing the matchmaker, setting up an introduction during a lunch. There he was, a good looking, single, and had-never-dated-anyone-before twenty year old captain, having lunch with a ponytailed girl with pretty grey eyes, bright smile, and a big ink-ball hidden under her sleeve (only Jiang knew about this), with both his parents present, sitting at his right and left. It was embarrassing, honestly, and it ended with an ink-ball hitting his face when they were alone (that was why only he knew about the ink-ball).

Ah, he remembered! Umma, at that time, introduced Lian as her student. Lian was learning flute from Umma. And then this and that happened, Jiang and Lian ended up getting married. It had been a fairytale happy ending for them and when they found out that Lian was pregnant, it was all perfect. Until that fateful day nine months later…

He had been really stupid, Jiang cursed himself, banging his forehead lightly on the solid surface. How could he do that! How could he let the sadness of losing his wife drive him away from the most precious thing Lian had ever given him, the most meaningful proof of her existence in his life: their son? Ten year gone, just like that.

But, it was different now. Now, Jiang was determined to make up for his stupidity. He must, so that when the time comes when he could finally meet his wife again, he would be able to look her in the eye without shame or regret. Hmm, but, come to think of it, that was why he had taken his son to the battlefield despite Lin being underage, right? And, the result was good… somewhat good. They did have more quality father-son time, Lin had got to be a hero, they won the battle. Lian would have been proud of them, right?

_She would kill me…_

Jiang instinctively gulped. You know the feeling you get when you just realized that you mess something up big time, like when you do a mistake of the lifetime? Yep, that kind of eeling was all over Jiang, making him sweating. Bringing his son to the war!! What the hell was he thinking!?

"Ahem."

Jiang swiftly turned around, who was it that dared interrupted him this late of night! And he froze…

"Where have you been?" Lin asked with all the authority of the son of General Jiang of the Lin Family, sitting on a chair around the table in the middle of the room.

"Ah…" Jiang drawled, raking his brain for an excuse.

"Do you know what time it is?" Lin asked again; the authoritative tone in his voice got thicker and thicker by each word.

"Um… midnight…" Jiang shrugged, grinning; somehow he felt like a five year old who was caught stealing cookies from the kitchen.

"Sit down, young man!" Lin ordered.

"Am I in some kind of trouble?" Jiang squeaked, fidgeting his way to the chair in front of Lin.

"Oh, yeah", Lin nodded. Really now… ever since he started his assassin training, he had gotten reeealy good at 'infiltrating' his father's room without the latter knowing it, or realizing it, even though Jiang was there the whole time.

"Do you know how long I have been waiting for you to come home?" Lin started as Jiang plopped down on his seat. "Do you?!"

"Um… few minutes, maybe?" Jiang tried his luck. By the way, Jiang was supposed to be the father here, right…?

"Few minutes? That's your best shot?"

"We—"

"I'm not finished yet!"

"Sorry."

"Five hours, young man!" Lin showed his five fingers to emphasize his point. "Five hours I was waiting here in the dark—"

The rest went as breeze for Jiang; he was too caught up in the 'five hours' part. Two things came flashing onto his mind: first, had he really been gone for _that_ long, and second, _five hours_! That meant Lin was there the whole time, when Jiang first came in, when he lit the candle, when he was contemplating in front of the wardrobe… how could he not know it! The assassin training must be really effective.

"—curfew was one hour before midnight and—"

"Ah… son?"

"What?!"

"What are doing here?"

"We're going to have a Pai Sho match, remember?"

"Really?" Jiang scratched his head, he didn't remember ever making such pro— Oh! Pai Sho match, of course. "Sorry, son. I, uh, I forgot…"

"What's that?" Lin ignored him, pointing at the red thing Jiang was still holding.

"Oh, this", Jiang turned to the red pouch he was still grasping in his left hand.

"You've been to a dance party, have you?"

"W-well… I, uh…"

"You're always whistling every time you come home from a party."

"…It was Lady Wen's birthday…"

"…"

After a minute of total silence…

"Look, son…" Jiang sounded uneasy. "If you're not comfortable with me and Lady Wen—"

"No, no!" Lin cut in, shaking his head. "It's… it's fine, really."

"Are you sure?" Jiang asked, feeling really awkward. "I mean, if it's not—"

"It's fine, Dad", Lin said with a more firm tone. "I mean, it's true that she's not even close to Mom—"

" That's true, she's nothing like your mom…"

"Nobody can replace Mom…"

"Absolutely true. Your Mom was one of a kind…"

"But", Lin couldn't believe what he was about to say. "She was the best so far."

"Really?" Jiang raised a brow. "You think so?"

"Well", Lin rolled his eyes. "At least she didn't call me 'cute little guy'."

"Or bought you candy the first time she met you", Jiang laughed, remembering the first five dates who had made that mistake. "Geez, talking about first impression…"

"And more importantly", Lin added. "She didn't give me a stuffed platypus bear."

"Oh, yeah", Jiang burst into laughter. Oh, the memorable date #16, a nice cheerful young lady who came to Jiang's house bringing a brown stuffed platypus bear for Lin. "I spent the whole evening trying to convince her that you were a boy. What happened to the platypus bear, by the way?"

"Target practice, don't ask", Lin waved it off. "Back to the topic: what's that?"

"A good luck amulet from Lady Wen", Jiang replied sheepishly.

"… Wow…"

In the Fire Nation girls don't usually give boys any presents unless they are really close.

"Yep."

"How old is she now?"

"Twenty."

And a realization hit them…

"Oh my god!"

"You're dating a twenty year old girl?"

"What am I doing…?"

"She's the same age as Biao!"

"I know! Don't put it that way! It sounds… ugh!"

Took a while for them to calm down. To ward off the unpleasant thought from their minds, namely, that Jiang was dating a girl who was exactly seventeen years younger, and as old as his own niece, they decided to just play Pai Sho.

"Have you been packing, yet?"

"Yep."

"Good", Jiang answered, advancing his falcon tile. "So, uh, everything's ready… _at your end_?"

"Absolutely", Lin answered again confidently, calculating his next move. "You?"

"Ready as ever", Jiang replied firmly.

It was two days before the departure of the reinforcement force under General Jiang to Ba Sing Se. Thanks to 212th Battalion's heroic victory over the Western Earth Base, Jiang's reputation, as the Battalion General, and Lin's reputation, of course, as the Battalion Strategist and the major contributor for the victory, rose to the sky above and beyond! Exaggeration, yes, but seriously, Jiang and Lin's reputation increase so much Jiang was appointed as the Supreme Commander of the reinforcement force and Lin was given a special permission from the Fire Lord himself to join the war with a formal rank captain. That meant Jiang would be leading three battalions: his own 212th, General Shu's Battalion, and General Bujing's Battalion; plus Admiral Liang's Western Fleet, Admiral Chan's Eastern Fleet, and, Admiral Thuyen's Northern Fleet, which until a year ago, a year and a half, was under the command of Admiral Jeong Jeong, as escorts. Too bad, huh? Imagine if Jeong Jeong hadn't gone missing, it'd have been three generations of the prestigious Lin Family assisting the Dragon of the West in the siege of Ba Sing Se. It'd be, no doubt, an enormous morale boost.

"I think I'll turn in for the night", Lin yawned, throwing the tile he was about to use on the Pai Sho board. "I need some sleep."

"If you say so", Jiang sighed, stretching his back. He did, however, notice the tile that Lin threw; the purple nightshade tile. So, he had really done his 'packing'.

"Son", Jiang called just as Lin was about to open the door. "Listen, about Lady Wen—"

"Dad", Lin cut in; he knew what his father was about to say and he knew that it was difficult to say, so he wanted ease the burden a little. "All I know is Lady Wen is a nice person. If you are happy with your relationship with her, I say go for it, Dad."

"Are you sure?" Jiang asked again; he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Yeah", Lin shrugged, smiling sincerely. "It's not all about me, Dad. It's about you, too. And if this makes you happy, then it'll make me happy too."

And with that, he opened the door and left the room. He knew he was doing the right thing. He knew that nobody, absolutely nobody could ever take the place of his mother in his father's heart. And this family, it wasn't only about him, it was also about his father. And, if it made his father happy, then why not?

* * *

"You're late", Bara said curtly, her voice was as cold and deadly as usual.

"Sorry", Lin grinned. "It was kinda hard sneaking out from the Estate."

This would be Lin's last assassin training before he went to the war and, the previous night, Lin had suggested to use the forest on the northern outskirt of the Imperial City, a property of the Lin Family, as a training ground, secretly, of course. He reasoned that he'd have been forced to fight in the middle of a forest more often than in a training hall when he was finally given an assignment as an assassin. After a rather awkward persuasion, Bara, who seemed to be the spokesperson of the trio, had finally agreed to Lin's suggestion.

"Let's begin the training—"

"Before that…" Lin's smirk grew a bit wider. He sent a stream of fire from his right palm to the sky above, the flame lit the dark forest the moment it stayed alive on its master's command. And after about five seconds, the flame died out and…

—THUDDED—

"Evening", Jiang greeted, his voice was icy cold, his amber eyes were fixed dead on the three assassins who suddenly tensed up, ready with their own fighting stances. The thudding sound was a body, a dead body, clad in black hooded light armor and oni mask, thrown to the ground by Kang who was standing at Jiang's side. Three more dark silhouettes emerged from the shadow, surrounding the three assassins and Lin from all direction. Jiang and his brothers, all five of them were trained personally by Jeong Jeong since they were little, all became masters of their own at exceptionally young age, all were active in the military. All had had their hands stained with blood before… none of them were stranger to murder.

"Now", the assassins turned to Lin who was speaking with unusually cold tone as he drew out a pair of daggers from behind his back. "Who among you were sent to kill me?"

And the night couldn't get any darker…

* * *

Ever seen anything more impressive than military parade? Considering that military parade is not exactly the most impressive thing in the world, I bet you have. But still, a military parade is quite impressive. And on the way from the Fire Nation Imperial Palace to the Imperial City's pier, Jiang, as the Supreme Commander of the reinforcement force, was leading a military parade. Riding his faithful komodo rhino steed, he rode ahead in his resplendent red armor, complimented by a red cape bearing the Fire Nation insignia, his head was covered by his metal helmet, solid and shiny. At his sides were his most trusted commanders and advisors, Kang and Masa. Behind them was the rest of the 212th Battalion, high and mighty, marching proudly as the crowd cheered and threw red rose petals on them. Right behind them, between the 212th Battalion and the other two battalions under Generals Shu and Bujing, was Lin, riding on a palanquin and guarded by a unit of Royal Procession, courtesy to Fire Lord Azulon.

It was odd, actually, since the Royal Procession was an elite group of firebender warriors, especially trained to protect the Royal Family. Even so, Fire Lord Azulon had sent a unit of Royal Procession, 200 men, that is, and a palanquin as a gift for Lin. He didn't specifically say why, so there were some speculations going on about it. Some said it was because Lin was the Dragon of the Deep Forest and, thus, deserved a special treatment. The other said it was simply because Azulon had grown fond of the boy. However, only a handful of people knew the real reason behind it: it was because Lin was engaged to Fire Princess Azula. So, the Royal Procession escort was… ah, an investment, shall we say.

Whatever the reason was, 200 Royal Procession was a welcomed addition. The Royal Procession was well-known to be the most elite soldiers in the Fire Nation military. The members of the special unit was hand-picked by the Fire Lord's most trusted advisors from soldiers who had served the army for at least five years, who had shown great skills and potentials. And they had to go through a hell of training and discipline before they were admitted into the duty of serving the Royal Family, too. The members of Royal Procession were no jokers.

And they reached the pier. As soon as they arrived, the soldiers formed a neat formation with the 212th Battalion assuming a spot in the middle of the other two battalions; the Royal Procession was in front of them, between Jiang, who was in the front, and the rest of the soldiers. Jiang went on with delivering a speech promising the news of victory or their noble deaths to the crowd, nobles and peasants alike. And just when they were about to ascend to the ships, Lin got out from the palanquin.

Wearing an impressive looking set of black leather, gold-trimmed armor, he looked rather impressive despite his short stature. The golden dragon helmet he received as a gift from some noble as a congratulatory present for his previous victory made his outfit looked all the more intimidating. Apparently, the helmet came with a face mask which he put on, hiding his face completely. As soon as his feet touched the ground, and the crowd got a good look at him, the cheer grew twice louder than before, more rose petals rained down on him and the soldiers around him. It was him! The Dragon of the Deep Forest, the hero of the Western Shore Campaign! Waving slightly at the crowd, Lin paced calmly to join his father and his entourage, and together, they got on the ship, followed by the rest of the men.

And finally, they set sail…

* * *

'One person can change the world', how many times have you heard this line? It is hard to know if it's really true because, face it, there hasn't been many examples of a person who had managed to bring a change to the world. But, for Azula, one person could change _her_ world: her father, Ozai. When Ozai was around, she was a perfect princess, a perfect daughter, a perfect student. But, when Ozai wasn't around…

"Let's see", she checked her pocket again; two loaves of bread were in there. "Bread, checked. Mai and Ty Lee are not here yet, checked. And the time…"

She squinted her eyes as she tilted her face upward and the bright sunlight blinded her. The sun was right at the middle-point of the slightly cloudy blue sky above; midday. Her mother should be finish with her lunch by now and, according to her daily schedule, would be feeding the turtle ducks in five… four… three… two…

"Mom!!" Azula called, grinning and waving her hand, as Ursa appeared from the corner of the corridor. Hiding her surprised expression, Ursa managed to smile and wave back. She calmly paced towards her daughter who was standing at the side of the turtle ducks pond, Ursa's favorite spot. She had a bad feeling about this.

"Mom, would you feed the turtle ducks with me?" Azula asked with an irresistibly cute pleading expression on her face. Not that there was anything wrong with that; she just wanted to spend some time with her mother, that's all. A change in the routine is a good thing, isn't it?

"I-I…" Ursa stuttered, silently thanking the spirit that she had forgotten to bring any bread when she was on her way to her daily turtle ducks feeding time. "I, uh, I'm sorry, Azula, honey. I can't. I have a lot on my mind right now, you know, with Lin going to the war and all…"

"Oh…" Azula pouted, looking clearly disappointed. She did, however, understand her mother's feeling. She felt the same way, which she thought to be very weird, because she had never felt worried when her Uncle Iroh went to the war or even when her Cousin Lu Ten went along with him. They were family, but Lin, he was just a friend. So, why did she felt worried about a friend going to the war but didn't feel anything about her uncle and cousin going to the war? Maybe because Lin was technically underage…

"How about tomorrow?" Azula asked again, trying her luck. Luckily, Ozai was sent on an inspection and wouldn't be back for a week, at least.

"I don't know, honey", Ursa smiled kindly as she ran her hand on Azula's cheek. The smooth warm skin of her daughter's cheek… believe it or not, it was the first physical contact she had had with her daughter since last winter! All those earlier years she had with her daughter, when she could— when she could hug her tight, comforting her as she cried, as she told her she loved her more than anything in the world… when she was _allowed_ to love her daughter as a mother should; what she wouldn't give to have them back. "I think I'm going to lie down for a while."

She left her daughter behind, broken-hearted. She paced quickly, almost running, away from the pond. Just a bit more, just a bit more… she braced herself, biting back her tears that had almost fallen. And as she turned on the corner and vanished from her daughter's sight, she ran…

And Azula? Ignorance… that was all she could do, all she had. She just stood there where her mother left her; the bread she had pulled out halfway from her pocket was crushed under her grasp. Was it anger? Hatred? Disappointment?

…Fear…?

Was that why her mother had been acting strange lately? Was that why she had never got her breakfast with her mother anymore? Or— or her good night kisses? Or the occasional hugs and 'I love you's? WHERE DID THEY ALL GO?!!!!!

…Fear…? Was that really…?

Azula still stood there, grasping the bread. The turtle ducks were starting to crowd on the edge of the pond, all quacking loudly, waiting for the treat they thought they would get. Azula glanced at them; a mother turtle duck and four turtle ducklings, quacking… and quacking… and quacking…

—SPLASHED—

"What're you doing?"

Azula turned around, only to found Zuko standing few feet away, frowning at her.

"Feeding turtle ducks, of course", Azula shrugged nonchalantly. _What? I did throw bread, not a stone or anything._

"That's not how you feed them", Zuko's frown didn't let out. "You feed them like this, small pieces at a time."

And he tore a small chunk of his bread and threw them at the startled turtle ducks. It took a while for them to start trusting human again after the abuse they had just received— wait a second… why did Zuko have a loaf of bread with him?

"By the way, Mai and Ty Lee's here", Zuko added, plopping down on a spot below the tree beside the pond. Snorted her response, Azula strode away from the pond, leaving Zuko behind. At least she still had Mai and Ty Lee, right?

* * *

_She left her daughter behind, broken-hearted. She paced quickly, almost running, away from the pond. Just a bit more, just a bit more… she braced herself, biting back her tears that had almost fallen. And as she turned on the corner and vanished from her daughter's sight, she ran…_

Ursa ran and ran… she just couldn't take it anymore. Warm tears flooded her face, soft sobs escaped her lips, but she didn't stop. Until she reached a corridor, two blocks away from the pond, she slumped down on the floor, back against the wall; her knees suddenly went weak. Luckily, there was no one there; she could cry her heart out. That was the only thing she could do, after all: cry.

_Why…?_

She had lost count of how many times she had asked herself that question. Why? Why did her husband change so much? He used to be such a sweet gentle kind soul. Why did all this— this mess happen? It wasn't only her and her husband's lives that was affected by this. Their children, Zuko and Azula, Lin, and even Jiang; they all got sucked into this mess. _Why?_

And Azula, oh, her sweet little Azula, she sobbed harder. Why did this all have to happen to her? Why her? She had nothing to do with this! Why did she have to be a victim too! And why did Ursa run…? Because she was afraid? She was not afraid of Ozai! Hate, maybe. Afraid? Hell no!

She was afraid of what Azula had become…

No, no, no! She shook her head violently as if trying to shake the thought, literally, of her head. It was _not_ something a mother should think of about her daughter. So, why was she avoiding Azula? Because of the deal she had with Ozai? Ozai had fulfilled his end of the deal; the engagement between Azula and Lin was now official, signed, sealed, delivered. Technically, it was Ursa's turn to fulfill her end of the deal; to surrender Azula completely to Ozai, not concern herself with Azula again. But, could she really do that…?

To hell with Ozai! Ursa got up, wiping her tears dry. To hell with Ozai, Ozai wasn't here right now. He was out there in the outer islands, making sure that the reinforcement force under General Jiang had a smooth journey out of the Fire Nation. Yes, Ozai wasn't here. And as a parent, she must ensure the wellbeing of _their_ children, right? That's what a good wife does. Yeah, in fact, she'd be doing Ozai a favor, she'd be doing Ozai a favor by spending time with Azula, Ozai should be thanking her, really, Ozai had no right, absolutely no right, to be angry or upset or mad or—

All the while, she unconsciously walked back to the pond. But, Azula wasn't there…

"Mom", Zuko called cheerfully. "Aren't we going to feed the turtle duck today?"

"Yes, honey", Ursa forced a smile. Not that she was disappointed or anything. Well, maybe a little. Okay a lot; she was so disappointed that she could scream. But, Zuko was her child too and a victim of this mess, just like Azula. Ursa sat down beside Zuko and joined him at the turtle duck feeding. Somehow, she felt… peaceful. Seemed like neither her nor Zuko realized that a pair of amber eyes spied on them from the corner of the corridor behind them.

"Liar…" Azula muttered under her breath, her eyes felt warm as tears swelling up there. What did she care, anyway? She asked herself. Huffing, she turned around and walked away. Mai and Ty Lee should be waiting for her, right? Who cared about Mom or Zuzu. As she strode away, she couldn't help but caught on a little of their conversation.

"Hey Mom, wanna see how Azula feeds turtle ducks?"

_Oh, little Zuzu,_ Azula broke into laughter, running now, away from the crime scene. _You've never failed to amuse me.

* * *

_

"Just a bit more, buddy", Jiang said kindly, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're okay there?"

A low grunt came from under the dragon head masked helmet; Jiang took it as a 'yes'. Jiang didn't envy him for the helmet; how could he even breathe wearing that thing? he incredulously asked himself. Jiang sure hope nothing bad happened to him; making him wearing that helmet all day could be legally labeled as a child abuse.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jiang asked again, answered by a nod this time. They were standing on the ship's bow. Just for today, the boy must, to use his own term, 'be seen' by as many people as possible because from tomorrow until they reached Shu Jing, Lin would be 'spending most of his time in his quarter studying intelligence report regarding the Siege of Ba Sing Se'. Fortunately, the sun would set soon.

"If you couldn't handle it anymore, just give me a nudge, okay", Jiang said again, grasping the boy's shoulder. "It'll be fine. You're doing a great job, Nise."

A verbal answer this time as a muffled sound came from behind the mask. "Thanks, Uncle."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

The jumping over cotton plant, as I recall, is how many martial artists trained in the past. It is said that the jumping, which was done at least a hundred time a day, helped martial artists to strengthen their lower limbs and to enable them to jump higher and much easier. I don't know if that's true, though. My dad told me the story when I was little. :)

Names:

1. Thuyen is Vietnamese for 'ship'

2. Nise means 'fake' in Japanese. Pretty self-explanatory. :)

To hpswst101, glad you're still with me, sorry for the long update. :)

Oh, don't worry about me forgetting this story. Writing this story helped me relax, actually. A good distraction from all my assignments. I agree about your comment regarding the love argument. Maybe that was why I could still remember it even after all this year. :)

About the Moon Festival… well, it was based on the real Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Moon Cake Feastival. It is held on a certain date using lunar calendar when the moon was supposedly to be the fullest in the year.

I'm not sure when I can update the next chapter. I'll try my best, fingers crossed. :)

Enjoy the Chapter, everyone!!


	41. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40 – Leaves From the Vine**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"Son!"

"Yes, Dad?"

"…"

"Oh! Uh…" Lu Ten realized his mistake; standing straighter and saluted. "Yes, General!"

"I need you to be in the middle camp", Iroh continued in a commanding tone. "Walk with me."

"Yes, General", Lu Ten saluted again. He faithfully walked a step behind his father, wondering what was it that the General would want to talk about. He sounded serious, so it must be something important. But, what could it be? Nothing bad, Lu Ten hoped. And besides, what could have gone wrong? This was summer, the season when firebenders were at their best. And the war had been going smoothly; hadn't they just torn a huge portion of the blasted wall of Ba Sing Se down yesterday?

Yes, the outer wall of Ba Sing Se had finally fallen into the hand of the Fire Nation invaders, led by the infamous Dragon of the West, Iroh, son of Azulon and Ilah. The Fire Nation soldiers were still rejoicing this significant victory; and the reinforcement hadn't even come yet! Furthermore, the battalions under Generals Shu, Bujing, and Zhu had had to return to the motherland for replacement due to the heavy damage they had sustained. Only General Zhu's Battalion was replaced, though; General Zhu's leg was crushed in a night raid and he had to retire permanently due to his injury. General Zhu would be replaced by General Jiang while Generals Shu and Bujing had pleaded to the Fire Lord for a second chance and requested a permission to replenish their troops and be drafted as part of the reinforcement force. General Iroh's force had lost a quarter of its fighting force due to this withdrawal and had to assume a defensive position for the whole spring. Until summer arrived, both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom forces had engaged in numerous skirmish battles around Ba Sing Se; a meaningless waste of manpower, thought Lu Ten.

General Iroh had waited for two more days, two days of meaningless skirmishes, until the third day, he ordered a concentrated attack on the wall of Ba Sing Se: he ordered all their explosives and blasting jelly to be stacked around a spot, one spot where Iroh had sent his catapults shots during winter. The damage on that spot had always been repaired the next day by the defender force, but Iroh would shoot again, and it'd be repaired again, and so on. Lu Ten once joked that Iroh's obsession on that spot on the wall was like how a wolf-husky had never picked another spot to pee. But now, Lu Ten finally realized the meaning behind the seemingly useless action by his father; it was to undo the decades, centuries, of solid ancient rock with new and fresh but brittle earth. And before the Earth Kingdom soldiers knew it, there was a mountain of barrels and boxes containing black powder and exploding jelly stacked on that spot and about fifty explosive-tipped ballistae aiming at them. Lu Ten could have sworn he had lost part of his hearing due the explosion. The explosion was so intense that a large chunk of the wall was blown apart, granting the invaders an access into the city's outer ring.

Lu Ten had never seen anything like it before, after the outer was torn, he soon realized that they would have to tear yet another wall down! General Iroh had wisely kept part of his army outside; setting the whole camp inside the wall would be suicide. Not that the earthbenders could repair the wall overnight like before, the damage was unimaginable and impossible to be fixed that quickly. It was because inside the wall, they would be wide open from all direction. Therefore, Iroh had set half of his camp outside the wall while the other half inside with only few meters between them.

It was all going well, Lu ten thought. So, what was it that was so urgent? After the outer wall was taken, the Earth Kingdom soldiers had retreated hastily deeper into the city and there was no way Iroh could tear the next wall anytime soon; he had used up all their explosives. And the time was right too, it was still only the first moon of summer, it hadn't even been a week yet. Furthermore, they had just received a report from the reinforcement force that they would arrive at Ba Sing Se in days time, bringing with them fresh supplies and men: more soldiers and explosives! And the report also stated that a heavy artillery unit consisting of two hundreds heavy tanks would be arriving with General Shu's Battalion. Tanks! And also the rumor, which had been confirmed by Iroh, that General Jiang would be accompanied by the Battalion Strategist Lin, the twenty sixth, the Dragon of the Deep Forest, and the Hero of Western Shore Campaign. Two Dragons ganging up on Ba Sing Se… what could have gone wrong?

And the prospect of seeing his friend again, after almost two years; Lu Ten wondered if he had gotten taller a bit… Nah, probably not, he smirked. Iroh strode fast through the dark encampment, not muttering a word. It made Lu Ten wonder if his father was really happy with this new development regarding Lin and… everything. The Dragon title, the battalion strategist thingy, and, most importantly, the engagement… Lu Ten had told Iroh about it; he found his father's reaction most intriguing. Lu Ten himself thought that the engagement was distasteful, not that anything was wrong with Lin or Azula, it was just that the idea of your best friend marrying your cousin… come on, it wasn't… 'right'. Lu Ten was hysteric when he broke the news to his father; he even had had several nightmares about it: with Azula and Lin standing next to each other, wearing wedding dress and robe, and to make things worse, Lu Ten was the best man! Iroh's reaction? A shrug and a sip on his jasmine tea while muttering something Lu Ten didn't quite catch.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!"

A rain of green leaves showered down on Lu Ten and Iroh, mainly Lu Ten. He was so caught up in his own thought, he didn't realized that his father was leading him deep into the middle of the camp, an empty camp devoid of the usual soldiers hanging around polishing weapons or laughing at some off-color jokes about topics that I can't mention or sharing battle experiences or fighting tricks; Lu Ten was so deep in his own thought that he didn't realize that his fellow soldiers were hiding inside the tents, behind the tents, under the table, behind a big rock, behind the soldier who was hiding behind a big rock, basically every hiding place they could find, all waiting for the young lieutenant-cum-Fire Prince to get into their range of throwing. They had to use leaves because finding 'nice stuffs' like red rose petals in the middle of the biggest military siege in the history of both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom was a little bit difficult; they were even still wondering where the heck did Iroh find a doll to send home as a souvenir for his niece.

"Happy birthday, son", Iroh laughed, giving his son, who was still dumbfounded, a heavy pat on the back. "You don't think I forget, do you? You're fifteen now. Give it one more year and you're ready for a marriage."

A loud guffaw burst among the crowd while Lu Ten gave his father a horrified look. _Marriage… he just has to remind me of that, does he?_ Lu Ten cursed in his mind. But, yeah, it had been a while since he joined the war. A year and a half, approximately. Maybe more; he did keep the count of the days he spent in the warfront. He lost the count until after the first month. And after his first kill, he just lost interest altogether. He just wanted to go home… until the situation got out of hand a little, with their forces being pushed back during winter, he decided that he would stay with his father till the bitter end because Iroh had shown no sign of retreating despite their substantial losses and better-than-nothing progress.

"Alright, men!" Iroh roared, drawing everyone's attention; the men were too busy congratulating Lu Ten. "I have an announcement to make. Now, you see, our little Lu Ten here—"

Iroh made called Lu Ten with a gesture. He then placed his hand around his son's shoulder… and suddenly realized how his son had grown over the years. Lu Ten was no longer a child. A good thing too, because Iroh had a gift for him.

"— I believe you all will agree with me when I say that our lieutenant here is all grown up", Iroh paused before adding. "Despite some problem with under developed facial hair…"

"I need time", Lu Ten grumbled, feeling a bit hot on the cheek under his father's and the other soldiers' laughter.

"Nice sideburns, by the way", Iroh teased before assuming his serious tone again. "But still, your achievement in this battle hasn't gone unnoticed, son."

Iroh let go of Lu Ten. He cast the bo—, no, the young man, a scrutinizing look before continuing with his speech, feeling pride and a tinge of sadness swelling in his chest.

"And so, Lieutenant Lu Ten", Iroh continued; Lu Ten raised a brow, his father had never addressed him so formally before. "I believe you are ready for a promotion."

Lu Ten gawked, the soldiers around him cheered and applauded. A promotion?

"From now on", Iroh said with authoritative tone. "You will be addressed as a captain. You will be given a small unit of Royal Procession under your command."

Thirty men in their crimson red armor, their masks were put on, hiding their faces, emerged from the crowd and formed a neat formation behind Lu Ten, their new captain. Iroh saluted at Lu Ten; Lu Ten, still gawking, returned the salute. "Congratulations… Captain."

"Sir, thank you, sir", Lu Ten replied, almost stuttering. A captain of a unit of Royal Procession, cool! "You won't regret it, sir."

"I shall hope so", Iroh managed to laugh. He wasn't joking. Was it wise, he asked himself again. Maybe… maybe not… He couldn't know for sure; the future is not written on a slab of stone, he had learnt that much. Still, his son would need to life his own life someday and Iroh intended to guide him the best he could; he had sworn this on his wife's grave. Making him a captain of a Royal Procession unit was wise, in that sense. The Royal Procession he brought with him were all veterans, they should be able to keep the young prince out of harm's way. And besides, Iroh had secured an extra protection for his son, the best kind of protection he could have ever thought of. Even Iroh himself wasn't sure if he could defeat that man himself…

—CRACKED—

A tremor! Earthbenders attack!

"Assault!!!" a soldier shouted, pointing at the direction of Ba Sing Se. Through the torn wall, Iroh and his men could see a number of Earth Kingdom soldiers making their way towards them, charging in a wedge formation; an offensive stance, most unusual for Earth Kingdom soldiers.

"Men!" Iroh roared. "To the defense!"

Like sand being washed away by the wave, the soldiers around him rushed into the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, neglecting their earlier celebration, all ready and eager to fight; leaving only Iroh, a handful of high ranking officers, Lu Ten, and his new unit. As if asking for permission to join the assault, Lu Ten cast his father an inquiring look. Spirits… the father inside Iroh were screaming, begging him to listen to his fatherly instinct and _not to let Lu Ten go_. But, a master and a general inside him shouted the otherwise. Had Lu Ten not defended himself against a Dai Li agent long enough for help to arrive? A feat that few teenagers his age could perform, fighting a Dai Li agent to a standstill. Was it not Lu Ten who captured an enemy messenger during a night patrol bearing a secret message for General Fong who was hiding in Si Wong dessert southeast of Ba Sing Se? The intelligence he captured led to the formulation of plan by the reinforcement force, no doubt by Lin, of an ingenious three-pronged attack which would ensure the safety of Iroh's flank as well as the conquest of areas surrounding Ba Sing Se. Was it not Lu Ten who took down five Earth Kingdom's soldiers when Iroh's camp was raided? It was a blind rage in Lu Ten's part, the boy was panic. Why wouldn't he be? It was his first real fight, his first kill, the first life he had ever taken… the first one was survival instinct, the next four was just instinct, the boy couldn't help it. The sight of death and blood, especially when done by your hand, could turn you into an animal in a second.

Now, what kind of father did Iroh want to be? The kind who strives to keep his son safe no matter what the cost is? A bit too late for that, Earth Kingdom soldiers were already on their way. The kind that risks being accused for nepotism by playing favorite? It would be a shameful thing to do, a disgrace for himself, his son, his father, Fire Lord Azulon, and the whole Fire Nation.

The kind that let his son grow, that let his son be the best person he could be, that was the kind of father Iroh wanted to be. And for that to happen, Iroh would have to act more like the 'general' and less like the 'father', because his son was no longer his son here, Lu Ten had become a soldier, a captain. Iroh cast a sharp meaningful look at one of the masked soldiers, the Royal Procession; at one of the thirty men personally handpicked by him to be his son's subordinates and guardians. Well, twenty nine, actually. The thirtieth was… um, an extra insurance. One of the best firebenders in the world and the best friend he had ever had. Iroh had to hide him by disguising him as one of the Royal Procession and Iroh was glad that he did what he did. There would be no one who could protect Lu Ten better than that man. The said man seemed to understand Iroh's silent request as he nodded his response at Iroh subtly. Iroh nodded back at him.

"Be careful, son", Iroh said finally with heavy heart.

"I will, Dad", Lu Ten respectfully bowed; bowed not saluted, bowed as a son should, not saluted as a soldier does.

And the son of the dragon went to join the fight…

* * *

"Just a little more, Captain", whispered the soldier to his commanding officer, Earth kingdom soldiers by the look of the uniform. "The scout has reported of seeing General Jiang's banner wielded by this group."

"I see", the captain stroked his beard. He and his men, around fifty of them, had been lying inside the bush, waiting to ambush the Fire Nation soldiers that had been reported to be making an advance from Senlin Village, east of their position. From the route that the Fire Nation soldiers took, they were unmistakably heading to Ba Sing Se.

"They're here", the captain hissed as he spotted banners from the west, from the small forest path that they had surrounded from both sides. "Get ready!"

The Earth Kingdom soldiers complied, staying still as rock from inside their hiding places. They waited… and waited… and waited… what the hell was taking the Fire Nation soldiers so long? The captain braced himself to peek from—

What was that cold shiny and potentially sharp thing on his neck…?

"Hello, boys", the mysterious swordsman grinned, shocking everyone around. It was like he just appeared out of nowhere! And now, he had the Earth Kingdom soldier's captain as a hostage.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the soldiers asked angrily, trying not to make any sudden movements that might agitate the mysterious person who had their captain's life in his hand.

"Oh, just some passerby", Taka answered, shrugging nonchalantly, still pressing the pointy end of his sword against the captain's neck. "I see you guys are preparing some nasty surprise for the Fire Nation soldiers."

The Earth Kingdom soldiers didn't say anything; they merely looked at each other uncomfortably. Taka, still holding the captain hostage, swiftly lunged forward toward the crowd, swinging his sword in one wide swoop, taking down two soldiers in an instance. Startled, the Earth Kingdom soldiers tried to fight back but their clumsy and disoriented retaliation was no match for Taka's swift and deadly swordsmanship. With one last swing of his ninjato and one throwing knife, he took down his last two opponents, leaving only the captain alive. Trembling and petrified by fear, the captain slumped down on the ground, shivering and pale, his eyes fixed on Taka's sword, which once again was pressed against his neck. Taka waited for a few seconds until, with a rustling sound, Iwa emerged from the nearby bush, nodding briefly at him; it seemed like the rest of the ambush party had been taken care of.

"Listen to me", Taka said, his face hardened into a demonic grin. "Go to your boss, whoever he is, and tell him this: 'the Dragon of the Deep Forest is advancing to join General Iroh to attack Ba Sing Se'. You've got it?"

"Y-y-yes…" the captain gulped, sweating heavily.

"Good", Taka's grin grew wider as he put his sword away. "Well, go then!"

The captain needn't to be told twice. He quickly scrambled himself up from the ground and ran as fast as he could from the assassin. Scoffing, Taka walked over to Iwa, who curtly nodded at him. Mission accomplished…

"I sure hope the kid knows what he's doing", Taka sighed.

* * *

He did it!!! He was a captain now!! A captain of thirty Royal Procession soldiers!!! Haha!

And now, he was going to prove his worth! He was son of Iroh, the Dragon of the West. He was the Fire Prince Lu Ten. And now, with his men he was going to make a name for himself. Just like Lin… yeah, just like him. They had always been, as Iroh put it, 'friendly rivals', always trying to catch up to one another. Now, Lin had gone way up high and Lu Ten, like always, would have to catch up to him, to even the ground between them again.

"Charge!!!" the young captain cried at the top of his lungs, spearheading the attack. Lu Ten charged forward, the rest of his unit followed him closely. The target? The enemy's flank. The Fire Nation camp was being attacked, a night raid. While the other soldiers were defending the camp, Lu Ten had skillfully eluded the enemy and circled them from behind in order to outflank them. The soldiers that Ba Sing Se sent seemed to be some normal foot soldiers, not some special units like the Terra Team or, thankfully, the Dai Li. Leading his thirty men, Lu Ten struck the Earth Kingdom soldiers' formation from the behind; when done in one-on-one combat, it was disgraceful, when done in an all-out battle, army-vs-army, it was smart. Kinda funny how extreme one thing can change given the right condition, huh? Argh! No time for philosophy, Lu Ten shook the thought off as he sent a fire blast at the back of an unsuspecting Earth Kingdom soldier. The soldier's cry as he fell down, alerted the rest of the assailants, sending panic into their ranks.

An onslaught ensued. The Earth Kingdom soldiers, instead of trying to run away now that they were surrounded from both sides, fought back valiantly; they were born with that kind of mentality, Lu Ten was told by his father. Tough and enduring; taking an Earth Kingdom's live in a fight is much easier than taking his spirit, his will. It didn't matter much here, though. Not now. Now was taking down as many enemy soldiers as he could. Lu Ten sent a series of quick jabs of fire, hitting an opponent in each jabs. He then brought his hand together in front of his chest, his palms faced each other, a small gap between them was filled with fire as the young prince summoned a small fireball. He secured a safe footing, left leg bent forward, right leg trailed behind; he then made a violent spreading movements with his hand as he sent his elongated fire forward, hitting three opponents at once. The Lin Family's 'fire arc'. Lu Ten could still remember when his friend taught the technique to him, secretly, of course.

"DAI LI!!!!" a soldier shouted, pointing at the direction of Ba Sing Se's second wall. Lu Ten turned to the direction. About ten Dai Li agents slid down the wall, slid, no kidding! Like water drops on the surface of the glass window. Definitely earthbending, Lu Ten assumed. He turned to his men and comrades; the last of the initial assailants had been taken care of. Thank the spirits for that, Lu Ten sighed. But, there was a bigger problem now. Dai Li agents were not to be taken lightly.

"Royal Procession! Hold the line!!" Lu Ten shouted his order, he then gestured to another soldier, another ranked officer by the look of his uniform. "You! Gather some men and take the wounded into safety. Hurry! We'll hold them off!"

Could he really? Lu Ten asked himself as the officer saluted at him and did as he was told, shouting some order at the nearby soldiers as he pulled a half-conscious soldier with bloody head to his feet. Didn't matter, he would have to do it anyway. The lives of the wounded soldiers, the lives of the sons of the glorious Fire Nation rested upon his shoulder. Was he not the Fire Prince, son of Iroh, the Dragon of the West? Was he not going to be the Fire Lord one day? His father had always told him that being a Fire Lord is like being a father, a parent; and the people of the Fire Nation is like children to the Fire Lord. Was it not the duty of a good father to protect the lives of his children?? _Yes_, Lu Ten braced himself. _I must do this. I mu—_

"Your Highness", one of the Royal Procession gripped his shoulder, startling Lu ten; his voice was muffled thanks to the mask but… he sounded familiar, somehow. "Will it not be prudent if you stayed behind as well? Help with the evacuation, we'll handle this."

The rest of the Royal Procession nodded, muttering their agreement; the Dai Li agents, upon reaching the ground, were now surfing on the earth. Surfing!

"No", Lu Ten answered curtly, he would not back down, not now… "I will fight with you."

"With all due respect, Your Highness—"

"Please, soldier" Lu ten cut him in the middle of his sentence, the Dai Li agents were approaching fast now. "I am your comrade, aren't I? What kind of comrade am I if I left you to fight on your own here? And besides, I have the lot of you to watch my back. Don't even try to deny it; I know what my father has ordered you to do."

The Royal Procession looked at each other guiltily.

"That's right, I know. So, guys…" Lu Ten grinned at them as he turned to the incoming enemies. "… please watch my back."

"We will, Your Highness", Lu Ten heard the masked man replied; seriously, his voice sounded very familiar, that husky snappish voice. Maybe it was just the mask. Hmm, maybe after this was all over, Lu Ten would try to make the soldier take off his mask, just out of curiosity. As the enemies got closer and closer, Lu ten heard the masked soldier said, his voice was much softer and somewhat grim: "Remember your breathing…"

And the two elite forces clashed…

Even the advice sounded familiar, eerily familiar. Well, it was the sort of advice he had received from Iroh in almost every training session he had had with his father. A coincidence, maybe. Furthermore, when a Dai Li agent was trying to hit you with a small but solid block of hardened earth wasn't really the right time to think about it, was it? Lu Ten sidestepped the incoming projectile, using the momentum of his leap to spin-kicked an arc of fire at the Dai Li. The earthbender summoned a small earth pillar, colliding with Lu Ten's fire right in the middle of the curve, causing the fire to dissipate into thin air as it lost its core energy. Lu Ten sent a fire stream from his palm; the stream hit the small pillar, pulverizing it, and resumed its flight right to the Dai Li, who summoned an earth wall and successfully defended himself. There was usually a few seconds interval between rising and sinking an earth wall and Lu Ten used this fact to his advantage as he leaped forward, accumulating his chi on his right fist, closing in on the opponent. It was necessary when fighting a Dai Li agent; you've got to be strong, fast, and cunning because Dai Li agents _are_ strong _and_ fast _and_ cunning. Strength is relative; sometimes it is unnecessary to be stronger than them. But, you've got to be faster and more cunning than them!

The earth wall sunk back to the ground as Lu ten landed smoothly, revealing the Dai Li agents with two blocks of solid earth levitating in front of him. Lu Ten, shouting an ear-splitting battle cry, punched another stream of fire from his right fist. The fire flew, hitting and pulverizing the earth blocks and colliding with the Dai Li agent who couldn't react fast enough square on his chest. Grunting, the Dai Li agent was thrown backward and landed on his back three meters away from Lu Ten. It was the second Dai Li agent he had ever fought… the first Dai Li agent he had ever defeated… ha… haha… hahaha!!! He defeated a Dai Li agent!!! He defeated the fearsome Dai Li agent on his own, without any help!!! HE DID IT!!! HAHAHA!!!

Look at him! Look at the Dai Li agent! His soul was now in the spirit world, no doubt. He wasn't breathing anymore and his chest was burnt badly and he was coughing up blood just a moment ago before he stopped breathing and… yeah… yeah, the Dai Li agent was…

Look at him… the green triangle hat, looked like the kind of hat that farmers wears, minus the green tuff on top of it, of course, and the green robe with big Earth Kingdom insignia on the front, on the chest area, bloody and burnt, right on the spot where Lu Ten had sent the killing blow. Bloody and burnt… bloody… blood…

…death…

Lu Ten felt sick, just a little, though. It didn't feel so bad anymore; the pride for his achievement on bringing down a Dai Li agent somehow made the killing felt a bit… a bit _less_. Just less… less guilty-feeling-that-makes-you-want-to-cry, less guilty-feeling-that-makes-you-want-to-rip-your-chest-open… less— just less…

And the earth glove, the dead Dai Li agent was wearing a pair, too. Lu Ten hated that gloves; the Dai Li could use the earth gloves in many ways: sending them as 'rocky punch', as Iroh once joked, at their opponents (Lu Ten had had a personal experience regarding this), sending them to 'grab' the opponent's limb, shooting them piece by piece, literally, as they use their earthbending to disintegrate the gloves and shoot small pieces of the shrapnel at their opponents. Lu Ten had seen this move in action before. He had seen the devastation this particular move could cause; five of his comrades fell victims to this move, five were killed by just one Dai Li agent. Funny, maybe that was why his chest was hurting so bad… with all this death around him, with so many of his fellow soldiers died… No, no, not the death, not that kind of 'hurt'. I mean, his chest hurt, you know, _hurt_.

Lu Ten coughed; he felt terror gripped his gut, spreading through his innards as he tasted metallic taste on his mouth. He instinctively let some of his saliva out, like what we do when we throw up. Strange… his saliva, wasn't it supposed to be colorless, tasteless, a bit bubbly… why was it red and thick and… his chest really really hurt…

The young prince ran his hand on his chest, grimacing, or at least he thought he was grimacing, as his hand touched some thin sharp— things protruding from his chest and stomach, all the while wondering why everything was so blurred… so quiet. _It hurt… _Had the fighting stopped? That would explain the quietness. _It hurt, really… _Was it finally time to sleep? That would make his vision going blurred reasonable, maybe he was sleepy. _It hurt… so much…_

"YOUR HIGHNESS!!!!"

Who was it? Who was it that called him so loud…? Lu Ten didn't want to answer, he was sleepy. Even the solid earth felt so comfortable as Lu Ten rested his head on it, he didn't even realized that he was lying on the ground; it felt like his bed back home… His bed… he missed it. He missed his bed, his pillow, his blanket, his room. What he wouldn't give to turn back time, back to that faithful day, the day when he had that argument with his father, he had never had an argument with his father before, ever! His father had always been a good father and Lu Ten had always been a good son, a son worthy of such a wonderful father. He wanted to go to war just because— what was it again… the reason he wanted to go to the war…? Ah, he couldn't remember…

Now, he just wanted to go home, back to his room. Back to his Aunt Ursa, the woman who was always there when his father couldn't be there for him, a woman who was like a mother to him, a woman who had been the only mother Lu Ten had ever known… Back to his cousins, Azula and Zuko; back to helping Zuko with his firebending training so that Uncle Ozai wouldn't be so furious about his slow improvement… just like the old time; back to teaching Azula, unbeknownst to Aunt Ursa, of course, the many ways to put a bottle of ink, a pouch, and a small piece of rope into a good use; the ink ball!... just like the old time. Speaking of which, he had an idea of a new ink ball booby trap; he invented it after watching the ballistae in action. He had even drawn up the first draft of the blueprint. Hmm, if only he knew what to do about the bowstring, what material to use… Lin would know, that kid had enough brain than all scholars in the Fire Nation combined; he had to share the idea with him. Lin… his friend, his best friend… _his brother_… just like the old time…

Lu Ten just wanted to go home… he didn't care anymore…

"Your Hign… … you …right? ..or ….ness!!!"

Stop… just stop… Lu Ten just wanted to go home. The stars were beautiful tonight, so was the moon… But, Lu Ten wanted to go home… these were the Earth Kingdom stars and moon. Lu Ten wanted the Fire Nation stars and moon… he wanted to go home…

Strange… Lu Ten had never realized summer could be this chilly…

…and dark…

…and lonely…

"NOOOO!!!!!"

* * *

"NOOOO!!!!!"

"Son!" Jiang got up suddenly, the scream had woke him up. To his horror, his son was squirming violently on his bed, on the other side of the tent; Lin was punching and kicking the air as if trying to fight off an invisible assailant, his eyes were still closed but… were those tears?

"Son!" Jiang tried to catch Lin's hands to stop him from hurting himself, the two guards who were posted to guard the tent had come in, weapons at ready. Jiang ignored them as he caught Lin's struggling hands, holding them tightly, and trying to pulled the kid into his embrace; Lin was still struggling wildly.

"Son!" Jiang called again, hugging Lin who had suddenly woken up and opened his eyes tightly; the boy looked slightly out of place, scanning the tent wildly and panting heavily. "It's okay, son. You're safe. It's just a nightmare. Just a nightmare."

"N-no… Dad. I-I… it's Lu Ten… h-he…" Lin began to stutter, shaking wildly as he released himself from his father's hug. Lu Ten... his friend, his best friend… his brother… he must help! "D-dad… we-we... we must go now! Now, Dad!"

"Go where?" Jiang asked, his brow arched.

"Ba Sing Se! W-we must go!" Lin repeated, sounding desperate; why did his father look at him like that? Like how those two soldiers were looking at him, like he had gone crazy or something.

"Son, listen", Jiang said calmly; the dream must have been really bad. "We have just arrived at Gaipan. We will begin marching to Ba Sing Se first thing in the morning, okay. So, now, you must get some slee—"

"No!" Lin stood up, furious. He didn't know why he was furious. Or maybe he did. He didn't know, everything was so confusing… and everything just made him furious, his father's concerned look, the calmness of his tone, the look that the soldiers gave him, everything! Why couldn't they understand?! He needed to go now! So, why hadn't they moved a muscle?! And why were they spinning? No, they didn't spin like some ballet dancers; they just… spun…

"Son!" Jiang managed to catch Lin in time as the boy fell down forward, it meant he was in no position to avoid as the boy vomited on his chest. Normally, Jiang found someone vomiting on him disgusting. But, when that someone was his own son who had just had some very very bad nightmare, disgust was the least of his problem.

"Call the doctor!" Jiang shouted his order at one of the soldiers, who ran out to do as he was told. The other soldier stayed behind and helped Jiang picking up Lin, who had suddenly passed out, and setting him on the bed.

* * *

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jiang asked again, for the tenth times. Not that it'd make any difference; they were already inside the carriage, leading their men to Ba Sing Se. They had just received an update from General Iroh's messenger last midnight: the outer wall of Ba Sing Se had finally fallen! It was a feat that had never been done before; General Iroh had outdone his father and grandfather, Sozin the Conqueror and Fire Lord Azulon. A great honor, indeed.

"I'm fine, Dad", Lin muttered weakly. He still felt a bit lightheaded and his head was still spinning a little, like he was on a ship. Gah! He really hated ship. Strangely, he was fine when he was on a small ship. He was fine during the journey from Fire Nation Secret Prison near the Fire Fountain City to Shu Jing on a small ship with eight other people. Then again, he was asleep pretty much the whole time.

As if getting out from the Secret Prison wasn't hard enough, Fire Prince Ozai was in Shu Jing, too! Iwa and his earthbending had been most helpful; the earthbender used his bending to make a tunnel underground, a tunnel that they used to reach pier on Shu Jing where Jiang and his men had docked for a few hours because the general wanted to 'bid Fire Prince Ozai farewell', courtesy, of course. It was even trickier to switch place with Nise and it wasn't the end of it. Lin had to endure a week in the sea hiding the eight people in his quarter. The two of them being children who found being cooped up in a room boring and dull and another two being elderly who had bad backs and aching feet every now and then only made thing more complicated. Luckily, as they reached Gaipan, Lin wouldn't have to worry about them anymore.

Bara, Taka, and Iwa would take care of the rest. Uncle Sahn was with them too. Being a wanderer of a sort, Uncle Sahn had some connections in the Earth Kingdom. He had arranged a place deep in the mountain north of Gaipan where the stowaways could lay low for a while and he had even volunteered to see to it personally that they would be well taken care of and stay with them until he was sure that they would be fine on their own. Bara, Taka, and Iwa couldn't stay with them, it'd be too suspicious. Furthermore, the three of them had to report back to Fire Prince Ozai periodically. Having them simply disappeared would arouse unwanted attention from the Royal Family. The three assassins, as soon as they had made sure everything was okay with those people, would have to stick with Lin, staying hidden in the shadow, of course.

Jiang hadn't had it easy either. He was the head of the Lin Family, for spirit's sake! If words got out that he was helping some prisoners escape, he and his whole family would be annihilated. 'They higher your stand, the bigger the splash you'll make', it is true in politics. But, when it concerned his son, Jiang would do anything. He was a father, after all, and a father would do anything for his son. Jiang was glad that the 'smuggling' was over. Now, he could concentrate fully on the battle ahead.

And for the battle plan, Lin had suggested a very daring strategy: a large scale three-pronged attack. While it was true that ever since the Earth Kingdom's Western Shore was secured, the threat of General Iroh being attacked from behind was reduced to the minimum, the possibility of being flanked still existed as there were still many cities and villages still under the Earth Kingdom between the Western Shore and Ba Sing Se. Some of those cities might house Earth Kingdom soldiers that could potentially raise their arms to stab General Iroh on the back. Furthermore, there were rumor among the soldiers that General Fong of the Earth Kingdom, after his humiliating defeat, had fled and sought refuge in one of those cities along with at least one hundred soldiers. Fong, as arrogant as he was, might try to raise an army to intercept Iroh from behind, distracting the Dragon of the West's attention from Ba Sing Se.

That was why Lin had suggested a three-pronged attack. Fong, Lin predicted by studying his history, was a vindictive man with huge ego; he would be looking for a revenge against Jiang. That was why Lin proposed that General Bujing and the Northern Fleet to attack from the Northern Sea carrying with them most of the reinforcement supplies and siege machines. The Northern Sea lies between the Earth Kingdom and the Northern Water Tribe and, truth to be told, it would be the easiest and safest route. The northern part of the Earth Kingdom was but rugged uninhabited mountain range; the real resistance, if any, would be coming from the Northern Water Tribe and it was very unlikely to happen because the Northern Water Tribe had been assuming a defensive stance ever since the war started nearly a hundred years ago. And besides, the Northern Fleet was reputed to be the strongest fighting force in the Fire Nation Navy, at least it was when Admiral Jeong Jeong was in charge. But, Admiral Thuyen, the new commander, used to be Jeong Jeong's right-hand-man; his apprentice, a close friend of the Lin Family, and a staunch supporter of Jeong Jeong's innocence who had been, and still was, trying to persuade Fire Lord Azulon to launch a thorough investigation regarding Jeong Jeong's disappearance (yes, Thuyen used the more neutral term 'disappearance' rather than 'desertion') before condemning the man for a crime that he might not committed.

His request was met with unsatisfactory response, no doubt…

But, Admiral Thuyen's skill was not to be doubted and thankfully so. The north route posed almost no danger from the Earth Kingdom; unless there were some soldiers seeking refuge in the ruin of the Northern Air Temple, which was also very unlikely. The most possible opposition that they could have received would come from the Northern Water Tribe, which was more unlikely to happen. But, even if it did happen, Admiral Thuyen would be enough to send the Water Tribe force back to their homeland defeated.

General Shu and Admiral Chan would be taking southern route, passing through Si Wong Dessert where General Shu had spent years on a campaign. The man had accumulated a wealth of experience regarding the topography. That was why Lin had suggested that General Shu take the tanks squadron with him; it'd be safer that way. That was also why Lin had sent the three assassins to engage any Earth Kingdom soldiers they could find, eliminate them, and let one or two survivors escape to tell the Earth Kingdom that Jiang of the Lin Family and his son Lin, the twenty sixth, the Dragon of the Deep Forest, was marching to Ba Sing Se. Hopefully, that would lured General Fong's attention to them, thus, granting a safe passage for General Shu.

The plan had seemed to work; Bara, Taka, and Iwa had reported that they had engaged at least ten ambush parties along the way to Ba Sing Se. All that's left was a nice safe march to Ba Sing Se after General Shu and Bujing rejoined their forces. The escort forces would stay behind, scattering their men along the way to Senlin Village and Western Earth Base to secure their escape route. Just in case…

"—on? Son!"

"Huh?" Lin was snapped from his thought. He didn't notice that his father was calling.

"You're okay?" Jiang asked again, he looked really concerned. Lin was, after all, a bit pale.

"I'm fine, Dad", Lin replied weakly. He felt tired for some reason. And the dream… he shuddered when he thought about it. He had had weird dreams before but, the one he had the previous night, it was way too— he just hoped that one was just a bad dream. A really bad one… The army doctor had said that Lin was exhausted and under a lot of physical stress and seemed to be lacking of sleep; he had to try to relax a bit. How could Lin relax?! He was going to the war! And the stage was the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se, no less! How could he relax when he was about to fight in a battle as grand as the Siege of Ba Sing Se?

"By the way", Jiang smiled fatherly… hmm, suspicious. "Happy birthday."

"Wha—?" Lin gawked. Birthday? Oh… birthday! Of course, this was the fifth. His birthday was the previous day. Why didn't he remember? Oh right, he had been too busy coordinating their march to the Ba Sing Se Bay, north of the Serpent's Pass. It meant two days and one night of sea travel. When they hit the land, Lin had had to quickly organize their encampment plan, set up patrolling shifts, sending scouts to the north and south on the lookouts for General Shu and General Bujing's forces, giving detailed instructions to Bara, Taka, and Iwa, and some other menial administrative tasks, and then he hit the hay. He had fallen asleep almost instantly and woken up in the middle of the night due to his nightmare. So, yeah, that was why he had forgotten completely about his own birthday. Wow… he was twelve now, still a kid, technically. And yet, he was already a captain in the army. His title held no significance to himself personally; his title was _given_ not _earned_. He still had a long way to go.

Speaking of long way, Ba Sing Se wasn't that far from their position, was it? Just about four or five kilometers, four or five kilometers between the reinforcement force and their fresh troops, tanks, and explosives; and General Iroh and the torn wall of Ba Sing Se. According to the latest intel report, General Iroh had used up all of his explosives and had no way to deal with the second wall of Ba Sing Se. Yep, Ba Sing Se had a second wall; not as thick or strong as the first wall but still, you would need an unhealthy amount of explosives to tear it down.

He missed them, Iroh and Lu Ten. He had a lot to say to them: he gotta tell Iroh that the mission he entrusted to Lin had been taken care of, he would need to ask Lu Ten whether he had received the news about Azula and him (Lin wasn't looking forward to this), he must tell Iroh about his grandparents (Umma's death and Jeong Jeong's disappearance although he suspected that Iroh had known about them), and maybe some fun stuff like the codes he had developed using Pai Sho (Iroh would love them!), and Zuko and Azula's progress in firebending, and Zuko building his first ink ball booby trap (Lu Ten would be so proud of Zuko), and… and… many more. There was so much he wanted to tell them, so much he wanted to hear from them, like how the war had been for them or if Lu Ten had mastered that technique he was still struggling with when they were in the Fire Nation or… or… many more, really, he didn't care. He just wanted to talk to them, to hear them talking… to be with them again.

"So, what do you want for your birthday?" Jiang asked brightly. Wait a minute… wasn't Birdie supposed to be Lin's twelfth birthday present? Ooooh…. Jiang didn't remember… A cunning smirk spread across Lin's face as he realized a chance for—

A knock on the door disturbed him from his thought. Darn it! Who was it that dare disturb the Dragon of the Deep Forest from deciding between a new ornamented dagger or a new book for birthday present? Oh, Uncle Kang… bigger than him, so it was fine; the interruption was forgiven. But, why did Uncle Kang looked so pale, like he had just seen a ghost? Why did he glanced at Lin uncomfortably before relaying whatever message he had to his father, in a whisper, too? And why did his father's expression changed, he had the same expression like the one Uncle Kang had now, and the glance…?

"What happened?" Lin asked, frowning.

"Let's get down", was all he get. Jiang jumped down from the carriage, followed by Lin. To his surprise, most of the high ranking officers were swarming there, General Shu, General Bujing, Uncle Masa, Generals Shu and Bujing's commanders, all of them looked grim. Jiang nodded curtly at them, they nodded back. Still perplexed, Lin felt his father's hand guiding him by his shoulder, wordlessly saying that they must walk forward on foot. And so they did; Jiang and Lin at the front with Uncles Kang and Masa at their sides, followed by the rest of the officers and, behind them, the rest of the army. They walked for a few meters until they reached a clearing, Jiang halted his pace, so did the rest of the reinforcement force. It was quite a sunny day, the sun shone brightly, blinding Lin's eyes. Soft breeze hit his face; Lin could see his bangs fluttering. Strangely, especially with him being a firebender and born in summer, he hated summer. Lin loved wind and it was not so much windy in summer. But, the summer in the Earth Kingdom wasn't so bad; it wasn't as hot as it would be in Fire Nation and they had cool summer breeze every now and then. He could feel himself smiling as he breathed the refreshing air, his head didn't hurt so much anymore.

Hey, who was there? There, in front of them. Red was all Lin could see, the sea of red was moving neatly in the horizon. What's up with people today? Even the people marching towards them from Ba Sing Se looked gloom. From Ba Sing Se…? Wait a minute… why did people, people in red, why did Fire Nation soldiers march _from_ Ba Sing Se? Shouldn't they march _to_ the city?

"Dad?" Lin turned to Jiang who gazed at the soldiers in front of them solemnly; the soldiers were getting closer and closer now, only half a kilometer away. "What's going on?"

"Shh…" Jiang hushed him, his expression was weird… sad, sympathetic. "It'll be alright, son."

Alright? What did he mean by alright? Lin asked himself as he turned back to the soldiers in front of them; boy, they all looked weary. They no longer walked in uniformed steps like soldiers should or held their weapons proudly as soldiers should, they all looked tired. And in front of them, leading the whole formation of thousands of man, if you could call it that, was none other than General Iroh, riding on his komodo rhino steed. Man, even the Dragon of the West looked weary. And what's with the grey hair; had he stopped dyeing his hair? Yeah, Lin couldn't help but chuckled inside as he being reminded of the time when he and Lu Ten caught Iroh red-handed, or should I say 'black-handed', as the old man was dyeing his graying hair. He could still remember how Iroh bought them mountain of sweets to bribe them so that both kids wouldn't tell anyone about it. By the way, where was Lu Ten? Why wasn't he riding beside his father?

And what was that box… oh, sorry, it was a coffin. What was a coffin doing there? That coffin that was being carried by four people on each sides, that coffin that was marching along with the army, being carried slowly, marching rhythmically beside General Iroh. That coffin that was covered by some kind of black cloth… a banner, actually: a big jet black banner with a crimson red Fire Nation insignia on the middle, framed with golden weaves and ornated by two light golden tassels on the two corners. The imperial banner, wielded only by the members of the Royal Family. Why was the imperial banner used to cover that coffin…?

"No…" Lin sighed, horror struck his heart. It felt like someone had just punch him on the gut, felt like a hole had just opened up on his chest, like a part of him suddenly went missing, ripped apart… a part that he knew that once lost could never be found or replaced again. Lin stepped forward limply, he didn't even know that he was walking forward; he definitely didn't hear his father hissing at him, trying to call him back, but made no move whatsoever to stop him.

"No…"

No, it couldn't be… they had made a promise, a promise from long ago, a promise that someday when Lin was the head of the Lin Family and he was the Fire Lord, they would make a peace treaty or something, anything that would make their two families allies, real allies. There had been a bad blood between the two families, a feud or some sort. It had happened long long time ago but the effect was still present until now. Both of them, despite their young age, knew the folly behind that senseless hatred; they wanted to stop it. So, that was why… that was why…

"No… no…"

Lin was running now, he wanted to go there, he wanted to make sure…

The imperial banner was used only by the members of the Royal Family. The banner was now used to cover a coffin and only two persons important enough in the entire army to have their coffins covered by the imperial banner: Iroh, who was riding silently on his steed, and…

_It's not true… it's not true…_ Lin kept telling himself as he ran forward, just few more meters.

"Let go of me!" Lin angrily yelled as two soldiers, Royal Procession, by the look of their uniform caught him. He was so close, so close to the coffin! "I said let go!!!"  
_A joke… yes, a joke! It must be a joke! It must be Lu Ten's joke; haha, very funny, Lu Ten. You can come out now… _

"Let go!!" Lin yelled again, the whole procession had come to a stop. And Iroh, he didn't say a word, why? Why didn't he order the soldiers to stand down and let Lin approach the coffin in which Lu Ten was hiding, waiting to be found by Lin. "I SAID LET GO!!!"

Why won't they let him go?! He needed to go there, to his friend. Just a bit more; struggling against his captors, Lin stretched his hand, trying to reach out to the coffin in front of him, to whatever part of that box he could reach, or the banner, whatever! He somehow believed that, as absurd as it might be, that he could just touch the coffin or any part of it, the banner, the many things tied on it by a rope, mostly Lu Ten's personal procession like his breastplate, his armguards, his water pouch, and more, all were his; Lin believed that somehow Lu Ten would got out from the coffin, laughing and said 'gotcha' or something… whatever, he didn't care, as long as his friend came out. Alive and well…

----

"_Hey, Lu Ten", he grinned mischievously; Zuko behind him had the same kind of grin. "Happy birthday, buddy." _

"_What's the formality", Lu Ten asked, suspicious of their ominous grins. "It's your birthday, too."_

"_Well, yes. But, that aside, Zuko and I have a present for you. Tada!" Lin pulled out a pair of scissors from behind his back, Zuko had a small mirror with him. "A royal haircut! You see, Zuko and I agreed that your sideburns had grown— Zuko!! Grab him!! He's running away!"_

"_You sick! You sick!! Leave my sideburns alone! I don't wanna play with you anymore_!!"

----

"No… no…" Lin could feel tears running down his cheeks, blurring his vision. It must be very uncool, embarrassing, even, crying in front of that many people. But, who cares! It was his friend there, lying in the coffin. Why the hell won't they let him go!!! Just a little more, Lin struggled with all his might, he felt more firm hands holding him from behind. Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, huh? All of them, all… his father, his father's men, Iroh, Iroh's men… all of them were working together, conspiring against him, preventing him to just… just take another step, just one more step, and reach out. WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING!!!!!

----

"_Kids, it's time to sleep", Iroh called, guiding the two boys by their hands to the bed. Tugging them in, he covered them with blanket and turned to the door, yawning; it was time for him to sleep as well. Now, if only the two troublemakers would stop giggling. Iroh turned to them and found two sleeping boys, peacefully sleeping like angels. He turned away and the giggling started again. So, that's how it's gonna be, huh?_

"_Bombs away!" he shouted, throwing himself onto the bed; a wrestle ensued, both boys laughing cheerfully as they struggled against the bigger old man. In matter of seconds, Iroh had them headlocked, one in each arm._

"_Now, come on", he laughed. "Sleep."_

"_No", both boys giggled. _

_Ah, being a father… nobody said it was gonna be easy. A lullaby, perhaps. A song that both kids loved, a song about what they wanted to be when they grew up… a song about a soldier boy…_

----

_Leaves from the vine_

_Falling so slow_

"Let go of me", Lin sobbed. To hell with pride… to hell with— with everything!! He cried… he didn't care; it didn't matter to him. What mattered was the coffin, the rectangular box that had his friend in it… the only person he could call a brother…

_Like fragile tiny shells_

_Drifting in the foam_

How did this happen? He had promised, hadn't he? _They_ had promised, hadn't they?

_----_

_"Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it", Lu Ten said, determination burning in his eyes," With the Dragon of the West leading the attack, Ba Sing Se will fall in the matter of seconds,"_

_----_

That was what Lu Ten had said…

"LET GO OF ME!!!"

Iroh… he just sat there on his komodo rhino. He didn't even look at Lin! Why? He was the High General! Why didn't he order the soldiers to let Lin go?! More importantly, how did he let this happened!!!! He was the Dragon of the West! HE WAS IROH!!!

_Little soldier boy_

_Comes marching home_

Just a bit more… just a bit more… the tip of his finger could touch the coffin now. The soldiers hadn't let up their barricade, though. Lin could barely hear his father softly asking him to stop, his grip on his shoulder. What's wrong with him? Can't he see that— that… Why won't he understand?!

"N—no…" Lin stretched his arm as far as he could, standing his ground against two men who were trying to push him back. The grips on his shoulder were much softer, though; they were there not to pull him away but simply to hold them in place. And the whole army, thousands of them, they just stood there watching in silent, watching a child struggling against adults who wouldn't grant him this small request… to let him be with his friend… _his brother_…

Lin's fingers grasped onto the only part he could reach that was attached to the coffin, it was some kind of rag; white rag, sooty and bloody. He pulled the rag, hoping that he could pull himself closer to the coffin by doing so. Instead, the knot was undone and the rag came off; it was the armband…

_Brave soldier boy_

_Comes marching home_

The long six hundred days Siege of Ba Sing Se had been declared over by both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. Six hundred days… from day one to day 598, the Dragon of the West fought fiercely, pounding the wall of Ba Sing Se relentlessly; on the morning of day 599, he unleashed an otherworldly destruction upon the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, earning him a legendary victory, a victory that lasted for only one day. On the eve of day 599, following a night raid staged by the defenders of Ba Sing Se, the Dragon, having already exhausted his men and resources, lost many troops and his will to fight. On day 600, he ordered a full retreat.

And now, after six hundred long days, the brave soldier boy… was marching home…

_**End of Book 2 – Dragon

* * *

**_

**Author's note:**

A very long chapter, Lu Ten deserved it… T_T

I'm gonna have to take another break. Exam is coming up and I need to start studying. So, the next update should be on the next three weeks, at the very least… unless I can somehow squeeze a little time in between my study. Sorry…

And a little snippet from Chapter 4 – Partners in Crime.

To hpswst101, about what happened to Lin, it'll be in the next chapter. Don't worry… :)

Have a nice day!


	42. Chapter 41

_**Book 3 - Journey

* * *

**_

**Chapter 41 – No Turning Back**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

The City of North Chung-Lin, or better known as the Fire Fountain City; a large industrial city, known throughout the Fire Nation as one of the largest industrial cities and as the most unsafe city in the whole nation. Hooligans roamed the city day and night, wanted posters were everywhere, roadside gambling was more common than litter. However, the city was probably most well known for its impressive giant metallic fire breathing statue of Fire Lord Azulon; the statue was so well known that the inhabitants of the city referred to their city as the Fire Fountain City.

Located in the Outer Islands, the one that was the nearest to the Fire Nation Mainland, the seedy city was located not too far away from the famous city of Shu Jing; just sail northeast, past the barren island on which two inactive volcanoes were standing solemnly, past another small uninhabited isle, and you'd reach Shu Jing the next time your helmsman screamed "LAAAAND!!!", if you had a helmsman, that is. Sadly, Lin didn't have any helmsman. The small ferry he and his companions were on could barely contain ten people, let alone a lookout tower for a helmsman. It did have a small hut…

"—wait for you to come back. Everything's ready, right?" he explained, amazed of how calm he sounded despite his heart beating fast and hard like a war drum.

"Yes", Bara nodded. She, too, looked a bit pale. She, Taka, and Lin were sitting in a circle close to each other inside the hut, whispering their final briefing, not that anyone could hear them in the open sea. It was just that being in the middle of open empty water in the middle of a dark cold night could hush even the loudest chatterbox into the softest of whisperer. All of them, including Iwa, who was manning the boat, excluding Lin, who had never felt so nervous and afraid in his life, wore a complete set of Fire Nation standard uniform. Why wouldn't Lin be nervous? He was about to be a part of a prison breakout, for Agni's sake. Well, he wasn't going to break anyone out per se; but, he was the mastermind and the co-conspirator. It was actually worse, wasn't it…?

Oh, heck! No turning back now…

"Remember", Lin said again for the umpteenth time. "Do not kill anyone unnecessarily! You go in, you get those people, you leave the decoy, burn the decoy, and you get out! Understood?"

"I still call for cutting our way out", Taka grumbled.

"And let your families live their lives as fugitives. Wow, Taka, you are the lighthouse of brilliance in the sea of idiocy", Lin retorted sarcastically. "No killing, okay! They're gonna be 'victims of an unfortunate fire incident'. Stick with the plan!"

"We're about to hit the land!" Iwa exclaimed from outside the hut, Taka who opened his mouth to retort Lin's remark swallowed his words and gulped.

"Remember the decoy", Lin reminded again, just as Iwa entered the hut, already putting his mask on, threw a big and slightly smelly sack at Taka and took two of the identical sacks himself. "And if anything goes wrong, ignite the grenade. Hopefully the explosion could be heard from here."

The last sentence was directed to Bara since she was the one in charge for the grenade. The woman nodded curtly at Lin before putting her own mask on.

"You've got one hour, okay", Lin continued as the group exited the hut. The three assassins, disguised as foot soldiers, jumped down from the ship; Lin continued his speech. "If after one hour I don't hear anything from you, I'm coming in. Got it?"

"I think it'll be more—"

"I'm _not_ leaving you behind!" Lin snapped. Bara, though her face was hidden by her masked helmet, frowned. She couldn't understand why someone, a nobility no less, of Lin's standing would sacrifice so much for people like her and her families. They were nothing, really, just simple peasants; sons and daughters of farmers and merchants. And yet, Lin, a nobility, was willing to endanger his own life and his family by pulling this dangerous stunt. Why…? The world sure is full of strange people; deviant people.

"Just be careful", Bara sighed, masking her gratefulness with her usual rough demeanor.

"_You_ be careful", Lin replied. "One hour."

The three fake soldiers nodded. Casting what one would interpret as goodbye look, the three parted way with their— which term should I use? Student? Maybe… Saviour… hero…? Not yet!

Friend…?

Yeah, friend sounded nice…

The three parted way with their friend. They had to attend to their loved ones now. No turning back…

* * *

"_Ready?" Lu Ten hissed, smirking mischievously._

"_Hehe… is that supposed to be rhetorical?" His friend smirked back, just as mischievously._

_The boy, peeked at the corner as a group of teenagers, five of them, walked leisurely, chatting and laughing in a carefree manner. _

"_What did you say?!" Lu Ten yelled angrily, being pushed out of the corner by his friend who emerged a second later from the corner and looked really angry._

"_You started it!" the boy yelled back, pushing the Fire Prince again._

"_Wha—", Lu Ten was taken aback, he pushed the other boy back into the corner, out of the bystanders' sight. "You're dead!"_

_Roaring, the angry young prince leaped into the corner, also disappearing from the bystanders' sight. Angry grunts form both kids in the corner of the corridor signified a brawl that had ensued between the two. _

—_THUDDED—_

_The five teenagers were about to go and break the fight when a body was thrown back on the corridor. It seemed like the body was Lu ten since the other kid leaped to the corridor a second later and angrily punched a fire blast at the prince. One fire blast was all it took to ignite the royalty on fire…_

_And Lu ten was on fire …Fire… FIRE!!_

_Of the five teenagers, one fainted, one was too dumbfounded and horror-stricken to do anything, the other three screamed and ran forward to douse the burning prince. The three teenagers hurriedly stepped on the prince as if he was a rag that was caught on fire, not a human being that was caught on fire. Stepping on a royalty like that is a vicious crime, punishable by death. But, so is setting a royalty on fire! Seemed like none of them remembered that they were firebenders._

_Still in the state of total panic, with a dab of fear, the teenagers kept stepping on the prince, not registering the laughter of two kids behind them. Yep, two. As the fire was put off, the 'rescuers' realized that it was a dummy not a real person. A gush of relief soon replaced by a sense of mild confusion as they pieced everything together and extreme anger as they realized that they had been had. _

"_Would you do the honor, Your Majesty?" the boy asked regally at Lu Ten, handing him a weird looking ball with a short tube-like thing protruding from the surface as the teenagers took slow menacing step at them._

"_With pleasure, dear friend", Lu Ten replied with prince-like demeanor that would make Iroh and Ursa proud, taking the ball from his friend. Lu Ten yanked off the tube thingy, igniting a fuse in the process. It was a grenade, a smoke grenade…_

_The prince threw the grenade on the floor between them and—_

—_POOF—_

----

"—but sadly, my grandma caught us and sweeping the main hall it was for the both of us", Lin sighed melodramatically as he recounted his experience to his audience. "The Way of Pranksters does have thorns and sharp stones along the already rugged road. *sigh*… The end."

Low giggle spread all around the hut. Even Taka and Bara who was tending to their families smiled a little. It was understandable that they couldn't bring themselves to laugh or even smiled a bit wider; they weren't out of danger yet. They were only halfway to Shu Jing, they had got out safely from the Fire Fountain City and its waters, and were about to reach the barren island with two inactive volcanoes. But still, with the extra passengers, the fugitives, shaking their boots off in fear of being caught by the soldiers, Lin had decided to tell some funny story behind the conception of the idea of using the decoy to ease their minds a bit.

As for what had exactly happened…

----

_The Fire Fountain City, located in the largest of the Fire Nation Outer Islands; although the city itself is big, one of the largest, it took up only half of the entire island, the left half. The right half was uninhabited and between the right and the left halves of the island, laid a rugged mountain range. There were some stories regarding why the right half of the island was uninhabited; some said the land was infertile and unsuitable for farming, other said it was because on the right half of the island was the headquarters of the Royal Family secret army or something. Some more sinister version said that the right half of the island used to be the execution ground for pirates and therefore, it was haunted and nobody lived there. This version seemed to be the most popular one, facilitated by some villagers who had sworn by Agni that they had heard bone-chilling screaming at night coming from behind the mountain range. _

_Little did they know that the reality was much more sinister than that…_

_The Fire Nation Secret Prison… some would dismiss the existence of such facility as an urban legend, the Royal Family and the Military Council certainly would. However, the secret prison was real; located on the uninhabited part of the island, the prison was used exclusively to lock up 'sensitive cases', as Jiang put it: political prisoners from other countries, domestic political hostages, peace movement activist who was believed to have 'suddenly and mysteriously disappear in a horrid ship incident', etc. The prison itself was actually a cave at the foot of the mountain, natural cave at first, but Fire Lord Azulon, soon after the start of his reign, had ordered the whole mountain to be excavated. Now, the prison was a multi-leveled dungeon, large enough to hold up to a thousand prisoners in its many metal cages, guarded by at least two battalions of the Royal Procession. Air ventilation and sewage system were decent, truth to be told, for an underground dungeon, lighting depended solely on torches and lanterns. The only real problem was getting decent food and water. They couldn't just march to the city to buy supplies, it'd be too suspicious. So, they had to rely solely on the Imperial Palace to send them their weekly rations. And that was where Lin kicked in. _

_The shipments were usually done by ship at night to avoid any suspicion. Lin and his friends had intercepted the envoy and taken their place. What happened to the envoy? They were dead… Lin couldn't leave anything to chance this time. Anyway, Lin and his friends took control of the envoy's ship and set sail for the prison. Since Lin was too small to impersonate a soldier, he would have to stay with the boat while the others…_

"_This is the place, right?" Taka's muffled voice reached his sister's ear. They were standing in front of what looked like a normal earth wall at the foot of the mountain. There was crack on the wall though, the shape made it looked like a door. Because it was a door…_

_Bara nodded at Iwa, who placed the two sacks he was carrying down on the ground and took a few steps forward toward the door. The big man took a deep breath before jumping and landed in a perfect and deep-rooted central stance. He made a grasping movement with his hands, as if trying to telekinetically grabbed the door, and made a movement as if he was forcibly pushing the door down. Earthbending… the mythical skill of moving and bending the very earth to one's will. Unlike firebending which work very much like cooking, as Lin once told his students (chi, breath control, proper movements: the ingredients; mix them together and you got fire, the end product), or waterbending which emphasize unity with the element (not step by step processes like firebending), earthbending stressed the importance of physical and mental strength. The idea is simple, or should I say primitive, somewhat primitive: to bend the earth, you've got to be stronger than the earth. The earth is unmovable, strong, enduring. Earthbenders must be stronger than the earth. See, simple… although it is easier said than done._

_Anyway, the Fire Nation employed quite a few earthbenders, too. The earthbenders in the service of the Fire Throne were mostly like Iwa, people of mixed ancestry; only a small portion of them were traitors of the Earth Kingdom. People like Iwa, they were outcast. Born a Fire Nation but carried in them the blood of the Earth Kingdom. Worse still if they also inherited the ability to earthbend, they would become like… like a plague, people would treat them like they were lepers or something along that line.. That was why most Fire Nation earthbenders had readily accepted the offer to work for the government when the Imperial Agents approached them. The earthbenders wouldn't be joining the war itself, of course. Most of them were employed as assassins or spies. Some were employed as guards for various government secret facilities, like the Fire Nation Secret Prison. They were at least one platoon of earthbenders inside._

_The earth door slid down to the ground, revealing two soldiers inside, startled by the door being opened suddenly, their spears at ready._

"_Ration", Taka said to them stiffly. One of the soldiers nodded and gestured the three visitors to follow them with his head. As soon as Bara, Taka, and Iwa got in, one of the soldiers made the similar earthbending movement Iwa had performed to open the door, the difference was the soldier did it as if he was pulling the wall up. Earthbender, eh? It could complicate things._

_The three of them followed one of the soldiers in, the earthbending soldier stayed behind. As they paced through the damp torch-lit corridor, they realized why Lin at first insisted that he must come with them: the corridors were like a maze, everything looked the same. It must have been one of the safety measures to prevent any break out; the soldiers themselves must have spent a lot of time wandering around to familiarize themselves with the surrounding. If their cover was blown, it'd be really difficult to escape. Fighting seemed to be out of question either, not without Lin although it might not even their odds much; the kid might be good but he was still just one person. _

_Straight, right, down the stairs, straight, right again, up the stairs this time, left, straight, another left, down the stairs again, right, left, left, middle… now repeat that without looking! Yes… Bara, Taka, and Iwa realized that they would be completely lost without their guide. And finally, after what had seemed like a confusing and nonsensical walk, they reached the storeroom of the prison and…_

—_THUDDED—_

"_What are yo— hmmph!!!!!"_

"_Be quiet!" Bara, who a split second ago lunged forward and pinned the prison guard on the wall and gagged his mouth, hissed menacingly. "Don't speak, don't scream. Take us to cell room no.45. Now!"_

"_Hmmph!" the response from the guard was incomprehensible but the look in his eyes was indignant; he refused. _

"_Okay then", Bara coldly hissed as she quickly pulled out a small and easily concealable pike and stabbed the thin and sharp ten centimeters metal onto her prisoner's back, eliciting a muffled scream from behind her left palm which was tightly covering the guard's lower face. _

"_Hurry up", Taka whispered from the corner of the corridor; he and Iwa stood guard on the lookout._

"_A little persuasion?" Bara hissed venomously as she twisted the pike slowly, resulting in an excruciating pain for the guard and another muffled scream. The pike she was using was a part of the standard issue assassin's equipment, designed as a tool you impale your opponent with without causing much blood coming out from the wound; deadly and clean. The weakness is, unless you aimed for the vital organs, like the heart or liver or brain or throat, it is not deadly at all. Sharp weapons kill people by two means: damaging the vital organs and causing instant death, or creating a significant deep flesh wound and causing an excessive blood loss. The pike cannot cause a wound big enough for excessive blood loss; which, ironically, makes it a suitable tool for physical torture._

_One painful twist later, the soldier relented. Leading the group in the front, he walked rather limply with Bara 'supporting' him from the side. She still had her right hand on the soldier's back, grasping the pike slightly. One suspicious movement and painful yank it is for the soldier. Taka and Iwa walked behind them, still carrying the sacks, trying to look as natural as possible. Another confusing route, only this time, they arrived at a corridor with metal cages built, literally inside the wall. There weren't many prisoners there, it seemed, as many of the cages were empty. And finally, they had arrived; a cell with the number __四十五 __(forty five) engraved at the top of the cage. Inside, five dark silhouettes were seen lying on the floor, each was covered with rags. The clanking sound of the door being opened seemed to have awakened them up._

_The prisoners looked terrified as the four people in uniform entered the room. Two of the bigger and older prisoners, an old man and an old lady, crept forward, casting a nasty look at the guards as they shield their younger inmates behind their backs. All of them were covered in dirt and thin as like skeleton. The captured guard was forced to kneel by Bara, Taka moved forward to replace his sister while Iwa unloaded their sacks hastily and Bara took off her mask and…_

"_Sister!" one of the prisoners, a little girl, cried as she lunged forward into Bara's open arms. The other two young prisoners looked at each other, dumbfounded, before they too lunged forward at their sister's embrace, all three of them crying._

"_Shh! Shh! It's okay. It's okay now. Be quiet or they'll hear you", Bara choked as she shushed her younger siblings. "Come on. Aunt Oba? Are you hurt?"_

"_No, I-I'm fine", the old lady cried. "I knew you'd come for us."_

"_Come on, everyone!" Bara pulled the old lady up. Taka still had the captured guard down while Iwa, after unloading the sacks which apparently contained a jar of liquor and six human dummies, five were wearing rag clothes while the last one were wearing a set of Fire Nation soldier uniform, lay the dummies on the floor and poured the liquor all over the dummies and all around the floor and walls and put the jar near the uniformed dummy. After he finished with it, he stomped the floor, causing a hole to open with his earthbending. Taka shoved the captured guard in the hole before jumping down himself, followed by Iwa and the prisoners, Bara was the last to jump in, but not before she punched a fire blast at the dummies. As soon as the fire spread across the room, the hole on the floor was closed by Iwa with Bara had safely landed beside the man inside the wall. Pitch black for a moment before Bara summoned a small fire ball on her palm. The prisoners had been set free and the decoy had been laid; the hardest part was over…_

_And now: getting out alive. Bara took a compass from her pocket; silver and engraved, Lin lent her the compass. The plan was to escape from underground, through tunnel made by Iwa's earthbending. Sounded easy? Thankfully, it was. The underground escape route was a huge gamble. What if cell room 45 was actually located on the upper floor and not underground? It'd be a complete disaster. Fortunately, cell room 45 was located in the underground dungeon._

"_There", Bara said to Iwa, pointing at the direction of west. Nodding briefly, the earthbender made a pushing movement, causing the earth to shift forward, creating a tunnel for them. To the west… they must escape!_

_----_

"—_I'll eat my vegetable", Lin said, holding a burning joss stick in front of his chest, closing is eyes solemnly. He opened his eyes and… nope, not yet. He closed his eyes again and resumed his prayer, somewhat more snappish this time. "Oh, come on! It's vegetable. Have you ever eaten some? Sheesh!"_

_He sighed, calming himself, and peeking at the joss stick again; only three or four centimeters before it'd be totally burnt out. He didn't carry the joss stick around for praying, actually; it was the kind of joss stick that would take approximately one hour to burn completely. He brought the joss stick as a mean to measure the time length but the worry and fear for the safety of his friends plus a joss stick often used for religious purposes and the fact that he could do nothing meaningful to help kinda set him up the mood for praying. He wasn't really the spiritual type, really, he didn't even know how to pray properly. He was the kind of person who tried to do things on his own first, if he failed then he turned for spiritual guidance. However, often times, if he failed, he'd try again and again until he succeeded; only rarely did he turn for spiritual help. _

"_Okay, listen here you spirits who… decide… things, whoever you are!" he prayed again, although his tone was those of a heretic not a believer. "Here's the deal: you help my friend, I promise I will pray every day, every night, until the end of my natural life, I'll brush my teeth before I go to sleep, do only one prank a day… okay, a week!... And I'll eat my vegetable. There! There's the deal. I'll count to twenty, no, ten; I'll count to ten and my friend will be here once I finish counting, okay? Take it or leave it. I suggest take it. So, ahem… one… tw—"_

_He quickly leaped to his feet, ready to strike whoever or whatever it was that made the grunting noise. Wait a second, didn't they say this part of the island was haunted…? And that dark mass of silhouette moved closer and closer to Lin. As it got closer and closer, Lin could finally perceive it as a group of people walking rather hastily; an old lady leaning on Bara, an old man carried by Iwa on his back, three kids about Lin's age walking hand in hand, and leading the group was Taka, still holding the prison guard hostage. Seeing them safe and alive sent a wave of relief inside Lin. Now, all they had to do was escape from the island._

"_Wow, you're good", Lin muttered to the heaven above as he jumped back into the ship._

----

"But, I still don't understand", Taka laughed; he looked more cheerful than before. "How exactly did you know that our families were taken hostage by the Fire Lord."

"Here", Lin, instead of answering, threw three scrolls at him, the scrolls that he received from Iroh containing the biographical data of the three assassins. Taka and the other read the scroll, frowning, and cast Lin a quizzical look. Sighing, Lin explained. "They are coded. Notice anything unusual written there?"

They shook their heads.

"Your profiles contained a wee bit too much information there", Lin shrugged. "Normally, brief history and skill assessment would be enough but there were also some data about your families, like the number of your siblings, your parents. It was quite clever, really."

"And General Iroh gave you these?" Bara asked.

"Yep", Lin yawned. "Seemed like he knew exactly what's in the Fire Lord's mind. You know, him predicting that your families would be taken hostages and all."

"And the dummies?" Taka asked again. "How exactly did you get that many entrails?"

"I live with another, I don't know, _one hundred_ other people. We eat a lot of animals in a day; entrails are easy to find in our kitchen. The skin, however, is a bit tricky. And don't get me started with the bones."

Because the bones were real…

The dummies were basically human bones and animal entrails covered with human-shaped animal skin. The one that Lu Ten and Lin made when they were kids didn't use anything that had been a human, of course. God, no… they had used animal's bones; cow hippo, possum-chicken, those kind of bones, aligned and arranged skillfully to resemble human stature. But, this time, Lin had to use real human skeletons as the main component. It was a macabre decision, no doubt. But, Lin was also a practical person; why cried over dead people when you have to save the living ones, he convinced himself over and over again. With the help of Uncles Kang and Masa, Lin had dug up several unmarked graves and stole the skeletal remains; the Fire Nation had a lot of those unmarked graves, graves of the soldiers who died fighting the war and was too disfigured to identify or simply didn't have any living relatives, graves of some unknown beggars or criminals, graves of some street urchins who were found starved to death. In wartime, this kind of things seemed to spread like a plague.

"Well, I, um", Bara started but stopped, seemed like she was trying to find the right words. "I-I don't know what to say. I— I guess I should say 'thank you'. So, thanks, Kiddo."

"Kiddo?" Lin chuckled. Hey, Bara smiled… so she did have a heart.

"Yeah", she laughed. "That's what we call you when we were talking 'bout you."

"Kiddo, huh?" Lin snickered. "Doesn't sound too bad."

* * *

A month later, at sea…

The 600 days Siege of Ba Sing Se had finally ended… in shame. General Iroh, after losing his son in the battle, had changed completely. He had been known as a fatherly, caring but charismatic leader. He wasn't the kind of leader who commanded respect; he simply expected it. However, like any other leaders, gestures of disrespect would be punished severely but fairly. After the death of Prince Lu Ten, Iroh had been nothing but an empty shell, like a soulless person. On the way back to the Fire Nation, he stopped by Shu Jing accompanied only by a handful guard and carried with him a jar containing his son's ash.

Shu Jing had always been Lu Ten's favorite place; Ursa used to take him there at least once a month. Lu Ten had said that he loved the scenery, especially the waterfall at the north side of the island. Iroh thought stopping by his son's favorite place with his son's ash would appease Lu Ten's spirit a little. And it was a way to apologize to his son, to apologize for his carelessness, to apologize for his inability to say 'no'…, to apologize for being General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, when he should have been simply Iroh, father of Lu Ten. Upon his arrival, he was invited to stay over for a few days by his friend Master Piandao, the swordsman. Iroh had accepted the offer and ordered the rest of his troops to return without him and leave the command to General Jiang. However, one of the soldiers that were supposed to go back ahead, a captain to be precise, stayed behind. Lin had been staying in a tent outside Master Piandao's mansion, only leaving the spot when he went to get food in the town. Iroh had requested the boy to be denied entry to the mansion; he didn't want to meet him… he was too ashamed to look the kid in the eye.

"He's a stubborn one", Piandao sighed, staring at the window of his mansion at Lin who was grilling something on a campfire. "Much like his grandmother."

Iroh remained silent, absentmindedly advancing his falcon tile.

"Have you heard?" Piandao continued, pretending to have not noticed how sloppy Iroh's strategy was. "About Lady Umma's death, I mean."

Iroh grunted but didn't say anything.

"One more thing", Piandao stared straight into the old man's eyes. "It's about your sister-in-law, Lady Ursa. Not long ago, she showed up on my door. She seemed afraid, incoherent, even. She muttered something about her being banished, about the Fire Lord dying, and about Prince Zuko in danger. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she killed Fire Lord Azulon to save Prince Zuko from someone, like she was being blackmailed or something. It does make sense, if you think about—"

"Be careful, Master Piandao", Iroh finally croaked, glaring at Piandao. "Walls have ears."

"Not _my_ walls", Piandao replied, calm as usual. "You are a wise man. I believe you have pieced these things together yourself."

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do. You _know_ but you don't want to admit that you know, you prefer to not know about this. This isn't like you at all", Piandao replied slightly mercilessly although he maintained his usual calm tone. "At least, talk to him. He's just a kid. Why are you so afraid of one kid?"

Piandao instinctively turned to the window again, staring at Lin who sniffed whatever animal he was cooking, taking a bite, and gagging. He then turned again to Iroh, who avoided eye contact. The sight of Iroh, cowering behind the wall of the mansion, it sickened Piandao although the master swordsman had abandoned that feeling long ago.

When was it again, when he first met Iroh? Decades ago. Piandao, an orphan whose skill with sword was found at an early age, joined the military after being handpicked by Iroh himself. It hadn't taken long for Piandao to rise up to the rank of commander and lead one of Iroh's divisions and claimed countless victories in the name of the glorious Fire Nation. Year spent in the battlefield, however, sickened him. He felt disgusted with all the fighting and death and decided to desert. Spending more than ten years travelling the world, he learnt under many masters in order to achieve enlightenment, all the while polishing his skills with sword.

And one day, five years ago, he returned to the town of Shu Jing, no longer bitter and disgusted, he was refined and at peace. He was welcomed by none other than his old commanding officer, General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, and a hundred elite Royal Procession, wanting to capture him for the crime of desertion. In a monumental battle, Piandao defeated all hundred men but Iroh had simply been watching as his men were defeated one by one by the swordsman. When it had come to it, Piandao, exhausted and beaten, had prepared himself for the worse of fate because he had seen what kind of destruction the Dragon of the West could bring upon his enemy and he knew he could not even hope to defeat Iroh, but Iroh simply laughed and ordered a full retreat, leaving Piandao perplexed. The next day, Iroh came to him again, alone this time, bearing the news of a pardon granted by the Fire Lord. And since that day, Piandao was no longer a deserter; he was no longer Iroh's subordinate. He was his equal, his friend. And Iroh introduced the swordsman to the secret known only by a handful of people, a secret that transcends the division of the four nations.

"He just wanted to talk to you", Piandao said again.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"I'm ashamed."

And silence…

Not wanting to press the matter further before Iroh was ready, Piandao decided to drop the subject, at least for the time being. Besides, he still had another thing to do, a message from Ursa. He got up and walked towards a nearby cupboard. He took from the cupboard a small package he had received from Ursa two years ago. Time to make the delivery…

* * *

**Author's Note: **

I'm back!! MWHAHAHAHA!!! Ahem…

1. Oba (叔母) is Japanese for 'aunt'.

Sorry for the long update. But, here I am with a new chapter. :)

The package was from 'Chapter 23 – Festival and Stuffed Panda'. And joss stick is the kind of burning incense used by most Asian cultures for religious purposes. According to some books I read, in ancient times some people used it as a improvised clock when needed. Not really accurate, I assume; if you blow the burning stick, it'll actually burn faster. :)

To hpswst101, Book 2 is Dragon, the first chapter of book 2 is Ignorance. And sorry for the long update.

Enjoy the chapter!!!


	43. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42 – Home**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar- The Last Airbender

* * *

They say war brings suffering, war brings pain. So, why do we wage war against each other? And why are these simple facts never cross our minds when we are in a war, fighting, beating the hell out of each other? And the saddest thing about war is this: kids are forced to grow up quickly, adults have to stop growing old. War goes against the nature itself, philosophically speaking. And do we care? Certainly not, especially when we are the ones holding spears at the warfront. All we care about is to survive today to greet tomorrow so that we can fight some more.

"Riders!!!! Get ready!!!" the young Fire Nation captain shouted at the top of his lungs, turning his leather-armored jet black ostrich horse; everything about him, despite his obvious young age, signify that he was a warrior of high status of nobility. His black-red leather armor was custom made from the finest of materials, a Taiji circle with the character Lin (林) at the center of his back, and the steed, odd maybe, as ostrich horses are natives to the Earth Kingdom and inferior in terms of strength or speed compared to the more common komodo rhinos, like the ones ridden by the captain's men. Even his hairstyle was different; unlike most Fire Nation men who wear top-knots proudly, the captain's hair was tied rather carelessly into a simple ponytail.

—BOOM—

A catapult shot landed a mile away, almost hitting the Earth Kingdom village's improvised barrier, made from tree trunks, furniture, sacks of sand. Odd, really. Lin didn't know why they were ordered to bring catapults along just to subjugate this small village. Well, okay, the village wasn't exactly small in terms of size but it was definitely small in terms of manpower; the place didn't even have benders for Agni's sake. So, why catapult? Surely, Lin and his rider unit would be enough. Sure, they'd be outnumbered one to ten; the rider unit was quite small, consisted of only fifty riders, but the unit was one of the most elite rider units in the army.

—BOOM—

Another shot, this time it hit the barrier and a large chunk of it collapsed but it still stood. After spending almost a year in the warfront, winning battles after battles, Lin had earned himself quite a reputation among allies and enemies alike. Among the Fire Nation military, he was known as 'Lin, the twenty sixth' or 'General Jiang's protégé' or referred to by his own title 'the Dragon of the Deep Forest'; not everyone were his fans though as some, usually of higher ranks or status, addressed him as 'that kid' or 'Jiang's kid' or 'the Lin Family's brat' due to his young age. He was barely thirteen, after all. Among the Earth Kingdom soldiers, however, he was simply known as 'the firebender who rides an ostrich horse'; they didn't know his name or his status or even his rank. They simply knew him by the black ostrich horse he was riding, his prowess in the art of war and cavalry maneuvering, and his expertise in sudden hit-and-run maneuver.

General How, the head of the Ba Sing Se's Council of Five, for example, who was defeated by Jiang's battalion few months ago, described the rider unit's prowess as godly; fast, effective, no wasted movements, it was as if the fifty riders were as one, undivided. Even though the Earth Kingdom had begun a counter attack following the 600 days Siege of Ba Sing Se and the Fire Nation had been pushed back little by little, General Jiang's force, stationed at Senlin Village, was still struggling to hold the line even though many generals had left their posts in several Fire Nation colonies, some were ordered to by the Fire Lord, the others were kicked out by the Earth Kingdom.

—BOOM—

Another shot, another chunk fell off…

Lin still couldn't understand the reasoning behind this— this stupid strategy. Soon after the full retreat by General Iroh's force after the failed Siege of Ba Sing Se, General Jiang was ordered to lead a huge force consisted of several battalions led by their respective generals, such as General Shu, General Bujing, General Lu; all of them were famous veterans. Jiang was ordered to provide support for the full retreat of other generals who were still holed up in various Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom. What a joke!

Why retreat? Sure, the Siege of Ba Sing Se ended in shame. But, the fact is General Iroh _did_ punch a big hole on the Wall of Ba Sing Se, a feat that had never been achieved before by anyone in the history of the Four Nations. Why retreat? Because the Earth Kingdom was all psyched up now that Iroh had retreated? Yeah, so? Use the momentum then! In his study of the Earth Kingdom during his assassin training, Lin had come to realize one fatal flaw in the Earth Kingdom military system: they were too divided. It was understandable since the Earth Kingdom is huge topographically, it consists of many cities or small regional kingdoms that are far from each other which forced them to have their own armed force. Although all of them still answers to the Earth King of Ba Sing Se, there was no way Ba Sing Se could regulate them all.

Had it been up to Lin, he would have ordered the generals in the Fire Nation colonies to rise up and attack, not retreat! The Earth Kingdom was at the top of their morale, brimming with confidence, sure. It'd be difficult to take them down but all the Fire Nation needed was just one victory, just one, to startle the Earth Kingdom and disrupt their morale and then the previous equilibrium before the Siege of Ba Sing Se would be restored: The Fire Nation on the offence and the Earth Kingdom on the defense.

But, the momentum for the Fire Nation had gone wasted…

—BOOM—

Just a bit more, one more shot would do…

Lin turned to his father, General Jiang, who sat on his komodo rhino, high and mighty, few meters to his right. Jiang caught his son's gaze and nodded back curtly. The war had been unkind to even him, the fabled General Jiang of the Fire Nation; black circles below his amber eyes formed by many sleepless nights, bandage across his forehead covering a nasty cut he received a few days ago in a skirmish, his usual clean shaven face now trimmed with thin rugged moustache and beard. Behind him, a rider was carrying his banner; a now dirty and blood-stained Fire Nation flag with more dominant black and the Lin Family crest on the middle of the insignia.

It wouldn't be long before the flag would be put to rest forever as Fire Lord Ozai had been trying to pass a law to ban any use of nobility banners in the military for the sake of unity among the military. After the death of Fire Lord Azulon, Fire Prince Ozai assumed the throne. The decision was based on several weak political grounds: because Crown Prince Iroh was away during Azulon's funeral and it was the Fire Nation tradition to crown a new Fire Lord during the funeral, because Iroh's bloodline had ended after the death of his only son, because the supremacy of the Fire Throne must be attained at all time especially during the war and must not be left empty, blah blah blah…

It was all just a load of crap, of course. Because a new Fire Lord must be crowned during Azulon's funeral? Why not postpone the funeral, then? Because Iroh's bloodline had ended? He could remarry and have another son, couldn't he? Because the throne must not be left empty? Why didn't Ozai assume the throne as a temporary figurehead, then? Had Iroh contested against Ozai for the throne that was rightfully his, he would have the whole Military Council and probably the aristocrats and noble families behind him. But, no… Iroh didn't even seem to care. All he did all day was locking himself up in his own room. Nobody knew what he was doing there but some maids and manservant working in the palace had testified that they had heard weird noises, like wailing or something, coming from Iroh's room, his new room, of course, since he was no longer a Crown Prince and had been relocated to a room for a prince… the one that used to be Lu ten's room. Grief with a dab of irony… no wonder Iroh was miserable.

—BOOM—

And the barrier collapsed…

"CHARGE!!!"

Spearheading the attack was the young Dragon of the Deep Forest. To take down this insignificant force, Jiang wouldn't even need to send any additional men aside from his son and his riders; they'd be enough. Few months spent in the battlefield had toughened the kid up mentally, he was no longer overeager about fighting people. Now, Lin was more levelheaded and calculative when it comes to fighting in the front, a trait of a wise leader. Plus personal experience in the battlefield, Lin had grown into a reliable soldier of his own. He'd be enough, thought Jiang.

Inside the village, Lin rode fast followed closely by his men. The riders galloped in an offensive wedge formation with their young leader at the tip of the formation, running over any Earth Kingdom soldiers who dared stand in their way. Spurring Birdie, Lin sent a small fire ball to the sky, the fire soared a meter up before dissipating into the thin air; it was a signal for his riders to disperse. Heeding their captain's order, the riders' the formation broke like a line of ants when you poured water on it. Quite impressive really, to carry out orders calmly despite the excitement of the battlefield; it requires a great deal of practice, no doubt.

Riding ahead with only two men behind him as body guards, Lin galloped into the heart of the village where the village magistrate office was surely located. The village elder and the leader of the army must be there, they must be taken out. Well, not really… as long as they surrender. Maybe shooting some fire blasts at them might scare them enough to throw the towel.

There! The magistrate office, it was unmistakable; the building might not be that much bigger than any other buildings but it looked nicer: painted yellow unlike many other houses that were left unpainted, with green roof and a gold-framed door, a big Earth Kingdom insignia was carved on the door. The door to the building was tightly shut, guarded by a group of ten spear-armed soldiers led by a grumpy looking muscular bearded man who reminded Lin so much of Iwa, except that Iwa's muscles were more iron-like. Well, Jiang had, after all, laid siege on the village for about a month. The village must have used up the last grain they had about two days ago; just look at the nearby trees. The trees' bark had been flecked off and eaten by the locals; Lin had read many reports like that happening in the past in his studies. The not so iron-like muscle must be the repercussion of starvation. But really, enough about that…

Assassin training had been a living hell for Lin but it really did pay off. With the grace of a tiger hawk, he leaped from his saddle high in the air, performed midair summersault and shot some fire blasts at the Earth Kingdom soldiers who were too amazed at the amazing feat of acrobatics to avoid being hit by the fire blasts; all done before his feet touched the ground. Three of them fell instantly, unconscious after tasting the young Dragon's wrath. Landed safely on his two feet, Lin wasted no time to send a series of fire jabs and one thin but sharp fire arc from his spinning kick, four more enemy soldiers down. Before the rest of the enemy could assume a defensive position, Lin launched himself at the remaining four enemies including the enemy commander.

Death's Touch, the form of hand-to-hand martial art practiced by the Fire Nation's Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination. The art was supposed to allow the practitioner to kill their opponent in one strike aimed at vital spot. The theory behind it is simple: chi manipulation. Put enough chi into your strike, the weight behind your blow would grow tenfold. Furthermore, by controlling the amount of chi you applied on your blow to minimum, you could knock your opponent unconscious without killing him. However, chi manipulation, as magnificent as it sounds, has one flaw: it is harder to apply little amount of chi than great amount of chi. Kinda like writing; when you first learn how to write, I bet your writing was as illegible as hieroglyph. But, as you practice and practice, your writing got better and better until you simply can't write badly as easily anymore. It was exactly the case with chi manipulation; the more you are used to applying strong chi, the worse you get at piping it down a notch. It takes a master to perform such feat. And the members of Lin Family were masters of chi manipulation…

Evading a spear thrust from a nearby enemy, Lin caught the weapon on the handle and launched a blow on the middle of it, snapping it in half, followed by a palm strike on the enemy's chest. Letting his opponent slumped down on the ground, Lin moved swiftly forward, evading another spear attack and landed a punch on the attacker's ribs, evading another spear thrust from the other soldier, and striking him on the gut. The two soldiers fell down almost at the same time and now, only the commander left. All around them soldiers from both nations were fighting for dear life with the Fire Nation soldiers winning and the Earth Kingdom soldiers, exhausted and starved as they were, fought their losing battle gallantly. Sadly, gallantry without strength weights for almost nothing.

With a coarse roar, the Earth Kingdom commander lunged forward, swinging his spear wildly; a clumsy move born out of desperation. It was pathetic, really; Lin didn't even bother to move as he steeled himself and ignored his conscience as he sent a fire jab at the commander. The fire hit the commander's spear and knocked it off his hand. Not wanting to give up, he pulled out his broadsword and started swinging it wildly at Lin. evading three or four wild swings, Lin finally seized an opening and struck the man's back with his palm. The attack should have sent a blow all over his upper torso, shocking his lungs and heart; should be enough to knock him down. True enough as the man, after being thrown forward to the ground by the force of the blow, didn't get up to continue his useless resistance.

Weird, Lin thought. About a year ago, he would have felt worried about hitting people like that, afraid that he might have killed them. But now, he didn't. Not because he had come to term with killing people, of course; spirits, no! It was because he _knew_ that he didn't kill anyone. Confidence, maybe, of his skill. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, another voice, which eerily resembled his grandfather's snappish voice when he was being serious, yelled at him. '_Confidence is the killer of objectivity_.'

Yep… confidence, vanity, hastiness, etc. etc., all other things that a warrior must avoid. Confidence clouded a warrior's judgment, preventing him to be impartial and avoiding rash decision. So, what now? About the battle, I mean. The commander had been taken out, the other soldiers were still fighting but the Spirit of War was surely smiling on the Fire Nation army, the magistrate's office, where the village's elder and other important people must be hiding, was as good as seized.

'_Confidence is the killer of objectivity_.'

Yeah… better safe than sorry, thought Lin as he decided not to enter the building alone. There could be traps awaiting him inside. A nudge on his back almost made him jump; turning back quickly, ready to strike down the incoming danger, Lin realized that it was Birdie, his steed. Dang! Why is it so hard to be aware of your surrounding when your head is full of thoughts, Lin cursed.

"Are you hurt, buddy?" he sighed as he caressed the steed's uncovered beak under its black leather armor, feeling a sense of relief, somehow. The beast grunted its response before nudging its master head lightly again.

"Captain", a soldier knelt down beside Lin, panting. "Most of the enemy resistance has been taken care of, sir. The team two is taking care of the rest as we speak. Team one is ready for your next order, sir."

"Very well, Lieutenant", Lin replied stiffly, climbing on Birdie. "Have half of your men surround this establishment. Send the other half to assist team two. The faster this battle is over, the better."

"Understood, sir", the soldier saluted as he ran back to a group of men behind them, relaying the order.

The battle had been won…

* * *

The moon… so beautiful, so soothing. Not transient yet the beauty won't last forever; come morning and it'll be gone only to appear again at night. Just like all these fighting, only in reverse order; the excitement at day, the inactivity at night. But all is well, because the moon appears at night when there was no fighting. Well, usually when there was no fighting, anyway…

And there he was, the young Dragon of the Deep Forest, one of the many kids who were forced to grow up quicker than any kid should because of this war, sitting alone on a rock gazing at the moon above the autumn night sky. Had it been a time of peace, his father would have tried to make a joke about the irony, a firebender and the moon. But, the time was not of peace and, truth to be told, Lin was not the only one who found solace in the moon. In every corner of the camp, almost all soldiers who were not sleeping or inside a tent were doing the same thing, gazing at the moon and let their smiles slip every now and then as the memory of their homeland came flooding in their mind; the smile on their lover's face, the laughter of their children, the warmth of their parents' embrace, the hunt or sparring lesson they used to have with their sibling. It's funny how such wonderful memories can be so heartbreaking…

"How was it?" Lin whispered as he noticed a presence behind him.

"Everything's well", Taka in his Fire Nation standard uniform whispered back. "Rocky's scouting the area for any possible raids. Bara… well… uh…"

"What happened?" Lin turned to Taka, suddenly feeling tensed.

"Well, some soldiers tried to flirt with her", Taka grinned.

"Ouch", Lin grinned back; well, female soldiers were not usually deployed to the warfront. "They didn't see it coming, huh?"

"Nope", Taka sighed apologetically for his sister's temperament. "Three. Broken ribs, dislocated shoulder and jaw, and a broken arm. They'll live."

Lin simply laughed it off. Technically, Bara's unnecessary display of violence must be punished and Lin as their superior was qualified to administer the punishment. But, hey, it wasn't like they were real soldiers, right? Lin had smuggled the three of them into his father's battalion; Taka and Iwa joined his rider unit as bodyguards and Bara was sent to the medic squad. Jiang knew about it, of course, but the rest of the 212th Battalion didn't. And, yeah, female soldiers were usually employed as members of homeland security and stayed in the Fire Nation. Only rarely were they employed to the warfront and, even if they were, they'd usually join the medic squad or something, something harmless.

"Oh, well", Lin shrugged offhandedly. "Accident happens, I suppose."

"Accident?" Taka raised a brow.

"Yep", Lin grinned slyly. "What? You don't really think three soldiers could be beaten by a girl, do you?"

Oh, so that's what he means, Taka grinned back. Not having to say anything anymore, Taka left leaving Lin and his moment of tranquility. It felt nice, really, almost holy, the moon tonight; like having a bottle of cold spring water in the middle of Si Wong desert. After all the violence and fighting at day, the moon and the sense of peace it brought was very much appreciated.

"Can't sleep?" another voice interrupted Lin and his contemplation this time. It was Jiang.

"Yeah", Lin replied, not taking his weary eyes from the silver orb hanging in the dark sky above.

"Bad dream again?" Jiang asked, sitting down beside his son.

"Yeah."

And the two just sat there staring at the moon, lost in their own thought. Many things had happened in their lives, too many things had happened in such a short time. It was tiring…

"We've been ordered to retreat", Jiang sighed and he didn't sound happy at all.

"About time", Lin grunted, he didn't sound happy either. "When?"

"In two days, I guess", Jiang replied, still bitterly. "We'll just leave this place and all other place we manage to hold until now to the Earth Kingdom. Just like that."

"Sacrifice in vain", Lin muttered before the two fell into another deep dark silence. Both were feeling the exact same thing: hatred. Yes, they hated their new Lord, the fact that they could do nothing to go against their order. Retreat!? After all the soldiers who died fighting in this campaign? After General Shu suffered a boulder on his right arm, forcing the medic squad to amputate the crushed limb? After the fabled General Lu the Red Maelstrom met his noble end during an ambush by the Earth Kingdom? After an unknown soldier sacrificed his life as he took a boulder to safe Lin's life? After Uncle Masa was almost killed by a group of angry peasants? After Cousin Shi had to stain his hands with the blood of the innocents to save his father? Retreat?!

Strange… the warmth, wet warmth, that suddenly filled his eyes; Lin had almost forgotten what it was: tears. He got up, feeling a familiar wave of anger. But, what could he do? He was just a soldier boy; a brave soldier boy he may be, but a soldier boy no less. And so, he walked away. That was all he could do.

"Dad?" he turned back at is father who hadn't moved a muscle. "We… we're doing the right thing, right?"

"Son", Jiang dared not look at his son in the eye because he, too, was ashamed of what he was ordered to do. "We're doing our order. That's all."

Yeah, they were just doing their order; it was honorable too. Turning their back at their enemy without avenging the deaths and pain they had suffered at the hands of their enemy was disgraceful, but disobeying order from their liege was also disgraceful. But at least they would be going home…

* * *

**Author's note:**

A note about last chapter, it was actually a flashback of what happened before and after the end of the Siege of Ba Sing Se. The prison break-out happened at the night of Jiang's departure for Ba Sing Se. That was why Lin had to be substituted by his cousin Nise. And the scene with Piandao was after Iroh retreated from Ba Sing Se. I forgot to put the note about this in the previous chapter, sorry… And a huge thanks for t-town for pointing that out. :)

This chapter takes place about a year after the death of Lu Ten. So, Lin is thirteen now.

And about chi manipulation, I'm not quite sure about it since I'm not a practitioner but that was what my teacher told me when I was still training with him. He said that it was the reason why he didn't want to teach us anything about chi manipulation, because it could potentially be dangerous.

Enjoy the chapter!!


	44. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43 – The Truth**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

—Fire Nation Imperial Palace, Lady Ursa's room, a year ago, summer, afternoon—

"… if the city is as magnificent as its wall, Ba Sing Se must be something to behold. I hope you all may see it someday, if we don't burn it to the ground first…"

And Ursa paused for awhile to let her children laugh at the joke, she herself was smiling; only Iroh could make a matter such as war and fighting funny without sounding somber or ominous. After Zuko and Azula ceased their laughter, Ursa continued reading the letter, sent to them by Iroh right after he achieved the greatest honor of all by performing a feat none had ever managed to achieve in the history of the four nations: tearing down the Great Wall of Ba Sing Se. Somehow, it made Ursa shivered a bit; in her mind, Iroh was the goofy uncle of her children, a loving father of his own son, and a wise brother-in-law, never did Ursa picture Iroh as more than a peace loving wise old man. Not that Ursa ever doubted the extent of Iroh's power, of course; Ursa, of all people knew exactly how powerful the Dragon of the West was. She might not be around when Iroh was awarded the title Dragon but she did witness how ferocious Iroh was when an ignorant nobleman challenged the Dragon of the West into an Agni Kai. Boy, Ursa still shuddered when she remembered how the servants had to mop whatever left of the challenger off the Agni Kai stage when Iroh was done with him.

No, Ursa had never doubted Iroh's ability as a warrior, not even once. But, she still found it hard to believe that Iroh was one of _those people,_ people who can actually kill other people. But, hey… it was all for the glory of their beloved Fire Nation, right? Ursa convinced herself yet again. On with the letter…

"… Until then, enjoy these gifts…"

And as if on cue, two menservants approached, each was carrying a cushioned tray with Iroh's gifts for Zuko and Azula on it.

"… for Zuko, a pearl dagger from the general who surrendered when we broke through the outer wall. Note the inscription and the superior craftsmanship…"

"Never give up without a fight", Zuko read, already unsheathed the short dagger his uncle sending him, beaming. Ursa silently made a note in her mind to have a serious conversation with Iroh when he returned about giving Zuko, a mere ten year old kid, sharp instruments as souvenir… again.

"…And for Azula, a new friend! She wears the latest fashion for Earth Kingdom girls…"

That's more like it, Ursa thought, smiling. Azula, however, did not share her mother's sentiment; her expression was those of disgust as she picked up her 'new friend' by its head. A doll… _again_! Was he trying to annoy me, Azula cursed. Iroh was her uncle, he must know about Azula's dislike for dolls. And to think he was the one who was going to be the next Fire Lord. A Fire Lord must know how to control his subjects. The first step to controlling your subjects, as Ozai told Azula once, is to give them what they want, to lure them into a false sense of satisfaction and security. And then come elimination of undesirable qualities, taking out any possible threats, application of terror and forced submissiveness, and whatnot. Let's focus on the most crucial step, the first step: giving them what they want. And what kind of a Fire Lord would Uncle Iroh be if he didn't even know what his own niece wanted? Dolls?! Really now…

And what did Daddy say about Uncle Iroh again, more specifically about the political manner in the succession of the Fire Throne? As with the traditional system of familial succession, the firstborn would succeed the father whether they like it or not; doesn't matter how incompetent the firstborn is, the seat of power would be his even though his younger siblings are more competent. Not fair…

Another thing that Daddy Ozai told Azula; if, supposedly, the firstborn were to be the victim of an unfortunate incident and had no heir of his own or if his heir is underage, then the one who would receive the power would be…

"If Uncle doesn't make it back from war", Azula started, unaware that she was smirking, ignoring Zuko who was brandishing his dagger at his imaginary foe. "Then Dad would be the next in line to be Fire Lord, wouldn't he?"

"Azula, we don't speak that way", Ursa replied, successfully maintaining her calmness, but her voice was much gentler as she added. "It would be awful if Uncle Iroh didn't return. And besides, Fire Lord Azulon is the picture of health."

"How would you like it if Cousin Lu Ten wanted Dad to die?" Zuko butted in. He just had to but in, didn't he, Azula mentally rolled her eyes. Not that it mattered.

"I still think our Dad would make a much better Fire Lord than His Royal Tea-Loving Kookiness", Azula stiffly replied, emphasizing her point by setting her 'new friend' on fire.

Combustion technique, when a firebender set something on fire by touching it. Bet Zuko couldn't do it, she smirked as she watched the doll's head being consumed by the orange streak of her fire. Beautiful, isn't it; the fire? Flickering and warm when far, roaring and hot when near. And a firebender must not be afraid of fire; like a master who isn't afraid of his slave. It was the first lesson her father gave her about firebending a long time ago.

—SWOOSH—

The fire went off!

Bewildered, Azula did nothing but blinked at the doll with burnt head. Who was it that put her fire off? Zuko? Impossible, the twerp could barely put off a candle within arm reach, let alone Azula's fire located halfway across the room; bending fire that you don't produce yourself, outer fire, so to speak, is much harder the farther away you are from the fire. Only an experienced firebender could perform such a feat. Mom… of course, Azula narrowed her eyes at Ursa who still, impressively, maintained her calm expression. Sometimes Azula forgot that her mother was a master firebender, or if she was a firebender at all.

"Azula", Ursa started, maintaining her calm tone. "You shouldn't— Azula!"

Too late, the little girl had stormed out of the room leaving her mother and brother bewildered by her action. Well, her brother was bewildered, at least. Ursa somehow saw that coming. Having a mother who had been ignoring her this whole time scolding her like that, or almost scolding her in this case, must have been somewhat distasteful for the girl.

"What is wrong with her?" Zuko grumbled.

* * *

—Fire Nation Imperial Palace, Royal Lady's Quarter, few days later, afternoon—

"Iroh has lost his son", Ursa's voice trembled as she announced the sad news to her children. "Your cousin Lu Ten did not survive the battle."

And the expression of their faces when they news had been delivered, could it be any worse than this…? Zuko simply looked upset, just like how Ursa imagined he would have reacted. Azula? She was just standing there, clutching her hands in front of her; she did that a lot when she was upset. A trait of a true Fire Nation lady is to not let emotion gets the best of her; even at this young age Azula had known that much. But, was it really a good thing, Ursa couldn't help but wondering. Even she wept, silently, yes, but wept when she read the letter from Iroh, no doubt written by his scribe as Ursa didn't recognize the handwriting as her brother-in-law's; the mourning father must have been too bereaved to write himself. Should she be proud that her little girl was acting as a perfect princess should or disappointed because Azula didn't act as a loving cousin should? She was the closest to Lu Ten, after all; what's with all the pranks the both of them pulled on random people and whatnot.

"Azula, dear", Ursa approached the girl and knelt down so that she could stare right into the little girl's eyes. "Are you alright, honey?"

"I'm fine", was what her lips said. Her eyes, on the other hand, Ursa found it disturbing: her eyes were empty. The amber orbs that were filled with air of joy when she was playing tags with her brother just now, or with the usual mischievous glint, were… empty, simply empty. It was kinda creepy, actually; it was like Azula was nothing but an empty shell. In the face of sadness, being tough is often commendable. But, to expect that from an eight year old girl is insane! What in the name of Agni had Ozai done to this girl, Ursa asked herself, cursing herself as she was being reminded that it was her who stepped away from the girl, leaving no one standing between Ozai and Azula; it was all her fault…

* * *

—Fire Nation Imperial Palace, Royal Lady's Quarters, the same day, evening—

"Uncle's a quitter _and_ a loser…"

That was what she said, and that was what she believed to be the truth; that Uncle Iroh was a quitter _and_ a loser. So he lost his son, why retreat? He should have stayed and fought, avenged Lu Ten's death like a real Crown Prince he was not! That was what she told Zuko, that was what she would do if she were Iroh. Avenge Lu Ten's death, like a real warrior should do, like a real dad should do. Yeah, avenge Lu Ten's death!

_Inside a bush, in the Royal Fire Academy for Girls…_

"_Listen Azula", Lu Ten softly addressed the bewildered girl. "I'm gonna go to the war this afternoon. You know what that means, right?"_

"_That means you won't be able to bail me out anymore?" she chuckled, wiping a single tear._

He couldn't bail her out anymore when she got into trouble. Not anymore…

She was running across the hallway, her eyes were filled by tears, her vision blurred. But, she didn't care; she just had to keep running. Just keep running to her room where she had to get change for an audience with Fire Lord Azulon. Just keep running…

"_Well, my young little cousin", Lu Ten grinned mysteriously, playfully patting her head. "It's more interesting this way."_

What's so interesting about **getting killed** in Ba Sing Se!

Azula still couldn't believe how stupid her cousin sounded like when he decided to go to the war, when Lu Ten told Azula that he would try to persuade Iroh to let him join the military. He didn't mind even if he ended up as a scribe or as an army cook, as long as he could be in the warfront doing something for the nation, for the glorious Fire Nation.

She opened her door as she arrived at her room, finally! She flung herself on her bedroom, burying her face in her pillow, sobbing uncontrollably. It hurt when someone you care about died, feels like a part of your heart is ripped off. Why does it hurt, Azula asked herself. Didn't her dad say that emotions are to be ignored, emotions make a warrior weak? So, why did it hurt so much? So Lu Ten died, crying over it wouldn't bring him back!

"_What is wrong with that child?"_

Muttered softly yet burn like acid; the words that came out from the mouth of Lady Ursa about her own daughter Fire Princess Azula, the words that came out of a mother's mouth regarding her own daughter: _what is wrong with that child_. Ursa might think that Azula didn't hear her, that she muttered those words soft enough to be heard by anyone but herself. She was mistaken…

That was why Azula was running across the hallway to her room, that was why her heart hurt so much. _What is wrong with that child, _the tone was those of disappointment not interrogation, the words were cruel and devoid of love. _What is wrong with that child, _what is wrong with me, Azula asked herself. There was nothing wrong with me, she screamed. The doll that Uncle sent me, the one that I burnt, there was _something_ wrong with it! Lu Ten was killed in the battle, there was _something_ wrong with him! Uncle quitting the battle, there as _definitely_ something wrong with him!

Still sobbing, she felt a strange wave of heat, spreading from her hurting chest all over her face, the familiar emotion of anger, of hate; the only emotions, according to her daddy, that firebenders are permitted to dwell in since they enhance the power of firebending. There was nothing wrong with her, she was the perfect Fire Princess, ask everyone! Top scorers in her class, almost reaching the advanced stage of firebending training, well-educated in the art of etiquette and literature; she was simply the best in everything she did. There was nothing wrong with her!!!  
It was their fault this was happening, all their fault: the Earth Kingdom and Ba Sing Se. Their fault, Lu Ten was killed by them. Their fault, if Lu Ten wasn't killed, the subject of Lu Ten's death and Uncle Fatso quitting the war wouldn't be brought up. Their fault, if everything was okay, the Fire Lord wouldn't have to demand an audience. And her mother wouldn't have said those horrible words…

Their fault… The Earth Kingdom and the wretched city of Ba Sing Se…

And that day, Fire Princess Azula swore that she would one day accomplish the thing that her uncle set out, but failed, to do, the thing that her cousin lost his life trying to accomplish; Fire Princess Azula swore that one day… she would bring Ba Sing Se to its knee. All for the glory of the Fire Nation…

* * *

—The Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation Army camp, the same day, evening—

"That's enough", Jiang sounded stern, gripping his kneeling son's shoulder. "Come on, leave him alone."

Lin didn't reply. He, however, didn't move a muscle despite his father's effort to hoist him up; his knees were rooted on the ground as he knelt in front of Iroh's tent. The full retreat was in order and now General Iroh's and General Jiang's joint force was camping near the town of Gaipan to allow the exhausted soldiers some moment of rest. Since after the camp was set up, Iroh had locked himself up in his tent and Lin, ever since the two forces met up near Ba Sing Se, had been trying to talk to Iroh. Or maybe not. He just wanted to be near enough to the old man, to hear an explanation of what had happened at Ba Sing Se… or maybe to beat him up or something, to punch the coward in the face for letting his son died in vain, to let Lu Ten's death go unavenged. But, Iroh had been avoiding Lin ever since then.

"Come on", Jiang said again, his voice might be softer this time but his grip tightened; though he understood his son's feeling, he also respected Iroh's need for solitude. However, he, like all generals in the joint force, believed that Iroh's decision to withdraw was not prudent; they had all the reason to keep fighting, to seize and burn the wretched city of Ba Sing Se to the ground. Strategically, the fall of the outer wall was a major blow on the Earth Kingdom soldiers everywhere all across the Kingdom; had Iroh continued the battle despite the death of his son, victory was almost assured. Furthermore, the Fire Nation believes in the value of honor and integrity; that was why they have the tradition of Agni Kai, the Honorable Duel of Fire. Honor is everything, without honor life is meaningless. The death of Fire Prince Lu Ten _must_ be avenged! And who would be more suitable than Iroh, the Dragon of the West and father of Lu Ten, to make the Earth Kingdom pay for this outrage. But instead, Iroh chose the way of shame, leaving his son's death go unavenged.

"Come", Jiang said again. "You haven't eaten anything since yesterday."

"I'm fine", Lin grumbled, still not moving a muscle; his amber eyes, red from all those tears, fixed dead on Iroh's tent, his right fist clutching a sooty bloody armband that was given to Lu Ten almost two years ago. Strange… the pain of losing someone you care about, someone who was like a brother to you, someone who had been a great part of your life; how can anyone live through his kind of pain…?

* * *

—Fire Nation Imperial Palace, Fire Lord Mansion, the same day, midnight—

There was no turning back now for her…

Or was there…? She— she could just take Zuko and Azula away to Shu Jing or something, Master Piandao should be able to shelter them for awhile, until she could think of something, anything! Oh, who was she kidding; with the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination in his pocket, Ozai could track them down and have them killed even before she could manage to step out of the palace.

"_What are you playing!!!! We have a deal!!!!"she screamed at her husband._

Terrible… terrible…

They had a deal! And now, after everything she had sacrificed to hold up her end of the deal, Ozai would juts violate everything they had agreed on?! So typical of him! And he even proposed something so outrageous, so dishonorable…

"_I will do what I was ordered to do, Ursa!" Ozai yelled back; his angered scowl, however, turned into a demonic grin as he added. "Unless… if someone were to challenge Fire Lord Azulon's authority, if only someone is willing to stand up to him. Someone brave, someone strong… someone who, say, love our dear son more than I love him, perhaps… hmm?"_

Terrible… terrible…

How could Ozai, son of Azulon, made such a deal regarding his own father's life. But then again, Ozai would readily slay his own son Zuko had Ursa not stopped him as he was about to enter Zuko's room, a poisoned dagger ready at hand. Poisoned dagger… the jerkface wouldn't even give Zuko an honorable death by fire.

Terrible… terrible…

But, it must be done: Ursa must slay Fire Lord Azulon to save his own son…

But, could she really do that? Ursa was a master firebender, that much was true. Being a descendent of Avatar Roku, the gift of firebending flowed strong and true in her vein. Even as a young girl under the tutelage of old Instructor Huo in the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Ursa had displayed an uncanny potential as a firebender, prompting the instructor to send her to learn the army standardized style of firebending from a female military officer who was a good friend of Instructor Huo: the legendary Captain Umma of the Fire Nation Medic Squad. Under Umma, Ursa learnt the advanced method of molding fire for five years before she was pronounced a master by her tutor. And when she married Fire Prince Ozai, she was taught the Royal Family's Raging Phoenix style under a special permission from Fire Lord Azulon himself.

Azulon might be stiff, orthodox, and cruel but he had always been fair. He was also one of the best firebender in his own generation and Ursa admired him for that. Ursa had all the respect in the world for Azulon as her liege and father-in-law, and fear for his prowess in firebending. In this fight, Ursa was greatly at disadvantage; in terms of skill and mental preparation.

"_Fire Lord Azulon…" Azula snickered mockingly. "Can't you just call him 'grandfather'? He's not exactly the powerful Fire Lord he used to be. Someone will probably end up taking his place soon."_

That was what her daughter said; it was disrespectful and rude but even Ursa had to admit that it was true: Azulon was no longer the powerful Fire Lord he used to be, time had not been kind to him at all.

"Who's there?" a rough voice roared through the dark room. Azulon, upon noticing someone breaking into his room, woke up from his sleep. Even at the venerable age of 95, Azulon's senses were still as sharp as they used to be. However, after reigning the Fire Nation for 75 long years, Azulon had developed a certain level of paranoia that led him to having no guards around him when he was asleep for the fear of being betrayed by his own guards; a fact that Ursa, the intruder, took into consideration.

"My lord?"

"Ursa? Is that you?" Azulon sounded surprised but he didn't lower his guard. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"My Lord, I must ask you something", Ursa's calm voice pierced through the dark; there was no traces of hatred, fear, or malice in the lady's voice. "Is it true that you ordered the death of my son?"

Tsk! Of course she was here for _that_! Azulon got up from his bed, setting his sleeping robe straight. After making sure that his appearance was more regal than when he was lying on the bed, he took a few steps closer to Ursa while still keeping a healthy distance between him and her. He stared into the amber eyes of his daughter-in-law, the one that he favored for her skill as firebender. It had been awhile since he was this close to Ursa, staring deep into those amber orbs of hers. The last time he looked deep in there, they were filled with air of joy and happiness; it was the day of Ozai's wedding, it was so very long ago. Ozai and Ursa, standing side by side, Iroh standing in front of them as he was Ozai's best man and thus had the responsibility of taking their marriage vow. It was a happy day, even for Azulon.

But now, Ursa's eyes… there was no sign of cheerfulness in there. Azulon saw only exhaustion, confusion, even fear.

"Yes", he said finally, his voice was as cold as Water Tribe's winter. "Ozai had proposed that I betray my firstborn. Therefore, he must pay, he must know the pain that Iroh is going through. The death of your son would serve as an example for him, and for others who dare challenge—"

"Amend it", Ursa cut in, her voice began to tremble as she added. "Please…"

"No", Azulon took no time to think about his response.

"Then, you leave me no choice", Ursa's voice grew fiercer, her heart beat even faster. "I challenge you to an Agni Kai…"

* * *

—Fire Nation Imperial Palace, Male Royal Quarters, the same day, midnight—

Wonderful, wasn't it, the moon? Funny… just an hour ago, he was on his way to his son's room, wanting to kill the unwanted failure. The stunt he pulled during the audience with Fire Lord Azulon was a gamble, nothing more. If Fire Lord Azulon somehow had agreed with his idea, Ozai would be the next in line; his win. If not, he would probably be killed or something; not that it mattered since he wasn't planning to just go down willingly. During the audience, about ten Genbu assassins were hiding all around the Throne Room, surrounding him and the Fire Lord from all sides; a signal from him and ten blades would pierced the ancient relic called Azulon on the chest. But, here's the twist: Azulon refused Ozai's proposal but demanded the death of _Zuko_ instead! Haha, it was like a dream comes true for Ozai; he had wanted to get rid of that failure for a long time now. What's more, he could rub it in on Ursa in the process, probably snapping the woman's sanity, all the better.

But, Ursa stopping him was unpredicted; how did she know? Must be Azula, Ozai knew she was hiding behind the curtain the whole time even after that failure Zuko ran away, probably wetting himself. And it was natural for Azula to terrorize Zuko with it a little; an application of terror and fear, just like they had practiced. Ha! Daddy's little girl…

And Ursa. Ursa… Ursa… Ursa… she was walking into a trap all along, a trap that Ozai improvised after the woman came running to him just as he was about to enter Zuko's room, slapping him on the face. Whore! Ozai would make her pay! And that he did… Heh! Love, selflessness, and all those fortune cookies trash she croaked all the time, Ozai used that against her. How's that for making her pay!?

Wonderful… simply wonderful…

Ursa would do his dirty work for him just to safe that failure of a son, hah! Ozai would be a Fire Lord, o happy day. Zuko wouldn't have to die… yet. There would be many more chances in the future for that, not a problem. And Ursa, Ozai had no doubt that she was strong enough to end Azulon; Azulon's glory days had long passed, there was no way he could stand up to a younger opponent. Perfect! However, Ursa must be dealt with somehow. She couldn't be left alone any longer.

_Kill her…_

No… no, no, no… no, don't say that…

_Kill her…_

No, no…

_Kill her…_

No… NO!!!

Why not? Why not kill her? Ozai could orchestrate something, make it looked like Ursa killed Azulon in an unprovoked assault or something, and not in Agni Kai, thus enabling him to execute Ursa 'legally'.

_Kill her…_

No…

No, Ozai didn't want her dead. Why? There was no point of having her dead. There was no point of keeping her alive either. She was annoying with all her bickering and whining, she was a bad example for their— no, for _his_ daughter, she was a liability if kept alive after she had succeeded in killing Azulon, what if she chirped about it?

_Kill her…_

Ozai snapped her finger once and out of nowhere, a dark hooded masked silhouette materialized before him, kneeling in front of his tall menacing stature. A Genbu assassin, a master of manipulating shadow, expert of silent assassination; perfect!

"Kill her…"

* * *

—Fire Nation Imperial Palace, Fire Lord Mansion, the same day, midnight—

There was no servant around, no guards; no one could stop them…

Must be Ozai's doing, Ursa bitterly thought as she sent a fire stream from her palm. It had been awhile since she fought anyone, it had been years! But, strangely, it had all come back to her naturally; like riding a komodo rhino, once you know how to, the knowledge will never ever go away.

"ARRGH!!!" Azulon screamed; anger, pure anger etched on his wrinkled face. It had been awhile since the last time he fought anyone, too. Had he been forty years younger, he would have finished the woman, the ungrateful woman he had taken in into his house, in matter of seconds. Azulon felt his lungs burning inside his chest, his breath short and irregular, his heartbeat heavy and strained. Darn it! He realized that he was too old for this. Calm down… calm down… The key essence of the Raging Phoenix style is the calmness of mind. Calm down... calm down…

He sent a jab with his fist covered in fire, dissipating Ursa's fire blast into the thin air. He responded to the attack with two consecutive fire blasts and one fire kick. While Ursa was busy defending herself from the successive attack, Azulon gathered all the chi he could muster on his feet and, with a mighty battle cry, propelled himself up in the air and landed right in front of the flabbergasted Ursa. Ursa, taken aback by this move, instinctively punched a fire stream at Azulon with her right fist. However, with the agility that no man his age should have, Azulon caught her wrist. Another desperate fire punch met the same result. With both her arms captured by Azulon, there was nothing Ursa could do to defend herself; Azulon's grips were amazingly strong, like vicegrip. Ursa's heart was gripped with terror as she stared into Azulon's old eyes; anger and malice were written all over his face, Ursa felt like she was being stared by an ancient dragon. Wait… _Dragon_!

Oh, hell… she had done this technique only once in her life and she had never ever liked it; the sensation that Lin and Lu Ten, who taught her the move, had described as 'like burping and throwing up at the same time'. Well, Ursa personally thought it was more like throwing up, burping, _and_ hiccupping at the same time: the fire breath.

"Arrgh!!" Azulon leaped backward as the fire breath hit him, burning the right half of his face. Damn! He cursed, he had never known that Ursa could perform the technique; heh, his own son's signature technique, no less. Oh, the irony… But, Ursa, she was coughing now, a trace of blood could be seen on the corner of her lips. Seemed like she was too hasty at executing the technique and messed up a little with her inner fire filled chi and injured her throat in the process. An opening!

"Cough! Cough!" Ursa clutched her burning throat, she could taste a metallic taste in her mouth, it felt like there was something sharp choked up inside her throat. Gah! Why did Iroh favor this technique, she cursed inside her mind. But, she was struck with terror as an eerily familiar cackling sound was heard from the direction of Azulon. She looked up only to find the Fire Lord's finger tips emanating the cold-blooded fire, the ultimate technique of the Royal Family's Raging Phoenix style, so deadly and powerful that only those who carried the royal blood in their veins were allowed to learn it: Lightning Regeneration.

This is it! Azulon exclaimed in his mind as he sent the lighting surge at his daughter-in-law. It was over… it was all over… Everything went slow motion for Ursa; she could see it all clearly, everything was so clear… everything was over… everything…

No more Zuko and his antics; his stubbornness and resilience, his no give up attitude that she admired so much…

No more Azula and her sweet smile; her childish laughter, her constant effort to exceed and annoy her brother…

No more Lin, the boy she loved like a son, his pranks that had always made her laugh, his clever wit and cheerfulness that had always made her day…

No more Lu Ten, a boy who had been like a son to her ever since he was born; and Ursa was planning to make a large embroidered white blanket for his coffin too, the one with a large white lotus on it, Lu Ten's favorite flower…

No more Iroh and his sage-like wisdom; a man who had always been a good brother-in-law for her, a wonderful uncle and father for Azula, Zuko, and Lu ten, the one who Ursa proud to call a master…

Iroh… Ursa had always enjoyed his company; she was grateful to have him in her life. Iroh was the one who was responsible for Ursa and Ozai getting married, he was the one who took their eternal sacred vow of marriage, who had always ready to offer her advice and guidance whenever she needed it… the one who taught her the real essence of firebending: life and creation…

The one who taught her a technique he had invented himself by examining the waterbenders…

In a split second, Ursa jab her left hand forward, her extended index and middle finger tips met the charging lightning. She had never ever performed this technique with real lighting before, it was all just one huge gamble she took. The lighting, the power in it… Ursa would never have thought that someone as old as Azulon could regenerate such power, such intense power. Holding it inside her, it felt… exhilarating, it felt so great although she knew that it was extremely dangerous. Iroh had warned her that it was unwise to hold that kind of power for too long inside her body; she was not a container for that power, she was simply a pathway. Connecting her chi to the lighting was only the beginning, she must connect that chi to her stomach where her chi was originated, and then extended the chi along with the lightning out of her from the other arm. And that was what she did; aiming her right hand at the dumbfounded Azulon.

And it was over for him…

* * *

—The Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation Army camp, the same day, midnight—

Failure… he was a failure…

He was a failure as a son; he had failed his father…

He was a failure as a general; he had failed his men who had followed him and trusted him with their lives so far…

He was a failure as a father; he had let his son died…

Why…? Why didn't he say no…? He could have said 'no'; he should have said 'no'

Why…? Why didn't he fight alongside his son…? Instead, all he did was watching as his son fell at the hands of their enemies, all he did was watching as his comrade he sent to watch over his son almost got himself killed when he brought back his son's body back to him, fending off the fearsome Dai Li agents all the while.

Why…?

Why didn't he attack? Why didn't he fight back? Why didn't he honor his son's noble death by conquering the godforsaken city of Ba Sing Se to appease his soul? Why? Was it because of _that_? That creature, so pure, so peaceful… Merciful and compassionate, he visited Iroh in his tent later on when he was mourning beside his son's broken body. The words he mouthed, inaudible by Iroh because they belonged in two different worlds and he no longer belonged in the world that Iroh belonged to. It was their last goodbye, their eternal goodbye… when the spirit of the noble Fire Prince Lu Ten bid his father farewell, when he mouthed the words that Iroh had always thirst for, that Iroh would never ever grow tired of hearing...

"Sir", Jiang saluted as he entered the tent.

"General Jiang", Iroh croaked, his back was turned on Jiang and he dared not looked into the general's eyes. "How's the soldier doing?"

"Sir—", Jiang paused, not sure of what to say; what should he say, the truth? "Sir, the soldiers are restless and disappointed by your decision to fall back, sir."

"I see", Iroh sighed, feeling as if Jiang had punched him in the face; maybe it'd be better if he had, the disappointed tone in his voice was more unbearable. "General Jiang, heed my order!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Jiang saluted. Iroh walked towards a nearby drawer and pulled out from the drawer a thirty centimeter stick, black with a golden dragon engraved on it, encircling the stick from bottom to the top; it was Iroh's Staff of Command.

"Take this", Iroh said to the stone-faced Jiang, offering him the staff but Jiang didn't move a muscle. "You may lead the army to Ba Sing Se. The outer wall should still be accessible. If you lead the whole force inside the wall, bringing with you all the supplies and explosives we have, you'll be able to break through the next wall, and maybe the wall after that. You may earn glory and honor unlike any other if you do this."

"Why, sir?" Jiang asked, his voice was thick with suppressed anger. Glory and honor, Jiang wanted all those, of course. But, why, indeed; why did Iroh made this suggestion? "Are you not going to fight with us? Why don't you lead the army yourself?"

When the spirit of the noble Fire Prince Lu Ten bid his father farewell, he mouthed the words that Iroh had always thirst for, that Iroh would never ever grow tired of hearing...

"_I love you, Dad…"_

"Because my son loved me…"

* * *

—Fire Nation Imperial Palace, Male Royal Quarters, the same day, midnight—

_Kill her…_

Yes, I'll kill her.

_Kill her…_

I know, I'm already on it.

_Kill her…_

…

_Kill her…_

…stop… stop it…

_Kill her…_

No… Stop…

_Kill her…_

No… no…

_Kill her…_

No… No!!

_KILL HER!!!_

"NO!!!"

And he ran as fast as he could towards the Fire Lord's Mansion. He still had time, he still had time to stop it. He _must_ stop it…

* * *

—Fire Nation Imperial Palace, Fire Lord Mansion, the same day, midnight—

What had gone wrong…? It was the question Azulon had asked himself for quite some time now. He was Fire Lord Azulon, the greatest firebender in the world whose power could only be matched by probably his sons, his two wonderful sons that he loved: Iroh and Ozai.

Yes, he loved them although he had never shown it, although nobody else in this world knew it…

He was Azulon, the longest reigning Fire Lord in the history, he had outdone even his father, Sozin the Conqueror; the father that he loathed with all his heart, the father that he had assassinated when he was twenty.

Yes, he loathed his father; and although it was not a secret, nobody dared talk about it…

He was Azulon, the Hero of the Battle of Garsai, the Conqueror of the Earth Kingdom Hu Xin Provinces; the glories that earned him the respect of the whole Fire Nation, the victory that send the Earth Kingdom soldiers running home to their mama with their tails between their legs, the achievement that would still be talked about for generations to come.

Yes, he would like that… to be talked about in the generation to come; not to be forgotten, to simply be another page of history…

But, look at him now… dying in the arms of a woman, the same woman who had defeated him in an Agni Kai. _Heh… pathetic. _Azulon coughed, fresh blood flooded the inside of his mouth, his head was resting on Ursa's lap. Ursa… the woman whom he called a daughter, at least in his mind he did, the woman who killed him, in reality; there she was, sitting down with her legs folded, nursing Azulon's burnt face with a small red handkerchief, crying. _Heh… pathetic…_

Ursa… Azulon had never known that she could be this powerful; she had always been a gentle soul. Ever since she stepped into the palace, ever since she joined the family, the dull and boring Imperial Palace had been somewhat liven up. He loved the woman like a daughter, although he had never ever shown it; nobody knew it but him.

"Why… Ursa…?" he gasped, his breathing was hard and heavy, a burnt scar was visible on his bare chest; the spot where his own lightning hit him.

"I—I'm sorry…" Ursa sobbed.

"Is… is it Ozai…? Did he… ask you… to… do this…?"

"N-no…" lied Ursa; well, half-lied, maybe. Ursa did have a choice but she chose this. But still, Azulon deserved the truth: "I do this for Zuko."

"I… see…" Azulon smiled. At last, at long last he had a glimpse at the perfect family he had always wanted but could never ever have. His perfect family: his sons who loved each other like brothers should, not stabbed each other in the back, his grandchildren who played happily everyday with each other, not formed those stupid harmful rivalry in practically everything…

And of course… Ursa… she would always had a special place in Azulon's heart, cause Azulon loved her like a daughter even though he would never ever tell her that. Ursa, in his perfect family; a mother who loved her children, an aunt who adored her nephew, a good wife to his son and a wise sister-in-law to his other son… Ursa, the one who had actually done something to hold this family together. Heh… maybe it wasn't so bad after all, to die in her hands. It was an honor… to die in the hands of someone like Ursa, someone who he loved like a daughter… even though Azulon would never ever tell her that…

"Ursa…" he hissed, feeling his eyelids grew heavier and heavier by the seconds. "L— look… at… me… Look… at… me…"

Ursa, sniffing back her tears, looked down and her eyes met the ancient eyes of the defeated Fire Lord. Yes, it wasn't so bad after all… Azulon might be defeated but he was satisfied. He had a glimpse of the perfect family that he had always wanted but could never ever have, at that time he was the happiest man in the whole Four Nations. And now, he was going to die, to join his ancestor in the spirit world. It really wasn't so bad after all; he had Ursa with him, he had the chance to gaze her face, her gentle face… the face that made him loved her like a daughter, even though he would never ever tell that to anyone… her face that reminded him of the only woman he had ever loved…

"Illah…" he sighed. "I'm… coming…"

* * *

—Fire Nation Imperial Palace, Fire Lord Mansion, the same day, midnight—

_Kill her…_

_Don't kill her…_

_Kill her…_

_Don't kill her…_

_Weak…_

_Weak…_

Yes, he was weak. He was weak, really weak. He was running across the corridor, just a little more until he reached the Fire Lord's Mansion main yard, the Agni Kai was no doubt carried out there. Keep running… keep running…

There! As he turned at the corridor, he saw them, all three of them: his wife Ursa crying, his father Azulon lying on the woman's lap…, and the Genbu assassin standing behind Ursa; his sword raised, ready to strike the woman down.

"NOOOO!!!!"

* * *

—The Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation Army camp, the same day, midnight—

Rustling here and there, the soldiers were busy packing up the camp that they had just set up in the afternoon. There was a report of a large number of Earth Kingdom soldiers being mobilized from three directions, led by three prominent generals: General How leading the army of Ba Sing Se coming from the east, General Do leading a volunteer army from the west, and General Fong leading his ragtag soldiers from the Si Wong desert to the south.

However, it wasn't Iroh who was giving orders here; it was Jiang, wielding the Staff of Command in his hands, who was leading the mobilization. They were planning to break through the barricade to the west; General Do might be a great warrior but his army consisted mostly of farmers and peasants who volunteered to join his army, he'd be an easier opponent than either How and his fresh army from Ba Sing Se or Fong with his ferocious men from the south.

"General Jiang?" Iroh addressed Jiang who was busy ordering soldiers around. "Are you sure about this?"

That question had been haunting him ever since Jiang assumed the command of the joint force; Jiang, however, ignored Iroh as he continued giving out orders to people around him. He thought Jiang would rush directly into Ba Sing Se, probably leaving Iroh and few battalions behind to fend off Fong and Do. But, why didn't he do that? Why did he organize a full retreat to Senlin Village instead?

"Alright!" Jiang addressed the generals who had gathered in front of him. "Honorable generals! Dangers are approaching, we have no choice but to fall back east to Senlin Village."

A loud murmur spread across the crowd, some even openly gave Jiang a nasty disapproval look but they could do nothing more than that; they were bound by the code of honor to obey Jiang's order as he wielded the Staff of Command.

"General Lu, General Shu, General Bujing, General Hwa!" the four generals saluted as Jiang called their names. "You will join me to hold this line! We will intercept enemy's attack and buy some time for the main army to escape!"

Another salute before the said generals strode to their respective battalions. Jiang then addressed the rest of the men.

"The rest of you will go east", he said. "General Do's force won't be too much problem for our main army."

"But, who will lead us?" one of the generals asked.

"Who else?" Jiang smirked back. He turned to Iroh and respectfully offered the bemused senior general the Staff of Command back.

"W-what?" Iroh stuttered.

"It would appear that you, sir…" Jiang smirked at him, still holding out the Staff of Command. "…have forgotten that I am also a father."

Of course… again, Iroh felt as if Jiang had slapped him on the face; only this time, Iroh had somehow managed to smiled back weakly. Receiving the Staff of Command from Jiang, he bowed at the younger man; bowed, as a gentleman does, not saluted as a soldier does. After returning the bow, Jiang turned back to the generals, signaling them to get ready with a nod. And, right before he rushed to his steed, ready to join four of his colleagues to intercept and defeat Generals How and Fong, or die trying, he turned back to Iroh and said.

"Take care of my son."

And with that, he rushed to his komodo rhino, ready to lead the counter attack. Maybe Jeong Jeong was right, after all, Iroh thought. The trip to the North Pole two years ago was educating for Jiang.

* * *

—Fire Nation Imperial Palace, Fire Lord Mansion, the same day, midnight—

"_NOOOO!!!!"_

The scream, coming from behind her, made her skip one or two heartbeats. Who was it that interrupted Fire Lord Azulon's last moment? She turned back only to find the black hooded figure, with his sword raised, ready to separate her soul from her body, standing so dangerously close behind her. The Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination… of course, so typical of Ozai to send someone to do his dirty work! There was nothing she could do know… she was ready…

Again, the familiar cackle pierced through the dark night as a surge of lightning collided with the assassin's back, causing him to gasp the moment he was zapped and fell down on the ground like a ragdoll; revealing behind him Ozai, panting and pale, his usual cold amber eyes were wide opened, his usual cold face were etched with shock. Ursa had never seen her husband like that since… oh, she didn't remember…

But she did remember the expression, like when little Zuko fell down from the stairs when he was three, twisting his legs; it was Ozai, with _that_ expression on his face who came running to pick the crying Zuko up and carried him all the way to the infirmary. Or… or like when little Azula ate some funny food and threw up all over her room; it was Ozai with _that_ expression on his face who cradled Azula, who proceeded to throw up all over him, to the palace healer, and, despite a wave of panic that tortured him from the inside, calmly reassured the little girl who innocently asked 'Am I gonna die, Daddy?' that she would be just fine.

Ursa missed that expression, the expression that proved that his husband that he had loved and still loved with all her heart was still there, all was not lost. She got up, carefully put Azulon's head on the ground, and ran towards her husband, her husband that he thought had been lost to her forever. But…

"Stop right there…" Ozai hissed; Ursa halted her pace.

"Ozai…" Ursa sighed, tears were rolling down her face. "Ozai—"

"I said stop!" he hissed menacingly, anger and hatred found their way back to his face.

"Ozai…"

"STOP!!!" he yelled, slumping down on his knees, heaving and panting.

And they stood there, each second felt like a year; but, they still stood there: the man kneeling down against a pillar, fighting a great conflict inside him; the woman, standing helplessly, staring tearfully at her man, cursing herself for her weakness, her helplessness.

Fate is mysterious; any attempt to fathom its mystery is futile and stupid. That night, summer of the last year of Fire Lord Azulon's reign, Ozai and Ursa, husband and wife, learnt that lesson the hard way.

* * *

—Fire Nation Imperial Palace, Male Royal Quarters, the next day, few hours before dawn—

He stood there like a faithful guard, right beside the door. His wife was in there, saying her last goodbye to her— no, to _their_ son.

"Remember, Zuko", Ursa's voice, though as soft as whisper, found its way to Ozai's ear. "No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are."

_Never forget who you are_…

Had Ozai forgotten who he was? He was the son of Azulon, brother of Iroh, husband of Ursa and father of Zuko and Azula… Zuko _and_ Azula…

Had Ozai really forgotten who he was?

"I'm ready", Ursa's soft voice almost made him jump. She was already there, standing right beside him; it seemed like she had finished with her goodbye. She was wearing her hooded black robe over her usual red dress robe, her hood was put on; she was ready to go. Wait… already…?

"What about Azula?" Ozai grunted, his eyes fixed sternly at Ursa's

"Hmph!" Ursa snickered at him. "Are you really letting me say goodbye to her?"

"Not a chance", Ozai snickered back.

And with that, Ursa walked ahead followed closely by her husband; each secretly savoring the last moment they had together. Both of them knew that it would be the last time they see each other, there would be no next time for them; their fate together could only bring them so far. The truth of what happened the night before… both of them had sworn to bring to their graves.

Years later, many experts, historians, philosophers, or even politicians would speculate of what had really happened that night: how did Fire Lord Azulon die, the reason behind Lady Ursa's sudden disappearance, whether or not the two events were connected, and even why she did not say goodbye to her daughter Fire Princess Azula; guesses were made, predictions were told… but, the real truth, only Ozai and Ursa knew it.

* * *

—Fire Nation Imperial Palace, the Royal Cemetery, summer, three months after the failed Siege of Ba Sing Se—

The funeral for Fire Prince Lu Ten who fell at the 600 Days Siege of Ba Sing Se was more than just sad. Almost nobody attended it; not counting the Fire Sage who was tasked to chant the funeral prayer, there were only two people there: his father Iroh and uncle Ozai. Nobody else was there, almost everyone he had ever cared about in his life couldn't come: his cousin Zuko was too upset to attend the funeral, his other cousin Azula had said that she had a headache and had to stayed in bed, his aunt Ursa went missing and no one dared to speak about her disappearance, and his friend who was like a brother to him, Lin, was away on a military campaign.

It was beyond sad, it was pathetic…

And there they were; two brothers, Iroh and Ozai, standing solemnly in front of Lu Ten's headstone. The Fire Sage had departed some time ago. Not muttering a word to each other, Iroh and Ozai stood there, both were lost in thought. Until…

"I'm sorry for your loss", Ozai started.

"…"

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

"I have two questions for you", Iroh replied this time, his voice sounded tired. "Will you answer me?"

"If it's about father and Ursa", Ozai retorted coldly. "I have told you all I know: father was old and sickly, Ursa is gone now."

Ozai gulped, he was a little choked up when he got to the part concerning Ursa. But, it seemed like Iroh didn't notice anything. And once again, they fell into silence; and, again, it was Ozai who started another conversation.

"Will you challenge me for the throne?"

Finally, Ozai got to the main point; that was why he even bothered to attend this pathetic funeral. He instinctively clenched his fists, ready to strike down his own brother had he got a 'yes' for an answer; dishonorable, it may be, but Ozai was in no mood for an honest Agni Kai. He was tired of scheming and struggling to get what he had always wanted: the Fire Throne. And now that it was finally his, he would do anything, anything at all, no matter how dishonorable, to keep it that way; if he had to strike Iroh down from behind, so be it…

"No", Iroh finally said, turning away from the grave and started to walked away, leaving the flabbergasted Ozai in the graveyard.

The next day, according to the official record of the history of Fire Nation, High General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, officially relinquished not only his birthright to the Throne but also his position in the Fire Nation Military; much to the chagrin of many nobles, military officers, and government officials. And from that day onward, the official reign of Fire Lord Ozai had begun…

* * *

**Author's note:**

Phew, a long chapter…

This chapter takes place during the flashbacks in 'Zuko Alone', at the time when Zuko got the pearl dagger, when the news of Lu Ten's death reached the Imperial Palace, and the last scene was two months after Lu Ten's death.

By the way, I'm sorry if I took quite a long time to update. I was struggling with my sleep problem but now I can proudly announce that I sleep at night again!!! Like real people!!! YEAH!!! But, knowing me I'll just probably go haywired again in a week or two… T_T

Oh well…

Names!!

1. 'Do' is one of Japanese pronunciations for 'earth' (土)

2. 'Hwa' is one of Korean pronunciations for 'fire' (火)

For hpswst101 and t-town, thanks the review! About Ozai's plan of demobilizing his troops from the Earth Kingdom, it'll be in the next chapter (I hope…)

Have a nice day!!!


	45. Chapter 44

Chapter 44 – Early Retirement

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

"… _and tell my sister not to forget to feed my pet cat owl", Taka said melancholically with his hands tied behind his back, his feet tied together and a piece of rope encircling his neck; he stood proudly on the execution gallows. A muscular man, the executioner, standing beside him waiting for the convicted Fire Nation to finish his last words, looking more and more irritated by the second as Taka went on. "And to my best friend Rocky: take care of my sister and the kiddo, Agni knows how much trouble those two often get themselves into—"_

"_Are you finish yet?" the Earth commander growled; it was pretty impressive how he managed to keep is cool for that long, sitting on his throne in front of the eager crowd and hadn't shot a chunk of earth to shut Taka's trap yet._

"_Not quite", Taka cleared his throat as he continued with his speech. "And to all men out there, let my fate be a lesson to you: never trust women! I trusted a woman, not because I was mesmerized by her charming smile, mind you, or her mysterious gaze… or the curve of her figure which, by the way, remind me so much of this lady I met—"_

_The Earth commander slapped his forehead, gritting his teeth; someone from the crowd yawned loudly, some other rubbed their sleepy eyes… Man! The Earth Kingdom people sure are patient, huh? It had been almost one hour, just a few more minutes and Taka would break the old record of the 'longest execution by hanging in the history of the Earth Kingdom'. But…_

"_Stop!!" the Earth commander shot up just when the sentenced Taka was about to tell everyone about some woman he had saved form bandits some time ago, accompanied by numerous startled gasps from the crowd; the commander then addressed the executioner. "Hang him!! Now!!"_

—_SWOOSH—_

_An arrow!! Soaring straight and true, the arrow flew through the air above the crowd, it flew only a meter above Taka's head and hit the rope that was about to be used to end his life, effectively cutting it in two pieces: one was still attached to Taka's neck, the rest was tied on the beam above his head. An abrupt silent confusion was soon replaced by the peasants' scream of panic and the soldiers shout as they were attacked by three masked figured who wore all black outfit; one was clearly a man judging from his huge and menacing figure, another was hard to judge as he or she was of average height, and the other was clearly the youngest since he was the shortest. The shortest of the three was carrying a set of bow and a quiver of arrows, strapped behind his back along with a deadly looking jet black sword; it seemed like he was the mysterious archer who saved Taka._

_As chaos ensued, mainly caused by the panicking crowd who was running all over the place, further complicating the desperate defensive counteract by the Earth Kingdom soldiers, Taka took the chance to dropkick the bewildered executioner, sending the huge mass of human being away from the gallows onto the ground below; not really a smart move since he was now down on the floor still with all his limbs tied up, meaning he couldn't get up! So, he did the only thing he could do: rolling down the stairs to the ground, ouch-ing and ouw-ing each time his head hit the solid wooden stairs. _

"_Help!!!" he screamed at the nearest masked figure, the smallest one with the bow and arrows was only few steps away. "Kiddo!! Help me!!!"_

_Lin punched two fireballs at two opponents in front of him and summoned a fire wall to briefly shield him from the other opponents. While he had learnt the Fire Wall, he hadn't really achieved complete mastery over the advanced technique and, as such, his wall lasted only for three seconds before dissipating into thin air; but, three seconds was all he needed to pull Taka up by the dangling rope on his neck, eliciting a choking sound from the tied up assassin, to his feet. As soon as the fire wall disappeared, Lin could be seen assuming his fighting stance once more, facing about twenty angry soldiers in front of him with Taka helplessly trying to maintain his balance behind him._

_A few feet away from them, Rocky, the biggest of the masked rescuers were fending off numerous opponents at once, displaying his superior earthbending, conjuring up earth wall with so much ease as he defended himself against the opponents' attack, sending rock chunks or summoning earthen spikes form the ground to cause harm among enemy's rank, all was done with grace that almost seemed unnatural due to his big frame. And not too far from him, Bara, the other masked figure, engaged in a dangerous close quarter one-on-one combat with the Earth Kingdom commander, firebending versus earthbending. Even though Bara, Rocky, and Lin were masters of their crafts, they were heavily outnumbered, twenty to one, and with innocent peasants watching the fight so dangerously close was no help either; even though they were Earth Kingdom peasants, Lin, as the group leader, had strictly ordered that no innocent bystanders were to be hurt for any reason at all, it was his first and most important order he had issued even before they began their journey._

_Soon, being forced by the sheer number of their opponents, Lin, Bara, and Rocky were driven back and encircled from all direction, all three of them desperately fending off their opponents while trying to keep Taka, who couldn't help at all aside from his shouting 'watch out, behind you!!!' or 'nice punch, sis!', which was more distracting and annoying than actually helpful, safe from the enemy; it seemed like in the excitement of battle, none of them remembered that Lin had a perfectly sharp immaculate sword that he could use to cut Taka loose._

"_Ha!" the commander heaved, standing safe behind a wall of soldiers, grinning victoriously at his prisoner and the hapless rescuers. "Are you ready to surrender, Fire Nation?"_

"_Just a bit more. Hang on", Lin whispered to his group as he unsheathed his sword, a meter long of silvery death jotting out from its twenty-five centimeter ebony black hilt; gleaming, reflecting the twilight sun, Nightshade was ready for a feast of blood. Readying his sword stance, the slit of Lin's mask revealed his burning amber eyes as he stared back at the commander. "Commander! I believe there has been a mistake. Release our friend and stand down! Or else, we will have to break through by force. I think it'd be only fair to warn you that should you opt to resist, the toll on your side would be catastrophic."_

_Man, he even used his 'nobleman speech', using fancy words like 'toll' or 'catastrophic', heh... Well, hopefully he could intimidate the commander into believing that he was a Fire Nation nobility or something, which was technically true, and that any harm that was done to him and his companions would elicit swift and severe retribution from the Fire Nation Army, which was very unlikely. However, judging from the commander's guffaw, he didn't buy it. Oh well, it was worth a try…_

"_Kill them!!"_

_And the fight broke out again with many things happened a short period of time: the circle of the Earth Kingdom soldiers leaped forward, screaming for blood, Lin lunged forward, fast and agile, and Nightshade whistled through the air in a long deadly curve, Bara, screaming, also leaped forward, her twin daggers seemed materialized into her hands from the very thin air, Rocky calmly fended off a boulder shot with his own bare hands, stopping the solid rock in midair before sending it back to his opponent, Taka, wanting to useful, fire-dropkicked ahead, his clumsy attack, as predicted, missed the target and he was, once again, as helpless as a caterpillar on the ground._

"_ARRGH!!!" Taka screamed like a little girl when a spear almost ran his throat though. Luckily, Nightshade clashed with the spear as Lin swing his sword to prevent the imminent death of his friend. Swiftly, the young Dragon stepped over Taka, who rolled away hurriedly from the scene. As Lin sliced the spear in two and hit the owner on the head with Nightshade's hilt, Taka unknowingly rolled into more danger. _

"_HEELLLP!!!" he screamed again as an Earth Kingdom soldier was about to swing a huge broadsword down, ready to sever his head, only to have his chest blasted by a fireball. Bara leaped into the fray; somersaulting over his brother, she mid-air kicked a fire arc onto his brother's would be killers, landing right in between Taka and about two dozens other soldiers, obstacling the Earth Kingdom soldiers' attempt to end Taka's life prematurely. _

"_You're useless!!!" Bara's angry yelled was no doubt directed at Taka, who rolled away and angrily shouted back: "__You__ try fighting the whole battalion tied up like a caterpillar!!!"_

_Fate must have really hated Taka as the hapless dude was, once again, about to be murdered by a group of Earth Kingdom soldiers who were carrying various assortments of sharp instruments such as spears, axes, and swords. Fortune, however, was on his side as Rocky, who was fighting a few feet away, realized the imminent danger and stomped the ground with all his might, conjuring up a solid one-feet tall earth wall that encircled Taka, protecting him from any danger momentarily until…_

"_Why, hello there", the Earth commander grinned like the awful monster that was said to eat naughty children, peeking from the unenclosed top part of the wall, making Taka, again, screamed like a little girl. Stomping his bare foot down on earth vigorously, the commander made a ripping movement with his hands as if he was ripping something apart, resulting in Taka's earthen barrier to exploded into many harmless tiny pieces. Taka grinned nervously; the commander, unaffected by the silly toothy grin, picked Taka up by the dangling rope on his neck._

"_You know", Taka choked, his toed barely greased the ground. "I was joking when I said your mom looked like a pregnant cow-hippo. Ack!"_

"_Die", the commander mercilessly hissed, jerking the rope slightly. He pulled his free hand back, balling up his fist, he charged his punch with raw power, aiming it at Taka's face. Few meters from him, Lin was frantically waving Nightshade, fire spewed up from the tip of the sword every now and then. Bara was in no better condition as she was being cornered by ten earthbenders, surrounded from all directions. Rocky, unlike Lin and Bara, still maintained his ground as he stood firm like a mountain, defending and counterattacking assaults from about half battalion soldiers; no surprise there since Seiryu assassins were trained exclusively as heavy combatants. But still, being surrounded by this many opponents, none of them realized that Taka's life was hanging, literally, by a rope. The end was near… or not…_

_A whip-like sound pierced through the sound of battle as a giant shirshu landed right behind the commander and paralyzed him with its poisonous tongue whip. As the commander fell to the ground, losing all his limbic function while maintaining full consciousness, Taka was dropped down on the ground landing on squarely on his back. The crowd who had been watching the fight eagerly were now running all over the place away from the fighting scene as the shirshu randomly attacked them with the tongue without moving from its spot. Miraculously, none of them were actually stung by it, not that its master was actually trying to harm them. The giant beast master: a lady garbed in sleeveless black outfit, long fingerless gloves covered her slender but firm arms up her upper arms, the silky smooth skin of her uncovered arms right below her shoulders were adorned by two similar tattoos of spiraling red snakes, her long black hair flowed freely behind her back with a flock of it were tied into a top-knot held by a holder ring with the shape of a skull, another flock of hair gracefully covered her right eyes like a veil, making her appearance all the more mysterious._

"_You!" Taka stabbed a glare at the lady who chuckled lightly. "What are you doing here?!"_

"_Saving your butt", Jun lightly answered, scanning around the chaos for the other three. She waved her hand almost joyfully at Lin whose gaze she met. _

"_What took you so long?!" Lin angrily shouted at her, holding off two or three broadswords with his own sword._

"_Sorry", Jun laughed as carefreely as she could as if they were having a conversation in some cozy tavern over a cup of tea. "Nayla ate some funny food last night. Potty break longer than usual, mess all over the place. Dirty business, you know."_

"_Just get ready!" Bara, who had also registered the sudden but long-awaited appearance of the bounty hunter yelled. She, Rocky, and Lin were trying to fight their ways back to Taka and Jun, an effortful feat that got somewhat easier once they entered the range of Nayla's tongue attack. _

"_Okay", Jun said airily, rummaging her saddle bag; Taka had been pulled up again, the other three standing ready all around him. "You guys ready?"_

"_Hell yeah", Bara replied. _

"_Alrighty, then", Jun pulled out two suspicious balls from the saddle bag. "So, I'll see you guys around. Good luck!"_

_Finishing her sentence, Jun covered her mouth with her free hand right before she threw the two balls into the crowd. The balls exploded upon contact, releasing thick white smoke that made all the Earth Kingdom soldiers coughing and get all teary. As the smoke subsided, the whole lot of them was having hard time breathing and seeing, the tear-grenade had worked wonder, and Lin and the others were nowhere to be found. _

"_Where did Jun go?" Taka asked, comically bouncing like a strange one-legged creature; he was still tied up, but, surprisingly, he was right at the front, moving faster than the other three who were running across the forest, away from Gaoling. _

"_Creating some diversion in the Earth Kingdom barrack or something", Lin replied, running and panting. "The less we know the better."_

"_Oh, I see", Taka said again, sounded somewhat disappointed, still jumping across the forest, accompanied by his companions who were running as fast as they could. "By the way, kiddo, nice shot! Man, you actually shot the rope from that distance. You must have been like a hundred meters away from your target!"_

"_Huh? Oh, you mean that—", Lin heaved. "Oh, you know, I learn from the best."_

"_Sure you do", Taka replied, his ego growing even bigger, if that even possible; he was, after all, the one who tutored Lin in the art of archery during Lin's training. "Look! A clearing! We'd be safe there. Race you up there!"_

_And with that, he bounced even higher and further ahead, leaving his companions behind. Rocky, ever the serious one, actually took the challenge seriously and accelerated ahead, leaving Bara and Lin who maintained their pace and were clearly unaffected by Taka's childish challenge._

"_Do you think I should tell him that I was aiming for the hangman?" Lin whispered to Bara sheepishly, their eyes fixed ahead on Taka who bounced up and down, screaming 'I'm alive! I'm alive!' like a maniac._

"_Nah", Bara replied. "Let's just keep it between us."

* * *

_

"Retire?" Jiang chuckled. "Son, you're still thirteen. Your career had just begun."

"I know", Lin shrugged, moving his Pai Sho tile. "But still, I wanna retire from the army. I wanna try something else. Travelling, for example."

"Travelling, huh?" Jiang scratched his chin, carefully examining the tile Lin had just used: the purple nightshade tile. "Well, technically, you are not allowed to retire just yet. You gotta be at least fifty-something or grievously wounded in battle to retire."

"Is there no other way?"

"Well, you could always break some rules, you know, forcing your superior officer to fire you", Jiang replied casually. "But of course, there'd be punishment instead of pension money at the end of this road."

"Break some rules, huh?" Lin sounded interested, a mischievous glint was apparent in his eyes. "Like what?"

"Well", Jiang frowned, thinking carefully. "You could kill someone in the army, but the sentence would be death, so I wouldn't suggest that… or you could spit on the Fire Nation flag… no, they'd cut out your tongue… The best way is probably to, I don't know, insult your commanding officer or something; something minor but not too minor. Insulting would do. It's a quite serious offence; serious enough to get yourself kicked out from the army but too light for death penalty or dismemberment."

"Insulting a superior officer, huh?" Lin grinned. "Okay, then. Hey, Dad!"

"What?"

"Your face makes me want step on it, your sideburns makes you look like a hornless gorilla bull, you top-knot is simply revolting, and your outfit makes me want to puke on it but it seems like somebody already did."

"Captain Lin of the 212th Battalion, by the power invested in me by the Fire Throne, I, General Jiang of 212th Battalion, hereby strip you of your rank within the Fire Nation Army. You are no longer welcomed within our ranks"

"Geez, thanks, Dad."

"No problem, son", Jiang shrugged. "By the way, don't hate the robe. Lady Wen stayed up all night sewing the dragons. Show some appreciation, will you?"

"Yeah", Lin drawled, frowning in disgust at the sight of the extravagant red robe with nine dragons of different colors sewn on it that Jiang was wearing. "You look like you're wearing a paint palette."

"Oh, by the way, your punishment will be polishing my armor and taking care of your Aunt Bing while I'm gone on the next mission with Uncle Kang", Jiang said again, ignoring Lin's remark.

"I'm on it", Lin sighed as he dragged his feet away from the room.

Walking lazily, he strolled across the vast establishment of the Lin Family Estate to the grandest room in the estate, his father's room. Opening the door, he walked into the room. Everything about the room featured the wealth and status of the famous Lin Family; all furniture, chairs, tables, wardrobes, even the velvet veil on the bed, were made of the finest quality, everything but the set of new armor on the armor stand right beside his father's old armor. The old armor was custom made by family artisans, it bore the family crest, it looked different and all. The new one, the one issued by the Fire Nation Military Council, was the standardized version of the armor for high ranking army officers. Fire Lord Ozai, the new Fire Lord had passed a policy of military standardization; that meant everyone in the military must wear the standardized armor and bear the National Flag, no more custom made armors that bore family crests, no more clan's flag on the battlefield. It was done in the name of unification.

And so, Jiang's old armor that had been faithfully protecting him for more than two decades must be put to rest; the same fate befell the Lin Family's banner that had been wielded by generations of the heads of the illustrious family. The banner was now stored safely inside the estate's vault, it could no longer rally soldiers' hope and courage below it. It's funny how much things could change in such short amount of time, thought Lin as he absentmindedly scrubbed Jiang's metal helmet with a rag. Fire Lord Azulon died, Fire Prince Ozai became the successor instead of the Crown Prince Iroh, Crown Prince Iroh, the fabled Dragon of the West, became a shut-in, locking himself inside his room all day long, leaving only for toilet or food. And Lady Ursa, strange, it was like she had never existed in the first place. One day, she had just disappeared and no one, absolutely no one, dared talked about her ever since. At his return from the Earth Kingdom following the infamous 600 days Siege of Ba Sing Se, the first person Lin was looking for was Ursa; Lu Ten's death, Iroh's indifference… he thought that Lady Ursa would know what to do, Lady Ursa had always known what to do. But, Lady Ursa was nowhere to be found and the servants had been suspiciously silent when he interrogated them.

He had wanted to pressed the matter even further, he was so desperate that he even almost considering torturing a servant for information; his status as a noble and an Imperial Firebending Instructor justified such action. Being a Byakko, he was taught various methods of information gathering and torture was one of them. Fortunately, his conscious won over his frustration. Moreover, he had stayed only for like a week before his father was called to lead an armada to assist a full retreat of many Fire Nation generals from the colonies. A year spent in the warfront before he made it back again, fighting many odd battles, like attacking a small village with catapults and many other siege machines, seizing big cities with only soldiers, defending an isolated place with a full battalion while important spots were deserted; all was done by direct orders from the Fire Lord himself. Many fell victims in this campaign: General Shu lost an arm and had to be retired, he was found dead in his room the previous week apparently he had committed suicide, General Lu was ambushed and hit by an arrow right through the heart while protecting a caravan of Fire Nation colonials, Admiral Thuyen was killed by an Earth Kingdom spy when he was guarding Jiang's rear in Senlin Village, General Hwa was killed by an explosion set by some traitors in their ranks, and many more, and it wasn't including numerous nameless soldiers who died in the campaign.

"Are you done yet?" Jiang's voice broke through the silence of the room. How his father managed to sneak up on him, Lin would never know; Jiang might not be big but he was not small either, his frame was not accommodating for stealthy thing but he was surprisingly talented at it and sneaking on each other was like a father and son thing for Jiang and Lin, like a hobby.

"Yep", Lin yawned, putting his father's shiny armguard back on the armor stand. "Where is it this time?"

"There has been some report of unusual activities along the Earth Kingdom's Western Shore", Jiang replied, carefully, almost lovingly, taking off his outer robe that looked like a pain palette, and folding it neatly before storing it in his wardrobe. "The reports are on my desk if you wanna have a peek."

"Why?"

"Because you wouldn't want anything bad happen to your beloved daddy now, would you?"

"I hate it when you do that…"

"Love you too, son", Jiang chuckled as Lin walked over his desk, took the seat and started unrolling numerous scrolls, examining various maps, and reading sealed correspondence regarding the strange activities along the Earth Kingdom's Western Shore, Jiang's next mission. Since Lin had been officially retired about an hour ago, he was no longer his father's Battalion Strategist and, therefore, was not responsible for regulating Jiang's battle plan. That's why the mind game was necessary…

"It's Fong again", Lin muttered, not taking his eyes from the scrolls.

"How'd you know that?" Jiang asked, perplexed. He had had his advisors trying to figure out who was behind the numerous raids along the Western Shore for almost three months to no avail and Lin only needed few minutes to do what a group of older and more experienced men couldn't do.

"Simple", Lin sounded bored. "Who else would scream 'Jiang! Come out, you spineless mongrel! Come out, coward!' while raiding a random village?"

"Hah", Jiang chuckled, how he could have missed that detail, he would never know; Lin was now busy scribbling something on a sheet of paper. "By the way, Lady Wen wanted you to have this."

Jiang pulled out from his sleeve a neatly folded piece of paper and threw it at Lin. Lin caught it and read it; it was a list of ingredients.

"She told me that it was a family recipe", Jiang answered his son's unasked question. "There's supposed to be some herb merchants coming from the colonies a week from now. She told me that you would be able to get everything you need from them; she'll even accompany you shopping if you don't mind."

"With one condition", Lin, after finishing reading through the list returned to his own writing. "I will bring Biao along. It'll be interesting seeing if those two can get along."

"You just couldn't let it go, could you?" Jiang frowned at his son's smirk.

"Call it revenge", Lin grinned smugly, folding his paper and putting it on the table. "Everything you would ever need is here: basic battle plan of troop's distribution, daily shifts, etc. etc. And also possible offensive and defensive strategies based on topographical calculation and Fong's dumbness. As long as the weather's not extreme, which was quite probable since this is autumn, and as long as you don't set camp too far from the Western Shore, you'll be just fine."

"What I'd do without you, son?"

"Getting your but kicked on daily basis, of course."

And they laughed at the joke; it had been a while since they laughed freely like this. After some usual exchanges of pleasantries, i.e. making fun of each other, the father and son exited the room and headed for dinner. Later that night, General Jiang and his 212th Battalion set out for the Earth Kingdom's Western Shore and Lin, the twenty sixth returned to the Fire Nation Imperial Palace; each had their own duties to attend to, all in the name of the glorious Fire Nation.

* * *

Ozai sat inside his moving palanquin, effortlessly maintaining his _perfect_ seiza position; legs bent underneath his body, back straight, neck upright, facing forward, hands sat idly on his lap. _Perfect_… jus like how a Fire Lord should be. Bet Iroh couldn't do it, sneered Ozai. Even as little kids, Iroh had always been chubby and Ozai slender; and, as they grew up, Iroh still chubby and Ozai muscular. Due to this fact, Ozai had often made fun of his older brother's inability to sit for too long in polite seiza position because of his weight.

Heh! Even now, Ozai still couldn't understand why his father Azulon was so stubborn at having Iroh as his successor. Tradition dictates so, yeah, of course; but, it wasn't Iroh who supported Azulon in actually running the nation. Iroh was always too busy travelling or fighting the war or hunting dragons; Ozai was the one who got involved in the nation's politics, who supervised many government projects, secret or not, who deal with supply distribution, national economics, etc. etc. It was Ozai who had been running the Nation for the past few years, working behind the scene for his frail and aging father and liege while Iroh simply fought the war.

None of it mattered now; Ozai had achieved the only thing that he had ever wanted: the throne! He was no longer Fire Prince Ozai, he was Fire _Lord_ Ozai now. Ozai held in his hand now the supreme power over the glorious Fire Nation and he had tested his power on numerous occasion. If he wanted people to jump, they'd jump, if he wanted them to drop, they'd drop; it was the kind of power Ozai—, no, _Fire Lord_ Ozai had. And he had taken advantage of that power, he had used it to eliminate some… say, 'unwanted' people, people who was still loyal to Azulon and Iroh, people who were not loyal to him, people who did not fear him, people who had great influence; basically, people who could pose danger to him.

General Lu, the Red Maelstrom, one of the greatest generals in the history of Fire Nation, a veteran who had served Azulon for almost sixty years, he was feared and respected as a great warrior by friends and foes alike; dead. A Suzaku was sent to deal with him, a single Suzaku assassin and a quiver of stolen Earth Kingdom arrows.

General Shu, another great general, not as great as General Lu nor had served as long as he but his loyalty to Azulon was Lu's equal, also a great warrior, middle aged and at the peak of his years but lost an arm the latest campaign and had to be retired; dead. A report said he committed suicide due to the frustration of losing a limb… nobody would suspect it as the handiwork of a Byakko who posed as one of the general's maidservants.

Admiral Thuyen, a young man with both talent and virtues, an extremely rare find, a staunch supporter of the deserter Jeong Jeong's innocence; dead. Too bad, Ozai had actually felt disappointed that he had to eliminate such rare talent. If only Thuyen hadn't been so enthusiastic when he tried to persuade Ozai to launch a thorough investigation regarding the young man's old mentor's supposedly crime, Ozai wouldn't have felt compelled to send a Genbu assassin to finish him off.

General Hwa, your average army general, young, vigorous, a powerful bender, had no distinguished achievement yet but, then again, he was young; dead. Dead, simply because Hwa was born with one fatal 'flaw': the gift of earthbending; dead, simply because he was of mixed ancestry and his mother's heritage was stronger than his father's. Ozai found Hwa, an earthbender in the rank of Fire Nation generals, simply revolting; the fact that Hwa was recommended to his post by Iroh only made it worse. But, Ozai fixed that, Ozai fixed him; a Seiryu assassin and a keg of exploding jelly fixed him.

And many more on the list…

But, it wasn't enough, not nearly enough. There were still many military officers, politicians, and aristocrats that needed to be dealt with. However, if Ozai actually had them all assassinated, the nation would lose more than half of its current power. That was why he had to try a less direct approach to deal with them: by forcing them to submit, to show them who the boss was. Ozai had issued numerous strange and incomprehensible policies and orders. Raising tax, imposing bans on using clan's crests and banners on the battlefield, directly regulating the war from the homeland, and many more; all of them was pretty much nonsense, Ozai admitted. He simply wanted to know who would challenge his orders and who would obey them like slaves they were. Punishment for those who defy and reward for those who obey, his subjects needed some examples. He had done that, still doing that, but that still wasn't enough.

There were still people that simply must die, people that couldn't be ignored. Jeong Jeong, he had escaped Ozai three years ago and he had become some kind of legend in the Fire Nation, people had begun calling him the Deserter because he was the first person who deserted the military and lived to tell the tale, not to mention that he knew too much about a certain incidence; he simply must die. Piandao, who was actually the first deserter who lived, but since he was pardoned… but, nah, he was mostly harmless, thought Ozai. Piandao, thought Ozai, was nothing more than a distraction than a real problem; there were people who needed more attention, Jiang, for example. Jiang might be loyal but he was loyal to the Fire Throne not to Ozai, too bad, Ozai really liked the man but the Lin Family was too strong and influential for their own good and Jiang was the head of the family. And there was Lin, too, the Dragon of the Deep Forest, Jiang's brat. Ozai had sensed that Lin could be a great threat one day; he had all the making of a great warrior, powerful despite his young age, wise and cunning, his prodigal talent in both martial art and the art of war was too great to be ignored.

Lin… an intriguing kid, indeed; a talent that emerged only in every hundred year or so, as Iroh once commented, and Ozai couldn't agree more. Ozai didn't want him dead, Ozai _wanted_ him! Recruiting him into the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination was the smartest move he had ever taken; that was what Ozai wholeheartedly believed. The report from the three senior assassins Ozai sent to train and keep an eye on the kid indicated that Lin was progressing in an outstanding pace. Ah, yes… the three assassins: Bara, Taka, and Iwa. Ozai didn't trust them, but, then again, he didn't trust anyone; he had trusting issue. That was why he had kidnapped their families to force their loyalty; their families, however, had been killed in a fire incident involving a drunken firebender guard, according to the report. Ozai didn't tell them, they didn't need to know, smirked Ozai.

As the palanquin halted and lowered to the ground, indicating that he had arrived at his destination, Ozai gracefully slid down from the palanquin. As he stood and let two servants tidying up some creases on his long robe, he scanned the surrounding; a thick forest located at the outskirt of the Fire Nation Imperial City. Signaling the servants to stop their menial task with his hand, he walked deeper into the forest, leaving his entourage behind. He remembered this place; he used to sneak out of the palace to play in this forest when he was a kid. There was a clearing deep at the heart of the forest, only few knew about it.

There! The clearing. Ozai paused briefly before he started pacing forward to the patch of sun in front of him. He stopped after five or six steps, letting the sun ray to fall on his face; the bright light caused him to squint.

"Any result, yet?" he whispered.

"Yes, Your Highness", a man, clad in black assassin armor, wearing a white noh mask and a katana on his back, replied; the man was kneeling behind Ozai and seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Some of our agents reported a sighting in Omashu, Your Highness."

"Omashu, eh?" Ozai muttered, smirking.

"Yes, Your Highness", the Byakko assassin confirmed. "Shall I send my men to deal with her, sir?"

"No, Captain", Ozai turned to him. "Just keep an eye on her for now. She is not to be harmed, understood."

"Yes, Your Highness", the Byakko replied right before disappearing into the thin air, leaving Ozai whose expression was hard to read; it was the mixture of malicious smirk and relief smile.

Oh, well, Ozai shrugged it off as he walked back to his palanquin. Ursa might still be useful, he thought. Maybe he could still let her live for now, he had nothing to lose anyway. Yep, sounded like a good plan. There were other things he must attend to, other more important things; didn't he have a war meeting scheduled tonight? Yeah, there'd be many chances to deal with Ursa in the future. For now, it was time to attend to the nation, the glorious Fire Nation, _his_ nation…

* * *

**Author's note:**

Been a while since the last update. Sorry for the wait, I have a lot of things to attend to lately; you know… bad things that keep happening and good things that still elude me, the usual. My life's miserable…

And about Ozai's tactic, I once read about a similar tactic being used in ancient China by a king (don't remember his name…). His court was filled with lots of powerful but corrupted officials; good officials were too few or too powerless to do anything about the decaying kingdom and, on top of that, the king didn't know who were good and who were bad. So, he proposed many policies that greatly benefited court officials at the expense of the citizens, like raising taxes tenfold and using the money to buy useless things or throw parties at the palace or something, all in the name of the greater good of the kingdom. Of course, the court was divided between those who agreed with the policies and those who adamantly refused; the king then ordered the death of those who agreed with the policies and rewarded those who stood against the absurd policies. Hence, the court was cleared from many corrupted officials. Clever, eh?

I'm not sure when I can update after this. So sorry… I got a lot of things to attend. This is why I hate the end of years. T_T

Enjoy the chapter!!!


	46. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45 – Just Another Shopping Day**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"Sir", a soldier entered the camp, all thirteen heads inside the tent turned to him. "The scout reported the sighting of the enemy, sir. They are approaching our encampment as we speak. A full battalion led by General Fong."

"Very well, private", Jiang dismissed the soldier with a nod. He then addressed his officers who, contrary to him, looked restless. "Why the long faces?"

"Sir…" one of the officers started but his speech dimply vanished, his expression, like all other officers, including Kang and Masa, was the mixture of lack of confidence and disappointment.

"Are you worried about our battle plan, son?" Jiang addressed the young captain kindly.

"Honestly, sir", the young captain drawled, he dared not looked into the older man's eyes. "Yes, sir. Without Battalion Strategist Lin, we couldn't help but feel a bit anxious about the outcome of this battle."

"I see", Jiang smirked. He had foreseen this ever since Lin was 'fired' from the military. The young Dragon of the Deep Forest's contribution as the Battalion Strategist of the 212th Battalion had been so significant that it was no exaggeration to say that every victory the 212th Battalion had claimed in this past two years were all thanks to Lin. It was understandable that, now Lin was gone, the morale of Jiang's men was at the lowest; they had grown accustomed to Lin formulating their battle plan.

"Not to worry, men", Jiang proudly declared, pulling out a folded piece of paper from his sleeve and showed it smugly to everyone. "Before we depart, my son has devised a detailed battle plan for us and written it down in this piece of paper. We'll be just fine!"

And it worked! Scowls turned upside down, frowns lit up into hopeful beams. Time to issue the next order.

"Men!" Jiang returned to his commanding tone; his men saluted and somehow looked more confident now. "Attend to your divisions, prepare them to move out immediately!"

"Yes, sir!" they saluted. All of them, with the exception of Jiang, Kang, and Masa, exited the tent.

"I thought you lost it", Kang grinned at Jiang.

"Well, you know what they say: you can always find it at the least expected place", Jiang grinned back, waving the folded paper.

"Where'd you find it?" Kang asked.

"You… don't want to know", Jiang frowned. He then unfolded the paper and read it; his expression changed from smirking to frowning to wide-eyed open-mouthed horror-stricken expression at an inhuman speed.

"What's wrong?" Kang asked again; Jiang didn't respond, he looked like he was completely petrified. Curious, Kang took the paper from Jiang and read it, only to suffer a similar reaction; his expression changed from a frown to a deeper frown to wide-eyed open-mouthed horror-stricken expression, just like Jiang.

"Brother?" Masa poked Kang's shoulder lightly but Kang didn't even budge. So, Masa, too, took the paper and read it. Ever the calm one, he simply frowned and, as he found out what was wrong with what was written on the paper, simply said. "…Uh-oh…"

* * *

"So, uh…" Biao tried to start a conversation, needless to say she was feeling kinda awkward although Lin was standing between her and the other woman, acting as a barrier. "Are you getting serious with my uncle?"

"Erm… I'm not sure, yet", Lady Wen relied rather sheepishly; she, unlike Biao, managed to retain her ladylike air of calmness. Lin himself tried to stifle his smile to no avail. The two girls might be of similar age but they were waaaay too different. One was his tomboy cousin, the other was his father's date; an interesting matchup…

"Well, he does seem like he was totally smitten", Biao thought out loud; her makeup-less face frowned a little.

"Really?" Lady Wen chuckled; her cherry red lipstick seemed to sparkle as her lips curved into a shy smile.

"He whistles a lot", Biao added, shrugging; her long ponytail dangled a bit as she jerked her head to her right, signaling that they should turn that way.

"Yes, I notice that too. You know, it still amazes me how he doesn't strike me as a war general. Most war generals don't whistle and talk about battles more than about their families", Lady Wen said airily, absentmindedly brushing her long black hair that was tied into a feminine top-knot gently.

"And it all started after the two of you begin going out", Biao reaffirmed; hands in her trousers pockets, walking like a boy.

"Really? I remember him being somewhat grouchy on our first date", Lady Wen's face lit up in genuine surprise; hands at her front, covered by the long sleeves of her robe, a gesture of a typical noble lady.

And as the two ladies went on and on about Jiang and his shortcomings, Lin who was eavesdropping, with great intent at first, grew bored.

"They get along", he sighed softly. "This is no fun anymore."

"What did you say?" Biao frowned at him.

"Nothing", Lin grinned.

"There they are", Lady Wen came to the rescue, pointing at an armada of various merchants carts lining up along the road in front of them, most of them were selling herbal and fruit product, fresh from the Earth Kingdom.

"So, where's the list?" Biao asked. Lin reached into his pocket and pulled out a neatly folded paper. Biao took it and read it through.

"What's wrong?" Lin asked, noticing his cousin's frown getting deeper and deeper.

"Uh…" Biao said hesitatingly. "You do realize that we have enough money to actually _buy_ what we need, right? Are we going to rob them or something?"

"Huh?" Lin sounded confused, even Lady Wen looked lost. He took the paper back and read it.

"…Uh-oh…"

* * *

"What should we do now, huh?! Make them a pot of soup!!!" Kang yelled angrily, shooting random fire blast.

"Just keep fighting!!" Jiang yelled back, summoning a fire wall hastily.

"Oh, sure!!! Because we are having so much fun kicking their butts now!!" Kang yelled again, getting more and more sarcastic as he sent an enormous fire stream at his opponents.

"I said I'm sorry!! Behind you!!" Jiang yelled at Kang, the last part was for Masa who spin kicked a boulder that came flying at his back. The 212th Battalion was being pushed back deeper and deeper into Senlin Village.

"Would you two STOP ARGUING!!!!" Masa screamed at his two older brothers. Jiang and Kang abruptly stopped, shocked by their brother's outburst; since they were little, Masa had always been the quiet one among the five brothers. It was the first time Jiang and Masa had actually witnessed Masa and his rare emotion we all know as anger.

"Guys?" Kang asked, he was calmer now. "Is it getting darker in here?"

The three abruptly noticed a shadow on the ground, rough uneven circle that engulfed the three of them from the top and it was getting wider and wider and wider… Instinctively, they looked up and saw the biggest boulder they had ever seen in their whole lives descending on them.

Just like what they did whenever they encountered something scary when they were little, mostly in the form of Umma closing in at them waving a punishment stick, Masa and Kang grabbed Jiang, squishing him in the middle; all three were screaming 'ARRRGGGHHH!!!!!' in unison.

* * *

"Are you sure they're going to be alright?" Lady Wen asked again for the umpteenth times; her face was pale and her amber eyes shone with genuine concern.

"Well", Lin replied nonchalantly, not taking his eyes from a pile of dandelion bushes. "The worst case scenarios is you will have to find a new date."

"He'll be fine", Biao reassured her, offering more real form of comfort for the horror-stricken lady. "He's the kind of guy who won't die even if you kill him."

"Yeah", Lin chuckled, handing in few pieces of coin to the vendor. "He was the head of the Lin Family, after all. Even death will think twice before trying to get into a spitting distance from him."

And they went on with their herb shopping. Two weeks earlier, Lady Wen gave Lin, via Jiang, a family recipe of a certain herbal potion for liver detoxification. After hearing about Bing's illness and her liver condition, Lady Wen had gone through her family's medicine book and copied down that certain list of ingredients for the potion. Luckily, even though the list had somehow ended up in the Earth Kingdom with Jiang through some inexplicable mishaps, Lady Wen had memorized the whole list. And so, they could go on with their shopping, with Lin busy picking up the stuff, Lady Wen expressing her concern about Jiang's safety, and Biao comforting the noble lady and making sure Lin got the correct stuff.

"But, are you really sure?" Lady Wen asked again.

"Absolutely", Biao retorted. "Right, cousin?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, right?" Lin absentmindedly replied. He was now squinting at a man who was rummaging a woman's handbag in a very subtle and suspicious way. "Is that guy trying to rob that woman?"

Just ten feet away from them, in front of a flower merchant stand whose owner was too busy arguing over the price with his customer, the said customer, who was too busy trying to get a good bargain, didn't seem to realize that a man was humming conspicuously while rummaging through her handbag and at the same try trying to make himself look like another customer who was checking through the merchandise through the woman's shoulder.

"It does look like it", Biao whispered at Lin, her eyes fixed dead on the criminal and her mind were deciding between a peaceful negotiation or a painful fire blast on the man's face to resolve the situation. "Lin, you wait here with Lady Wen, keep her safe. I'm gonna go there and—"

"Hey, you over there!!!"

Too late…

"What is it about Dad that attracts feisty ladies so much?" Lin asked no one in particular while Biao slapped her forehead; somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, Jiang sneezed, causing his perfectly aimed fire blast to miss Fong's head by an inch.

"Are you talking to me, pretty lady?" the would-be pickpocket, after overcoming his surprise, turned to Lady Wen who called out to him, grinning disgustingly at her.

"Yes, you!" Lady Wen, emanating her air of nobility, stared calmly at the man's eyes, all the while trying to ignore the man's disgusting remark. "I suggest you stop whatever it is you are doing and surrender yourself to the city guard now."

"Oh, really? You _suggest_", the man laughed; the rest of the market were staring at them with fearful gaze at the man and sympathetic look at the noble lady, the ignorant noble lady… didn't she know that she had just confronted a member of the most notorious criminal gang in the imperial city?!

"Yes, I _suggest"_, Lady Wen replied snappishly, neither her face nor her tone changed though. "Do you not understand the meaning of the word? I thought criminals like you are supposed to be intelligent. Hmm, with brain like that, I'm surprised that you are not behind the bars right now."

And, as Lin and Biao dropped their jaws in amazement and awe, the rest of the market cheered for the brave noble lady, and Lady Wen, the said brave noble lady smirked triumphantly at the bulging vein of the pickpocket, the said pickpocket was fuming, literally fuming, you could see smoke coming out from his ears, with anger. And, it took another two or so seconds for the pickpocket to channel all his anger into a flame that covered his right hand as he hurled himself forward at Lady Wen, ready to strike her down with his flaming fist.

"Watch out!!!!" Biao shouted. Lin remained unfazed.

One thing that many people, even Fire Nation people, seemed to ignore or simply forget is that most, if not all, noble daughters, like Lady Wen, attend the Royal Fire Academy for Girls and, contrary to popular belief, they _do_ teach fighting to those girls; basic hand-to-hand combat and either firebending or sword fighting. Additionally, the Academy actually hold an annual martial art tournament for students aged ten and over, and… let's just say that there was, once upon a time, a certain student who later on became a champion of the tournament after her legendary victory at the final match in which she knocked her opponents, who was two years older and twice as big, out cold with one blow. A record of one and a half second that no one has ever managed to break even after the said student graduated from the Academy until this very day.

"Errmm… what just happened?" Lin asked, not taking his eyes from Lady Wen, who was still standing at her spot, and the pickpocket, who was down on the ground writhing in agony. All he saw, all he _did_ see, was the man leaping at Lady Wen with his flaming fist held up high, and the something red flashed between them, most probably Lady Wen and the right sleeve of her red dress robe, and then the man slumped down like a ragdoll on the ground; it all happened so fast.

"Oh, what now?" Biao sighed at the new commotion; as the shock of seeing an experienced criminal being knocked down by a young lady subsided, a group of people emerged from the crowd and encircled Lady Wen. Some were carrying easily concealable weapons like small clubs or knives, all were jeering and shouting at Lady Wen who remained as calm as she had been; those men looked really unhappy.

"We better do something", Biao said, running to back Lady Wen up. Lin, however, remained where he stood; he was watching now watching the ensuing fighting scene while eating an apple, he seemed to enjoy the show.

"See that ponytailed girl?" Lin elbowed a nearby young man, jerking his head at Biao who struck two opponents at once with firebending. "She's single."

* * *

_Leaves from the vine_

_Falling so slow_

Hard to believe it had been more than a year; more than a year ago everything… changed.

_Like fragile tiny shells_

_Drifting in the foam_

Iroh wondered what people would think if they heard the sad melancholic sound of his pipa. Would they criticize him for his melodramatic singing? Well, he had, at least. Now, he had stopped caring altogether. He had lost his son; is it not the right of every father who lost their son to shut themselves up in their room singing their son's favorite song all day and night?

_Little soldier boy_

_Comes marching home_

And here come the saddest part, the part that Iroh had come to hate…

_Brave soldier boy_

_Comes marching home_

… because his soldier boy didn't come marching home.

He stopped playing. He put his pipa down at his side and closed his eyes, letting the evening sun showered him with its golden ray of light; his gray hair and beard seemed to shine beneath the sunlight. The warmth… as a firebender, he naturally loved it. Right now, the mighty Dragon of the West looked like a sad old man he was; he had stopped dying his hair black, his belly had start to sag, he felt restless all the time, and he could have sworn that he heard his back cracked when he tried to get up from his bed the previous morning. Even a Dragon cannot fly above the might of time, it seems. Or maybe it was just the result of physical inactivity; for the past few months, all Iroh did was sit all day. He woke up, walked out of his room to wash up and get some food, back to his room where he would stayed all day sitting in front of the window, got out of his room for a quick meal at lunchtime, got back to his room back to his spot in front of the window again, dinner would be served by the maidservants at his room, and he would go to sleep at midnight. It was the same schedule all day.

"How did it go?" Iroh asked, taking a sip of his jasmine tea, without even opening his eyes.

"It has been done, General", Bara whispered, kneeling down before the Dragon.

"How is the kid doing?"

"Surprisingly well", Bara replied. "He is ready for the departure anytime after General Jiang returns from the warfront."

"Good", Iroh sighed. "Have you notified Master Piandao?"

"Yes, General", Bara answered smoothly. "He will be ready to receive the kid at his estate at anytime."

"Very well", Iroh nodded, still keeping his eyes closed. "You are dismissed."

"Yes, sir."

And Iroh opened his eyes. The sun, the golden evening sun… could it be any more beautiful than this…?

* * *

"You could have helped", Biao barked.

"I wasn't in the mood", Lin shrugged, nonchalantly. Both he and Biao had parted ways with Lady Wen at her residence just few moments ago. And as soon as Lady Wen disappeared into the tall gate of her family's estate, Biao let all her frustration of her cousin not helping her and Lady Wen in their fight against twenty angry and mean looking outlaws at the market out. Lady Wen herself didn't seem to mind; she even explicitly stated that she had never had so much fun ever since her graduation from the Royal Fire Academy for Girls and seemed more cheerful for the remainder of the day, right after they were done explaining the situation to the local guard and went on with the shopping that is. "And besides, I'm injured. See?"

"What, you mean that measly paper cut from yesterday?" Biao coldly snapped at her cousin waving his index finger in front of her nose.

"Well, aren't you a detail-oriented?"

"Don't change the subject!"

"Oh, come on. It was just twenty of them. They didn't even stand a chance."

"What about Lady Wen? She could have been hurt!"

"Yeah… Is she or is she not the same lady who almost burnt General Jiang of the 212th Battalion alive and sent him home extra crispy for spitting food at her face?"

"Hey! It was Uncle's fault: she messed with the wrong lady! And besides, how should I know they teach those girls how to fight at the Academy."

"Didn't you parents send you there when you were four?"

"They tried", Biao growled. "But, enough avoiding! You know that it was dangerous— oh, no… no, you don't! Hugging won't get you out of this!"

"I know…" the younger boy's muffled voice was barely audible but Biao heard him nonetheless. Sighing in defeat, she hugged back, caressing the boy's head gently. Although Lin had grown taller over the years, he was still short for a thirteen year old. But, there had been some improvement; a couple of year ago the top of his head couldn't even reach Biao's neck but now his nose almost reach her chin, not bad.

"There… there…" Biao grudgingly patted Lin's head. "We're still gonna settle this someday. But, I'll let you off the hook for now."

"Yeah", Lin chuckled. "Can't wait."

"So, are you going now?" Biao asked, lifting her groceries bags up; she dropped it on the ground when she hugged Lin back. "Mom will want to have you over for dinner."

"Sorry, I can't", Lin shrugged, shoving his own groceries bag to his cousin. "I have something to do tonight."

"What, a late night training?" Biao joked.

"Something like that", Lin grinned; well, he didn't exactly say that the training was for Zuko and Azula, so technically he didn't lie. The training was for him.

"Just try not to overwork yourself", Biao said, starting to walk away, turning left at the intersection in front of them.

"Will do", Lin shouted back. He waited there for a minute or so until he was sure that Biao was no longer in the vicinity before he took the right path of the intersection.

As he walked back to the Imperial Palace, he noticed four— no, five, stalkers shadowing him from behind. It seemed like he still hadn't gained the trust of the new Fire Lord; not that he had actually gained the trust of the previous one. But, Ozai was, beyond any doubt, more formidable than Azulon simply because, unlike Azulon, Ozai didn't take any chances. Azulon would send a single man to spy on Lin, Ozai sent _five_! Hah!

Five… five fully-trained assassins. Could be a trouble. But, Iroh did say that the men he sent for Lin were the best of the best; skilled, experienced, had good morale. Over the past year Lin had gotten to know them better, he had got to know them as people, real people, rather than the empty shells he called instructors which were exactly what they had been before he helped them saved their families. It was kinda weird at first; none of them had ever even smiled before the prison-break event. But, after that, they were like all friendly toward him; they even gave him a nickname 'kiddo'. All the better, thought Lin, it'd make everything easier in the long-run.

Bara, the unofficial leader of the three; nurturing and strict, she somehow reminded Lin on his own grandmother Umma, in a good way, of course, in a good, heartwarming way although Umma would never ever have gone as far as throwing a handful of burning fireball at him for something as minor as forgetting to polish his ninjato.

Taka, he struck Lin as a male version of Biao, with a little of Lu Ten and even Zuko. Stubborn and a natural troublemaker (the kind who attracts misfortunes, not create them), Taka could be considered a fun, big brotherly type.

As for Iwa… well, Iwa was… Iwa, no more no less. There was almost nothing distinctive about the earthbender if you don't count his earthbending, of course, and his aloof demeanor, and his serious outlook. Silent as a rock, no wonder he was called 'Rocky'.

Yes, contrary to Lin's first impression of the three, Bara, Taka, and Iwa did have hearts. They were people, real people with feelings and emotions, even Iwa; they laughed (though Lin had never seen Iwa laughed, but he was sure the earthbender was capable of the action), they made jokes (usually at the expense of Iwa), they fooled around and pulled a prank or two (usually with Iwa as the victim), they feel, actually _feel_ like normal people do. The difference between them and normal people was they had trained, or had been trained, to be more precise, to hide their emotions, to keep what they feel to themselves, to never let it out, never let it affect their performances.

Ignorance… a powerful tool, indeed…

Lin stopped and closed his eyes, focusing his senses and concentrating on his surrounding. _It has been done…_ He could no longer feel any presence from the five stalkers; he did, however, felt two very strong presences, very strong familiar presences. Lin didn't know how to feel, what to do; should he feel happy and smile because he had been saved? Or should he feel remorse and weep because he had just forced Taka and Iwa to do a terrible thing?

Lives are precious; to mourn and weep the loss of a life is commendable and humane, and to laugh at and celebrate the loss of a life is absurd and practically impossible, at least as long as you have a human's heart. So, Lin wouldn't smile.

Taking the lives of people is hard and it is supposed to be hard; we human are creatures with feelings and guilt is a kind of feeling. Though Lin knew that Taka and Iwa had been trained extensively to ignore the feeling of guilt, Lin still couldn't ease his own guilt for sending them to kill those people, he simply couldn't…

But, it was necessary, wasn't it…? _No! Stop!_ He quickly shook the thought off. Taking somebody's life is wrong! It will always be wrong! It is supposed to be wrong! He would never ever even try to justify the act. So, soldiers kill people for their nation… does it make the killing itself right? No! It will never be right… Umma and Jeong Jeong had taught him that much; they had taught him that taking somebody's life, inevitable it might be for Lin, is never ever right and that is why good soldier had never celebrated his victory over his fallen foes. A good soldier celebrates his survival and his chance to fight another fight; he never celebrates the deaths of his nemesis.

Lin opened his eyes, he suddenly feel very tired. He couldn't feel them anymore, those two strong familiar presences. That would mean Taka and Iwa had done the second phase of the plan and the enemy's eyes, if there were actually some remaining open nearby, would be focused on Lin. And now, for the final phase: home.

Lin continued his pace, slow but steady, heavy and tired, back to the Imperial Palace while in his mind he was wondering if they would have grilled fish for dinner.

* * *

**Author's note:**

I'm back!!! But, then I'll be leaving again… T_T

Sorry for the long updates, have a lot of things to do at the end of the year, most of them, if not all, are depressing stuffs. As if my life's not depressing enough…

Oh well, what will happen will happen…

Aaaaaaanyway, here's the new chapter and the next chapter will not be up until at least the third week of January. Sorry…

Ninjato is the kind of sword ninja used. A ninjato is straighter and shorter than normal katana and is said to be more concealable than katana and therefore more suitable for assassination.

About war generals don't whistle, my uncle who is a retired policeman once said that military people don't whistle, they hum. It is nothing, of course, but somehow it's stuck in my mind. Hehe... It doesn't mean anything, though.

And about the good soldier and killing part, I hope I don't offend anyone with it. That one particular philosophy was taught to me by a friend of mine who had been in a war at some point in his life. He was a soldier sent to suppress a certain regional armed rebellion in his country during which he engaged in an armed conflict with the separatists. After that mission, he decided to retire saying that he couldn't take the heat. I've never had any remotely similar experience but somehow I understand his decision and can't blame him for that. He told me that during the battle he gave in to his instinct to survive and it enabled him to actually pull the trigger and put down two armed rebels; he might be a soldier sent to suppress the rebellion but when it came down to it, when the rebels were a spit away, he was no longer a soldier, he was simply a man who wished to see tomorrow's sunrise.

To hpswst101, thanks for the review!! Glad you're still reading despite the long updates. And sorry about the long update… And I agree with what you said about people in positions of power and sadly it actually happens in our everyday life although only rarely it results in deaths. In school, for example; teachers sometimes give students who piss them off detention or extra homework. It happened a lot when I was in school. And I belong to the generation who regarded teachers as some kind of god incarnates too. Such a shame… Well, the generation is changing so nothing to worry about. :)

I guess that's all. Merry Christmas, everyone!!! And happy New Year!!!!!


	47. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46 – Legacy, Part 1**

**-Earth Stands Still-  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

"It's been a week", Kang sounded desperate. "We can't just return like this—"

"No!" Jiang replied coldly, strolling fast across the encampment, trying to shake Kang and Admiral Liang who had been pestering him off. "There is no sense in endangering peasants' lives. War is supposed to be fought by soldiers not farmers!"

"Miners", Admiral Liang corrected only to receive a winter cold stare from Jiang.

"So we just go home empty-handed?" Masa asked defiantly.

"General", Liang tried to back Masa up. "The village is just a little south of the Western Earth Base. It has a rich mine and no armies. I don't see why we shouldn't attack it."

"Why _should_ we attack it, then?" Jiang growled back. "Like you said: the village has no armies. It does not pose any threat to our force."

"Because we have failed to capture Fong!" Masa almost screamed at his brother's face; he had always been a little hotheaded, after all. "We need something! _Anything_! The pride of our battalion and our family rely on this: _we cannot return empty-handed_!"

"Tsk! Y—" Jiang lost his temper for a split second, luckily he managed to hold his anger in.

He understood why Kang and Admiral Liang were adamant in their suggestion to attack such a small and defenseless mining village to the south of their base: they needed a victory, no matter how small, to amend for their failure to fulfill their main mission to capture or kill General Fong of the Earth Kingdom. However, the said village possessed no, absolutely no, armed force; it was only a small and rather invisible mining village for Agni's sake. What need did it have of armed force? Furthermore, Jiang was brought up by honorable people like Jeong Jeong and Umma who frowned upon unnecessary fights and the spilling of innocents' blood. The suggestion coming from Admiral Liang, he could still understand; but coming from Kang…? Were they not siblings, raised by the very same parents, receiving the same kind of— _Oh, who am I kidding?_ Jiang rubbed his temple. He suspected, no, he _knew_ that pretty much everyone in his force, even the ever calm and levelheaded Masa, were getting ready for this one last desperate mission to earn enough credit to avoid the Fire Lord's wrath behind his back.

"What can we gain from this?" his calm tone surprised even himself.

"The mining village is strategically located on the Western Shore. If we occupied it, the Expeditionary Force wouldn't have to rely on coal supply from the homeland again", Admiral Liang replied smoothly. As a Navy officer, he knew all too well the dilemma of having to rely on fuel supply from the homeland to empower his warships whenever he was sent to the enemy's territory.

"And the risk?" Jiang asked again, still calm.

"None", Admiral Liang grinned; it seemed like Jiang was almost convinced now. "General Fong was last seen retreating to the southeast, possibly Si Wong Desert; he won't be bothering us. The village itself only has peasant militia."

"And the innocents", Kang said, sounded grim as his stare was fixed dead on Jiang's cold amber eyes. "We… we will have to risk their lives."

"And you're gonna take this risk?" Jiang returned to his cold self.

"Do we have a choice?" Kang replied, not relenting his stare, his own amber eyes burnt with conviction.

"And if I say no?"

"I'll just ride out with Admiral Liang's men."

"What's the difference, then?"

"If you say yes, I'll ride out with you."

"I won't go" Jiang turned back and started walking, only to stop after taking a few steps forward. "Take Masa if he wishes to come along but leave Shi; he doesn't need to do this _again_. Take half of my men, too. The rest of them will stay behind and guard Senlin, just in case if Fong return."

"Thank you…" Kang saluted, and then added a very solemn "…General."

"And Kang", Jiang turned back slightly and cast a hard-to-read expression on his brother, the mixture of worry, disappointment, conviction, and anger. "Finish this quickly."

"Won't be the first time", Kang replied with a dry sarcastic laugh just before he turned around and started to walk away, reminiscing about a certain incident he and his brothers were involved in during a certain battle they had participate in when they were young and naïve.

* * *

The earth…

It is more that just a pile of dirt, a mount of rock.

It is mighty. It is strong, resilient.

It is humble, yet proud.

It is passive, yet demanding.

It is still, yet not subtle.

Inflexible and stable.

Enduring and constant.

So… how can one bends it to one's will?

… by being stronger than the earth! Harder than the rock! Hard rooted like mountain, one must force the earth to bend to one's will!

And so he stomped the ground, piercing his chi into the very earth he was stepping on, using his own power to _force_ a small boulder to jump up from the ground, separating itself from its kin. Taking a deep breath, he altered his chi flow from 'core center-foot' to 'core center-fist' as he punched the solid chuck of rock, sending it flying forward and reducing an earthen doll his father bended earlier into countless tiny pebbles.

"Good!" his father, a large old man with well-toned muscle, balding scalp, long white hair, moustache, and beard, laughed, stroking his long white beard. "Good job, Haru! And it was your first try, too."

"Thanks, Dad", the ten year old boy, Haru, grinned smugly.

"Now", his father rubbed his muscular shoulder before stomping down the earth with his massive and equally muscular foot, causing a mini tremor and five more earthen dolls to materialize from the ground. "Let's see if you can do that in a quick successive attack."

The boy, still grinning, bowed down to his father as a student did to his master; a simple bow with both fists clutched at his sides, the traditional form of Earth Kingdom bow. His father simply nodded, dismissing Haru and allowing the boy to continue with his training. Ten years of age and already showing so much talent; the father stroked his beard sagely as he watched his son getting his stance ready. His opinion might be biased as he was Haru's father but he could already see the warrior inside the boy, he could already see Haru growing up into a powerful earthbender. But, ah, the boy was still ten years old; Haru still had a long way to go. Who knows what would happen when he hit puberty? People tend to change when they hit puberty; Haru's enthusiasm in earthbending might be replaced by young teenager boy's traditional trend of muscle building or curiosity for romance with some local girls or over-eagerness of gaining and maintaining attractive look. Maybe he would grow moustache and become overly conscious about it, like his uncle Hige, the father chuckled, imagining that boy, who was in the middle of sending his second boulder shot, in thick and bushy moustache.

"Wow, earthbending _is_ amazing", a light airy voice almost made the man jumped. He quickly turned around, only to be surprised even more as he found out that it was a mere child who was sneaking up on him; tsk, if his fellow miners knew that he let a child, a young teenager, to be more precise, walk up on him like this, he'd be a laughingstock.

"You know, I've seen earthbending in action many times before", the teen smiled fondly at Haru as he addressed the older man. "But, I'll never get tired of seeing it over and over again."

"You're not a bender then, young man?" the older man asked, raising a brow.

"I'm not an earthbender", the teen shrugged almost cheerfully. _Suspicious_...

"I see", the man smiled at his elusive answer. _He saw it through_, the man stroked his beard calmly, assessing the stranger before him who was dressed in an all black travelling robe. Black; a neutral color, much like white, and is not closely related to any one nation.

The teenager looked just like any other normal travelers; there was nothing odd or suspicious about him aside from his young age, he looked like twelve or thirteen, not much older or bigger than Haru. And, of course, the fact that he had managed to sneak up on a grown-up, veteran master earthbender. And he saw through the man's trick question; he asked if the stranger was a _bender_ not if he was an _earthbender_. The stranger might not be lying about him not being able to earthbend but it was still possible that he was a bender warrior, heck, the stranger was most definitely a bender; he looked like a traveler but he didn't have any weapon. A waterbender maybe or, Prithvi forbids, a _firebender_! Come to think of it, there _were_ disturbing rumors going around about Fire Nation Army in Senlin Village. Let's check… amber eyes! Aha! 90-95% chance the stranger was a firebender.

This could be bad, the man thought, checking his surrounding from the corner of his eyes while trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, not wanting to spook or provoke the most-possibly firebender. He was confident that he could take the teen on himself; he was bigger and more experienced than him. But, his son Haru was around the vicinity and who knows how many other firebenders might be lurking around the bushes. He couldn't take any risk or it'd be his son's life on the line.

"Are you a traveler?" the man tried to start a conversation while trying to find an opening to either subdue the stranger or grab Haru and run.

"Sort of."

_Another elusive answer…_

"Where do you come from?"

"North."

_Man, he's good! North is Senlin, the gateway between Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation; he could be either one of the Fire Nation soldiers or a Senlin villager._

"Any particular reason for you to be here?"

"I'm looking for a man."

_Finally, a straight and specific answer…_

"Relative of yours?"

"No. Just a person I was asked to find. I was told that he lives in this area."

"May I ask his name? I've lived in this village for the past few decades. I know pretty much everyone around here."

"Really?" the teen finally took his eyes of Haru who was struggling with his fourth boulder and shot the older man a hopeful look with his bright amber eyes. "Well, then maybe you could help. The man's name is Tyro. He is supposed to be a chief of the Miner's Guild in this village."

"Tyro, huh?" Tyro arched a brow; what business did a firebender have with him, he had abandoned the life of a warrior long time ago. "What do you want with him?"

"I have to deliver a message", Lin replied smoothly.

"From whom?"

"A very fat and lazy man who lives in the west."

"…I am Tyro", Tyro bowed down to the stranger in a polite Earth Kingdom bow; bowing down with a hand gesture of the right fist adjacent to the upright left palm, signifying boulder (fist) and wall (palm), unrefined and refined earth. It is the more polite and formal form of bow that Earth Kingdom used when addressing strangers or people who earn their utmost respect. To Tyro, the teenager was both a stranger and someone he should show at least a certain degree of respect. The teenager was, after all, a messenger sent by the Dragon of the West, Grand Lotus Iroh.

"And I am Lin, the twenty sixth, son of Jiang and Lian", Lin bowed back in Fire Nation style.

"Lin?" Tyro's eyes widened. Of course, why didn't he realize earlier? The boy was a splitting image of his mother Lian; even his ponytail looked like hers. "Jeong Jeong's grandson, eh?"

"Yes, sir", Lin nodded as Tyro scrutinized his face with a mild curious expression.

"Lucky you don't have his mug" Tyro said finally, stroking his long white beard.

"Yes, as I've been told repeatedly", Lin chuckled, joined by the older man's hearty laughter.

"So", Tyro said after he stopped laughing, sounded serious all of the sudden. "What's the message from the Grandmaster?"

This couldn't be good… whenever Grand Lotus Iroh had to send messenger to their Earth Kingdom brothers, it was always about a large-scale attack that could potentially drag innocent civilian into the bloodbath.

"'Hi'".

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… Yeah…" Tyro drawled. "…Hello to you too. Welcome to the Earth Kingdom. Now, what's the message?"

"I just said it. 'Hi'", Lin replied, shrugging. "He told me to come here so that I can experience the Earth Kingdom culture, actually. He also said that if I ever met you, I should tell you he said 'hi'."

"…"

"…"

"You know what, messenger boy", Tyro stroked his beard again after he understood everything. "Do you handle packages as well? I have a fast reacting laxative tea at home. I'm thinking about sending a pouch to the fat and lazy man as a 'hello, how are you' gift. Could you deliver it to him when you get back?"

"And I assume I should 'forget' to mention that the tea is strictly for medicinal use only, do I assume correctly?"

"Yes, you do."

"Deal", Lin grinned mischievously, offering a hand. As Tyro return his handshake, three more black robed figures emerged from the bushes around them. So, he did have friends lurking around.

"Who are they?" the question came not from Tyro but from Haru who had finished with his training and joined his father and his father's companion.

"This is the grandson of my good friend", Tyro answered as Haru and Lin exchanged polite Earth Kingdom bows. "His name is Lin."

_Luckily, there are quite a few Earth Kingdom who goes by the name Lin_, Tyro thought. Well, Lin means 'forest', so… Earth Kingdom = earth, mountain, grass, tree, forest…

"And these are…" Tyro gestured to the rest of the group, suddenly stopped as he didn't know any of them.

"My family", Lin quickly stuttered, saving the day; he then gestured to Bara. "This lady is my… uh… my _mom_."

A bulging vein appeared on Bara's temple as she forced a smile and returned Haru's bow with a stiff almost robotic bow. Taka barely managed to hold his laughter while Iwa looked as impassive as ever.

"And this is… uh…" Lin gulped, gesturing at Iwa. Well, since Bara was his 'mom', then Iwa should be: "…My _dad_."

Iwa might remain serene as he exchanged bows with Haru but if you look real close, and carefully, you could see that he was clenching his jaws. Bara looked even more mortified than before while Taka was beginning to show symptoms of mild heart attack due to excessive effort on holding his guffaw.

"And this is your brother?" Haru assumed, bowing at Taka.

"Oh, no. He's our manservant", Lin replied airily.

Now, it was Bara who was struggling with laughter while Iwa looked as expressionless as ever and Taka's jaw dropped to the floor.

"And they will be staying with us for awhile", Tyro informed Haru. "So, now, be a good boy and go home, tell your mom that we will be having several guests over."

"Yes, dad", Haru gave the group one final grin before running as fast as his feet could take him across the plain.

Lin waited until Haru was out of the earshot before he turned back to address the ominous black aura that had been giving him a goose bump for awhile now. His 'family plus manservant' were advancing rather threateningly at him.

"Look, guys" Lin let out a timid nervous laugh. "Before you start chasing me around with a knife, let me just say this. I panicked, okay! You all know that I'm a bad liar when I'm panicked."

"Mom…?" Bara growled, pulling out a dagger from her sleeve.

"Well, you're old enough to be one", Lin tried to joke, but all he did was spilling some oil into the bonfire.

"And he's the 'dad'?" Bara hissed, pointing at Iwa.

"You guys do look like a couple", and he threw some firewood into the bonfire, too. As if the fire's not hot enough…

"Manservant, huh?" Taka barked, aiming his bow at Lin.

"Uh… ha… ha ha… um, yeah… about that", Lin took a step backward as the group took a step forward. "Um… Mister Ty—"

He was about to ask Tyro for help but the master earthbender had conveniently disappear. Where did Tyro disappear to? Who knows. All we know is Tyro was there at his home at the evening, welcoming his four guests; the grandson of his old friend who showed up with his parents and family manservant and couldn't explain why he looked so burnt and beat up.

* * *

The Western Earth Base, located on the Western Shore of the Earth Kingdom, the base is the first line of defense against the force of the Fire Nation. It is also reputed to be the strongest military base in the Earth Kingdom; it is spacious and accommodative, able to hold a full battalion of soldiers plus steeds and equipment and there would still be some more space left. To the west is the ocean so the inhabitants wouldn't have to worry about water supply or the danger of fire attack, to the east is a mountain range and thick forest where the army get their supply of firewood and rugged mountain boulders, to the north is the small fishing village of Yu Guo where they get their food supply, and to the south is the mining village of Meitan where they could get their food supply should Yu Guo were occupied by the enemy.

"I am really sorry about this", Kang said stiffly although his feeling was genuine.

"I understand, sir" the village chief of Yu Guo politely replied although his trembling voice indicated that his politeness was the result of his fear.

"I will leave my nephew and his unit to guard this village", Kang said again, waving his hand to the surrounding soldiers, wordlessly ordered them to mount their steeds. "Once we finish this mission, we will return your ostrich-horses and compensate you fairly. I give you my word."

"You are too kind, sir", the chief bowed down hastily.

Kang then walked away from the chief, he walked toward his own steed; an armored huge black komodo rhino that had been faithfully accompanied him in the battlefield for almost two decades. He rode ahead to the south and halted, waiting for the rest of his men to assemble behind him; in this mission to subdue the mining village of Meitan, he had been given the responsibility to lead the charge, much to Admiral Liang's chagrin. Admiral Liang was a higher ranking officer, after all; Jiang's decision to give the Staff of Command to Kang infuriated him, he had almost decided not to participate in this raid. But then again, if he didn't participate in this battle, he wouldn't get any chance to prove his worth, to earn some credit for himself. And, maybe it was better for Kang to lead the attack; that way, if anything went wrong, the blame would fall on him and, by extension, to Jiang. If Admiral Liang led the attack and something went wrong, the blame would fall entirely on Liang and it was very unlikely that Jiang would share the responsibility; Jiang had been adamantly against the plan from the very start.

Yep, it was for the best, Liang thought as he rode ahead on his borrowed ostrich-horse, leading his own men who were also riding ostrich horses. For this battle, they would divide themselves in three attack waves: the first wave; heavy cavalry led by Commander Kang would tear open the villages gate and barricades and their line of defense, the second wave; light cavalry led by Admiral Liang would follow the heavy cavalry unit closely from behind as they entered the village and aimed for the village's storehouse, the village square, and other key locations, and the third wave; the infantry led by Commander Masa would engage the village's militia in close quarter combat.

And considering that the village had no formal armies whatsoever, because it had always been relying on the protection from the no-longer-impregnable Western Earth Base, the villages had never had the need to keep soldiers in the village. But, ever since the fall of the Western Earth Base two years ago, they had started training their own soldiers. And now, their number had grown into 100 informal militia, most of them were miners of the village's Miner's Guild led by Master Tyro, the guild master and the militia's combat and earthbending instructor.

Admiral Liang knew this Tyro; he feared the man and couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine as he was being reminded of the last time he saw Tyro. It was more than ten years ago when Liang and his fleet were sent as an escort of the late General Shu on his expedition to the Si Wong Desert. As if the expedition hadn't been perilous enough, they had had to suffer numerous raids led by a ragtag army consisted of the Earth Kingdom regulars, peasant militia, and the sandbender warriors led by the then Captain Tyro of the Ba Sing Se's 5th Vanguard Unit. In spite of being heavily outnumbered, Tyro guerilla tactic had managed to deal a severe blow on General Shu's Expeditionary Force; their force had been reduced to just a little more than half the original size in just a month they spent in the desert. Furthermore, during one monumental night raid, Liang himself had had the misfortune of experiencing Tyro's might personally in a fight. Liang was knocked out cold and sustained several broken ribs; he was lucky, from the official report gathered shortly after the raid, it was revealed that two generals, almost twenty mid-ranking officers, and Agni knows how many soldiers had fallen victim to Tyro's ferocity, and it was not including the many others who were killed by Tyro's men. To Liang, Tyro was a very frightening individual.

Would they be alright? Admiral Liang couldn't help but ask himself. Hmph! Of course they would. They had two master firebenders of the illustrious Celestial Dragon style. They would be just fine. Yes, they would be just fine, he convinced himself again as he spurred his steed forward, following his commander's lead. His commander, Commander Kang of the Lin Family, son of the legendary Jeong Jeong and Umma; against this man, even the ferocious Tyro would have to play it safe. They would be just fine. Onto the victory! All for the Glorious Fire Nation.

* * *

Tyro's house, it was big. He was the Miner's Guild master, after all; he earned a lot living that way yet he kept a little. Most of his income went back to the community: purchasing better mining equipment, carts and beasts of burden, paying for medical treatment of his sick or injured miners, etc. The one who actually provided for his family was his wife and the small store she owned. His big house? It was build for him by his grateful subordinates shortly after Haru was born; they reasoned that Tyro's old hut was too small and unaccommodating for a family with a young child. The truth is they just simply wanted to repay Tyro's kindness in whatever small way they could as Tyro had stubbornly refused the money or goods he was offered.

Tyro himself liked his house; it was warm and cozy. On the first floor was his wife's grocery store, the family lived on the upper floor, one main room for him and his wife, a room for Haru, and four empty room he used as guest rooms. When he asked why the villagers built so many rooms, they playfully nudged him and said that it was just in case if Haru ever wanted a new brother or sister. Tyro couldn't help but smile whenever he remembered this. Haru himself was already a handful, another child? Out of question.

He sat on the hill behind his house, quite a distance away from his residence, looking down on the humble yet heartwarming establishment, wondering what would become of it if the report of the Fire Nation soldiers marching south was proven true. His village was not used to war, unfortunately. The scout report he received was the true testament to that, it was extremely crude: the Fire Nation soldiers were marching south. That was all; there was no additional report about the exact number of the Fire Nation army or if they were bringing siege machines, any report about their supply line, or even something as simple as who the army leader was. But, Tyro couldn't blame the scout. Meitan Village had never been involved in any battle and therefore its inhabitants were not used to the ways of warfare.

Tyro raised his hand in time, catching whatever it was that came flying from his right, intending to land ungracefully on the side of his head. Rather squishy and warm, he curiously brought it in front of his face and examined it; a bit squishy and slightly steaming thing wrapped in wide banana leave was as big as his hand, 'Omashu's Porky Pork Bun' was written on the wrapping with black ink.

"Plenty more where that came from", a husky snappish voice came from the direction where the pork bun flew. Tyro turned and smiled at the man, wrapped in ragged brown travelling robe, his once tidy top-knot had been reduced to a saggy bird nest-like flock of white hair, his amber eyes, however, were as flaming and alive as they had ever been. As the man got closer to him, Tyro bowed down humbly.

"It is great to see you safe and well, Master Jeong Jeong", Tyro greeted politely.

"You as well", Jeong Jeong returned his bow Fire Nation style.

"Have your trip been productive, Master?" Tyro inquired, receiving a bag full of steaming Omashu's Porky Pork Bun Jeong Jeong shoved into his hands.

"Yes", Jeong Jeong replied, wincing a bit at the 'master' part; technically, he _was_ the higher ranking member of their brotherhood but he would rather not be addressed with such formality. "Speaking of which, Bumi actually sent some of his personal collection of winter cloaks along for your wife and little Haru but I burnt them. Trust me, it is for the best."

"Yes, I believe so", Tyro shivered, genuinely grateful that Jeong Jeong had burnt whatever it was that Bumi sent for his wife and son. King Bumi of Omashu was infamous among his colleagues in the Order of White Lotus for his unusually wicked sense of fashion.

"Oh, there he is", Jeong Jeong's tone lit up as he noticed down below and about ten yards away from their spot, Haru running across the house's backyard and started a series of physical warm-ups. "He should be ten already, am I right?"

"Yes, you are", Tyro confirmed, smiling fondly at his son who was about to begin his after dinner training.

"And earthbending already", Jeong Jeong chuckled lightly as he watched Haru assumed his deep-rooted central stance as started punching a rectangular boulder Tyro had set on that spot weeks ago fro training purpose. "Impressive."

"Not as impressive as your very own protégé, Master", Tyro replied, smirking. "From what I heard, he has already achieved a great honor when he was Haru's age."

"Hmm, yes", Jeong Jeong shrugged; of course, when Lin was Haru's age, he had completed his Ceremony of Ascension. "He still has much to learn though."

"I beg to differ, Master", Tyro rebutted, earning him a raised eyebrow from his superior. "From what I understand, Young Master Lin is already an accomplished warrior despite his young age. I can truly understand why the Grand Lotus is showing so much interest in him."

"Tell me about it", Jeong Jeong sighed. "Sometimes it's hard to see who the grandfather is: me or that old gasbag."

"Somehow, I can understand _that_, too", Tyro laughed. Iroh was notorious for being fond of children. Tyro once was given a task to escort the Grand Lotus who were traveling incognito in the Earth Kingdom territory to attend an important secret meeting with delegation from their Water Tribe brothers. The one-week journey was extended to three weeks because Iroh was sidetracked easily and often by crying children he met and pacified on the street, playing children he played with on various villages, troubled children he helped and guided along the way. Iroh struck Tyro as an indiscriminate fatherly figure to all children of all nationality; Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation colonials, mixed ancestry, it didn't matter to Iroh, he showed equal kindness and compassion to them all.

"I have news about the north", Jeong Jeong's voice snapped Tyro of his thought. "The Army is moving south fast. They have reached Yu Guo when I noticed them. By my calculation, they will arrive by midnight, dawn at the latest."

"I see", Tyro sighed, he really hoped it wouldn't come to this. "I have 100 militia, 83 of them are earthbenders. It is not including five of my former lieutenants from the army."

"You're dead", Jeong Jeong replied grimly. "The Fire Nation has 1000 soldiers with them led by my second son. My third son and Admiral Liang with him. They have heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and armed infantry."

Hearing this, Tyro fell silent. 100 inexperienced militia led by an old ex-soldier against 1000 heavily armed trained soldiers led by young and skilled warriors such as Kang and Masa, both were trained since childhood by the legendary Jeong Jeong. What should he do now? Surrender and let the enemy burn down his village and force his fellow villagers, his friends and families, into the life of slavery? Or fight and die a hero?

_The earth…_

_It is more that just a pile of dirt, a mount of rock._

_It is mighty. It is strong, resilient._

_It is humble, yet proud._

_It is passive, yet demanding._

_It is still, yet not subtle._

_Inflexible and stable._

_Enduring and constant._

He was Tyro, an Earth Kingdom warrior. He was more than just an old miner in his mid-fifties, more than just an ex-soldier of the Earth Kingdom, more than just a shadow of his former glory.

He was a warrior; he was mighty, he was strong, he was resilient.

He was a veteran; humble, yet proud.

He possessed tremendous ability to bend the earth; the earth that is passive, yet demanding.

He was an earthbender; he bent the element of stillness, but not subtlety.

He had the power to move a mountain; though a mountain is inflexible and stable.

Most of all, he was a son of the Earth Kingdom; and sons of Earth Kingdom are like the Mother Earth itself, enduring and constant.

Tyro was an earthbender, he was a son of the Earth Kingdom, a proud son of his Mother Earth. He would not back down and let his fellow sons of the Earth Kingdom get killed and enslaved by the Fire Nation. He would fight! He could fight!

But, what about the others…?

They were outnumbered ten to one, outarmed probably a hundred to one. Tyro would fight and stop the incoming enemy all by himself if he could, but he couldn't. He was powerful, yes, but not _that_ powerful. The only earthbender he knew who could possibly stop an army of 1000 all by himself was probably the mad king of Omashu, the venerable King Bumi.

"By the way", Jeong Jeong said again, snapping Tyro of his thought yet again. "Bumi and Pakku have been informed. They would be ready anytime."

"I shall see to it that this information reach the messenger", Tyro replied, bowing slightly. Speaking of messenger… "By the way, Master Jeong Jeong, do you know who the Grand Lotus sent?"

"Knowing him, some guy from the Secret Royal Squad", Jeong Jeong scratched his chin. "He may not look like it but he has preference for subtlety; it only makes him more formidable. His opponents would be expecting him knocking on the front gate but instead find an arrow came flying from the back door."

"You are almost correct", Tyro smiled mysteriously; and speaking of perfect timing, a silhouette emerged from the house and walked towards Haru who was still training. "You might find this messenger boy familiar."

"Oh, dear Agni…" Jeong Jeong sighed at the sight of Haru halting his boulder punching to talk to Lin.

* * *

**Author's note:**

1. Meitan (煤炭) means 'coal'. Pretty self-explanatory.

2. Hige (ひげ) is Japanese for 'moustache' or 'beard'. Same as above :)

3. Prithvi is the Hindu goddess of earth, much like Agni who is the Hindu god of fire.

Uh-oh… Tyro has a prophetic vision of Haru's moustache. Haha… Sorry for moustached Haru's fans out there. Haru is actually one of my favorite characters. That is until his return in the Day of the Black Sun with his weird looking moustache. T_T

About core center, I'm not sure what to call it in English but in Chinese, it is called Dantian and it is regarded in many practices as the core of chi manipulation. There are actually three core centers: the upper core located in the spot between the eyebrow and is often called the third eye (Combustion Man, everyone… :p), the middle core located in the heart, and the lower core located approximately 3 inched below the navel. I'm not sure about the upper and middle cores but in most martial art that utilizes chi manipulation, the practitioners usually pay more attention to the lower core than the other two. Not sure why, though… because nobody wants to teach meeeeeee!!! *sniff* T_T

And hope you like Lin's new 'family'… :)

In this fic, Tyro is a member of the Order of White Lotus because Bumi once said that all 'old people' know each other and Tyro is old and cool. And I also make him a lower ranking member than Jeong Jeong as a pun to his name because his name in English means 'rookie' or' beginner'.

To hpswst101, thanks for the review!!! And I gotta say, you are absolutely right about your opinion of our own personal death. It reminds me of the time when my lecturer at college asked everyone in the class to write down their own epitaph and read it out loud to the rest of the class. Everybody else wrote things like 'Here lies a husband/ wife/ son/ daughter etc.' or 'a beloved father/ mother/ husband/ wife…', I wrote: 'He's dead, people! Move on already!'

I remember the whole class laughed at my epitaph, including the lecturer, and when she asked me why I chose this unconventional epitaph, I said it was because I would be dead by the time of my funeral. And although I have never been dead before myself, I am pretty sure that once a person died, he could no longer feel anything. People could cry a river over my death but I'm sure as hell I won't even know about it. So, why waste time crying and doing depressing stuff? Use my death as a reason to get together, toss my body or whatever left of me in a hole, close the hole, and throw a party for all I care; I won't even know it. So, no use crying over my death, right :)

However, tradition dictates that we _must_ mourn the death of those who are close to us; it is respectful to do so. I will mourn people's death, of course. But, when I die, I think I'll give people permission to have a party instead of funeral. Haha

Well, death and cry vs. no cry; a classic case of 'two sides of the same coin' in my opinion.

I guess that's all for now. Have a nice day, everyone!!!


	48. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47 – Legacy, Part 2**

**-Earth Stands Alone-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

"What're you doing?"

"Oh, hey, Lin", Haru greeted the older boy, pausing in the middle of his rock-punching training. "Just some after dinner training."

"I see", Lin nodded, claiming a seat on the nearest mound of rock, watching Haru continuing his training. The training itself, with Haru punching the solid rock, might look bizarre to many benders of other elements, but not Lin. Lin had studied basic theories of the other two elements; he was excused from learning about airbending because there were practically no airbenders around anymore.

In firebending, conventional firebending that is, the key is breath control. Breath flows with chi, to control breath is to control chi. Chi is guided to the core center where the inner fire resides, burning inside each and every firebender for as long as he lives. Chi will absorb the fire and be guided out from the body via hands or feet by performing specific punching or kicking movements; hence the inner-fire-mixed-chi comes out as fire, real fire. In a sense, firebending is all about mastering one's body: mastering breath control, training martial prowess, meditating to familiarize a firebender with his inner fire. Firebending is but a set of organized form or movement.

In waterbending, the key is unity. Unity with the element. Chi manipulation is used to form a bridge, a connection, between a bender and the element. Once the connection is formed, a bender will be able to bend the element to his will. Respect for the element is imperative, because water is the element of change, it has its own whim, its own will, and a waterbender must obey the water's will in order to form the connection. The bending process itself works pretty much like a puppeteer playing a marionette doll; the waterbender as the puppeteer, the string symbolizes the connection, and the water acts like a doll. Waterbending is all about the union of a bender and the element, how to become one with the water.

But, earthbending… it is all about respect. Not a bender's respect to the element, it's the other way around: the bender forcing the element to respect him! Earth is a proud element, stubborn and enduring; to gain its respect, a bender must be even more stubborn and enduring. That's why it is both stupid and futile to even try to best an earthbender in a contest of strength. Earthbending is all about being _more_ than the element; stronger, harder, more stubborn, more enduring. The way of earthbending is somewhat akin to the master-slave relationship; it's all about power, about showing who the boss is. And that's why the rock punching: it is to train the bender's gut to deal with the pain and terror of having to face the solidness of earth full frontal.

"Doesn't it hurt?" Lin asked, perplexed at the younger kid's physical endurance.

"At first, yeah", Haru replied, not pausing his rock punching routine. "After a while you get used to it. You're not an earthbender, aren't you?"

"Nope", Lin shrugged.

"You're using any weapons?"

"I know a little about swords."

"Cool", Haru grinned. "But why aren't you wearing one. You're travelling from the north, right? Is it dangerous?"

"My Dad's an earthbender", Lin replied, feeling a mild goose bumps as he muttered the 'my dad' part. "And also our manservant, Taka, is also our bodyguard. He's a pretty good shot with his bow. So, I don't really have to—"

"Haaaaaarrrruuuuuuu!!!"

Both boys turned to the direction of the voice; a girl, about Haru's age was running towards them waving her hand enthusiastically. She was a cheerful looking girl with a pair of kind and happy brown eyes, fair complexion like Haru and many other Earth Kingdom people, unlike Lin and his paler Fire Nation skin tone, a face so sweet and innocent it can only belong to those who had never seen the horror of this war-torn era, adorned by a flock of long smooth hair, also brown like her eyes, tied into a long braid that flipped around as she bounced across the yard towards Haru and Lin. She was wearing a set of Earth Kingdom traditional cloth that Lin had only ever seen in pictures during his study; it was called Hanbok and native to the Southern part of Earth Kingdom where the forests were thicker and the land was richer, most inhabitants of that area were mostly herb gatherer or practicing herbal medicine. That was why the clothing, in Earth Kingdom customs, is synonymous with doctors and herb sellers.

"Oh, hey, So—"

"Yooooouuuung Maaaaaaassssteerr!"

"_Aw, crap!"_ Lin's muscle instinctively tensed up, he felt this sudden chill down his spine and was convinced that his forehead suddenly flooded with cold sweat. But, as he saw Taka running towards them from the same direction as that girl, almost running her, who was twice smaller and ten times slower, over in his eagerness to reach his 'young master', Lin felt warmth found its way back to his system although his heart still beat harder and faster than normal human hearts should. For a second there, he thought that someone form his father's battalion was calling out to him; he still hadn't got used to Taka calling him 'young master'.

"Young master!" Taka bowed politely to Lin, but proceeded to impolitely dragged his young master away by his collar, muttering something about Master Tyro and important matter that they must discuss, leaving Haru and his friend eyeing them suspiciously as they disappeared from their sight.

"So…" the girl began. "That was your friend?"

"Something like that", Haru shrugged.

* * *

"Ready the men!!"

"Fasten your saddle!!! Make sure you won't fall!!!"

"Ready your weapon!!"

Orders were shouted, carried out; Kang didn't even need to give them his usual tiger-hawk stare to keep them going. It would seem that the defeat followed by inactivity they had suffered so far had affected the men just like how it affected him. Just imagine it: you got your butt kicked and when you are eager to kick back, your boss tells you not to. Imagine the frustration. Which is why this mission would be so much more dangerous; not for them, of course, but for the enemy, for the miners.

"Commander", a soldier saluted at Kang who was sitting mightily on his steed. "The preparation is almost complete. The riders are ready to go, sir."

"Got it", Kang murmured. "You… I've never seen you before."

"Captain Chey of Admiral Liang's Western Fleet, 4th Demolition Team, sir."

"Chey… as in Captain Chey, the leader of the advanced demolition team under Lin, the Twenty Sixth in the Western Shore campaign?"

"Yes, sir."

"Hmm…" Kang scanned the soldier from head to toe; a young man at his early twenties, already a highly decorated captain thanks to the campaign a couple of years before. Ah… the good old days, the days when they fight for a cause. It had only been two years since that fateful day he was surrounded by countless of Earth Kingdom soldiers, fighting for dear life as he and his brothers tried to lure and keep that snake Fong away so that his nephew Lin could seize the snake's lair. Heh, too bad that kid was no longer with the battalion. Jiang didn't give any satisfying explanation for Lin's 'discharge' when Kang confronted him with it; Jiang only said that Lin had been caught 'smuggling purple nightshade in his saddlebag during the last campaign'. Purple nightshade, eh? So, the assassin's thing had finally got a hold on the boy; dear Agni, save him…

"My nephew spoke highly of you", he choked, suppressing a mixture of sadness and anger he usually had whenever he was being reminded of the unfortunate turn of event that had befallen his nephew.

"Really?" Chey chuckled. "How is the young master doing? I was half expecting to run into him in this campaign."

"He was discharged", Kang said bluntly, ignoring Chey's shocked expression. "Something about smuggling dangerous substance."

"W-wha…" Chey stuttered. "But, surely Young Master Lin wouldn't—"

"Doesn't matter now", Kang interrupted. "It's time, we'll ride out ahead. Tell Masa we'll be waiting at the rendezvous point."

And he rode ahead, leading his 200 heavily armored komodo rhino cavalry unit ahead, followed closely by 100 light ostrich-horse cavalry unit under Admiral Liang. Masa and the rest of the army would have to catch up with them after they finished their preparation.

"It's going to be a long night", Kang sighed to himself. When did everything go wrong…? The Lin Family, his family, used to be such a— a _great_ family when it comes to military stuff; they produced the best firebending warriors, nearly all males in their clan was or had been in the military, his father was a member of the Council… but now, they had been prohibited to wield their family emblem, their pride and joy, in the battlefield, his nephew Lin was ensnared by this nasty assassin business with the Imperial Family, his brother Jiang had been reduced from a proud general who was always ready to fight the good fight to a government lapdog, and his father was a fugitive if not already died a criminal.

Oh, Lin… his nephew that he loved like his own son. He watched the kid grow, he had been there as an uncle when the kid craved for his father, he was there to support the kid when he needed to prove his mettle in the Western Shore Campaign… but, a royal assassin!? What a grim future await the young man.

"We'll win this for you, kid", Kang swore.

* * *

"They're moving", Jeong Jeong murmured to himself, watching the cavalry unit from the top of a bushy tree where he concealed himself, amazed by the sheer number of the Fire Nation soldiers. "And it's not even half the force."

A hundred ragtag peasant militia against a thousand well-trained soldiers, led by the infamous Kang of the 212th Battalion, no less. Judging from their force divisions, it would seem that Kang and Liang would spearhead the attack, breaking the defense, and proceed to capture the village, leaving Masa to take care of whatever left of Tyro's militia after they broke through; a perfect strategy to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Well, it would usually turn out that way if the leader of this attack was not _the_ Kang of the Lin Family. Of all Jeong Jeong's son, Jiang, Kang and Masa were considered to be the most talented of their generation. Jiang was easily distinguished from his siblings by his uncanny talent in firebending and the art of war, a trait that he passed on to his son. Kang might lack talent but his enormous raw power was really something to behold; ever since a child he was already able to summon fire that possessed the size and intensity on par of those that belonged to a firebending master. Masa might not posses his older brothers' talent of raw power but his calculative and smart approaches in his firebending training enabled him to master high level techniques in matter of days; in fact, among his siblings, Masa was actually the first who achieved the rank of master.

Talent, power, and wits…

Now, let's talk about power. Kang's rather barbaric fighting style influenced more than just his firebending and temper, it also influenced his strategy style: clench your fist as hard as you can, and strike hard! It was clearly noticeable by his preference of the all-out-offense Green Dragon gambit in Pai Sho and the rather bluntly aggressive tactic he employed during his short service in Jeong Jeong's fleet. The first blow from Kang equals the main blow from any other warriors.

It would seem that the first blow was all it needed to obliterate Tyro's militia completely…

And now, Jeong Jeong was conflicted: he wanted to help Tyro but Grand Lotus Iroh had strictly forbidden him from taking any actions that might influence the outcome of the war, not even a little, unless he received a direct order from Iroh himself. Whatever the Grand Lotus was thinking, Jeong Jeong could never know; Iroh was infamous for his secretive nature even among those closest to him. But, Iroh was also known for always having a reason for doing things; he must have something in mind.

So… no interference. Got it…

"But, it doesn't mean I can't watch the fight", Jeong Jeong muttered to himself. Maybe he could stay close to the village, just to make sure that Tyro's family would be unharmed, at least.

* * *

"And my uncle Kang would lead the attack?" Lin said, advancing his phoenix tile to intercept Tyro's tortoise tile.

"Yes."

"And they outnumber you ten to one?" Lin said reaffirmed, watching as Tyro sent a tiger tile to aid his tortoise.

"Yes."

"Then, I'm sorry to say this, but if you know what's best for you, you should surrender" Lin sighed, sending his sparrow and completing his Red Phoenix gambit. A check mate for Tyro.

"I can't just surrender without a fight", Tyro sighed back, admitting his defeat.

"Then let me tell you this: Commander Kang will use the cavalry to land his first blow, the infantry will follow after to intercept what's left of your defense line as he and his cavalry march into the village", Lin stared deeply into the older man's widened green eyes.

"How could you possibly know this?"

"It's my Uncle Kang we're talking about: it's the only tactic he knows, trust me", Lin yawned, midnight was approaching. "The question is: _can you hold against his first wave?_ The way I see it, the enemy's infantry won't have much to do once my uncle's finished with his first strike."

"I know that", Tyro wiped his brow.

For a complete minute they sat in silence; Lin staring deeply at Tyro as if sympathizing with him, and Tyro stared blankly at the starry night sky outside the window, contemplating the imminent battle. It was Tyro who broke the silence...

"Look, boy", he cleared his throat, avoiding the young teenager's eye completely. "I can't possible ask you to turn your sword against your own countrymen—"

"Good", Lin nodded. "Cause I won't help even if you beg me to."

"I understand", Tyro replied solemnly. He was expecting a rejection anyway…

"If that is all, I must leave right away", Lin got up from his seat. "I am here without my father's knowledge. If my uncle found out that I was even here, I'd be dead meat once I got home."

"I see" Tyro sighed again.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Master Tyro", Lin bowed, Fire Nation style. Actually, he wanted to help, heck, he _must_ help; his conscience and upbringing compelled him to help those in need. But, Iroh had told him to trust his instinct, to trust, as weird as it sound, his _dream_. And his dream instructed him to _not_ interfere with the upcoming battle. Oh, and Iroh also said that Lin must avoid any fight and stay under the radar to avoid any suspicions.

"Before you go", Tyro also got up. "There is a message I want you to send to the Grand Lotus."

Lin merely bowed, Tyro continued.

"The message is:

_Though the Earth is rumbling,_

_and Water is boiling._

_Should he come knocking,_

_we will be receiving._"

"The Grand lotus will understand what it means", Tyro added.

"I will deliver this message, you can count on it", Lin humbly replied. He then walked slowly towards the door, but as his hand grasp the handle, he turned to Tyro and bowed again. "Good luck in your battle, Master Tyro."

And he went out, straight out of the house, trying to walk as quietly as he could; it was midnight and the Tyro's family must be asleep right now. And as he reached the front yard, he was greeted by his companions, all ready to depart.

"You're not really going to just leave, right?" Bara asked as they reached the village's outskirt. Lin abruptly stopped and turned to Bara, smirking.

"I love how you know me", he cracked his knuckles. "So guys, here's the plan…"

* * *

One hour after midnight…

"Man up the defense!!" Tyro shouted over his 'army'; a ragtag group of miners who were busy running around to their position, carrying some improvised weapons like mining tools or sharpened bamboo, only less than half were carrying real weapons. Well, at least, they had enough time to arm the other half with hastily made bows and arrows, although Tyro doubted that they even knew how to use them properly; they didn't have enough time to train them in archery.

He could see the sea of torches a mile away; Kang didn't even try to conceal his presence. So, the information he got from Jeong Jeong and Lin's prediction were true after all: Kang really did outnumber him and was planning to overwhelm him with sheer number. This could be bad…

"Have the civilians been secured?" Tyro stopped a nearby militia.

"Yes", the man answered. "We have them holed up in the village's meeting hall, just as we planned."

"Good", Tyro nodded. "Get to your post."

And as the man ran to the wall, to join the archer squad, Tyro once again threw his gaze at the sea of torches in front of him, praying for a miracle.

* * *

"Good thing I brought a disguise, huh?" Lin said, tightening his armband.

"Yeah", Bara replied dryly, helping Lin with his breastplate. "Lucky you didn't get caught bringing this in your backpack."

"Oh, come on", Lin snickered. "This is legally mine. Soldiers are allowed to keep their uniform, right?"

"Are you sure you're going to do this?" Bara asked.

"Yep", Lin replied firmly, donning on his masked helmet. "I just need to infiltrate Senlin and mess around a bit. That's all, nothing big."

"No, I mean helping these people", Bara said, fixing the younger boy's mask now, making sure he could pass as a regular Fire Nation soldier. "They're our enemy, you know."

"I know, I know", a muffled voice came from behind the mask. "But, I can't just leave them like this."

"General Iroh strictly forbade you from engaging in any fights", Bara reminded him.

"You don't tell, I don't tell, he won't know anything", Lin shrugged. "And besides, do you really want me to just walk away from them."

Bara opened her mouth to answer but she closed it again. While it was true that she wanted to finish this mission without any incidents and she was sure as hell she didn't want to get in Commander Kang's bad side, she also couldn't stand watching the innocents got caught up in the violence of war. Luckily, the arrival of Iwa saved her from having to answer Lin's question.

"The trap's been laid", Iwa, aka Rocky, reported. "Taka has taken his position in the village."

"Good", Lin nodded at him. He then turned to Bara. "Look, I've said it before and I'll say it again: if any of you feel conflicted about going against the Fire Lord—"

"We're with you", Rocky cut in, full of conviction. "You risked you neck against the Fire Lord to save our families, how could we not do the same for you?"

"What about you, Bara?" Lin asked the female firebender directly.

"Do I have a choice?" she sighed. "If something were to happen to you, General Iroh would kill me, you dummy."

"Alrighty then", Lin smirked. "Take your positions now and remember: don't do anything reckless."

"… Somehow it sounds weird coming from the guy who's about to get into General Jiang's nerve."

* * *

"Tyro will never make it", Jeong Jeong muttered to himself as he watched over Kang's force from behind a rock on a hill nearby. He had some plans forming up in his head: he could simply parade in front of the soldiers; imagine it, a fugitive with ten thousand gold pieces bounty on his head showing up in front of an entire army, who wouldn't be tempted to loop his head off? That way, he could lure the Fire nation soldiers away from Tyro. But, it wouldn't be too good for him, he would have to face his own countrymen, not to mention his sons; oh yeah, he knew that the hotheaded Kang would be the first to jump the gun.

Or, he could show up in Senlin. But, still he would have to fight his fellow Fire Nation _and_ a son of his own; clearly Jiang would still hold a grudge against him considering that his parting gifts for his eldest son were the rambling of a lunatic old man, a sudden responsibility as the head of the family, and a punch in the gut. Not a good idea…

Or, wait… or, he could kidnap Jiang, take Jiang a hostage. He could use Jiang as a bargaining chip to stop the assault on Meitan village. But, kidnapping General Jiang was as easy as kidnapping an angry fire-spitting dragon; and truth to be told, you'd have a higher survival rate going for the latter option. Almost impossible, but worth a try. As his father and master, Jeong Jeong knew pretty much everything about his eldest son, like the fact that Jiang slept like a log, a volcano could erupt and he would still be snoring like a pig-cow. Well, it _was_ midnight, Jiang could be sleeping right about now. And if he wasn't… well, then Jeong Jeong would just have to fight. Knowing Jiang, he would request a formal Agni Kai. At least that way, nobody else would get into the crossfire and it could possibly sent chaos in Senlin village, might set some houses on fire, which is good because that way, Kang could notice the smoke and think that Senlin was under attack and withdraw at once. Yep, sounds like a plan.

And like a shadow, the Deserter dashed as quietly as the night up north, to the village of Senlin. Little did he know that his plan would set more than just a few houses on fire.

* * *

**Author's note:**

So sorry for the long update. My computer crashed, I lost my data and all…

But, everything seems to be fine now, I hope.

Hanbok is traditional Korean dress. Guess who the little girl is… :)

And behold!!!! The return of Captain Chey!!!!

Something's big gonna happen next that includes almost every characters in this particular event, hopefully I can update it before the end of this week. Hopefully… pray for me… T_T

To hpswst101, so sorry about the long update and sure, you can use the epitaph as your own, you can even recommend it to everyone if you like. And it goes for everyone out there, feel free to use the epitaph. Graveyard doesn't really have to be a grim place, in my opinion. Some comedy in a graveyard would be a nice change.

And it's not that I like the names to be obvious, I just ran out of ideas. Hehe

Well, enjoy the chapter!! God bless you all.


	49. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48 – Legacy, Part 3**

**-Earth Stands Strong-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

Full moon…

Oh, wait! The moon's a bit hazy at one side; an almost full moon that is. Whatever…

The moon…

Kinda funny how much comfort it could bring to Jiang of the Lin Family, one of the most powerful firebender of this generation considering that the moon is the source of power for the element that is the opposite of his. Ah… what a quiet night, a perfect time for a cup of—

"Ouch!" the general cried. "#!$!!! Damn it!! #$%!!!"

Ten or so seconds of cursing later…

"Damn!" he cursed, picking up the shards of the very hot teapot he was holding earlier. "How the hell does the old man do it; he could practically put his hand on fire without getting burnt."

That's a firebending master for ya! Apparently, there are various levels of mastery as well…

This was one of the times when Jiang regretted not taking his father's lesson of the art of tea ceremony properly. The man whose father was a master of preparing tea couldn't even lift the teapot out of the fire without breaking something, like the pot. Breaking… the pot…

…uh-oh…

"GUARDS!!!!"

"Yes, sir!!" a guard literally flew into the tent in less than a second, approximately 0.5 second, a new record among the 212th Battalion.

"Any report from Commander Kang, yet?" Jiang asked, trembling as he struggled to keep his cool.

"No, sir", the guard replied. The last report was that Kang had reached Yu Guo and preparing for the march south.

"I see", Jiang gulped, wiping his cold-sweating face. "Inform me once the follow up comes in."

"Yes, sir!" the guard saluted and exited the tent, leaving the pale-faced general alone in his tent.

It had been over twelve hours since Kang let the army south. The first and only update he sent was six hours ago, at nightfall, reporting that Kang had reached Yu Guo, his decision to leave Shi in Yu Guo, as promised, under the pretense of guarding their rear, and the details of his battle plan. Fool… Jiang snickered weakly: a good officer _never_ reveals his battle plan in detail via written messages, what if the message fall into the enemy's hand? That was why Jiang had never let Kang command his own army before; Kang was a great warrior and a charismatic leader but he knew little about the more subtle art of war.

And this only made Jiang more nervous. He was pacing his tent back and forth now, haunted by the shattered teapot. In the Fire Nation, there is a superstition that says that breaking a teapot or a cup is a sign of bad omen, usually the sign that someone close to that person will die, if not already dead; either way, that someone will die. And since this was the first time Kang would fight a battle without Jiang at his side, it is understandable if Jiang somehow related the shattered teapot with the superstition and the superstition with the demise of his brother…

Not good, not good… he massaged his temple, trying to calm down. He could feel his heart beating faster and harder than it normally did, almost hearing it thumping against his metal chestplate. The last time his heart beat this hard was the time when he was proposing Lian; but of course the worst would still be the time when he broke Umma's favorite teapot when he was eight… arrrgh, teapot!

_Stop thinking about the teapot!_ He screamed inside his head, feeling a sudden urged to bump his head on something solid. And since the tent was made of canvas and leather, and anything solid was necessary for keeping the tent up, he punched his head instead.

"Ow…" he regretted that foolish act, nursing his throbbing forehead; he forgot to remove his metal-plated gloves. Damn! He had never felt this anxious before in his life; the prospect of something bad had befallen his brother dwarfed the anxiety he felt when he was expecting a 'no' from Lian or even the corporal punishment from Umma.

"GUARDS!!!"

"Yes, sir!!!" the same guard flew in, the performance was a little bit worse: 0.7 seconds, the old record still stands…

"Bring me some tea!"

* * *

There are not many things more nerve-wrecking than the silence before the battle. Though Tyro was a veteran soldier, he could still not ignore the anxiety he always felt when the enemy was within sight, ready for physical battle, already engaging in psychological war. And if a veteran like Tyro was feeling the impact of the menacing sight of the enormous size of the enemy forces, imagine what it would do to his less experienced and poorly armed militia. These people were miners, not soldiers; some of them were benders, sure, but they had never used their bending art on anything but coal or stones. The only living things that they had ever used their earthbending on probably had fangs and claws and were beasts. Now, they had to try their hands on fire-throwing, well-equipped and –trained Fire Nation humans.

Though Tyro didn't expect them to win, he'd rather kill himself than to even considering surrender. No Earth Kingdom man or woman would! Earth kingdom is a proud nation, her people are proud people; 'surrender' is not even a word in their book.

"Archers, ready!!!!" Tyro yelled out as soon as the Fire Nation sounded their wardrums.

The wardrums kept roaring in a series of quick successive strikes for almost one full minute that felt like an hour to the defenders, one long agonizing hour that lasted for a minute. Sweat drops here, trembling there, knocking knees in various places, and— was that a whimper?

And it stopped… the wardrums stopped.

… only to begin again. This time a series of two strikes-one second pause-two strikes; his experience of fighting the Fire Nation for almost two decades told Tyro that this was the signal to strike. Finally, it begun…

The very earth shook as the cavalry unit spearheaded the charge: 200 iron-clad komodo rhino stomped their way forward and all Tyro could do was watching as his archers' arrow either bounced harmlessly from the beasts' or the riders' heavy armor or missed the targets completely. Not that Tyro had much hope for the archer unit; they were poorly equipped to begin with. Their bows and arrows were locally and hastily made by people who were more used to work with stones and metal materials rather than wood and strings. I mean, not even half of those arrows even flew straight!

Not to mention that the archers were poorly trained; they didn't even got to release their second shot before the komodo rhino unit ran through the crude wooden barricades they had installed in front of their wooden fort a few days earlier. Now, only a few meters between the first line of defense, led by one of Tyro's trusted lieutenants back in his military days, and the sharp pointy horns of the Fire Nation beasts. But…

"Wha—", a rider exclaimed right before his steed's front legs sunk into the very earth and he was thrown forward off his saddle. To his right and left, many of his comrades received the same treatment from Mother Earth; behind him, the rest of the unit collided with the riders in front of them. Kang, who was leading the charge, which means he was at the very front, sank shoulder deep in the mud-filled two meter long moat, his steed was almost completely drowned in the mud.

A moat!

But, how did it get there, thought Tyro. He didn't remember digging a moat in front of the fort, which, as he finally realized now, he should have done. He was too preoccupied with arming and training his men that he forgot something as rudimentary as this. So, how did the moat get there? Two meters wide, long enough to cover the main road, and deep enough to sink a fully-grown battle komodo rhinos; it would take weeks to dig that kind of moat. Unless…

"Earthbender", Tyro sighed, ignoring the newly-energized cheer of his men as they watched the Fire Nation cavalry in chaos. Heh, of course, he smiled. _You truly are Umma's grandson_…

And not far away from the battlefield, two pairs of eyes, one pair amber and the other green, were watching the whole event from the top of a hill.

"It still amazes me what a powerful bender you are", Bara shook her head in disbelief.

"…Thanks", Rocky replied, stiff as usual.

"It really took only an hour to build that moat? Wow…"

"…Wasn't easy"

"You… don't get complimented a lot for your bending, do you?"

"*sigh*… I'm an earthbending Fire Nation, go figure."

"Sorry."

* * *

"What the hell is this!" roared Kang angrily as he overcame his shock. He strugglingly climbed his way back up, ignoring his men who were either trying to do the same or their steeds rampaging wildly in the mud. Took quite a while for him to get up on his feet, covered with mud from head to toe; few of his men were still trapped inside the moat, fewer still had freed themselves from it. He wasn't expecting this. He had thought that this mission would be a breeze; just a mining village, that was all. He thought he could just charge in, stampeding over their futile resistance, and seize the village in matter of minutes, he had thought that the village only had peasant militia, nothing more. He wasn't expecting traps, let alone a wide deep moat cleverly concealed with sand awaiting him. He got careless.

" Men! Regroup!!!" he roared again, losing his cool. Behind him, what was left of his cavalry was trying to form a triangle formation, the formation they had used earlier; only about fifty of them left while, fortunately, the light cavalry under Admiral Liang, who were charging behind them, was mostly unharmed. Judging from the recent turn of event, heavy cavalry was no longer an option and it infuriated him. His whole battle plan was utterly disrupted by one god forsaken moat.

"Heavy cavalry, dismount!!!" he yelled, ignoring the fact that some of the mud on his face dripped into his mouth as if the earth itself was mocking him. "Light cavalry, lead the charge!!!"

"_Great!!"_ Admiral Liang smirked. He got to lead the charge! This meant he had an opportunity to distinguish himself in this battle. Hah! So, here's the idea: since he would lead the charge, he would have more probability to enter the village before any of those Lin clansmen, who would be charging on foot, could. That way, he could capture the village's key places first, thus ensuring their victory. Well, of course, he would still have to defeat Tyro should he run into him. Even though Tyro still terrified him, Admiral Liang was sure that this time, he could stand toe-to-toe with Tyro. Why? It's simple: Tyro had retired long ago while there had not been a day gone by without Liang polishing his martial skill ever since the disastrous expedition in Si Wong desert.

_Now_, he thought as his light cavalry easily jumped over the moat, using the drowned komodo rhinos as stepping stones, _it's my time to shine_.

At least, if he did gain victory in this battle, he might avoid the Fire Lord's wrath.

* * *

"Here they come!!!" Tyro shouted to his men as the Fire Nation army reorganized themselves and sent their light cavalry to reassume their charge. "Brace yourself!!!!"

His words, however, offered little protection against the impact. About 100 leather-clad ostrich horses collided with his first line of defense; men thrown away by the ostrich horses, the ostrich horses impaled by the men's sharpened bamboos or the wooden barricades, riders thrown down, barricades dislodged. It was a bloody chaos which soon turned into a brawl. The cavalry was effectively stooped by the defender but not without a cost. The initial impact must have injured, or taken down, half of the men. Tyro initially thought that he could maybe reserve the rest of his men to face the enemy's infantry but it was apparent that if he didn't deploy the rest of his men, the first line would be completely overrun in no time.

"Now!! ATTACK!!!" he roared, running ahead, his men following closely behind him, into the brawl.

* * *

Just a little farther… just a little father…

It would usually take twelve hours to travel between Senlin and Meitan, if you are not in a hurry and stop by Yu Guo to replenish your water and food supply, of course. There is a forest path that linked the two villages together and there is the Western Earth Base in between so the road is relatively comfortable and safe. But, Jeong Jeong didn't have twelve hours and he certainly didn't have time to stop by Yu Guo. He must reach Senlin quickly, just a few more miles; just a little farther…

He could already see the tiny light from afar, the light of Senlin village, probably the Fire Nation camp's bonfire. Just a little more…

Not a second passed by during his long marathon from Meitan with him not convincing himself that he was doing the right thing. He must get to Senlin as soon as possible and find a way to cause mayhem bad enough for Kang to retreat back to the north. He had a few plan in mind: setting the encampment on fire, setting the village on fire if that wasn't enough, and if setting things on fire didn't do the trick, he would have to face Jiang and capture him somehow and how he hoped things wouldn't need to go that far. He might be Jiang's father but even he didn't think that he could defeat his eldest son in combat without taking a few blows himself, not anymore… not in this condition…

Ever since the incident in Gaipan more than three years ago, he had never firebent again. Funny… firebending, the thing that he was so proud of, the thing that distinguished his family, his heritage, from others had become something so… so _disgusting_! He could still feel the warmth of the cooked flesh of his foes on his skin, smell the stench of their burnt skin, hear their writhe as they succumbed to the dark embrace of the spirits, see their lifeless faces whenever he closed his eyes. This was exactly why he had repeated the lesson regarding emotion in firebending over and over again: _never to let it affect you_.

And yet, he had made such a basic mistake, causing a damage of an epic proportion. It would seem that when a master makes a rookie mistake, it is much much worse than a rookie making a master mistake. Jeong Jeong was the living proof of that.

Stomping sound!

He quickly leaped into a nearby bush, trying not to heave despite his lungs' protest. He carefully peeked, trying to find what or who it was that made the sound. A rider, a messenger it seemed, was galloping fast on an ostrich horse. Must be an update from the south. Perfect!

A change of plan: find out what the message is, _then_ decide the next course of action. If the situation didn't improve, execute the initial plan. It Kang somehow failed, retreat back to the forest.

And so he waited. Jeong Jeong waited until the rider was out of sight. Once the rider were no longer visible and he was sure he could come out without anybody noticing, he leaped out of his hiding spot and started to dash again toward the Fire Nation encampment. No time to waste!

* * *

"Hold the line!!!" Tyro roared, punching a boulder and taking down a ranked officer, by the look of his uniform, in a flash. "Don't let them enter the village!!!"

They were almost overrun…

Tyro had succeeded in stopping the enemy's first wave but as soon as the Fire Nation infantries joined in, the table was turned against him. He was helplessly outnumbered by them. But, even so, Tyro couldn't help but be proud of his men; though faced with an overwhelming disadvantage, none of them desert, all of them stood their ground bravely. And this was their first time in real battle, too. They didn't let Tyro down and Tyro intended to return the courtesy.

"EEAAAARRRRGGGHH!!!!" he yelled, summoning earth columns that sent two enemies flying backward, an earth wall to defend against a fire blast that was coming from his left. He punched the earth wall, shattering it into many smaller stones, and sent them flying to the firebender who, in turn, summoned a giant fire wall that engulfed Tyro's attack. Fire wall… not a common technique among Fire Nation soldiers, thought Tyro. And, as expected, the fire wall dissipated, revealing a bulky soldier, wearing the usual Fire Nation top-knot and a muddy armor of a high ranking officer. Judging from his beardy young face, the man was in his early thirties; his amber eyes were as sharps as daggers, fixed on Tyro.

"I know you", the Fire Nation officer said calmly, though a bulging vein on his temple and his cracking fists betrayed his calm demeanor. "You are Tyro, the guild master of the miner's guild. Also, a former Vanguard of Ba Sing Se. It is an honor to meet a legend such as you in battle."

"And you are?" Tyro asked, not relenting his stance, genuinely surprised that there were still people among the enemy's rank who recognize him.

"Commander Kang of the 212th Battalion", Kang replied, still trying to be calm.

"212th Battalion, eh?" Tyro retorted; _so this is Master Jeong Jeong's second son_. "Why do you attack us? We are a just a simple mining village, there is no sense in wasting lives for a village that doesn't even have its own army."

"I don't expect you to understand", Kang clenched his jaw. "But, it has to be done. En garde!"

Kang leaped forward with both fists flaming, Tyro stood his ground with a boulder ready to be launched. The two elements clashed fiercely; the fire shattered the earth, the earth resisted the fire. It didn't take long before the Fire Nation army pushed the militia back and completely overrun the fort. Tyro, launching earth blocks at Kang, stomped the earth with all his might, connecting his chi with the ground, softening it. Spinning his arms inward like propellers twice, he amass the softened dust on the ground, and with the third spin, he thrust both palms to the sky, erupting his chi on his feet, causing the dust to flew up, forming a cloud of dust. The militia understood this and abandoned their fights; they raced back to the village with Tyro and a few more experienced fighter at the rear, making sure that no one was left behind, until they too ran back into the village with the slightly disoriented Fire Nation soldiers hot on their tails.

It took some effort but all of them managed to enter their village gate and shut it behind, earning them a moment's rest. And on the tree at the outskirt of the village, a man in black robe was watching as the militia was pushed back into the village. A quiver of arrow strapped on his back, a bow and arrow ready on his hands, his amber eyes pierced the dark night as he keenly watched the battle.

"Shouldn't have come back, Master Tyro", Taka sighed, pulling his bowstring. "Shouldn't have come back."

* * *

"Ready!!!" Kang yelled, standing behind a line of firebenders who were readying a punching stance. "Fire!!"

And the firebenders punch a stream of fire on the metal-enforced-wooden gate, leaving nothing but some scorched mark. This was taking too long!

"Move your butts!!" Kang shoved them aside, panting. Argh! How he wanted to get his hands on Tyro for this; first, the moat, then the dust cloud, and then this thick gate. The dawn was already breaking and Kang would want nothing else but to finish this battle quickly. But first, they'd have to get into the village first. The more time they spent trying to blast the door open, the more time Tyro and his men had to rest and reorganize themselves.

Sadly, Kang didn't bring any siege machine; he didn't think he would need it. The soldiers' fire blasts didn't seem to work, so there was only one solution for this: he'd have to blast then door open himself. He knew a few techniques that could work on the door but he didn't want to use any of that if he didn't have to. They were all the higher level techniques of the 36 advanced forms and, although powerful, they were rather difficult, not to mention tiring, to execute. Oh, to hell with that!

_This is what you get for messing with a master of the Lin Family's Celestial Dragon style master_. He jumped and landed on a perfect wide stance, both hands in front of his torso, palms a few centimeters apart and facing each other with the gap between them filled with raging fireball. As he pumped more chi into it, the fire flickered more vigorously, hotter and thicker. One of the most dangerous techniques of the 36 advanced form, Form 27: the Flaming Sun of the North Shore. It gained its name because of the spherical shape and the intensity so hot it resembled a mini sun. Legend has it that Yi, the Great, invented this technique when he was surrounded by pirates while patrolling near the North Shore of the Earth Kingdom and used it to sink a battleship with one shot.

"Stand back!" Kang barked; his men obeyed without a second thought. Those who had fought alongside Kang of the Lin Family before knew that it would be most prudent to stand back when he said so considering the damage his firebending could bring upon his enemy; they didn't want to get caught up in it too.

As soon as the space was cleared, Kang let out a long calm breath, stabilizing his raging chi. He dragged his left leg behind, his right knee bent forward, securing a safe and strong footing, and in a split second thrust both palms forward, launching the kuai ball-sized fire forward. The fireball splattered on the gate like a paint ball and stated to burn or melt down any part of the gate it came in contact with. Like a burning magma, the fire burnt through the door rapidly and in less than five second, a hole was formed, big enough for Kang to smirk arrogantly at Tyro's disbelief face on the other side. And just a few seconds later, the whole gate was completely obliterated, leaving only a pile of burning ash and lumps of melted metal. Kang walked into the village victoriously, already tasting his victory, while Tyro and his militia backed down though their stances still ready and weapons pointed at the invaders. Behind them, the rest of the village seemed to be petrified. It seemed like Tyro was organizing an evacuation right before the gate was torn down.

"Master Tyro", Kang broke the silence, holding out a hand as a signal for his men to stand down. "You are fighting a losing battle. Why don't you just accept the inevitable and surrender. I promise you, I will not lay hand on the innocents."

"Shut the hell up, Fire Nation!!" it came out from one of the villagers' mouths. "This is our village and you have no right invading our land!!!"

"Yeah!!! Get out of our home, Fire Nation!!!" another villager spat on the ground. This incited a rather unfavorable remark from the whole village. Tyro and his men, though, remained still.

"Villagers of Meitan!" Kang raised his voice over all the shouting. "Listen to what I have to—"

"GET OUT OF OUR VILLAGE!!!" the villagers were getting bolder now. They began to move toward the Fire Nation soldiers, not caring for their own safety, causing Tyro to ordered his men to keep them at bay and Kang to shout a verbal order to stand down to his own men.

"GET OUT!!!"

"People!" Tyro tried to make his voice heard. "Calm down!! Calm down, all of you!! CALM DOWN!!!"

"Villagers of—NO!!! NO!!!" Kang tried to reason again, the last part was directed to some of his men who raised their weapons, ready to strike. "NO!!! STAND DOWN!!! STAND DOWN!!!"

"People, please!!!" Tyro shouted, trying and failing to get the crowd under control. His men had already formed a barricade to halt the villagers' advance.

"Stand down!!" Kang yelled. "We do not harm the peasants!!! If any of you raised your arms against the innocents, I'd take you down myself!!"

However, the yelling and shouting at each other, which grew into the villagers throwing stones at the Fire Nation soldiers, made it impossible for both Tyro and Kang to contain the chaos. And the inevitable happened… Some of the villagers broke through the militia barricade, at the same time some of the Fire Nation soldiers felt the need to defend themselves and, with Admiral Liang at the front, charged at the villagers. With only ten meters apart from each other, and Tyro and Kang between them, there was nobody but the two leaders who could stop this madness.

Tyro stomped the earth and raised his fists forward; causing a line of earth column to propelled themselves from the ground, halting the soldiers' march, some hitting the soldiers square on the chest. Not that Tyro felt sorry about that…

At the same time, Kang did the same with his firebending. He performed a leg sweep, sending a wide stream of fire at the villagers' feet, hoping he could stop their advance by scaring them with the fire. However, Kang had always had problem with controlling his own power and the fire he sent were bigger and stronger that he had intended it to be. The fire actually swept across the crowd, even hitting the elderly, women, and children who were standing at the sidelines all along, burning those who were unfortunate enough not to wear something to cover their legs. The yelling and shouting earlier getting into his nerve didn't help Kang at toning down his fire, either. And no word could describe how sorry he felt…

"No… I… I-I didn't mean to…" he felt cold beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he tried to explain the situation to the enraged crowd. A split second later, a brawl really broke out. Nobody knows who started it but Kang's fire did catalyze the fight.

—SWOOSH—

Kang didn't see it…

He was busy fending off the angry mob without trying to hurt them more than he had already done. He didn't see it at all. He just saw the flash of green and felt the stinging pain even before he realized what that flash was. He didn't see it coming.

He didn't see it until it was all too late…

* * *

"Mommy… I'm hungry", sobbed the brown haired girl. His usual cheerful face was gone, replaced by the tear-streaked weak expression. Her mother was carrying her in her arms, walking as fast as she could through the mountain path to the east. Her father followed behind along with some villagers.

"I know, honey, I know", her mother, too, sobbed. "Try to hold on, okay. We'll reach your uncle's village shortly. Try to hold on until then, okay…"

It took an hour for the Fire Nation to subdue the rioting villagers, one hellish hour for the villagers of Meitan. Things could have gone a bit smoother if only the Fire Nation army leader hadn't been shot by an arrow! The little girl, sobbing as quietly as possible so that she wouldn't disturbed her mother, recounted everything in her mind, even if it was only as a distraction from the pain of the acid in her stomach. After the Fire Nation gained control over the village, the other leader of the army, Admiral… something, declared that the village was now under the occupation of the Fire Throne and Mister Tyro and all members of his militia and every earthbenders would be detained. The villagers were also ordered to stay in house arrest until further notice. Thankfully, the other leader, Commander _Maka_ or _Mana_, or something like that, challenged that order. And then they argued and the Commander challenged the Admiral into an _Akni_ _Kai_, whatever that is, and the Admiral refused and gave up on his order, and the villagers were allowed to leave if they wished to but Mister Tyro and his men would still be arrested. That means Haru would have to stay too…

"Mommy?" she sobbed. "What will happen to Haru and Mister Tyro, mommy?"

"I don't know, honey", her mother sighed. "But, don't worry about them. Mister Tyro is plenty strong and so is Haru. They will be alright."

"Really, Mommy?"

"Yes, really", her mother said, as if reassuring herself. "Try to get some rest. You won't feel hungry if you're asleep."

"Okay", the little girl nodded and closed her wet brown eyes. "Good night, mommy."

"Good night…" the mother held a sob. "…Song."

* * *

"Sir!" the very same guard that Jiang yelled for an hour ago flew back in. This time, since Jiang didn't demand his presence with his battlecry, he took his sweet time entering the tent although it was still sudden enough to make Jiang spit his tea.

"Yes?" the general replied, wiping the tea on his mouth.

"A messenger has arrived from Commander Masa, sir."

"Masa?" Jiang sighed, turning pale faster than the soldier's entrance. Masa…? Why Masa? Didn't he give the command to Kang, not Masa…? "Let him in!"

"Yes, sir", the guard saluted. He exited the tent, only to enter again a second later, this time with another soldier, fully dressed in standard uniform, including the helmet and face mask. The newcomer saluted at Jiang who impatiently dismissed it with a wave and demanded the message.

"The message from Commander Masa is as following", the messenger recited. "The village of Meitan has been successfully occupied."

"Oh, thank Agni", Jiang sighed, relief of this good news.

"There's more, sir", the messenger continued. "Commander Masa had also made a few requests."

"What are the requests?"

"First: medicine and food supply for both our soldiers and the villagers. The damage we sustained in this battle is beyond the initial prediction, sir. And also, during the battle, some innocent villagers got caught up in the crossfire."

"Consider it done."

"Second: we have taken some prisoners. As a sign of good faith, Commander Masa has requested that we let them see their families for a few hours before transporting them to a prison facility, sir."

"I'll see what I can do", Jiang replied, a bit intrigued by this second request. "Any more requests?"

"The last one, sir", the solider drawled, sounded unsure and afraid at the same time. "The third request is… is that a military funeral must be prepared for… for Left Commander Kang, sir."

And, like the teapot, Jiang's world just shattered…

* * *

"That damn fool…" Jeong Jeong cursed under his breath, blending with the shadow just outside Jiang's tent. Though morning had already came, the cloudy sky above offered little sunlight and much shadow for Jeong Jeong to hide in. And he just so happen to hide just outside Jiang's tent when he overheard the news of Kang's death.

"LEAVE!!!"

_Of course_, Jeong Jeong thought calmly, while trying to suppress his own desire to either break down crying or scream to the heavens for the lost of his son. Jiang would do that, ordering people to leave him alone, building an invisible wall around him. He had always preferred to suffer alone in silence, that man. Such a fool…

_Oh, Kang… what a mess you've gotten yourself into this time…_ Jeong Jeong closed his eyes, unsuccessfully trying to fight back his tears. Why him... why Kang…? He had always been careless, hot-tempered, tend to act without thinking first, sure. But, to actually get killed while trying to conquer a tiny village like Meitan; not even the meathead Kang should have committed this grave mistake… oh, Kang…

"You!" a voice snapped the Deserter of his silent grieving. Wiping his tears as quickly and subtly as possible, he turned to the direction of the voice.

A soldier in a full armor complete with the masked helmet had spotted him. Without any further ado, the said soldier leaped into the air and spin-kicked a rather powerful fire arc at him. Overcome with surprise, Jeong Jeong barely managed to roll sideways, evading the fire that soared to the tent behind him, blasting the tent off the ground. A soldier firebending shouldn't be this advanced, thought Jeong Jeong right before he summoned a fire wall to defend against the soldier's barrage of fire jabs. Argh! He couldn't believe that a simply soldier forced him to firebend again for the first time in three years.

As the fire wall subsided, he made a run for it, dodging fire blasts from the soldier who gave a chase. The commotion had no doubt attracted the attention of the other soldiers. So, here's the new plan: get away, take care of anyone who followed, grief, and then demand and explanation from Tyro. _Yep, sounds like a plan!

* * *

_

**Author's note:**

Yep, the little girl is Song, the girl who helped Iroh with his tea poisoning in 'The Cave of Two Lovers'. And no, she didn't get scarred by Kang. She'd get her scar soon in the next chapter (I guess).

Kang died??? NO!!!! Who killed him????

And, by the way, Tyro thinks that Lin is truly Umma's grandson because both of them are rebellious.

To hpswst101, thanks for the review. By the way, if it's a good book you're looking for, you might want to try Paolo Coelho's books. Some say his books are inspirational, although to me his books are mostly entertaining. :)

_The Alchemist_ is pretty good, though my personal favorite is_ Like the Flowing River_. The book's never failed to lift me up when I'm feeling down.

Oh, and about airbending, I actually have some thoughts about it although we gotta wait for Aang to appear in this fic first.:)

Hope everything will improve for you

Have a nice day!!


	50. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49 – Legacy, Part 4**

**-Earth Stands Proud-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

"It's morning already", Lin muttered to himself, spurring his stole—ehem, 'borrowed' ostrich horse more ferociously. Knowing his Uncle Kang, the attack should have already started as soon as his army fully assembled in front of Meitan and the moat he asked Rocky to build would _not_ stop him from continuing with the assault. So, how long should it have been? Four, five hours at most… Five hours of onslaught; even a veteran like Tyro could not possible stand his ground that long.

But, who knows. Like old man Iroh always said: nothing's impossible…

"Come on… come on…" he encouraged his steed, whispering through his mask. He could already see the outline of the Fire Nation camp a mile away in front of him, bright as the rising sun showered the red and black tents in its glorious ray of light.

_What's that_! He tensed up, but he didn't slow down. There was a rustling sound, like something just dived into the bushes nearby. Well, he did hear some rumors about the forest being a habitat of a herd of platypus-bears; all the reason not to stop.

"Come on, buddy", he spurred his steed. "If it's really a platypus-bear, I'll use you as a decoy and make a run for it, just saying."

As if the ostrich horse understood the warning, it neighed and sped up ahead.

"There you go", Lin smirked, satisfied. "I'm just kidding, by the way."

* * *

"I'm going", Bara got up but Rocky caught her wrist.

"We were told not to interfere if possible", he said calmly, taking his eyes of the sight below the hill: Tyro summoning a cloud of dust as his men retreated back into the village.

"How can you stay so calm when you're watching this people get slaughtered like this!"

"They're not getting slaughtered", Rocky got up to, still grabbing on Bara's wrist. "They'd take some beatings, yes, but they won't lose that easily."

"How can you be so sure—"

"Just trust me", Rocky cut in, his tone sharp, sounded almost like a command. "Or, at least, trust Lin."

Relenting, Bara sighed deeply before grudgingly plopped down on the patch of grass. Gazing at the sight of Tyro and his men sealing the village's front gate, she prayed to the heaven above for Lin not to miscalculate and her brother, Taka, not to miss with his arrow.

* * *

"Wonderfully done", Iroh exclaimed from his seat at the side of a training ground, praising his nephew's performance with his dual saber. He remembered the blade as the very one he claimed from a fallen Earth Kingdom general he defeated during his 600 Days Siege of Ba Sing Se; a middle aged swordsman whose skill with swords could only be matched by Fire Nation's Master Piandao, in Iroh's opinion, and also the first non-earthbender general Iroh had ever encountered during his lifetime as a general.

"Thank you, Uncle", Zuko bowed down graciously, though in his mind he was jumping up and down gleefully; it had been only a few days since his Uncle Iroh got out from his self-imposed 'house arrest', after all. "Master Jian Wu has been teaching me well."

"Jian Wu, eh?" Iroh raised a brow, the Imperial Sword Instructor who had served under him during several campaigns, also a personal friend of Jiang of the Lin Family. "I see the young Dragon has some connections in this palace."

"How'd you know Lin was the one who introduced me to Master Jian Wu?"

"Just guessing", Iroh replied airily, no need to muddle the young prince's head with this little detail.

"So, Uncle", Zuko started again, scratching his head nervously. "I've been meaning to ask you, um… C-could you teach me some firebending?"

"Should we not wait for your instructor to come back from his vocation, Prince Zuko?" Iroh smiled.

"Yeah, well, about that", Zuko sounded a little furious. "Well, we don't know when he'll be coming back and Azula got Dad to—"

Zuko fell silent all the sudden, looking away from Iroh as his face got redder; by anger or sadness, nobody knows.

"Lin doesn't strike me as someone who would take his job as an instructor lightly", Iroh said, taking a sip from his teacup. "Didn't he give you some self-training routine as homework?"

"He did", Zuko replied flatly. "But, they're just some stupid meditation exercise and physical training."

"Physical training?" Iroh sounded intrigued; rather unusual for firebenders to undergo physical training for muscle building before teenage years, some say it might disturb the young benders' physical growth. "What kind of physical training?"

"Running laps, somersaults, cotton jumping; you know, that kind of stuffs."

"Oh…" Iroh stroked his chin, he didn't really like what Lin probably had in mind when he applied this training regimen; while those aren't physical training for muscle building, they are some very effective exercises for building stamina, balance, and aerial awareness, the two things that are simply essential for assassins. "Does Azula get the same homework?"

"Well, yeah… the meditation part", Zuko drawled, thinking hard. "You see, I kinda asked Lin to give me extra training but he just gave me some physical exercise instead of firebending lessons, that's all. Would you believe that!"

"And did he say why?" Iroh chuckled at the eleven-year-old's childish tantrum.

"He just said that it would be useful in later years."

"Then, he was probably right", Iroh nodded sagely, catching the hidden meaning in the 'later years' part. He did tell Lin to trust in his instinct, in his dream; maybe he should start trusting the kid too.

"But, I want to learn more firebending", Zuko huffed.

"Hmm… firebending, eh?" Iroh narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing his nephew from head to toe. He got up and walked toward the young prince calmly, stopping at about two meters in front of him. "In that case, Prince Zuko, let's see just how good your firebending is."

Zuko's face lit up; he clumsily threw his saber away, causing Iroh to wince at the sight, before hastily bowed and assumed his stance. _I gotta teach him to treat his weapons with respect_, Iroh mentally noted as he parried Zuko's flaming fist.

* * *

"Hurry!"

"Remain calm!! Everybody, remain calm!!"

"Don't push!! Women, children, and elderly first!!"

From a top of tree at the village outskirt, Taka could hear the panic screaming of women, crying of the scared children, the shouting of the adults as they organized the hasty evacuation. His bow ready at hand, an arrow notched on it, ready to claim a life. Darn it! He didn't really think it would turn out this way. So, when Lin said that Commander Kang was a _very_ stubborn man, he really meant it.

"Eeeeeekkk!!!" a woman screamed suddenly, almost making Taka lost his balance on the tree branch. It took only a few second for the archer to find out the cause of that horrific scream and it almost made him scream himself. Taka had never seen anything like it before…

The gate was… _melting_. Is that even possible?

The spot right in the middle of the gate, it looked as if someone just threw a bucket of hot magma on it from the outside and the magma was burning through the wooden door and melting the metal enforcement. What was it? Some sort of new incendiary weapon? Firebending? Just what the hell was it?

As he mulled over any possible cause for something so horrific, Tyro raced to the front gate, followed by his militia. It took only several minutes for the whole gate to be burnt down completely, leaving nothing but a mound of ash and molten metal. Kang, who paced into the village calmly, sparked another guess inside Taka's head, the most probable one so far: the Celestial Dragon Firebending Style. He had heard that the Lin Family's secret art of firebending was probably one of the most devastating bending styles in the whole Four Nations but to be able to bend fire that way, to actually alter the structure of fire from a flaming gas into a burning liquid… only the Spirits know just how far the extent of the Celestial Dragon style.

If was as if time was frozen as Tyro stood and his men stood there, shielding the rest of the village, who had also stopped moving, from the Fire Nation army who flooded into the village's front gate and stationed themselves behind their mighty leader. Taka could vaguely hear the commander's voice from afar, he just got to talk very briefly it seemed before the whole village exploded into angry shouts and yells. Must have said something rude, Taka shrugged.

The Fire Nation soldiers retaliated, as they agitatedly tried to jump at the villagers, only to be stopped by Kang and some of his men who tried to keep a healthy distance between them and the villagers. The villagers seemed to share similar feeling; they had also tried to charge at the soldiers but Tyro and his militia prevented them from doing so. For a few minutes the yelling between the two sides went on until some villagers thought they would risk escalating the ruckus into an all-out fight by throwing stones at the soldiers. And it broke out, the two fronts charged at each other at the same time.

However, before any of them took more than five steps forward, Tyro and Kang simultaneously released their bending: Tyro stomped the earth and punched forward, causing a line of earth column to shoot out from the ground at the Fire Nation soldiers, hitting some of them, which is quite alright in Taka's opinion, and Kang who sent a stream of fire with a leg sweep, halting the villagers advance and burnt some of them in the process, which, in Taka's opinion was a really big mistake!

And his biggest fear came true: Tyro and Kang could no longer contain the crowd. Disregarding their leaders, the villagers and the Fire Nation soldiers charged at each other, a brawl ensued soon after. Taka, thinking that the time had come for him to take action, pulled his bowstring and aimed the twenty inches of pointy death at a certain firebender. He only got one-shot, and for the love of Agni, he could _not_ afford to miss.

And as Kang threw a villager who leaped at him away, thus providing Taka with a clear shot at his front, the Suzaku agent released his arrow.

"Hope you're really okay with this, kiddo", Taka murmured as Masa screamed and raced to Kang's side, who slumped down lifelessly on his knees.

* * *

"What did you say?" Jiang tried to remain calm but his face that turned to pale then to red at alarming speed, betrayed his tone.

"A… military funeral for Commander Kang, sir", Lin repeated softly, imitating a sympathizing tone.

"…Kang…" Jiang staggered as his knees gave up on him. He slumped down on a nearby chair, his expression was those of horror and disbelief. "Kang… impossible… it can't be. What should I tell Bing and… no… it can't be…"

"Sir?" Lin tried not to feel sorry for his father; after all, it was just a hoax, a necessary evil in his part. "What are your orders, sir?"

"…leave…" Jiang muttered, almost inaudible.

"Sir?"

"LEAVE!!!!" fire spat out from his nostrils as Jiang screamed blood at the 'messenger' and the other guard. Not wanting to put their own lives in grave danger, Lin and the other soldier hurriedly exited the tent, leaving the general with his grief.

"Man, I've never seen him this mad since I don't know when", the guard sighed in relief, heaving. "But, Commander Kang… how's that even possible."

"I know", Lin concurred, nodding. "I didn't believe it myself when I received the order."

"Yeah, I mean, it's just a small village, right? How could Commander Kang be killed attacking a small village", the soldier pondered, but then he frowned suspiciously at Lin, staring at him as if trying to see through the masked helmet of the 'messenger'. "Are you sure this message is authentic? Were you there at the battlefield? Did you see it yourself?"

"I received the order from Commander Masa himself", Lin replied as calmly as possible, no need to raise any unwanted suspicion now…

"Huh… well, if you said so", the guard replied, still sounded doubtful. "Well, in any case, you should take some rest. The journey from the south must be exhausting."

"Yes, sir", Lin saluted. As the guard saluted back, he walked as inconspicuously as possible away from the spot, ignoring the sound of something slammed to the ground from inside Jiang's tent. Sounded like Jiang was throwing a tantrum over the loss of his brother. _I am so not looking forward to apologizing later_, Lin thought as he dragged his feet towards the supply tent. Just like the guard said, the journey was exhausting for him. Riding eight hours non-stop from Meitan was no small matter; his back was still sore, his butt still numb, and his head fuzzy due to lack of sleep. Oh… and the cold windy and slightly cloudy morning tempted him to just lie down on a nearby patch of grass and snore the day away. But, that would be unwise…

As he paced across the quiet encampment, Lin ran through his to-do list in his head: go to the supply tent and spread the rumor of Kang's death, probably get something to eat, and then leave quietly. Yep, got it…

_Who's that?_ Lin suddenly stopped, there was someone in the shadow, lurking behind Jiang's tent. Lin squinted his eyes at the dark silhouette; it was somewhat hard to see inside the mask. He could vaguely make up the physical features of the man: average height, dark robe, he was crouching low. His hair was as white as snow (an old man, it seemed), skin pale like average Fire Nation people (probably a spy sent by Ozai). Lin, through his connection in the Imperial Palace's underworld, knew that Fire Lord Ozai had sent numerous spies to infiltrate various military units and the houses of aristocrats to keep an eye on them and after everything that his family went through, there was definitely some spies among Jiang's 212th Battalion.

As the cloud cleared up, the sun showered down its generous golden light onto the encampment. And, as if by fate, a ray of light fell onto Jiang's tent, lighting up the surrounding area, providing better lighting at the spot where the old man was crouching.

"What the—"

It had been more than three years since that fateful stormy night at Gaipan, three years since he last saw the old man. His usually tidy top-knot had been reduced to a bird nest-like shaggy bush of white, his black catfish-like moustache had turned white, just like his small pointy goatee, his eye pouches black and baggy as if he was sleep-deprived, but his unusually sharp amber eyes still retained their sagacious light from behind the two vertical scars that run across the right one, although they seemed… burdened somehow, tired and old. It had been three years, three long years, since they last seen each other; three long years since Lin laughed with him, talked to him, taught and guided by him. Three long years, but, even so, he could never not recognize him.

"You!" Lin called out, the intensity of his voice shocked even himself, he had never thought that his trembling voice could carry so much hate, so much anger. Trembling on the inside and fuming on the outside, Lin subconsciously clenched his fists, gathering his chi all around them. The shadow jerked but didn't turn around, he made a movement that Lin discerned as touching his face with his hand but still didn't turn around. _What the hell?! He won't even look at me!_

Lin still didn't know what possessed him at that moment, what overcame his senses, clouded his clear judgment with such intense anger. Was he really angry at the man? Why…? All he knew for sure was that man really was his cat-faced, cowardly bastard of a grandfather who had abandoned him, his family, his entire nation without something as a simple goodbye; nobody else that old who could evade his fire arc that fast.

Lin's quick fire arc soared through the air and hit a tent behind Jeong Jeong, knocking it and burning it down. Without a further delay, Lin sent a series of quick fire jabs, only to have his attack engulfed by the old man's fire wall. As the fire wall subsided, Jeong Jeong was no longer there. But, sadly, assassin's training had done Lin tremendously good at sharpening his five senses; a grassy stomping sound from his right was all he needed to track down the… the traitor! He dashed to his right without hesitation and, aha! There he was, running like a coward he was toward the forest. All around them, soldiers who heard the commotion started to pop up to see what was going on but Lin didn't care. Summoning a fireball, molding it, and sending it as a fire blast without halting his pace, he swore that he would take down the old man himself and blast anyone who dared to interfere.

* * *

Sometimes, he hated his job. Sometimes, he wished he was born a bender instead, or at least born with the talent on weaponry— oh, oh! Better yet: born with the talent as a hand-to-hand combatant. Or at least born with a bigger body, like his idiot distant cousin who just happened to be born with both big build and the gift of firebending.

But, instead, he was born a thin, not-so-tall, not-so-big son of a fireworks makers. Ever since he was a little child black powders, explosives, and other kind of incendiary substances had been his playthings. Sure, he had some martial skills but they were the ones taught to any good old Fire Nation soldiers, so there was nothing special about them. His profound knowledge of explosives and how to effectively use them to produce some pretty lights in the sky or raging fire that engulf any man or woman that belonged to the other nations, however, had caught the eyes of his superior and earned him the rank of the captain in short amount of time; unlike the big buffoon he called a cousin who had enlisted into the army at approximately the same time but had only reach the rank of sergeant. Ironic, huh; he had always wanted to be born having the physical quality of his cousin but had outdone those very traits he admired so. Chit Sang really didn't know how lucky he was to be the man he was today, thought Chey.

"Yo, Cap", speak of the devil, it was Chit Sang who nudged his shoulder. "We found some traces on the forest path. They are heading east."

"There's a small farming village in the east", Chey thought aloud. "We have to stop them before they reach the village."

"Why?" Chit Sang scratched his head.

"Because, smarty-pants, if they reached the village, we would have to raid the village just to look for them", Chey forced his patience to hold out a little longer. "You don't wanna get into another rumble with some innocent villagers again now, do you?"

"Yeah, yeah, got it", Chit Sang lazily replied. "But, you really should stop popping the vein on your temple. You'll get wrinkled easily, you know?"

"I don't have wrinkles!!!"

* * *

"Plan B?" Bara asked, wanting a confirmation.

"Plan B", Taka sighed as he joined his two comrades at their rendezvous point a few miles away north of Senlin, confirming his sister's greatest fear.

"I hope, for your sake, you did it right", Bara said again.

"Don't worry", Taka yawned, lying down on the grass. "It went perfectly."

* * *

"—cle! Uncle!!!"

"Huh! Wha—"

"You were dozing off", Zuko frowned, pausing in the middle of his form: right leg bent in the front, left leg trailed straight backward, left hand punching straight, and right hand ready on his waist.

"Oh, was I?" Iroh put a hand on his face, masking his wince. "I'm so sorry, Prince Zuko. I didn't sleep well last night."

"Oh, okay", the prince drawled, looking rather disappointed. However, his compassionate heart compelled him to ask the next question. "Shall we end the training then, Uncle?"

"No, it's quite alright", Iroh chuckled. "Now, let's see. Hmm… aim higher (he pulled Zuko's punching hand up), wider stance is required for better balance (he swept one of Zuko's feet, furthering the distance between the two), and remember your breath control: exhale as you launch the next strike."

Iroh took a few steps back. With a nod, he signaled Zuko to continue. Breathing deeply, Zuko's chest expanded slightly as air entered his lungs; in a split second, he exhaled rather violently, pulling his left fist back to his waist and launching his right palm ahead, sending a large fire blast forward and spewing some flame from his nostrils.

"Very good, Prince Zuko, very good", Iroh applauded, laughing. "Although, a little improvement in your control, if you don't mind. That way, you won't get 'fire boogie'."

Zuko stifled his laughter at the joke. There is no one but Uncle Iroh who could turn failure into a heart-warming joke.

"The fire blast was impressive", Iroh reaffirmed his earlier praise. "But remember to focus your chi on your fist. Letting it run wildly across your body will result in it trying to squeeze its way out through any exit it could access, in this case, your nostrils."

"And this is where the meditation comes into play, right?"

"Exactly", Iroh nodded. "Meditation is a key training in firebending, not just physical training. I mean, look at me (Iroh bounced his belly up and down). I don't exercise a lot but I mediate everyday. And who was it again who just beat a certain Fire Prince who exercise everday but only meditate once a week?"

"Hey! I don't get to fight that often, okay", Zuko pouted.

"Of course you don't", Iroh laughed. "Oh well… now, go take a break. We'll begin again in five minutes."

Bowing, Zuko ran energetically out of the yard to the nearby kitchen. He was excited, alright. His Uncle Iroh's back, no longer the bitter old man who hid behind his door. Uncle Iroh's back with his advices, his jokes, his easy-to-understand firebending lessons, his Agni-knows-what-he-was-talking-about proverbs and riddles (Zuko didn't miss this); uncle Iroh really was back. The young prince ran across the hall, yearning for some sweet fresh orange juice. Maybe he'd get some for Uncle Iroh too; he was in the mood for this, for little act of kindness to show how much he had missed the old man, how much he still loved and respected him even after everything they had been through. Oh, and of course, a pot of tea to replace the one that had probably gone cold. Yep, juice and tea; he was too preoccupied with his that he didn't realize that the aforementioned uncle was suddenly down on his knees, clutching his head and wincing as if he had a very very bad headache.

It had been quite a while since Iroh felt this way, this terrible terrible headache. Umma had taught him to control this gift when they were young but there were still occasions such as this when Iroh simply lost control of it, usually when it was the _other side_ who extended the reach to him not the other way around.

It was hazy but Iroh was sure he saw fire, burning wildly, uncontrollable. He felt the heat on his skin, sweating profusely because of it, tasted the smoke in his mouth, bitter and dry, smelt the burning forest like he was there, in the middle of the flames, heard the cracking sound of the trees as they were reduced to ash, the cries of the animals as they were engulfed by the flaming embrace of death. And that voice, a voice of a boy shouting over the chaos; a voice so heavy, so full of emotions, Iroh could feel each one of them: fear, horror, sadness, grief, but mostly hate, frustration, and anger; a great painful conflict inside the voice. It was as if he was burnt along with the forest.

"My dear Agni", Iroh heaved, trying to get up and sit on the nearby chair. "Please, I beg you… don't let anything happen to the young Dragon…"

* * *

"Don't go, Dad", Haru cried, tugging on his father, not wanting to let go. "Don't go."

"I don't want to go too, son", Tyro knelt down, wiping the tears on his boy's face. "But, I have no choice."

Haru dived into his embrace, still begging his father not to go. All around them, the other villagers were also engaged in very emotional farewells of their own, surrounded by at least two hundred Fire Nation soldiers who encircled them while keeping a good distance away from them. Commander Masa had ordered them to let the villagers have their privacy for an hour, so that the militia and other earthbending civilians could say their goodbyes to their loved one before the Fire Nation haul them away to their temporary prisons in the Western Earth Base.

"But I don't want you to go", Haru sobbed. "Stay with us, Dad."

"I want to, so, you don't know how I want to", Tyro finally let his dam break. "But I have to go. You understand, right?"

"No, I don't want to understand", Haru's muffled sob emerged from Tyro's chest where the boy had buried his face. "I want you to stay."

"It's time", it was Masa who nudged Tyro's shoulder. Tyro turned to him and nodded, and Masa left for the gate.

"Listen, Haru", Tyro pulled the tear-stricken boy from his chest. "Listen, you're a big boy now— look at me, son. Please… you're a big boy now. So, I can count on you to take care of your mother, right?"

Haru nodded, still sobbing.

"That's my boy", Tyro pulled him into his embrace again. He then spoke again, softer this time. "Listen, son. Nobody must know that you are an earthbender, you hear me. Nobody! It is to protect yourself and your mother, Understood?"

"Y-yes, Dad…"

"Good boy", Tyro stroked his head gently. "But never forget that you _are_ an earthbender, son. It is your gift, your legacy!"

"Yes, dad…"

"Take care of him", he told his wife who were standing tearfully and faithfully behind Haru, in front of him. "Keep him safe."

"I will", she said, kneeling down and embraced her family lovingly.

"Thank you", Tyro hugged her back. "And, I'm sorry…"

He got up, closing his eyes so that he wouldn't have to see his son's teary face, his wife's heart-breaking expression. He paced forward quickly, followed by many men and women who would be imprisoned along with him, deafening himself to the cries of women and children, Haru, among them, who were struggling to break free from his mother's embrace. Cries of women and children, not wanting to let go of their loved ones… so heartbreaking some of the prisoners simply stopped pacing yet dared not to look back, Tyro was no exception.

"Haru!!" he shouted, not turning back. Haru, startled by this, stopped struggling in his mother's arm. "You're a boy. Boys don't cry!"

"D-dad…"

"Don't cry!" Tyro commanded. "We will be fine. So live well, son. And be proud of your legacy."

* * *

**Author's note:**

1. Jian Wu is the combination of 'jian (劍)' which means 'sword' and 'wu (武)' which means 'martial art'

The return of Uncle Iroh!! Hooray!!!

Lin vs Jeong Jeong, what will happen??? On the next chapter…(maybe)

To hpswst101, the messenger and the guy who attacked Jeong Jeong was Lin in disguise. Who do you think it was? Hey, this is the first time you guess wrong... :)

Oh well, there's a first time for everything, right.

Have a nice day!!!


	51. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50 – A Painful Lesson**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

"I've never heard about this", Iroh pondered, advancing his red rose tile. "Where did you get this information?"

"You know I can't mention my sources, General", Piandao smiled mysteriously, planning his counter attack.

"Old friend, isn't this about time you start trusting me?" Iroh sighed, sipping his tea.

"Oh, but I do trust you, General", Piandao stared deeply into the general's eyes. "It's my source that has… err, problem trusting you."

"Can't say I'm surprised", Iroh sighed again, witnessing his tiger tile being overwhelmed by Piandao's wheel tile. "But, are you sure this information is true?"

"It's merely a prediction", Piandao admitted. "But, it is highly probable. My source saw it himself: Commander Kang is leading an army south. The only place still belong to the Earth Kingdom along the Western Shore is Meitan."

"And knowing Tyro, he won't go down without a fight", Iroh concluded. "And they are numbered to about 1000 you say?"

"Yes", Piandao replied. "The population of Meitan is only a few hundreds. Tyro won't stand a chance."

"So, why are you telling me this?"

"Well, I thought that, you know", Piandao drawled. "Well, maybe it'd interest you. You did say that Tyro is an asset to us."

"We have sworn to not interfere with the war unnecessarily, Master Piandao", Iroh said sharply. "There is nothing we can do for Tyro at this stage."

"But, sir, surely—"

"No", Iroh cut in. He calmly took another sip before continuing. "And also, if Commander Kang really is the commanding officer in the assault, it is already too late to do anything."

"You mean Tyro is—"

"Dead", Iroh sighed. "Or captured, at the very least."

"But, General", Piandao's tone sounded grim. "What about the Council? Who authorized this mission?"

"Nobody", Iroh sounded equally grim. "This is most probably a rogue mission. It might explain why General Jiang didn't participate."

"Won't they be punished for this?"

"I doubt it. My brother isn't really the type who punished a victory, rebellious it may be", Iroh scratched his chin.

"What about the boy? Didn't you send him there?" Piandao asked again.

"Yes", Iroh frowned. "I thought a little firsthand interaction with a different culture may do him good; helping him to be more adaptable. Spirits know how many potential candidates don't even get a chance for the initiation simply because they are too narrow-minded."

"I still don't understand why you put so much faith in him", Piandao stared at Iroh. "Isn't he a bit too young?"

"You will see for yourself, Master Piandao", Iroh chuckled. "Yours will be his first stop."

"Excuse me?" Piandao's eyes widened. "I thought I was the second on the list."

"I have to make an exception this time", Iroh sounded serious. "If we sent him to his grandfather first, there would be bloodshed. I thought it'd be more prudent to let him learn from you first. Bumi can teach him… whatever he's going to teach him and Pakku can whip him into shape. Then, it's Jeong Jeong's turn; hopefully by that time, both of them would know better than trying to burn each other to cinder."

"But, still", Piandao fidgeted. "Why me? There are a lot more non-benders who are more capable than me. How about Chong?"

"Chong is impossible to reach and you're being humble", Iroh laughed. "Yes, what you said is true, Chong could easily fill your boots but he is not a master, yet. There are many masters who could replace you, yes, but there is only a handful who are as, say, open-minded, as you. The boy needs a master like you."

"Should have known better than to try to argue with you" Piandao grumbled. "Fine, but I'm not promising anything."

"Good" Iroh laughed again. "Be sure to be expecting him. I'll send him to your place in two week's time. A month tops."

"Wha—", Piandao dropped his jaw. "Is there something else I should know?'

"Just one more thing", Iroh put down an orchid tile. "It's a check mate."

* * *

"It's almost noon", Bara said to Rocky while shaking the snoring Taka. "Wake up, taka!"

"Then, we will go", Rocky replied.

"Shouldn't we wait a little longer?" Bara asked, now shaking Taka more violently. "Wake up, moron!"

"We were told to wait in our ship if he doesn't come back by this hour. We will do as we're told", answered Rocky. He then got up and stretched his back.

"But, I'm worried", Bara said, now jabbing Taka on the ribs. "He's all alone there. Should we go to Senlin and see if he's still there? _Wake up, you lazy hog-monkey!"_

"No", Rocky retorted firmly. "We have received our order and will act according to it."

"Hmm… Zzzzz… hehe…" sleep talked Taka, grinning. "No, not that one… hehe… Zzzz…"

"Here, do the black pepper trick", Rocky suggested to the fuming Bara, rummaging a pouch of black pepper from his rucksack. "Always work for me."

Bara took the pouch, dipped her finger into it, and drew a pinch of the black spiciness. She then wiped her pepper soaked finger just above her brother's grinning lips, right below his nose. The result…? Well, you can imagine it yourself. So, while Taka, who had suddenly woken up, ran around screaming, Rocky, who now helped Bara packing up the rest of their stuffs, comforted her.

"Don't worry. It's not like Lin is stupid enough to start a fight."

* * *

"COME OUT AND FIGHT ME, COWARD!!!!" he screamed into the forest around him in which, he knew, the Deserter was hiding. "COME OUT!!!"

It was almost noon. He had spent the last three hours chasing after the shadow of his grandfather on his ostrich horse, engaging in a quick battle every now and then whenever he somehow caught up to his prey which usually lasted until the old man knocked him down long enough to escaped deeper into the forest. Lin honestly didn't know his grandfather was capable of fighting in such sneaky manner. He had seen his grandfather in a fight before, lots of fights, be it some harmless sparring lessons, self-defense from some thugs they had run into during their trips to nearby sweets store, or, in some rare occasions, various Agni Kais issued by some random bone-heads who were foolish enough to challenge the legendary Admiral Jeong Jeong of the Fire Nation's Northern Fleet. In all those occasions, his grandfather had been an exemplary warrior of the glorious Fire Nation: brave, honorable, fighting the opponents one-on-one, face-to-face. Unlike this hit-n-run cowardly bastard!

He was there nearby, Lin could sense it. There was no way someone so powerful his very being emanated such strong presence could hide himself completely from a trained assassin warrior like Lin. Lin could sense it… it's hard to describe. Like when someone is staring at you and you just know it without looking, or like the creeps you feel when you're at a graveyard in the middle of the night; you just feel it.

Lin got down from his ostrich horse; maybe I should say that he still had his masked helmet on, kinda impressive that he could fight in that helmet. Leading the steed to a nearby tree, he tied the rein to it all the while keeping vigilant of his surroundings. After making sure that his ostrich horse was safely tied, he moved to the center of the clearing, keeping his senses on the edge. He still couldn't pinpoint the exact location of his grandfather. Well, there is one thing he could do: he removed his masked helmet and threw it away.

"It's me!" he shouted. "Come out!"

No response.

Lin waited for a full minute of silence. Still no response…

"Come out, Grandpa!" Lin shouted again, turning around on the spot slowly. "I know you're in here somewhere! You've got a lot of explaining to do!"

Another minute of being ignored…

"Fine!" Lin yelled angrily. He jumped and landed in a central stance, hands outstretched. "You give me no choice!"

He clapped his hands together, causing a dome of fire to appear out of nowhere, surrounding him like a large round cocoon; Fire Dome, the very same technique he had learnt from the very same man he was about to smoke out. But, Lin wasn't finish. This technique he was about to execute is actually the offensive version of the Fire Dome; swiftly connecting his chi to the fire around him, Lin concentrated wholly in his conjoined hands. Sensing the right time to go to the next step, he dragged his right leg backward, securing a safe footing, and shot his palms diagonally forward, causing the fire dome to expand and burst into flames that caught the surrounding trees on fire. A thumping sound on the grass behind him told him that he was successful despite the collateral damage on the environment.

"… Impressive", was all Jeong Jeong managed to say before he found himself defending against his grandson's furious attacks.

* * *

"So, we're too late after all", Chey sighed.

"Yeah, after all the rushing and running through the forest", Chit Sang nodded. "Man, that gotta sucks, huh?"

"And who was it that had to stop twice to pee?" Chey seethed.

"What? Can't fight the will of nature", Chit Sang shrugged innocently.

"Just because I'm your cousin doesn't mean—"

"Captain Chey!"

"WHAT!!" Chey barked; he didn't like interruption when he was threatening someone, it ruined the credibility of his threats.

"T-the village is up ahead, sir", the soldier shrunk under Chey's angry glare. "The refugees from Meitan are seen among them. We have our men securing the perimeter and awaiting your order, sir."

"Good job", Chey replied, still glaring. "Send the word: team one will enter the village with me and retrieve our prisoner, team two will fan out around the village's exits just in case if any of them gets away. Perimeter guards are to stay put until further notice. Go!"

Saluting, the soldier hurried his way to the rest of Chey's 50-men pursue unit, leaving Chey and the soldiers nearby to prepare themselves for the coming raid.

"Are we really going to fight?" Chit Sang asked gloomily. "I'm still having this bad taste in my mouth from the fight this morning."

"Hopefully, it doesn't have to come to that, Sergeant", Chey replied just as gloomily, adjusting his grenade belt. "We're just doing what we have to do. We are soldiers."

* * *

"_COME OUT AND FIGHT ME, COWARD!!!!" he screamed into the forest around him in which, he knew, the Deserter was hiding. "COME OUT!!!"_

"C-coward…" Jeong Jeong's vein popped on his temple, his fist balled up, ready to deliver a deathly blow on this rude insolent soldier.

But, just who the hell was this soldier? He didn't know that there was such a talented yet unranked soldier in the Fire Nation military. Unlike the Earth Kingdom or the Water Tribe military systems that are subjected to favoritism and nepotism, the Fire Nation's military system has by far the most just and fair system. In the Water Tribe, military leaderships fall to those who are related to the Tribe's noble families; not unlike the Earth Kingdom, although the Earth Kingdom system still allows those who have real talents but no connections to make names for themselves. As for the Fire Nation system? Even Crown Prince Iroh started out as a lowly captain of a small assault squad of the Fire Nation's 1st Vanguard Battalion, one of the few battalions that are directly under the Fire Lord.

What bothered Jeong Jeong was this: why in the name of Agni a soldier as good as this still a foot soldier? Jiang might be strict but he was fair; there was no way Jiang would let such talent go to waste. _What now?_ Jeong Jeong tensed up as the soldier jumped off his steed, suspecting that his hiding spot on the top of a bushy tree had been compromised. But, the soldier didn't make any threatening moves yet; he led his steed to a nearby tree and tied it there, albeit still looking around for the Deserter.

The soldier then walked to the center of the clearing below and removed his helmet. His face, it made Jeong Jeong's heart missed a few beats.

"It's me!" Lin shouted. "Come out!"

_No way I'm coming out_! Jeong Jeong began to sweat profusely. The persistence of this pursuer had driven Jeong Jeong to considering the option of killing him off and moving on but after finding out the identity of this soldier, the option was no longer accessible.

Jeong Jeong waited for a full minute in silence, praying to the spirits for a peaceful solution to this delicate situation…

"Come out, Grandpa!" Lin shouted again, turning around on the spot slowly. "I know you're in here somewhere! You've got a lot of explaining to do!"

_I sure do!_ Jeong Jeong agreed. Another minute of ignoring…

"Fine!" Lin yelled angrily. He jumped and landed in a central stance, hands outstretched. "You give me no choice!"

What now! Jeong Jeong tensed up again, expecting the worse. Or not. What could Lin do to Jeong Jeong anyway? The stance, Jeong Jeong recognized it as the one for the Fire Dome; a strictly defensive technique. What good will it do, thought Jeong Jeong as his grandson was engulfed in a spherical dome of fire. But, after a second or two the globe of fire materialized, it abruptly expanded and exploded, spewing flames everywhere including to Jeong Jeong's tree. He barely managed to jumped away to avoid getting burn, utterly surprised that his grandson had mastered the ninth form of the Celestial Dragon style, Advanced Form: Bursting Fire Dome. Although not particularly powerful, it does have a wide attack range and very suited for a one-versus-many combats. The idea is simple: make a fire dome and disrupt the dome's chi from the inside, hence expanding it into the limit and let it explode. Kinda like blowing a balloon till it burst, but insert some tiny shards of glasses inside the balloon first.

"… Impressive", was all Jeong Jeong managed to say before he found himself defending against his grandson's furious attacks.

* * *

"Fire Nation!!" somebody screamed, inciting many other screams. The quiet village suddenly turned chaotic with people running around.

"I know we're the bad guys here", Chey sighed at Chit Sang. "But, when they start running away from us like we have a disease of something, it really hurts."

"Yeah", Chit Sang concurred. "Shall I?"

"You shall", Chey replied.

"Villagers of the Earth Kingdom!" Chit Sang roared. "We come in peace! A group of refugee from the west has come to your village today and we have a reason to believe that a number of prisoners have smuggled themselves among them! These people are dangerous and we have been authorized to bring them back to the Western Earth Base with us!"

"There is no criminal here, Fire Nation!" an elderly man spat. Behind him stood a group of youth armed with spades, shovels, and pitchfork or any everyday farming tools that they could found. "Leave our village now!"

"Are you the village elder?" Chey asked politely, though with one arm on his grenade belt.

"Damn right, I am!" the old man replied, though he looked calm, his knocking knees suggested otherwise. Had it not for his thin walking stick, he might have not been able to stand at all. Somehow, Chey pitied him.

"Elder", Chey bowed, Fire Nation style, while his eyes scanning the group of youth; they didn't look like they could actually fight but since Chey only had ten men with him, he couldn't help but wary for his and his men's safety. "We are pursuing some prisoners who, we believe, have infiltrated this village. Please, we do not want any violence. Just hand them over and we will leave peacefully."

"I've told you!" the elder spat again. "There is no criminal in this village! Leave now or you will have a fight on your hand!"

"Elder", Chey clenched his jaw, trying to keep his boiling blood in check while his men grew angry. "We will leave now. But, we will return in one hour. When we return, I expect you—ARRGHHH!!"

A block of earth hit him square on the chest!

Two of his men leaped forward and shielded him from the incoming mob, the rest jumped into the fray led by Chit Sang. Writhing and clutching his throbbing chest, disoriented by the chaos around him, it took a while for Chey to focus his thought for the next course of action.

"Private!" he shouted to one of his defenders; he pulled a small bamboo tube from his belt and threw it at him. The soldier caught the tube, a smoke signal, and pointed it to the sky before pulling the fuse. It exploded and sent a ball of fire that exploded into a puff of thick smoke five meters above their heads. Receiving the signal, twenty more men emerged from the forest surrounding the village. The mob, shocked by the arrival of more soldiers, scattered like ants. Chey got up and joined his men in the fight deeper into the village.

Soon, the brawl turned into a raid; Fire Nation soldiers forcibly kicking down the doors of the villagers' residences and dragged the men out, some men stood their ground and fought the soldiers briefly until their too were taken down, children and women running everywhere searching for safety. It was a complete chaos.

"Round them up!" Chey barked, throwing a small grenade at a group of men that charged at him. Running deeper into the village, he soon found himself in front of a big wooden building he suspected as the village meeting hall. It seemed to be an ideal place to hide the refugees, he thought. Kicking the door open, he enter the establishment carefully, an incendiary grenade ready at hand.

It looked just like any other meeting halls he had come across: made of polished wood, a large rectangular table with lots of well made chairs around it, on the wall at the end of the room, right behind the fanciest-looking chair, was a large tapestry of the Earth Kingdom insignia. The whole room was carpeted with green-yellow carpet… which was stained by mud everywhere with the shape of foot or something else. This definitely meant the refuges had been in this hall and possible still here.

Chey turned around and saw stars… a man suddenly emerged and his head with something solid.

"Run!! Run!!" he heard the man shouted as he tried to maintain consciousness on the ground. The yelling was followed by more yelling and he felt the floor rumble as the refugees came out of their hiding spot and ran outside past him; some gave him a pleasant stomping on the way out.

As his vision started to come back to him, he tried to get up; only to receive another beating on his back. He tried to get up again, ready to receive the incoming blow this time; he managed to plunge at his assailant and pin him on the ground. A rumble ensued, ended with Chey landing a blow on the man's jaw, knocking him unconscious. Nursing his broken nose, he got up and made for the exit but another man rushed in and attacked him. Chey sidestepped, caught the man's fist, twisted his arm, locked his arm on his back, and pinned him on the wall.

"Do not resist!!" he yelled at the man who were struggling to break free. "Stop—"

He blacked out again and suddenly felt the cold floor on his cheek. He instinctively curled up as he felt numerous blows all over his body; his half conscious mind told him that he was knocked down again and was being stomped by a group of assailants. Gritting his teeth through the pain and humiliation, he strugglingly reached to his belt and pulled the first grenade he touched, praying to Agni that it was a smoke grenade as he pulled the safety pin. A loud puffing sound and the numerous coughs told him that his wish had been granted. He got up and tackled the nearest men to the ground; not slowing down, he ran through the exit, coughing. It was a bad idea to fight multiple opponents in an enclosed space. Seething with anger, he pulled out another grenade from his belt, the one with red pin. He pulled the pin and threw the grenade inside the building, malicious intent etched in his bloody face.

He didn't saw the black smoke and fire arising from the building as someone grabbed him from behind and he had to defend himself. But, he did hear the loud explosion prior to the smoke and fire. The short fight ended with him still standing and his opponent writhing on the ground nursing his broken ribs; Chey turned his attention back to the meeting hall, grinning victoriously. His grin, however, didn't last long.

"What have I done…" he breathed through his horror stricken face.

On the mouth of the door, a badly burnt man was barely conscious, leaning on the door frame; his grip, however, was strong as he clutched the little girl in his arms. The girl had fainted; a blessing as she didn't have to feel her foot that was badly burnt. Judging from the man's injured back, it seemed that he was shielding the girl when the explosion happened. But, wait… there was supposed to be no more refuges left inside the building. Hadn't they all made a run for it when Chey was unconscious..?

"Captain!" someone called from behind. A pair of strong hand caught him by the shoulders as he slumped down on his knees, still unable to peel his eyes of the horrific result of the skill and knowledge he was so proud of.

"Captain!!" the soldier shook him.

"N-no… I-I… I didn't mean to…" he stuttered; the man's eyes met with his. A dying man gazed at his killer… "I-I… thought… I-I didn't mean to…"

The gaze of the green eyed man… what to make of it? Anger… doesn't look like it. Grudge… but, why did he looked as if he was pleading? Chey found himself unable to discern the meaning of the Earth Kingdom's dying gaze. There the man was, kneeling with one hand on the door frame, supporting himself, the other hand clutching the girl close to his chest as if she was the most precious thing in the world, precious enough to die for. Impossible… they are savages!! Just like what Chey had been told by his superior officer upon his joining the army. Savages!! Nothing more…

But, do savages capable of such act of selflessness…?

"I'm fine", he croaked. Kneeling down for he couldn't feel his knees, he pointed at the man and the girl. "Help her… and show the man some respect. He's dead."

* * *

"YEARRRGH!!" Lin roared, sending a jet of flaming death from both his palms.

"Form thirteen", Jeong Jeong said calmly, sidestepping the flame gracefully. "Not bad, although it could use some improvement in the control. You didn't mold it into the shape of the spear."

"Shut up!!" Lin yelled angrily, summoning a fire ball on his right palm, spinning his whole arm and mold the tracing fire into a wheel, grabbed the fire with his free hand and threw it at Jeong Jeong.

"Form seven: Fire Wheel of Nezha", Jeong Jeong evaded effortlessly. "Too weak, too slow!!"

"I SAID SHUT UP, CATFISH!!!"

"Catfish?" Jeong Jeong evaded another fire blast, a thick vein visible on his temple. "I don't recall you having such a foul mouth; I blame puberty. Your form three is perfect, by the way."

"Fight me!" Lin yelled angrily. The old man evading his attacks without fighting back was infuriating.

"Why should I?" Jeong Jeong sighed. "I don't need to fight you to teach you this lesson."

"What lesson!!!?" Lin barked.

"This…" Jeong Jeong spread his arms. "…lesson."

He was referring to their surroundings: the forest, the trees and grass around them, engulfed by fire. The windy day did nothing but help spread the destruction even further and wider. Anger and rage had blinded him from the raging flames, deafened his ears from the flickering trees and the cries of the dying animals, plugged his nostrils from the scent of burning wood and cooked flesh, numbed his skin from the heat. Jeong Jeong's gesture had opened his senses to the burning forest and all sensation it carried: the heat, the sight of burning trees, the sound of wounded animals, the smell… everything…

How could he let this happened… or rather, how could he have done this…?

He looked around in terror; no matter where he turned, he saw fire, only fire… nothing but destruction…

"Fire brings destruction, child", the old man's voice seemed like it came from far away. Lin slumped down on his knees, unable to stand in terror, regret, and humiliation. What had he done…? He looked up to his grandfather; the old man stood in front of him with his usual regal composure, hands crossed in front of his chest, eyes stabbed deeply on his own, face impassive and distant. The old man continued with his expressionless tone.

"Lose control of your fire and you bring destruction", he said. "This is the burden, the curse that you and I are born with."

"No…" Lin felt tears on his eyes. "It's not true…"

"You know it is true. The proof is right here", Jeong Jeong threw an arm, gesturing to the flames around them. "This is a curse we are born with, child. An abomination."

"Shut up!" Lin shouted, though his tone no longer contained malice; only regret…

"This is a lesson that you must learn", Jeong Jeong calmly continued. "To know what danger your bending could bring: destruction beyond measure."

"… Shut up…" Lin sobbed, both hand clutching the burning earth, his head hung down and eyes fixed on the ground below. He was too ashamed to lay eyes on the flame anymore.

"Don't turn away, child", Jeong Jeong said, his tone didn't change. "Look around, hear the fire flicker, smell it, taste the ash in your mouth. You must not forget this lesson."

"…Help me…" Lin pleaded, still refusing to raise his head. "…Help me… Save the forest…"

"I can't, child", Jeong Jeong replied, this time a tinge of sadness was apparent in his voice.

"Why…?" Lin asked, sobbing.

"Because I rather save you", the Deserter answered. "Look up, child…"

Lin did as he was told, raising his head slowly. But, what he saw in front of him was not his grandfather, looking at him with the indifferent eyes of his. Instead, it was a huge panda bear. Almost five times Lin's size, the beast walked calmly towards him on four, completely ignoring the fact that it's entire body was on fire. The panda bear walked slowly and docilely, as if the flickering fire was nothing but a harmless breeze of air. The sight amazed the young firebender; a panda bear burnt badly by his fire and in the brink of inevitable demise walking towards him. Lin didn't know what to do. Run…? Where to? Fight? Had he not done enough already…? He just knelt there fixing his eyes on the beast.

The bear stopped right in front of him. It sat down and their eyes met. Lin was half expecting the panda bear to start growling and gnawing him, at which he had decided that he would not resist and accept this retribution with honor, but its eyes, its large black eyes… there was no malice in them. No pain, no sadness, no regret… only compassion and mercy…

"I…" Lin stuttered, unable to say anything. So, he did the only thing he could do: witnessed the end of the noble beast. The wind grew stronger and the fire spread wider; but, somehow, as if willed by fate, the flames that razed the clearing where the firebender and the beast were, raging it might be, did not reach them. Lin didn't even realize that the flames were just inches away from him, not that he care…

"I-I… I cause this…" Lin stuttered. He then bowed down with great humility and regret. "Forgive me…"

He heard a growl, deep and solemn…

The wind grew wilder and suddenly, he felt something wet and cold dripped on the nape of his neck. It was followed by countless more drops of water, cold heavenly raindrops…

Lin raised his head. The panda bear was no longer sitting; it now stood on its two rear legs; impassive and solemn, it reminded Lin of a mountain. Lin cast a look of desperation and regret on it, but it did not relent its compassionate gaze just like how the fire that consumed its body did not yield to the sudden heavy rain.

"Thank you…" Lin sighed humbly. And before he knew it, everything went black…

* * *

"M—mommy…" Song groaned lowly, waking up from her sleep. "Mommy…"

"I'm here, sweetheart", her mother rushed to her side.

"Mommy… my leg hurts…" Song started to sob.

"It's okay, honey", her mother started to cry too. "It's okay. It's just a scratch. You know that scratches are not dangerous, right?"

"And a little ointment will make it better", she quoted from her lesson of medicine form her mother. "Right, mommy."

"Yes, that's right", Song heard her mother sobbed again. "Smart girl… Try to get some sleep, okay. You will feel better after you wake up."

Song didn't need to be told twice; she did feel somewhat sleepy. After all she had been through that day, nobody could blame her. So, she closed her eyes and let herself drift into a sweet slumber. Her mother tearfully applied more salve on the girl's burnt leg. There would be plenty of time later to tell her that her uncle had died protecting her from an explosion which scarred her leg and her father had been taken by the Fire Nation soldiers.

Yes, later. Now was the girl's time to sleep…

* * *

"—terrible, sir", the soldier tried to make his voice heard over the storm outside the tent. "Some witnesses said that they saw fire razing to the foot of the mountain."

"Have you sent someone to investigate the cause?" Jiang asked calmly, staring at the soldier with an unusual grim expression. All other officers in that meeting tent, however, were more concerned with Jiang's state than the forest as they threw worried glances at him every now and then.

"No, sir", the soldier replied. "The fire was too fierce and then there is this sudden storm. It is too dangerous to send our men to the forest. There are, however, some people who claimed that they saw an old man in black robe being chased by a soldier and run into the forest earlier this morning. They might be fighting and cause the bushfire."

"Understood", Jiang replied through his clenched jaw. "Prepare a team to investigate and get them ready to depart anytime. As soon as the storm let up, I'll lead the team myself."

"Yes, sir", the soldier saluted and exited the tent. If the other officers were intrigued by Jiang's decision to bother himself with this trivial matter, they didn't show it. After all, with the sudden news of the demise of his brother, who knows how long it would take for Jiang to snap. Anyway, the storm didn't let up until the next morning.

And so, the next day, a fine morning with slight breeze and lots of cloud, Jiang was ready to lead fifty of his men into the forest to try and find the missing soldier and, hopefully, gather enough information about how the fire started and to what extent the damage the forest sustained.

"Men", Jiang assembled his men. "Mount your steed!"

"Oh, out for sightseeing", Kang asked, suddenly appearing beside Jiang, wearing a thin red sleeping robe and bandaged chest.

"We're out to investigate the bushfire, Kang", Jiang answered coldly without looking. "There was a huge fire yesterday."

"Yeah, I saw it from the south", Kang added, rubbing his wounded shoulder. He then gestured to the rest of Jiang's men whose jaws dropped to the ground. "…Why are they looking at me like that?"

"What do you mean?" Jiang frowned, turning to his brother. A second or two later it happened: it begun with his amber eyes widened to the size of a saucer, his face turned white as paper, and his mouth opened so wide you could put a whole apple in there.

And, in unison…

"AAARRRRRGGHHHH!!!!! GHOOOOSSSSTTTT!!!!!"

* * *

**Author's note:**

A rather grim chapter…

1. Nezha is a deity in Chinese mythology. He was often portrayed as a child trickster in red carrying a spear, a golden hoop, and riding a pair of wheel of fire like roller blades, except that the wheels enable him to fly.

Hei Bai comes into the picture and Kang is alive… and Song got her scar.

To hpswst101, Kang's alive, after all. More about it in the next chapters.:)

Hmm, the book I was talking about is actually called 'Taiko' by Eiji Yoshikawa. The book is kinda like Japanese version of 'The Romance of the Three Kingdoms', but of course it's about the warring state period in Japan.

As for 'Shogun', I've never read that book. I've heard about it, though. The author is James Cavell (or something like that, I'm not sure…). It is about a westerner who was stranded in feudal Japan, or something like that. The book itself was a big hit in the Western world and, if I'm not mistaken, they even made a movie based on the book back in the 80's (I think…).

I'm not sure, but if you're looking for the book about Japanese ancient custom and politics during the days of the samurai, I'd recommend 'Taiko' since the author of the book is Japanese and he probably understands the custom more that James Cavell and is better at putting it into a story. Gotta warn you though: the book is huge… like a dictionary!

Hope that helps

Have a nice day!!


	52. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51 – Prison Break**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender (or Prison Break)

* * *

"So, you're not dead?" Jiang asked.

"No, I'm not!" Kang frowned, trying to keep up with his brother's pace. "I'm slightly offended that you of all people would think that one rotten arrow could kill me."

"It sure knocked you down good", Jiang argued.

"It has _poison_ in it!" Kang defended his pride. "Who told you I'm dead anyway?"

"A messenger sent by Masa", Jiang answered matter-of-factly.

"I didn't send any messenger", Masa replied, confused.

"Oh, right", Lin drawled, grinning innocently. "That'd be me…"

They all stopped; Jiang in the front, Kang and Masa behind him with Lin between them secured by Masa's iron grip.

"You", Jiang seethed, his jaw clenched. "You?"

"The messenger, you know", Lin averted his eyes.

"And what were you doing in the forest?" Masa asked.

"I was chasing someone", Lin averted his eyes too.

"Who?" Masa asked again.

"Nobody."

"And what the hell happened to the forest?" Jiang barked. "Do you have anything to do about it?"

"A little", Lin drawled guiltily.

"A little?" Jiang's voice trembled with anger. "You know, when a normal father finds his son lying unconscious inside a burning forest when he thought his son was safe and sound in their home in the _other nation_, it is usually more than just _a little_. What. Happened?"

"Can't say", Lin replied with low voice. "Not yet, anyway."

"This is a crime you've done, son", Jiang said with an authoritative tone. "Travelling outside the nation without a pass, impersonating a soldier, interfering with a military campaign by giving false information, destruction of a vast amount natural resource! You—!"

Jiang looked away, making a gesture between wanting to hit the boy in front of him or slap his own forehead. Not wanting things to get physical, he took a deep breath to calm his nerve before speaking again.

"You will be treated as a prisoner from now on", Jiang decided. "When we return home you will be court-martialed and, judging from the gravity of your doing, you can expect some happy time in prison!"

"Now, wait a minute", Kang protested. "You can't be serious about this!"

"There must be a way", Masa reasoned calmly.

"No, there isn't!" Jiang barked, throwing his hand at the black scar on the green mass of land east of Senlin. "Look at THAT! This is way too big for us! How can we even explain this to the Council!"

"We can say that…" Lin shrugged, drawling. "… I was looking for… some nightshades…"

"You sly devil", Kang muttered under his breath.

"It won't work", Masa whispered, looking around to make sure that nobody was listening.

"It will", Lin whispered back. "But, we gotta do this the hard way."

"I don't know", Jiang put a hand on his forehead; all this assassin business was starting to annoy him. "We'll talk later. For now, you two put him in the prisoner's tent."

Jiang walked away, leaving his two brothers with his son, who soon assumed their march to the rather big tent in the middle of the encampment.

"Why should I be the dead guy?" Kang asked.

"No reason", Lin avoided.

* * *

"The whole forest?" Iroh gaped.

"Not exactly", Piandao corrected, reading from a tiny piece of paper he was holding, a messenger hawk perched on his shoulder. "Just a part of it, although from above it looks like the size of a small island."

"And he caused that much damage?" Iroh asked incredulously. "_Alone_?"

"Master Jeong Jeong was seen with him", Piandao consulted the scroll. "But… yeah, he caused the bushfire alone, with the help of a strong wind. Master Jeong Jeong didn't even throw a punch."

"But, he didn't do anything to stop the fire, either", Iroh scratched his chin. "Send the word to him: I want to talk to him personally."

"But, sir", Piandao raised a brow. "Wouldn't that be a tad dangerous for all of us? Master Jeong Jeong is a top-priority fugitive."

"You have a point", Iroh concurred, rethinking his decision. "In that case, send him to Bumi. And also send what information we have to Bumi; he can interrogate Jeong Jeong in my place."

"Ouch", Piandao cringed; sympathizing the Deserter's possible fate in the hand of the Mad King. "As you wish, Grand Lotus. What about the boy?"

"I'll find time to talk to him", Iroh pondered. "I may need to hear his side of the story."

"Um… I'm afraid that would be somewhat difficult, sir", Piandao read the scroll. "He has been arrested for impersonating a soldier, among other things."

"This just keeps getting better and better", Iroh sighed.

"I am sure there is a silver lining to all this, Grand Lotus", Piandao tried to cheer him up.

"Oh, but there is, Master Piandao", Iroh smiled. "When I say 'better', I really do mean 'better'."

"Permission to speak frankly, sir."

"Granted."

"I hate that smirk of yours."

* * *

Soon after the incident in Senlin Village, the 212th Battalion was called home. The news of devastating damage caused right under their noses had elicited some unfavorable responses from the Fire Nation; be it from the politicians and the military council, from aristocrats or noble families, even from citizens and, of course, environmentalists who had been itching to find any excuse available to poke the government with the concerns regarding the environment. Things didn't seem to bode well, not only for Lin and His father, but also for the government, i.e. the Fire Lord.

"Send order to silence him", Ozai ordered to the dark figure that knelt before his Fire Throne. "I do not tolerate such insubordination. How many men can you spare for this job, captain?"

"We have two agents in their ranks, Your Highness", the dark figure spoke through his white noh mask. "I believe we do not need any additional men for this job."

"Good", Ozai smirked, though the dark shadow that engulfed his face didn't let anyone see this. "Make sure to do this as inconspicuously as possible. I do not need more people whining about these… details."

"Understood, Your Highness", the figure bowed.

"And also", Ozai drawled. "I want you to investigate this… _incident_ at Senlin Village. A member of your division was highly involved, after all."

"Understood, Your Highness", the figure bowed again.

"Good", Ozai nodded. "You're dismissed."

And the figure vanished… leaving Ozai alone in his Throne Room with a satisfied grin on his face.

* * *

"Wha— Come one, Uncle Kang!" Lin spat some chewed food in his mouth. "I thought you of all people would understand the joke!"

"But, must you report _me_ as a KIA?" Kang huffed. "Why not him?"

"Don't drag me into this", Masa sighed, shoving Kang's finger off his face.

"Simple: Uncle Masa's too smart to be KIA", Lin shrugged, taking a bite of dumpling off Biao's hand.

"Well, that's true— Hey!" Kang huffed again.

"In any case", Bing wiped Lin's dirty mouth with a handkerchief. "Though what you did is terribly wrong, we'll talk about that later, I can't believe Jiang would actually put you in a jail like this."

"Dad's just doing what must be done, Aunt Bing", Lin shrugged, still chewing.

There were sitting on the floor of a dirty local prison cell. After their arrival back in the Fire Nation Capital, Lin was promptly thrown in a local prison like a criminal. It had been two days since their arrival and it would be a few days before they could prepare a decent holding cell in the Imperial City's Prison Tower and at least a week more before the Military Council could prepare themselves for a court martial. That day, Kang had decided to visit Lin in his cell after much pestering from his wife and daughter. On their way to the prison, they ran into Masa and Shi who had just finished arranging the battalion's admin stuff prior to their return and decided to drag the father and son along with them to the prison, just for the heck of it.

"I mean, look at how dirty this place is", Bing threw a disgusted glance around, yelped a bit at some creature that flashed to the hole in the corner of the cell. "Are you even fed properly?"

"Oh, I am", Lin nodded, chewing more rigorously. "But, the food is… not really food. Thanks for bringing me something to eat, by the way."

"Don't talk with your mouth full", Biao chided in, picking some chewed meat on the boy's cheek. "What kind of trouble did you cause, anyway? I've never seen Uncle Jiang so mad since you put rats on a box and gave it to him as birthday present."

"I've never done something like that", Lin frowned.

"Huh?" Biao pondered for a bit, then a realization dawned to her. "Oh right… it was me. You gave him a box full of cockroaches."

"You guys did what?" Bing cut in, a dangerous glint was apparent in her eyes.

"N-nothing, nothing at all", Biao let out a guilty giggle.

"It was her idea!" Lin decided to save himself, pointing at Biao with his cuffed hands. "I was just an accomplice!"

"What! Not true!" Biao exclaimed.

"Kids!" Bing raised a hand, silencing them. "How many times do I have to tell you: never use animals when playing pranks on Jiang! Use plants instead; he's allergic to pollen."

"We couldn't find any, Mom."

"Yeah. And he's a man; men don't give another man plants."

"Okay!" Kang interrupted. "Back to the topic. What exactly happened back there?"

"Visiting time's over!" a guard came in before any of them could say a word.

"Could you give us another minute?" Kang bargained.

"I'm sorry, sir", the guard shook his head. "I can't. This is a first-class prisoner we have here. Just allowing visitors alone is already pushing it too far."

"It's okay, Uncle Kang", Lin sighed. "You can come back tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, we'll see about that", Kang got up, glaring at the innocent guard.

"Oh, here!" Biao started to stuff as much food as she could into Lin's mouth. "Don't waste food. Here, eat as much as you can!"

"Hmmph… HMMPHH!"

"Biao", Shi nudged her shoulder. "You're killing him."

* * *

"You should return now, Master Piandao", Iroh said, strolling in the hallway with the swordmaster at his side.

"Already?" Piandao cast a gaze on the noon sky. "Well, I do prefer Shu Jing's vast plain than Imperial City's stone roads. Is there anything I can do for you before I leave?"

"Just one thing", Iroh lowered his voice. "Be ready to receive the kid along with a group of people. Things have taken a rather strange twist."

"A group? How many?"

"Oh, not so many", Iroh waved it off nonchalantly. "A couple? Maybe more… nine or ten, give or take."

"How many?"

"…ten."

"It never fails to scare me the extent of your unpredictability", Piandao sighed, bowing politely to the older man.

"And it never fails to impress me the extent of your patience and compassion", Iroh bowed back. "Thank you for putting up with me so far, old friend."

"Of course I have to put up with you", Piandao started to walk toward the exit. "You know too much about my darkest secrets."

"Pleasure doing business with you", Iroh shouted, laughing just before Piandao vanished at the corner.

* * *

"—ma'am, you can't just barge in here! This prisoner is—"

A loud bang and thudding later, the door to the dungeon was suddenly slammed open, the warden flew in and landed unceremoniously on the floor.

"P-please, ma'am…! You can't just—"

"Young master!" a young lady burst in.

"Hey, Ning Ma", Lin grinned, squirming to the jail bars like a caterpillar. Apparently, not only his hands, but also his legs and knees were cuffed.

"Oh, young master", Ning Ma started to sob, rubbing her young master's dirty face lovingly through the bars. "What have they done to you?"

"What? Oh, this", Lin gesture his cuffed limbs. "Oh, it's nothing really. This is what you get for kicking the warden in the private area. Heh…"

"You can't—", the warden tried to argue again but…

—THUDDED—

"Uh…" Lin cringed at the warden and his assailant. "Not the nose, Lady Wen. He's still feeling my left jab from yesterday."

"Oh, hey there little friend", Lady Wen waved cheerfully with one hand while the other hand was holding the terrified warden by the collar. Turning to the incompetent guard who had almost wet himself, Lady Wen's expression and tone transformed into the more dangerous version. "So, here the deal: you open that cell now or I'll ram it open myself… with _your_ head."

"Y-yes, ma'am…" the warden gulped. Lady Wen let him go and he quickly crawled to the cell with a bunch of keys he pulled from his pocket.

"And next time, don't you dare question any warrant bearing the imperial seal!" Lady Wen gave him a kick in the butt. She then turned to Lin. "Could you believe this guy? Your dad went all the way to get a special permit to visit you from General Iroh but this guy (another kick) won't let him pass. Hmph!"

"And speaking of which", Lin raised a brow. "Where's Dad?"

"Oh, he's outside rehearsing his speech for when he sees you", Lady Wen gestured the door with her thumb, just as the warden finally found the right key and opened the cell door, allowing Ning Ma to burst in and him to run to the corner. "We got bored, so we just decided to bust in. So, how're you doin'?"

"Same old", Lin raised his cuffed hands, squeezed by Ning Ma. "Toilets are a bit rough, though. Phew…"

"Aww… poor baby. Here, let Auntie Wen work something out with this nice gentleman", Lady Wen smiled like an angel at Lin yet glared like the queen of all she-devils from the 18th level of hell at the gibbering wreck of a warden on the corner of the room. "Yo, guard! C'mere for a sec!"

"Are you hurt anywhere, Young Master?" Ning Ma asked Lin tearfully.

"I'm fine, I'm fine", Lin assured her. "Where's Dad, anyway?"

"He's just outside", Ning Ma answered, wiping her tears. "He thought that you'd be mad at him for this."

"Nah… I understand", Lin scoffed. "So tell him to come in already."

"Go easy on him, okay", Ning Ma said before she walked to the exit. "He spent the whole morning in the kitchen cooking your favorite dish."

"That explain why he didn't come with Uncle Kang", Lin sighed. "Lady Wen, that guy's half dead already."

* * *

"Alright, alright", Iroh clapped his hands loudly, trying to make himself noticed by the two kids. "Prince Zuko, Princess Azula! Stop fighting already!"

It wasn't much of a fight, considering that Azula was the one sitting on Zuko who was lying on his stomach and having his arm locked behind his back. But, Iroh thought it'd be best if he spared the prince's dignity, if there was any left, that is…

"Why?" Azula whined. "I'm winning."

"There is no victory to be found from assaulting a downed opponent, Princess", Iroh replied patiently.

"I'm not downed!" Zuko yelled.

"And humility is a virtue every warrior must possess", Iroh sighed. Why did he agree to train these two at the same time…? He wondered how Lin ever managed to handle these two royal pains— siblings, sorry; not only that, Lin appeared to be quite good too since Azula and Zuko showed such tremendous improvement in their firebending and martial skills since the last time Iroh saw them before the war. Iroh, however, still thought that managing an army is much easier than training Azula and Zuko; at least when soldiers misbehaved, Iroh could threaten them with death.

"Come on, now kids", Iroh chided in. "This is a firebending spar, not a wrestling match."

"But Lin said we gotta do everything we could to survive", they both replied.

"Huh?" Iroh gaped; all admiration he felt earlier for Lin shrunk. "Yes, putting that aside, it's already noon. We're going to visit your teacher in the prison, right? We better get ready now if we want to make it in time."

Grumbling, both kids got up on their feet. Bowing curtly, Zuko ran to his room quickly, Azula, however, remained in the yard.

"What did Lin do anyway, Uncle?" Azula asked. "I find hard to imagine that a member of a noble family would be thrown to the slammer this easily."

"I don't know the details myself, Princess", Iroh sipped his tea calmly, convincing himself that he wasn't lying completely: he did know something but it was merely a third-person version of the story he got from Piandao's source, not the firsthand confession from either Jeong Jeong or Lin.

"So now he's a criminal", Azula pouted. "Why do we have to visit him?"

"Don't you want to visit him?" Iroh smiled slyly; he knew the princess wouldn't want to pass a chance to sneak out of the palace and its mundane routine."

"I've never said I don't wanna go", she grumbled, her cheeks blushing.

"It's settled, then", Iroh got up, stretching his weary back. "Go and washed up. We'll leave in fifteen minutes."

Though she despised taking order from a 'failure', Azula didn't feel like arguing with the most insensible man in the whole nation. So, she decided to let go of her pride this time (there's time for this course of action, said her daddy once) and followed her brother's trail out of the yard; leaving Iroh alone with his well-deserved moment of peace with his tea.

"Kids", he muttered into his teacup. "Can't hate them, yet can't stand them sometimes."

"Can't disagree to that, General", Bara replied.

"How's the preparation?" asked Iroh.

"Everyone's ready, sir", Bara whispered. "I have contacted him in his cell and he said that he didn't want any help getting out."

"That's fine", Iroh pondered. "It will be too conspicuous if we involved an outsider. The Fire Lord would simply blame the Lin Family."

"Are you sure you don't want us to help, General?" Bara insisted. "We can at least send Taka as a rear support and—"

"There's no need for that, Bara", Iroh interrupted; his tone, kind it might be, was authoritative. "You have done enough. I have prepared a ship for you and your friends. You should all leave and attend to your families until further notice."

"And when will that be, General?"

"Months… Years… I'm not sure myself", Iroh shrugged. "When it comes to Lin, you simply can't assume anything. But, I'm pretty sure you and your friends can expect a rather long vocation with your loved ones."

"But, General", Bara hissed. "Can't we—"

"No, you can't", Iroh cut in with a conclusive tone. "This is the most you can do for now. We will leave the rest to Chey and the others. You are dismissed."

"B-but…" Bara was about to argue again, but she also sensed that Iroh's decision was unshakeable. "If you say so, General."

* * *

"Okay… what else?" Lin rolled his eyes upward, raking his brain and munching food noisily. "Try to get a permission to expand your battalion; go for a tank unit and medic squad. If possible, get the tank unit from the late General Shu's battalion; he had some of the best tanks in the whole army."

"And for the medic?" Jiang asked, taking mental note on his son's suggestion while Lady Wen busy stuffing food in Lin's mouth with Ning Ma helping her holding the plates.

"*munch* Just get some fresh recruit from the Imperial Reserve", Lin replied with puffy cheeks. "Your old medic squad can give them more advanced training."

"You make it sounds like there's gonna be a big battle soon", Lady Wen frowned, shoving rice with a pair of chopstick.

"There will be", Lin's voice was barely audible in the midst of all the chomping.

"How do you know that?" Lady Wen asked, sounded interested.

"*gulp* Just calculation. Aaaahhh…" Lin opened his mouth wide, allowing Wen to scoop more rice into it before continuing. "*munch* It's based on the theory of 'Economy of War'. War brings profit to the victor by two means: the spoils of war and the conquest of enemy territories. But, since the Fire Lord let his officers keep any spoils they gain from the battle, the real national income comes from the taxes the government impose on the conquered people. And, here's the good part: we've been losing a lot of territories lately in the Earth Kingdom but we've also been drafting more and more soldiers into the army. We're losing more income sources and yet adding more to our expenses for the military. Sooner or later, we'll be conducting a large-scale campaign again, trust me."

"Err… I kinda lost you in the 'Economy of War' part", Lady Wen grinned.

"Want me to repeat?" Lin sighed. _What is it with women and the art of war_, he asked himself. Chicks can be a total airhead when it comes to warfare strategy and politics.

"Nope, no need. I can just ask him later", Lady Wen pointed at the innocent Jiang with her chopsticks.

"Ugh… you're just looking for an excuse to spend more time together", Lin accused, cringing with disgust.

"Wha… Pfttt… Wha… Huh... No, I am not!"

"Somebody's blushing. Hmmph!" singsonged Lin before a large piece of meat invaded his mouth.

* * *

"Get the boat ready", Chey ordered, standing on a tall rock on the beachside. "Come on Chit Sang! Use that big muscle of yours!"

"Come closer and I'll use this big muscle of mine!" Chit Sang yelled, carrying a large crate into a ship. "Come down here and help!"

"I'm busy, cousin", Chey tried and failed to hide his smirk, scanning the afternoon sky.

"Yeah, with what?" another soldier, also carrying a crate, retorted. "Cloud reading?"

"Close", Chey replied, extending his fist forward, letting a messenger hawk land on the back of his fist. He reached out to the tube strapped on the bird's back and pulled out a scroll. "Double up, people! Our cargo's coming!"

* * *

"I am not sure about leaving him behind", Taka sighed, looking back at the Imperial city that grew smaller and smaller as their ship sailed east to their first stop in Shu Jing. "Are you sure we can't help him, Master Piandao?"

"Oh you can, alright", Piandao answered from the hut where he was taking on Rocky in a Pai Sho match. "But I won't be responsible for any bodily or mentally injuries you guys might sustained at the hand of a very angry General Iroh."

"…Okay, point taken", Taka looked down.

"By the way, boys", Piandao suddenly remembered about his conversation with Iroh earlier that day. "You don't know anything about a huge bushfire near Senlin Village a few days ago, by any chance, do you?"

"Heard the kid caused it", Taka shrugged. "Other than that, pretty much nothing. We were near Meitan, waaaay out to the south when it happened. We saw the smoke, though."

"So did Commander Kang's force", Bara added, watching the match from behind Rocky's back "That was why he pulled out immediately despite being wounded and half-conscious from Taka's poisoned arrow."

"Yeah", Taka added. "He's one tough cookie. The dose on that arrow was enough to take down an elephant-bear for twelve hours. But, maybe I coated the arrow with the wrong poison; let me check."

"I told you to keep your stuff organized, lazy bum", Bara chided at Taka who was busy rummaging his rucksack. "Imagine what could have happened had you used lethal poison?"

"No worries, I don't have any lethal poison. Used the last bit for dinner two weeks ago", Taka took out a bunch of tiny bottles with different colored caps.

"Hunting", Bara and Rocky answered Piandao's unasked question; the swordmaster replied with an 'o…'

"This is the one I used", Taka pulled the bottle with red cap; he opened it and sniffed the content. "Hmm, thought so. Wrong bottle."

"What's that one then?" Bara asked, curious.

"…uh-oh. This is the right one, after all", Taka muttered.

"How can you tell?" Piandao asked.

"Cause… I'm dizzy…" was all he said before falling sideway off the railing.

"Fat! Take out the net and fish him up! Quick!" Piandao yelled frantically at his butler who was manning the ship.

* * *

"Travelling abroad without a pass", Zuko said, wanting to be sure.

"Travelling abroad without a pass", Lin confirmed. "…And also impersonating a soldier, falsifying army intelligence, spreading the rumor that my uncle's dead, and causing a bushfire the size of the Imperial City."

"And all in one day", Azula sighed, shoving a piece of meat bun to Lin's mouth. "Nice."

"Oh, come on", the always positive Ty Lee chirped in. "It can't be that bad."

"Yeah not bad at all", the always negative Mai replied sarcastically. "He's chained from head to toe, Ty Lee!"

"Oh, actually I got this for attacking the guards", Lin said, waving his cuffed hands.

"Why would you attack the guards?" Zuko asked.

"Well, it gets pretty boring down here", Lin replied nonchalantly.

"I can try to work something out, if you want", Iroh offered kindly while the other kids laughed.

"Nah, it's okay", Lin shook his head, taking a bit off the meat bun in Azula's hand. "*munch* My dad was here earlier and he couldn't get the warden to compromise."

"Your dad? Is that why the warden looks like he has just been attacked by a platypus-bear?" Iroh frowned.

"Yes, and yes", Lin nodded. "Although it's not like what you think: his date did that."

"Ah, yes… the lovely Young Lady Wen", Iroh smiled, reminiscing aloud. "I remember when I first met her; I was paying a visit to her father; she was ten at that time and was practicing martial art with her private instructor in the courtyard. Being an active war general I arrogantly offered to help her with her martial art training; a mistake that I'm still recovering from to this very day. My butt is never the same again since that spar; the left cheek is a little bit crooked if you look at it from above."

"…General, if you don't mind, I'm trying to eat my meat buns."

* * *

Later that night…

"Why do we have to move him at the middle of the night, anyway?" A guard, a Royal Procession, grumbled, holding on to a chain that coiled around Lin's hands. Although his legs were no longer bound, his hands were still chained and they had also put a steel muzzle on him to prevent him from breathing fire. Two Royal Procession guards walked at his sides, each were holding on to his chain; another ten local city guards marched behind them armed to teeth.

"Because he's a war hero, idiot", the other Royal Procession, replied. "It'd cause a commotion if we moved him in broad day— Hey, what's wrong?"

Lin suddenly stopped, gagging behind his muzzle; thick white liquid flowed out from it, dripping down to his chin and chest.

"H—he's puking, man!" the guard shouted frantically, checking on their prisoner who was suddenly down on his knees, choking. "Take off the muzzle, hurry!"

With slight effort, the two Royal Procession managed to unlock the metal muzzle, allowing Lin whose face was stained with vomit to breathe more easily. That didn't stop him from throwing up some more though, disgusting the rest of the guards.

"What're we gonna do?" the first guard asked his fellow guard, patting Lin on the back to help him vomit.

"Ask for help!" the other guard yelled at the escort. "Hurry! Some of you run to the nearest hospital and grab a healer. This is General Jiang's kid here; if anything were to happen to him, we're dead meat!"

Half of the escort dashed away, racing to the main road; leaving about five men plus the two Royal Processions, encircling Lin who was still gagging and coughing.

"Hey, you okay, kid?" asked one of the guards, he sounded scared.

"Help me up…" Lin whispered weakly, face full of vomit.

"Sure, sure", he said, gesturing to the other guards to help. Together, they pulled Lin up gently to his feet.

"AARRRGGGHH!" the two Royal Procession at Lin's sides yelled, receiving fire blasts on their chests which Lin delivered by jumping and kicking sideways with a split. Landing rather wobbly on his feet, Lin turned around and spin-kicked fire arc at the nearest soldiers and fire breathed the rest of them. His attacks, though not lethal, managed to disorient the soldiers long enough for him to run.

He managed to run for a few meters, only a few meters, however, before everything went hazy. Feeling his world swaying, the last thing Lin remembered was the world turned upside down and the cold dirt road on his cheek before everything went black.

Moral of the story: never get into a fight with a full stomach…

* * *

**Author's note:**

Never fight, or exercise, with full stomach, seriously.

oh, and before you ask: nobody but Lin and the gang know that Taka was the one who shot Kang.

To hpswst 101, very nice noticing the pattern! :)

Also notice that they are all Fire Nation. Fire Nation people in the show kinda strike me as hotheaded and have the 'act before thinking' mindset before they reach Iroh's age. Just an opinion, though.

And, nope; there's no way Bara, Taka or Rocky could have bandaged Kang's wound. They'd get killed before they could even get close. :)

Say, when you said you played taiko, do you mean the drum? Cool!

Have a nice day!


	53. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52 – Prison Break… Again**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

"—broken jaw, bruised nose, light burn", Jiang read from his scroll, sitting at the bedside. "And two of them would need some time in psychiatric ward due to mental trauma; fresh recruit, I'd bet. And all was caused by two attacks; not bad, son."

"Geez, thanks, Dad", Lin yawned lazily, lying on the bed. There were in his room in the Lin Family Estate; it had been awhile since the both of them were actually there. You know, really there; having fun, actually feeling at home.

"Be sure to thank General Iroh once you have the chance", Jiang rolled the scroll back. "He convinced the Council to let me keep you here until the day of your court martial."

"Yeah, yeah", Lin rolled his eyes. "So, why am I chained to my bed again?"

"You're a prisoner here, champ", Jiang replied matter-of-factly. "I have half a mind to put you in the dungeon but since you're sick—Ouch!"

"What was that again about putting your son in the dungeon?" Lady Wen suddenly appeared behind Jiang, giving him a smack on the head.

"Nothing", Jiang grinned innocently, then added under his breath. "_Nothing he can't handle_."

"Father of the year, congrats", Lady Wen applauded Jiang sarcastically, but awarded him with a genuine soft kiss on the cheek. She then turned to Lin, sat on the bedside and started checking on the boy's temperature and pulse.

"Am I dying?" Lin asked with fake yet convincing puppy dog eyes.

"You wish", Lady Wen patted his cheek. "Self-induced vomit, huh? Clever but crude, little friend. How did you get enough food to fill your stomach, anyway?"

"Let's just say that you guys were not my only visitors that day, certainly not the only one that brought food."

"Hmm…" Lady Wen raised a brow questioningly.

"…And Dad's cooking sucks", Lin admitted rather untactfully.

"Hey!" Jiang protested.

"I know", Lady Wen concurred with Lin, ignoring Jiang. "I mean, just look at the soy sauce chicken; spirits know how he managed to make it so black."

"There's nothing wrong with my chicken!" Jiang defended his pride of his culinary skill.

"Soy sauce chicken?" Lin frowned at Lady Wen, ignoring his father. "Man, I thought it was mushroom."

"It was chicken!" Jiang corrected irritatedly.

"And the stewed vegetable?" Lady Wen shook her head in disbelief.

"It was only overcooked a little!"

"Stewed?" Lin gaped. "You sure it wasn't stir-fried?"

And while they were having their conversation, the door was slammed open. An elderly man at his sixties, by the look of it, gestured at Jiang, wordlessly ordering him to follow him out of the room. Jiang sighed and got out, closing the door behind him.

"Wow…" Lady Wen sighed. "I could have sworn that I felt a wave of heat when that old dude opened the door. So, he's one of the Elder, huh?"

"Yep", Lin replied.

"I've heard about them; they said that those guys are like the only ones above the head of the family in your clan."

"True that."

"And those guys are like super powerful firebenders."

"Erm… not really. They're just older than most clansmen and more experienced because of that."

"So, they're not strong?"

"They're knowledgeable."

"What do you think they want with your dad?"

"I think they want him to make it so that I have to call you 'mom' as soon as possible."

"Hmm, I see."

"Yeah."

"…"

"…"

"Say what!?" Lady Wen finally got it.

"Think of it this way", Lin sounded grim somehow. "The one and only heir of the family is now a criminal. The current head is a young healthy man, currently courting a young healthy woman. Do the math."

"Wha— aw, maaaaannn!" Lady Wen whined, then pointed at Lin accusingly. "This is all your fault!"

"Sorry, Mom", Lin joked, causing Lady Wen to turn crimson. "Oh, come on! Look at the bright side, shall we?"

"What bright side?"

"I'm gonna have a brother!"

"Bro— but, I want my first child to be a girl!"

"No can do, Mom. Lin Family is ancient, so is its law: only male descendant can succeed as the head of the family."

"Does that mean I can't have a girl?"

"Yes, you can. If you're willing to get pregnant twice, that is."

"This sucks!" Lady Wen grumbled.

"Hey, at least you have an adorable son, already. Right?" Lin grinned.

"Adorable? You want my honest opinion?"

"Oh, it's okay if you lie; as long as it's pleasing my ear."

"Yeah, right!" Lady Wen cracked a smile, pinching the boy on the cheek. "I like you better when you're younger, you know, like when we first met. You were adorable back then. Now… ick."

"Aw, thanks, Mom."

They both laughed, then fell silent for a minute or so; a minute or so filled with Lady Wen busy rechecking Lin's temperature and pulse and Lin awkwardly avoiding having to start a conversation. Then, it was the lady who broke the silence.

"So, how're you feeling?"

"Weak", Lin admitted. "Feel like my whole body is numb. And then, there is this weird sensation in my stomach; like hunger but I'm not hungry, don't feel like eating anything."

"It's normal" Lady Wen explained. "That's the reaction from overeating when you're not used to it. You're weak because of the throwing up and the physical exertion. Nothing a couple of days worth of rest can't cure."

"Mmm", Lin simply mumbled.

"I have Ning Ma cooking a soup for you", Lady Wen added. "You should avoid heavy meal for at least until you gained enough strength."

"Thanks."

"What you did was stupid."

"I know."

"What were you thinking", Lady Wen raised her voice a bit; it seemed like she had been waiting for the right moment to let some of her emotion out. "Trying to break yourself out of the jail?! That was very very narrow-minded of you!"

"…"

"Think of what it might have caused for your father! He is a war general! And a nobleman!! Think of his reputation!!!"

"…"

"And when they brought you back here, your cousins all thought that they had mistreated you and almost had a fight with the guards!"

"…"

"And your Aunt Bing almost collapsed when she heard about what happened to you! And Biao, poor Biao, cried herself to sleep last night! Have you even thought about them when you—! Arrgh!"

"…"

Lin didn't say anything; he just stared at the angry lady who, despite her obvious fury, failed to hold back her tear, her concern. For a few minutes, they just stayed there in silence.

"Do you, at least, know what you were doing?" Lady Wen said finally, calm and wiping her teary eyes.

"I know it is inappropriate for me to say this, but I did. I knew what I was doing."

"That's good enough for me", Lady Wen sniffed.

"I'm sorry."

"Yes, you are", Lady Wen wiped her tear, bent down and kissed the boy on the forehead. She then got up and was about to leave the room but she turned back to Lin and said with a suspicious frown. "Don't even try to firebend."

"…How did you find out?"

"Your pulses are okay, heartbeat fine, all vital signs normal. But, you're as cold as a turkeyduck."

"Just like that?" Lin scoffed.

"I also heard that you used firebending on the guard", Lady Wen added. "And yet, you barely scorched them."

"Did you tell Dad?" Lin asked, staring at the ceiling deeply.

"Of course not", Lady Wen replied sharply. "It would freak him out: his firebending champ lost his inner fire."

"I didn't lose it", Lin frowned, defending his sore pride. "I just… just don't… feel like it."

"Just don't try to firebend, okay", Lady Wen said again, this time with a more authority in her voice. "You could hurt yourself. Give yourself some time to rest."

"Got it."

And so, casting a last worried look at her possible-future-soon-to-be-stepson, Lady Wen resumed her march to the door to allow the boy some rest. But, she halted again at the door.

"Look, kid", she said compassionately. "It's usually in the mind; regret, anger, sadness that are so thick and painful resulted by your fire. Just take a rest for a couple of days and try to get your spirit up, kay?"

"No problem, Doc."

* * *

"Dawn break!!!" somebody shouted. The mishap bundles of people around the small campfire shifted a bit, yet only less than half were sober enough to emerge from their sleeping bags.

"Get up, folks!!" Chey shouted again, rubbing his baggy eyes, sitting on top of a rock; he drew the short straw last night and was awarded with the night duty. "Come on!! Rise and shine!!"

"Shut up, cuz!!" Chit Sang mumbled, wiping his drool still with his eyes closed.

"Wake up!!!!" Chey didn't care.

"Cap'n", a soldier staggered to him, half asleep. "Are we there yet?"

"We've never set sail, bud", Chey yawned without having the courtesy to close his mouth, almost suffocating the young soldier to death with his morning breath. "Our cargo's been held up, remember?"

"Oh, right", the soldier staggered away, just to slump back on his sleeping bag.

"Wake up, guys! Come on!!" if Chey was getting desperate, he was hiding it quite well. But, alas… Chey was only a captain surrounded by a bunch of deserters, which means his rank means nothing. But, as determined as he was, Chey didn't give up! For he had something, a weapon that the soldiers could not disobey, and we call it: death… or a belt full of tear-gas grenade; whichever gets the job done with lowest amount of unneeded casualties.

"It's been an honor deserting with you, guys", he offered an unnecessarily polite salute before throwing the grenade he'd been itching to use; the one with black safety pin and labeled 'black pepper'.

This little incident has proven that violence, comical violence that is, is sometimes necessary to get the message across.

* * *

"Ouch! Hot! Hot!"

"Ops", Azula smirked a little as Lin spat his soup all over the blanket. It could not have been two or three hours after sunrise and there they were, already in the Lin Family Estate: Princess Azula and Prince Zuko, chaperoned/bodyguarded by their faithful and sleepy Uncle Iroh, visiting their now criminal firebending instructor who was currently chained to his own bed and fed a bowl of steaming hot soup by the aforementioned princess.

"Careful Azula!" Zuko scolded his sister. "Here, let me do it!"

"Nowb bwhat, Zukob (Know what, Zuko)", Lin interfered with his tongue slightly smoking. "Why don'b you bleb herb do ib. It'sb wirb if you'reb boing ib (Why don't you let her do it. It's weird if you're doing it)."

"Hear that?" Azula huffed.

"Yes, I do", Zuko faked a serious frown. "Most peculiar accent, little sister. What do you say?"

"Shub ub (Shut up)!"

"Zzz… Huh?" Iroh suddenly woke up. He looked around a bit, noticing the three bickering kids, noticing the hot soup, Lin's new accent, and Azula with the spoon. Not too hard to figure out what's going on…

The old Dragon was almost tempted to let them bickered on; after all, it had been awhile since he had seen a fight being fought by words, and occasional hand or facial gestures, instead of swords, arrows, catapults, and other kind of dangerous objects. But then again, he was here on a mission. He had planned to visit his informal, or rather soon-to-be, student privately early in the morning. Sounds perfect: early in the morning, alone with the kid; he could get any information he wanted from Lin. But, Iroh didn't put Zuko, who was waiting from the dawn break in front of his room, into his calculation. And so, without further ado, he was dragged across the palace by the eager Crown Prince who somehow managed to obtain the highly classified information about the former Battalion Strategist of the 212th Army Battalion's failed attempt at escaping during his midnight transfer from the Imperial City's Local Prison at the Central District to the Imperial City's Prison Tower. And to complete the miscalculation in his plan, they somehow had run into the lovely Princess Azula who was just about to begin her morning training and, for one reason or another, decided to ditch her training today and tag along with her uncle and brother to visit her soon-to-be former master.

So much for a plan! Iroh couldn't help but suspecting a conspiracy against him and him wanting to get a reliable information regarding the incident in Senlin Village.

"Prince Zuko, Princess Azula", Iroh addressed the two royalties with a kind smile painted on his face. "Listen here, why don't you both go to the dining room and have a breakfast first. Both of you haven't eaten anything since last night. Come, General Jiang has kindly arranged a magnificent dish fit for a king for both if you."

"We're not hungry, Uncle", Azula flatly refused.

"We'll have breakfast later, Uncle", Zuko also refused, though a bit less flatly.

"Now kids", Iroh sounded serious all the sudden. "Haven't I always told you it is rude to refuse an invitation to a meal that includes fresh orange juice?"

Always know the right thing to say… Zuko and Azula disappeared so quickly not even an after image of them left. In less than a second, Iroh was back on his original plan; well, at least until Zuko and Azula finished with their breakfast which would be relatively quick unless Jiang stalled them (as planned).

"Orange juice, really?" Lin asked incredulously. "I have tried everything, General, everything! Chocolate chips cookies, candied apples, cotton candies, ginger sweets, heck, I've even tried the 'free pass to punch Zuko under my supervision' exclusively for Azula; and orange juice! You get them to obey with just orange juice?"

"The greatest of pleasure is often found in the strangest of places, my boy", Iroh said sagely. "Or in the strangest of forms of beverage, in this case."

"Orange juice! Really?!"

"Putting that aside", Iroh dismissed the orange juice thing; they had a more pressing matter to discuss. "I believe you know why I'm paying you a visit this time of day."

"If it's about Master Tyro, you should've already received the letter from Bara", Lin mumbled. "And if it's about Senlin…"

"It _is_ about Senlin", Iroh pressed gently; the last thing he wanted was hurting the boy's pride.

"Well… let's just say that I, um, won't be winning my court martial with justice on my side."

"Oh, dear", Iroh put a hand on his forehead. "That's a deep trouble you're in, boy."

"I know", Lin agreed.

"I cannot persuade the Council to drop their charges", Iroh admitted. "I am only one person against Ozai and his minions; my power in court politics has been growing weaker and weaker lately. I can, however, arrange for you to be hidden somewhere safe for the time being."

"Thank you, General", Lin sighed in genuine relief. Though he had been calm under the situation that might reduce any other war-hardened thirteen year old into a weak-kneed crybaby so far, it didn't necessarily mean that he was ready for any punishments he might receive from the Council. He, like any other thirteen year old, still yearned for freedom.

"Now, if you could bust yourself out before midday—"

"Sir", Lin hesitated. "Before that, I think you should see Lady Wen first. Ask him about my 'condition'; you'll know where I'm going with this."

"Alright", Iroh's amber eyes dimmed with genuine worry; just how much more trouble can he get himself into, Iroh asked himself. "Oh, and there is one more thing. I warn you: you won't like this."

"In this state, there are only two things I don't like: this itch on my nose and an order from the Big Red Honcho."

"Bingo", Iroh concurred. "He told me that it is almost time for your initiation."

"What initiation?" Lin asked, feeling a chill down his spine. Whenever the Big Red Honcho, aka the Fire Lord, was involved, there'd usually be death, blood, killing… you get the idea.

"Your initiation to the 'Nightshade Lover Association'."

"Am I not a member already?"

"Almost. You will receive an instruction directly from him regarding this matter."

"What instruction?"

"Usually an instruction to 'pick a specific nightshade' he has his eyes upon."

"Great…" Lin replied sarcastically. "When?"

"As soon as you're out of the Nation."

* * *

"Only visiting, huh?" Lin asked, his eyes narrowed into a suspicious slit shot at the bubbly girl in pink who was sitting at his bedside.

"Yep, visiting", Ty Lee reconfirmed the purpose of her unexpected arrival at Lin's room/prison. "What? Can't I visit a sick friend when I want to visit a sick friend?"

"That depends?" Lin replied. "When you say you want to visit your sick friend who was sick whenever you wanted to visit a sick friend, is he or is he not sick before he was branded as a war criminal who tried to get away from prison by being sick and hence transformed from your friend into your sick friend?"

"…Huh…?"

"Aha!"

"What?"

"You just admitted that you're here for other purposes than simply to just visit a sick friend whenever you wanted to visit a sick friend which is what you allegedly admitted upon the first questioning."

"…My head hurts…" Ty Lee whined.

"And so, are you or are you not here to visit a sick friend because you feel like visiting a sick friend? Answer quick!"

"Yes!"

"And do you have any other reason for visiting a sick friend rather than just because you feel like visiting a sick friend? Answer!"

"Yes!"

"What's that?"

"I'm running away from—oops!"

"AHA!" Lin shouted triumphantly. "So you do have— _What was that!_"

"I, uh…" Ty Lee giggled nervously after having her cover blown. "I'm…mmmm… runningawayfromhome."

"Ooo, Ty Leee" Lin singsonged. "Mumbling fast won't work on me. You're talking to a guy who's been chasing the most notorious training-dodgers in the whole nation, i.e. Zuko and Azula, across the Imperial Palace for morning trainings. And you know how fast they can run, especially before breakfast. Unless you can mumble at 5 Imperial Palace chambers/second, you can't fool me. You know I'm used to catching up to fast things, right?"

"I know", Ty Lee grumbled. "How did you find out anyway?"

"Ty Lee, my dear dear Ty Lee", Lin assumed a tone of a patient kindhearted teacher who were trying to teach a kid some basic math. "You are a daughter of a notable aristocratic family and yet here you are: visiting a criminal ten o'clock in the morning in the criminal's lair alone without a single bodyguard, carrying a big travelling bag."

"What travelling bag?" Ty Lee asked innocently, discreetly kicked her back that she put on the floor under Lin's bed.

"Ty Lee", Lin stared deeply into the girl's brown eyes. "Unless you want me to talk fast till your head explode, you better explain yourself."

"Urgh… I hate you military men", the girl gave up.

"Thank you, civilian", Lin graciously replied. "Now, spill it. I haven't got all day."

* * *

"Another checkmate, General", Iroh laughed, butchering Jiang completely in the Pai Sho match. After sending Zuko and Azula back to the palace with a contingent of guard, he decided to stay for awhile.

"Another game, General Iroh?" Jiang challenged… again.

"Sure, why not", Iroh calmly sipped his tea. He glanced out of the window at the morning sky outside; it's almost noon. Hmm… he _had_ assured Lin that when the time comes, he would provide a distraction so that Lin could escape and meet up with Chey while Iroh stalled off his pursuers. But, so far, Iroh had just worked out the plan for stalling off the pursuers; he honestly hadn't thought that he would need to plan about fending off the pursuers or even to release Lin from his bound. Not that Lin actually requested any assistance in those departments but, come on! From his little catching up with Lady Wen, who was busy brewing a medicinal tea in the kitchen for the young Dragon, he had learnt that the worst of fate had befallen Lin: he had lost connection with his inner fire!

Bad? Sure is! That would mean that Lin would have almost no means to free himself; up to the point before the talk with the very concerned Lady Wen, Iroh had thought that Lin would simply tear the chain apart with his firebending. But, now… what in the Agni's name could the boy possible do to free himself?!

"Eeeeekkkk!!!"

A girl's scream tore through the peaceful morning, almost made the two generals jumped to their feet. Exchanging a questioning look at each other, both generals swiftly made their way to the direction of the scream. Their one minute jog was abruptly ended by them almost running over the back of a crowd on the hallway. Jiang forced his way through the crowd, followed closely by Iroh, only to be met with a horrific scene…

"Stay back!" he saw his son shouted at the crowd, his eyes wild like a deranged man, his hand gripping a knife pressed on the neck of the girl he was holding by the neck with the other arm. "I said stay back!!"

"Heeeeeelppppp!!!" Ty Lee cried, trembling wildly safe for the part where cold steel met her skin. "Save me!!"

"Stay back!!" Lin threatened again, halting a man who was about to lunge at him. "Stay back or she's dead!"

"Kid, easy now…" that man tried to reason. "Stop fooling around, come on! Give me the knife!"

"Shut up and stay back!!" Lin shouted back.

"You heard him, mister!" Ty Lee screamed frantically at the man. "Stay back!"

"Okay, okay…" the man took a few steps back, not wanting to complicate the hostage situation.

_Oh, dear Agni_, Iroh mentally slapped his forehead. _Kids these days, they're so melodramatic_…

Slowly but steadily, Lin and his hostage crept one inch at a time towards the main gate, encircled by the crowd that got bigger and bigger; more familiar faces joined the ensemble as the news that Lin had lost his mind and was currently taking an innocent visitor as a hostage to escape spread across the vast Estate like wild fire: Aunt Bing who tearfully begged him to stop, Biao whose plead turned fast into an angry threat, Uncles Kang and Masa who fixed their eyes on his knife, ready to wrestle it away the first chance they got, Cousins Shi, Yan, and many other who were busy clearing the hallway, some of the Elders who wasted no time to threaten him with varieties of corporal punishments ranging from beatings to stockade, Lady Wen who looked like she was about to cry.

"Open the gate!" Lin demanded once they had reached the main gate. Some cousins, receiving an okay nod from Jiang, quickly ran to the grand gate and pried it open. But, Lin wasn't finished. "Get me my ostrich horse! Now!"

A minute later, a pale-faced sweating stable boy approached him slowly and carefully, guiding Birdie by her reins. Lin ordered him to also load the two travelling bags Ty Lee was grasping on Birdie's saddle, which the stable boy did faithfully before he ran away as quickly as his feet could take him back into the crowd. Lin then demanded that the horror-stricken Ty Lee mount the steed, still with the knife pressed against her body; only after making sure that his hostage was secured on top of Birdie did Lin leap onto the saddle, sitting behind Ty Lee, and spurred the steed forward.

As they raced away from the Estate, they could hear shouts and screams, probably the Lin clansmen arranging a quick chase. Komodo rhinos… probably. But, sadly for them, Lin had already made a plan to take the hilly path down to south. Those heavy rhinos wouldn't be able to make it.

* * *

Half an hour of non-stop ride later, they arrived at the rendezvous point on the shore where Chey was stealing some nap and the rest of the group were sitting around him, killing time by drawing on the poor sleep-deprived captain's face.

"He's here!" Chit Sang shouted, pointing at the fast moving two legged creature that was dashing towards them from the distance. "Somebody's on to them!"

Chit Sang and two other, a man and a woman, dashed toward them, ready to aid their 'cargo' in the chase. Chey, who was awakened by the ruckus quickly ordered the rest of the men to board the ship and ready it for departure.

"Go on!" Chit Sang yelled at Lin and Ty Lee as they rode passed them. The former sergeant and his two companions assumed their stances, barricading the pursuers, two komodo rhino riders, from catching up with Lin.

"Captain!" Lin greeted, halting Birdie as he reached Chey and the ship. "She's coming with us."

"Argh! Another twist?!" Chey groaned, yet he helped loading their bags and Ty Lee into the ship without further complains. Lin descended from Birdie and looked back at Chit Sang and the two others, watching in horror as his cousin Shi jumped down from his steed and made a quick work out of them in a flash, allowing Jiang to resume his march uninterrupted.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jiang questioned coldly as he halted his steed a few feet away from the boat. Chey shrunk under the general's cold stare; it almost made the ink goggle and moustache on his face not funny.

"I'm going, Dad", Lin assumed his stance, ready to fight. "You can't stop me."

"Let's see about that!" Jiang had almost leaped own from his steed but Shi, who had arrived by foot in front of him, held out his hand.

"Uncle, please, let me", he volunteered.

"Cousin Shi, please stand down", Lin tried to reason.

"Are you ready?" Shi ignored Lin's plea completely.

"If I must", Lin sighed.

They stared at each other, their stance ready, and a second later…

—WHOSSH—

Lin rolled away just in time, barely evading the fire blast. He summoned a fireball on his palm at the size of a spit; yes, a _spit_, very small. He twirled it between his palms and sent at Shi a fireball the size of an apple, which Shi slapped, yes, _slapped_, away with his bare hand into the thin air. Shi, thinking that he was being underestimated, mimicked Lin's earlier technique but with full potency. Lin barely managed to jump away, only to find Shi lunging forward with fireballs on both palms. Another two fire blasts, one was sidestepped, Lin had to leaped high to avoid the other one, and he landed behind Shi. Shi, with his back on the ship, was preparing another fire blast when he suddenly tensed up like he had a stroke attack and fell down lifelessly like a ragdoll. As he fell, Ty Lee was seen trembling with her fists raised behind him. If Lin didn't knew better, he would thought that Ty Lee, a mere nine year old, was the one who did whatever it was to Shi, a battle hardened young soldier.

"I— I…" Ty Lee started to sob, obviously scared witless.

"Captain Chey!" Lin shouted; Chey, understanding the order, quickly leaped to Ty Lee and carried the frightened girl back into the ship.

"Surrender, son", Jiang demanded again, still sitting on his steed, his voice was a cold as before.

"What're gonna do now? Fight me?" Lin challenged.

"Of course", Jiang flippantly replied, raising his right foot which was ensnared by an inexplicable knot. "But, as you can see, my leg is entangled by my stirrup. So, I must ask you to wait until I free myself before I can formally answer your challenge."

Taking his sweet time, Jiang deliberately took his eyes off his son, occupying himself with his entangled leg; thus, allowing Lin to quickly ran into the boat. Not having any other choices, the boat decided to leave without their three comrades, leaving them, the unconscious Shi, and Jiang who was still struggling with his foot behind. It took ten minutes for Jiang to liberate his foot but, by that time, Lin and the others were already a black spot on the horizon, so far out of reach. Jiang walked over to Birdie, calming the beast who whined sadly as she watched her master's departure, stroking her beak gently.

"Is Captain Shi alright?" Iroh asked, suddenly materialized from the thin air.

"Yes, he is", Jiang casted a look at his nephew. "I recognized the technique he was hit with; Young Lady Wen can patch him up back to normal in no time."

"Good to hear", Iroh took off his coat and put it on Shi like a blanket; he then cast a deep solemn look at the ocean. "They sure grow up fast, don't they?"

"Yeah."

"How far has your son come with his training?"

"He has learnt the first 16 of the 36 Advanced Forms."

"Not bad."

"But, he has only mastered pretty much up to the tenth form", Jiang sighed; for a moment there, he looked like your average lethargic father. "He never has enough patience to thoroughly study a form before moving on to the next. I can't blame him though; he got that from my side of the family."

"Is it enough?" Iroh asked, smiling.

"I suppose so", Jiang scratched his chin, thinking. "When I was his age, I was stills struggling with the basic forms."

"Not a bad start for him."

"I sure hope so", Jiang sighed again, taking his eyes of the horizon. He cast a look around at Shi who was still unconscious, and the three deserters Shi had subdued earlier. "Now, let's clean this mess."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Not much to say, except that I'm gonna have to take a break for about a month. Something's come up and I'm gonna be very busy until at least the middle of May. Sorry…

To hpswst101, I agree with never exercising on empty stomach. Been there on both occasions, never wanted to go back to either of them. Phew!

You're a taiko drum player. Hey, that's great! Like my teacher in elementary school always said: live in the modern time but always carry a piece of old tradition with you, doesn't matter whose or which tradition. And like I always say: as long as it's fun, safe, and not against the law, do it! :)

Good luck with the taiko and everything else!!!

Have a nice day, everyone!


	54. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53 – Sayonara, Ty Lee**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

"_How're you doing over there?" he asked, heaving and panting heavily; numerous soldiers lay unconscious on his feet. They had been battling the wave of Fire Nation soldiers for almost an hour now; even if they were two of the best combatants in the area, there was no way they could go on much longer._

"_Not bad", Lin replied, also struggling with breathing. He, much like his comrade-in-arm, were sweating river and struggling even to keep standing; much easier for Sai since his spear offered much more support than Lin's Nightshade._

"_Here comes another one", Sai groaned, readying his weapon. Another wave of Fire Nation soldiers emerged from the forest nearby, marching towards them. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Lin did the same thing, not that the boy had any other choice. They had to barricade the forest path or the Fire Nation soldiers would be able to catch up to the others and all would be lost; just the two of them stood between their friends and utter destruction._

"_You should go", Lin heaved, griping his sword tighter, praying to the spirits that his blade wouldn't slip off his sweaty palms when the fight came. "If something were to happen to you—"_

"_Kid", Sai interrupted. "Shut up!"_

"_But—"_

"_We'll be fine", Sai reassured, but the sight of the stampeding soldiers offered no comfort. "Maybe…"_

"_Oh, hell!" Lin groaned, there was no use trying to convince the stubborn guy to leave. "Just buy me a drink once we finish dealing with this rabble."_

"_Yeah, sure. Milk, right?" Sai chuckled; gotta admire his enormous sense of humor. "But, just in case we die; see you in the next life, kid."_

"_Sure thing", Lin grinned back, ignoring his bleeding temple._

"_And if in the next life I ever need a bodyguard again—" Sai continued; the Fire Nation soldiers were only fifty feet away, they could already hear their scream for blood._

"_Heh, don't look at me", Lin scoffed, right before he and Sai lunged towards the incoming wave, weapons ready at hand._

_They clashed once more…_

_There was no way Lin could fulfill his duty as Sai's protector in this state; when fifty armed Fire Nation soldiers came rushing with the intent to kill, it's every man for himself. Lin skillfully parried a spear thrust with his sword, letting Nightshade slide along the smooth wooden handle as he pressed forward and closing his distance with his enemy, and landed a perfect blow on his opponent's neck with the base hilt of his sword, knocking the said soldier unconscious. He couldn't believe how exhausting that simple move was; it would seem that when you're tired, you're actually spending more energy on movements than you usually would do._

_Though his vision blurred, his breath heavy and hard, he didn't have any chance to blink, let alone to check on Sai who was engaging a weapon deadlock with two other spearmen; another spear flew at his face, Lin barely managed to jerk his head sideways. He gripped the spear, just a few inches below the head; and with his armed hand, he swung his sword downward, letting his sharp blade sever the spear in two. The soldier, still gripping what's left of his weapon, jumped away in shock; two other soldiers took his place. Lin threw the other half of the pear like a dart on one of them, vaguely watching it lodge itself on the soldier's shoulder, before Lin was forced to offer his undivided attention to a sword that came clashing with his own. He pushed the blade away easily, thanks to Nightshade's long handle which offered more stability, and spin-kicked the swordsman right on his jaw. Bad idea…_

_The spin kick worked, the Fire Nation soldier was thrown to the ground; but, performing a full-body attack like a spin kick when you're dead-tired, it is never a wise thing to do. The spin kick took a heavy toll on his already drained stamina and dealt quite a blow on his waning consciousness. The next thing he saw… was a spear head, sharp and deadly, flying to his face. _

_Funny, it was slow, so very slow, like the slow motion move when someone's practicing a martial art kata… and yet, he couldn't move his muscle fast enough to respond…

* * *

_

"AAAARRGGHH!"

—THUDDED—

"Owww!" a girl cried out. Hey, stars… Awww… so pretty…

"Ty Lee! What are you doing?" Lin yelled out, nursing his throbbing head. Seems like his nightmare made him shot up suddenly and Ty Lee's head was somehow so close above his own head right before he woke up. And, as you can guess: the head bump of the year…

"I was checking on you, dummy!" Ty Lee shouted back, a hand on her sore forehead. "You were talking in your sleep."

"I was not talking in my sleep!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"What are you doing in my room?"

"What're you talking about? This is _my_ room!"

"Wha—?" Lin looked around groggily, then the memory from yesterday came back to him…

They had just narrowly escaped Jiang and Shi, sacrificing Chit Sang and two others in the process. They arrived at Shu Jing, as per General Iroh's instruction to Chey, at dawn the next day, which was yesterday. In Shu Jing, Chey, Lin, Ty Lee, and six others sought shelter at Master Piandao's Estate; apparently, General Iroh had arranged this with the swordmaster. And, what else… all Lin could remember was how tired he had been, how annoying Ty Lee had been during the travel, and how the girl wanted to tag along with Chey and the others who only stayed for a quick meal before resuming their journey to the Earth Kingdom. And as for why Lin was in Ty Lee's room… oh, right! He was worried that the girl might sneak out, he decided to stay in the same room as her just in case, at least until he was sure Chey and the others were out in the sea, but Lin fell asleep.

Lin was lying on the floor, on top of what appear to be a folded blanket, an improvised mattress made by Ty Lee, no doubt. Ty Lee herself was sitting on the bed from which she perched down on Lin in attempt to comprehend what Lin was grunting in his sleep about. And then the headbutt…

"How long was I asleep?" Lin yawned.

"I don't know", Ty Lee shrugged. "I was asleep too."

"Oh, okay", Lin plopped back on his mattress and rolled his back on Ty Lee. "Wake me up at dinner."

"Hey, wake up!" Ty Lee jumped down and started to shake Lin's shoulder. "When are we going to go from here?"

"Wait a second", Lin shot up, turning to Ty Lee, frowning. "_We?_"

"Yes, we!" Ty Lee huffed. "We're going to the Earth Kingdom, right?"

"…When I decided to take you along, I was hoping that at this point you'd be whining about going home already", Lin confessed.

"I'm not going home ever! I don't wanna go back to the Imperial City!" Ty Lee exclaimed, her expression was those full of contradiction: sad and yet full of conviction, scared with a hint of forced bravery.

"Ty Lee", Lin tried to reason with her, he honestly felt sorry for the girl. "Look, you can't just run away from home simply because you can't stand your family."

"Oh, yeah!" Ty Lee snapped; she was angry now. "I don't remember you having any problem with it when you used me as a hostage!"

"Okay, I deserve that", Lin looked away guiltily. "Just— look, just think it over, 'kay. You might want to change your mind—"

"I HAVE!" the girl screamed at Lin's face, much to the latter surprise; never in his life had Lin ever seen Ty Lee displaying any negative emotion such as anger or sadness.

"Ty—"

"I have thought about it over and over again for _all my life_! You don't know what it's like for me! You don't know how it feels like when your parent mistake you for one of your sisters, or when… when…"

"I know, I know", Lin pulled the sobbing girl into his embrace, patting her head as she whimper in his chest. "That's okay, Ty Lee. Just let it out."

"I-I don't wanna go back…" sobbed Ty Lee.

"But you can't come with me, either", Lin whispered softly, battling to keep his consciousness on the crying girl and trying not succumb deeper into the 'vision' of a young ponytailed girl, dressed in pink light travelling tunic, battling a young boy whose blue clothes and ponytail reminded Lin so much of the Water Tribe youths he had come across during his visit in the Northern Water Tribe. "The thing is, I'm gonna have to stay for awhile."

"What?" Ty Lee emerged from Lin's embrace, genuine surprised were apparent in her teary brown eyes. "Why? I thought we're gonna go to the Earth Kingdom together!"

"No… I don't know", Lin sounded unsure. "I'm a fugitive now, the Army would most likely conclude that I'll be joining up with my grandpa in the Earth Kingdom and search for me there. It'll be much safer for me if I stay in the Fire Nation although I can't say the same for you."

"Then, what're we gonna do?" said Ty Lee in panic tone.

"I can try to arrange something with Master Piandao" Lin reassured her. "He has many contacts in the Earth Kingdom; he must be able to do something."

"Really? Can he do that?"

"Of course I can", a voice from the door made both Lin and Ty Lee jumped. They turned around and found their host standing at the door frame, smiling warmly.

"Master Piandao", Lin greeted as he and Ty Lee got up and offered a polite bow.

"Now, now", Piandao walked in. "There is no need for formality in this humble house of mine."

"Humble? You're living in a palace", Ty Lee chuckled, earning her an elbow nudge from Lin.

"Honesty from one so young", Piandao laughed, patting Ty Lee on the head. "A wonderful trait that you should never change, little girl. Remember that."

"Yes, sir", Ty Lee grinned.

"And as for you", Piandao turned to Lin. "I need to speak to you in private."

"Now, sir?" Lin asked.

"No, not now. After lunch will be fine", Piandao said.

"Yes, sir", Lin bowed again.

"Good", Piandao nodded. _Obedience… a shield_, he pondered. "Well then. I'll see you at lunch."

After a curt nod, he turned around and left the room, leaving Lin who looked weary and Ty Lee who looked curious.

"What's he wanna talk to you about?"

"I… have no idea."

* * *

"How is he?" Jiang asked, just as Lady Wen got out of the room.

"He's fine", Lady Wen assured him, rubbing her tired eyes. "I've never thought a mere child could execute my family's secret art with such perfection. Just a few inches to the left and his heart would stop beating forever."

"I'm really grateful for your help", Jiang sighed, pulling the young lady into his arm.

"Oh, shove it!" Lady Wen grumbled, though she didn't pull away. Long they stayed like that before Lady Wen asked the question. "Have you found him?"

"No", Jiang sighed, breathing in the sweet scent of the lady's hair. "We couldn't get to the sea patrol in time."

"Uh-huh", Lady Wen, sharp as she was, noticed the nonchalant air in Jiang's tone. "How did he escape anyway? You tied him up like that, with metal chain, no less; I just couldn't see any possibilities for him to escape."

"I left the key on the table", Jiang shrugged. "You know, to taunt him. He must've tricked the girl into unlocking his chain. Clever boy."

"Uh-huh", Lady Wen tried hard not to grin yet she welcomed the warm feeling in her chest gladly. Up until now, she had honestly thought that Lin had really stooped so low that he would actually resort to kidnapping an innocent young girl just to escape his prison. But, it seemed like it was all staged by the duo father and son.

"Yep", Jiang absentmindedly said, his hand stroked the girl's hair gently. "And there he goes, long gone now."

"And what about my niece?" Lady Wen asked again. "Will she be okay?"

"Hopefully", Jiang replied. "I have a feeling that a good samaritan will pop up with her in the tow one of these days."

* * *

"How's your injuries?" Master Piandao asked, calmly sipping his cup.

"It's just a scratch, Master", Lin replied from across the round table.

They were sitting in one of the estate's room, one of the few that Piandao actually used. To call it a room is an understatement; the room was as spacious as a medium size temple! The yellowish stone floor supported nothing but a large rectangular red carpet on which Piandao, Lin, and a table sat. Golden ray of the autumn sun showered the light red wall, entering the room the wall at Lin's right, a wall that was basically a gigantic set of windows with several sashes that expand from the floor to the ceiling. According to Piandao, it was his study room.

"Good", Piandao nodded. "And I believe you have a lot of question for me."

"Just one", Lin replied; his amber eyes stared at Piandao's serene hazel eyes deeply. "_Who are you?_"

"I am Piandao, a humble sword maker and swordmaster, at your service", Piandao smiled.

"I know who you are; we've met when I was seven, remember?"

"Ah, so you do remember this old man?"

"Of course I do."

"So, why did ask who I was?"

"I'm talking about— you know, _you_! You, General Iroh, my dad; who are you guys?"

"Me and General Iroh", Piandao corrected. "Your father has nothing to do with our Order, although, if I may point out, your _grandfather_ is one of the higher ranking masters of our Order and supposed to be the one to reveal to you what I'm about to reveal."

"What? And what 'order'?" Lin asked; finally! He had put his total faith in Iroh so far while wondering, admiring, even, the vastness of the Old Dragon's reach and now he was about to get the answer that had eluded him so far: who Iroh really was.

"But, before that", Piandao picked a Pai Sho board and put it on the table. "A match."

"I'm afraid I must decline", Lin replied rather coldly. How could Piandao think about Pai Sho now of all times!

"I insist", Piandao smiled, making the first move: a White Lotus tile on the center of the board, clear as the day, _the White Lotus gambit!_ Lin was about to butcher the white lotus tile with his red rose tile when Piandao interrupted with a question. "Do you know the history of the White Lotus gambit?"

"I'm afraid not, Master", Lin replied, his tile halted in the air.

"The White Lotus gambit is as old as Pai Sho itself", Piandao started his lecture, ignoring Lin's irritated look as he had to halt his move again; it is respectful in Fire Nation custom to stop what you are doing when someone older is speaking and listen with full attention. "It is said that the White Lotus gambit is the first gambit ever created by the inventor of Pai Sho, an Air Monk named E'ka."

Lin withdrew his hand, trying to feint an interest in Piandao's lecture although he didn't know why the swordmaster was telling him this story. Piandao continued.

"E'ka invented Pai Sho almost five thousand years ago", Piandao smiled, noticing the forced interest in the young man's face. "In his own testament, the White Lotus gambit is the embodiment of peace and unity. Do you know why?"

"Um, no, sir", Lin admitted; heck, he had never even heard about E'ka before, let alone why he would think of such obnoxious notion. Peace and unity? In Pai Sho? The idea of the game is to beat your opponent, right? The game itself promotes competition and competition risks collision!

"First of all, the White Lotus gambit is a neutral stance", Piandao nodded at the Pai Sho board. "It is not offensive like the Green Dragon gambit, not defensive like the Black Tortoise gambit, not even well-balanced like the White Tiger or the Red Phoenix gambits; it has no offence or defense aspects, it simply _exists_."

Lin pondered on Piandao's word carefully; _simply exists_. He knew how to use the White Lotus gambit, of course; it also happened to be his grandfather's favorite gambit, unlike Lin's own preference of the more flexible White Tiger gambit, ironic considering that he was a _Byakko_ assassin. A gambit that has no means to attack or defend, then… "What good can it be, then?"

"Good question", Piandao took another sip of his tea. "Usually, a player took a neutral stance to lay a bait or to wait, but it is usually done in the middle of the game not in the beginning. Hmm… perhaps a demonstration is in order. You are familiar with the gambit, no?"

"I am, sir."

"Then, fight me with it", ordered Piandao.

Frowning and hesitating a bit, Lin dropped his red rose tile and picked an orchid tile. He eyed Piandao, who smiled encouragingly, suspiciously before putting the orchid tile on the grid four squares away from Piandao's white lotus tile. Piandao retaliate by placing a wheel tile on the grid parallel of Lin's orchid. Lin put down the next tile, replied by another parallel move by Piandao. What the hell is the purpose of this, Lin asked himself. The logic of Pai Sho is simple: break your opponent's defense with offensive gambit, defend against your opponent's attack with defensive gambit. A neutral move is sometimes applied to lure the opponent into a trap or simply to pass a turn, like moving a peon in chess game. So, when neutral is replied by neutral, like what they were doing right now, both players are merely wasting their tiles away.

"What the—" Lin gaped in amazement as he and Piandao put down their last tiles: a lotus was literally formed by the tiles they lay down on the board!

"_This_ is the embodiment of peace and unity", Piandao swept his hand above the board. "When peace is reciprocated, it breeds more peace; kindness begets more kindness. And only in them, unity is possible; only when people are willing to open their heart to one another does their beauty show itself, like a lotus opens wide to show her beauty."

"Peace…" Lin sighed. When offense meets defense, a conflict arise. But, when neutral meets neutral, a standstill is achieved without bloodshed; a draw, a state where there is no winner or loser, no enemies, only friends… the perfect ending for a game. He understood that, but… "I still don't understand. What does it have to do with anything?"

"My son", Piandao assumed his serious tone, the sunlight showering his being made him almost grand in Lin's eyes. "General Iroh, Tyro, your grandfather, your late grandmother, and I, we all belong to the one order that transcends the division of the Four Nation: the Order of the White Lotus."

* * *

"I wanna go baaaaaaaccckkk!" Ty Lee exclaimed, trying to pull herself free of Fat's grasp on her collar.

"But, we're not finish with our shopping yet", the butler calmly reminded the robust girl. "Let's see… we still have to get some tea, a bag of fresh lemon, a bag of salt and sugar— Young Lady, please. Resistance is futile; it is the Master who volunteered you to go out shopping with me."

"But, I wanna go back now!" Ty Lee grunted, still struggling. And suddenly, her eyes caught the sight of a face, a man, among the crowd.

"Have you changed your mind?" Fat asked the little girl who had just dived behind his back, trying effortlessly to hide her small figure behind him.

"Shhhh!" Ty Lee hissed furiously. She took a peek on the crowd; the man looked at them suspiciously, it seemed like he had noticed Ty Lee too. "Oh no! He's coming!"

Ty Lee quickly dived under the fruit stand beside her and Fat. The man made his way through the crowd to fat who replied the man's curious look.

"Yes, may I help you?" Fat asked placidly.

"Did you see a little girl around here?" the man, a young scrawny looking, interrogate the butler. "You know, about this tall, brown hair, brown eyes, and she has a long braid?"

"Yes, as the matter of fact, I did", Fat answered, Ty Lee just barely managed to suppress her yelp with her hands. "You, sir, have just described the physical features of practically every young girls in this area. In this part of the island, brown hair and eyes are quite common, although not as common as long braid."

"Are you messing with me, pal?" the man snapped angrily, taking a step back with fist ready to strike at his sides.

"Why, of course not", Fat replied almost cheerfully. "I am merely stating a fact. If you don't believe me, you could always look around and see for yourself that I am telling the truth. Take that girl for example (he jerked his head at a random girl who looked just like Ty Lee from behind and was shopping for vegetable with her mother). Now, as I said before—"

Ah, Fire Nation people… hotheadedness is like a second nature for them. Fat caught the man's wrist and, taking advantage of the man's own force, yanked the flaming fist, causing the man to lost his balance and be thrown forward into a pile of not so fresh fish product behind him. A surprised yelps and screams spread among the crowd; none of them seemed to realize that a fight had broken out just as fast as it was put off in their afternoon market. But, it was all soon replaced by mocking laughter as the angry man emerged from the pile of marine-life corpses, covered with stinking fish gut from head to toe. Cringing in disgust and blushing heavily from shame, the man quickly got up and ran from the scene, accompanied by even louder laughter.

"You can come out now", Fat knelt down and peeked into Ty Lee's hiding place.

"Thank you", Ty Lee sighed in relief after she got out from under the cart.

"You're welcome, Young Lady", Fat, still kneeling and wiping the girl's elbow and knees off the dirt, cracked a smile.

"Can we go back now?" Ty Lee whimpered, looking around groggily.

"Sure, why not", Fat replied kindly. He then got up and picked up the shopping back he dropped earlier. With one hand holding the bag and the other the scared girl's hand, he strolled back to the Estate, hoping that he had bought his master enough time.

* * *

"So, what you're saying is you guys are some kind of secret society?"

"Not at all", Piandao replied airily. "Our notion is known to all, right?"

Peace… yes, everybody knows that…

"But, in this war time, a little degree of discretion is somehow needed."

So, it _is_ a secret society!

"And… why do I have to stay here again?" Lin asked; despite what he had said to Ty Lee, the real reason why he had to stay was because Iroh told him to.

"For your initiation", Piandao replied, just as calmly as before, not taking his eyes from the crowd in front of them. After their Pai Sho match, they moved to the vast courtyard of the mansion where Piandao and Lin were now sitting on the porch in front of the courtyard, watching about a hundred men and women, Piandao students, doing their daily physical exercises led by some of his senior students.

"What initiation?"

"Your initiation into the Order, of course."

"Why me?"

"Beats me", Piandao shrugged. "The decision is not mine to make."

Lin opened his mouth to reply… or protest… or anything, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Piandao, on the other hand, stayed as impassive as ever, watching his students undergo their daily torture, err, I mean, _training_.

"You said that General Iroh will come today", said Lin finally after two minutes of agonizing silence.

"To take your friend home, yes", Piandao took a sip from his cup. "I'd sent him a note that his presence is no longer necessary now that Young Lady Ty Lee won't be coming home but… um, he should already be halfway across the ocean when we decided on that, so…"

"And he's bringing you present, isn't he?" Lin eyed the swordmaster suspiciously.

"I do like the Imperial City's spiced tea", Piandao grinned at Lin. "But, seriously, he also wants to talk to you. Maybe, you know, you could try to persuade the Young Lady to consider going back."

"No", Lin shook his head gently. "I… I don't know. I think Ty Lee needs to go on with this running away thing."

"Really?" Piandao cast the boy a scrutinizing look. "Why?"

"Um… I… I don't know. She just wants to go so bad, so I'd say we let her. Provided that we make sure the she will be alright, of course!"

"Hmm…" Piandao stroked his beard. _So, he does inherit his grandmother's gift…_ "If you say so."

"You said that you can arrange something."

"I can try."

* * *

Later that evening, in Piandao's study room, Lin and Iroh were having a Pai Sho match over a cup of tea. Just a few hours ago, Iroh arrived at Piandao's place with an unexpected companion, or reinforcement, depending on your perspective: Mai. So, while Iroh and Lin were having a serious conversation in the privacy of Piandao's study room, Piandao had excused himself because he needed to work on a special order of sword and Mai and Ty Lee, after a rather unique reunion, consisting of Ty Lee nearly squeeze Mai to death, continued their talk in Ty Lee's room.

"Why me?" asked Lin, rather bluntly.

"Actually, I expected a question more like 'when do I start'", Iroh calmly sipped his tea.

"I don't care about that", Lin replied rather furiously, slamming his tiger tile down.

"You should", Iroh smiled patiently at the furious boy. "It's your grandmother's wish."

"My Grandma…?" Lin gaped. The mere mention of his grandmother swept every fury and anger away from him.

"There is much for you to learn about your grandmother, Young Dragon", Iroh assumed his sage-like persona. "About your legacy, your destiny."

"I don't believe in destiny, sir. Or fate", Lin scoffed, somehow he sounded sad. Must be because of his memory of Umma flooding his mind: her gentle smile, her warm embrace… everything… It's sad; they're happy memories, but… sad…

"That's ironic, considering that you are to become a part of something bigger than you could ever imagine", Iroh replied patiently. "But, before we get to that, I assume you would be happy to know that Chit Sang and his other two companions you had to leave behind are alive and well."

"What will become of them?" funny… up until now, Lin had almost forgotten about them.

"They will be detained in the Boiling Rock. That's the best I can do for them."

"Sure beats death sentence", Lin sighed in relief; the crime for desertion is absolute: death.

"Your cousin Shi is also fine. Lady Wen managed to revive him in no time."

"Glad to hear that. So, can we go on with this?"

"No", Iroh replied firmly. _He failed the first test: patience…_

"But, you just said—"

"I will say this: you are to remain here under Master Piandao's supervision. You are to learn under him whatever he wishes to teach you."

"But—"

"I'm sorry, young Dragon", Iroh interrupted with a finality in his voice. "It seems that you are not yet ready for this."

"But, I—"

"It's your turn to move", gestured at the Pai Sho board. Lin cast a puzzled look at the board, then at Iroh, then at the board again; it appeared that he was so lost in their conversation he had forgotten about their match. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he fell silent as his fury subsided. After a full minute of thick silent, he looked up at Iroh, who sipped his tea calmly, and said.

"I understand."

"Good."

"But, there is one thing I must ask of you."

"What is it?"

"It's about Ty Lee. I want you to get her a safe and happy life in the Earth Kingdom, please."

"That will be difficult", Iroh frowned at Lin. "Are you fully aware that if she does not return safely to her family, 'kidnapping' will be added to the list of your crime?"

"I am", Lin nodded; though he sounded full of conviction, a little voice inside him was telling him that he was making a big mistake. "It's worth it."

"Why?"

"I don't know", it was the second time Lin was asked that very same question and he still didn't know how to reply.

"I can't do anything like this if you can't give me a good reason, young Dragon."

"Well, it's…" Lin struggled for words. What's he gotta say to make Iroh understand? _I had a vision_? Yeah, right! "It's complicated."

"I see", Iroh smirked rather slyly. "So, let's make it simple. How about a deal: either you let me take her back, with or without her consent, and I tell you about your grandmother or I arrange for a life in the Earth Kingdom for her and you will learn about your destiny only when I say you're ready."

"What?" Lin flared up, all the pent up emotion that were gone before now came back to him in full force. "What does Ty Lee wanting to go to the Earth Kingdom have to do with me?"

"I doesn't", Iroh replied flippantly. "I just want to know what kind of choice you would make in this kind of situation. Oh, one more thing, this thing about your destiny, it will explain everything about you."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever wondered why you always have those dreams, the ones so vivid, so real, it almost feels like you're actually living it in your sleep?" Iroh smiled, though it didn't look like he was amused by anything.

"How did—", Lin gaped, his amber eyes grew a wide as a saucer.

"Or why you sometimes have some sort of vision about things and people?" Iroh continued and decided to hit the mark: "Or why you had a dream of Lu Ten dying at the exact moment of his death?"

"Wha— You—" Lin stuttered. His face turned crimson as numerous variety of emotion flooded into him: sadness as he remembered Lu Ten, his fallen brother, anger, knowing now that Iroh had known all about this all along and decided to keep it from him, all-out fury for this mind games… and many more.

"Take your time, think carefully", Iroh took another sip of his tea calmly, completely ignoring the heat that emanated from his Pai Sho opponent. Speaking of Pai Sho… "And for Agni's sake, make a move already."

* * *

"Come home with me", Mai tried for the umpteenth time; but with her trademark dark gloomy bored expression, she was hardly persuasive.

"I told you: I'm not going back ever!" Ty Lee huffed.

"I don't care, just come home. Your parents are worried sick", Mai replied flatly.

"No!" Ty Lee almost screamed.

"Come home", Mai said again relentlessly, but this time she added. "Please?"

"No!" Ty Lee's will prevailed against Mai's persuasion.

"So, you're just gonna go. Just like that? Without even saying goodbye?" Mai went on the offensive now.

"No…" Ty Lee whined, trying not to look at Mai in the eye.

"Do you even know what you would do once you get to the Earth Kingdom?"

"Um… I… Lin said he's gonna arrange something with Master Piandao…"

"And you believe them? A stranger and a kidnapper?"

"Hey! Lin's not a stranger and Master Piandao's not a kidnapper!"

"… You got it backward, dummy."

"Ehem", Lin interrupted this argument as he entered the room; Mai cast him a strange look that was rich in negative vibe while Ty Lee was wondering what Mai meant with 'backward'.

"'Yes' and 'go away' ", Mai mercilessly replied Lin's unsaid 'Am I interrupting anything?'

"Ouch", Lin came in nonetheless. Ignoring a dark stabbing stare from Mai, he addressed Ty Lee. "Good news, Ty Lee. Master Piandao knows someone who knows someone who owns a travelling circus troupe who has an opening for an acrobat. What do you say?"

"Really?" Ty Lee's yelped; she seemed happier than she had been these past few days.

"Um, aren't we forgetting something here", Mai interrupted Ty Lee's celebration. "You do realize that if you don't come home, _he_ (a rather sharp tone on the 'he' part) will be branded as a kidnapper, among other things, right?"

"Well, that…" Ty Lee fidgeted, struggling between wanting to embrace her newfound freedom and not wanting to cause any more trouble for her friend while Lin and Mai engaged in non-verbal staring contest. Long they stayed that way before Ty Lee decided to break the silence. "Mai's right. I'm stay—"

"I'll be fine", Lin waved it off. "I have everything under control. You just go and— oofgh!"

He stopped breathing for awhile as Ty Lee dashed onto him, holding him tight.

"Thank you…" she sobbed lightly into his chest; Mai let out a defeated sigh.

"You're welcome."

Outside the room, a certain Dragon was listening to their conversation. Iroh smiled to himself, satisfied and proud.

* * *

The next day, at Shu Jing's pier, Ty Lee was all ready to depart with her new family: a travelling circus troupe led by one of Master Piandao's friends and ex-students. There she was, all ready to leave on the ferry, off to the neighboring nation to start her new life, and yet she still found it hard to let go of her old one.

"I can't breathe, Ty Lee."

"Sorry, Mai", Ty Lee giggled, letting the goth off her embrace. She then turned to Piandao, Fat, and Iroh and offered a polite Fire Nation bow, reciprocated by smiles, pat on the head, and few words of advice. And then, it was Lin's turn.

"So, uh, this is it, huh?" Lin scratched his head, not entirely sure what he should say or do. But, Ty Lee had never been a big fan of words. A hug would do just fine.

"Thank you", Ty Lee's muffled voice came out of the boy's chest. "For everything."

"I should be the one thanking you", Lin patted the girl's head. "I mean, you let me kidnap you and all."

"We're leaving now!" a man popped out of the ferry and shouted at them. Not wanting to be left behind, Ty Lee dashed away onto the ferry, a trace of smile apparent on her face. Once on the ship, she leaned onto the railing and waved at Lin and the others as the ship sailed away into the horizon. And though the ship had faded away from their sight, none of them moved; they all stood there in silence. Until…

"You know", Mai started, turning to Lin. "Since this is your idea, I'm gonna hold you responsible if anything happened to her."

"Yeah", Lin sighed in defeat; yeah, he deserved that…

"I really mean it", a small dagger slid down silently from Mai's sleeve onto her hand; a second later that very same dagger found its way to Lin's neck. "If something happen to her, you're gonna get real friendly with my _other friend_ here, you know what I'm saying?"

"I got it, I got it", Lin shoved Mai's hand away gently. Although he did think that Mai's act with the knife was quite impressive, coming from a girl whose age was still a one-digit-number, it was hardly threatening.

"Good", Mai put the knife back into her sleeve, completely ignorant of the fact that Lin didn't think she posed any threat. "So, we're clear that you're responsible, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you're going to tell Azula about this, right?"

"Okay—_what? No!"_

"No taksies-backsies", Mai smiled triumphantly as she started to walk away.

"Why me? _You_ tell her!" Lin paced up with her, arguing.

"Why should I?"

"You're her friend!"

"But, you're responsible. Remember?"

"But, I'm a fugitive!"

"Not my problem."

Their voices faded as they got farther and farther away from Iroh and Piandao.

"Kids", Iroh sniggered.

* * *

**Author's note:**

I'm baaaaccckk!

1. E'ka, from 'eka', Sanskrit for 'one'.

2. Sai (歳) is Japanese for 'talent', I guess. Sai is also the name of some sort of weapon. You know, the one that one of the TMNT used, the ones that looked like three-pronged daggers.

He's gonna come out in the next book, I hope.

I'm not sure about the white lotus gambit but I kinda noticed that Iroh and the other guy moved their tiles the exact same way.

To hpswst101, sorry for the long update. Agree with the cooking stuff: it's not easy. I tried cooking my own dinner the other day and ended up having to take two days off because of food poisoning. Undercooked meat… I hate undercooked meat.

Oh well, these things happen sometimes… :)

Have a nice day!


	55. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54 – A New Life**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

Shu Jing is a place unlike any other in the Fire Nation. While most cities were already incorporating modern technology, like coal-powered machines and vehicles (at least in rich people houses), Shu Jing still stubbornly clung to their traditional man-powered rickshaws and wooden rafts. There are several arguments about this; some say it was because Shu Jing is full of people who respect their environment, some other say that it was because Shu Jing has no natural coal veins to fuel those advanced machines. But, whatever the reason was, Lin was glad Shu Jing was, well… Shu Jing; a tiny piece of heaven in this war torn world.

Shu Jing was not particularly crowded, like Amber Island, or full of houses and building, like Fire Fountain City, and its people were kind and warm-hearted, unlike the uptight snobbish 'high-class' citizens in the Imperial City. No wonder his grandfather sometimes liked to just run off on one of his warships to this island. And, speaking of the governmental influence, Lin had come to learn that in Shu Jing, they had two leaders: the official governor of Shu Jing, a venerable old man, and Master Piandao, the unofficial leader of Shu Jing. While the governor was respected for his fair rule, his benevolent tendency sometimes unable him to take strong course of action when something like bandit attack happened, and that was usually when he came to Master Piandao. Shu Jing had its own soldiers, yes, but since Shu Jing had always been relatively peaceful and it was the time of war, the Fire Lord decided that all able bodied soldiers should be drawn from Shu Jing, as well as many other places, and sent to the front, leaving Shu Jing defended by either fresh recruits who were still figuring out how to hold a sword right and old veterans who could barely stand straight while wearing their armors. That was why, for Shu Jing defense and security, the governor of Shu Jing relied mostly on Master Piandao and his numerous students.

And speaking of Master Piandao's students, in his enormous estate he housed more than one hundred men and women, all of them students of the swords. Among them, seven of the best were appointed as his senior students and given the responsible of taking care of the other students.

Among the seven was the oldest, a typical looking young man in his mid-twenties, tall, muscular, black hair, amber eyes, sideburns and top-knot, you know, calm and mature personality with cool and calculative head to match, his name was Shin. Shin's history was somewhat similar to Master Piandao's: raised in an orphanage, scouted by the army for his martial skill (although, in his case, it was his skill in firebending), served in the army for a good five years and three promotions before he was injured and lost his left arm. Yes, he had only one arm. Back in the Fire Nation jobless, physically challenged, and having no family, he was discovered by Master Piandao begging for money on the streets of Shu Jing. The master took pity on him and decided to take him in and, to restore his pride as a warrior, trained him in the way of the sword. It was nearly five years since he began his training and now, despite his handicap, it was reputed that his skill in swords was second only to Master Piandao.

Another one of the seven was Yoku, the only woman among the seven; with her white pearl-like skin, long flowing black hair she often left untied, deep dark eyes, face as graceful as an angel, and regal demeanor, she looked just like the painting of a goddess. But give her a sword and she would be transformed into a fierce demon from the depth of burning hell. She was actually a noble born, used to live a luxurious life in the Imperial City, until some… well, some 'things' happened (she didn't like talking about it), and she was disowned by her family. She then wondered around the Nation penniless and stumbled across Shu Jing where she took a liking to a beautiful sword standing on a pedestal in the local weapon store. Then, as expected, she stole it. But, unfortunately for her, Master Piandao happened to be inside the store, slaughtering the store owner in a Pai Sho match. Recognizing the stolen article as one of his creations, the swordmaster gave chase to the brazen female thief and caught up with her in the woods where they proceeded to having a sword fight and Yoku, although losing the bout eventually, managed to impress the swordmaster enough to offer her his tutelage.

Another one, or should I say two, of the students were the twins Yung and Rei; Yung was the taller one. They were your average teenagers, I guess. Young, eager, having tendency to dodge training sessions, it was hard to believe that those two trouble makers were actually grandsons of the illustrious General Lu, the Red Maelstrom. Heh, no wonder they were sent here by their parents. General Lu's family was pretty much like the Lin Family, a proud lineage of military people. Lin had heard the stories about how Yung and Rei's parents had given up trying to teach them discipline and decided to dump the responsibility on a family friend, Master Piandao. But, don't be mistaken, although the twins were robust and difficult to handle, they were both excellent students; they were just a wee bit too hyperactive.

Next was Ren. I know I said earlier that Shin was the oldest of the seven, but it was hierarchically speaking; Shin was Master Piandao's first and best student. When it comes to age, the huge, bearded, short-haired, always smiling guy we called Ren was the oldest. If you asked him his age, he'd probably say that he was in his late-twenties. But, unknowingly to him, everybody in the estate knew that he was actually 35! His story and background were less exciting than the previously mentioned students. He used to be a simple Shu Jing farmer, Master Piandao made him the sole distributor of rice for his estate, Ren the farmer then often came and watched the students practice whenever he came to bring in new batch of rice, and he developed an interest in the art. Master Piandao naturally accepted him as a student.

Just as every class needs a class clown, we have Yuu, a twenty year old draft-dodger. Born into a simple merchant family, he simply could not refuse when the army sent him a draft notice when he was thirteen. Since he couldn't refuse, he ran away. At first, he ran to the neighboring town and work as a store clerk, but he got kicked out for accidentally set the store on fire; it was a store that sells oil, firewood, and coal. Then, he moved to the next town was employed as a servant by the richest family in town. A year later, he was fired for accidentally letting a thief into the house; his testament to defend himself was that he thought the thief was a guest so he stupidly opened the front gate when the said thief asked nicely. And then, he moved to another town and was taken in by a monastery as a helper; five months later, he barely escaped into the woods with his butt intact. Apparently, he accidentally knocked down a jar of sacramental wine and, in panic, secretly replaced it with some cheap wine he hastily bought from the local tavern; you know… the one that has the same texture and color but three times alcohol content. Yep, the very angry head priest nearly cleaved his butt in two with the ceremonial sword once he discovered the reason why half of his flock was suddenly drunk as a skunk and his assistant priest jumped onto the altar singing 'Girls from Ba Sing Se' while stripping down to his underwear. And then, in desperation, he joined a gang of mountain bandit in the next town; but, even when resorting to the life of crimes and delinquency, the hapless dude messed up in some inexplicable manner. The details were unclear, but it involved a huge jar of rice wine, a brown gorilla-bear, a flock of turkey-ducks, an angry boar-q-pine, about a battalion of city guards, and Agni knows how many innocent bystanders. Anyway, wanted in several towns and villages, Yuu ended up in Shu Jing, working as a waiter in a local teashop where he nearly killed Master Piandao with the tea he made; apparently, he mistook a bunch of brown dried-up shredded super-powerful laxative mushroom for tea leaves and brewed it. The result…? Yuu was fired (again), Master Piandao swore that he would never drink out ever again, and the teashop owner 'volunteered' Yuu to work permanently as a servant in Master Piandao's estate as an apology (it was either that or prison for Yuu). One thing lead to another, Master Piandao recognized his hard-working nature and ended up offering Yuu to learn the way of the sword, Yuu accepted and became a top student in no time; this time, he didn't mess up… yet. Well, he did mess up sometimes, to be honest, but not so often anymore. I mean, he hadn't accidentally flung his sword to anyone in a sparring lesson this past few weeks and he hadn't mistaken girl's bathroom for boy's and run into the not-so-properly-dressed Yoku like what happened last month for quite some time now. He was still hanging in there… for now.

And the last, but certainly not least, was Zhong, the quite one; also known as Zhong the Viper. Viper was actually the name of his katana; yes, Zhong was already an accomplished young swordsman when he joined Master Piandao's school. Though he was quite young, only seventeen, he was a well-known wandering swordsman, particularly famous for his skill in the art of iaijutsu, the technique of quickdraw, drawing a sword from its sheath, striking an opponent, and sheathing the sword back, all in one single fluid move; that was another reason why he was called the Viper, his movement was like a viper striking an opponent… quick and deadly. Two years ago he showed up in Piandao's school and rudely interrupted the students' daily torture, err, I mean training, by challenging the master to a duel. Piandao refused and instead offered one of his students as an opponent for Zhong. Guess who that unlucky fellow the Viper had to face was (hint: the word _unlucky_). Yep, the hapless Yuu. And, guess who won? Yuu! Again, the details were unclear but Zhong refused to admit defeat on the ground that Yuu's victory was due to a fluke: in Zhong's own testament, Yuu's shoelace was somehow loosened from all that jumping and running around dodging the Viper's lightning-fast strikes and he accidentally tripped on it and pushed Zhong out of the sparring ground onto a nearby rock that got a little friendly with Zhong's head, if you know what I mean, and knocked him out cold. Zhong, as soon as he came to, requested another bout but Piandao refused, saying that even if Yuu's victory was due to luck, had it been a real fight, luck or no luck, Zhong would have been dead already. Bewildered and humiliated, Zhong decided to leave but Piandao, acknowledging his great talent, offered him to stay. He did…

And there we have it, the seven senior students of Piandao's School of Swordsmanship: Shin, the one-armed swordsman, strict and by-the-book, yet kind and fair; Yoku, beautiful as she was deadly, somewhat snobbish, a big sister figure for all younger students; the twins, Yung and Rei, prodigal grandsons of the late Lu, the Red Maelstrom, robust, cheerful, fun, but extremely talented in both pen and sword; the kind Ren, mature in age but young at heart; the hapless Yuu, cursed with a lifetime of misfortune and yet he retained his kind heart and cheerful attitude; and Zhong, the Viper, cold, distant, somewhat proud and arrogant, but few respect the art of the sword like he did. Different from one another but one under the same master, just like the seven colors of rainbow under the same blue sky.

And now, we have Lin, the fugitive. A former captain and Battalion Strategist of General Jiang's 212th Battalion, the titular Dragon of the Deep Forrest had been involved in some horrific fire accident in Senlin Village and the kidnap of Young Lady Ty Lee, among many many other things. As per the instruction of the old Dragon of the West, General Iroh, he sought refuge in Master Piandao who persuaded the governor and the citizens not to make a fuss over a top-class criminal living on the same island as them and decided to accept him as a student.

"LIIIIINNNN! WHERE'S MY CLEAN SHIRT!"

"Coming!"

Did I say student…?

"LIIIIINNNN! HELP ME FIND MY TOOTHBRUSH!"

"In a minute!"

Well, yes… technically, he was a student…

"LIIIINNN!"

"WHAT!"

…but, since he was new, he had to start from the bottom… very bottom…

"Somebody break into my room and stole my— my…"

"Stole your what?"

…a servant…

"My—", Yoku hesitated, her face turned redder and redder by both anger and embarrassment. She then leaned down toward Lin, who was mopping the floor with a rag and whispered something into the boy's ear.

"Your bra—"

—WHACKED!—

"Find it", Yoku hissed, walking away from Lin and his throbbing head.

"What'd you do that for?" Lin pouted, nursing his head, but, Yoku didn't even turn back.

Well, since Lin was a new student, everybody had been dumping the unwanted chores, such as laundry and cleaning the estate on him; he was like an unofficial servant for them. Gotta love the traditional senior-junior relationship… *sarcasm*

"Stupid floor… stupid Yoku… stupid bra…!" Lin cursed as he continued with his menial chore. Ah… how he longed for his life in his own estate. He was practically a prince in his family; the heir to the family, had his own room, numerous servants… never before in his life that he had to mop a floor, do his own laundry, do _other people's_ laundry, and share a room with three other people. It had only been a month since he first started his study under Piandao and already he wished that he didn't run away from the prison; at least, in prison nobody made him mop any floor.

"She'll kill you if she hears that", a tender yet masculine voice came from behind him. Lin jerked back in surprise and found Ren standing behind him.

"Oh, it's you", Lin sighed in relief. Although Ren was as big as Chit Sang (Lin hoped he was okay), he had a real talent in sneaking up on people.

"So, somebody stole Yoku's private stuff, huh?" Ren stroked his beard. "Any idea who?"

"Either the twins or you", Lin bluntly accused.

"What? Why me?" Ren feint a hurt look.

"Because the twins stole her frilly nightgown last week and you stole her _other_ nightgown the week before", Lin replied matter-of-factly. Though Ren was no longer a kid, he had the personality of one; a fact that the twins often took advantage of by enlisting his help as co-conspirator in many of their pranks. "You know, she wouldn't be so mad about it if you guys didn't hang her 'privacies' on the flagpole."

"Hahaha", Ren let out a hearty laugh, wiping his watery eye with a finger. "Yeah, it was funny, wasn't it?"

"For you, yeah. For me? I was the one who had to clean after your mess."

"Oh, come on, kid. Here, I'll help you with your mopping."

"So, you _did_ steal it!"

Ren only helped around with Lin's chores if he needed a favor…

"Well, yeah, technically. I was the one who did the actual borrowing without permission but the twins made me do it. You know that I find those two irresistible, right?"

"Come on, man. Return it. I don't wanna have to climb up the flagpole again."

"No worries, kid. We're working on a new one this time."

"And what exactly is this new one?" it was another voice who utter this question; the one that sounded rather cold and chilly, flat and bored, just hearing it make you imagine a soft breeze in an icy cold tundra. Ren and Lin turned to the voice and found Zhong standing behind them, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Well", Ren grinned. "The twins said something about the komodo rhino in the stable."

"Don't", Zhong narrowed his gray eyes. "Shin will kill you if he finds out."

Because it was Shin's komodo rhino…

"Oh, come on, guys", Ren whined. "I mean, we're actually doing a good thing: a new accessory for Shin's komodo rhino!"

"What about my komodo rhino?" Shin suddenly materialized behind Ren, asking rather threateningly.

"Eeek!" Ren yelped, somewhat femininely. "Um, ah… nothing…"

"What. About. My. Komodo. Rhino?" Shin asked again, slower and more venomously this time. Although Ren was older than Shin, he respected him as much as he respected Master Piandao and feared him a lot more than he feared the master.

"Uh, ha ha…" Ren laughed nervously, he began to sweat now. "N-nothing. Right, guys?"

Ren turned to Lin and Zhong for help, but the two teenagers were no longer there. Ren was all alone…

"Ren", Shin hissed, placing a palm on Ren's jabbering shoulder. "Mop the floor, please."

* * *

One thing about Master Piandao's School of Swordsmanship: it taught both literature and martial arts. The usual daily training started with morning exercises after light breakfast. After the real breakfast, once the morning exercise was over, breakfast, students would join their appointed groups and started different trainings depending on which groups they were in under one of the seven senior students. These trainings were stuffs like calligraphy, brush painting, meditation, all the stuff that probably had nothing to do with swordsmanship but deemed important by the master nonetheless. And after lunch break, it was the time for the real sword training under the master. And after dinner, they would have to attend a lecture by Master Piandao regarding swordsmithing, usually once in two days.

Lin had a reason to count himself as lucky; he was in the group that was tutored by Shin. First of all, Shin was a good tutor. Second of all, well, let's face it, Shin was the most normal one out of the seven. At least he wasn't snobbish (like Yoku), he didn't let his class run wild like a bunch of five year old kids (like Yung and Rei), he wasn't a meek pushover (like Yuu), nor was he overly lenient (like Ren), and he was certainly interested in each student's growth and progress (unlike Zhong).

Sometimes, Fat the butler joined too, I mean he was also a student of the art, right. But, Fat would usually too busy taking care of more than 100 students' whims and needs to actually participate in any of the training sessions, so he trained alone.

"Not bad", Lin felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. He looked up and found Shin smiling at him while his eyes admired Lin's calligraphy. "Ten pages and there hasn't been any single mistake. Well done, Lin."

"Thanks", Lin grinned. It felt kinda nice when your work is appreciated.

"Keep going", Shin urged. "Let's see if you can finish the rest of the chapter before the class is over."

With another tap on the shoulder, the older man moved on to another student. It had been a month since Lin started his first day. But, even so, he still didn't actually get the meaning behind half of the trainings he had received so far. Sword training, physical exercise, and meditation, sure… it _was_ a martial art school. But, calligraphy, brush painting, and all other 'softer art' stuff? What exactly was the meaning behind them? Lin just didn't get it… and he was usually good at getting it!

But, meh… better ignore it for now. Years of dealing with old men like Jeong Jeong and Iroh had taught Lin that old people like them rarely teach stuffs that are completely useless. Given enough time and he was sure he would finally understand the significance of this unusual training regimen. Furthermore, for some students, the training regimen that includes art and literature was actually beneficial. You see, Shu Jing was a rural town that the government had little interest in. Shu Jing didn't own establishments like military barrack, public courthouse, town hall, not even school. Most of the public event and services were held in the governor's mansion, which also act as headquarter for city guards. For educational purposes, the governor used to hold classes for public where he would teach them literature and history free of charge. But, he was not as young as he used to be and often had to cancel his classes because he was too tired to teach, so a lot of people had begun sending their kids to Master Piandao. Sure, the children would have to undergo harsh martial art training, but at least they wouldn't be illiterate.

"Class dismissed", Shin exclaimed as a loud clanking sound was heard from afar, the school bell. "Remember to do your homework. Oh, and if anyone find, erm… a red piece of women undergarment, please return it to Yoku."

The whole class burst into laughter at the last part, even Shin cracked a smile. After packing up his pen, scrolls, and books, Lin followed the rest of the class out. He walked the hallways leading to his room; he had about fifteen minutes for lunch before he had to help out with the laundry, so he better hurry.

"Psst!"

"_Ignore… Ignore…"_ Lin, knowing what the hissing meant, pretended that he didn't hear it and quickened his pace.

"Psst! Liiiiin!" the hissing grew louder; Lin had no choice but respond.

"What now?" Lin groaned at Yung and Rei who were hiding inside one of the rooms.

"Come in", Yung hissed, Lin obeyed. Upon entering the room, he was greeted with the usual sight of piles of clothes here, there, and everywhere; ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the messiest room in the whole Four Nation by Yung and Rei. Boys …

"Oh, boy… I didn't see that. I never saw that", Lin turned his head away, already regretting the fact that he caught glimpse of a red women undergarment sitting on top of what looked like Rei's bed.

"Oh, come on, buddy. We need your help", Rei started, grinning from ear to ear.

"No", Lin replied firmly.

"Come on, Lin", Yung grabbed him by the shoulder. "We're gonna have a real blast this time."

"Yeah, what?" Lin asked flatly. "You're gonna put Yoku's bra on Shin's komodo rhino like a blindfold?"

The twin gasped, Yung released his hands; both of them eyed Lin with both amazement and awe.

"How did you know that?" Rei asked incredulously.

"Easy: that's what amateurs do."

"Well, do you have a better idea?" Rei asked, looking a bit offended as he and his twin brother were called amateurs while they often fancied themselves pros at the art of pranks and practical jokes.

"Of course I do", Lin smirked slyly. "But, as usual…"

"We'll take all the credit, you were never even here, got it", Yung replied, also smirking.

"So, here's what you should do…" Lin pulled them closer and imparted some of his dark knowledge in the art of pranks and practical jokes.

* * *

It was after dinner, Master Piandao were giving a lecture like usual in the main hall, the only place large enough to hold a lecture for about fifty students. Oh right, the lectures were daily but they had to take turn attending it. And that night, Lin was among those who didn't have to attend. He was walking in the hallway, having just finished helping Fat washing the dishes, he wanted nothing more than to go back to his room and turn in early. Life in Master Piandao's school was unlike any other that he had experienced before, not only about his enslavement by the other students and Fat, of course. It was so much more than that. He was used to almost every training he received so far. Physical training was hell but nothing compared to what Bara, Taka, and Iwa had put him through. With his earlier assassin training, which includes swordsmanship, he quickly caught up with the rest of the student in no time at all. Literature? He was a noble born, for Agni's sake; he was probably taught how to read and write before he could speak right. So far, so good. But, it was also more than that… what was it that make life in Master Piandao's school so… different, different in the best sense possible.

Maybe it was because he had never experienced what real school was like. He had always had Umma or a tutor teaching him, Jiang or his grandfather training him. It was always him alone with a private teacher, he had never learnt together with other people, not that often and not like this. It was kinda fun, actually…

—THUDDED—

"Oww!"

"Ouch! Oops, sorry, Yuu", Lin replied apologetically. He was so lost in thought he didn't realize that Yuu, whose line of vision was obstructed by a pile of boxes he was carrying in front of him, were walking to the opposite direction right in front of him until they ran into each other.

"It's alright, Lin", Yuu waved it off. He knelt down to pick the boxes he dropped up, helped by Lin. Soon, Yuu resumed his march, this time helped by Lin who carried half of his burden for him. On their way, Yuu decided to ask Lin something. "You okay? You look a bit down lately."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You've been eating well?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Sleeping well?"

"Pretty much."

"Hmm, it seems like I can't figure out what could be troubling you", Yuu frowned. "It can't be your study. I mean, if you ask me, I think you're doing pretty well."

"Well, I kinda have a head start", Lin replied, blushing slightly from the compliment.

"Oh yeah, I kinda noticed that you've learnt sword before", Yuu pondered aloud. "I've always thought you firebenders never cared much about weapons. Guess I was wrong, huh? Where did you learn, by the way?"

"From the Palace", lied Lin. Well, it wasn't entirely a lie; he _did_ undergo his training in the Imperial Palace but, he learnt from a group of assassins, not an Imperial Sword Instructor. It wasn't Lin's fault if Yuu simply assumed the latter.

"Oh, right", Yuu nodded. "I forgot that you used to be an Imperial Firebending Instructor. Must be fun living in a palace, huh? Oh, we've arrived."

They stopped in front of the main hall from where Master Piandao's muffled lecture could be heard. Yuu pushed the door open and entered the room. Briefly, the whole class, Yung, Rei, Yoku and Ren among them, turned to Yuu and Lin, but then they turned their attention back to Piandao's lecture. Inside the hall, approximately fifty students each sat on the floor behind a small table, Piandao himself were standing in front of the class; a large blackboard was fixed on the wall behind him. Also, in front of the class, was a wooden mount that people often used for canvas painting on which Piandao had put a stack of bound parchment that had pictures and graphs regarding that night's lecture drawn on it.

"—keep in mind that the steel must not cool down completely during the process", he went on with his lecture. He flipped a parchment without taking his eyes off the class while Yuu and Lin put down their load on the corner of the room as silently as possible.

"Remember well that each strike of the hammer must be delivered carefully. Failure to deliver the right amount of force will result in the steel not having sufficient strength or the right shape; it could probably turn out looking like this picture here", he flipped another page, still without looking. "Now, this picture shows a blade that was poorly tempered— what's so funny?"

Piandao frowned at his class; soon after he flipped the last page, the one that supposedly showed a picture of a poorly tempered sword, half of the class gaped with wide eyes while the other half nearly suffocated themselves as they struggled to stifled their laughter. Piandao didn't remember telling any jokes; he had always remembered not to tell any jokes during an important part of a lecture. So, what could be so funny?

"I, pfft—ehem, I certainly wouldn't want my sword to look like that, sir", a student said; below his table, he was pinching his thigh so that he wouldn't laugh out loud. Puzzled, Piandao turned to his lecture parchment and… mystery solved.

"Ah, I understand that sentiment perfectly", it was now Piandao who struggled not to smile. "I certainly wouldn't want my sword to wear a bra, either."

The whole class exploded into a loud guffaw; needless to say, Yung, Rei, and Ren were among the loudest. Yoku, on the other hand, looked horrified as she recognized the red undergarment that someone glued onto Master Piandao's lecture sheet as her own.

"Alright, class. Enough laughing!" Piandao clapped his hands to calm the class and did a little success, even Yuu and Lin, who were gasping for air in between their laughs couldn't stop laughing. "Class! Alright now! Yung, Rei, see me after the class! You too, Lin!"

"W-what?" Lin suddenly stopped laughing. How did he find out!

With a jerk of his head, Piandao wordlessly ordered Yuu and Lin to exit the room so that he could carry on with his lecture. So, Lin had no choice but to get out and wait outside the hall for the class to offer. Funny, it had been awhile since he felt like this: the cold sweat, the chill down his spine, the horrible thoughts of some punishment that he might received… the last time he felt like this was when Umma found out that he put a rubber snake on Yan's bed. The worst part was the anticipation; even with Yuu cheering him up, the torture didn't get any easier.

Finally, the class was over. As students began to pour out, among them was the crimson-faced Yoku and Ren who grinned guiltily as he mouthed 'sorry' right before he walked away as fast as he could, Piandao's voice ordering Lin to come in was heard from inside the hall. Lin obeyed the master, followed by Yuu who, without any hesitation, began defending Lin by testifying that he was with him all day helping Fat with the chores, and then helping with the boxes, so Lin couldn't possibly be responsible for putting Yoku's undergarment on display. But, Piandao simply waved him off.

"I know, Yuu, I know", Piandao raised a hand to stop him from talking. "I know that Lin wasn't the one who glued Yoku's private stuff on my parchment."

"You do?" beamed Yuu, relief. Lin, however, was somewhat wary of the fact that Piandao looked directly at his direction when as he uttered the last sentence. Well, it was true that Lin wasn't the one who glued the underwear on the parchment. But, it would seem that Piandao was aware that Lin still had something to do about it.

"Yes", Piandao assured him again, he then turned to the twins who fidgeted uncomfortably. "Yung, laundry chores for a week—"

"But—"

"—Rei, stable chores!"

"What—"

"Want to make it two weeks?"

"No, Master", they both quickly replied.

"And, as for you", Piandao addressed Lin now; the latter was now sweating profusely, waiting for the hammer to swing down. But, instead, Piandao smiled and said. "I think you are ready for your own sword."

Silence for a second or two…

"W-what?" Lin gaped.

"Seriously, Master?" beamed Rei.

"Yes, why not", chuckled Piandao, amused by the students' reaction. "I mean, Lin adapts pretty quickly to our training, and pretty well too. And also, we're a bit shorthanded right now. Having another student to assist the teaching sounds like a good idea."

"Congratulation, buddy", exclaimed Yuu happily, shaking Lin's shoulder, who was still gaping, not knowing what to say.

"Yes, congratulation", Piandao nodded curtly at Lin, smiling. "So, kids, go and spread the news. Celebrate if you must. But, remember, don't sleep in late."

With that, Piandao, walked out of the hall, leaving the four youths with the happy news. _Maybe staying here wasn't such a bad idea, after all…_ thought Lin.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

The seven students' names are based on the seven virtues of Bushido:

1.信, pronounced 'shin' in Japanese, means 'honesty'

2. 義, could be pronounced 'yoku' in Japanese, means 'righteousness'

3. 勇, pronounced 'yung' in Mandarin, means , 'bravery'

4. 礼, pronounced 'rei' in Japanese, means 'respect'

5. 仁, pronounced 'ren' in Mandarin, means 'benevolence',

6. 誉, pronounced 'yu' in Mandarin, means 'honor'. But, since the name Yu is already taken, I added an extra 'u' on it.

7. 忠, pronounced 'zhong' in Mandarin, means 'loyalty'

Oh, in case you don't know, Bushido means 'the way of the warrior'. It was like a code of conduct adhered to by the warrior class in ancient Japan.

And, when I describe the twins, Yung and Rei, there is a passage '… talented in both pen and sword…'. In ancient China, according to a book I once read, people used to categorize talented man into these two categories: talented in pen means a person is an intelligent scholar, talented in sword means a person is a great warrior. Pen and sword = brain and brawn, simple…

Iaijutsu is real. People still practice it now. You can look it up on YouTube, I bet they have some videos there.

To hpswst101, well, about Sai… he's gonna come around eventually. Oh, and he will not join the Gaang. I intend to make this fic to be as close to the original story as possible. So, this whole fic is kinda like what happened behind the scene or something. But, I don't know… might change my mind at some point later on, who knows.:)

Hey, burnt food isn't so bad. At least it upsets your tongue (mostly) and not your stomach. :)

Trust me, undercooked food is so much worse, especially if it's animal product.

Have a nice day!


	56. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55 – Nightshade**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

Sunday, at last! The only day off in Piandao's School of Swordsmanship. Lin spent most of the morning evacuating his belongings to his new room. Senior students had their own private rooms, located on separate strategic places so that other students could reach one of them easily from their own rooms. That way, if something happen, for instance, they could reach any senior students faster and much easily; Master Piandao's own room is located deep inside the estate.

In his school, Piandao was strict about students possessing their own weapons. He believed that students should not even touch a real sword unless he deemed them ready for it. For sparring lesson, they only used wooden swords. And, because of that, only the senior students were allowed to own real swords. Also, senior students received extra training from Piandao in swordsmanship using real swords so that they could get used to the feeling of swinging a real blade around. Additionally, they were also delegated as tutors in morning and afternoon classes.

So, Lin now had his own private room, cool… now, he could finally put his precious belongings in a more proper place. He didn't have much stuff with him; during his escape, he had only managed to pack some of his barest necessity and his treasures: his jade flute, the scroll of Yi's, the Great, death poem, a compass given to him by Lady Wen (in case they got lost on the sea during the escape), two scrolls that contains the portrait of his mother and grandmother, and… yep, that was it. He was in such a hurry back then, he didn't even grab enough clothing for a week. So, there he was now, sitting on his bed, blanket up to his abdomen, Yoku sitting beside him patching up his last pair of trousers that he wrecked in the last training session.

"Master Piandao sent a message from the Imperial City", Yoku said without taking her eyes off her work. "He's going to visit your father after he's finished with his business there. I sent back a reply saying that you need more clothes; I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all", Lin scratched his head, slightly embarrassed. "Thanks."

"Have you thought about your sword, yet?" Yoku asked, still concentrating on the sewing.

"A bit?" Lin shrugged. He lied… He had thought about his sword ever since Iroh indicated that his dreams and visions bore the prediction of the future in their last conversation. In his dreams, he had seen a person that looked so much like him wielding a sword: black as the night, its blade gleamed like a silver stream of death, smooth and thin, its handle twice as long as normal one-handed jian sword. He could see it clearly… when he dreamed about fighting a group of green garbed men who wore triangle hat and rock gloves, when he dreamed about being surrounded by Earth Kingdom soldiers with his friends, when he dreamed about fighting Fire Nation soldiers alongside a spearman he didn't know (yet…)… he could see it, feel it even... the familiar feeling it gave, the smoothness of the sword handle, the way it felt when it was swung. And even if he had never heard it mentioned aloud, he knew that the sword had a name… Night—

"What kind of sword are you going to make?" Yoku's voice snapped Lin of his daydreaming.

"Oh, um… the usual, I guess", Lin mumbled back. The usual means a jian straight sword.

"Here", Yoku grabbed a sword she rested against the bed frame right beside her and threw it to Lin who instinctively caught it. Phew, actually when Yoku showed up on his room an hour ago with a sword at her side, Lin had assumed the worst: the twin told her about his undeniably large contribution on their latest prank on her and she somehow decided to exact revenge with the sword or something. I mean, she was a noble born, right. And you know how fanatic nobilities are when it comes to the notion of respect and honor. "I brought it along, just in case you wanna take a look at it. Might give you an idea for yours."

"Thanks, Yoku", Lin relied, utterly and completely grateful. Wow, she might be snobbish and downright scary sometimes but… boy, when Yuu said that Yoku was actually a kind person, he wasn't just being nice. No wonder Yuu described her as 'the closest thing we have to a big sister around here'. "What do you call yours?"

"Blackthorn", Yoku retorted, back with her sewing. Lin noticed her jerked her head in way that her long hair flowed down and veiled her face; as if she was hiding her expression when she utter that name. Suspicious…

Lin almost asked her why she named her sword Blackthorn but a little voice inside his head told him not to, at least not yet. He, instead, focused his attention to the sword. A total length of approximately a meter, the sword's handle was red lacquered, wooden, twenty centimeters long, adorned with lozenge-shaped pearl inlay halfway across the hilt, the other half was left bare up to the carved golden pommel at the base on which a long red tassel was tied. The hilt guard, slightly wider than the sheath, was engraved with a crest on the middle on both sides; a stylish chrysanthemum with tiny onyx stones embedded right on the middle. The sheath had three sections; the first at the top was black, about half the length of the hilt, crimson-colored rayskin was wrapped around it, it was the part where people hold when carrying the sword. The second section was the middle, about sixty centimeters, plain red with thorny vines painted on it with black enamel, probably how it got the name; it was painted as if the thorn vines wrapped around that part of the sheath like ivy. The last was the base of the sheath, black lacquered with webbed metal inlay and rectangular end.

Lin grabbed the handle and pulled the sword out slowly, the crisp sound of the blade rubbing against the sheath was like music to his ears. The blade was just four centimeters wide and as thin as paper. The first five centimeters of blade was engraved with the similar thorny vines pattern on the sheath on both sides, the rest up to the pointy sharp tip was smooth. The weapon itself was light, even lighter now it was freed from its sheath. Long, sharp, light as feather… it was a perfect weapon for a lady of slender frame. Deadly as it was beautiful, a fitting sword for Yoku. But, there was something that intrigued Lin: the crest on the hand guard, he recognized it.

"Um… you're related to General Shu?" he braved himself to ask.

Yoku jerked her head at Lin so suddenly Lin almost yelped. Her face when the late General Shu's name was mentioned... it was hard to read; was it anger…? Or was it sadness…? One thing for sure: it was unpleasant. Lin somehow felt guilty for asking that question although he didn't know why.

"He's my uncle" Yoku said finally, her tone was flat and uncaring, as if she was talking about a stray horned-cat she met on the street. "I guess you've met him on the battlefield, huh?"

"Yeah", Lin replied, he felt awkward somehow; not that the dark atmosphere emanating from the woman was needed. "He was a great warrior. A good leader, too."

"On the battlefield, yeah". Yoku snickered mockingly. "As the head of the family? My pet wolf-husky Ed could do better than him."

"Is that why you… um, you know…" Lin fidgeted uncomfortably; inside, he was mentally beating himself: when it comes to Yoku, the topic surrounding her disownment form her family was a forbidden subject.

"Yes", she curtly concurred.

"Sorry", Lin muttered apologetically.

Yoku simply grunted her replied. She got back to the sewing, Lin to studying and admiring Blackthorn, for a full minute in silence before Yoku tried to strike another conversation.

"So, what do you think?"

"Huh? About what?"

"Your sword, of course."

"Oh, right… my sword", Lin sheathed Blackthorn back to its scabbard before shoving a piece of paper at Yoku. "Actually, I kinda have an idea of what it'll look like. But, I'm not sure."

Yes, he wasn't sure… as Yoku took the paper and examined the drawing of a sword on it, Lin went back to the idea of his sword and why he wasn't sure of it… He had always been taught by Umma that he must never take an action if he wasn't sure about the reason and the consequence of that action; so, if he simply created the sword he saw in his dream simply because he had a dream about it… sounds kinda weak, don't you think. Besides, Piandao would want to know why he chose this kind of sword, this kind of design, this kind of look. I mean, the look of the sword was somewhat unusual, the shape was normal but the lengths distribution was somewhat different from what normal sword would be like. How would he explain those to Piandao? _Because I saw it in my dream_? Yeah, right!

"The handle's is a bit—", Yoku started but she bit back her comment and instead said. "No, I won't comment or anything. This is your sword and yours alone."

"That's it?" Lin asked incredulously, receiving the paper back from Yoku. "Come on, Yoku… say something about it. Criticize, praise, you can even mock it if you want. I want to know what you think about this sword."

"Not from me, kid", Yoku shook her head, smirking rather snidely; but, her next words were full of wisdom. "Look, your sword is like the extension of your arm. I cannot tell you how you should shape your own arm, right? Just have faith in yourself, in your heart. If this is the kind of sword you want it to be, then so be it. Just make sure that _you_ can accept it as your own. It doesn't matter what everybody else say, not even Master Piandao."

* * *

Emptiness… imagine emptiness… doesn't matter if it's dark or bright, vast or narrow… empty, not filled… some imagine ocean, mighty and majestic… some imagine a forest, deep and luster, an embodiment of natural balance… and some imagined… A CATAPULT LAUNCHING A BIG FLAMING BOULDER!

—BOOM—

"Arrgh!" Lin, falling unceremoniously from his bed, was snapped rudely from his meditation. The culprit…? Unmistakably the twins who were there standing in front of him, their faces were covered by black soot, eyes wide as saucer, innocent but not convincing expression, as they pointed their fingers accusingly at one another.

"What are you doing in my room?" Lin asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. He made a mental note to start locking his door whenever he was inside.

"We brought you a new batch of exploding jelly", Yung (or was it Rei) answered. "He kinda shook it too strong."

"No, I did not!" Rei (or maybe Yung) defended. How did they get military class explosive material anyway…?

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Guys?" Lin jumped in, but…

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Um, guys…"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Yoo-hoo, kids…"

"Did too!"

"Did—"

"What's going on here!" oh, boy… Fat the butler, or known by the students as Fat the Butt-tight, came marching in, took a quick look at the room, which now included a broken jar on the floor, soot everywhere, the two troublemakers, and guilty expression on their faces, made a correct, albeit extremely subjective and judgmental, assessment: "You kids are in so much trouble…"

"What? Wait, it isn't like what it looks like", Yung grinned nervously, trying to weasel out of this. Fat hated it when someone made a mess, especially one of this proportion.

"That's right", Rei fidgeted. "W-well, um… ask Lin! He saw the whole thing and can— …where'd he go? Ow, ow, ouch!"

As the twins were being dragged away by Fat by the ears, Lin, who had thankfully escaped the crime scene right before Fat stepped in (he made another mental note: _thank Bara for the stealth training!_), was already walking down a hallway. He wanted to go somewhere peaceful where he could mediate; his grandfather had taught him that meditating helped when he had a problem. But, in an estate where more than a hundred other people lived, finding a peaceful place is like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Heeey! Liiiin!"

See what I mean…

"Yes?" Lin called back. Yuu, hugging a pile of clean blankets were running toward him.

"Say, Yoku said you're looking for an inspiration for your sword", Yuu chirped. "Any luck?"

"Not so much", Lin sighed. "I kinda have an idea but I'm not really sure yet."

"Wanna take a look at mine?" Yuu offered. "Here… it's strapped on my belt behind my back."

"Does everyone carry a sword around in this place?" Lin asked incredulously, pulling out the red lacquered sword by the handle from Yuu's back.

"Well, what can I say? It _is_ a school for swordsmanship", grinned Yuu. "Oh, and you don't hear this from me but (he started to mumbled discreetly) somebody kinda asked me to show you my sword. You know… a lady, about yee high, black hair, pretty face, slapped me across the face when I ran into her in the lady's room last month."

"She did?" Lin raised a brow. "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said she's nice."

"Told you", Yuu shrugged, grinning. "So, what do you think of my Petal?"

"Petal, huh?" Lin commented, examining the sword. A fitting name for such sword. Plain red from the base of the hilt to the tip of the scabbard, the only other color it had was the golden metal hand guard which shaped like ingot and it had rose, like the one in Pai Sho tile, engraved on it in similar manner the chrysanthemum was engraved on Yoku's Blackthorn. The sheath was pretty much smooth without any engraving, painting, or any kind of ornament. The handle had swirly inlay pattern, the pommel had the shape like the base of a candlestick, only smaller at the diameter of a coin. Kinda hard to describe why it was called 'Petal' but, if you see it you'll know why: just looking at it reminded Lin of a bunch of rose petals. He drew the sword out of the scabbard; the blade was different from Yoku's, it had the same width, yeah, but thicker and almost twice as heavy. The blade wasn't thin like Blackthorn and it had a visible central ridge running along the blade to the very tip of the sword.

"It's beautiful", Lin praised, waving the sword around slowly. "I like the way the weight of the sword is just so well-balanced: it is not so heavy I'd get tired just from holding it and it is not too light I might let it slide through my grasp. Perfect…"

"And the weight is enough to support your strikes too", Yuu added.

"You're right", Lin chuckled as he performed some simple slashing move. It felt like with every swing, provided he didn't apply too little or too much force, the sword 'pushed' its way on the direction of Lin's swing. It was the weight of the sword accommodating his force.

"Master Piandao said the secret is in the weight distribution", Yuu informed. "He said that this kind of sword suits me better since I'm better at attacking than defending. Hey, that's it! Maybe you should think of a sword that can contribute to your best stance."

"I don't—" Lin wanted to contradict but then his face lit up as a realization hit him. "You know what, Yuu: you're right."

"I am?" Yuu frowned a little; people don't say such words to him without adding a 'not' in the middle very often.

"Yes, you are, my friend", Lin nodded confidently. He sheathed Petal back to its sheath and shoved it back into Yu's belt. "And now I'm going to work on the concept for my sword. See ya!"

And with that, Lin dashed away from Yuu who was still having a hard time discerning what he had just received: a praise…

"Okay", Yuu waved, still a bit airy. "Good luck!"

* * *

Of course! It all made sense. What Yoku said, the sword is like an extension of the arm, and what Yuu said, the sword must support the wielder's natural stance. If Lin could somehow discern why the sword he saw in his dream was the way it was, it might shed some light on why the sword was… well, like that. Could the sword really be the extension of his arm, could it really be the support he needed for days to come?

Yuu once said that he thought firebenders didn't care much about weapons; well, not _this_ firebender. The conversation with Yuu, unfortunately, had also made him remembered a little horrifying fact: he had lost his inner fire.

Well, maybe not exactly lost it. He could still feel it burning inside him, warm and alive, but… how should I describe this… imagine a campfire in an empty ice field. Imagine the fire flickers, you could see twigs and leaves being reduced into charcoal and ash, hear them cackled, but, here's the catch, when you get closer to it the only thing you can feel is the cold air around you. You see the flame, you hear it, you smell it, but you can't feel the heat.

So, in conclusion, he needed this! Desperately, if I might add. Sure, he was a highly trained assassin in a deadly art of hand-to-hand combat and he did own a sword already, a ninjato that he used for training. But, he was still in-training and like all assassins-in-training, he wasn't given a good quality sword plus he kinda forgot to bring it along during his escape. He could still fight bare-handed but having a weapon with him would be nice; it gives a sense of safety.

So, back to the sword in his dreams… could it really be perfect for him? He abruptly stopped. He wasn't really sure, what part of that sword did really make it different from other swords, not just the shape or the color? And, in what way?

"Hey, kid!" a voice called. Lin turned to the direction of the voice and found Ren chopping firewood with a large cleaver beside the stable. Apparently, Lin's feet had brought him outside the mansion into the courtyard.

"Hey, Ren", Lin greeted. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Nah, I'm good", Ren waved it off. "Besides, this is a punishment. Master Piandao kinda found out that I, uh… ehem, help 'violate' Yoku's privacy during the last prank. You know the 'Lady of Weapons'."

It was the latest one, staged only two days ago: Ren stole Yoku's undergarment for the twins, Lin provided them an idea (of the record), the twins glued the undergarment on a picture of a sword on Master Piandao's lecture sheet. Hence the pun 'Lady of Weapons'; swords are known as the 'Gentleman of Weapons'.

"Sure you don't want a hand?" Lin offered again; he did feel kinda guilty that each and every one of his comrades-in-prank got a punishment but he got away with it. But, then again, it was part of the deal for their partnership. But, still, the guilt wouldn't go away.

"Nah, I'm fine", Ren refused again, laughing. "Master won't be happy if he finds out you're helping me."

Gotta admire his honesty; actually, according to Yuu, one of the reason why Master Piandao made Ren his sole contributor for rice and, eventually, his student was because he admired Ren's honesty and Lin understood that completely. In this war torn era, meeting a virtue like this is almost close to a privilege.

"So", Ren started a conversation, snapping Lin who perched on a nearby cart off his thought. "How's your sword coming along?"

"Not good", Lin admitted, feeling down all of the sudden. "I… I feel I lost it… I guess. I don't know."

"Well", Ren heaved, swinging down his cleaver, severing the block of wood in two. "You could always try to talk to Shin. He's been swinging swords around longer than any of us. Or you could wait till Master comes back tonight."

"I guess I'll just wait for Master Piandao", Lin sighed, his eyes trailed the blade Ren was using. Speaking of blade… "Hey, why don't you show me yours?"

"You're looking at it", Ren grinned, shoving his cleaver's handle at Lin. "Lin, meet Boulder. Boulder, meet Lin."

"Hi, Boulder", Lin greeted, shaking Boulder's handle like he would a person's hand. He pulled the blade from Ren and nearly dropped it. God, he could feel the whole muscle on both his arms contracting in protest; the sword must be as heavy as a piece of furniture! The design itself was quite simple. It was a saber, so the blade was broad and slightly curved, the length was slightly shorter than Yoku's or Yuu's swords but it might due to the curve. The blade had a carving of a mountain near its hilt which was a quarter of the blade's total length, covered with rayskin, had a pommel the shape of a ring, and hand guard that reminded Lin on cactus plant, two pieces of thin metal protruding out and made a ninety degree bent, the top part bent forward towards the blade and the bottom part bent backward toward the hilt. Lin recognized the classification of this kind of blade as dadao, literally means 'big saber'.

"…And you used it for chopping wood", Lin narrowed his eyes at Ren who laughed.

"And to cut the grass, chop whatever animal I hunt, and occasionally whack somebody's head", Ren added, taking Boulder back and lovingly caressed its blade. "I take good care of her, she takes good care of me."

Mutual respect… Piandao did mention something like this in the class.

"I need this kind sword, kid", Ren continued, waving his sword around gently; Lin couldn't help but being amazed of how easily Ren handled the sword, it was as if the sword was as light as feather. "I'm a farmer. I need a blade that could cut grass so that I can make hay, or to cut meat when I go hunting, or to chop firewood so I won't freeze my butt of during winter. A sword that can only be used on a person is good, I like that too. But, I'd like mine to be more, say… versatile. You know what I mean, right?"

"Strangely, I do", Lin smiled. Mutual respect… a swordsman must respect the sword, and in turn, the sword respects the swordsman. Hey… it felt like he had heard something like this before… strangely, the image that came to his mind was not a sword, but a woman in blue with water dancing around her.

"There you are."

Ren and Lin turned to the direction of the voice; Shin approached them with a sword on his hand.

"I've been looking all over for you", he addressed Lin while Lin wondered what he did wrong now. "Yoku told me you have a problem coming up with a concept for your sword. So, here you are."

"Can a guy have a private conversation with Yoku that stays private?" Lin asked jokingly, he wasn't mad at Yoku, he was grateful actually that she cared about his problem.

Lin took the sword Shin offered him and examined it. It was, by far, the only sword he had seen that resembled the one that was owned by Master Piandao, both in size and shape, only less ornamented. It had a similar ridged texture on the handle, ingot shaped pommel and hand guard with golden color, but the sheath, although red like Master Piandao's, was bare off any ornaments, safe from a golden inlay on the handle part of the sheath, wrapped by black handle cord, and golden engraved butt cap. And the blade, as Lin pulled the sword out, he realized the blade was like none other he had ever seen. The width and thickness still akin to Piandao's blade; what made it different from any other sword Lin had ever seen before in his life was the fact that a part of the blade, approximately a quarter the length from the hand guard, was serrated with teeth the size of normal arrow head.

"The name's Shark", Ren informed. "Kinda obvious how it's got the name, huh?"

"Wow…" was all Lin could say.

"So, what do you think?" Shin asked. "Any help at all?"

"Um, I don't know?" Lin mumbled, still admiring Shark. "Your sword looks kinda… I don't know. Scary?"

"It has to be", Shin concurred, rubbing the shoulder of his severed arm solemnly. "I mean, I don't have what it takes to be intimidating anymore. So, I need it to be 'scary' for me."

"Oh, um…" Lin suddenly felt awkward. "Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Don't sweat it, Lin", Shin laughed. "Anyway, wanna know the coolest part of my sword? Check out the sheath."

Lin obeyed; he examined the sheath carefully, looking for anything unusual. Maybe there was a hidden blade or something, like the one in the comic book, 'Ninja X'. Nope… But, hey… the sheath felt kinda funny, like it was heavier on one end, the bottom.

"You noticed, huh?" Shin grinned. "The butt cap is solid metal, probably as heavy as the sword itself. That way, I only need to grip the handle, shake it loose, and let the sheath slid down on its own. My Shark is one-armed-user friendly."

"I see", Lin nodded. "That's simple… but, dude, you're a genius!"

"Remember what Master said: the sword is the extension of the arm", Shin sagely noted. "That also means that you must feel comfortable with your sword, just as you are comfortable with your arm. I mean, just look at Zhong—"

"What about me?"

"Eeeek!" Shin yelped. Lin didn't know he could yelp like that. Zhong was suddenly there standing behind him as if he appeared out of thin air.

"Same to you", Zhong responded with his usual monotone.

"You sure people don't call you Viper just because you slither around like one?" Shin got a bit defensive there. "Make some _noise_ when you move, for Agni's sake!"

"Yeah… whatever", Zhong ignored him and went to Lin. "Here, Yoku told me to show you my sword. By the way, if she asked, I never said that."

Lin returned Shark to Shin and took Viper. A slender curved sword, plain black from top to bottom when sheathed; its hilt took about a quarter of its total length, black lacquered and wrapped with silk cord tied in such a way it crisscrossing each other on each knot. From outside, it looked just like a typical katana, but a katana's quality in almost never on the look and always in the keenness of the blade itself. Lin pulled it out and saw just how beautiful a blade could be; on the top side was the flat part, on the bottom was the deadly one. The blade was so keen just by looking at it you could feel the edge, see how sharp it is without tasting the edge yourself; the wavy temper line across the blade helped reinforce the imagination.

"When you design your blade", Zhong advised as soon as Lin handed back his sword. "Make sure you design it in such a way it enable you to bring out you fullest potential. I mean, my specialty is in iaijutsu, that is why I used a katana, not a wood saw like that one over there (he nudged is chin at Shark and a slightly offended Shin) or a meat cleaver over there (now at Ren and his Boulder). If I'm using any of those, I won't be able to do _this_."

Only a quarter second after he breathed the word 'this', Lin had already felt the cold blade of Viper pressed against his neck. Dang! Even after witnessing it for quite some time, he still hadn't gotten over his initial amazement for the art of iaijutsu, the art of quickdraw. Fast, deadly… he kinda wished he was a practitioner himself or at least knew how to do it without hurting himself in the process.

"Remember", Zhong added, sheathing back Viper carefully, almost lovingly. "As much as you must know the proper technique to wield your sword, your sword must also accommodate your technique; in other words, you must suit your sword _and_ your sword must also suit you."

"I see…"

"Also, make sure your sword is nothing like theirs", Zhong added, nodding rather bluntly at Ren and Shin.

"Why?" Lin asked curiously.

Zhong, rather unmercifully replied: "'Cause you're short."

"Yeah", Ren concurred. "I mean, look, man; my sword is almost as tall as you."

"No, it's not!" Lin defended, slightly hurt. "I'm a growing boy!"

"You're thirteen", Shin butted in. "And yet my Shark is almost three quarter your height."

"It doesn't have anything to do with my age!"

"He's thirteen?" Zhong frowned at Shin, somehow, he found this little fact more interesting.

"Yeah, he is", Shin nodded. "I remembered going to his Ceremony of Ascend-something party with Master Piandao when he was ten and it was three years ago."

"I still have much time to grow!"

"You just can't judge people by their height, huh?" Zhong remarked, ignoring Lin, while Ren said. "I thought he was still eleven or something."

"I'm not _eleven_, you— you—", Lin protested before dashing away crying. "Meeeaaniee!"

"…"

"Well done, Shin", Zhong commented coldly, frowning at Shin, before walking away.

"Yeah, really well done, Shin", Ren mimicked Zhong's remarked, only more accusingly; he too walked away.

"What'd I do?" Shin asked no one in particular. "Was it something I said?"

* * *

"Yin and Yang, dude", Rei chirped. "Beauties, aren't they?"

As incredible as it sounds, the twins have swords too: Yin and Yang. The shapes and everything were the same, completely similar. What made them different was Yin was all white and Yang was all black. The handle, around fifteen centimeters long, could accommodate pretty much a hand and three fingers, indicating that the sword was a one-handed weapon. The hilt was ivory with Fire Nation emblem engraved on it; the pommel and the hand guard were the shape of ingot. The blade itself was keen and smooth, thicker at the base, it got thinner at the tip of the blade, enabling stronger duller edge at the base and thinner but shaper blade at the tip. Yin and Yang were shorter than the other swords Lin had came across today, only seventy centimeters. But, then again, this length suited the twins perfectly. Oh, by the way, the twins were also thirteen like Lin although they were a wee bit taller… Okay, I lied; they were at least a head taller. But, hey, the twins came from the lineage of tall people; I mean, have you ever seen General Lu? Huge…

"Why do you guys made them like this?" Lin asked, although the answer was obvious.

"Because we're twins", Yung replied. "These swords kinda symbolize us: similar."

"Similar", Lin repeated.

"Yes, _similar_", Yung repeated and added. "Not _the_ _same_. Just similar."

"So, what's special about your swords is the meaning behind them?"

"Yep", Rei nodded. "That and the fact that we used the best material possible for these babies; kinda helped when your family's rich."

_The meaning, huh…_

"Where're you going?" Rei asked just as Lin got up and walked out of the room without saying a word. Lin turned back and simply said.

"Dinner."

* * *

"Here", Piandao swept his hand on the table on which various blocks of metal were lying. "We have several types of material you may use for your sword. Choose carefully and take your time."

"Um… before that", Lin drawled, pointing at the crowd in the workshop. "What are they doing here?"

Suddenly, the aforementioned they, minus Zhong, found things around them very interesting; Ren picked up a nearby half-finished sword and examined it while every now and then threw a nervous glance at Lin's direction, the twins were suddenly captivated by the furnace, Yoku suddenly remembered that she needed to ask Shin about the previous night lecture, Shin couldn't be more happier to respond to Yoku's question, Yuu had an expression of a child caught stealing candies on his face while fidgeting uncomfortably on the spot, while Zhong with all honesty, or indifference, whichever sounds nicer, replied back. "We're curious 'bout your sword."

"Right", Lin drawled back, not because he was angry or anything; although he was used to people staring at him, he thought that this sword making thing would be private. Oh well, can't have 'em all… "Um, Master, would you mind choosing for me?"

"And why would you want me to do that?" Piandao arched a brow though he didn't look surprised. "Remember, this is your sword. Your sword must be an extension of your arm; it is more fitting if you would choose the material for your own sword yourself."

"Yes, Master", Lin insisted. "But, I believe you can make a better decision than I can."

"And why would you think that?" Piandao asked. "Have you no confidence in yourself? In your own capability of making this one simple choice?"

"I do, Master", Lin replied politely, adding the statement with a humble bow. "But, above that, I trust your judgment."

_Obedience… and now trust, definitely a shield… _Piandao smirked and picked one of the metal bars. "This metal is called tamahagane, the 'jewel steel'. I made my sword using the same material."

And speaking of material… Piandao put the metal bar on Lin's hand and picked up a long rectangular box from another table and shoved it to Lin. "I almost forgot. This is from your father. I told him about you about to make your own sword. He thought that you could use a little help with the material for the handle and sheath."

Lin, wide-eyed, opened the box and inspected the content.

"…"

"It's black ivory", Piandao explained. "Light and durable, tough as steel. It's pretty rare, you know."

"…Pfft…"

"What's so funny?"

"…pfft… huh? Pfft…", Lin couldn't take it anymore; his stifled laugh exploded into full-fledged guffaw. "Haha… so—pfft, sorry, Master. Ahem… I mean no disrespect."

"Something I should now?" Piandao asked; what so funny about black ivory?

"No, Master", replied Lin, still trying to regain his composure. Black ivory… of course it _had_ to be black ivory, of course his dad _had_ to send him some out of the blue. Maybe Iroh was right, after all; maybe destiny _is_ carved on a slab of stone.

"If you say so", Piandao narrowed his eyes suspiciously but decided not to press charges. He simply picked the tamahagane and gestured at the furnace. "Shall we?"

"Yes, Master", Lin bowed. And the sword making began…

"Remember", while Lin and Piandao busy melting the metal, Yoku hissed at Shin. "Five silver says it's a straight jian."

Shin, who put his bet on single edged katana and didn't realize that Yoku had a sneak peek at Lin's blueprint, hissed back. "Deal."

* * *

Morning came too quick…

But, it was done…

A jian, a straight double-edged sword, blade like a silver stream, seventy centimeter long and extremely sharp on both sides. The hilt, like its sheath was black as night, its length of a quarter meter long provided a more stable grip. The sheath, made from the same black ivory as the hilt. The sword was supposed to be plain black with no ornament whatsoever on it, just like the one its master saw on his dream; but, alas, destiny hold no real value in Lin's mind, the mind that believed in the present more than the future. Lin had added an ornamented golden dragon on the sword, it ran from the tail on the mid section of the sheath up to its open mouthed head on the handle, the dragon's neck was exactly on the end of the sheath so that when the sword was unsheathed, the dragon's head and body would be separated.

"An exquisite creation", Piandao sighed in admiration, holding the sword up high against the sunlight that crept in through the window. Lin, exhausted but satisfied, beamed back at him. All the other students, after they woke up from their slumber that is, gathered around them; some congratulate Lin for his new sword, some simply cast the sword a look of amazement, a certain someone smugly took five pieces of silver coin the other certain someone gruntingly shoved to her hand. "And what would you call it?"

The name, _of course_… Lin closed his eyes for a moment, partly because he was sleepy from staying up all night working o the sword, but also because he needed to seriously thought about the name of the sword. He had had his fun messing with destiny with the dragon ornament, he had made his point. But, was it enough? Or should he press his point much further? Pressing it much further sounded tempting… but, as the saying goes 'too much of good thing is a bad thing', maybe he should put his notion to rest, at least for now. And besides…

"Nightshade…"

… is a pretty cool name.

* * *

**Author's note:**

Tamahagane is the name of metal people used to make traditional Japanese swords.

And about the name Ed… well, the Earth King had a pet bear named Bosco so, you know…

To hpswst101, I couldn't agree more about the code of honor. The thing is there are not many real examples we have nowadays. I mean, face it… who can give such example about honor? The leaders? The chance is pretty slim. Celebrities? The odds are even worse. Even spiritual leaders are mostly unreliable sometimes. Take the Pope for example; instead of finding a way to make the world a better place, he dished out on Harry Potter and Avatar (the movie about blue aliens). Those people, despite their power and influence, sometimes put their own agenda before the doing of something right, something really right. But, then again, they're only human…

I believe this is the reason why the code of honor isn't so important to many people anymore: people don't see a lot of 'honor' going on so they don't do it, kinda like fashion. The solution to this problem is simple, actually. We can't find anyone setting an example, so why don't we set our own example? Hopefully, _we_ could be the example for _others_.

And that bring us to another question: _what about you_? All of you who happen to read this: are you willing to uphold the code of honor even if nobody around you does?

Oh, about me bringing the Pope up… don't get me wrong: I'm a Christian at heart. Although I love God and I know God loves me, I could never say the same for the Vatican. I answer to God and God alone; the Pope is just another man to me, he is not my God.

Hpswst101, sarcasm could be positive or negative but from what you said I assumed you meant the negative ones. Well, I don't know how it happened but sometimes old people just get on young people's nerve. It happens to everyone, trust me. Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a good reason to do bad stuff, so I guess whatever the reason you did what you did, it is still wrong. But, you also do something that many couldn't do: you admit that what you did was wrong! It might sound simple and easy to do but trust me, it's not. Admitting that you are wrong is, in itself, honorable. I take my hat off to you. :)


	57. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56 – Changes**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

Nightshade… what a fitting name for such sword, thought Piandao. He held the blade up, observing and admiring the work of his disciple. A peculiar work of art this one, but then again its master was also a peculiar person. With sheath and handle crafted form the rare black ivory, it retained the original color of the material, dark as night. The sword had no hand guard; though not the first time a sword was made this way, that is quite intriguing in itself.

What intrigued Piandao the most was the fact that Nightshade was a straight jian sword. Being a swordmaster with a mount of experience, he had come across many kinds of blades and many ways and techniques to use them. And, after observing Lin during his first few days at his school, he had concluded, rather correctly, as he would soon learn from the boy himself, that Lin had been trained extensively in the way of the sword. Furthermore, judging from Lin's preference for close quarter engagement and his apparent proficiency in quick decisive slashes aimed at the throat, joint, or other vital part, he had thought that Lin was trained in the used of ninjato, a short and straight katana favored by the assassins. That was why he had initially thought that Lin would make a ninjato or a katana.

As for the sword itself, Piandao had been utterly mystified by the sword's handle. The length of the handle was a bit too long for a sword of such size, a little more than a quarter of its total length. Twenty five centimeters long handle; usually a sword that has a handle this long would have a blade that is at least a meter long, usually longer. It wasn't until Piandao waved it around that he understood the meaning of this long handle: it offered a better and firmer grip as a two-handed sword, enabling the wielder to parry or block an attack more efficiently. The sword was like a 'shield' in the form of a weapon. Heh… shield, what an irony, smiled Piandao.

As for the blade? Nothing out of ordinary it seemed; seventy centimeters long, four centimeters wide, smooth and sharp, supple but strong, and quite light. Piandao sheathed the sword, a crisp ring was heard as the blade rubbed against the ivory; and the dragon was formed yet again. The dragon engraving embossed on both sides of the sword… gotta love the meaning it gave; crafted from pure gold, tempered onto the ivory, it was made in such a way that the neck of the dragon was perfectly on the split between the sheath and the handle, so when it was opened, the dragon's head and body would be separated. Most people would most probably think that the dragon engraving was to represent the master who was a Dragon, the Dragon of the Deep Forest. But, Piandao suspected that it was not the real reason for this; he kind of caught the hint of a hidden message in the engraving: the dragon would be whole only if the sword was sheathed, true power can only be achieved in peace, when swords are on their sheaths, or rather, true power _is_ peace.

A good message, thought Piandao…

And the name Nightshade… must not be referring to the plant. The plant usually manifests as purple flowered toxic/medicinal plant, known for its peculiar toxicity that is more apparent on human than on animals. Hmm… Nightshade… the shade of night… must be it; the _shade_ of _night_. The deep dark color the black ivory sheath and handle gave somewhat reminded Piandao of the night itself, or the shadow, the kind of shadow that occurred in a dim-lit room, deeper and darker.

Nightshade… a very unusual sword indeed.

Ah, yes… he suddenly remembered that he had a work to do, aside from assessing the sword. In front of him was a table, his usual table, on which a bowl of white-grayish enamel and a set of paintbrush was sitting, ready to be used. Ah, yes… the finishing touch for Nightshade, to identify the wielder as a member, an acolyte, of the Order of White Lotus. Hmm…

"Now… where should I put it?" Piandao muttered, scratching his chin. This is going to be a long day…

* * *

"Let's see", Yoku scratched her chin, observing the three boys and their loads. "Potatoes, cabbages, salt, beans, apples… what else do we need, Fat?"

Fat took out a piece of paper from his pocket and skimmed it through. "Oranges, spices, tea, and meat. After that we will also need to make a quick trip to the herbalist. It's winter soon and we need to be ready for cold weather."

"Any question?" Yoku asked the boys.

"Just one", Yung, sweating and panting from fatigued mumbled form behind the large sack of potatoes he was carrying. "Why aren't any of you carrying anything?"

"I'm a girl" Yoku smoothly replied, just as smoothly as Fat who answered. "I'm your overseer."

"But—"

"Ah, oranges", Yoku pointed at a nearby cart and pulled Fat to the cart, the rest of the gang had no choice but to follow. It happened every time Yung voiced his dissatisfaction until, before any of them realized it, it was afternoon and they were nearly done with their shopping. Just one more thing…

"Medicine", Fat, who was still burden-free, informed the group which consisted of Yung, who finally decided that he had better saved his strength for the burden rather than wasting it arguing, Yuu, who was used to this kind of work, and Lin, who regretted volunteering for the shopping. "Now, let's see. The herbalists store should be—"

"Excuse me, kind sir", a tiny old man nudged Fat's shoulder; a man about Lin's height, much skinnier with wrinkles all over his face and nearly bald head, a typical looking old man, carrying a walking cane and wearing a straw hat. "I couldn't help but overheard your conversation. Are you going to the herbalist?"

"Yes, old man" Fat answered; the only have one herbalist in Shu Jing. "We need medicine for cold. It's winter soon."

"I see, I see", the old man chuckled, exposing his nearly toothless grin. "A very prudent thing to do, young man. Oh dear, if only the herbalist's store is open today."

"You mean they're closed", Yoku arched a brow. "It's not like them to close the store during weekdays."

"Yes, young lady", the old man's face suddenly dropped. "It's just happened that the herbalist's daughter passed away only yesterday. They're closing the store temporarily for mourning period."

"How horrible", Yoku gasped. "Little Mei is… but I just saw her two days ago, playing with other kids and…"

"Yes, young lady", the old man began to shed a tear, snorting loudly. "She was drowned while she was playing on near the river. *sniff* poor little girl…"

"I see", Fat sighed, clearly shaken by the news. In small town like Shu Jing, the bond among the people is especially strong. "I will inform master Piandao about this; he would want to pay a visit to the herbalist's family. As for the medicine, I think we will just have to make do with—"

"No, no, kind sir", the old man cut in. "If it's medicine you need, I can provide some for you. I happen to be a travelling herbalist from Fire Fountain City going to the Earth Kingdom Colonies. I left my wares in my hut but I'm sure I can spare some cold medicine for you."

"Ah, good", Fat nodded. "I'll come with you to the hut then and maybe—"

"Oh, please, kind sir", the old man waved the suggestion off. "There is no need for you to do this personally. One of your boys here will do. How about this one?"

Without further ado, the old man grabbed Lin by the elbow and, with a strength no man his age or stature should have, he jerked Lin away so strong he nearly dropped his sack of fruit. Luckily, Lin managed to shove it onto Fat's empty arms while the old man mumbled something about his hut being not far from the market and Lin should be returned in an hour or so to Fat before dragging Lin away from the market quickly. Before long, they were already away from the market and on a forest path leading to the mountain settlement.

"Isn't this the way to—" Lin, recognizing the path they were taken, tried to ask but the old man shushed him almost cheerfully. For some reason, Lin felt a chill down his spine; but then again, it was the last day of autumn, could be the weather…

"Here we are", the old man announced as they stopped in front of a well made house, not a hut. Also, on top of the front door, a wooden signboard with 'Shu Jing Herbalist' written on it was put on. This was the herbalist's residence… wait, if his daughter had passed away recently, why didn't he tied any white handkerchief on the front door as the tradition dictated?

Now, Lin was sure the chill he felt down his spine has nothing to do with the weather…

"Come on in", the old man smiled brightly; Lin did as he was told. As he entered the pitch black house, the old man closed the door behind him. It took awhile for Lin to get used to the strong scent of medicine and herbs, typical smell of an herbalist house. Thought he smell made him dizzy, he'd choose it over the other smell he detected as soon as he set foot in the house any time of the day…

The smell of blood…

"Now then, Captain", the old man started, his cheerful and rather trembling voice he displayed earlier was now cold and strong. "I believe you have a lot of explaining to do."

"Yes, Colonel", Lin muttered back, kneeling on the floor and trying not to shudder. Darn it! He fell for it! He should have guessed this, he should have been prepared for this! This old man wasn't a simple travelling herbalist, he wasn't even an herbalist! And he certainly wasn't just a simple old man…

"Now", the old man continued. "Before that, we must synchronize our story first: you were never here, I brought you to my hut on the other side of this hill, I invited you for a cup of tea, ginseng tea, which is why you are a bit late. After that, I gave you the medicine free of charge after you politely refuse and I continually insist, then you go home. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Colonel", Lin replied, still bowing down; he couldn't bring himself to look at the old man right in the eye. After all, Colonel Wuxin, the leader of Byakko Division of the Fire Nation Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination, was a very dangerous man. Not only he was strong and clever, in wicked way, he was also known to be a heartless and coldblooded killer; this was the first time Lin had ever been 'graced' with his presence, and he could not stop shivering. The sight of a man, a woman, and two children lying lifelessly against the wall, each with throat slit open, that he had regretfully caught from the corner of his eyes sent him even deeper into the feral fear.

Ignorance… ignorance… don't think, don't feel…

"Good", Wuxin laughed loudly, almost mockingly. "It would seem that the Fire Lord was right putting such a high hope in you."

Wuxin laughed again, Lin couldn't bring himself to reply. It would seem that Wuxin chose this place on purpose; it was to intimidate Lin. Well, it worked…

"Now, onto the more pressing matter", Wuxin continued, traces of grin still lingered on his wrinkled face, the dead family on the corner of the room seemed to have no effect on him at all, as if they were part of the furniture. "It has come to my attention that you have been staying here longer than expected. Why?"

_Right to the point!_ Lin braced himself fro whatever that might happen. "I was injured during the escape attempt, Colonel. I will need to take some time to recover. Also, I would like to stay longer if possible, to receive more training in sword combat."

"How long exactly?" Wuxin asked, this time he didn't sound amused.

"At least a year, General", Lin gulped, anticipating the master assassin to explode.

"A year, eh?" Wuxin repeated; though Lin didn't look at him in right in the eye, he sensed that an angered expression just passed through the old man's face. "You do realize that we cannot start your initiation into the division while you are still in Fire Nation, don't you?"

"I do, sir", Lin replied, feeling colder and colder. "But, there is nothing I could do, sir. My injury, I'm afraid, is quite severe. And also, Master Piandao's method of teaching is not as direct as ours, sir."

"I will talk to the Fire Lord about this", Wuxin retorted coldly. "One more thing: we have lost contact with your subordinates since last month. What has become of them?"

"I sent them to the Earth Kingdom, sir", lied Lin, half-lied, to be honest. "I sent them to secure a safe haven there so that when I am finally able to flee the Nation, we can start with the mission immediately without worrying about factors like house or money."

"I see", Wuxin replied, though he still sounded suspicious. "Do you still maintain contact with them?"

"Periodically, Colonel", Lin replied, honest this time. "Their first correspondence should arrive by the end of next month."

"I want you to report to me immediately once the first news from them arrive", ordered Wuxin. "I will contact you again once I report to the Fire Lord."

"Understood, sir."

"And remember, boy", Wuxin warned venomously. "You may be the Fire Lord's golden child, but if I find any proof, any proof at all of your disloyalty, I'll kill you."

"You need not question my loyalty, sir", Lin answered smoothly. "My loyalty lies in the Fire Nation."

Total honesty this time: his loyalty laid in the _Fire Nation_, not the _Fire Lord…_

"We shall see about that", Wuxin snorted; luckily, he didn't realize the rebellious nature of Lin's statement. Wuxin simply grabbed a small package of medicine and threw it to the floor in front of Lin. "Until later then, Captain. You may go."

Lin bowed, grabbed the package, and got up. Walking past Wuxin and the door he opened, pass the dead bodies, holding on his pent up fear and anxiety the best he could. As he got out of the house, Wuxin closed the door again. Lin, without looking back, walked as calmly as he could away from the house. He walked and walked and walked, only after the house disappeared into the forest and he could no longer sense Wuxin's presence, he ran…

* * *

"What's taking him so long?" Yoku grumbled, pacing back and forth in front of the mansion. It was dinner time but Lin hadn't gone back yet from his chore. It was getting dark as the sun was nearly submerged into the darkening horizon and the temperature had just dropped several degrees since the afternoon.

"You worry too much", Zhong assured her, leaning his back on the wall with his arms crossed, looking as bored as ever. "He can take care of himself."

"I'll go find him", Yoku decided; she had barely moved a muscle when a strong arm gripped her arm.

"You should be in the night lecture", Shin offered, already in his travelling robe. "I was planning to take a walk anyway."

With that, he walked out without looking back, leaving Yoku and Zhong on the front gate of the mansion watching his back disappeared into the cold slightly foggy evening.

"You care much about Lin", said Zhong; with his monotone voice, it was hard to say whether it was a question or a statement.

"What can I say", Yoku shrugged. "That kid reminds me a lot of my pet rabbit-hamster, Fluffy."

"What happened to him?"

"My pet wolf-husky ate him."

* * *

Thunder rumbled in the distant, wind blew even fiercer than before. It was almost completely dark; thought there was still an apparent trace of dusk lingering on the coming night, Shin had to conjure up a small fireball on his palm to light his way. He was walking through the empty market place, the place looked eerily larger at this hour. Usually, at day, it would be filled with people and merchants, the empty stand would be flooded with merchandise, the empty air would be filled with the sound of people chattering. Now, it was empty almost completely, the stands were still there since most of them were permanent merchant stands, the one that bigger and built in permanently on the spot. Shin looked around a bit, who knows, Lin might be nearby. From what Fat and the other told him, Lin went with the old man who claimed to be a travelling herbalist to his hut; the thing is nobody actually remembered the old man saying where his hut was, they only noticed that the old man was heading west towards the mountain.

Towards the mountain, eh? Maybe Shin should try there. Oh, right! Shu Jing's herbalist, Mr. Yisheng, lived there; knowing how herbalists in Fire Nation, at least the one who operated on professional level, usually knew each other as they often meet and learn from each other's skill, Mr. Yisheng might know who the old herbalist was and where he lived when he was in Shu Jing. Well, it wasn't much but it certainly beat wandering the mountain alone at night without Shark at his side. Yeah, to the mountain then…

Fifteen minutes later, he found himself walking on the forest path leading to the Mr. Yisheng's residence, jerking every now and then each time there was a sudden rustling sound around the bush. Darn it! He cursed. Even a kid knows that wandering inside the forest at night is not a good idea; who knows what manner of creature out there in the dark, especially if the creature was nocturnal. Face it: nine out of ten nocturnal creatures are usually the 'bad' one. How to tell a 'bad' creature from a 'good' one, you ask? Simple. Bad one is mostly not cuddly and usually carnivorous.

"I'm gonna have a long talk with the kid when I find him", pondered Shin. "Oh wait! Even better: I'll let _Yoku_ have a talk with him. Heh…"

A rustling sound! But it was different; this one was caused by a big animal. But, wait… this presence, he felt… not animal, it was _human_!

"Who's there?" Shin called out, the fireball dancing on his palm cast a shadow on his lower face, making him looked more intimidating that he usually was. "Come out!"

No respond… that means…

"Lin", Shin let out a relief sigh. "Come out, kid. God, you scared the hell out of me."

Still no respond… Now there were two possibilities: a. Lin was goofing around (most probably and definitely more favorable); b. it wasn't Lin!

Shin enlarged his fireball and held it up high, casting more light on the surrounding and, more importantly, on bush from which the rustling sound came. Even with the extra light, it took a while for Shin to notice that there was certainly someone, clad in black garb, hiding in the bush. The face… the Noh mask of white tiger!

—FWOOSH—

Bandit, thief, Shin didn't care; he threw his fire at the bush with all his might. Seeing the masked face, Shin just could no longer care who or what it was that lurked in the bush. Now he really regretted not bringing Shark along with him. Another rustling sound, louder this time, trailed away from the bush he set ablaze deeper into the forest. Shin, however, didn't drop his guard; this was a human being he was dealing with, not some kind of animal that would just pack and run after seeing a little fire.

—THUDDED—

"Argh!" Shin yelped. A blow on his back knocked him over and he landed a few feet away on his face. Leaping up and spitting out dirt, he prepared another firebending attack but there was nobody to be found. Strange… he couldn't be hallucinating; the stinging pain on his back was too real to be a product of his imagination. The masked opponent must be a really good fighter, really agile too.

—THUDDED—

Again Shin was thrown onto the ground, and again he turned to the direction of the blow to no avail; not even the afterimage of his assailant let to see. It was like fighting a shadow, or an itch: you feel it, know it is there, but you can't see it.

—THUDDED—

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" he cursed, again leaping up from the ground. He quickly turned back, suspecting another blow. But, nothing… he turned back again, still nothing. Rage and anger mixed together with a dab of fear. Whoever the assailant was, he was dangerous. The fact that he scored three blows—

—THUDDED—

—okay, _four_ blows in a row, all four of them catching Shin unaware, meant that he was toying with him. Now, Shin was pondering the next course of action; he could stand and fight (and probably get killed afterwards), or he could made a run for it… the choice was obvious.

As soon as both his feet touched the ground, he dashed away as quickly as his feet could carry him, deeper and deeper into the forest. He ran and ran, ignoring his hurt back, his burning lungs, wildly thumping heart, and his pride in that order, trying to go faster and faster. And…

—FWOOSH—

Shin leaped forward, turned his whole body midair, and punched a fire stream. For a second there, his fire gave light to the darkened surrounding; he could see, for a split second, his fire soared directly to a masked man, a man of small stature, clad in some sort of black hooded garb and armor and white tiger mask, the man was lunging at his direction with his ninjato pointed at him, ready to run him through. The next thing happened so fast, Shin just knew that he was blinded and instinctively shielded his eyes with his hand; he could barely see the masked man outstretched his free hand and produced fire stream to counter Shin's fire, the collision resulted in a tiny explosion. When Shin opened his eyes again, the only unusual thing he saw was a smoking singed spot on the ground, there was sign of the masked man. He got away!

_Darn it!_ Shin cursed, but then he resumed his escape. He thought he could win this, thought he could get that masked man. Maybe, he was wrong, maybe escaping was the most prudent course of action this time. And besides, when the herbalist's store was just a short run away from there, he thought it'd be more sensible to get to the store first, to warn them of this masked psycho.

But wait… as he approached the store, he realized that the door to the establishment was wide opened. Shouldn't the store have closed for today? Shin had a bad feeling about this and as he stepped into the store, bad feeling became a nightmare.

"No…" he gasped, then closed his mouth with his hand so that he wouldn't throw up. Being an ex-soldier, he was used to seeing dead bodies. But, no matter how numb he grew himself to it, he just could not get used to seeing the dead body of innocent citizens. Shin quickly got out, gasping for air, bathed in cold sweat. The herbalist… not just him, also his wife and his two children… spirits, they were so young…

He must warn the master!

He quickly ran again, running his plan through his mind: run back home, tell master, run back home, tell master, run back home, tell mast—

_Lin!_

What if the masked man had got to him?

_Don't talk like that, dammit!_ He goaded himself, quickening his pace. _Lin's a tough kid, he can take care of himself!_ He had only got a few meters into the wood before he found himself instinctively halted his pace and jerked his neck backward just in time to prevent it from being severed by the silvery flash of blade.

"That you, Shin?" Zhong's voice came from the dark silhouette that had nearly just added RIP in his name. Shin, still a bit woozy, conjured a ball of fire on his palm; the flickering light befell Zhong, who was standing so dangerously close with his sword held sheathed at his side and a hand at the sword handle, ready with another lighting flash strike, and Yuu, who was standing behind Zhong, also with sword ready.

"There's someone here!" Shin heaved quickly.

"Yes, we kinda noticed. What's with the fire at the middle of the forest and all", Zhong concurred, dropping off his stance. "You got into a fight or something?"

"Not much of a fight— _Bless you, Yuu_", he heaved again, receiving his sword from Yuu. "A man, I think. Small, black cloth, white mask—"

"White mask?" Yuu asked, frowning.

"Yes, _white mask_", Shin reaffirmed, then continued. "Bender, although he seems to prefer hand-to-hand fight. That sneaky guy; that turd got me at least four time on my back."

"What about Lin?" Zhong asked darkly.

"I don't know", Shin suddenly tensed up. "The herbalist's dead, all of them. God, somebody must tell Master Piandao."

"I'll do it", Yuu volunteered. Without any further ado, he dashed back to the school.

"We have to go look for Lin", Zhong pondered aloud. "Any idea where?"

"You search in the town; he might have got back there", Shin suggested. "I'll look at the waterfall. You know how he loved to wander off there."

"Got it", was all Zhong said before they dispersed to different directions.

* * *

The setting sun of autumn season, soon it would be winter, the cold windy stormy winter. There he was, sitting down on the patch of the grass, on the top of the waterfall. Beautiful, simply beautiful… Lady Ursa told him about this waterfall when she was telling him, Zuko, and Lu Ten about this hometown of hers a long time ago. He remembered how the words of Lady Ursa brought him to the imagination of heavenly waterfall with its majestic mass of pure spring water pouring down like a stream of pure blessing of the earth. Simply heavenly… maybe that's how it got its name the Waterfall of the Fairies.

And there he was, the boy, still shivering from his previous encounter with one of the most dangerous man ever exist, there he was, sitting down with his feet hanging off the ledge, throwing stone absentmindedly to the water above. He knew that he should have gone home immediately but a part of him insisted that he deserved a little time alone after such physically and mentally exhausting encounter with a psychopath. And so, there he was, sitting on his favorite spot in whole Shu Jing, maybe in whole world. Peace and tranquility, a rare treat for someone such as he; a warrior, born and bred, destined from birth to be the herald of safety to his allies and the harbinger of destruction to his enemies. Destiny… how he hated that simple word.

Lin had never believed in destiny, never even liked it. The idea that everything is predetermined, if everything is predetermined, all those fortunetellers would be millionaires. Everything is predetermined, yeah right! Was it predetermined that he would be born to the long and respected line of firebending warriors just to grow up to be an assassin, a taker of life? Was it predetermined that his mother would die giving him his life? Was it predetermined that his Grandmother Umma would die alone without her husband at her side? Was it predetermined that his Aunt Bing would soon follow the fate of his mother and grandmother, just like the herbalist and his family had done just recently? Destiny…

"There you are!"

Lin, snapped from his daydream, turned his head to the direction of the sound. It was Shin, panting and sweating profusely, and pale as a ghost, not to mention he carried his sword with him. What was wrong now…?

"You okay? You hurt or something? What the hell are you doing alone in this place?"

"Um… sitting, enjoying the view?" Lin answered, confused. "Why are— is that dirt on the corner of your mouth?"

"Never mind me!" Shin barked, wiping his mouth hastily, only succeeding at smearing the dirt even wider. "I was just from the herbalist's place. He and his family got murdered!"

"Really?" Lin frowned, feigning ignorance. "What happened?"

"I don't know", Shin plopped down on a patch of grass, though his eyes and hand still looked steady. "I was looking for you and thought Mr. Yisheng might know where that old man's hut was. I got there and found them all dead. And then I got attacked! Oh, wait… I got attacked _first_! Then I found Mr. Yisheng dead!"

"Bandit?"

"No. A man wearing black cloth and a mask."

_He didn't!_ Lin, still putting up his lying face asked again. "What mask? Was it a member of an organized bandit gang or something?"

"Maybe", Shin replied. "He's too good to be a bandit, though. Although there are bandit groups that are known to use some sort of mask. This one used a white tiger mask."

_White tiger mask, there's no mistaken it! _

"Anyway, we can't stay much longer", Shin got up. "The sun will disappear completely soon. Come on, we should get home."

"Um… I think, I'm gonna stay a little longer", Lin turned back to the waterfall.

"Look, kid", Shin said patiently. "There is a dangerous killer on the loose. I can't let you stay here alone."

"I'll be fine", Lin waved it off, then pulled a dagger from his sleeve. "I have weapons with me."

"This is not some kind of lowlife criminal, kid", Shin retorted, still keeping his cool; after years of dealing with people on daily basis, he had developed a rather impressive level of patience. "Listen, it'll be safer if you—"

"I'll be fine", Lin interrupted, his tone was low and tired, not like the usual. "I can take care of myself."

Shin stared at his back for awhile, not knowing what to say. What's with this layback attitude all of the sudden; there was a killer on the loose, for Agni's sake! After being tempted to grab the kid by the scruff of his neck and dragged him forcible all the way back to the mansion, he decided to apply the more humane approach. "Okay, what is it?"

"What is what?"

"What is troubling you?" Shin replied, sitting down on Lin's side.

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that", Shin replied stoically. "If I'd got a copper for each time anyone said that to me, I would have had my own school now."

"It's nothing, really."

"'Nothing' don't make you sit here all day brooding; certainly don't make you want to stay here in the middle of nowhere with a killer on the loose. Speaking of killer, what's that rustling noise? Oh, just a squirrel. Anyway, there's definitely something, what is it?"

"Don't wanna talk about it."

"Talk anyway. Should we die because we stay here when we shouldn't, at least it'd mean something."

"Don't care."

Silence for a full minute…

"Boy, you're a stubborn one, aren't you?" Shin shook his head in disbelief. How could this kid stay calm when he was sitting in an open place where the killer might strike? What was it that so depressing or sad or whatever that could override the sense of danger in the kid's mind. Shin could only think of one thing. "A problem adjusting, huh? I get it."

"No, you don't", Lin snickered.

"Yes, I do", Shin looked up to the sky above, reminiscing. "When I was recruited by the army, it was the proudest day of my life: an orphan kid, penniless, illiterate, know nothing about anything. The army said I got talent, said I could make a good soldier; and I did, I made a good soldier. You wouldn't believe it! I was great back then. But then, it happened… a catapult shot landed two feet away to my left."

Lin turned to Shin; he knew Shin didn't like talking about his days in the army.

"My arm was pulverized, they had to cut it off", Shin continued, rather bitterly. "The pain, the humiliation… and they were going to make me a captain, too. Heh, talk about right timing."

Another rustling sound; both of them turned to the direction only to find another squirrel jumped onto another tree.

"And then I got back", Shin continued again. "I had no money because I gave all my salary to the orphanage, you know, as a thank you for raising me. And when I got back, they refused to let me in but I understand that; I was already too old and would only be another mouth they had to feed. And so, I left. I tried to find a work but nobody would hire a handicapped. So, I begged for money."

"Must be tough", Lin commented.

"You don't know the half of it", Shin laughed bitterly. "The pain, the suffering, the humiliation… and I used to be a hero, too! I fought hard, I got beat up, shot at, tossed around, I lost an arm for those people, people who refused to let me in when I needed them the most, people who refused to give me a second chance, people who spat at me and mocked me, only to give me a lousy copper coin like they had the right to!"

Shin paused for a second, calming his flaming temper, while the sun had left nothing but a faint orange streak on the darkening sky.

"It's frightening, I know. I had always thought I'd be in the army forever, I had always believed it was my destiny: the life of a warrior. Well, destiny has a funny way to reveal itself. I am a warrior _now_, a better one, if I might add. But, I had to go through what I've been through to get to this point."

Lin didn't respond, he just stared at Shin although now Shin could see some changes in his expression.

"Look, kid, whatever you are going through now, it is happening and it will happen whether you like it or not", Shin continued. "It will happen and there's nothing you can do about it. One thing you can do is live your life, walk down that road, no matter how harsh and overwhelming it might get. Just walk and keep walking. I don't know where it might lead you, neither do you; nobody knows and nobody's supposed to know. Just know that whatever happens, just like how I have all of you at my side, you will have all of us at your side. Got that?"

"…Yeah, I got that", Lin muttered, smiling gratefully. "Thanks. You're good at pep talk, you know that?"

"Kinda come with the job requirement", Shin shrugged. "Now, are you ready to—"

Another rustling sound, a louder and closer one this time! Both of them turned back, only to meet the sight of Zhong, running towards them, pursued by the one who assaulted Shin. Zhong, realizing that he had run into a solid back-up, quickly halted his pace, turned back, and slashed the assailant with a quick iai strike; the dark figure, sadly, jumped backwards just in the nick of time. Shin quickly ran to Zhong's side, Shark already drawn. Lin paced carefully, placing himself behind his friends. His worst fear had come true; the white tiger Noh mask had a small black Fire Nation insignia on the forehead, nearly invisible amidst the artistic pattern of white tiger painted with the same black enamel. Only one person in the whole Nation possessed such a mask: the leader of Byakko division.

"I take the right", Shin muttered.

"I take the left", Zhong replied.

"I'm at the rear", Lin reluctantly said, his dagger ready on one hand, three throwing knives lodged in between the other hand's fingers.

"First one?" Zhong asked Shin, eyes fixed on the opponent.

"Fist one", was all Shin said before he lunged at the opponent, Zhong dashed along ten feet behind with the same speed, followed by Lin who kept a good distance away from them.

A slash of his sword was evaded perfectly by the masked man who barely had enough time to draw his own sword that was strapped on his back and used it to parry Shin who used the kinetics of the first blow to spin on the spot and land the next blow. A deadlock ensued but Shin, who was larger and taller, pushed the masked man away and ducked, allowing Zhong to jump over him, using his back as a stepping base to propel himself forward, as he launch another iai strike, which the masked man parried with his ninjato, causing him to stagger back from receiving the blow of such speed and intensity. It was now Zhong's turn to duck as Shin leaped high over him, landing a vertical blow on the masked man's defense, causing a loud clashing sound and the man's ninjato to crack. Pushing Shin backward, the masked man flailed the wanton sword forward, Shin and Zhong dispersed the right and left, exposing Lin, who sidestepped the incoming projectile and threw some of his own. The masked man thrust his palms forward, creating some sort of fire shield that deflect the throwing knives, jumped forward swiftly, evading Zhong's slash and deflecting Shin's blow with his armored bracer, and kicking Lin square on the chest before jumping down to the waterfall below.

"Darn psycho!" Shin cursed, watching helplessly as the masked man made a silent splash on the mass of water below.

"We should go back", Zhong suggested, shoving Shin his sheath.

"Yeah", Lin added, rubbing his sore chest. "He can't survive that fall."

"Damn", Shin gritted his teeth before putting Shark back to its sheath, cast a final look at the water below, and left.

* * *

—Earlier that evening, 'Shu Jing Herbalist'—

He had already donned on his armor and sword, he then put on his hood, securing the tie, and now… the mask. Ah, the mask… made of light porcelain, painted with black enamel; the epitome of his hard work, of all the sweat and blood he had spilled for the glorious Fire Nation. Wuxin started his career as an assassin from the very very bottom; when he was twenty, thirty years ago, that is, when he killed for the very first time… ah, yes… he could never forget it. Jinu, his own wife, what a sweet lady she had been, still sweet when he walked in on her having an affair with his neighbor, even sweeter when she screamed for forgiveness as he cut her little by little with a meat cleaver. Ah, what lovely memory… sweet sweet Jinu, died like how she had lived, like a dog! And as she screamed and shrieked, as blood gushed out of her severed limbs, off her torn gut and slit chest, Wuxin knew that justice was served. Justice… death for the wicked!

Wuxin then somehow got recruited by the Imperial Agent into the Secret Assassination and Espionage Squad, he worked his way up to the top, slaving himself to the throne, lying, plotting, betraying, and, above all, killing and killing lots and lots of people. Kill, kill, kill…

Unlike _that kid_! Dragon of the Deep Forest, what a joke! A kid who had everything made for him, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, a kid who knew nothing of hardship got to be a captain while Wuxin suffered for almost ten years to earn the right to lead his own team; where's the justice in that?

But, as much as he would love to slit the kid's throat open, just like what he had done to these two kids lying dead on the corner of the room, he had to put his duty above personal feeling. _Someday_… he smirked, though his mask hid that smirk. Time to leave; he got out of the house, it was almost dark outside. He had a ship waiting for him in the southern beach, but to get there, he must go to the heart of the forest first where there would be a path leading south; to go south directly from this herb store would be a ravine. And so he did…

He only dashed a little further into the woods where he accidentally made a rustling sound and a 'who's there?' pierced the darkening sky. On the clearing, a tall man with severed left arm spun on his heels towards the direction of the rustling sound, Wuxin's direction. The man conjured up a fireball on his palm and shouted. "Come out!"

Wuxin didn't respond, didn't even move a muscle.

"Lin", the man let out a relief sigh. "Come out, kid. God, you scared the hell out of me."

So he knew that brat, huh? Wuxin's lips curled into a smirk. Must be a fellow student from that _traitor's_ school!

The man enlarged his fireball and held it up high, casting more light on the surrounding and, more importantly, on bush in which Wuxin was hiding. The next thing Wuxin knew, the man's eyes grew wider before they hardened as he threw a handful of fireball at him.

—FWOOSH—

Wuxin leaped out just in time, seeking cover in the shadow. A feisty one, it seemed; it wouldn't be easy shaking him off. Maybe the 'shadow on the back' trick would work, pondered Wuxin. He waited until the man's back was on him before he gathered up his chi on his feet, launched himself forward at the man's back, and…

—THUDDED—

"Argh!" the man yelped. A blow on his back knocked him over and he landed a few feet away on his face. Leaping up and spitting out dirt, he prepared another firebending attack but Wuxin was already on the bush behind him.

—THUDDED—

Again Wuxin struck. Two blows usually do the trick, the man should be running back to whence ever he came any minute now. But, no… he was still there standing with his stance ready. And so…

—THUDDED—

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" Wuxin heard the man cursed. Again, the man leaped up from the ground. Wuxin's cruel smirk found its way back as he watched the man turning backward, suspecting another blow and then turned back again. The blow on his mettle should do the trick. And, for the hell of it, maybe one more…

—THUDDED—

This time, as soon as the man leaped back up and both feet touched the ground, he dashed away as quickly as his feet could carry him, deeper and deeper into the forest. Wuxin nearly laughed as he watched the man run like a coward he was, the scene was awfully funny to him. Oh, well… might as well finish him up. And so, Wuxin got up, pulled his sword, and gave chase. He chased the man for a good dash away from the spot when…

—FWOOSH—

He barely able to punch a stream of fire to counter the man's sudden fire attack. The collision of both fire resulted in a small explosion, not nearly enough to knock him down but enough create a thick black smoke which Wuxin used to cover his retreat into the nearby bush. Damn it! He cursed as he saw the man resumed his escape.

_Another time… another time…_ pondered Wuxin as he made he resumed his was mostly uninterrupted all the way back to the town; just a little further from the market, however, someone called out to him.

"Hey, you!" a cold monotone voice came from behind him. If he were to turn around, that person would just see him with his mask on and attack, he knew that man would attack because he recognize the voice as one that only a hardened warrior might possess. And so, he ran…

—FWOOSH—

Wuxin ducked and rolled forward, barely evading the man's sword slash. The man, a youth clad in light red tunic with a katana on his side, skidded to halt before dashing back to his direction, sword ready at the sheath. Iaijutsu, eh? A peculiar style, thought Wuxin, though he didn't stay to find out more about it. He simply ran from the spot, back into the forest. Luckily, he was the faster runner. He ran and ran, not knowing or even caring where he headed to, as long as he could shake off this stubborn pursuer. Not that he couldn't take him down if he wanted to, but he was a spy. One thing about a spy: a spy values his life more than his honor. The honorable thing to do would be to stand his ground to fight, but why do that and risk his life in the process? As a spy, getting back safely to rely whatever information he possessed to his lord was the most important duty, more important than killing the enemy or die honorably. And so, he ran…

As he got deeper and deeper into the forest, his ear caught the sound of water falling, a waterfall! Yes, Shu Jing has one, a rather famous one, too. But, before that, he really had this aching to kill the annoyingly persistent pursuer. He turned back, catching a mild sign of surprise on his pursuer face, and punch a fire blast on him; a tactic he learnt from his earlier opponent. The pursuer, not being able to halt completely, used the kinetics of his own speed to jump high forward, high enough to leap over the fire blast and Wuxin. Seeing an opportunity, Wuxin sent another fire blast, just right before the swordsman landed on his feet; he could see the swordsman raised his sheathed weapon and used it as a shield. Taking advantage of the momentum, Wuxin sent another barrage of fire, the swordsman defended against the first two before realizing his futile effort and turned back to gain more ground, an effort that Wuxin made impossible by chasing him with fire blasts. Soon after, the situation turned backward as it was now Wuxin who gave chase and the swordsman who tried to get away from Wuxin's ferocious barrage.

The chase went on for another minute until they got into a clearing, right at the side of the waterfall. To his surprise, Wuxin found two other persons on the waterfall; a man with one armed he recognized as he one who he could have killed back in the forest and, much to his surprise, one of his own division, the Dragon of the Deep Forest.

Wuxin, taken by surprise, could barely jumped backward to avoid the katana-user swordsman, who halted his pace immediately, turned to Wuxin, and launch an iai out of the blue; the slash knick his breastplate, leaving a barely visible thin scratch. Just as Wuxin landed a few feet away from the three, the one-armed man had already taken a position at the katana-user side, this time he had a sword with him, a long, jian with frightening serrated teeth on the blade near the hand guard. Lin, the brat had also taken a position, ready to attack; three throwing knives ready at one hand, a dagger at the other. Wuxin saw the corner of their mouths moved, barely heard their inaudible mutter, before the three of them lunged at him; the one armed man was the one who threw the first strike. Wuxin had just enough time to duck the first blow and draw his ninjato strapped on his back and raise it in front of his chest to parry the man's second strike, a strike that was more powerful than Wuxin had thought it would be. A deadlock ensued for a second, won by the one-armed man who pushed Wuxin away with ease. Wuxin was pushed a few feet behind, staggering. The one-armed man ducked, allowing the katana-user to step on him and launched himself at Wuxin. Again, Wuxin found himself being pushed back as his ninjato came clashing with the man's lightning-fast iai strike.

Now, it was the katana-user who ducked, allowing the large one-armed man to leap high in the air and landed a breath away in front of Wuxin, bringing along a mighty vertical blow. Wuxin raised his ninjato high, one hand on the hilt, the other on flat behind the blade, allowing more stability and force as he defended against the blow that cracked his blade. Wuxin was quite confident that he could finish off each and every one of them but not without sustaining unnecessary injuries and compromising his mission, so he opted to end the fight right there and escape.

He flailed his wasted sword at his opponents; the one-armed man and the katana-user evaded it, so did Lin who threw his projectiles at Wuxin in the process. To counter this, Wuxin pushed his palm forward, creating a fire shield that deflected the incoming death with ease. He swiftly jumped forward, barely evading the katana-user's iai and deflecting the one-armed man's blow with his metal-plated bracer. He smiled wickedly as he closed in at Lin, whose face remained impassive as he raised his dagger to strike, and kicked him square on the chest. Haha! A little something of what he had in store for the brat! As the kid was thrown aside by the force of the kick, the way to the waterfall below was clear. Without the slightest hesitation, Wuxin jumped…

With the mighty amount of water falling near him, it was surprising that he could hear himself making a splash as he hit the water. Submerging himself completely, not forgetting to hold his breath, he let himself be carried away by the water; inside his mask, surprisingly, he was smirking.

The traitor Piandao sure has raised some good students, he thought. Maybe leaving Lin in his care would not be such a bad idea, after all…

* * *

**Author's note:**

1. Wuxin is from the Mandarin 'wu' (無), which means 'lack', and 'xin', (心) which means 'heart' = heartless

2. Yisheng (医生) means 'doctor'

To hpswst101, good luck with being good to others. I can't really say it will be easy, in fact, if could be very difficult; one of the reasons why I tend to avoid any direct contact with people, I just don't understand why they would do what the do when they hurt others. All can say is do what you can, when you can. And do your best. :)

And good luck with your finals.

Good point about Azula and Lin; and no, I didn't intend for that to turn out that way, I don't even realize it until you point that out. Thanks, by the way… :)

I just make Lin lost his fire so that he would have a reason to learn sword. I mean, he is a butt-kicking firebender/assassin, why bother learn sword, right? By losing his fire, he lost one of his most trusted weapons and is forced to learn another.

Have a nice day!


	58. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57 – 1****st**** Monday of Winter, Part 1**

**-Boy and Girl- **

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

_She grumbled, pouting on the wall on the corner where she stood. Who knows putting a dead bull-frog inside Zuzu's pants warranted an hour 'time-out' in the library's corner and who knows Zuzu could scream like a little girl. Of course, Little Azula and her mind of five year old did not realize that her mother Ursa's decision for a time-out in the always deserted Imperial Palace Library was those of mercy; with so little people around, the young Fire Princess would be spared of humiliation. Also, it was more convenient; that way, the punishment spot would be directly in front of the nice comfortable couch that Ursa usually perched on whenever she oversaw Zuko's study with the Royal Tutor in the library while keeping an eye on Azula's back on the corner of the room. But, Azula and her mind of a five year old thought the opposite; it was so that Zuzu could laugh at her— there! Look! He just snickered at her; she heard it, felt his grin on the back of her neck! And her mother probably did not see it too; she probably was spacing out on the window, lost in thought like always. Darn Zuzu, I'll get you for this…_

"_Ho…" an annoyingly smug voice made her turned around, it was her cousin Lu Ten, grinning slyly, scratching his chin as he assessed her carrying out the punishment. "Got caught, huh?"_

_Azula grumbled her response, pouting._

"_I didn't have anything to do with it", Lu Ten raised his hands in a surrender manner as Ursa pierced him with a suspicious look. Lu Ten winked at Azula and added a very soft mutter that only she could hear. "…much." _

_The Fire Princess struggled not to laugh; Ursa, as trusting as she was, smiled and looked down to continue her briefly abandoned embroidery. Zuko, being reprimanded by the tutor for spacing out on his sister and cousin too much, continued his writing. Lu Ten went on with chiding Azula for her latest prank while purposely placed his wider frame over the girl's tiny body, so that she was completely shielded from her mother and brother's sight and they wouldn't know that she had now rested her back against the wall. From behind, it looked as if Lu Ten's hands were either folded across his chest or waved around as he went on and on; only his elbows were visible from behind. Nobody would suspect that he now held a pouch filled with pieces and chunks of crushed chocolate-chips-cookie-with-cherry-cream-on-the-middle, Azula's favorite, and subtly but swiftly shoved the tiny pieces on the girl's mouth. _

"_It's the third times this week, Azula! Third times!" Lu Ten went on with angry voice, though his grin betrayed the voice. Azula caught the hint: third. It was the code developed by her cousin and the other boy, the ponytailed boy that came to the palace often to play with Lu Ten and Zuko, the boy whom Lu Ten and Zuko revered to as 'the embodiment of pure top-grade intellect', the code that her cousin Lu Ten had secretly taught her. So, keeping her mouth open, letting it be filled with more and more cookie pieces, she knew she must pay attention to the third words of the coming sentences._

"_It's not __**funny**__, Azula!" Lu Ten's nearly yelled. "Not something __**I**__ find amusing, not at all! Even I __**am**__ truly aghast at this display of … of… animal cruelty!"_

_Wait, who's he referring to as animal here; Zuzu the victim or the bullfrog? Again, Azula found herself trying not to laugh. Lu Ten suddenly sighed melodramatically; Azula knew he was brainstorming for words and putting them into new sentences. _

"_Don't be __**proud**__ of what you've done, Azula", Lu Ten continued, resuming with his speech and shoving the cookie pieces. "Be ashamed __**of**__ what you've done!"_

_Silence… but, wait, Lu ten suddenly frowned: he forgot to say the last word!_

_Mimicking an angry trembling voice, he growled as if he was so mad he couldn't find a word to express it: "You…! You… __**you**__…!"_

…_which was true, except that it wasn't because he was too angry to talk…_

_Azula chuckled, accidentally spitting out some of the content of her mouth on Lu Ten's shirt. Quickly, shoving in the rest of the cookie and wiping his shirt clean, Lu Ten slipped the empty pouch inside his sash. He then grasped Azula by the shoulder, winking, and turned her around to the original position: facing the corner. Lu Ten proceeded to pacing casually to Ursa and plopped down on the floor near Ursa's feet. _

"_There, Aunt Ursa. Azula won't do it again", he proudly announced._

"_Of course, she won't", Ursa smiled kindly. "But don't you think you're being too harsh on her?"_

"_Psh! No", Lu Ten waved it off then looked back to Azula and yelled. "Right, Azula?"_

"_Hmmmph", Azula grunted back with her mouth full of unchewed food. _

"_Good", Lu Ten nodded and yelled again. "Then on with your punishment!"_

_That meant she was clear to chew! As Azula as silently as possible munched her illegally gained treat, Lu Ten provided distraction by loudly talking to Ursa about the embroidery, about Zuko's study, about his firebending training, Iroh's campaign, anything and everything, plus taking the advantage of the position, volunteering to rub his aunt's feet; anything and everything to keep her stern eyes from catching Azula enjoying the snack._

_Slowly and subtly chewing her cookie, Azula smirked triumphantly as she heard Ursa laughed at Lu Ten's joke, Zuko being reprimanded for laughing along. If true genius existed, Azula thought, Lu Ten would be one! From the way he casually blocked everybody's line of vision, to the way he fed her cookie and the coded fake angry speech, and now the distraction; only a genius could come up with such a thing. Speaking of coded angry speech, what was that again? Calling on her rather impressive memory, the Princess recalled few selected words: __**funny**__… __**I**__… __**am**__… __**proud**__… __**of**__… __**you**__…: '__**Funny, I am proud of you'**__. _

…

…_It was another time, another place… the Imperial Palace training ground…_

_There she was standing with her stance ready… ready to strike!_

"_Hahaha!" she could hear her cousin Lu Ten's laugh; the laugh, the same laugh he had always let out whenever Azula did something good at her calligraphy study or something bad at prank. Like when she put red pepper on Zuko's training pants; she could still remember how she and Lu Ten lurked inside the bushes, putting hands on each other mouths to prevent each other from laughing out loud as they watched Zuko performing a hog-monkey dance around the training ground, she could still hear Lu Ten whispered gleefully. "Funny! I'm proud of you, Azula…"_

…_Another time, the same place…_

_She remembered, vaguely but remembered, as her tiny feet carried her tiny frame across the courtyard, away from her mother's arms towards her father and her then-six-year-old brother. _

"_Zuzu! Zuzu! Zuzu!" she could still hear herself chirped happily, waving around a burnt sheet the servants had extracted from her bed earlier that day. "Look! Look! I burnt my bed again today! I'm a firebender! I'm a firebender like you!"_

"_That's great, Azula", she could still hear her brother chuckled, though tired and exhausted, he let out a kind smile as he patted her head lovingly and said: "I'm proud of you…"_

…_Another time, the same place…_

_She could still hear flames roaring, feel the heat in the air around them, emanating from the Dragon of the West as he sparred against his son. She could still felt her heart, the heart of a two-year-old, gripped with envy as she, like all those around her, thought that she wasn't born with the gift of Agni. But, no matter… she knew her parents loved her still, and her brother too, so did her cousin, and definitely her Uncle Iroh…_

"_Uncle! Uncle!" she could still see herself racing across the courtyard towards the bare-chested man and boy who abruptly stopped their bending. _

"_Princess!" she could still hear her Uncle roared with joy and happiness as he reached down to her and hoisted her off the ground into his arm, still remember the warmth of her uncle's embrace, still remember her childish laugh as her uncle threw her up high into the air and caught her again. Still remember…_

"_Uncle, look!" she could still hear herself chirped, shoving a piece of paper on his uncle face. "I learn how to write my name today!"_

"_Wonderful, Princess", she could still heard her uncle's boisterous laugh as he cradled her in his arm while examining the paper with the letters A (__阿__)__-Zu (__祖__)__-La (__拉__)__, written on it, still remembered hearing him saying. "I am so proud of you, Princess…"_

…_Another time, the same place…_

"_Nice", she could still hear her Imperial Firebending Instructor praised her, the ponytailed boy who was her cousin and brother's close friend, the witty boy whose skill in firebending amazed even her, the boy who sometimes made her stuttered when she talked to him, or talked about him, the boy who had once won her a prize in a game stand, who had once given her a token of good luck, to whom she had given a token of good luck! A boy whose name made her blushed whenever Mai or Ty Lee brought it up and they talked about him a lot because he was their friend too and he was such an interesting individual._

"_Piece of cake", she could still remember how smug she sounded that time as she crossed her arm across her chest and watched Zuzu struggling with performing the same firebending move._

"_Now, now, Princess", she could still remember him saying, sounding wise beyond his age. "Keep doing it until you truly get it."_

"_But, I've already got it", she could still hear herself protesting, see herself pouted. "Just teach me a new one already!"_

"_Nope", she could still remember how stubborn he looked, refusing the idea. "Keep doing it until you truly get it. Just because you could do it once doesn't mean you could do it again."_

_She could still remember seeing him picking up a pebble from the ground and juggling it up and down, she definitely remembered his trademark smirk flashed as he said. "And this time, we'll test your defense."_

_She could still hear herself grumbled, clearly annoyed with the boy's slow and meticulous method of teaching, still remember how she nonetheless obeyed, how the boy could always made her obey his every instruction regarding firebending. Maybe because Azula had always knew that he still had so much to teach her and she still had so much to learn from him. And she knew that those were not the only reason… _

"_Oh, and Azula", she could still hear the boy saying as she fell once again into the wide central stance, could still see his kind genuine smile, still remember how warm it made her feel, how it made her fluster, made her feel special. "I'm proud of you…"_

…_Another time, the same place…_

_She could still see fire flying around, flames spewing out of her tiny fists, still feel her tortured legs retaliated in the form of pain, still feel her feet mellow, nearly bringing her deep-rooted central stance into shambles, feel her knees trembling, threatening to give up in any second, her shoulders so stiff as if they were made of concrete._

"_More ferocity!" she could still hear her father spat, lashing out his words as he would to a lowly soldier. "Imagine punching through your opponent's heart! MORE FEROCITY!"_

_She could still remember how she let hatred consume her heart, how she screamed a heart-piercing battle-cry, how she turned her hatred for the 'mean voice' who were saying something nasty about her father into the fire. She could still remember how it made her fire stronger, faster, hotter… how it made her fire __**blue**__…_

"_Good, Azula. Very good…" she could still hear her father's satisfied laugh, still remember how, despite the praise she had just received, she dared not stop punching fire. She could still remember her father's cold voice trailed off into a very very rare: "I am proud of you, Azula…"_

…_Another time, the same place…_

_She could still remember her mother, Ursa… still remember her scent, the fresh scent of jasmine… still remember the warmth of her embrace, less warm than Uncle Iroh's but much softer, much much softer… still remember her voice, sweet as she lulled her to sleep, still sweet when she reprimanded her for her pranks on her brother Zuzu, much much sweeter when she said…_

"_I'm proud of you, Azula…" when she learnt how to write her name when she was two._

"_I'm proud of you, honey…" when she finished writing her first short essay homework when she was three._

"_I'm proud of you, Azula…" when she sneezed fire for the first time when she was four._

"_I'm so proud of you, Azula…" when she built her first sand castle without any help on the Amber Island when she was five._

"_I'm proud of you, sweetie…" when she finally, finally, learnt how to swim when she was six._

"_I am proud of you, Azula…" when she brought home her first report card from the Academy when she was seven; straight A!_

_Then… no more… few weeks before she turned eight, her mother was no more… _

…_Few weeks before she turned eight, her mother was not proud of her…_

"_Young Lady!" she could still feel the jolt in her stomach as she saw her mother's face turned stern and her voice turned fierce. "Not. Another. Word."_

"_What is wrong with that child?" she could still hear her mother, her own mother, muttered those words, those words that burnt her heart like acid._

_Still remember… still remember every seconds of it…_

"_It's time for a serious talk", she could still remember her mother saying those words, dragging her away from the frightened Zuzu; Zuzu who would be killed by Dad any minute now as per the order of Fire Lord Azulon, her mother's grip that had lost all the love and affection, that was no longer soft, that hurt her wrist like a giant eel-lobster pincer would…_

_Still remember as her mother dragged her out of the room, towards the training ground nearby, remember how her mother knelt down and kept both hands on her shoulders, pinning her down against a wall, forcing her to look at her in the eye._

"_Is that true, Azula?" still remember the trembling of her mother's voice, the pale of her face._

"_Is what true?" still remember how she tried to weasel her way out, how she squirmed under her mother's grip, how her mother's clutch hurt her shoulder._

"_What you said earlier", still remember how… how weird her mother sounded, how weird she looked; afraid, terrified, WEAK! "About Fire Lord Azulon ordering your father to—"_

_Still remember how her mother choked, how she averted her bewildered eyes away before glaring at her as she continued, trying not to yell or cry: "—to kill Zuko…?"_

"_What's the big deal, anyway?" still remembered how she squirmed even harder, how she nearly cried herself as she try to break free of her mother's clutch, how terrified she had been. "Zuzu is a failure. A failure deserves to die!"_

—_SLAPPED—_

...

It was the first Monday of the winter, year 95 after the first Great Comet, Fire Nation. It was five o'clock in the morning and two individuals, a Fire Princess and her betrothed, a fugitive and swordsman-in-training, woke up gasping, bathed with cold sweat.

* * *

Azula shot up, gasping. The cold weather outside combined with the fact that she was drenched form head to toes with cold sweat made her shivered. What a weird dream, she thought, wiping her forehead. Slumping down on the bed, not taking her warm hand off her cool forehead, she turned to her nightstand; the hourglass told her that it was still five in the morning, still too early to get up. And so, she rolled to the side, turning her back on the hourglass. She closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep. The moment her eyelids closed, she felt that her eyes were unusually wet.

Running her fingers to across her face, she realized that she was crying…

"_Weak…"

* * *

_

Lin shot up, gasping. The cold weather outside combined with the fact that he was drenched form head to toes with cold sweat made him shivered. What a weird dream, he thought, wiping his forehead; but, then again, weird dreams were normal to him. Slumping down on the bed, not taking his cool hand off his even cooler forehead, he turned to his nightstand; the hourglass told him that it was already five in the morning. And so, shooting up again, in panic this time, he quickly leaped off the bed.

Grasping Nightshade off the table near the bed and dashing his way out, he ran as fast as he could across the dark empty hallway.

"_I'm late!"

* * *

_

There were more than one hundred students attending Piandao's School of Swordsmanship; from children to adults, noble-born to peasants, men or women, from all around the Nation, all were welcomed. Master Piandao provided some space in his vast estate as hostel for the students, although some, mostly local students, like Ren, chose to stay at their own homes. There were strict rules imposed on the students, including curfews, possession of weapons, etc. although Piandao's somewhat laidback attitude on the lesser violations on his rules kind of make having this rules pointless. Luckily, with the always fair Shin and extremely strict Fat at his side, a satisfactory level of order had always been maintained.

Providing daily food and necessities of 100 students was not easy. Piandao must have spent hundreds of gold for food alone, not to mention other necessities like bedding, hygiene, and medicine. Piandao did receive quite an amount of fee money from the students but, to be honest, he didn't really care about fee. Sure, some students, like Yung and Rei, who came from wealthy families, could afford a vast sum of money but most students were farmers and small merchants. But, as I said before, Piandao didn't care; he just loved to teach. Fee for his school was, to quote his words, 'vary and voluntary', what he did care about was for the student to learn and learn well and to obey the school's rules. You'd be surprised to know how many students paid their fees with only a few copper pieces, some, like Ren, paid with stuffs, some other, like Yoku, Shin, and Zhong, who had absolutely no formal income, didn't pay at all.

So, where did Piandao get enough money to fund his school? Easy: swords. Swords of Piandao's creation were renowned throughout the Four Nation as the having the best quality; one ordinary piece could fetch hundreds of gold, a better quality thousands. And if the sword was custom made, like the marvelous red-lacquered sword with diamond inlay and flame engraving on the blade, with sheath adorned by seven kinds of precious gemstone and hilt made of silver ivory he had just finished the previous day for General Jiang of the Lin Family, it could be sold for six to seven digits of gold. The exact number this particular piece worth was a mystery but Piandao had joked to Yuu that the payment he received for this sword alone was enough to sustain the school for five years.

The other, yet slightly unusual, source of income was from bounty hunting. Yes, bounty hunting; usually in winter. During other seasons, most bandits and pirates were active in the port towns and merchant cities in Fire Nation; bandits hiding in the mountains of thriving cities filled with wealthy merchant, pirates terrorizing the sea trade route leading to multiple ports. Shu Jing, an agricultural town, during these seasons offered less lucrative targets. In winter, however, merchants and ports take a break, waiting for the season to warm up and the ocean to calm down, farmers do too, but without bandits harassing them, they had the whole year filling up their storehouse, a fact that the outlaws take into consideration. So, during winter, Shu Jing and the nearby farming towns were sitting ducks, that was where Piandao stepped in. Shu Jing had little, or even no, military power; they could barely utilize whatever military strength they had to maintain law and order, let alone take a stand against the outlaws. Usually, the governor would come to Piandao, asking him to mobilize his more experienced students to fend off the outlaws, an offer that Piandao rarely refused.

"Which way are going again?" Lin asked, taking a sip of water to wet his cold dry throat.

"That way!" Ren and Yung exclaimed, but both pointing at two different directions of the three-pronged forest path in front of them.

"It's that way", Ren insisted on the right path. "I remember walking this path when I got lost picking berries!"

"And you would take us through a path you take when you got lost?" Yung stood his ground on the left one. "It's this way I tell ya! I got lost here when I go hunting!"

"Oooookay!" Lin chirped, pushing Ren and Yung apart; now he understood why Piandao had made him the team leader instead of the more experienced Yung or the older Ren. "We go this way then."

"Why?" Yung asked him as if he was crazy, tracing his eyes on Lin's finger which pointed at the middle path, the path that nobody chose.

"Because none of us have ever got lost here", Lin said matter-of-factly, shifting Nightshade that was strapped on his back for more a comfortable position; frankly, he didn't know much about the terrain here. "Come on."

Grumbling, his two companions followed. The three of them walked in silence, senses set on the edge, trying to make sure they weren't followed or being watched. It was still the first Monday of winter and already a report came in about a group of bandit holing up in the mountain. To deal with this, the governor, as usual, requested Master Piandao's assistance who in turn ordered Lin, Ren, and Yung to capture the bandits, all ten of them.

"Okay", Lin drawled as the trail ended on a cliff. "_Not_ this way."

"Yes this way", Yung begged to differ, pointing at the clearing below. "Look! It's them."

Directly below the cliff was an encampment. Five medium-sized tents was set up in a half-circle formation, a campfire was already a smoking pile of cinder on the middle of the encampment. Though it was quite dark, the sun had begun to rise, casting a gentle reddish light on the encampment, enough light to show that the encampment was slowly waking up as men of all shapes sizes emerged from the tents.

"They are more than ten!" Ren hissed in low voices; the three of them crouching low so that the bandits below wouldn't be able to spot them.

"We need to call for a reinforcement", Yung hissed back. He then reached out to the cage that was strapped on Ren's sash; a small wooden cage that held a small messenger hawk. Letting the bird perched on his head, Yung pulled out a small piece of paper, a set of pen brush and a small bottle of ink. He dipped the brush on the ink and wrote _'more enemies, need help'_ on the paper before putting it inside the tube that was strapped on the bird's back and let the bird fly away to carry the message home to Master Piandao.

"Now what?" Yung asked.

"Now we wait", Lin shrugged nonchalantly.

* * *

The sun had almost risen completely on the horizon, the sky was still mostly dark; it was winter so the sun rises later than the previous seasons, such is the way of nature. It was already seven o'clock; Azula had already bathed, changed into fresh cloth, gulped down the last bite of her breakfast, and now was striding fast across the hallway leading to the main gate. The first Monday of the winter meant only one thing for a student of the Royal Fire Academy for Girls: report card!

Usually, the Academy would be opened for the students' relatives; the report cards would be given in a special ceremony held in the Academy's main hall. The ceremony itself usually went on with the headmistress delivering a (boring) speech to the students, who would be standing in neat formation in the middle of the hall, and the visitors who would be sitting comfortably on the sitting area behind the students. The ceremony then would proceed into the students' exhibitions of talents: swordsmanship performance, poem recital, friendly debates on history, politics, and art against the teachers, and of course, firebending. Only the brightest students would be chosen to take part in these exhibitions and the previous week, Azula had proudly announced on the dinner table to what's left of her family that she had been chosen to take part in the firebending performance, an announcement that was met with a curt snort from her brother and a kind praise from her uncle; Ozai, as always, had had dinner alone.

Speaking of her father, she realized that she hadn't seen him for quite some time now, for about a month. The last time she saw him was during the firebending training when he was called by a messenger who muttered something about 'escape' and 'kidnap'. She remembered seeing her father smirked at this briefly before ordering her to go on with her training alone and walked out of the room with the messenger. And the next day, her uncle was the one who dragged her out of the training room, saying something about her father wanting him to train her instead for the time being, and she suddenly found herself stuck with Zuzu and Uncle Fatso. Not fun! Stopping at the gate leading to the main courtyard, she cursed inside because, as usual, the palanquin was late again. Leaning against a nearby beam, she pondered of the upcoming event.

If everything went well, if Uncle really meant what he had said when he said he'd tell daddy about the firebending performance, she would have a chance to amaze her father with how much she had grown in this past month. Yes, to show him how much she had grown during this month alone… she smirked as she held up her palm and summoned a flickering orange flame. Concentrating hard, tapping into the area in her mind, in her heart, that Uncle and Lin had repeatedly told to never ever mess with, but her Daddy said to be the source of ultimate power, she let the feeling, the emotion flow into her fire, imagining it contaminating her pure chi, flowing along with it into the fire on her palm… turning the fire blue…

Her smirk grew wider as the blue flame flickered for a brief moment before returning back to its orange color; she had come a long way but still had much longer to go, she knew that. Wiping her sweaty brow, she recalled the lesson about the colored fire her father told her, that it was a _special_ fire, so special only a handful of people were known or unknown throughout the history to have tamed the colored fire; like Hei Wu, the Black Raven, the wielder of black fire who had been reputed to be the first man to ever fought and killed a spiritual entity, or the Crimson Hong, the master of the blood-red fire who had been the first Great Sage, the legendary founder of the Fire Sage Council.

Daddy had said that not everyone could wield colored fire, Zuzu certainly couldn't! Uncle Iroh couldn't either; neither could Lin or even Dad! Why? Because, unlike Azula, they hadn't been born when the sun sat still upon the earth: the day of Litha, the summer solstice. According to legend, during the summer solstice, the day would be longer than the night, allowing the sun to grant its blessing on earth longer than naturally possible. So, children born during this period were said to be able to receive the gift of firebending without fail, some even able to receive more than the other, allowing them to display the ability to, as Daddy put it, 'add something other than Chi and inner fire into the essence of firebending'. As for what that something is; well, when Azula asked, Daddy Ozai simply laughed and said that Azula must discover it on her own. Well, but Daddy did say, when Azula, after days of hellish firebending drill, sparked her first blue fire, that he thought her blue fire was _pretty, _as blue is the color of the sky, the color of majesty, of heaven itself. Azula couldn't help but smiled at this… _Daddy thinks my blue fire is pretty_.

"Azula", a voice called out, so close she nearly jumped. It was none other than…

"Dad!" she squealed, ignoring the fact that she sounded so much like Ty Lee. But, the expression on her father's face, the sour stern expression he always let out whenever she was being 'weak', shocked her for a moment before she realized what she had done wrong this time. She quickly bowed a polite customary Fire Nation greeting and said an overly formal. "Good Moring, _Father_."

_Father, not Dad! _She mentally slapped herself. The fruit of her firebending meditation training came to aid as the 'mean voice' were stirring up again inside her, cursing her beloved da— I mean, father, with names and swear words that no Fire Princess should even know. Luckily, Ozai didn't notice the inner turmoil inside her daughter. He didn't greet back or even smile; in his scale of justice, Azula's initial failure to address him properly far outweighed her understanding her own mistake, and a failure deserves no reward!

"Are you going to school?" he drawled, eyes set on the backpack her daughter was carrying. _Has she forgotten that a Fire Princess does not carry her own burden and let the servants carry it for her instead?_

"Yes, Father", Azula replied, smiling; Ozai was half tempted to slap the silly grin off her face. "It's the day for annual report card."

"Report card?" Ozai drawled again, frowning.

"Yes, and I'm going to be doing the firebending—", Azula started to chirp but as she caught her father's blank expression, her smile falter and her voice became low and tainted with obvious disappointment as she muttered: "You haven't forgotten… have you?"

_He forgot? How could he?_ The mean voice took the opening to launch an assault, conspiring with her eyes as they suddenly felt warm and wet…

"No, I have not, Azula", said Ozai with icy tone matching the temperature of the weather. How could he forget when Iroh had annoyingly popped in every now and then every chance he got this past few days reminding him about Azula and her firebending performance? A sly grin ran across Ozai's face as he saw two opportunities this conversation had presented him…

He could say…

"_How could I forget something that I don't even know about?"_ and ruined Iroh's credibility in the girl's eyes forever.

Or…

"_Of course"_ and it would satisfy his daughter because her thirst for his recognition _pleased_ him. Yes, it pleased him to see how his daughter grew more and more dependant on him, on his praises, his acknowledgment, his recognition,… his _love_…

"Of course, Azula", he smiled a smile only a true father could show, a true father he was not. Knowing Iroh, he would blunder his own credibility soon; he did not need Ozai's help in this matter. "I will come to this event, Azula, to see you and your firebending performance. And I trust you are prepared to not shame me and your family in this trial, no?"

"I'm ready, Da—Father", the girl replied enthusiastically, nearly blundered her response.

"Good", Ozai replied, purposefully ignored the almost-a-mistake. The coming palanquin from the courtyard spared him from having to say more and allowed him to only say. "Go now, Azula. And make me proud."

Azula flashed a quick bow before running toward the palanquin, or bouncing, to be more exact. _Weak!_ Ozai cursed… the manner she bounced suddenly reminded him of the image of a girl, bubbly and energetic, in a pink garb, with her hair tied into a long ponytail… Ty Lee, was it? Ozai scratched his chin; Ty Lee, as he guessed correctly, was the name of that girl who often came to the palace until a month ago when she suddenly stopped coming. Yes, he, again correctly, recalled the other girl's name, the one who sulked all the time, the one who could only change her facial expression when that failure Zuko was within a radius ten feet away from her, as Mai.

Speaking of which, wasn't the girl that Lin Family brat had had to kidnap when he escaped the Imperial City was also named Ty Lee? Maybe the same girl… _Hmph! Stupid brat, can't even escape without committing real crime!_

As he watched the palanquin exited the front gate, he realized how ignorant his daughter was regarding this matter, how little she knew. Should he tell her, that her Instructor was innocent? Only himself, Iroh, and the brat's father knew about this, not including a dozen or so people in the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination, of course. As for what had become of that Ty Lee girl, the full report of what had transpired should be arriving today. And speaking of…

"What?" he called. A dark figure was knelling down behind him on the empty hallway, positioning himself in a way that his upper half was covered by the shadow.

"I bring the latest report regarding Lin, the twenty-sixth, Your Highness", Wuxin replied smoothly, almost gleefully.

"Yes?"

"His escape has gone smoothly although he claimed that he has sustained an injury, though he refused to disclose the nature of the said injury. He did, however, implied that it was quite severe. And because of that, he had requested that he would be given a permission to stay in Shu Jing for an unspecified amount of time, minimum a year."

"A year?" Ozai drawled; whether he was surprised or angry, it was hard for even Wuxin to tell.

"Yes, sir", Wuxin replied, bowing slightly. "Also he had expressed that the other reason for his prolonged stay was because he wishes to study more about sword combat under Piandao."

"Piandao, eh?" Ozai muttered. Piandao… had the annoyance finally become a threat…?

"Yes, sir."

"And what about the other escapees?" Ozai asked again.

"Led by former Captain Chey of Admiral Liang's Western Fleet", Wuxin reported. "He and his group somehow managed to escape to the Earth Kingdom. We had not anticipated this, Your Highness"

"Put a bounty on this Chey", Ozai ordered.

"And the others, Your Highness?" Wuxin asked.

"No need", grinned Ozai. "I will enjoy learning the whereabouts of the others from this Chey himself."

"Understood, Your Highness", Wuxin bowed; a sadistic grin hidden by his mask. "And about the boy, You Highness?"

"I grant his wish", Ozai decided lazily. "He can stay for as long as he wants; until I say the otherwise, that is."

"Very good, Your Highness", Wuxin's grin faltered a bit. "Would that be all, sir?"

"One more thing", even Ozai noticed the hesitation in his voice; after all, this was a trivial matter he was about to ask, trivial but… he wanted o know, just to satisfy his curiosity. "What about the girl, Ty Lee, was it?"

"A spy had reported seeing her departed for the Earth Kingdom also a month ago, Your Highness."

"With Chey?"

"No, sir. With a… circus troupe."

"Circus troupe?" at this stage, little could tickle Ozai's severely shriveled sense of humor: this was one of them.

"Yes, sir. A circus troupe", Wuxin reaffirmed his earlier statement, eyeing Ozai's shuddering shoulder curiously. _Is he laughing?_

"Let her be, then", Ozai cleared his throat. "You are dismissed."

No reply… but Ozai knew Wuxin; the grandmaster of the Byakko had assimilated with the shadow and disappeared. So, Lin would be staying for a while in the Nation, Chey and the other escaped, and Ty Lee had joined a circus troupe on her own free will; now, those _were_ unexpected. Whenever that brat Lin was involved, things always turned out unsuspected. Ozai had though he would be killed in the Western Earth Base Campaign, and yet he had achieved an _unexpected_ victory. Ozai had wholeheartedly believed Azulon would simply give him rank and money for his heroism, but the old coot made him a Dragon. Ozai had hoped that he would escape all the way to the Earth Kingdom, but he had opted to stay in Shu Jing, instead. And when Ozai heard about the kidnap and Iroh's visit to Shu Jing to retrieve the girl, he had expected to get a happy ending to this kidnapping drama but the report had proved him wrong yet again.

Lin… what an interesting kid…

"Your Highness", a servant walked up to him and bowed. "The meeting is ready, Your highness. The Council is expecting you."

War meeting! Dang, he _forgot_!

"I will be there in a moment", declared Ozai.

…well, Azula _did_ fail him this morning…

With that thought, Ozai walked back into the palace, towards the Meeting Chamber.

* * *

"The messenger hawk's coming", Yung hissed, pointing at the tiny spot on the sky. As the bird landed soundlessly on his outstretched arm, he took the rolled parchment from the bird's tube and hissed aloud. "_'Help will arrive'._"

"What else?" Ren demanded, also hissing. As the camp below had come to life, the three swordsmen on top of the cliff realized that it would be more prudent for them to exercise stealth; hence the hiding inside the nearby bushes and the whispering.

"That's all", Yung whispered, shrugging.

"What help? Who?" Ren whispered to the other two. "Shin?"

"Nah, he's gone to the Imperial City to deliver the sword my dad ordered", Lin rebutted.

"Yoku?" Yung guessed.

"Probably going with Shin", Lin shrugged.

"Zhong?" Ren muttered hopefully.

"… is supposed to be helping Master with another order", Yung completed.

"Aw, man…" Ren looked disappointed. Shin, Zhong, and Yoku were the top three in the hierarchy of skill, after all, and somehow all three of them were unavailable. "Guess we're down to Rei."

"…I have a confession to make", Yung started, fidgeting suspiciously.

"That you ate my rice cake last night?" Ren guessed. "I know already; I laced the cake with laxative powder. That was why you spent the whole night in the bathroom."

"No, not that—"

"Or that you doodled my essay on 'Summer Solstice Festival", Lin interrupted, narrowing his eyes stabbingly. "I know it was you. Who do you think switched your painting homework with that picture of Fat picking his nose?"

"No, not that!" Yung cut in, getting impatient from being interrupted. His expression and tone mellowed again as he said: "Actually, I'm… Rei."

"Say WHAT!"

"Shhh!" Yung, or was it really Rei, quickly shoved his hands on his bewildered companions mouths.

"You're _who_?" Ren hissed incredulously.

"But— but, you're carrying Yin!" Lin protested, stabbing a finger on the white sword direction.

"Oh, we switch swords with each other all the time", Rei, was it really not Yung, waved it off casually.

"Yeah, they do", Ren nodded, concurring with Rei; guess he really wasn't Yung.

"Great", Lin groaned. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be punished with cleaning chores!"

"Weeeel", Rei (man! It really was him) drawled. "Yung is kinda still sick with diarrhea and had to redo his painting homework, thanks to you two, apparently— _good job, men_!"

"Yeah, the diarrhea was funny, wasn't it?" Ren chuckled, as Rei high-fived him and Lin, all three of them giggling.

"Also, Yung can't stand cold weather", Rei continued. "So, he asked me to take his place."

"And bottom line, he's not coming", Lin sighed deeply. "So, who's coming for us? Fat?"

…

"Yeah, right", Ren snickered.

"The less of us to take care of, the happier he is", Rei concurred with Ren.

"But, wait", Lin scratched his chin, frowning. "If Shin and Yoku are away, Zhong is busy, Yung is sick, and Fat won't come, that leaves…"

A mutual understanding dawned on both Ren and Rei's faces. Their expressions were those of horror and disbelief as they muttered in unison: _"Yuu!"_

Lin nodded curtly, his expression mimicked those of his companions. He sounded solemnly defeated as he declared. "Gentlemen, we're _doomed_."

As if on cue, a loud mocking laughter echoed from the cliff below. Our three brave bounty hunters crept along to the ledge of the cliff, peeking on the encampment below right when a group of people marched into the camp, sauntering around two people who carried each end of a long pole on which the hapless Yuu's hands and legs were tied up like a roasted pig.

"Man…" Ren groaned. "I'm gonna be late for my chore."

"I'm gonna be late for my class", Rei complained.

"I'm gonna be late for my date", Lin complained too.

It took a moment for Ren and Rei to register what Lin said earlier. Once they did, they both turned to Lin at the same time with the same facial expression that yelled _'You're late for what?"_

"What?" Lin asked innocently.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

1. Hei Wu, from Mandarin 'hei' (黑), which means 'black', and Cantonese 'wu' (乌), which means 'bird'.

2. Hong (紅) means 'red' in Mandarin.

By the way, Yuu isn't weak or stupid; he's just very very unlucky. Probably sprung a trap or something.

To hpswst101, I forgot to thank you for sharing your experience. Thanks. It's always nice to learn from one's experience. And sorry I couldn't say so in the last chapter's note. I'm currently using my old laptop that is so old it 'faints' every now and then, so I kinda have to type really quickly. As for that girl you talked about, well all I can say is try to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she didn't realize you had a problem with your load, or maybe she honestly thought you could handle it alright, or maybe she was in a hurry. Who knows? But, then again… hmm, people are complicated sometimes. :)

Just don't let it get you. Life can be beautiful if we let it, and the first step to do so is by not sweating over little things (just look at Iroh); at least that's what a book I once read says.

Good luck with everything! Though along the road you may feel like you are alone fighting the battle, know that as long as your heart remains true, you can never be alone.

Lin's subordinates Wuxin was referring to are actually Taka, Bara, and Rocky. According to the deal, Lin would one day lead them as their captain once he finished his initiation which he couldn't as long as he stays in the Fire Nation.

And one more thing: patience _is_ a virtue! It has becoming a rare trait nowadays, you should be proud. :)

Have a nice day!


	59. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58 – 1****st**** Monday of Winter, Part 2**

**-Girl Hates Boy- **

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

Winter in Fire Nation is marked with the shortening of days and lightening of nights, which means the sun will rise much later than normal and set much quicker too; not to mention the drastic drop in the temperature, although not as severe as the winter in the other three Nations, it was quite uncomfortable for Fire Nation people in general. Not really an ideal climate situation for people who favor the warmth of the sun, but for this certain group of three young… two young and one not-so-young swordsmen, the still-rather-dark sky was on their side. It enabled them to creep into the encampment full of bandits, around forty of them, without being noticed.

"I say we roast him!" a rough voice, typical of the outlaw kind, vibrated through the cool air, echoed into the three swordsmen's ears. "We roast'im! And then… we eat'im…"

A booming choir of laughter exploded, engulfing the weak yelp Yuu was making. Some bandits, apparently taking this seriously, started to pick the pole with Yuu on it up and placed it under a pile of firewood.

"Ar, come on, lads!" Yuu managed to make his voice heard; raking from his little experience as a bandit before, he imitated a very unconvincing 'outlaw talk'. His positioning, tied up on the pole like a captured boarilla didn't help much. "Come on! Ya can't eat me! Men don't eat men, ya squiggling sons of a #$&!"

"…"

The camp abruptly stopped laughing, all eyes stared at him.

"Um… Arrr…?" he added a nervous growl.

"What do ya think we are? _Pirates_?" the bandit who wanted to roast him sneered. "We're _bandits_, you dimwit!"

Inside their hiding places, Lin, Ren, and Rei slapped their foreheads.

"Um… aren't you the same?" Yuu asked weakly.

"How dare you?" the bandit rocked the pole, making Yuu shrieked. "How dare you put us in the same category as those fancy mama boys who dare call themselves real outlaws?"

"Um… sorry…?" Yuu squeaked. But, the bandits ignored him.

"_Uh, look… I'm a pirate, I have a boat. Uh, I have a wooden leg, a hat, and a matching eye patch. Uh, I have a pet bird_", the bandit did a mocking pirate impression, the whole camp laughed; they crowded around him and Yuu. He got all serious again when he threw a fistful of fire to the ground for dramatic effect and yelled. "_We're_ the real outlaws!"

"YEAH!" the whole camp yelled back, rising their either their fists or weapons.

"Um… gentlemen?" Yuu tried to interrupt but he was, like before, ignored.

"We don't sneak up on people like they do! We march towards our target from the front!"

"YEAH!"

"Um… sorry to bother you but—"

"We don't push people overboard like those cowards! We fight head on with our pride as outlaws!"

"YEAH!"

"Really now, mister. There's something that—"

"We are not a bunch of kids playing bad guys on the sea where there are hardly any patrol around! We are the bad guys right where the guards are! We eat guards for breakfast!"

"YEAH!"

"Oh dear lord, you eat _what_ for breakfast?"

"And now this cow-pig dare compare us to— *sniff* do you guys smell something?"

"I smell fire", a random bandit form the crowd replied.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you…" Yuu sounded like he was about to cry; his eyes watered profusely from the smoke that arose from the campfire below. Campfire!

"Who lit the fire?" the enthusiastic bandit from before screamed. "Put it out! Put it out!"

A chaos ensued as the bandits scurried around. Some were looking for buckets of water, some picked the pole with Yuu on it up and away from the fire, some evacuated their belonging from around the fire. A minute or so later, the fire was contained, a relief sigh spread across the camp.

"Phew", Yuu sighed aloud, relief although he was still tied to the pole. "I thought I was really going to be your dinner."

"Whoever says yer gonna be our dinner?" the enthusiastic bandit asked incredulously; his grin flashed, exhibiting his yellow cracked teeth as he added: "Yer gonna be our _breakfast_."

"YEAH!" the whole camp cheered again.

"What? Wait! Wait!" Yuu screamed as he was, yet again, hoisted up and brought to the spot where a new pile of firewood was prepared. "Wait! I thought you guys eat pirates for breakfast? I'm not a pirate! I'm just a servant from the mansion in town! Don't eat me!"

"Aye, you're close enough", the bandit laughed evilly. But…

—POOF!—

A smoke bomb rolled on the ground toward the middle of the crowd and exploded, thick white smoke emerged, covering the whole area. Thick white smoke… thick… really thick!

"Cough! Cough! Rei, you idiot!" Lin's yelling voice was clearly audible across the whole camp that was filled with loud angry and panic yells although, amidst the thick smoke, Yuu couldn't make out of his position. "How many times do I have to tell you: ½ gram of spark powder, 4 gram of sulfur, and _another_ ½ gram of chalk powder! _Why,_ in the name of sweet Agni, did you put so much chalk powder?"

"Sorry!" now it was Rei's voice that reached Yuu's ear. From his restrained position, he saw two bandits pulled him up, yet again, by the pole, brought him to the center of a small group of bandit and stabbed the pole upright on the ground. Still being tied up to the pole, not having any means to free himself, he could simply watch as the bandits nearby him, led by the enthusiastic bandit from before, formed a circle around him amidst the smoke, bracing themselves for attack. The initial chaos with the smoke bomb had dispersed the bandits, but they were ten of them guarding Yuu, quite a lot…

It took a full minute for the smoke to subside. As the last bit of the white dust dissolved, Lin, Ren, and Rei, who jumped out of their hiding places into the fray exactly a second after the smoke grenade was thrown, suddenly found themselves in the middle of the crowd, literally in the middle. Five spears were pointed on Ren; three bandits with a sword, a halberd, and a loaded arrow were circling Rei; and Lin found himself standing surrounded by at least five men the size of Chit Sang.

"Rei?" Lin called, calmly unsheathing Nightshade. At his right and left, Ren and Rei did the same with their respective weapons.

"Yes?" Rei called back.

"Remind me to kill you later."

"What's with all this ruckus?" an angry voice boomed throughout the encampment, surprising even the bandits themselves. The source? A seven feet tall man, wearing a ragged fur pants with sash made of tiger-wolf pelt, he was completely bare-chested, save for the lion head pauldron perching on his left shoulder, and his whole torso was covered with both tattoo and scars. His face was also scarred, complementing his pronounced cheek bones and jaw line, his rugged beard and messy stiff hair. His whole body looked like it was made of muscles, his biceps were as big as Lin's head, one of his six-packs was easily twice the size of Rei's fist, and don't get me started with the chest muscle. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing… height: 7'2 foot, weight: 248 pounds! The bandit leader, a man wanted in both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom! I give you! Bat'eer, the Gorilla-bull!

"What is going on here?" Bat'eer yelled again; the whole camp, bandits and non-bandits alike, shrunk before his presence.

"Intruder, Boss", the enthusiastic bandit from before reported.

"Intruder?" Bat'eer boomed. He pulled out a giant iron-headed wooden club from behind his back and, roaring like a giant beast everybody was convinced he was. He swung the weapon down on the nearby cart, one of the carts the bandits used to haul their bounty. The wooden cart, upon coming in contact with the weapon, was blown to bits. Pieces of jewelries and valuables, broken or still intact, were blown away and scattered all over the place, among them was…

"Hey, it's that my—", Yuu started, eyes set on the red sword lying on the ground.

"KILL THEM!" the bandit boss ordered, pointing his giant club on the intruders.

Abruptly, the whole camp jumped at the three swordsmen. Now, it was every man for himself…

One of the nearest large men swung a gigantic mallet on Lin, who evaded the blow effortlessly. Clutching Nightshade with both hands, he ducked to avoid being decapitated by a pole arm. In his mind, he could only think of this: _why the hell did I make this sword?_

To be completely honest, he still couldn't fully understand why his 'dream' showed him wielding Nightshade and not some sort of ninjato that he knew he could use with better proficiency. Although he actually like the sword, it was a cool looking sword, he couldn't help it, he was still struggling to find out the meaning behind this sword; why this sword? Initially, he was half tempted to shorten the handle design, allowing him to wield the weapon with more ease. The long handle made it really difficult for him to strike the opponent. But, against his better judgment, the war strategist side of him who did not like taking chances with the unknown, he had chosen to resign to the destiny, as Iroh once put it, and designed the sword completely according to his dream, except for the dragon engraving, of course. Still, even after the sword was finished, even until now as he evaded yet another blow, he still did not understand what advantage the long handle offered.

"Whoa!" he instinctively raised his sword to defend against a mighty blow of a wooden club nearly as big as him, anticipating to be thrown half way across the camp. _Hey_… another blow from the same weapon he defended just as perfectly as the previous one. And another blow, and another blow… haha… he got it!

Defense… that was what Nightshade is all about. Lin finally got it… but, why? Even as he asked himself that question, his memory brought him back to that time… Chey standing with his back turned on an Earth Kingdom soldier, the Earth Kingdom soldier whose broadsword was raised, ready to strike Chey from behind… the Earth Kingdom soldier whose back was pierced, was run through by a sword, a sword that was launched from Lin's hand, from his own hand… the Earth Kingdom soldier he had killed…

It took him back to that very fateful day, the day when a boy became a soldier, the day when the soldier boy vowed to never be a murderer. Of course… so, resigning to fate had brought him to be the creator and master of a sword that could defend its wielder much better than it could kill its prey, eh? It would seem that he owed Iroh an apology.

As for now, he had to focus to get out of this chaos alive. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Ren and Rei being overwhelmed by a myriad of enemies, not that he was doing any better himself, Yuu, still tied up on the pole, was shouting and goading, trying to help. The bandit boss was standing impassively with his gigantic club rested on his broad shoulder, low grunts escaped his mouth every time he saw his men failed to finish off someone.

"Watch out, Ren! Behind you!" Yuu yelled.

"What, where?" Ren turned back, losing his cool and concentration, allowing a bandit to trap one of his hands with a chain, thus creating more opening for two more chains, one got his other hand, the other got his neck. A sharp clank was heard when another chain got his foot and yanked him off balance, his face landed on a puddle of mud.

"Yung, arrow!" Yuu shouted again.

"I'm _Rei_, dangit!" Rei yelled back. He managed to jumped backward, the arrow that was intended for him stabbed the earth instead. Remember when the bandit boss smashed a cart full of stolen stuffs and the stolen stuffs flew everywhere? One of the stuffs, a large golden vase, happened to landed on… guess where? Right on the spot where Rei landed. The vase rolled as Rei stepped on it, resulting in it bouncing away and Rei falling headfirst into a nearby large water drum.

"Lin! BOMB!"

"Whoa!" Lin shouted, leaping away. He did see someone was about to throw something at him but he was in the heat of battle, and in the heat of battle, everything seems so blurry, but he didn't care. He didn't even think, he couldn't think! He just jumped, jumped backward randomly. Sadly, unbeknownst to him, behind him was a tent. He crashed onto the tent, bringing the whole canvas down on him.

"What are you guys doing? A comedy skit?" Yuu yelled desperately. The whole camp was now laughing at them. "Help me out here!"

"It's _your_ fault!" the three of them shouted in unison.

"ENOUGH!"

Silence befell the whole camp. The boss took a menacing step forward; his mere presence dwarfed even the largest bandit out. A truly terrifying individual, Bat'eer was…

"I grow tired of this charade", his voice echoed as he stepped forward into the fray, slow and steady, amber eyes sweeping the faces of the people in the encampment, friends and foes alike. He certainly wasn't paying attention to where he was walking, because… "I'll kill them myself!"

"Hey! That's my—", Yuu tried to warn him but…

As the large bandit boss stomped his next step, a crunch sound from below his feet attracted his attention. Looking down, he spotted something long and red below his boot. A sword… he kicked it away and cursed: "Stupid sword."

—CRACKED—

"Oh, boy", Ren's horror-stricken voice reached Lin's ears. Few feet away from him, Rei, inside his water drum, dived down till only the top half of his head was visible and he said: "_Now_ we're doomed."

"You…" a bone chilling voice came from behind the crowd. All heads turned to the voice; Yuu was standing on his feet, the pole on which he was tied laid on the floor near his feet, snapped in two, the ropes with which he was tied shredded to pieces. "Hey, you… big guy over there…"

"What?" Bat'eer grunted. Though the bandits seemed more wary now that Yuu looked more… well, different than the goofy guy they had captured, Bat'eer seemed unaffected.

"Do you know that a sword is the embodiment of a swordsman's soul?" Yuu asked, eyes stared sharp and steady like a tiger-hawk. He usually sounded cheerful or airy but… hearing the tone of Yuu's voice, Lin felt a shiver down his spine plus several other sensations, all of them associated with fear. Even the bandits felt it, Lin knew; that was why, as Yuu made his steady pace across the crowd towards Petal, the outlaws who stood between him and the blade dispersed. Some even retreated so fast they stumbled upon each other.

"So what?" Bat'eer snorted and spat on the ground. Yuu finally reached his sword; he picked Petal up and lovingly caressed the blade, rubbing off any dirt he could find.

"So how dare you stepped on MY SWORD! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

* * *

It was already nine in the morning when Fire Princess Azula found herself back inside the class. Not that she and the other girls, which include Mai who sat on her right, not including Ty Lee who used to sit on her left, had any class that day. Their being at school was only for their annually report card ceremony, the one that would take place that evening, around four o'clock. And, in normal school, when students had to come but had no studying to do the teachers would just let them run wild around the school; the Royal Fire Academy for Girls did no such thing, it was after all the most elite girl academy in the whole Nation. No, never, nay! The headmistress would sooner throw herself into the Tratakoa Volcano before she let her precious students behave like a pack of barbarian from local schools.

Instead, the students were ordered to attend to their classes where their homeroom teachers would give them some revision material from their previous term. That was what Azula, Mai, and the other girls were doing; revising, writing down some materials from a book, the 'New History of the War, 10th Edition'.

"—_exhausted their whole supply of explosives in this one final attack. Meanwhile, a reinforcement force of three battalions led by General Shu and General Bujing, under the command of the Supreme Commander General Jiang of 212__th__ Battalion was closing in from the west, ready to join the siege with fresh men and supplies. It was the third day of summer, year 94 after the first Great Comet, when High General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, broke through the wall of Ba Sing Se, a damage that the Earth Kingdom has not recovered from to this very day"_, Azula wrote, reading it aloud in her mind

From the corner of her bright amber eyes, she caught the glimpse of Mai doing the same. She suppressed the desire to laugh as she caught the glimpse of how proper and ladylike Mai was sitting; usually, when they were studying in the Royal Library back home, Mai would always, _always_, slouch with one hand supporting her chin, even when she was writing, especially when she was reading. Not particularly funny seeing Mai had to force the proper lady façade but, strangely, to the Fire Princess everything no matter how mundane or insignificant, seemed to be able to tickle her funny bone today. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the classical symptom of 'yay! I'm so happy!' syndrome; when your super busy and difficult to please father had agreed to attend something insignificant (to him) like your firebending performance. Even being stuck with fifty pages worth of calligraphy, the princess did not find it bothersome.

On with the writing, Azula goaded herself, beginning to challenge herself to finish the whole work before she had to go. Her smile faltered a bit when she got to the part that says:

"_However, the night of the fourth day of summer, year 94 after the first Great Comet, one day after the Great Wall of Ba Sing Se was torn down, a night raid was staged by the desperate defenders in the capital city. It was reported that sixty seven people was wounded in the raid, another fifty eight killed. Among the death toll was the pride of the Fire Nation; Fire Prince Lu Ten, son of Iroh and Imma." _

Azula blinked; the warm and heavy sensation in her eyes from that morning almost came back. Lu Ten… _"Funny, I'm proud of you…"_ her memory involuntarily replayed the dream she had last night. _"Stupid Lu Ten"_, she muttered softly.

Azula took a deep silent sigh, not caring if by sighing a lot she might turn into Mai, before she dipped her brush into her ink compartment and resumed her writing.

"_General Iroh's force and General Jiang's reinforcement regrouped at the next day, few kilometers outside Ba Sing Se, and retreated back to the town of Gaipan. Thus, it marked the end of the legendary 600 Days Siege of Ba Sing Se."_

_The legendary failure,_ Azula snorted sarcastically inside her mind. Things were not funny anymore for her, well done, Uncle Fatso! She turned another page of the book, a new sub-chapter titled _**'The Retreat to the West' **_greeted her. Poising her brush, she wrote again.

"_Soon after the joined forces reached Gaipan, at midnight three large forces under three top generals of the Earth Kingdom mounted an assault on Gaipan. The Earth Kingdom forces leaders were: _

_1. General How from Ba Sing Se to the east, (see footnote for further information regarding How)_

_2. General Fong, marching from the south, (see footnote for further information regarding Fong)_

_3. General Do, coming the west. (see footnote for further information regarding Do)_

_Responding this night assault, General Jiang led a heroic attempt to guard General Iroh's escape to the west. As General Iroh led the main force to Senlin Village, pulverizing General Do's barricade, General Jiang fought valiantly against General How and General Fong. According to an official report, General Jiang was seen engaging a duel with both Earth Kingdom generals on his own, fighting the two veteran warriors to a standstill before, after receiving a signal from General Iroh, withdrawing from the battle. The casualties report indicated that while General Iroh suffered no damage, General Jiang lost nearly half of his force despite his display of valor. As the two armies regrouped again in Senlin Village and recuperated for the remainder of the night, General Iroh arranged for a journey back to the Fire Nation almost immediately. They went home the very next morning, in shame."_

_Coward…_ Azula found herself cursing again. _Coward Uncle!_

There. She was done! She put back her brush back on the perch rather furiously, causing a clanking sound louder than she intended to. Ignoring several curious eyes, including Mai's, that trailed to her direction, she pulled her book closer, distracting herself from those stares by reading something, anything that could drift her mind away from it all. As she scanned the page, the list of the three Earth Kingdom generals caught her attention. Noticing that there was a footnote dedicated for each general, she concluded that they must have been some big shot generals in the Earth Kingdom. It was true for How; even the airhead Ty Lee knew that How was the most powerful man in the Earth Kingdom, militarily speaking, being the leader of the Council of Five and all.

Having nothing better to do, she flipped the next page, the one containing the footnotes. As she skimmed through it, skipping on How, of course, she caught an extremely familiar name in it, one that did not belong to any Earth Kingdom soldiers: _Lin! _It was Fong's footnote and it read:

"_General Fong, previously the commander of the Western Earth Base, was infamously known to be the most ruthless and aggressive general in the Earth Kingdom Army. His 'rivalry' with General Jiang of the 212__th__ Battalion was known throughout the Nation and had been a subject of numerous plays and dramas, for example, the number one hit 'Over Yu Gou, I Fought Thee' by Lu Fu Sung that was played in the Grand Imperial Stage by the students of Fire Nation Institute of Art and Literature. Interestingly, as discussed in previous chapter 'The Western Shore Campaign', the said campaign was the stage where the two generals met for the first time in battle and the one who was responsible for Fong losing the Western Earth Base was none other than Lin, the twenty sixth, General Jiang's son, and the former Battalion of Strategist of the 212__th__ Battalion." _

Azula smiled though she didn't realize she was smiling. She felt her heart swelled and a warm sensation spread from inside her, causing her to gasp somewhat aloud. Again, another round of stare caused her to bury her blushing face into the book. Flipping her page backward, she got to the previous chapter discussing about the Western Shore Campaign. She remembered reading it of course because she had read it over and over and over again. She remembered reading it for the first time when she was working on an essay about the campaign with Mai and Ty Lee, remembered how excited Ty Lee had been to find out that one of their acquaintances was a famed hero, famous enough to be included into the most up-to-date history books in the Nation, still remembered how it had become her own favorite chapter of the book, remembered that she herself once read it before going to sleep… okay, numerous times, not just once. Remembered how she used to read it every morning before the class began, every lunch break as she gulped down whatever food her school served, every minutes she had to spend on the palanquin on the way back to the Palace.

She loved that part of the book.

Maybe it was partially because the star of that chapter was none other than her own firebending instructor, ex-firebending instructor, that is; or because she personally knew that soldier boy who had humiliated a man his own father considered a match. Loved reading over and over again the part where Lin led a brave team of ten to infiltrate the impregnable Western Earth Base and brought it to its knees, admired the strategy he had implemented in the assault, the one that was based on precision and courage. Admired the boy himself…

_Used to_ admire the boy himself…

Azula turned to her left, to the seat on which Ty Lee was supposed to be sitting, struggling to even hold her pen brush right. Azula used to enjoy the sight; the sight of Ty Lee frowning and struggling to copy down the delicate and intricated strokes of a particularly difficult character, _not as easy as cart wheeling, eh Ty Lee_? But, no more… not because Azula had outgrown that, she doubted she would ever do. But because of the 'hero' of the chapter, the very same boy, had kidnapped Ty Lee and escaped the Imperial City. Kidnapped Ty Lee and deserted the Nation, can you believe that! But then again, the boy's grandfather Jeong Jeong was also a deserter; traitorous trait must have run in the family, Azula furiously thought as she delicately ran her fingers into her sleeve, around her wrist. She didn't know why but she still kept the bracelet.

Her fingers traced the smooth surface of the beaded bracelet, the black and white beaded bracelet that the hero of the chapter had given him about three years ago. Had it only been three years? It sure felt like a life time. Three years ago she was introduced to the boy for the very first time. Three years ago was not the very first time they met, of course; Azula remembered seeing him every now and then in the palace before that, exchanging a courteous 'hello, how are you' each time they did meet, and once when they had incidentally met in the Amber Island. They had met before the event three years ago when they were introduced… no, not introduced, not really. As Azula recalled, she and the boy had never formally introduced themselves to each other; Azula didn't even know the boy's real name, only his title that he had used as his name from that day three years ago onward; and as a citizen of the glorious Fire Nation, it was the boy's duty to know the name of his Fire Princess, right? Three years ago… three years ago was when they talked for the first time. Talked… really talked…

Azula still remembered that night. She had witness someone so young, yet so powerful, stood his ground against sixteen firebenders, four of them were masters, all of them were older, bigger, and more experienced; she felt a gush of warm blood sweeping over her cheeks as she remembered herself giving the boy a token of luck, a crimson red handkerchief. She remembered staying for a night with her mother in the boy's house, remembered being lost on her way back from the toilet and ended up in the lawn outside the boy's room. She remembered helping the boy bandaging his wound, remembered how sluggish the boy was with bandages, remembered how they talked and laughed in the dark lawn till dawn, remembered how easy it was to talk to the boy, how open she had been to him, how the boy made her laugh with his stories, how Azula made him laugh with _her_ stories, how Azula was so willing to talk about her most personal problem, how the boy did _not_ laugh at her. Remembered clearly, very clearly, when the boy took her hand and put on the bracelet…

_Arrrggh! Enough! Enough!_ She mentally drummed her head. _Enough of this! He's the enemy of the Nation! He kidnapped Ty Lee and deserted the army! He's a traitor!_ _Traitors deserve to die!_

"Attention students", a stiff voice saved her from further self-embarrassment. The headmistress herself, a middle-aged lady whose face was set on a permanent scowl, addressed the whole class. "The following students are to exit the class and go to the main hall for the preparation of the ceremony: Miss Azula, Miss Liang, Miss Mai—"

Azula got up, so did Mai. No longer thinking about Lin and his… _whatever_, Azula, tailing the headmistress along with Mai and four other girls, exited the class. Being selected along with so few people made her feel special, special because she was different from the others, she was _better_;she was going to perform in the exhibition and they weren't! And more, her da— I mean, _father_ would come to watch. Turning to Mai, who looked bored as usual, she could barely contain her smirk.

"What?" asked Mai.

"Nothing", Azula hummed.

* * *

"Arrgh!" a bandit screamed as he was being thrown away across the compound.

"What's wrong with him?" Lin demanded as soon as he disentangled himself and crept his way to Ren. With bandits flying around, screaming, Bat'eer joining the fight, Yuu fought like a rabid demon, the whole camp was real chaotic!

"Well", Rei gulped loudly, still refusing to leave the protection of his water drum. "It has happened before."

"Yeah", Ren concurred, dodging a bandit who flew at his direction after being kicked by Yuu. "Like two winters ago. Something like this happen. When we were on a hunt, we were ambushed by a group of bandits. The bandit leader took Yuu's sword away and used it to carve a grilled turkey-duck. Man… I still have a nightmare about that…"

"What? You mean he—", Lin gaped, struggling to find the right word; so, he settled with: "—_flipped_?"

"'Lost it', 'went berserk', 'go crazy'", Rei added, whimpering. "Call it whatever you want. The point is, once Yuu got mad like this—"

He cast a look at the chaos before continuing with an ominous tone: "—bodies will start flying around."

"Oh, come on", Lin said incredulously; he tried to chuckled but failed. "It can't be that bad."

"The last time he went berserk like this", Ren shook his head in horror. "It took a combined effort of Master Piandao, Shin, and Zhong to knock him down."

"So", Lin drawled, turning o the direction of Yuu who laughed like maniac as he swung Petal on one hand and a small bandit by the leg on the other around. "Are we in some kind of trouble?"

"We are."

* * *

Jiang was whistling absentmindedly as he picked out some of his best formal robes. So, the choices were: a). his safe red formal robe; standardized design, accepted color and no pattern, plain and common, b). his usual formal robe, the one with black under robe and red middle robe, also black trimmed red-black outer robe, with a medium size family crest on the back, a stylish option, c). a vibrant crimson robe with nine different colored dragon embroidery sewn on it, the one that was given by Young Lady Wen. Hmm… safe, stylish, or extravagant…?

"Biao", he called out. Biao, who had been appointed as his informal fashion advisor (even Jiang believed he was drunk when he did that), approached with a comb, a hair brush, and a bunch of ribbons at hand. At the corner of the room, Bing was putting together a bunch of red roses, helped by Kang.

"What?"

"What do you think?" Jiang asked, gesturing the three robes.

"Let's see", Biao assessed the three robes from right to left, starting with the safe one, then the stylish one, to the extravagant one. " 'Uh-huh', 'Hmm', and 'Yuck!'. Your choice."

"I'll go with 'Hmm'", Jiang decided, picking up the stylish robe, the one with the family crest. "What's wrong with 'Yuck!'? I happen to like it, you know."

"Whatever possessed you when you bought those, Uncle?" Biao shook her head at 'Yuck!' in disgust as her uncle sat down in front of the mirror with her behind him, ready to fashion his uncle's long untied hair into a formal top-knot.

"It was a gift", Jiang defended. Looking at himself at the mirror, his narcissistic side (yes, he had one) was tickled as he commented inside of how he actually looked better with his hair down. Being a war general, he was never one who cared about his appearance. That is, until he had started dating again. "That robe happened to be a masterpiece by Young Lady Wen. I personally believe the dragons were a good touch."

"Oh, a present?" Biao teased playfully. "Is that a wedding bell I'm hearing?"

"Wha— no, not yet! Are you insane?" Jiang blurted, feeling hot around the neck while Biao insensitively laughed out loud, ignoring the mild disapproval look her mother gave her. "Come on, I mean it's only been like what, a year?"

"Two years", Biao corrected, combing her uncle's hair. "About time, don't you think?"

"Two years, are you sure?" Jiang frowned. _Really? Two years!_

"Yep, very", Biao replied firmly, now pulling up Jiang's hair and formed the knot.

"Two years, huh? That's not too long", Jiang sighed, lost deep in thought. "You know, I dated your Aunt Lian for six years before I proposed to her."

"I know", Biao giggled. "She told me everything."

"She did?" Jiang raised a brow. "Everything?"

"Yeah", Biao giggled again. "By the way, she _knew_."

"She _did_?" Jiang jerked his head back abruptly.

"All along", Biao jerked her uncle's head back.

Here's a little story about Jiang proposing Lian…

But, before that, let's see how their son was doing at the moment.

* * *

"My foot! My foot! He just bit my foot!"

"Eat me for breakfast, eh? Now let's se who eat who for breakfast! Die all of YOU!"

"My arm! Arrggghh! My arm!"

"I'm scared", Rei whimpered from behind Ren. He had to abandon his water drum when Bat'eer unexpectedly came flying at his direction, nearly flattening him had he not leaped away in time.

"Me too", Lin weakly concurred, also from behind Ren. Never before in his life had he even thought that Yuu was capable of such carnage.

"Don't worry, kids", Ren reassured though he himself sounded unsure. "It'll be over soon."

"My eye! He just poked my eye!"

"WAHAHAHA! Die you maggots!"

And now, the promised flashback…

* * *

_Once upon a time, Jiang wanted to ask for Lian's hand in marriage but was too shy to do so; he had never asked anybody's hand in marriage before, aside from his cousin Mei Yin, but it was when he was a kid and they were acting in a play of 'the Classical Tale of Yi and Nala' where little Jiang was playing the lead role of Yi, the Great, and cousin Mei Yin had been chosen to portray Nala, Yi's lover. Aaaanyway, Lian was the real thing. Jiang fell in love head-over-heel for her ever since the first time he laid eyes on her. And, after he got an 'Alright, go for it, son' from both his parents, he decided, in order to prevent any unwanted complication, to rehearse his proposal. After gathering some useful data and information from his four brothers, who at that point had all been married, he decided on how he would do it. _

_And so, in his room, alone, he rehearsed. He got down on one knee (like his brother Kang had done when he was proposing), with flower on one hand, snow peony, Lian's favorite, and a ruby ring on the other (like his brother Fu told him to do), not to mention a romantic poem fully memorized down to the last words (as instructed by Masa), Jiang stuttered away to the best-looking robe he could find in his wardrobe that he had rested on a chair, pretending it was Lian; he would be wearing that robe in the actual proposing thing (since his brother Jung told him he had to look dashing)._

"_**T-the moon shines shyly over yonder**__", Jiang stuttered, gulping and sweating._

"_**A-and by my side Ty, Ty…?**__" he got confused; what does his friend Ty Fu have to do with this? He rolled down his sleeve, peeking on the scribble on his arm and nodded as he understood his mistake. "Oh, 'thy'. Ahem! __**And by my side thy shine thine beauty, pure and bright**__."_

_If Jiang hadn't felt silly yet, this was the good time for it. Ignoring the fact that he was hot from neck up, he continued. A man would do anything for love!_

"_**O' Lady of**__- of, uh…" another peek at the cheat note. __**"- of Heavenly Wonder**__."_

_Now or never, time for the kill! "__**Would ye grant me your love in exchange for my fart?**__"_

…_fart?_

_Jiang frantically shoved his sleeve up, unconsciously dropping his flower and ring. Fart? That can't be right!_

"_**My heart**__! My heart!" he franticly pleaded to his robe, already imagining Lian with her surprised look on her face, with her bright gray eyes wide open, her mouth gaped open. In his imagination, Lian walked over to him, through the door, standing in front of him with a look of disbelief, the good kind of disbelief._

"_Y-you're…um, proposing me?" he heard her asking, her cheeks were burning red._

"_Yes, my love", Jiang answered smoothly in reality. "I am proposing to you. I am asking your hand in marriage."_

"_A-and you even got a flower and a ring and—", he saw Lian cast a weird look at the robe on the chair before continuing. "—whatever that is. For me…"_

"_Yes, Lian", Jiang answered. "I love you. Kang told me this is the point where I should wink and say something kinky because chicks like that but I can't. Please understand. It does not mean I love you any less. I love you, I love you, I love you!"_

_Next, he imagined Lian knelt down, squealing, and hugged him tight. Ah, the warmth of the woman's embrace, the scent of sweet peony on her hair, the smothering feeling of her arms wrapped around his neck; should Jiang die that very moment, he'd die a happy man… Wait a minute…_

_If this Lian was an imagination, why did she feel so real?_

"_U-um… L-L-L-L-L-L-Lian..?" Jiang stuttered even more severely than before; at this stage, he could no longer tell whether his heart was still beating or not._

"_Yes?" Lian squealed back, not releasing Jiang._

"_U-um… W-W-W-W-Would you m-m- marry me?" Jiang squeaked. _

"_Yes! Yes!" Lian squealed even louder as she bounced up and down in Jiang's arms. She finally let go of him, though her arms still lingered on the man's neck; she leaned forward as she gave him a big wet one the lips. _

"_I love you…" Jiang smiled weakly as Lian released his lips. His head still feel a bit hazy… did he just propose to her? Did she just say 'yes'? _

"_And now", Lian sniffed; her eyes were wet with happy tears and her grin was wide. "Where's my wink and kinky stuff?"_

"_What…?" Jiang gaped. Confusing things just came one after another…_

"_Come on! I want everything you have planned! All of it!" Lian laughed. "Come one! Wink! Say something kinky!"

* * *

_

"I didn't" Jiang concluded his story. Biao arched down, holding her side, laughing till she couldn't breathe.

"You… you…" she gasped, clutching her side, then laughed again. "You thought she wasn't real?"

"Yep", Jiang admitted, beaming on the fond memory while Biao laughed even harder, even Bing was giggling and Kang was pounding the table as he guffawed. "But, hey! It worked. Everybody's happy."

"How come you didn't get to the part where you say kinky stuff?" Kang managed to ask in between his laugh. "I got mine sealed with that. Right, honey?"

"Of course, dear", Bing answered smiling. But, when Kang wasn't looking, she turned to Biao and Jiang and mouthed '_hell, no'_.

"Speaking of marriage… Biao?" Jiang started.

"Yes, Uncle?" Biao answered sweetly.

"Erm…" Jiang took a glimpse of Kang and Bing on the corner of the mirror, both of them looked curious of how this one would end up. Both of them had been worried of the fact that their twenty two year old daughter was still dateless and the prospect that she would end up single for the rest of her life. So, enlisting Jiang's help, they had been nudging the girl here and there about marriage, or at least finding a boyfriend.

"Yes, Uncle?" Biao asked again, still sweetly.

"…No, never mind", Jiang decided. From the mirror, he caught the sight of Bing sighing and Kang slapping his forehead.

"'Kay, I'm done!" Biao gleefully announced. Without further ado, she sauntered out of the room, saying something about training. Jiang, flattening some creases on his robe, walked toward Kang and Bing, whose mouths were wide open, for some reason, and took the bunch of roses they had prepared on the table.

"I might be late for dinner", he informed, taking a deep sniff of the roses.

"Um… Brother?" Bing started but Jiang wasn't listening.

"Sure you don't want to come with me?" he asked Kang.

"With you looking like that?" Kang cringed in disgust.

"Looking like what?" Jiang asked, frowning. What was wrong? He was wearing a 'Hmm' robe, not the 'Yuck!', he had just shaved, just got his hair done.

Speaking of hair… as Jiang ran his hand through his head, he came to a horrific realization. Him jumping in front of the mirror only proved his suspicion true. Running towards the door, he poked his head out of the frame towards the direction Biao went and shouted. "Biao! Come back here! I can't go outside with _pigtails_!"

* * *

"Is it over?" Lin asked, peeking from behind a large boulder.

"Maybe", Rei's head came shooing up from behind him.

"I think it is", Ren said hopefully, came peeking from behind Rei.

The three of them braced themselves and came out form their hiding place. If the camp was in chaos before, they might need to invent a new word to describe the condition of the place now. Tents were crumbling, jars shattered, cart blown to bits, and bodies… bodies everywhere…

Oh, nobody died! As Lin and the other walked through the camp very slowly, they realized that most of them were just knocked down. Sure, Yuu was fighting with Petal but none of the bandit seemed to be injured by the sword. Some of them were bleeding, no doubt, but judging from the bruises from which the blood came from, it would seem that they were punched or kicked or hit with the flat side of the sword, rather than slashed. A miracle, thought Lin and his companions.

And in the middle of the encampment was a pile of grunting bodies.

"Where's Yuu?" Rei asked.

But before anyone could answer, Bat'eer emerged from the pile, waving his club around and screaming for blood. Lin and the others drew their weapons and readied their stances.

"EAAAARRRRGGHHHH!" Bat'eer roared like a platypus bear. But, before he could even take a single step, the sharp swishing sound of Petal slashing through the air sang across the camp from behind him. A second later, his pants came off as his belt was slashed to pieces, exposing his underwear that had a picture of a turtle-duck on the crotch.

"AARRRGGHH—huh?" Bat'eer looked down. It took a while for his slow brain to conclude what had perspired to his pants. But, as he did, he whimpered like a wolf-husky puppy, turned back, and caught the sight of Yuu and Petal aimed at his face. Yuu grinned devilishly at him, declaring his non-verbal order/threat. Sniffing like a kid who lost a balloon, Bat'eer nodded submissively and slammed his club on his own scalp, knocking himself unconscious.

As Bat'eer fell down with a large bump on his head, Yuu turned his attention to Lin and the others, who were struggling to decide whether they should run or not. Yuu took one menacing step forward, still grinning like devil for the depths of hell. But…

"Whoa!" he stumbled upon Bat'eer's club and tripped. Rolling down the mount of unconscious human beings, Yuu's head came into contact with a war hammer handle, the blunt side of an axe, Bat'eer's large fist, and, finally right before he landed harmlessly at Lin and his companions' feet, a large golden vase.

"Errm…" Lin tried to say something but nothing came out.

"That's got to hurt", Rei commented on Yuu's unconscious condition.

"Nah, he's got a thick skull", Ren waved it off. Sheathing Boulder back on his back, he lifted Yuu up and hoisted him over his shoulder while Lin moved and secured Petal.

"Guess it's time we wrap this up", Rei suggested, looking at the sky. "It's almost noon."

"Noon!" Lin yelped. Looking up to the sky, he realized that Rei was right. He was going to be late!

"Hey, Lin! Wait up!" Ren called but too late, Lin had already run back towards the town.

"What's his hurry?" Rei asked. Ren just shrugged.

* * *

Azula took a bite of her lunch with more vigor than usual; firebending training tended to do that to her, increasing her appetite. At her side, Mai was playing with her soup, lost in thought.

"Not eating?" Azula asked.

"Hmm?" Mai turned to her. Instead of answering, she scooped a spoonful of soup and drank it.

"Nervous?" Azula asked again.

"Nope", Mai answered with her usual monotone. Seeing her goth friend eating again, Azula gulped down the last of her lunch hastily and got up and dashed back to the training ground.

"Already?" Mai called.

"Yup", Azula answered back, aware but didn't care that she sounded as excited as Ty Lee always sounded like. "Good luck with the debate!'

"Yeah, you too", Mai waved. As Azula's shadow left the dining hall, Mai went back to playing with her soup. Casting a gaze on the cloudy sky outside the window, she let out her trademark sigh. "He's late…"

* * *

"Please, please, Master. Pleaseeee…." Lin pleaded.

"Absolutely not" Piandao persisted, walking toward his usual table on the estate's dining hall, tailed by Ren and Yung (Rei in disguise) who gave a full report of what had happened after they tugged Yuu in the bed, and Lin, who was begging for permission to leave for the Imperial City for a day or two.

"Come on, Master", Lin pleaded again. "I've finished my homework, I've accomplished the mission. Why can't I go?"

"Because you're a fugitive there", Piandao replied matter-of-factly. "Besides, you have a laundry chore tonight."

"What?" Lin protested. Ren and 'Yung' snickered behind his back.

"Ren, kitchen duty", Piandao added authoritatively. "That's what you kids get for switching Yung's homework (he pointed at Lin…) and drugged him with laxative (…and at Ren). And also, _Rei_…"

"Yes, Mast—Oops!" Rei barred his mouth with his hands but too late…

"Aha!" Piandao exclaimed triumphantly. "Stable chore!"

"Master", Lin came again while Ren and Rei grumbling behind his back. "Can I do mine tomorrow, pleaseeee. You can even double it if you like. I just have to go for today, just for today, please."

"And I'm telling you 'no'", said Piandao with a finality in his voice.

Lin sighed. "Then, you leave me no choice. Ren, we're switching punishment!"

Without waiting for confirmation from Ren, Lin dashed toward the center stage on the dining hall, the spot where the hundred or so students who were currently eating their lunch could see him. Spreading his arms wide to get their attention, he shouted: "Hey guys! Guess what: I'm doing kitchen duty tonight!"

Abruptly, the whole hall exploded into a chaos. Many students spat their lunch on each other faces, shocked by the announcement, all of them screaming, some broke down and cry, some were just too horror-stricken to do anything, and a little girl fainted on the spot.

"NO!" one of them screamed.

"Please! Somebody! Make him stop!" another cried.

"No! Hurry, we must kill him before he kills us!" another suggested desperately.

"Master! Master! I swear my goat-retriever ate my homework! I'll redo it from the beginning again! Please, don't punish me like this!" another even confessed.

"Anyone, _anything_ but him!" and many more…

Lin, grinning from ear to ear, cast a look at Piandao who rubbed his temple, sighing.

"Alright", Piandao relented; _flashy, just like his grandmother..._ "You can go…"

Soon, Lin found himself running through the hallway with Nightshade and a small sack strapped on his back, accompanied by the rest of the students who saw him out while Cheering, rejoicing, and showering him with rose petals along the way.

* * *

"Why do _I_ have to come?" Zuko protested, crossing his arm on his chest.

"Come on, Prince Zuko", Iroh tried to persuade him to go and change into something more proper. He nudged the young prince playfully and sang. "There'll be a lot of girls."

"See you at dinner, Uncle", Zuko coldly dismissed, walking away.

"Oh, come on", Iroh caught his collar. "It's not like you have anything to do at home."

"But why _me_", Zuko seethed. "I don't care even if Azula is going to Agni Kai someone. Just ask Dad to come with you!"

"That's exactly it", Iroh sighed sadly. "He can't come. And if you don't come too, it'll be just this old uncle of hers cheering her up in her first firebending performance ever. *sigh* Poor little girl…"

"… I hate it when you do that…" Zuko gritted his teeth. Slapping Uncle Iroh's hand away, he paced his way to his room where Iroh knew he would put on his best cloth before making his way to the main gate.

"Works every time", Iroh smirked, sipping his tea.

* * *

It was dead noon… he was really going to be late!

Lin, without hesitation, pushed the acceleration lever of the small ship; the engine roared louder, carrying out its rider's wish. The ship, the mechanized one-man skiff, was actually Chey's. Apparently, according to Chey's story, the demolition expert had actually deserted the Nation the moment he stepped foot back in the homeland after the disastrous mission in Meitan. He had packed his things, his explosives, his money, and set sail, and just landed on Shu Jing to restock his ration when Iroh showed up out of nowhere, persuading him to delay his escape. How the former Crown Prince knew Chey was deserting, Chey still didn't know. But, after Iroh explained that he needed Chey's help in helping several other people desert and helping Lin escape to Shu Jing, Chey agreed. As such, Chey returned to the Imperial City with Iroh and abandoned his ship on the northern shore of Shu Jing; a fact that he had informed Lin before his departure to the Earth Kingdom. He gave Lin the ship, just in case the boy needed a fast transportation out of Shu Jing, he had said.

Anyway, there Lin was; utilizing what little knowledge he had about operating steam-powered military class skiff (Jeong Jeong often brought him aboard such ship and taught him what those numerous little knobs and levers are for, much to the boy's chagrin), he made his way through the ocean back toward the Imperial City, all the while grumbling because he felt the ship didn't travel fast enough.

"Let's see", Lin pondered aloud; before him was the control wheel and the dashboard covered from corner to corner with knobs, buttons, and levers of different size and colors. "Now… which one is the one for the additional boost again…?"

He pressed a blue button and…

—BOOM!—

"Whoops!" a soar was activated.

"Maybe this one", he pushed a random lever. He let out a victorious 'yes!' as the ship rocked violently and doubled its speed forward across the water. But, his victory was cut short by the ominous thunder that roared from a far…

"Aw, man!" Lin groaned, pulling his hair. "The universe just loves making my life miserable, doesn't it?"

* * *

Jiang (with his hair no longer in pigtails) was alone in his room, reading a scroll that had just arrived. It was a report about the latest development from the front. His frown went deeper as he learnt that the Western Earth Base had fallen to the hand of that wretched Fong _again_. Sighing, he put down the scroll and got up. He walked into his nightstand on which a majestic red-lacquered sword was sitting. Earlier that morning, two messengers from Piandao's School of Swordsmanship visited the Estate, as a servant reported, and brought with them a sword Jiang had ordered.

A beautiful blade, Jiang praised in his mind, lifting the one meter exquisite creation of the renowned sword maker up. Surprisingly light, commented Jiang, admiring the red lacquered sheath that was adorned by various kind of gemstone and the hand guard that had his family crest carved on it. He pulled the sword by its white ivory hilt and let his eyes feast upon the majestic flame-engraved blade; the flame engraving ran on the two sides of the sword, a little on the edge, all the way to the tip. An exquisite creation, indeed, Jiang praised again. But, as fascinated as he was at the blade, he was more interested on the letter that fell down from the sheath as he pulled the blade free. Jiang crouched down, pick the letter up, and opened it.

_Everything's fine. Don't try to contact._

Jiang smiled at this; happy or sad, hard to tell. All he knew for sure was he had just spent a fortune for an 'everything's fine' letter.

* * *

"Why am I here again?" Zuko huffed.

"We are about to see your sister performing firebending for the first time", Iroh replied cheerfully. "It is important for family to show support at times like this."

"I meant, why am I _here_ on the same palanquin as you?" Zuko gritted his teeth.

"What wrong about it?" Iroh struggled not to laugh. "You used to love sharing a palanquin with me."

Not being able to reply, Zuko simply turned away, sulking. Iroh, smiling, let his nephew and his thought. But, as expected, after a while, the old Dragon got bored.

"So", Iroh drawled, peeking at Zuko's reaction from the corner of his eyes. "How did your study go?"

"Fine. I guess", Zuko replied huskily.

"Good, good", Iroh nodded sagely. "And your firebending?"

"How should I know", Zuko got more and more annoyed. "You should know. You're the one who's teaching me."

"Oh, right", Iroh pondered aloud. "I forgot."

Luckily, the palanquin halted to a stop, thus sparing Iroh from having to try string further awkward conversation. If anything, Zuko was impossible to talk dot when he's annoyed, Iroh knew as much. Iroh and Zuko hopped down of the ride, straightening their robes. All around them, various kinds of noble families, politicians, aristocrats, military officers, flooded the Academy from the front gate to the inner yard. As Iroh and Zuko approached the gate, many of them greeted and bowed politely to them; it was understandable since they were royalties. Greeting back politely, Iroh led his nephew through the myriad of other guests. As they reached the queue in front of the front door, on which a team of guard were watching as the guests were checked by the invitation, the head guard noticed Iroh, strode to him, bowed, and escorted the two princes himself into the establishment.

Once inside, the guard gave them the direction to the main hall, and left after Iroh thanked him. As the guard left, Iroh once again dragged Zuko along the hallway. Soon, they found themselves in the main hall of the Academy which was still relatively empty, save from several noble guests and rehearsing students scattered across the vast room.

"Now" Iroh squinted at a group of young girls, students, by the look of their uniforms, at the corner of the room. "How do we find your sister?"

"Easy", Zuko grumbled flippantly. "Just follow the trail of crying little girls."

* * *

"—ai? Mai!" Azula called louder.

"Hmm?" Mai turned to her, her face as blank as usual.

"Are you okay?" Azula asked. "You're daydreaming again. Nervous?"

"I don't get nervous", Mai replied flatly, receiving a rope Azula shoved at her. "What's this? A new booby trap that shoots ink-ball?"

"Nope", Azula smirked. "It's a new bobby trap that shoots _stink_-ball."

"No thanks", Mai shoved it back to Azula.

"It's aimed at Teacher Syun", Azula tempted, pointing at the math teacher that everybody hated, who was in the middle of scolding a crying girl.

It didn't take a second for Mai to make up her mind and pull the rope.

Several 'twing's were heard before a round pigskin pouch containing green smelly slime Azula had concocted last month from rotten egg and several other substances that's best left unnamed flew through the air and landed square on the teacher's head. Without waiting for the teacher's reaction, the two girls dashed away from their hiding place to the empty courtyard far from there. As they plopped down on their usual patch below their usual tree, panting, Azula laughed out loud while Mai let out her rare smile.

"Haaah", Azula sighed loudly. "It works! Wait for it, Zuzu…"

"Yeah, great", Mai rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time Azula dragged her into one of her 'experiments' whenever the princess thought of a new pranks. Well, Ty Lee used to enjoy these 'experiments' but Mai was, well… Mai; she found it hard to enjoy anything.

Azula turned to Mai, no longer laughing. Mai, sensing Azula's gaze turned to her. Long they engaged in the stare lock before …

"Pfft", Mai couldn't hold her laughter anymore and laughed with Azula laughing along with her. Both girls lay flat on their backs, eyes gazing the cloudy winter sky above.

"I miss Ty Lee", Azula sighed; whether she was sincere or not, even Mai couldn't tell.

"Yeah, me too", Mai decided to play it safe. From Azula's reaction ever since Ty Lee was 'kidnapped', she had concluded that Lin really hadn't told the princess anything; several correspondences she had sent to the ponytailed boy also confirmed her suspicions. And Mai certainly didn't want to be the one to tell her that Ty Lee was actually running away from home… without even saying goodbye… And truth to be told, Mai did miss Ty Lee too, but for a different reason entirely. It was usually the bubbly girl the princess recruited into her experiment team with Mai, as the 'good kid', persuading them to stop with no avail. At least, if Ty Lee was still around, Mai wouldn't have to be dragged into one of Azula's pranks.

"She'd have probably been chosen for the martial art performance this year", Azula sighed again. She sounded bitter somehow.

"Yeah", Mai concurred.

"Hey, you girls!" a voice snapped both girls of their contemplation. Shooting up, both Azula and Mai looked panic as they saw one of the guards came running at them; they, as with all other students who would be performing, should be in the training hall, rehearsing for the performance.

Azula and Mai turned to each other and hissed: "_Run!_"

And so they did. Running across hallway with a guard hot on their tail, Mai turned to Azula.

"One of your tricks would be nice right about now", Mai panted.

"Thought you'd never ask", Azula smirked as she pulled out from her sleeve a small ball. The princess skidded at the corner and threw it on the floor between them and the guard. The ball broke and spewed smoke everywhere. The guard, not being able to see or brake, ran through the smoke only to trip and landed on a janitor's cart, the one the janitor used to carry a bucket of water, a broom, and a sweeper. As he landed on it, the cart rocked violently and started to slide along the corridor with the guard on it, screaming; behind him, Azula and Mai were laughing.

"ARRRGGGG—"

* * *

"—GGGGHHHH!" screamed Lin as his ship was thrown several feet into the air by the raging ocean. The vehicle made a huge splash as it landed on the water again.

"Phew", Lin wiped his brow. But, hey… why was the ocean in front of him looked so… _low_… and _vertical_…?

A realization hit his horror-stricken mind as he noticed that his ship was sailing on top of a tall wave.

"AAAARRRRGGGG—"

* * *

"*yawn*"

"Hush!" Lady Wen pinched Jiang's arm, who sat beside her and yawned loudly. Other guests who were sitting near them eyed Jiang with obvious distaste in their eyes.

"What?" Jiang defended, hissing at Lady Wen. "It's boring."

"Just pretend that it isn't" Lady Wen hissed back. She turned back to the front, on the podium right in front of the students, where the headmistress was delivering a speech. Among the students were twenty five of Jiang's nieces, aged six to ten; that was why he had to come to this boring event.

"Finally", Jiang let out a loud sigh which was met with Lady Wen's frown as the headmistress concluded her speech, allowing the students and staffs and the guests to mingle.

"Come on", Lady Wen dragged him off the seat. Jiang got up, stretched, and followed the lady towards the floor, followed by his many cousins who were the parents of those twenty five girls.

As they reached the floor, the said twenty five girls came to them and bowed politely at him.

"Aww, they're so cute!" Lady Wen couldn't help but coo.

"Don't patronize them", Jiang chided. But, as he turned to the girls, he mimicked Lady Wen's earlier gesture. "Aww, you kids are so cute!"

It was met with laughter from the girls and their parents alike, and also from Lady Wen. Soon after he became the head of the family, Jiang's reputation as a sour-faced humorless uncle had been elevated into a fun-loving always-joking uncle.

"Ahem! Okay, seriously now", he straightened up, so did the girls; Jiang flashed them a big grin. "So, how many of you are gong to perform?"

Five girls raised their hands.

"Good, good", Jiang nodded. "Remember girls: winning or losing doesn't matter, what matter is having fun. Got it?"

"Yes, Uncle", the five girls answered.

A few feet away from them, Azula was walking through the crowd, looking for a certain Fire Lord who had promised to come. Looking for her father in this crowd was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Think… think… her father was the Fire Lord, the biggest shot in the whole room; people would definitely flock around him. So, look for the biggest crowd! But, alas, for Azula and her short stature, she could barely look past everybody's waist, let alone the whole crowd.

"Hahaha!"

There! She turned to the direction of the laugh, behind her. It was unmistakably Uncle Iroh's laugh. Pushing her way through the sea of people, she finally found her uncle and…

Zuko!

Azula frowned a bit at the sight of her brother… not before she formed a plan to make him and Mai run into each other. Should be interesting… But, Zuzu wasn't important right now. What important was…

"Where's Dad?" Azula asked Zuko once she got to him.

"Dad can't come", replied Zuko flatly.

"What do you mean 'can't come'?" Azula snapped, feeling a pang of… what…? _Anger_…? _Disappointment_…?

"'Can't come' means 'can't come'", Zuko repeated, looking away and was clearly annoyed. "He has a war meeting to attend to."

"B-but", Azula stuttered; suddenly, she felt her eyes wet again. "He promised—"

"I don't know, Azula!" Zuko snapped at his sister. But, as he caught his little sister's expression, he regretted it. Softening his tone, he said. "Look, Azula— _Azula!_"

Too late… before he could finish his sentence, Azula had dashed away on her feet through the crowd. Turning to Iroh who was still chatting with an acquaintance, Zuko was battling in the inside between wanting to stay and get this over with or running after Azula and make sure she was okay. For better or worse, his 'Big Brother Zuzu' side won. Muttering something about 'being back later', Zuko trailed after Azula, through the crowd.

* * *

Ah… the sight of the ocean… One of the relishes of living along the Northern Shore of the Main Island. To the south was a mountainous area, dull and boring, but to the north was the ocean, alive and kicking. During clear day, one could see the silhouette of tiny spot across the ocean, the Boiling Rock. And during clear days of summer, one could even see the feet of the mountainous Western Earth Temple father to the north. But, alas, in winter like this, thick fog dominated the view and pretty much the whole ocean. Sadly, Lin didn't know this…

"…*pant* Arrgh…" he grunted, dragging himself away from the shipwreck. "…Land…"

He rolled to his back, lying on the sandy beach, looking back at the heaven triumphantly. "Take that universe! I'm alive! HAHA!"

He struggled to his feet, a feat that his beaten and bruised body nearly did not permit. Stretching his sore back, he limped deeper into the land, feeling his head spinning, dragging a sack he was carrying all the way from Shu Jing. As he got deeper into the forest, he unpacked the sack and drew from it a leather Fire Nation armor, the one that his father had sent him 'just in case'. Knowing full well that he had so little time to waste, he put it one hastily and raced back to the Imperial City.

* * *

"Azula?" Mai called as the princess dashed passed her without even stopping to say hi. Mai frowned at the princess' back; _was she crying?_ All her life knowing Azula, she had never ever seen her cry, not even when Azula was still… what's the word, _nicer_? A second later, she caught the glimpse of Zuko, trying to stride through the guests. Mai furrowed her brows at him as she drew an incorrect conclusion. Excusing herself from her parents who were in the middle of boasting her around at their colleagues like she was some sort of trophy, Mai paced after the Prince.

As she walked out of the hall into the main courtyard, a thunder rumbling from afar drew her attention upward, towards the dark cloudy afternoon sky. For the hundredth times that day, she muttered: "He's really _late_…"

_Oh well,_ Mai sighed. As she continued her pursuit, she prayed to heaven above for him to come quick; at least he was used to dealing with the royal siblings, he'd know what to do.

* * *

"General Iroh", a Royal Procession soldier, one of Iroh's escorts saluted; a scroll was on his hand. Frowning, Iroh took the scroll and found Master Piandao's handwriting on it.

_Through the ocean, he shall fly,_

_as the hatchling meets the Dragon._

Even though Iroh felt his face muscle jolted, he did not smile. He had predicted this, knew what the outcome would be; or what the outcome would possible be, to be more specific. Lin… Lin… stubborn like his grandmother, Iroh sighed, lamenting the fact that he had gotten too old for this. But, a promise is a promise; Iroh had promised Umma that he would do anything in his power to guide the young Dragon, not to let him stray to the dark path. _I will do what I can, Sifu_…

Rolling the scroll, shoving it inside his sleeve pocket, and excusing himself from the crowd he was talking to, Iroh walked calmly deeper into the academy.

* * *

Never before in her life had Mai hated a crowd more than she did now. Tailing Zuko was supposed to be easy, she had done it numerous times before. She had not been _stalking_ Zuko, no no! It was usually the time when she was volunteered against her will to help Azula in her prank on Zuko; it was either as a lookout or as the co-executor; usually Ty Lee was the co-executor while Mai tailed Zuko from behind, making sure that he didn't spring the trap before it was ready. But tailing Zuko who was running among several hundreds people proved to be more challenging than tailing him when he was sauntering along the empty corridor of the Royal Palace. It had been at least an hour ago since she lost sight of the Fire Prince's ponytail. Now, spinning on her heel in the empty hallway where she was sure she had just seen Zuko's shadow disappear into, she was half-tempted to just ignore them all together. But, then again, crying Azula was not really someone Mai could ignore.

So, letting out her trademark sigh, she decided to look deeper into the academy before…

"Hey, there", a voice cheerfully called. Mai turned back and there he was, a boy in a somewhat oversized Fire Nation homeland soldier uniform.

"You're late!"

"Sorry", Lin, grinning guiltily, took of his masked helmet. "Happy birthday."

* * *

"Azula!" Zuko called but the girl did not respond; she didn't even slow down.

"Azula!" Zuko leaped forward, caught his sister's wrist, and yanked her. As she turned to him, the expression on her face, Zuko was brought back to the time, so very long time ago, it seemed, in Amber Island when little Azula's sand castle was swept away by the wave before she could put on a tiny red flag she had been itching to use, or the time when little Azula had a nightmare when Ursa was away visiting a relative in Shu Jing, Iroh and Lu Ten went hiking, and Ozai wasn't around, the time when Azula came running to Zuko's room and somehow ended up sleeping in her brother's bed while Zuko slept on the floor on a pile of blanket, guarding his little sister like a good big brother he had been at that time. It had been a while since Zuko felt that heart-wrenching painful prick in his chest whenever he saw his little sister cry…

"Azula", Zuko called again, softer this time; in his mind, he was fighting a conflict of wanting to console the crying girl and just letting her go since a pat of him thought that whatever it was that made Azula cry, she most probably deserved it.

"Let go of my hand!" Azula shrieked, pulling herself free. Her amber orbs that were filled with utter sadness and devastation, not to mention tears, a second ago were now raging with anger and hate.

"Azula, look…" Zuko started but before he could finish his sentence, Azula, wiping her eyes furiously, ran away from him again. Sighing, Zuko decided that letting his sister alone in this condition would be wrong. So, he gave chase. After all, it is a big brother's duty look out for his little sister, right…?

* * *

"Oh, come on", Lin tried to reason against Mai's withering stare. "I even got you a present."

Intrigued, Mai received the small rectangular box the boy was offering. Opening it, she found five sets of throwing knives, or shurikens; it was hard to tell. The red bladed shurikens had a curved blade the shape of flame jotting out of a metal handle that had some sort of dot on it. She took out on of them and immediately realized that the dot was actually a button. Mai pressed the button and the blade opened up like a fan, forming the three-pronged Fire Nation insignia.

"Pretty cool, right?" she heard the boy bragged. "Somebody taught me how to make it. It uses some sort of spring device; just hold the button and push the blade inward if you want to close it. You like it?"

"U-um… N-not particularly", Mai stuttered, cursing herself in the inside for it.

"Aw, you're stuttering", Lin's grin grew wider; Mai only stuttered when she lied. "You do like it—Ufgh!"

"Hmph!" Mai huffed at the boy who was slumping on the ground, the boy whose gut she just busted.

"Urgh! I forgot that you girls are taught how to fight here", Lin grimaced, picking up his helmet that was thrown down. "This is some messed up school."

"Here", Mai spoke with icy cold tone, showing a piece of rolled parchment. "Ty Lee sent this."

"Really", Lin took it enthusiastically, ignoring his throbbing gut. "_Dear May and Lyn_. She wrote our names wrong."

"Oh geez, how'd you find out?" Mai retorted sarcastically.

Ignoring her, Lin continued with the letter. _"I have so much fan_ ("fun", Mai corrected) _here. The circus is so awesome! Last night we have a new addiction_ ("addition", Mai came again) _for the animal: a cute dog named Wolfy!_ _Nope, not a wolf-husky, or a goat-retriever, or even a horned dog. It's a dog._"

"Does such animal exist?" Lin frowned at Mai.

"It's a _circus_", Mai replied flatly.

"_Anyway, I have been so bossy_ ("Busy", Mai answered Lin's inquisitive frown) _lately and not been able to write sooner. Being an acrobat is a tough wok_ ("Work", Lin said in unison with Mai) _and I have to practice everyday and everything. I will write more soon and I hope you can come and watch me sometime. Now, I have to go and help feed the playtipus-bear_ (Platypus?" Lin asked Mai who nodded). _Love, Ty Lee_. What's this 'x' and 'o' thingy below her name?"

"It's hugs and kisses", Mai replied; Lin's blank expression prompted her to add. "It's girl's stuff."

"Oh, I see", Lin took another look at Ty Lee's messy calligraphy that somehow resembled the ancient mural on the wall of Fire Sage's Great Temple and shook his head in disbelief. "And I thought girls are supposed to have nice handwriting."

"That's stereotyping", Mai narrowed his eyes at him.

But, before Lin could throw his reply, a red flash came rushing from behind him, almost knocking him over. As he regained his balance, he caught the sight of a very familiar back; he used to have to catch that very same back at least twice a week whenever Fire Princess Azula ditched her daily training. And, before he could even form a speculation as to why Azula was running across the crowed hallway, another red flash with a fluttering ponytail that belonged to Fire Prince Zuko came rushing, running pass him in an obvious hurry along Azula's trail. Lin turned an uncomfortable gaze at Mai, then at the way Azula and Zuko went, and then at Mai again.

Mai, sighing deeply, simply said. "Go."

And that he did…"

"Hey", Lin skidded to stop as Mai's voice reached his ears. Turning around, he found Mai stabbing a dark gaze at him. "Azula doesn't know yet. Be careful of what you're planning to do; she hates you for what happened to Ty Lee."

"That's why I'm here", Lin muttered and resumed his chase, leaving Mai and her birthday present.

* * *

"Azula! Azula, stop!" Zuko heaved, asking himself where his little sister got this much stamina for running. "Azula, talk to me!"

"Get lost, dumb-dumb!" he heard the girl cried; her trembling voice made him feel worse and worse.

"Whoa there!" a guard appeared out of the intersection ahead of them, colliding with Azula, and caught her before she collapsed. "No running in the hallway!"

"Shut up!" Azula screamed at him, trying to wrench her arms that the guard gripped tightly free. "I order you to let me go!"

"Hey", the guard pushed the visor of his helmet up. "That's not how you talk to your sifu!"

"Lin!" Zuko and Azula exclaimed; but, while Zuko sounded surprised and happy, Azula sounded surprised and…

—WHOOSH—

…well, the fireball speaks for itself…

"Arrgh!" Lin grunted in pain as Azula's orange fire blasted his chest. He was thrown backward but managed to retain his balance. Luckily, his armor absorbed most of the impact and he was uninjured safe for the sharp burning pain on his chest. "Azula…"

"Azula, stop!" Zuko grabbed her shoulder but Azula struggled wildly, wanting to lunge at her downed prey.

"You! You have nerve showing your face in this place after what you've done! You… you… _traitor_!" never before Lin or Zuko ever saw Azula this angry. "What have you done to Ty Lee? Where is she?"

"Azula", Lin coughed, rubbing the singed spot on his armor where Azula's fire hit him. "Let me explain—"

"Get lost!" but Azula cut him, shrieking; Lin, who had never seen her losing control like this, regretted over his decision to make his appearance now. "Get out of my sight! I don't want to see you ever again!"

"Azula, calm down", Zuko turned Azula's shoulder, forcing her to look at him. "Listen—"

Instead of listening, she kicked Zuko away, sending him staggering backward and fell down on his butt. She had just resumed her run for two steps when she found her way blocked yet again by Lin.

"Azula, please", Lin's effort was met with a sharp punch on his gut but he endured; this just made Azula even more upset. Shoving the boy aside, she started to run again, only to be halted briefly as Lin grasped her wrist. The sight of Azula's face as she tried to pull her arm free, the heart-breaking sight of the princess' amber eyes engulfed in tears, it was the first time Lin had ever seen Azula cry. It made his grip soften… although it wasn't the only reason…

_No, no…_

_How could it be! It was not possible! It was not in her calculation! It was not in her plan! _

_She was strong! She was perfect! And with Sozin's Comet soaring in the sky above, she was more than just strong, more than just perfect! She was unbeatable! She was Azula! Fire Lord Azula!_

_But, why…._

_Why was she chained to the drainage…?_

_Why was she beaten…?_

_Why was she alone…?_

_There they were, standing over her; Zuzu with a burnt scar on his chest, the burnt scar that should have killed him! _

_There they were, standing over her; the Water Tribe peasant girl whom she should have killed!_

_Why…?_

_Unable to hold it in any longer, finally exhausted the very last bit of her mental strength, she broke down… screaming, shrieking, wailing, blue fire spewing everywhere: from her mouth, from her nostrils, from her ears…_

_And for the first time since she saw her mother in the mirror, she cried…_

_She cried… Zuzu was there, looking at her. The Water Tribe peasant was there, staring at her… A Fire Princess does not cry! Daddy's voice yelled at her inside her mind. _

_But, she didn't care… not anymore…_

_For Fire Princess Azula didn't cry because she was defeated by a peasant, or because the throne she had longed for so long was taken away from her by Zuzu, definitely not because she had failed her Daddy. _

_Fire Princess Azula cried because she was alone…_

Lin's grip soften, allowing Azula and her heart-breaking eyes escape; as her tiny hand slid free of her captor's clutch, her bracelet came off… not that she cared… not anymore…

As Azula disappear into the empty hallway, Lin stood there, unable to move, unable to say anything, Zuko sat there, unable to decide what he should do, unable to tell whether he felt sorry for his sister or angry because she had just knocked him down.

"Zuko", Lin called as Zuko got up and was about to give chase. "Don't."

"We should get her", Zuko insisted. "We can't leave her alone like this."

"I know", Lin concurred though he sounded grim. He opened his clutch; the bracelet that had once been his was there. "But she needed to be alone for now."

Hidden on the corner of the hallway, behind both boys, was the Dragon of the West; his face as he heard Lin's statement was hard to read.

"Are you okay?" Zuko's panic voice prompted Iroh to peek on the corner; Lin was slumping on his knees with Zuko at his side.

"Man…" Iroh heard Lin commented. "Girls nowadays are so violent."

* * *

"Finally", Jiang squealed like a little kid on his seat as Mai, on the stage, finished slaughtering Teacher Qian in history debate. "It's firebending next!"

"And to think that you were whining about going home thirty minutes ago", Lady Wen sighed.

"Oh, let bygones be bygones", Jiang grinned as the headmistress finished introducing Fire Princess Azula who had taken her place on the center of the stage; it goes without saying that Jiang was among those who cheered the loudest.

As the hall calmed down, Azula knelt down ala Agni Kai. She jumped up and landed in a perfect central stance, hands brought together in front of her chest. She let out an ear-splitting cry, a scream that little girls should never ever have to make, as she spread and thrust her palms sideways; _blue_ flames trailed her small palms. She spun on the spot, the blue flame turned into ring around her. Another ear-splitting scream as she expanded the ring of blue fire, letting it swept away from her across the stage, drawing cheers and applaud from the audience.

"Did you see that?" Commander Zhao, in utter amazement, pointed out at a nearby officer as Azula danced on the stage accompanied by her blue flames. "Her fire is _blue_."

"Amazing", General Bujing commented. "She is a true prodigy."

"A talent that emerge only once in ten generations", Admiral Liang added, unable to peel his eyes off the princesses' performance.

However, of all the eyes that gazed the princess dancing with her colored fire with amazement, of all mouths that sighed in awe and cheered in revelry for their Fire Princess' prowess, three did not join the occasion.

Iroh, sitting on his chair, eyed his niece sharply for he did not anticipate this development; Ozai had gone far, too far…

Zuko, sitting beside his uncle, was wide mouthed. It was neither awe nor pride gleaming in his amber eyes; it was fear… it was envy…

Lin, hidden among the crowd, averted his eyes from his betrothed, unable to witness her in this state any longer. A tear rolled down from the corner of his eyes, teeth gritting, fist clutching a beaded bracelet as he whispered: "I'm sorry, Azula…"

* * *

Ozai was lounging in his chamber in the Fire Lord Mansion. Sipping a cup of nice relaxing green tea, he cursed that day because that just wasn't his day. The war meeting went rather badly with the highlight of nearly nine hours sitting and watching his council bickering like little kids was the report that the Western Earth Base had fallen to the Earth Kingdom, not to mention a report from a Byakko agent that Lin, Jiang's brat, was seen in the Royal Fire Academy for Girls impersonating a homeland soldier and had a little rendezvous with his daughter, ended up with him being blasted on the chest (Ozai did not mind this part). Lin… Lin… Lin… too unpredictable for his own good; it was amusing at first, but now, it had grown annoying.

Abruptly, his door was slammed open. Ozai, nearly spitting his tea out, jerked his head towards the door. Who was it that dare step foot inside his chamber in such boorish manner? Did they not know that the Fire Lord Mansion is a forbidden ground? Ozai's scowl went deeper as his killer gaze met with Zuko's amber eyes.

"What did you do to her?" he asked; his tone and expression… weak!

"Be more specific", Ozai drawled coldly, colder than the night sky outside.

"Azula", Zuko gulped; his bravado that compelled him to confront his father regarding Azula's blue fire was gone without a trace. "She had a firebending performance earlier today. Her—her fire was… it was blue!"

"Really", Ozai couldn't help but smirked. Blue fire? Already? Hah! Daddy's little girl…

"What did you do to her?" Zuko asked again; his forced bravery was obsolete before his trembling knees and pale face. "Was it a new technique? What did you teach her, Dad?"

"Nothing", Ozai replied coldly, turning back to his tea. Sighing after another relaxing sip of his cup, he turned back to Zuko and said cruelly. "It is something she has all along. She was born lucky, Zuko… unlike you: _you're lucky to be born._"

"I don't believe you", Zuko replied indignantly.

"Get lost", Ozai scoffed at Zuko's teary eyes. "Get out of my sight."

"No!"

"GET OUT!" Ozai screamed, flailing his cup at Zuko; the candles in the room busted into torches. The cup combusted in flame and exploded into burning dust upon contact with the door frame only inches away from Zuko's head. Struck with horror, Zuko skedaddled away, stumbling once as his knees gave up, but he scrambled up quickly and resumed his retreat, leaving Ozai and his rage.

"Stupid kid", Ozai cursed; it was his favorite cup. But, hmph! What is a cup compared to his daughter, his perfect daughter… blue fire, eh? Ozai got up, stepping out of the door. He walked into the lawn in front of his chamber and waved his hand lazily, summoning a kneeling assassin wearing a white tiger noh mask.

"Go to the Amber Island", he issued his order. "Tell them that she's ready."

"Yes, Your Highness", the assassin bowed.

* * *

Fire Nation Imperial City's pier…

"That was amazing", Shin commented. He and Yoku had arrived in the Imperial City that morning to deliver a sword to the Lin Family Estate. And for whatever reason, General Jiang ended up inviting them to come along to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls to attend the ceremony, an offer that they had accepted out of respect for the customer, an offer that granted them the opportunity to witness such rare treat: the display of blue fire…

"How is that possible?" Yoku, a non-bender, asked Shin. "How did she make her fire blue?"

"I don't know", Shin shrugged. "They don't teach that in that Army."

"I thought colored fire is just a legend", Yoku thought aloud. "I'm not sure how to feel about it though."

"Same here", Shin concurred, sounded grim. "For some reason I pity the girl. Did you hear her battle cry?"

"Hey, guys!"

Shin and Yoku turned to the voice; it was Lin running along the pier towards them.

"What are you doing here?" Shin asked incredulously. "And why are you wearing a uniform?"

"Long story", Lin evaded under Shin and Yoku's stern gaze. He sighed tiredly as a military skiff closed in on the pier. "Can we just go home for now?"

* * *

"You lied!" Azula angrily threw his pillow at him; the fluffy pillow bounced harmlessly against Ozai's chest as he took calm steps forward. "You said you would come! But, you didn't! You're a liar!"

"Azula, listen to yourself", Ozai scolded yet he maintained his calmness. "This is not how a Fire Princess should sound like: a Fire Princess does not cry."

"I don't care!" Azula screamed as streams of tears rolled down her cheeks. She jumped to her bed and pulled her blanket over her trembling body as she yelled: "Go Away!"

Frowning, Ozai approached the sobbing mass inside the blanket, sat down on the bedside and gently, very very gently pulled his daughter, still wrapped in side the blanket towards him. He felt her daughter trembling, heard her sobbing; he had to literally yell at himself to ignore this severe weakness his daughter was displaying as Azula struggled against him.

"Azula", Ozai called, gently. He stopped trying to pull Azula into his embrace and instead pulled down the blanket, revealing Azula lying on the bed sobbing. _Weak_! "Azula, listen to me."

"Y-you lied", Azula sobbed, burying her face into her arms. "You've promised!"

"I have to attend a war meeting, Azula", Ozai replied, still with the fatherly gentleness that he did not actually have. He reached down and stroked the girl's hair with the touch of a good father, a good father he was not. "You know that as a Fire Lord I have to attend these meeting, right? It is for the sake of our glorious Fire Nation."

"I don't care", Azula's muffled sob emerged. "You lied to me!"

"I know, Azula, I know", Ozai replied with a perfectly rehearsed disappointed tone. "And I'm sorry."

Hearing this, Azula let her father pulled her into his embrace; on the warm chest of his father, she sobbed. "Y-you've promised… Uncle Iroh came, Zuzu came… e-even Lin came."

_So, it was true_, Ozai stroked Azula's head gently, letting the shuddering girl cry in his embrace while suppressing his disgust for this fatal flaw. Lin… Ozai had to do something about him soon. But, as the thought crossed his mind, the memory of Ursa involuntarily swarmed his mind, causing him to get choked up… because, deep down, deep deep down… Ozai still felt for her. Ursa… a perfect woman, a perfect wife… if only she was not that _weak_! But, still, contrary to popular belief, Ozai was only human. And human, at some point of his or her life, will do something that he or she will come to despise but can never ever regret; for Ozai, it was loving Ursa, loving a weak woman.

And Lin… to think that he was the boy Ursa had chosen to give Azula to! A part of Ozai abhorred the idea but, what little love he still had for Ursa compelled him to honor Ursa's wish regarding this matter. And besides, Ozai's evil smirk found its way back to his face, it was not for another seven years; _he still had seven years…_

"Azula, listen to me", Ozai lifted Azula's face up lovingly by her chin. "Lin… he's innocent."

"What?" Azula gaped; her teary amber eyes grew wider.

"He's innocent", Ozai repeated with patience that he did not force; seriously… such is the power of love, no matter how little or distant that love has become. "I cannot explain it in detail but, one day, you will come to understand. You must _not_ hate him, understand?"

"B-but… he kidnapped Ty Lee!" Azula's fury came back, so did her tears.

"No, he didn't", Ozai pulled the girl into his embrace, patting her back gently. "Ty Lee ran away from home and asked Lin to help her in exchange for her helping him escape."

"What? Why?" Ozai felt Azula cried again.

"I don't know", Ozai admitted; his memory involuntarily replayed the memory when the bubbly girl with big silly grin on her face presented him flowers that were tied together into a necklace (that he burnt on the spot), what could have possible driven a cheerful girl with extremely positive outlook like that into running away from home? Pondered Ozai as he calmed Azula in his arms.

Long they stayed that way: a daughter sobbing into his father's arms, a father pacifying his upset daughter; a daughter who was openly savoring the rare moment she had with her father, a father who secretly wished the night would end quickly.

"It's late, Azula", Ozai gently pushed her away. "Get some rest."

"Yes, Dad", Azula replied; Ozai was jumping up and down in the inside, Azula saying 'yes' far outweighed her calling him 'Dad'.

Feigning a kind smile, he tugged the little girl in. As he pulled the blanket over the girl's tiny shoulder, he landed a kiss on her cheek. "Goodnight, Azula."

"Goodnight, Dad", Azula whispered back, almost falling instantly to sleep.

"Yes", Ozai leaned down again and landed another kiss, this time he added a whisper: "_And I'm proud of you, Azula_."

"Thanks, Dad", Azula, with her eyes closed, whispered back, smiling brightly.

That's more like it, Ozai triumphantly smiled. With that, he exited the room and paced back blissfully into his own chamber. Once inside, he took of his robe that was stained with his daughter's tears and, without the slightest hesitation, set it aflame. Ozai smirked as the burning robe cast an ominous light on his demonic grin. _She will be perfect!

* * *

_

Iroh was sitting on the lawn, sipping a cup of tea and gazing at the moon above. There were so many things racing through his mind right now, so many things indeed: his brother and his mysterious diabolical plan for Azula, his nephew and his reaction from seeing the blue fire, his niece and the damage she had sustained at the hand of her evil father, his sister-in-law and his promise to her to take care of both Zuko and Azula, Umma and his vow to guide her grandson, Lin and the destiny that awaited the boy…

"I am too old for this", Iroh sighed, burying his face into his palm.

* * *

**Author's note:**

The part…

"_Hey, there", a voice cheerfully called. Mai turned back and there he was, a boy in a somewhat oversized Fire Nation homeland soldier uniform._

"_You're late!"_

"_Sorry", Lin, grinning guiltily, took of his masked helmet. "Happy birthday."_

…would have made a good cliffhanger.

I was tempted to break this into a four-parter but I was running low on chapters for this Book. Something even bigger will happen in the next two chapters. And no, Lin was not dating Mai. He was planning to see Azula in the Academy to explain everything about Ty Lee but… well… we all know how it turned out.

Names:

1. Bat'eer is inspired by Mengke Bateer, a real person who is like seven feet tall.

2. Tratakoa is a play word of Krakatoa aka Krakatau, a real volcano.

3. Ty Fu, Ty Lee's dad! Fu (父) is Mandarin for 'father'.

4. Syun (算) is Mandarin for 'calculate'

5. Qian is from Sima Qian, a real Chinese historian in the ancient times.

7. Imma is Hebrew for 'mother'

As for Yuu going all crazy, in my initial plan, Lin and Piandao would talk about it but it didn't fit the frame of Lin being in a hurry. So, maybe they will talk about it some other chapter. Not sure when I can update next, probably by the end of the month. There's a lot going on right now and none of them nice.

To hpswst101, I agree with you about the dependent parenthood. To be honest, I'm exhibit A! My parents always use my health condition as the reason to make me do things their way. Like when I want to attend college with my friends so that I could learn to be independent, they sent me to my brother's college in the end, and many more. The worst part is I understand; I know that they care about me and worry about my health to the point that they'd rather play it safe in the expense of my being my own person, learning about the world. And trust me, understanding them only make it worse; like having an enemy you can't hate or friend you can't love.

And I admit I am somewhat lacking in self-confidence and self-esteem although it is probably not because of how I was brought up. I've always preferred the third person point of view, to stay hidden in the background. I'd rather watch and learn than do and act although I could do both if I wanted to.

But remember: everything, no matter how 'good' or 'bad', always has two sides. Even the greatest kindness has a dark side. Self-confidence and self-esteem are good, I admit. It helps people act, help them to be more decisive, and it made people feel good about themselves, made them feel worthy. But, it still has a dark side. I've met people who have such high self-esteem they would do so far to belittle or even hurt other just to feed their ego. I've also met people so confident they just refuse to listen to others and when things go wrong on them, they blame others for that.

Well, that is why I prefer the neutral sot. I don't mind people do me wrong; I just don't want to be the one doing the hurting.

Oh right, the Last Airbender should be out by now. I haven't seen it yet. I've been pretty busy lately. Have you seen it? Was it good? I've watched the trailer and the effect seems decent. Not too crazy at the part where Aang was fighting melee, though. I wonder how Appa and Momo look like in the movie. Oh well, I'm not sure if I'm going to watch it or not, I don't like going to the movies. Too crowded… Maybe I'll just wait for the DVD.

Have a nice day!


	60. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59 – The Last Monday of Winter, Part 1**

**-Girl Meets Boy- **

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

"I need some wet towel over here", Yoku called, attending to a sick student lying on the bed.

"Achoo!" Rei sneezed, also lying on the bed.

"Cover your mouth when you sneeze, Yung", Yoku told him off.

"But, I'm over here", Yung called, lying on the bed behind Yoku.

"Oh sorry, Yung. Close your mouth when you sneeze, Rei."

As the winter dragged on, nearly half of the inhabitants of Piandao's school came down with cold. It all began with one or two students having cold and ended up with almost fifty students lying helplessly in the main hall that had been reformed into some sort of sick ward. Having two of the senior students down did not help either.

"Lin", Yoku called the boy who was busy giving out pills. "Please go to the kitchen and get some hot water and towel."

"Sure thing", Lin replied, handing Yoku the rest of his medicine.

Walking fast along the hallway, Lin came across two or three other students who were either carried by their friends or staggered by themselves into the main hall, adding the number of the sick toll. Sighing, Lin tried not to think about it. As the matter of fact, ever since the disastrous reunion with Azula four months ago, he had tried to stop thinking about anything; especially that disturbing 'vision' he had when he grabbed Azula's hand—

Arrrgh! He was thinking it! Pinching his temple hard, he drew in a deep breath to clear his mind. _Don't think about it_, he told himself as he visualized a clear blue sky in his mind (that was his favorite method to stop thinking). What important was to 'graduate' from Piandao's teaching as soon as possible. That way, Iroh might just deem him ready for the legacy thingy; maybe there would be a clue of how to stop those 'visions' from coming true. However, there were three things he could not stop himself from thinking about: the fact that there might not be such a thing as 'graduation' from Piandao's school, Azula, and her blue fire.

How in the name of Agni could Azula manifest her fire into something like that? Lin had heard of the colored fire but as far as he knew, colored fire was but legend. People who had been reputed to wield such rare power were few and far between, and almost no stories told about those people ended with a happy ending. And _why_ Azula?

As for the fire itself, Lin could think of several theories to explain such phenomenon. Maybe it was the result of fire alteration; like his very own Fire Compression in which he altered the structure of the fire itself, turning it almost rocklike; or, even though he had never been trained in it, like Form 27: the Flaming Sun of the North Shore of the Celestial Dragon style, in which a practitioner alters the structure of fire from burning gas into flaming liquid. If altering the structure were possible, then altering the color of the flame would also seem manageable. But, what for? What advantage does unusually colored flame offer?

Lin was so deep in his thought, he surprised himself when he suddenly stood in front of he kitchen door.

"Hey, Lin", greeted a brown haired girl with pale skin and bright blue eyes cheerfully, she was in the middle of stirring a pot of hot soup. "I thought Master Piandao forbids you from entering the kitchen."

"I'm not entering", Lin pointed out, standing at the door frame.

"Your toe's inside", the girl pointed back. "Well, need anything?"

"Just more hot water", Lin said.

The girl left her soup for a moment. She approached a large kettle that perched on a burning earthen stove. Struggling a bit as the kettle was pretty big for her small frame, she poured the content into a large bowl. Once the bowl was half filled, she picked it up and brought it to Lin who was still faithfully waiting at the door.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked as she handed the steaming bowl, her blue eyes shone with concern. "You look tired."

"I'm fine, Oboro", Lin replied kindly. "Just couldn't sleep well last night, that's all."

"Oh, our essays, huh?" Oboro guessed.

"Yep, pretty much", grinned Lin, half lied. As he was elevated into a senior student, he was also made a tutor. And as a tutor, Master Piandao made him responsible for a group of new students, seven of them, and Oboro was one of the seven. "Yours is pretty long, if I might say. Nice description of the Western Earth Base assault, though. You make me sounds like I'm ten feet tall fire-breathing tiger-bull or something."

Oboro laughed. "Well, I've always wanted to be a novelist."

Soon, as Oboro's soup was finished and she had to distribute it to the sick, both teens found themselves walking by the hallway towards the main hall; Lin carrying a steaming bowl and Oboro pushing a cart full of bowls of soup.

"Are you sure you're alright?" after a minute of silent walking, Oboro's voiced her concern once more. "You look awfully… well, awful lately."

Lin managed to force a smile as he replied with. "I'm fine, really."

It wasn't just him being busy that kept him awake at night lately, although his duty as a tutor did take up quite a lot of his sleeping time. It was more than that. It was the 'vision' of the fallen princess that had haunted him for the past three months; even after the sore of Azula's fire blast left his body, the disturbing vision persisted in his mind. More than once he woke up in the middle of the night, gasping and bathed in cold sweat, dreaming the same nightmare over and over again, of the fallen princess, defeated completely body and soul.

And to be honest, Lin often found himself using his work as a barrier, a distraction to keep his mind busy. Ever since his latest visit to the Imperial City, he had often been found training alone when others had finished with theirs, helping some fellow students with their chores or training, even once helping Ren toiling his field. At first, everyone thought he just liked working like Yuu; some thought it was just the fact that he was a thirteen year old boy and he, like all thirteen year old boys, was going through a phase. But, after a week of being constantly found in the training hall in the middle of the night, rehearsing his form with Nightshade, or voluntarily helped around the mansion without being asked, some people grew worried about him.

But what could he possibly tell them aside from 'I'm fine'? 'I think I see Fire Princess Azula's demise in the future'? Yeah, right! Azula… what did she do wrong? She hadn't done anything to deserve such fate… Sure, Azula might have done a thing or two that deserved punishment; like putting a dead spider-snake on Zuko's bed or sprinkling Zuko's training pants with firehot-red-pepper or setting a slime-ball trap on Zuko's doorstep or sending fake love letters to Zuko, from Mai but none of them warranted anything more severe than a thirty minutes time-out or a week restriction from her favorite cookies or even one hundred 'I will not play around with spark powder anymore' on a blackboard.

Just _why_?

If Lin had learnt anything about fate ever since Iroh nudged him that all the weird dreams and visions he experienced were in some way significant, it was that even though fate was so keen on 'what' or 'when', it wasn't so much on 'why'. And it was really really infuriating!

"I'm fine, I really am", Lin reassured the girl again. "I just… you know… it's complicated."

"Is it about you being a criminal?" Oboro asked again, her voice became timid. "I mean, well, I don't know what you did but… um, I just want you to know that I think you're pretty cool. You don't look like a bad guy."

"Thanks", Lin replied; for the first time in a few weeks, he smiled a genuine smile.

Luckily, they had arrived; this spared the slightly red Oboro from having to say anything further. Muttering a quick 'see ya', she pushed the cart to a corner of the room which was still empty safe for a long empty table while Lin paced to the different corner that was filled with sick students.

"What happened?" Yoku asked him as he put down the bowl of hot water on a nearby table, eyeing him curiously. "You looked… different."

"What?" Lin asked, failed to suppress a grin; although he did know why he was smiling, he found himself unable to stop. He did, however, notice how his spirit had been lifted up a bit, like there's a springtime celebration in his chest amidst the winter outside.

"You're smiling, you look happy", Rei commented; a snort hanging down from his nostril as he exclaimed. "You're back!"

"What do you mean back?" Lin chuckled, still trying to stop his lips to curve upward. He instinctively glanced at Oboro at the other side of the hall who was busy transferring the numerous bowls of soup onto the empty table.

"Ah, of course", Yung stroked his non-existing beard sagely; somewhat unconvincing when he was lying on the bed with runny nose. "It is part of growing up, my son."

"Huh?"

"Oh, the new girl?" Yoku finally understood. "Nice choice."

"What new girl?"

"Go for it, kid", Rei dropped in. "Don't hesitate."

"…Huh?"

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Azula asked, head poking out of her uncle's broad shoulder.

"Nope", Iroh replied, swallowing Zuko's wheel tile with his tiger tile.

"Are we there yet?" Azula came again a second later, poking out from the other side.

"Nope", Iroh relied, calm as ever.

"Are we there yet?"

"Not yet."

"Are we there yet?"

"Princess…" Iroh called.

"I'm bored", Azula declared loudly, draping off Iroh's shoulder lazily.

"Go read a book or something!" Zuko, with a popping vein on his temple, snapped.

"We're in the middle of the ocean", Azula snapped back. "Where can I find a book, dumb-dumb?"

"Now, now", sensing an incoming Agni Kai, Iroh butted in. "With this new version of steam cruiser, we should arrive in Shu Jing in another hour or so. So, don't kill each other in the meantime, please. For me."

Huffing, both siblings broke eye contact, not before Azula poked her tongue at Zuko's direction, of course. As Zuko and Iroh found peace and tranquility once more in their friendly match of Pai Sho, Azula walked over to the railing and leaned over it. Looking down over her fluttering bang, she entertained herself with the view of the ship cruising across the water, at the sight of water being sliced by the black-painted mass of metal. Pretty interesting, the sight of the ocean. But, it could only hold Azula's interest for about two minutes. Soon, she found herself slumping down on the deck, sighing annoyingly at Iroh, who remained impassive, and Zuko who was on the verge of throwing a fistful of fire ball at his sister.

"I wish Mai was here", Azula noted airily, taking delight of Zuko's sudden blush. When Iroh suddenly came up with the idea of visiting Shu Jing that morning on a newly developed steam-powered ocean cruiser, Azula had nearly released a messenger hawk bearing an invitation to Mai when Zuko burst in and intercepted the message before it could be delivered. "At least there'd be a person who is more bored than I am."

She smirked impishly at Zuko before adding: "But, then again… with you around…"

"Shut up!" Zuko snapped again, crimson and steaming. He got up angrily and stomped his way back to the cabin, not forgetting to slam the metal door on his way in, all done with Azula's victorious smug on his back.

As Zuko disappeared from sight, Azula turned back to Iroh, already anticipating the old man's tea-cloud-teacup-cookies anecdote about being nice to Zuko. But, instead, Iroh merely pointed at the stool Zuko abandoned and said: "Play with me?"

"No", Azula's reply came quick and dry.

"Please", Iroh said, more pleadingly.

"No", Azula repeated plus indignant arm crossed.

"I have sweets", Iroh baited, pulling out a bar of peanut-pastries from his sleeve.

"No", Azula repeated again, slightly offended this time.

"I'll teach you the Breath of Fire?" Iroh tried another route.

"No", Azula still refused. She already knew the Breath of Fire, at least the basic theory, and she hated that technique.

Sighing in defeat, Iroh stopped a random ship crew and made him play instead with Azula still on her spot, back to her bored self. Why her uncle suddenly wanted to go to Shu Jing, she did not now; more bizarre was his decision to drag her and Zuko along. First of all, why Shu Jing, why not someplace else, Ember Island, for example. Oh, wait… she remembered. When Zuko suggested Ember Island instead because it was bound to be warmer there, Uncle Iroh energetically told them that they would be able to catch the Ember Island Players' newest play: 'Over Tea and Pai Sho, Shall We Sing: the Musical' by Pu-on Tim. The horrified Zuko quickly changed his mind; imagine that, three things he hated the most in one play: tea, Pai Sho, and music.

Letting out another loud sigh, the one that Uncle Iroh ignored completely this time, she spent the next two seconds that felt like two hours watching Uncle Iroh intercepting his opponents move with a tile. Boring… Looking up to the sky, Azula let her mind wander. Instinctively, she was brought to the time of her firebending performance, earlier that winter. She remembered how angry and upset she had been when her father couldn't make it to watch her, remembered how Lin had unexpectedly showed up, how she blasted his chest with firebending. Now that she thought about it, it was probably the last time her fire was normal. She held up a palm and summoned a flickering blue fireball effortlessly. Funny… she thought as she stared into her blue flame still with bored expression. It was so easy now. Funny, really… the morning before she tamed her blue fire, she could barely spark her orange flame blue and the very evening of the same day, she could already perform an advanced level firebending kata in front of hundreds of people with her blue flame, her _perfect_ blue flame…

Even more funny, or should I say ironic, was the fact that the last of her normal fire was the one she threw at her former Firebending Instructor; it was as if a statement that Azula and her blue flame had 'surpassed' Lin's teaching. Azula suddenly realized that she was smirking and, just as suddenly, her smirk faltered. _It wasn't true_, a voice, a surprisingly soft voice, contradicted in her mind. It wasn't true that Azula had surpassed Lin in anything. Deep down, she knew that she still had so much to learn from him. But, then again, Lin's method of teaching was annoyingly slow, in Azula's opinion, just like Uncle's albeit a little faster. Unlike daddy's method in which she had to master a form or technique in each session… or else…

Azula shook her thought off, her blue flame dissipated as she did so. Ignorance… even Azula, a master of the art, had something she could never ever ignore for the rest of her life: her father, Fire Lord Ozai, and everything that had something to do with him, which was pretty much everything to her. Her world revolved around Ozai.

And Lin… hard to ignore him, Azula admitted. To the Fire Princess, the ponytailed boy, who was in the middle of doing laundry in an island an hour or so away from her, was the first stranger she had befriended, one of the most talented firebender she had ever encountered, and her most favorite instructor. She shuddered again at the last thought… _should her father be second in anything in her mind…?_ But, if the Fire Princess were allowed to be completely honest, she would definitely rank Lin as her most favorite teacher although the reality was somewhat less permissive for such thought. _Daddy's the best!_ The voice yelled out.

But Lin… definitely hard to ignore. Azula summoned another fireball. As she recalled, her father knew that she had tamed her blue fire; how he found out exactly, Azula could only guess. But then again, her father always knew stuffs. That makes it hard to keep secrets from him. As for Ozai's reaction about her blue flame, Azula could only recalled a peck on the cheek as the Fire Lord tugged her in the night after her performance and a _'I'm proud of you, Azula'._ The next morning, everything went back to normal: he had a war meeting, she had to train with Zuzu and Uncle Fatso, Zuzu made no progress and she had to wait until Zuzu caught up to her a little before Uncle Fatso could teach her a more advanced form. _Tch! Stupid Zuzu_.

If there was any real change her blue flame brought, it was the fact that she could no longer bend her usual normal fire. She had tried and tried and tried but her bright blue flame could no longer revert back to the normal orange streak anymore. She did not know why, not that she cared… not anymore… The weird look Zuzu gave her when she produced the blue flame had been quite a nuisance and somewhat hurtful at first but she had grown accustomed to it. Zuzu had also seemed to have gotten used to her colored flame as his weird look had grown lesser in quantity and intensity in the past few days.

The blue flame… beautiful, wasn't it. She wondered if Lin had seen it. Probably not… Azula assumed. I mean she did blast his che— Azula's fire went kaput as any traces of blood left her pale face: _she blasted his chest!_ Oh, spirits! Azula could feel her heart beating loud and a thin layer of cold sweat forming on her forehead as she came to a conclusion: _he must hate me for that! _It is a common reaction when someone blasts your chest in an unprovoked attack, not to mention the yelling, the calling names, right?

Yes… after nearly four months eluding and evading having to think about the consequences of what she had done to her former instructor and the thing about him being innocent that her father had told her, Fire Princess Azula came to a conclusion that her former Firebending Instructor, Lin, the twenty sixth, the Dragon of the Deep Forest, hated her.

* * *

_She smirked impishly at Zuko before adding: "But, then again… with you around…"_

"_Shut up!" Zuko snapped again, crimson and steaming. He got up angrily and stomped his way back to the cabin, not forgetting to slam the metal door on his way in, all done with Azula's victorious smug on his back_

"Arrrgggh!" he screamed, nearly pulling his hair out. Darn it! Why, oh why, did his parents decide to have another child? Why couldn't they just adopt a puppy? He trampled his way back to his cabin on the third level, ignoring the look several crews who happened to witness his frustrated scream gave him. Once inside, as expected, he extorted a small measure of satisfaction by slamming his metal door as hard as he could. Not too satisfying… so, he just slumped onto his bed face first trying to get some sleep. Boredom must be contagious, he found himself cursing Azula.

Azula had always been his annoying little sister, yeah; even when Azula was a baby, she could always find a way to annoy Zuko to no end; like when she peed on him, puked on him, cried him awake a whole day. Even after Azula had outgrown her toddler years, meaning she could talk, walk, and grab things on her own, she could always think of something to make his life miserable; like all those pranks and jokes, all in his expense. But, they would usually go back to their normal non-hostile state almost instantly… or at least they used to. Ever since their father had decided to train Azula in firebending, she had started to change from an annoying little sister to simply annoying. And when their mother disappeared, she got even worse, sometimes, though he hated to admit it, to the point of being cruel. Zuko blamed firebending! The art of firebending, unlike the other two bending arts, is closely affected by emotional factors and, as the history had taught us over and over again, the relationship seemed to be mutual. Emotion affects firebending; firebending seems to also affect emotion.

Zuko got up, perching on the bedside. He blamed firebending for everything that had happened to his sister, for his sister transformation into… what…? He could not find the right word to express his thought, mostly because his vocabulary did not extend to curse words by that far. What he could express was that he missed his little sister sometimes, that sometimes he wished Azula had never sneezed fire when she was four, that at least Lu Ten was still around to help him keep Azula in line, or at least that Lin was still around since Azula seemed to listen to him to some extent.

Azula… why did she have to change…?

Zuko got up and walked toward the open window and perched his arms there, lazily gazing at the ocean outside. How he hated travelling on a ship, how he hated winter… didn't his uncle know this? Looking down, he saw his uncle playing Pai Sho against a random ship crew and at the side, sitting down leaning against the railing, was Azula. The girl seemed to be lost in thought, Zuko commented. Even from that distance, Zuko could see clearly as the girl held up her palm and summoned her blue flame. Blue flame… _How did she do that?_

Zuko had never even heard of such thing! Blue fire? How was that possible? What did his father _do_ to her? Was it a special training? Maybe the higher tier techniques in their style of firebending included flame color transformation; I mean, their ultimate technique was Lightning Generation, right? And lightning is blue. Or could it be an effect of medicine or something? Zuko did overhear some servants talking about how his father ordered them to brew Azula a cup of rare chi-enhancing tea once every two weeks; Zuko himself had been a victim to that gut-wrenching godforsaken drink that made him throw up when his father forced a cup down his throat. But, when Zuko confronted his father about the blue flame he merely stated that the blue flame was something Azula had all along. Could that really be true…? That Azula whose inner fire did not manifest until she was four had such unusual gift all along? That Azula's blue fire was not the result of some sort of horrific consequences of Ozai's training combined with suspicious rare medicine?

When Zuko confronted his father about four months ago regarding his sister's unusually colored fire, it was done out of a brotherly concern. Seriously… Although the last few years with Azula had been nothing short of a living hell, Zuko, contrary to popular belief, still loved her as his one and only sister, as his little sister. It was a big brother's duty to love his sister, right? And besides, if he didn't love his sister, who would…?

But, below the surface of the brotherly concern, of the waning love he felt for his sister… Fire Prince Zuko, though he tried hard to eliminate this particular feeling, realized that he was jealous of his sister.

* * *

"And we spread it along the clothesline", Lin concluded his hanging-the-laundry 101 lecture/demonstration to the goth girl.

"And why exactly are you doing this by yourself?" Mai, not even touching the laundry, asked dryly. "You could've just let that servant do that for you."

"Hey! I'm not a—", Yuu was about to protest but he relented because. "Okay, I'm a servant."

"He's also a student, you know", Lin defended the bullied Yuu.

"But he's a servant, isn't he?" Mai persisted.

"Well, yeah. Technically", Lin uncomfortably concurred. Although Yuu was actually a servant in Piandao's mansion, nobody ever treated him like one out of respect for his status among the students as a senior student and a tutor.

"Great", Mai impassively said to Lin. Turning to Yuu, her voice was still flat although her attitude changed into the more stereotypical of spoiled noble kid. "You, what's your name?"

"Yuu."

"I'm Mai. What's you're name?"

"I'm Yuu", Yuu repeated, frowning.

"…I've told you my name's Mai. What is _yours_?"

"My name's _Yuu_!"

"…Go get me some tea, _servant_."

* * *

"Here we are", Iroh announced. After their ship had docked in Shu Jing's pier, Iroh led his unusually silent nephew and niece on a short tour to the town's market; a tour that he had to cut short due to the heavy indifference the royal siblings showed him. He wondered what he did wrong to deserve the silent treatment. Since he was at wit's end trying to make the trip entertaining for both kids, he decided to carry out his plan B: dump it on Lin. It was a good plan; he would be free of Zuko and Azula _and_ he would get a chance to do what he set out to do in the first place, a serious conversation with Piandao. Furthermore, it might give a chance for Azula and Lin to resolve whatever issue they had between them while Zuko could… wander off somewhere or something. Three birds with one stone, not bad, huh?

Standing at the gate of the estate was none other than the master swordsman.

"General", Piandao greeted, bowing at the senior. Turning to the royal siblings, he offered an equally polite bow which Zuko and Azula returned just as gracefully. "Please, come in."

Piandao and Iroh purposely let Zuko and Azula walked a foot or two in front of them as they spoke with low voice.

"The Hazy Moon gambit, old friend", Iroh muttered, referring to the particular Pai Sho gambit in which a player sacrifice the moon tile to mask a counter attack.

"Who's the moon?" Piandao whispered.

"Who else?" Iroh whispered back.

"Prince Zuko, Princess Azula, how about a tour?" Piandao offered politely. And, without waiting for a reply, Piandao soon found himself guiding the three royalties across his mansion, showing them his classrooms, his training ground, his kitchen, etc. all the while covertly hoping they'd run into Lin; Piandao knew that with all those sick students Lin must have helped around the school but he didn't exactly know where until…

"And here…", Piandao swept his arm around as he led his guests to the backyard of his mansion, an open field on which numerous fabric products were hung on laundry poles and clotheslines, and two youths were sitting around. "…is where we dry our laundry. Ah, and I believe you have already acquainted with one of our top students in this humble school."

Piandao grabbed Lin whose jaw dropped to the floor by the shoulder and shoved him in front of Zuko and Azula who were also gaping. "Lin, the twenty sixth. Okay, that should be all. See you kids at lunch, have a good time, play nice, bye-bye."

Like a pair of ninja, he and Iroh simply disappeared from the spot. Not that any of the kids were paying much attention to them. Because, to be honest, Lin wasn't expecting to see Azula again after the fire blast incident; well, not this close and not without her trying to set his whole body on fire this time. As for the Fire Princess, although she _was_ surprised to see Lin in Shu Jing, she was even more surprised to see _Mai_ in that place; she did almost send an letter to invite Mai to come along with them just to annoy Zuzu, _must be fate, _she reasoned. Mai, on the other hand, was not a person who show her emotion lightly, unless they were the right kind of emotion or caused by the right kind of catalyst; surprise being one of the most difficult emotion to hide plus Zuko being the most perfect catalyst for Mai, it was understandable that she was gaping through her crimson cheeks at the Fire Prince who was standing rather close to her. Zuko, who was still eleven at that time, still bore the memory when he yelled out 'girls are crazy!' when Azula tricked him into tackling Mai into a pond, also like any other eleven year old royalty, he did not care much about girls; all he cared about was the fact that Lin, his sifu and criminal friend, was in Shu Jing and his uncle knew about it all along, or at least he thought Iroh knew, and didn't tell him!

"What are you doing here?" Lin asked Azula, Azula chuckled at Mai, Mai stammered at Zuko, and Zuko frowned at Lin. Pausing for a second, all four of them burst into laughter.

"Ah, to be young again", Iroh sighed gleefully at them, peeking from a window safe behind the wall of the mansion.

"Is it time already?" Piandao, leaning against the wall, asked with a serious tone.

"I'm afraid so", Iroh replied grimly, contrast to the kids' laughter front the laundry yard.

"I thought the kid could stretch it into at least a year", said Piandao, calm as ever.

"His unexpected appearance in the Imperial City changes everything", Iroh replied, still grim. "Some people saw him and sent formal reports to various places; the city guards, several noble houses, even the Fire Lord himself. If Ozai ignored this, his credibility would be ruined. To be honest, I am surprised that he would take this long to act."

"That's too bad", sighed Piandao, eyes darted back to the yard where Azula was running, dragging Lin away from Mai and Zuko who was so deep in their conversation they didn't realize the prank. "I kind of enjoy teaching that kid. I know I have a lot of 'shields' like him but he is exceptionally gifted in the art of combat."

"What can we say", Iroh shrugged; in the yard, Mai and Zuko were looking around for Lin and Azula. "He is a warrior born and bred. It is a great gift…"

"And at the same time", Piandao continued. "A great curse."

"That is why I envy you", sighed Iroh; as he stared into his colleague's hazel eyes, his amber ones revealed just how old and tired he had become.

"I can take your place if you want to", Piandao offered; pity and concern were all over his face.

"No", Iroh smiled kindly. "This is something I must do on my own. I owed Lady Umma that much."

* * *

"So", Azula started, sitting under a tree next to Lin. "Uncle knows you're here, huh?"

"Yep", Lin replied. Believe it or not, although the very same girl who had blasted him nearly four months ago was sitting so dangerously close, this was the first time he actually felt happy since his last visit to the Imperial City.

"And, ahem, Mai?" Azula shot him a sharp accusing look.

"Actually, Mai's here to visit a relative who is also a student here", which was true, fortunately, for that day. Mai showed up that morning with her uncle and aunt who were visiting her cousin. Then, this led to that, and Mai ended up visiting Lin while she was in the mood and then the royal siblings appeared.

"Hmm", Azula seemed unconvinced but she had to be satisfied with that.

For a minute or two they sat there in silence; Lin, because he didn't know what to say and Azula, because she had so much to say but didn't know where to start.

"So, um", Azula decided to go for it; she had to start sometime right? "Um, my dad told me that you're not… you know, guilty for all your crime."

"He said that?" Lin's eyes widened in genuine surprise. Iroh had warned him not to trust the Fire Lord completely, that Fire Lord Ozai would always have something hidden on his sleeve. Lin decided to tread carefully. "What else did he tell you?"

"That's all", replied Azula; though history remembers Fire Princess Azula as a master liar, at this stage she had not perfected her craft yet as several people, like Iroh, Lin, and Fire Lord Ozai could always tell whether she was lying or not. She wasn't lying this time… "He just told me that you didn't kidnap Ty Lee and I shouldn't blame you for that."

…kidnap Ty Lee… Azula's thought was brought back to the day when she confronted the boy who was sitting next to her rather violently about this matter and the realization that she concluded on the ship. _He must hate me for that_…

"I, er, I watched your firebending performance, by the way", fortunately, Lin strike another conversation, sparing Azula from apologizing. "That was a great form. Your aerial awareness seemed to have improved."

"Thanks", Azula replied awkwardly; her feelings mixed between happiness of getting praised and upset because Lin didn't comment on her blue fire. At her side, Lin himself was struggling between a direct or a covert approach regarding the blue flame.

He decided on the former option. "However, I don't recall teaching anything about colored fire. Where did you learn that from?"

A rhetorical question but Lin wanted to make sure. His suspicion was proven true as Azula's lips curled to a smile and she answered: "My dad taught me,"

"I've never seen him firebend", Lin frowned; _I knew it!_ "But, I'm pretty sure his fire isn't blue like yours."

"Nope", Azula concurred rather smugly. "He just taught me how to do it. His fire is normal, like the others."

_Like the others_… said casually like it did not matter but Lin sensed something disturbing in Azula's amber eyes as she announced that part. He sensed pride, the bad kind of pride, he sensed arrogance, he sensed hunger…

"What did he teach you?" Lin asked; his throat felt dry for some reason.

"That I am able to achieve blue fire because it is my birthright", Azula grinned, still somewhat smug. "That nobody else can do it but me. That my blue fire is special."

"Stop."

"What?" Azula gawked; eyes widened in shock. She had expected that Lin would be proud of her for achieving something like blue flame, like he always did whenever Azula mastered a set of form or something.

"Stop using the blue fire", Lin repeated, now frowning at his student. Inside, though, he knew how proud Azula was of this achievement and was beating himself up for this insensitive remark.

"B-but… why?" Azula stuttered. Poor girl… Lin suddenly felt the heart-wrenching sting he had felt when he saw the princess cry when he grabbed her hands few months ago.

"Look, Azula", Lin reasoned, softer and more compassionate this time. "Firebending has rules that we must follow. The art itself is ancient and there are many examples of how firebenders destroyed themselves because they broke the rules. There is still too little known about colored fire. You shouldn't mess with such dangerous power."

"B-but—", Azula's protest was cut short by her own recognition of the truth in her teacher's argument.

Lin himself was surprised of how forceful, if not cruel, he sounded. The guilt he had been trying to erase had come back full frontal this time as Azula's glittering eyes and trembling lips pierced his conscience. Slapping his forehead literally, he patted Azula on the head as he usually did when he was praising the girl and forced a smile. "But you did great back there and I'm proud of you."

Again, history remembers Fire Princess Azula as a conniving and manipulating character who could read people like a book. But, at that stage, when Azula was still a nine-year-old who had just manifested her legendary blue flame, she was still remembered as a rather trusting kid when it comes to several people like her father and uncle and, of course, her then-firebending-instructor, Lin, the twenty sixth. So, she did not see that praise as anything less than genuine.

"Thank you", she beamed back, genuinely happy. Finally, someone other than her dad who appreciated the effort and suffering she had to go through to achieve her blue flame.

Another silence ensued… they did that a lot, didn't they?

Well, having a peaceful conversation between two persons is strangely difficult when person A blasted person B's chest with firebending and person B expressed a certain level of dislike about person A's achievement that person A is personally proud of. To be honest, both Azula and Lin were grateful their conversation went on the way it did. In their minds, they had imagined worse outcomes; Lin thought Azula would still be mad and Azula believed Lin would hate him. But, judging from their grin as they gazed the cloudy sky, they had now resolved their snappy assumption.

"Hey", Azula turned to Lin. "There's a celebration in the Fire Fountain City tomorrow. Think you can come?"

"Is that an offer?" Lin narrowed his eyes at her, grinning. "Or a challenge?"

"A little bit of both", Azula grinned back.

* * *

"You're getting old", Piandao remarked untactfully.

"Why, thank you for reminding me", Iroh extorted his revenge by check-mating Piandao's Southern Arrowhead Gambit.

"Let me do it", Piandao offered again. "He has lost his fire— I'm not stupid, I know he has."

Iroh closed his mouth, swallowing his unasked question of how Piandao knew such thing.

"It is more a reason why I should be the one to face him", Piandao continued. His left hand caressed the sword lying by his side. "He is my student too, you know. As his master, my responsibility is a big as yours."

Iroh was about to retort but an arrival of a messenger hawk saved him from rebutting. Frowning, he reached into the message tube and extracted from it a rolled parchment. Reading it, his frown turned into a gloom. Handing it to Piandao, he merely said. "My final 'no'."

Piandao's expression turned to the identical grim of Iroh's. "This is why I hate dealing with royalties."

"What will you do?" Iroh demanded.

"What _can_ I do?" Piandao shrugged. "He is my responsibility. That's all you'll get from me."

Getting up, Piandao paced calmly toward the door behind which his butler was waiting faithfully. Opening the door, he addressed Fat with unusual dark expression. "Get Shin and the others. We're under attack."

* * *

"Why do we have to go home?" Zuko protested though it didn't matter much; they were already abroad the ship and waving goodbye to Lin and Mai who were almost out of sight.

"My, leave anything behind, Zuzu?" Azula teased impishly.

"Shut up!" Zuko snapped while Azula laughed openly at him.

"We have to go back because I just remembered I have other things to do back home", Iroh laughed guiltily; well, he did have things to do back home, namely receiving a visit from his future, if not already, student later at the night.

* * *

Back at Shu Jing pier…

"So, why aren't you going back with them?"

"Because I'm here with my uncle and aunt. I should go back with them too, don't you think?"

"But you said it was boring travelling with them", Lin pointed out. "I suppose they'll let you go home with Zuko and Azula if you ask."

"…"

"Mai, you're blushing—Ugh!"

As Mai, with nose pointed upward, stomped her way back to the school angrily, leaving Lin and his gut she had just punched on the ground, Lin uttered his silent gratitude to the heaven above for the fact that Mai was not a firebender.

* * *

"General Kargai, sir", a soldier saluted at the Homeland Defense Force officer. "We will reach Shu Jing shortly, sir."

But Kargai, a large built man in his mid forties, did not acknowledge the soldier. He was too focused on a direct eye contact with a passenger of a Royal Cruiser that was sailing towards the opposite direction so close to his ship he could actually leaped over the railing onto the other ship with little effort. His amber eyes met with the Dragon of the West's, Iroh's stare on him was hard to read. Kargai, like many other soldiers in the Fire Nation, still held a certain amount of respect for the fallen prince, and thus, he bowed. Bowed, not saluted.

Iroh returned the bow. They retained their silent stare on each other until they couldn't see each other anymore; upon which Kargai sighed and realized that he was sweating and trembling. The Dragon of the West… truly not someone he could take on lightly.

Stroking his bushy grey beard, he issued the next order. "Prepare the troops for landing. Once we get to Shu Jing, we will storm Piandao's School of Swordsmanship and capture the traitor Lin."

* * *

"Kargai, eh?" Iroh muttered, still standing on his spot on the deck. Azula and Zuko had retreated back into their respective rooms about fifteen minutes ago; Zuko because he just wanted to avoid Azula and her constant nuisance, Azula because she was bored and did not find the prospect of playing Pai Sho with her uncle entertaining.

Kargai… a well-known general in the Homeland Defense Force. A man in his mid-forties who possessed some experience from his younger days battling pirates and bandits and that sort of enemies. Iroh didn't know why Ozai would choose Kargai to lead the assault on Shu Jing…

"What are you planning, Ozai?" Iroh muttered again.

… because, as far as Iroh knew, Kargai was an idiot.

* * *

"…Am I being punished?" Lin asked suspiciously over the Pai Sho board.

"Nope", Piandao replied casually. "I just thought a match with you will be interesting. There aren't many young people these days who play as well as you do, young man."

"That's because my grandpa made me play with him everyday", Lin shuddered as if remembering a childhood trauma. "I can't even remember the first time he taught me how to play Pai Sho but my grandma once told me that my first word was 'check-mate'."

"…I'm sorry to hear that", Piandao muttered. _Poor kid, no wonder he is so messed up_…

Piandao let the match go on for another two moves before he started another conversation.

"What do you think of your time here at my school?"

"It is surprisingly enjoyable", Lin replied with all honesty. "I never thought attending school with other people could be this fun."

Typical of Fire Nation noble born, the boys, at least: having their education carried out at home with private tutor.

"Good, I'm glad you are enjoying your time here", Piandao stroked his beard sagely. "However, you must leave now."

"…Excuse me?"

"You must leave", Piandao repeated; he really felt sorry for the gawking boy. "Your time has come. You must begin your journey to complete your initiation into the Order."

"B-but— Master, I…" Lin stuttered; he felt as if the floor he was sitting on opened up into a hole that was going to swallow him. He had to leave…? "I'm not ready yet. I—"

Piandao waited for the boy to complete his sentence but Lin couldn't say anything more. Sighing, Piandao braced his conscience for what he had to say next; one of the greatest burdens a master has to bear is to let his student go. "Listen, Lin. Your journey will not be easy."

Piandao picked up the Pai Sho board and brought it on the floor, leaving the table empty and Lin's attention full on him. Then, he continued.

"Traditionally, an initiate must perform a journey to learn from four masters of the Order, each master representing an element. The journey begins with the initiate learning from the master of his own element and then continues to the other masters in regards of the Cycle of Four Elements. I assume you are familiar with the Cycle, no?"

"Fire, Air, Water, and Earth", Lin replied.

"Exactly."

"So, you're my Fire Master?"

"No", Piandao shook his head. "I am your _Air_ Master. Well, technically an Air Nomad is required but since they're extinct, non-benders who understand their teaching and philosophy are chosen to fill their places."

"But…" something's amiss, Lin thought. "I'm a _Fire Nation_. Why didn't I start from a Fire Nation Master?"

"Because your condition is rather unique", Piandao smiled mysteriously. "Grand Lotus Iroh felt you should skip your natural element and save it for the last. That is why you start from me."

_So, General Iroh refused to teach me, huh?_ Lin thought bitterly.

"Now, answer this question", Piandao ordered. "What have you learnt from me? What have you learnt from your stay in this place?"

Lin thought back of everything he had learnt so far from Piandao's School of Swordsmanship. Well, he had learnt the advanced art of sword combat; it was a school of swordsmanship, after all. And what else? Hmm… nothing he hadn't already known. He had leant sword combat before from Bara and the others, and during his childhood, from his grandfather. All other stuffs like brush painting, calligraphy, art and literature; being a noble born, it was no exaggeration to say that he had been taught all those stuff before he could even speak right. Nothing he hadn't already known; well, except for maybe blacksmithing.

Learning sword combat is normal. But as for the others, just what is the purpose of all those 'soft art' training? Even after spending nearly five months under the swordmaster, Lin still couldn't understand some of Piandao's training regimens; like when the time he dragged his blindfolded senior students to the various isolated places in Shu Jing and asked them to paint the scenery after seeing it for only two seconds without looking, or when he asked them to do rock gardening, or when he asked them to spar blindfolded, or when he made them do calligraphy for one whole day. Lin had asked, despite the other senior students advising him not to, and received no satisfactory reply. Piandao only said that it was something they must find out for themselves. All Lin was sure about was that those kind of training were not given to the other students. Piandao had also forbade his senior students to talk about these strange training, even with each other.

So, what is the purpose behind those training? He brought his hand together on his lap, one hand grasping the other; he did that a lot when he was thinking, either that or scratching his chin. As he did so, his white and black beaded bracelet dangled on his wrist. Black and white beads, the symbol of Yin and Yang; Yin and Yang, the symbol of harmony, the core of his family teaching. What is harmony? _The state of balance_, thought Lin almost automatically. Balance…

He looked up to Piandao, his face lit up with understanding while Piandao smiled at him.

"So, what's your answer?" Piandao asked again.

"There is more than just one side to everything", Lin replied confidently. "In sword combat, for example. It is more than just about how to slash your opponent with your sword. It is also about… everything else; about honor and respect, about mental preparation, about strategizing your moves, defense and offense. And even more than that. It is not only about a drawn sword, it is also about a sheathed sword."

Piandao stroked his beard, scrutinizing his student's answer. "You are right, in a way", he said finally. "However, you still have much to learn; you haven't got the whole picture yet. Tell me what you know about the element of Air."

"I… don't know anything, Master", Lin admitted.

"The Air Nomad philosophy is based on the notion of freedom", Piandao explained. "And when I said freedom, I wasn't talking about freedom to do what you want when you want."

Lin grinned guiltily at Piandao; that was exactly his thought.

"The Air Nomad's idea of freedom is much deeper and more profound than that", Piandao continued. "Freedom from the worldly attachment is their lifetime goal; freedom from the construct of the world, from the convenient way of thinking, from the world itself. The art of combat, be it bending, swords, or hand-to-hand combat, according to the 'common' understanding is the art of killing or hurting each other. Some sugar-coat this idea by adding stuffs like fighting for justice or self-defense; in the end, even their own philosophy resulted in them hurting their opponents. The art of airbending is unique in itself exactly because of this."

"Why?"

"Because the art of airbending emphasizes in evading and avoiding attack; very much unlike the art of firebending, am I right?"

Lin nodded. Firebending, no matter which style it is, stresses heavily in offense; how to burn you opponent to crisp without much regards to the blows you might receive in the process.

"That is the wisdom you must learn from the Element of Air", Piandao stressed. "Freedom from the construct. Do not see things only from one side just because the rest of the world see it that way; you must be able to contradict the common way if need be, to see the world for what it really is—"

"—not for what it really isn't", Lin finished Piandao's sentence, earning the swordmaster's approval nod. "I understand, Master."

"Good", Piandao nodded again, receiving a polite bow from the boy. He reached down to the table and pulled three envelops and a pouch from under it. He rummaged the small pouch first and pulled from it a tiny golden metal with the shape of half a sphere. "Take this."

Lin received the tiny golden metal the size of chocolate chip without saying anything; he was wondering what that is but was too polite to ask.

"That is your Seed", Piandao explained, pushing the pouch across the table now. "Take it always with you and don't lose it."

Lin took the pouch and put the 'seed' back into it carefully. It was so small he actually felt safer having it stored inside a pouch.

"Here, I have three letters for you", Piandao shoved the envelops now; three envelops, numbered one to three. "Also keep these with you. From here, your next stop should be the Northern Water Tribe. When you found your Water Master, you must give him the first envelop and your Seed. He will know what to do. After he's finished with you, you will receive further instruction from him."

"Who is my Water Master?" Lin asked; the tickling feeling on the back of his neck somehow made him think that he had already know the answer…

"You Water Master is a man called Pakku", Piandao answered.

_I knew it! That baldy…_ Lin's face fell. He still remembered that old baldy who attacked him out of the blue in the ruin of Taku three years ago.

"And my Earth Master?" Lin asked again, trying to erase the annoying image of Pakku's smirk from his mind.

"King Bumi of Omashu", Piandao replied; somehow he felt like he had just punished the boy. King Bumi was notorious, even among his colleagues in the Order, as a very unpredictable teacher.

"But I still don't understand something", Lin admitted.

"What is it?" Asked Piandao.

"Why do I have to learn all this stuff about other elements?" inquired Lin.

Piandao smiled at this, rather sadly. It would seem that, like any other Fire Nation, Lin, as wise as he was, was still too caught up in their typical ethnocentric attitude. "Have you ever been to the other two nations?"

"Yes, I have."

"So, tell me: did you find things that you could learn from them?"

"I—", Lin gaped. He really had been to the other two nations; he'd been to the Northern Water Tribe and experienced their culture and befriended several people there and the whole Fire Nation knew he had been to the Earth Kingdom, what's with him serving as a Battalion Strategist for his father and all for more than a year.

"As a Fire Nation we were taught that our Nation is far more superior than the other; that the Earth Kingdom are a pack of savages and the Water Tribe are a bunch of barbarian", said Piandao grimly. "This is _wrong_. You know it, I know you do."

Yeah… now that he thought back of his experience being in the other two nations, he realized that what they had been teaching Fire Nation people were wrong. He had been to the Water Tribe, he had seen how sophisticated their culture was, how warm and excepting the people were; he remembered Yue and Arnook and, although he'd rather not, Pakku, they were all good people. He had been to the Earth Kingdom, during his time in the army although his father usually kept him close and forbade him from associating with any Earth Kingdom locals; but he remembered Master Tyro and Haru, remembered how gallant Tyro had been when he faced both Uncles Kang and Masa in battle, remembered what a hard working kid Haru was. Those people were not savages or barbarians; now that he thought about it, really really thought about it, the only difference between those people and him were probably limited to superficial things like the tone of their skins, the color of their eyes, the elements they were born under… but deep down, underneath those layers of superficiality, they were all the same. _See the world for what it really is, not for what it really isn't_…

"I understand, Master", Lin bowed again; this time he felt both shame and grateful, shame for his stupidity and grateful for being able to learn this humbling knowledge. "I will go through with the initiation."

"Your grandmother would have been very proud of you", Piandao beamed proudly. He stood up, so did Lin. Piandao fell into a deep solemn bow, the one reciprocated by Lin. "You must set out immediately. Go to your room and pack your things. As soon as you're ready, you must leave for the Earth Kingdom. From there, you must wait for the right moment to find a way to reach Pakku in the North Pole."

"But, Master", Lin hesitated. "Can't I stay a little longer? I can guarantee my stay to be undisturbed for at least a year."

Abruptly, a ruckus exploded from the direction of the courtyard. A mixture sound of cracking and banging and people shouting; sounded like a riot or a fight.

"That is the sound of your warranty expired", Piandao sighed.

* * *

While Piandao and Lin were conversing in Piandao's study room…

"We have sent the local students home", Yuu reported to Shin. "I told them it's because Master wanted to keep the flu from spreading. I have also sent several other students to the local inns using the same excuse."

"Good", Shin nodded. He then turned to Ren. "What about the ship?"

"One military steam-powered skiff, ready on the North Shore", Ren informed. "General Iroh said Lin should know how to operate it."

"Good", was all Shin could say before he caught the sight of a formation of a hundred homeland soldiers marching into their front gate led by a middle-aged man. He quickly ran towards the gate while the other two were busy herding the rest of the students who were happened to be in the front yard inside.

"What is the meaning of this?" Shin demanded, standing menacingly in front of the gate, barring the intruders entry.

Instead of answering immediately, Kargai pulled out a scroll that bore the mark of the Royal Family and read from it with authoritative tone. "By the order of Fire Lord Ozai, Piandao's School of Swordsmanship has been found guilty of harboring a criminal. The said criminal being Lin, the twenty sixth, suspected guilty in the crime of arson and destruction of natural resources, found guilty in the crime of travelling aboard without a pass, impersonating a soldier, disruption military communication, kidnapping—"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it!" Shin interrupted rudely. "But that doesn't give you the right to just barge in here without permission."

"You mean a warrant signed by the Fire Lord himself doesn't give me the right to just barge in this establishment?_ Hey don't close the gate!_"

Behind the closed gate, Shin, Ren, and Yuu were leaning against the gate, preventing the soldiers from pushing it open.

"You really suck at arguing, you know that?" Ren pointed out while the gate behind their back rocked violently.

"Shut up", Shin grumbled.

* * *

**Author's note:**

A new chapter. One more before the end of this Book.

Names:

1. Kargai, from Japanese 'kagai' (かがい) which means 'assault'

2. Oboro (曨) is Japanese for 'hazy' or 'vague'

To hpswst101, I really don't know what to say about your experience because, to be honest, I've never been through anything like that. It must have been awful.

That is also the reason why I prefer to stay on the neutral side. I simply don't understand why people would do things like that to each other; like bullying, hurting, belittling. I mean, is it because it's fun? Or is it something they can't live without? I just don't understand. What I do understand is no matter what the reason is, hurting people is wrong. This notion has become more and more outdated and ignored, I know. But the truth is the truth, no matter how old or obsolete it has become.

I hope everything is going well with you. And don't give up on your promise because no matter what standard is used to judge that, you are doing the right thing. :)

To xXxScarletxXxSakuraxXx, thanks for the review. Hope you enjoy this chapter.


	61. Chapter 60

**Chapter 60 – The Last Monday of Winter, Part 2**

**-Boy Leaves Girl- **

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

* * *

It was still midday but the sky was already darkening. Across the small underground river that runs from a secret passageway under Piandao's mansion to the Waterfall of Fairies a little farther to the north, on a small river boat, were Yuu and Zhong manning the boat, along with Yoku, escorting Lin. On the boat, Yoku was perching on the bow, handling a lantern for illumination in the dark tunnel while Lin, with a small travelling sack on his back, in his dark traveling robe, had a set of bow and a quiver of arrows ready. They were escaping to the northern shore where, according to Master Piandao, a military class steam-powered skiff had been prepared by General Iroh. Apparently, aside from wanting to talk to Piandao in person that morning, the other reason for Iroh's unexpected visit was to smuggle the skiff to the remote north shore of Shu Jing. He had said that he had a feeling that Lin would need it soon. And boy, was he right? General Iroh always knew stuffs!

"You know what you have to do, right?" Yoku turned to Lin, her voice trembling although she looked surprisingly calm.

"Yes", Lin nodded weakly.

A voice of the waterfall reached their ears. As they sailed farther and farther ahead, the noise got louder and louder until they could no longer hear themselves talking. The boat came to halt as the front bow bumped against bedrock; ahead was the veil of pure water in front of a large cave mouth. They were inside the waterfall.

Getting off the ship, the four of them went through the thin opening at the side of the mouth; the little mass of water splashing at them caused them to shudder a little. But, they didn't stop. They had little time to lose and so they resumed their march across the forest to the north. As they raced across the forest, Yoku in front, Lin in the middle, Yuu and Zhong at the rear, they arrived at a clearing; the one that Piandao often took them to for field trip. And on the clearing was…

"Halt!"

…a small unit of homeland soldiers. Fifty of them…

"The town is under martial law! Nobody is allowed to leave the house!" a young man, the unit ranking officer, judging from his differently colored shirt and shoulder pads, shouted. Judging from his and the other's uniforms which were sleeveless, their short pants, and the female soldiers who wore shirt that exposed their midriffs, and the fact that none of them were carrying weapons, Lin concluded that they were all firebenders.

"Sir, they're carrying weapons", a random soldier declared, pointing at Lin and the other.

"My, my", the officer grinned mockingly. "Breaking the restriction and now possession of weapons. You guys are in so much trouble. Soldiers, arrest them!"

"Sir!" the random soldier from before shouted again, this time pointing directly at Lin. "Sir! That's the fugitive Lin!"

"What? Which one is he?" the officer's grin faltered; he seemed more alert now. His amber eyes darted among Yuu, Lin, and Zhong.

"That one, sir! The shortest one in the middle!"

A vein popped on Lin's temple…

"What? That one?" the officer inquired loudly; eyes and finger stabbed at Lin's direction. "That midget wearing black robe?"

Another vein popped…

"Yes, sir! The one in the middle, that shrimp who carries a bow and arrows!"

Now, he was literally boiling…

"Guys", Lin drawled dangerously; hand already on Nightshade's handle. "Forgive me but I'm going to commit manslaughter now…"

"Calm down", Yuu moved closer to him; his hand was also ready on Petal.

"We have to fight through", Zhong stated, Viper ready at his side.

Around them, the soldiers had moved into a half circle formation in front of them; behind Lin and the others were the forest. Their way was blocked.

"Attack!" the officer roared; he and the soldiers launched fire blast at the same time with the same move. Before any of the swordsmen could react, Zhong leaped forward and slashed his iai-strike forward; thin long arc of refined fire trailed forward and collided with the numerous fire blasts right on the middle, striking them of their core power and robbing them of existence, resulting in a loud bang and thin smoke.

"You're a firebender?" Yuu asked incredulously.

"Yep", Zhong sheathed Viper calmly; the soldiers' awe was washed away as the last of the smoke dissipated into the thin air.

"You've never told us!" Yuu drew his sword, so did Lin and Yoku.

"You've never asked", Zhong managed to say before he launched forward onto the enemies. A battle between the two groups ensued…

* * *

"No", Zuko flatly refused.

"Come on", Azula didn't give up. "Just for tomorrow. It's not like I've asked a lot of things from you."

"No", Zuko didn't relent as well.

"Come on! You still owe me."

"Owe you what?" Zuko spat.

"Remember the time I helped splash you with water when you were swarmed by beetle-ants?"

"The same beetle-ants that you put on my pants?"

"Or the time I put off the fire on your bedroom?"

"The one that was caused by your defective ink-bomb?"

"Or when I pulled you out of the lake when we go fishing?"

"And who do you think pushed me into the lake in the first place?"

"You're missing the point!" Azula pouted. Zuko's stubbornness pushed her into launching her ultimate attack: the puppy dog eyes.

"Not gonna work on me, shrimp!" Zuko growled.

"Uncle!" Azula faked a sad dejected tone, draping off Iroh's shoulder from behind; Iroh's concentration on the Pai Sho game against the ship's captain was instantly shattered. "Zuzu doesn't want to come with me to the Fire Fountain Festival tomorrow…"

"Don't call me that!" Zuzu— um, Zuko yelled angrily.

"Now, now, Princess", Iroh smiled kindly, reaching out to pat the girl on the head. "If your brother doesn't want to come then there's nothing you can do about it."

"Make him want to come", Azula pouted, still stubborn; she squeezed Iroh's neck tighter as a form of persuasion.

"Princess", Iroh gripped his niece's arm lovingly; that was when he realized that Azula was grasping something on her hand, a pouch that he recognized at once: a silken red pouch with the words 艾洛 (Iroh) sewn on it with golden threads, an unmistakable fragrant scent of jasmine emanated from it; it was given to him on his fiftieth birthday by Ursa, his precious tea pouch that he used to keep his most precious and delicious of rare tea!

"Where did you—", Iroh tried to seize it but the Fire Princess was surprisingly quick.

"Make Zuzu come with me?" Azula grinned widely; one hand extended keeping the pouch away from the Dragon's clutch, the other hand still wrapped around her uncle's shoulder.

"Zuko", Iroh called without any hesitation. Zuko, who was leaning against the railing, turned to him.

"Zuzu", Azula whispered into Iroh's ear.

"Zuzu", repeated Iroh faithfully; Zuko's jaw dropped to the floor. "Your sister is going to the Fire Fountain City tomorrow. Go with her!"

"WHAT!" Zuko shouted at Iroh's impassive mug and Azula's cheeky smug.

"You've heard me. The both of you haven't spent enough time together lately; well, not including the times you spent trying to light each other on fire, that is", Iroh reasoned. "Going to the festival together might just be able to make up for those lost times."

"I don't want to!" Zuko refused angrily.

"Denied!" Iroh shot it down.

"I don't want to!" Zuko was getting frantic; he had to find a reason, any reason not to go. "I don't have any more money to spend on the festival!"

"Here's a hundred gold pieces", Iroh pulled from his sleeve a pouched full of money.

"I'll… take that, Uncle", Azula smoothly claimed it.

"I have to practice my firebending!" Zuko argued again.

"I can't train you tomorrow", Iroh mercilessly decided. "I will be sick for the remainder of the year."

…Which, in a way, would be true. But more on that later…

"What? But— but—", Zuko stuttered; his frantic amber eyes darted from Iroh who seemed unmovable and Azula who grinned mockingly at him. That was before he let out a frustrated scream and stomped his way back to his cabin. "Arrgh! You guys are crazy!"

"There", Iroh turned to Azula. "Now, give me back my tea."

* * *

Lin had just kicked away his second assailant when Yuu grabbed his collar and dragged him away from the spot. Led by the master of Petal, he dashed through the barricade; Zhong followed after he dispatched another soldier and Yoku was at the rear. Lin ran forward, following Yuu's back with Zhong closing in from behind him. He abruptly stopped as he realized Yoku had halted behind them, standing between them and the disoriented soldiers.

"Go!" Yoku shouted before any of them could say a word; with her back turned on Lin and the others, in front of her were the disorganized soldiers trying to reform their attack formation.

"No!" Lin shouted back. He tried to run back to Yoku's side but Yuu and Zhong each grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't!" Yuu jerked Lin's shoulder rather violently. "We have to go! Now!"

"But—"

"Enough Lin" Zhong tightened his grip also. "She's gonna get serious. When she's getting serious, you don't want to be nearby."

With that, Zhong ran ahead, spearheading the escape. He skidded to stop a few feet ahead when he realized none of the other two moved yet. Yuu, deciding it was time to go, forcefully pushed Lin by the shoulder, positioning himself at the rear to make sure the fugitive didn't do anything stupid. Lin, unable to do anything else, surrendered to Yuu's physical persuasion. The three of them resumed their march ahead toward the edge of the clearing, leaving Yoku behind.

Yoku herself stood impassively with her Blackthorn ready at her side; the winter breeze fluttered her black hair, giving her a dramatic look from behind. As Lin and the others were about to enter the forest, an explosion or battle cries made them turned back. Twenty feet away from them, right on the middle of the clearing, Yoku's slender frame could be seen standing firmly against the incoming wave of soldiers. She raised her Blackthorn sideways with both hands; right hand gripping the handle near the hand guard, the other hand grasping the part near the pommel.

A remainder about Blackthorn's handle, it was divided into two sections; the first part from the hand guard down to the middle of the handle was adorned with lozenge-shaped pearl inlay, the other half all the way to the carved golden pommel at the base was bare. As the enemies came closer, only a few meters away from her, Yoku twisted the bare part of the handle; yes, twisted. It was some sort of locking mechanism. The result? A sharp metallic click and the blade separated into numerous tiny blades connected together by a long black metal cord. Started from the five centimeters engraved part above the guard, the rest of the sword turned into a whip-blade.

Under normal circumstances, Lin would find Blackthorn's transformation interesting and he would definitely stop to watch Yoku fight using the unusual weapon. But, he was in no normal circumstances; he only had a chance to see Yoku swung the whip-blade at one soldier before Yuu pushed him ahead again. Turning his back on Yoku with heavy heart, Lin prayed to the spirits above for the woman's safety and victory.

At least he knew now why Zhong said they shouldn't be near Yoku when she was fighting seriously…

* * *

"Check mate", Iroh declared gleefully; extorting his prize by scratching his niece's cheek with powder. Judging from Iroh's clean face and Azula's pouting and powdery face, the score was… five… six… seven to zero on Iroh.

"Another one?" Iroh offered, juggling a lotus tile across his knuckle.

"This is boring", Azula complained. Wiping her face clean the best she could, she started to walked inside but Iroh caught her wrist.

"Hey, the deal is for ten rounds", Iroh reminded her. "We have three more to go."

"But it's boring", Azula complained, trying to pull her wrist free.

"In that case", Iroh pulled her closer, laughing, and dipped his finger on the box of powder on the table. "It's three more scratches."

"Not fair!" Azula giggled, trying and failing to defend her face against her uncle's attack. A little struggle ensued as Iroh, laughing boisterously, sat Azula on his lap and held her down while he smeared her cheek with powder and Azula giggling as she struggled against her uncle.

After awhile, the battle was over with Iroh, obviously, as the winner. Now, helping his niece wiping away the white powder off of her face, he decided to give one of his advices, the one concerning Zuko. Iroh was fully aware that dealing with Azula was not like dealing with Zuko; while Zuko still respond quite well to direct frontal admonition, when it comes to Azula, she had to be caught off guard first. And without Ursa or Lu Ten around, and now that Lin had also gone, Iroh was the only one with enough authority to counsel the Fire Princess on treating other properly; well, Iroh and Ozai, actually but we all know what kind of person Ozai was so he didn't count.

"Princess", Iroh started, his tone turned a little firmer. "Don't you think you should lay off on the pranks on your brother just a little bit?"

"Nope", Azula replied fast; her feet dangling above the deck floor.

"Please", Iroh mimicked a silly pouty pleading face.

"No", Azula giggled.

"Just a little", Iroh pleaded again; raising a hand that showed his index finger and thumb just a centimeter away from each other.

"No", Azula shook her head defiantly, still giggling.

"Why do you insist on going to the Fire Fountain Festival, anyway?" Iroh asked, shifting Azula on his lap for a more comfortable position; something solid and round inside Azula's pants pocket poked his thigh and somehow Iroh did not want to know what that was. _Must be one of her ink-bombs_.

"Because they're changing Fire Lord Azulon's statue with Dad's", Azula announced, rather proudly; the surprised look on her uncle's face was the bad kind of surprise but her mind of nine-year-old's thought otherwise.

"Really?" asked Iroh; _Ozai… what are you planning? How dare you!_

"Yup", Azula smile grew smugger. "Dad told me so. They're going to unveil the new statue tomorrow."

"I see", Iroh nodded; _unveiled! It has been done then_. Iroh couldn't help but grow more wary of his brother; the firebreathing statue of Fire Lord Azulon that was hosted in Fire Fountain City was sacred, at least to Iroh. It was Iroh who had been the one who inspected the construction of the statue back when he was a young man to commemorate his father's fiftieth birthday.

"And the reason why you want to bring your brother along?" Iroh asked suspiciously; no use crying over a spilled tea, he thought as he banished the statue of his mind.

"Because Mai will be coming too", Azula flashed a sly smirk at Iroh.

"Good one", Iroh chuckled; this time, it was for real. "That might just be the nicest thing you have ever done for your brother."

Azula shot him an accusing slit of her amber eyes. "If you're trying to get me to change my mind, it will never work."

They stared at each other for awhile before Iroh broke down laughing, accompanied by Azula. They sat in silence for a minute before Azula jumped down and started walking back to the cabin.

"Where are you going?" Iroh caught her wrist again.

"Dunno", Azula shrugged.

"Stay for awhile", asked Iroh, pulling the girl back onto his lap. Azula complied.

Above them, from the other side of the window three stories above, a pair of amber eyes glared at them, filled with unexplained jealousy.

* * *

"There's the ship!" Yuu heaved, pointing at the skiff that was parked on the edge of the beach.

He and the two others had been on the run for approximately an hour after they had to leave Yoku behind. They were tired but they had no time to waste. Led by Yuu, they pushed the vehicle back to the water, leaving a trail on the sandy beach. Just as they got to the water ankle deep, a shout from the beach snapped them of their work.

"You there! Stop!" a uniformed soldier shouted; he was leading a small group of people towards them.

"Get on", Zhong ordered Lin; Lin complied. Yuu drew Petal from his sheath while Zhong readied his Viper on his waist; Lin, however, was stricken by the fact that there were some soldiers who managed to get to them even with Yoku staying behind holding the line. _They must be a different group_, he frantically convinced himself. _There is no way Yoku would lose to anyone, right…?_

"Lin, go!" Yuu exclaimed; looking back, he grinned at Lin. "And don't worry about us. Just go and don't look back."

"I'm sorry, guys", Lin choked. He knew he had to go but leaving his friends just like that felt so… _wrong_.

But there was nothing more he could do; he could only trust. And besides, he had a much much more important thing to do. Steeling his heart against his conscience, Lin set the course away from the shore, leaving his two companions standing between him and the myriad of enemies. And, just as Yuu told him to, he didn't look back…

"Quite a lot of them", Zhong commented casually. The group of soldiers was marching towards them.

"Yeah", Yuu concurred, already assuming his combat stance.

"We haven't had our rematch yet", Zhong pointed out matter-of-factly. As the soldiers got closer, they fanned out to form a half circle formation around the two swordsmen.

"Aw, man!" Yuu groaned. "Can't you just let it go? It has been like forever!"

"It has only been two years", Zhong corrected. "And Master never even let us spar with each other."

"That's because the last time we spar, you nearly cut my head off", Yuu reminded him.

"I still want my rematch", Zhong ignored that. The soldiers were ready to strike now. "So don't you dare die on me."

With that, the two sides clashed…

Amidst the heat of battle, neither Yuu nor Zhong realized that Lin was setting sail to the west, not east.

* * *

The front gate of Piandao's mansion was rudely slammed open, the wooden bar set across it was snapped in two. The cause was none other than the makeshift battering ram made of what used to be a merchant cart, no doubt borrowed from the market, and a log of tree tied on top of it. Kargai and his men wasted no time to storm into the empty courtyard; empty save for four men standing at the other side of the yard, each with a sword ready: Master Piandao at the middle, his sword held upright on the ground in front of him by the pommel, Shin and Ren at his sides, both were ready to jump forward to protect their master if needed, and Fat the butler standing close behind Piandao, a sword strapped on his back and padded ornamented tray that hosted a golden-red colored scroll perched on his hands.

"Surround them! Surround the perimeter!" Kargai yelled his orders at his men. He turned to the defender of the school and ordered with every ounce of authority he could muster. "Surrender yourself, traitor Piandao!"

"Watch who you're calling a traitor, General", Piandao's tone might remain calm but a dangerous flame flickered in his hazel eyes. Piandao gestured his hand over his shoulder, prompting Fat to move closer and offer him the tray. Piandao took the scroll and rolled it open to show the intruders the content. "This is a formal amnesty signed by the late Fire Lord Azulon himself. I am no traitor."

Piandao was referring to his desertion from the army more than fifteen years ago. But…

"…Um, actually I was talking about you providing shelter to Lin, the twenty sixth", Kargai corrected.

…

"Oh, in that case, he went that way", Piandao shrugged flippantly, pointing at a random direction.

"No, Master", Ren rebutted, pointing at another random direction. "I'm pretty sure he went that way."

"No, actually…" Shin didn't wanna be left out; pointing Shark at another random direction. "… I kinda saw him going _that_ way."

"Hmm", Piandao stroked his beard. "An interesting phenomenon; the three of us saw him leaving for different directions. Ah, why don't we get inside and discuss this over a cup of tea. Fat, escort our guests out. And bring some spiced ginseng tea over to my study room later."

Piandao, Shin, and Ren had actually begun to walk inside when the noodle-brain Kargai finally realized he had been toyed with.

"Stop right there!" He roared angrily.

_Busted…_ Piandao, Shin, and Ren cursed in their minds. Turning around to face the soldiers, the three of them had a uniform nonchalant expression on their faces; it was as if Kargai and his men were no more than a bunch of weed that needed cleaning.

"You are heavily outnumbered! I have a hundred men on my side and you only have four! Surrender at once!" Kargai spat.

"Hmm, speaking of which, Master", Ren frowned, appeared to be in deep thought. "Didn't you defeat a hundred elite Royal Procession all by yourself five years ago?"

_Eh…?_ Kargai felt a punch on his gut. He had forgotten this fact…

"Right", Shin concurred. "And this is winter too, the season when firebenders are at their weakest."

_Oh, right…_ another jolt on Kargai's gut, this time accompanied by cold sweat and a sudden realization.

"And now, I have both of you on my side, two of my best students", Piandao added proudly. Turning to Kargai, he flashed the dumbstruck general a subtle threatening gaze. "Still think you can take us on?"

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me that Lin was hiding in Shu Jing?" Azula asked, still perching on the Dragon's lap; she was charging a flickering blue fire ball on her palm with her chi.

"Princess, when you are hiding, you usually don't want people to know where you are", Iroh shrugged it off, watching his niece launched the charged fireball at the ocean; the fireball was put off the instance it touched the surface of the water, leaving nothing but a puff of smoke. "Hmm, not enough power."

Iroh summoned a fireball of his own, orange, a _normal_ fire; pumping his chi into the flickering orange ball, he sent in forward with a palm thrust onto the ocean. The collision resulted in a rather loud boom and a significant water splash, almost like when a catapult shot landed on water.

"But why's Dad helping him?" Azula asked again, summoning another fireball. "I mean, he _is_ guilty, right?"

"Your father has his own reason", Iroh replied tactfully; no use muddling the princess's head with teeny tiny details for now. Iroh nearly added _'you just have to trust him'_; thankfully, he managed to stop himself in time. He, more than anyone, knew that his brother was _not_ someone anyone could trust.

"Did Zuzu know?" Azula's fire vanished into the thin air as she directed her full attention in getting an answer to this particular question; amber eyes shot her uncle a sharp inquiring look.

"Of course not", Iroh chuckled; in many ways, Azula was still childish, it would seem.

Azula summoned a new fireball and went through the same technique. Sending her charged fireball forward, it collided with the ocean and produced a small splash.

"Nicely done", Iroh praised. "Very good, Princess. And you got it in only five tries too."

"I'm ready for a new one", Azula demanded, grinning.

"Nope, not yet", Iroh flatly rejected, though he maintained his 'kind uncle, patient master' persona. "Keep practicing until you really get it."

Grumbling, Azula complied. Not that she actually hated her uncle for that or anything, she was just a little bit impatient. And, truth to be told, she kind of missed this peaceful moment with her uncle although she'd never admit it; her daddy would kill her if she did. Sure, she made jokes or remarks, sometimes rude or even cruel remarks about Uncle Iroh, like when she said something about Uncle Iroh didn't make back from war; but it didn't mean she actually didn't respect his skill as a firebender, right? I mean, she had been practicing with Uncle Iroh for the past few months; sure she was complaining at first but it was more because she had to level her pace with Zuzu not because Uncle Iroh was an incompetent teacher. And besides, Daddy Ozai once told her that there would be time when one must humble oneself to achieve greater success. This was one of those times...

"So, Princess, just out of curiosity", Iroh tried to sound as casually as possible. "What do you think of the young Lin?"

… and it made Azula's fireball missed the ocean and hit the ship's railing instead, causing a tiny explosion and an obvious singed spot on the ship.

"W-what?" Azula spluttered; she felt blood rushing all over her cheeks.

"Oh, nothing. Never mind", Iroh casually waved it off, smirking at his niece's crimson cheeks. "I just thought tha—_hey, where did you—! Why do you keep stealing my tea?_"

It was Azula who was grinning now, holding the tea pouch from before, that she had 'reacquired' from her uncle's sleeve pocket, away from the old man's reach.

"Okay, okay, I take my question back", Iroh said quickly, eyes focused on his precious pouch. "Give me my tea back."

"Here you go", Azula offered the tea pouch back gracefully; Iroh took it back in a flash.

As their ship sailed through the ocean, another ship, smaller but no less elegant, caught up to them. The ship, black and metal, bore the Imperial Crest on the deck; Iroh recognized it as one of the Royal Escort Squadron ships. As their ships came side by side, two old women could be seen standing on the deck, staring at Iroh and Azula with unreadable expression; two old women who looked alike enough to be twins, they were even wearing the same kind of robes and the same kind of hair ornament, even the same hairstyle. Their stares held on for a few more second before the ladies bowed down a formal Fire Nation bow; Iroh nodded curtly in return while Azula just stared at them with an obvious confused look.

"You know them, Uncle?" Azula asked as the other ship sailed ahead.

"Something like that", Iroh managed to force a smile. In his mind, though, he was being reminded (again) of how little he actually knew of what his brother had in mind. The Royal Master Instructors… just what exactly Ozai wanted them to do?

* * *

"Just remember, you #$%! I'll get you next time!"

And many more unholy curses sprouting out of Kargai's trap, echoing father and father away as his legs carried himself along with his men away from Piandao's mansion. Turns out, Iroh was right: Kargai was a completely useless idiot. Upon the verbal spar by Piandao, Kargai, subtly at first, weaseled his way out of the mansion, all the while trying to save what little dignity he could still possibly have by throwing insults; Piandao and his students ignored these completely. He and his students still standing menacingly in front of the mansion while Fat sauntered his way to the front gate.

"Master?" Ren asked.

"Just a little bit more", Piandao replied, not moving a muscle.

And as the gate was slammed shut by Fat.

"Phew", Shin sighed, slumping down on the ground. Ren also crouched down while Piandao sat down slowly; relief was all over their faces. "That was _close_."

"Way too close", Ren concurred; he let the gravity dragged his back to the ground.

"Luckily he didn't know I had quite a lot of lucky shots when I fought the hundred elite soldiers back then", Piandao smirked, resting his sword on his lap. "Also, I didn't have this cold back then. *snort*"

"And I've never fought firebenders before", Ren added, slumping his back on the cold stoned ground.

"And I sprained my ankle last night", Shin confessed; putting Shark down on the ground, he rubbed his right sore right ankle. "Do you think Lin got away safely, Master?"

Instead of answering immediately, Piandao cast a tired look on the darkening cloudy sky above; oh, how he wished he was as gifted as Iroh or Jeong Jeong were, how he wished he could 'see' things like those two. Instead, he could only say: "Yes, Shin, I'm pretty sure he did…"

…and offered his pupil and himself that empty hopeful thought, because, if Lin really inherited his grandmother's eagerness to fight any trouble head-on, that kid must be in a heap of trouble by now.

Luckily, Piandao's hopeful statement wasn't off the mark. Well, not entirely…

* * *

"How was it like being in the military, Uncle?" Azula asked casually, another blue fireball on her hand, feeding off her chi.

"Hmm, let's see", Iroh pretended to be in deep thought; this particular question coming from his niece was… Iroh could only describe it as 'disturbing'. "Well, to be honest, it was not fun at all."

_Yeah, like she's gonna buy that…_

"So, why did you serve in the army since you were a teenager?"

_See…_

"I was merely trying to fulfill my duty to our Nation", the truth this time; Iroh's expression as he watched his niece on his lap, sending the charged fireball on the ocean was that of lethargy and even regret and shame… "Turns out, there are many other ways to serve my country without joining the army. Like what I'm doing now: politics."

"I'm gonna join the army one day", Azula announced, almost proudly, staring deep into the flickering fireball on her palm; the look on her face was deep and profound, determined.

"Hmm, so you are going to defend our Nation from outer invasions, then?" Iroh guessed. Well, not really, more like persuaded; hoping by saying it he could plant the idea on his niece's mind. Most female soldiers were employed in the Homeland Defense Force and, moreover, since the legendary Izumi, the Dragon Princess, not many Fire Princesses had been even interested in martial art, let alone joined the army.

"No", Azula shook her head a little; her conviction seemed to taint her flame as the fireball sparked more violently on her palm. Iroh could have sworn he actually _heard_ the fire flickered louder. "I'm going to join the main army. I'm going to attack Ba Sing Se and conquer it."

As she finished her sentence, Azula sent her charged fireball forward; her palm thrust was sharper and more violent than before. Her fire, as if resonating its mistress will and determination, caused an explosion and a splash nearly the same magnitude as Iroh's.

"Ba Sing Se, eh?" Iroh's voice trailed slowly. "Why Ba Sing Se? That city is… well, not so easy to conquer. And I'm talking from experience."

'_Because they killed Lu Ten'_ was what Azula was dying to say. But even as the thought crossed her mind, the mean voice in her head started screaming words like 'emotions are for the weak!', Daddy does not like weakness', 'Daddy said anything a Fire Princess does must be for the benefit of our glorious Fire Nation', and many more… most of them revolved around Ozai and his wishes.

"Because I want to", Azula decided to settle on this more neutral answer; her throat felt dry for some reason as the words slid through her lips. A sense of awkwardness swept through her spine, prompting her to leap down from her Uncle's lap and ran back to her cabin, leaving Iroh who watched her departure with a mysterious look on his face.

Sighing deeply, Iroh got up. Stretching his slightly numb legs for a moment, he walked forward to the ship's bow, casting a heavy look at the thunder roaring on the horizon. Long he stayed there, letting the salty sea air hit his face. For all he knew, that very wind could the last he could enjoy and yet it had to be the ocean air, the one that would always remind him on that fateful trip to Ba Sing Se on which he made the biggest mistake a father could have ever made: bringing his own son to the battlefield. It would seem that even the spirit had stopped favoring him, he snickered bitterly as he added. _Not that I don't deserve this_.

He stayed there for the remainder of the voyage home. As the ship hit the land, he led his niece and nephew, who seemed to be unusually indifferent although each for their own reasons, down the ship to the pier. Just as they were about to enter their palanquin, Iroh cast another look at the ominous dark clouds on the horizon. A storm was brewing…

_Don't die on me, Young Dragon…

* * *

_

Know the saying 'even a dumb mule won't fall on the same hole twice'? It means even a stupid person won't do the same mistake twice. Now, if we think about this from a different angle, it would mean that a smart person _could_ commit the same mistake twice, right?

"AAAARRGGGH!"

Well, Lin wasn't stupid; more than once he had been described as 'bright', 'a genius', 'a prodigal intellect', and many more by friends and foes alike. So, being a smart guy, he was allowed to commit the same mistake more than once, right?

"I HATE YOU, OCEAN!"

…Yeah, he forgot that winter ocean is stormy. Again…

His skiff made a huge splash as it landed roughly on the water. Lin was holding for dear life on the steering wheel. Darn it… what the hell did he ever do to the Ocean Spirit to deserve such treatment.

"ARRGGGHHH!" his scream pierced the stormy sky as his ship was catapulted forward by a humungous wave.

* * *

"The weather's rather awful today", Bing peeked out of the window, sitting under her blanket on her bed.

"Mom, close the window", Biao chirped in. "The cold wind's not good for you."

Smiling weakly, Bing obeyed. Back to laying down, she let her daughter pulled the thick comfortable blanket over her shoulder. Ever since she witnessed her nephew 'went crazy and kidnapped a young innocent girl at knife-point', her health seemed to be going down a notch. Not many sickly ladies could take that kind of shock unscathed…

"How are you feeling today, Mom?" Biao asked softly, sitting down on the floor beside the bed and resting her chin of the bed.

"I feel better", Bing replied just as softly; there was no need to burden the girl more than she already had. "Lady Wen's medicine works wonder."

"I'm glad to hear that", Biao took her mother's nearly skeletal hand and put it on her cheek.

"Have you heard anything about Lin?" Bing had lost count on how many times she had asked that question but she could not bring herself to stop asking. She had this stupid belief that if she asked often enough, she would get a 'yes, he's doing fine'.

"No, Mom", Biao shook her head sadly.

Sighing heavily, Bing rubbed her daughter's cheek softly, comforting her; she knew that as much as she cared about Lin, Biao probably cared more. With Biao being the only girl in her generation and Lin losing his mother and, in some way, his father at an awfully early age, it was understandable that the both of them had become some sort of outcasts among their many cousins and only had each other to turn to. As the matter of fact, Lin and Biao grew up more like siblings than cousins despite their huge age gap of nearly ten years.

Bing closed her eyes, appeared to be falling to sleep; but, she wasn't sleeping, she was praying.

_Lian_, she begged. _Watch over your son…

* * *

_

Back in Shu Jing…

"Do not worry, Master Piandao", Mai's uncle, the Minister of Art and Education, a middle-aged man whose hair had started to whitened, assured Piandao. "I will bring this matter to the Council. Kargai's action will not go unpunished."

"Thank you, Minister", Piandao bowed down, pretending to be grateful. He knew all too well that Kargai's assault was not a rogue action, unlike the minister's assumption. "I appreciate this."

"Of course, of course", the minister laughed airily. Boy, he was gonna get into so much trouble, thought Piandao.

"A storm is coming", Piandao informed, looking out on the sky above the coutyard. "Will you stay for tonight?"

"No, Master", the minister politely refused the offer. "My ship is one of the finest in the Nation. She can go up against any storm any time of the day."

As the minister went on with his boasting his ship to Piandao who skillfully carved a fake interest on his face, Mai sighed. _Men… Always about sports or weapons or fighting or ships… they are such boring creatures._

Trying to entertain herself, Mai looked around for something interesting; the wall, the window, the sky outside the window, the floor… and stumbled upon the dark hooded figure hiding behind the beam. A figure wearing some sort of hooded armor-garb, a ninjato strapped on the back. The figure was wearing a black mask under the hood, adding more mysterious aura around him or her.

And before Mai could even open her mouth, the figure leaped out and launched his or herself at Master Piandao, a wickedly sharp dagger ready on one hand and piked knuckled duster worn on the other.

—CLANK—

Piandao's quick reflexes, fortunately, did not fail him that day; his unsheathed sword met with the assassin's blade. The minister, who was standing so dangerously close to the sudden battle zone, nearly tripped himself when he scurried himself backward, away from the fight. He was no combatant but with his wife and niece in possible danger, he found the courage to stand in front of them, shielding them from any possible danger. His wife cowered behind his back but his niece was not so keen on having her view blocked by the man. Mai took a peek on the exchanged blows between Piandao and the assassin but it did not last longer than two seconds. Shin and Ren, who had noticed the noise, came rushing with blades ready; the assassin threw a smoke grenade and disappeared into oblivion, leaving the dumbfounded would-be victims behind.

Shin and Ren continued their pace towards the minister and his family, shielding them from any possible attacks. Piandao himself was still at battle ready, suspecting another blow. After fifteen seconds and nothing happened, Piandao ordered Shin and Ren to escort the minister and his family back to his ship while he ordered Fat to send the students back to their rooms early. He himself made his way to the front yard where he proceeded to stand tall and pridefully on purpose, hoping that the assassin, if he was still there, would take the bait and assault him, and only him.

Two seconds and three blows… he took note of the earlier confrontation. Two seconds and three blows. It wasn't much but it was enough for Piandao. One of his unique advanced training was what he called 'snap landscaping' in which he made his senior students made a drawing of a landscape only after seeing it for a second or two; a technique he had learnt during his travel from a hermit monk in the Earth Kingdom. The purpose of this training is to train the mind and the eye to act and react quicker; a really useful skill in battle. And what made Piandao a role model for all teacher even until this very day was the fact that he had never been one of those 'do what I say and not what I do' teachers; you know, the ones who order their students to do this and that but never actually set a real example for the students. Piandao had never been such teacher, he practiced what he taught and the result of this particular training aided him greatly against this particular opponent.

Because, although it had only gone for two seconds and three blows, it long enough for Piandao to noticed the intricated pattern on the assassin's mask: the mask of black tortoise with a small nearly invisible Fire Nation insignia on the forehead.

"I really hate dealing with royalties…"

He turned around, unsheathing his sword along the way; behind him, four other hooded figures froze instantly. One of them, the one wearing a black mask, a black oni mask, unlike the previous one, froze ten feet away from him with a dagger raised high; behind him was another black-oni masked figure, the other two were wearing green oni masks. Piandao, with his sharp hazel eyes fixed on his would-be killers, swung his sword to the side, slicing the arrow that was intended to hit his neck in two, an arrow that was shot by yet another hooded figure who was perching on the tree at the side of the courtyard, a distance away from his spot, a figure who was wearing a red oni mask.

"You want me?" he pointed his sword at the four figures before him. "Come and get me."

The figures leaped at him, so did Piandao at them…

* * *

"I'll take you home", Jiang offered.

"I'll be fine", Lady Wen smiled it off. She landed a peck on Jiang's cheek and pranced off to the front gate where a small unit of Lin Family's guards was waiting, ready to escort the young lady back home on a carriage. It was still early, just a little after lunchtime, but Young Lady Wen had decided to go home. The storm that was brewing on the horizon didn't permit her to stay longer, it would seem.

Peeking out of the screen that covered the window from the cold breeze outside, Lady Wen cast an uneasy look at the ominous cloud on the horizon, praying that the storm wouldn't bring anything bad for the Nation.

* * *

There he was, on the same spot nearly four months ago, laying on the sandy beach lifelessly after receiving the same treatment from the ocean, the same treatment eh had received nearly four months ago. The ocean must have really hated him…

But if you think the young Dragon's victory this time was more or less the same as the last one, then my friends, you are sorely mistaken. Because… Ta-da! His ship was not wrecked! Well, sure, there were some dents and bruises here and there and everywhere but it looked… well, _rideable_. And it was still in one piece too; unlike the skiff Chey left him. It left Shu Jing as one big chunk and arrived at the main island in a hundred smaller pieces.

Forcing himself up, our young hero wobbled his way back to the ship. He had secured all his belongings on a wooden chest that was bolted onto the ship's floor; he had a bad feeling all along that it was going to be a bumpy ride and he was right. In the chest was a sack filled with some of his 'neutral' clothes (either black or white, colors that are not aligned to any nations), several scrolls that contains his ancestor's death poem, his mother and grandmother's portraits, and first aid kit. Let's see… he wouldn't be needing any of those for now and… ah, he almost forgot. There was a thing he should store inside the chest and another thing he should bring with him. He pulled the jade flute he always carried around, strapped on his sash; around it, a red handkerchief and a sooty blood-stained white armband were tied.

It had been her grandmother's and whenever he had it with him, he always felt the old lady's presence around him, always with him; all the more reason to leave it behind on this occasion. Because if his prediction were right, his grandmother would not be proud of what he was about to do…

And he extracted from the chest a small pouch; inside the pouch was something that had been his, something that was no longer his possession. Something that he must return to its rightful owner…

Securing the pouch on his sash, Lin took a dark hooded robe and put it on. Grasping Nightshade on one hand, he ignored his aching body and restless soul; he kept his mind focused on just one thing…

The Imperial City…

* * *

The Imperial Palace…

Azula was in the training room, rehearsing the advanced firebending kata with so much ease. And guessed who was overseeing her training on the side? Hint: Azula was smirking… Yep, Daddy-Lord Ozai somehow called off that day's war meeting to attend to his one and only daughter's firebending training that he had neglected for almost the entire winter. And seeing his pride and joy, his _perfect_ daughter dancing along with her _perfect_ blue flame, Ozai couldn't help but smirk. He didn't smile; he had lost that ability long time ago. There he was, sitting a safe distance away in his training attire (shirtless and shoeless despite the cold weather outside, two armlets locked on the upper ends of his biceps, and his loose red training pants) unable to peel his eyes away from his daughter, his _perfect_ daughter, and her blue flame.

Sending a double flying fire spin kicks, Azula fell into an Agni Kai bow, finishing her kata _perfectly_. She smugly turned to her father as if asking his opinion on her prowess; Ozai grinned proudly at her. Why didn't he? It was perfect, everything was perfect: the firebending kata, his daughter, the fluid movements, his daughter, the blue flame, his daughter. Everything, absolutely everything was _perfect_. Daddy's little girl…

Ozai patted the seat beside him, wordlessly ordering his daughter to come and sit by his side; an order that Azula more than gladly complied. Receiving the cup of hot tea her father offered, Azula took a sip out of it still with her smile lingering on her face. Finally! After nearly four months, she had her father training her again! No more Uncle and his annoying 'do until you truly get it' way of teaching, no more Zuzu and his slow improvement that dragged her down with him; from now on it would only be her and her daddy.

"Azula, my dear Azula…" Ozai drawled; the traces of his earlier grin were still obvious on his face. "That is the last kata of the advanced form of our firebending style. You know what this means, right?"

"That means I'm going to start learning the _master level _forms?" Azula squalled, beaming.

"Exactly", Ozai chuckled. He snapped his finger, signaling the two ladies who had been standing outside the training room's door to enter. Azula's smile faltered a bit; she recognized those two old ladies as the ones she had seen at sea. Ozai introduced them as they bowed a polite Fire Nation bow on both of royalties. "These are Li and Lo; they are the Royal Master Instructors. Starting form tomorrow, I will not teach you anymore; they will take my place instead. As Royal—"

But Azula wasn't listening anymore. The last of her smile faded away, her mind had stopped working at the part where Ozai announced that he would stop teaching her.

_I will not teach you anymore… _

_I will not teach you anymore… _

_I will not teach you anymore…_

"Why?" her mind screamed; sadly, so did her mouth.

Ozai frowned at her dumbstruck expression; Ozai hated it when somebody interrupted him. But, then again, Azula's reaction indicated just how much she had grown attached to him more and more each day, how she craved for him, for his recognition, for his acknowledgment… for his _love_. It pleased him…

"Azula", Ozai spoke softly, like a good father he was not; he placed his palm on the girl's shoulder, feeling it trembled with emotions. "Listen carefully. Li and Lo are good teachers. They used to teach me and your uncle when we were younger. You make sure you listen to them and learn well, understand?"

"Yes, D—_Father_", replied Azula with stifled sadness. A close one… never call him 'dad', especially in front of people. "I understand."

"Good", Ozai nodded, a broad satisfy smirk adorned his face. Haha! Perfect, nothing short of perfection! Perfect! Perfect! A part of him was convinced that Azula would start crying and screaming like when he had missed her (insignificant) firebending performance few months ago but look at her! Calm and collected, just like how a Fire Princess should be. Perfect! Sure her eyes were a bit sparkly, probably from holding back tears, and her lower lip trembled a bit but aside from that, she was doing perfectly! Just one flaw, one small flaw… there would be a lot of time to fix that later.

Ozai rose from his seat, putting on a robe; Azula also got up, still with forced indifference on her face. Ignoring Li and Lo, who remained silent the whole time, both royalties made their ways out of the room where, after an overly polite 'see you at diner' between the two, Ozai pranced his way back to his room while Azula walked, at first, to her own room. When she was sure nobody was around, she ran, letting his feet carry her back to her room and her tears to fall down on her cheeks.

* * *

It had been only an hour after dinner, a rather pathetic one since neither Ozai nor Azula joined in. Iroh was on the training ground, standing in the middle with his tired eyes closed. When he opened it again, however, his eyes were those of a Dragon's: piercing and intimidating, his amber orbs burning with determination. He proceeded to perform a master level kata; orange flame sparked around him, flying and dancing, heating the cold night weather around the training ground.

Fire punch here, double fire palm thrust there… his movements were surprisingly fast and powerful for someone so old and out-of-shape. The Dragon of the West was indeed not merely an empty title. As Iroh finished his kata and the last of his flame flickered off, he brought his hands together in front of him and made a gesture as if pushing the air down as he released a deep breath, calming his raging chi. It had been awhile since he actually practiced his firebending, aside from his daily meditation. The time had not been kind to him…

But it mattered not. He was ready… he had to be!

"Shouldn't you be in your room, studying?" Iroh called to a certain Fire Prince who was hiding behind a bush behind him.

Zuko emerged from his hiding place, grinning guiltily. Ignoring his uncle's question, he ran up to him enthusiastically.

"Can you teach me that move?"

"No."

Zuko grumbled and pouted, Iroh laughed; one of the rare genuine laughs he let out ever since Ba Sing Se.

"You still need to work on your basics, Zuko, before you can learn a technique of this caliber", he advised sagely.

"Basics? Again?" Zuko whined. _Not fair! Azula's got to learn a new move already on the ship!_ He could've used this statement to guilt-attack his uncle into teaching him this new move but… Prince Zuko was not such person. Bowing, he fell into a wide central stance and started punching jabs of fire, still pouting. Iroh nodded approvingly, every now and then pointing out some part that could be improved to the young Fire Prince.

Meanwhile, on another place inside the vast mansion, Fire Princess Azula was sobbing on her bed. The shocking news of how her father had decided to stop training her sent an insufferable shock on her. Watching as yet another drop of tear rolled down her cheek onto the pillow, she wondered what she had done wrong to deserve such 'punishment'.

* * *

At the same time, in a cemetery, a boy clad in a black travelling robe was standing solemnly in front of a headstone. From afar, one might mistake the dark hooded silhouette of him and his fluttering dark robe as the Spirit of Nightcrow; but Lin was no spirit. He was there simply as a boy, a boy who had not been visiting his grandmother's grave as often as a filial grandchild should, a boy who had been through much and was starting to be swept away by those burden and hardship he had been shouldering faithfully for the past three years of his life, a boy whose past three years had been lived without the much needed guidance of Umma by his side.

"I'm sorry, Grandma", Lin closed his eyes, trying not to cry. "I don't know what else to do. I'm sorry…"

* * *

It was night, midnight. The temperature went down a few degrees since that evening when she finally arrived home, enough to turn her breath into vapor. Rarely did Mai feel so glad being in her boring but properly heated room, that night was one of those rare occasions. She was sitting absentmindedly on her bed, twirling a sharp throwing knives (that she kept hidden from her mom) almost lazily; already in her sleeping robe and her blanket, her usual hair buns untied, her long hair flowed freely over her shoulder. But she couldn't sleep. That afternoon in Piandao's School of Swordsmanship had been the closest she had ever got to a real fight. She had actually spotted the black-hooded figure before anybody did and what had she done about it? She froze…

Why did she freeze? She had had his weapons with her, she was proud of her skill, she knew her skill was for real. She could hit a fly on the wall with one shot of her throwing knife, her ten-shots-ten-hits record still stood unbroken. And when it came to the real fight, she froze!

A rattling sound from one of her opened window snapped her of her thought momentarily. Though it was stormy outside, with wind blowing strong enough to blow a mid-sized child away, she let one of her windows opened. She liked it that way; the cold wind on one side of the room and the warm heater on the other side. She remembered how Ty Lee once mentioned that it was probably one of the reasons why Mai was so cold, because she always had the inclination towards 'cold stuffs' like stormy winds, ice cream, or bathing with cold water in the morning. The fact that she was actually born in winter only reinforced the idea; heck, even Lin thought so when he learnt Mai's birthday from Ty Lee and Azula.

—STABBED—

"Whoa!"

Speaking of the devil…

"What are you doing in my room?" Mai demanded, colder than the windy winter outside. The knife she had just thrown embedded itself on the wall just an inch above Lin's head.

"Erm… saying goodbye", Lin grinned nervously, wary of the fact that there was another knife ready on Mai's hand. _Does this girl go to sleep with knives on both hands?_

"Goodbye?" Mai arched a brow. _Goodbye… after promising Azula to go to the Fire Fountain City tomorrow…? He's got guts, alright._

"I'm leaving for the Earth Kingdom soon", Lin informed, still flat on his back against the wall, not daring to move a muscle; it might provoke Mai into throwing the other knife.

"What about tomorrow?" asked Mai; though it seemed that she didn't care, she did. Not every day she was in the presence of anyone who dared break a promise on Princess Azula.

"I'm gonna have to pass", Lin shrugged.

"…Is that all?" Mai asked again, flatly this time.

"Pretty much", Lin grinned again.

"Why are you saying goodbye to me?" sighed Mai. She put the knife on her nightstand, prompting Lin to ease up a bit. "What about Azula and Zuko?"

"I'm going to their place next", said Lin.

"And why are you saying goodbye in the first place? Wouldn't it be safer if you just run to the Earth Kingdom?"

"Mai, I'm not Ty Lee…"

A thunder roared outside the window as if on cue; Lin and Mai stared at each other in silence. Ty Lee, of course… she went without saying goodbye to anyone, not even to Mai. If only General Iroh hadn't brought Mai to Shu Jing…

"Safe journey", said Mai, averting her eyes and awkwardly twirled her long hair.

"Thanks", Lin replied. "Now, a word of advice: stop throwing knives at random people."

Mai gave him a look.

"Seriously", Lin frowned at her nonchalant face. "If you missed just a little back there, I'd be dead by now."

"…How did you know I wasn't actually aiming for your head?"

"…You're insane."

"Get out."

* * *

It was midnight but Jiang wasn't sleeping. He was sitting on in his room, reading a (boring) scroll pertaining the latest report on the war with a cup of hot spiced tea on one hand. Taking a sip of the heavenly warmth, he let the liquid flow down his throat and worked its magic to warm his system from the inside. Spirits blessed the creator of spiced tea…

At normal circumstances, he would be sleeping by now; he had never been the one who sleep in late, especially in winter. Furthermore, he had a date tomorrow, to the unveiling of fire-breathing statue of Fire Lord Ozai in Fire Fountain City. Not that he actually cared but as a general under the Fire Throne, he had to at least show up to honor the event. And because he knew it would be boring he decided to invite Young Lady Wen to come along. They could spend some time on the city afterwards or something. That was his plan until one of those royal assassins showed up bearing news from General Iroh. Jiang was told to expect a visit from his son later that night.

It left Jiang with mixed feeling. A part of him was happy with the prospect of meeting his son again after such a long time, another part worry for this risky venture, and the other part cursing Iroh for (supposedly) making his son come back to the Imperial City. Seriously, making a top-class fugitive come to the Imperial City, the old Dragon must have finally gone senile.

But then again Lin had become an expert at sneaking around thanks to his assassin training. But still, a father worries for his son, that's the fact. Jiang was dying of worry for Lin. Closing his eyes solemnly, he prayed to the heaven above.

_Lian, keep him safe…

* * *

_

A girl's room sure is different from boy's, huh? Lin thought as he cast a look around the vast chamber. Everything was so neat and clean and… _girly_. The only girl's room he had ever been into was Biao's and there was no significant difference between Biao's room and average boy's room, really; walls covered with posters of her favorite plays, a singed spot here and there from the time she was practicing firebending in her room, a pair of ornamental tiger-hook swords hanging on the wall. Biao's room lacked the feminine persona Lady Wen's room had; like flowers and frilly curtains, and the absence of sharp objects hanging on the wall.

The young lady herself was sleeping peacefully on her bed, safe and warm under her thick blanket, totally unfazed of the stormy night outside and unaware that Lin was now kneeling beside her bed so close to her. He stayed there for a minute, trying to string his words together, wondering whether he should wake her or not. Probably not, he decided. The last time they saw each other, the circumstances were a little unusual; it was when he 'kidnapped' Ty Lee. Maybe it was better this way, at least he wouldn't be interrupted.

"When my dad started dating again", Lin whispered; he had to start talking at one point, right. "He— _we_ kinda tried to sabotage each and every one of the dates, you included. Er… sorry…"

Lin paused, scratching his head guiltily. Lady Wen was still sleeping peacefully so Lin continued.

"You see, my dad… he loved my mom, he still does", whispered Lin. "I don't know what he feels about you. I mean… well… you— you're awesome but you're not her. You're not my mom."

Lady Wen shifted in her sleep but didn't wake up.

"You guys have been dating for two years— well, one of them spent miles apart when he was in a military campaign, yeah. But… I don't know how to say this…"

Lin rubbed his forehead, trying to think up the proper words. He couldn't, so he opted to simply put it the best way he could…

"My dad… he might be conflicted between his love for my mom and for you. Also, he's worried about how I might take it if he marries you, so… you know…"

Lin braced himself. He brought his grasping hand forward toward Lady Wen's face slowly…

"My dad still loves my mom (his hand slowly but steadily moved…). And no matter what, you… you are not my mom (his knuckle twitched as the last part but didn't stop…), you can never be like my mom (close enough to feel Lady Wen's breath on his bare knuckle now…)."

He placed his hand down on the bed, still in knuckle form.

"But, Lady Wen", Lin smiled. "You are the best we have so far."

He unclenched his fist and let the thing he was grasping laying on the bed: a black and white beaded bracelet, the one that had been his father's.

"My dad might still be hesitant about marrying you", Lin restated. "But, you have my blessing. Welcome to the family…"

He got up and smiled, feeling a tinge of sadness and relief. Hmm… a strange combination. But, in this particular occasion, he couldn't dislike it. He started to walk towards the opened window from whence he crept in when his eyes caught the sight of a bunch of red roses on a flower vase perching on the lady's nightstand, he paused. Flowers, eh? It couldn't hurt to bring one to the palace, thought Lin.

"Do you mind?" Lin asked the sleeping lady. No answer means 'yes'… "Thanks."

He picked one of the flowers and slipped it gently into his robe pocket. He continued his exit only to pause as he perched on the window frame, ready to jump down. He looked back at Lady Wen and smiled again. Right, he forgot to say something. "I'm going to the Earth Kingdom. I don't know when I'll be back so… well… take care of yourself."

And he jumped.

Lady Wen waited for about ten seconds to make sure Lin was really gone before she opened her eyes, her teary eyes, and sat up. Taking the bracelet Lin left her to her chest, she let a warm tear fall down to her lap.

"You too, kid…"

* * *

It was midnight already… Zuko turned to the sky above. Wow… that's the longest night training he had ever been in. No wonder Uncle Iroh told him to stop and go to sleep before he himself retreated back to his chamber; Zuko ignored him, obviously. Zuko was now alone in the training ground, sweating and heaving, hot all over his body despite the windy winter night. He hated training in winter, the cold weather made his firebending weak. But after seeing Uncle Iroh's firebending display earlier, seeing how unfazed the Dragon's flame had been by the cold weather, he knew he just had to try. Lin himself had told him once about the importance of keeping his training going in winter, something about training in harsh condition brings more result, or something like that.

Maybe Lin was right, after all. Zuko punched another fire blast. It seemed weaker than his normal fire in summer but not _that_ weak anymore! Haha! He made another improvement. Just you wait, Azula. I'll get to—

Azula… Azula! Oh, no! He had promised to go with her to the Fire Fountain City tomorrow. Dang! He forgot.

Zuko was about to go back to his room to secure some time to sleep when another thought hit his mind; the fact that he had been tricked into the promise. Now, continue practicing till morning and oversleep the next morning or stop practicing now and wake up in time in the morning to go with Azula to the Fire Fountain City. Hmm… now that's a toughie. NOT!

Zuko walked the hallway leading to his room without the slightest of hesitation. Sure, Azula might deserve to be let down but Zuko was not really that kind of brother. Sacrificing a night training for Azula… as crazy as it sounded, Zuko chose this option. And besides, didn't his mom tell him to be nice to Azula? Also, Zuko was a Fire Prince and a Fire Prince honors his promise.

He could only hope Azula wouldn't put anything dead on his bed again from now on…

* * *

"You're finally here", Jiang said almost casually, sipping on his tea in his room.

"Your senses are improving", Lin commented, stepping out of the shadow.

"Your Aunt Bing is sick again", Jiang informed as Lin sat down on the other side of the table and poured himself a cup of tea. "Make sure to visit her in the morning."

"I can't, sorry", replied Lin, staring deep into his father's eyes.

"You're going?" Jiang guessed. "The Earth Kingdom?"

"The only place to go", Lin gulped down half of his cup in one go.

"You're going to join your grandfather?"

"No. The Fire Lord will arrange something for me. It's for the Nightshade Lovers Club's… err, _activity_."

"I see."

Lin gulped down the rest of his cup and got up. Jiang arched an inquiring brow at him.

"Not even a game before you go?" he offered, patting the folded Pai Sho board on the table.

"I can't, Dad", Lin shook his head. "I have things to do before I go. I'm just here to say goodbye."

"…Son, sit down", Jiang ordered. He looked more solemn.

"Dad, I—"

"No buts. Sit down."

Lin frowned a little at his father before he sat down again. Jiang spent the next few seconds in silence scrutinizing his son, noticing how older and more mature he had become; no longer the snotty ten year old brat who could always made him feel proud and irritated at the same time. No longer his son he had abandoned for ten years, ten years he had been lost forever. And now that he thought he finally got his chance to make up for those lost ten years, ten years that he could never get back, his son was taken away from him. It wasn't fair…

"Son, listen to me", Jiang started, sounded unusually tired. "I know that I have not always been there for you. You had to grow up without knowing how it feels like to be loved by your father and it was all my fault—no, let me finish!"

Lin closed his mouth, respecting his father's order. Jiang continued.

"And just when I thought I could make up for it, you have to leave", Jiang sighed. "You don't know how sorry I feel, how useless I think of myself as your father. I cannot protect you from the world anymore, nor have I prepared you enough for it, I am very very sorry, son…"

He waited for Lin's respond but the boy had none to offer.

"The only one you can depend on now is General Iroh", Jiang continued. Was it an angry flame that just passed his son's eyes…? I must be sleepy, Jiang told himself. I'm starting to hallucinate. "I don't know why but I think he's on our side. My father trusts him, my mother did too. Personally, I don't know him very well but I know that I can trust him too. And now, he's the only one with enough power to keep you safe. So, I guess, you should trust him too."

"I do, Dad", Lin replied. _Was he growling…?_

"Good", Jiang rose from his seat. Towering over his son, he continued more snappishly this time; his resemblance to Jeong Jeong became more pronounced. "Remember your training. It is your greatest weapon against any adversaries you might come across along this path."

Lin got up and bowed, bowed as a student should to his master. Jiang still didn't know about Lin losing his connection to his inner fire…

"Don't forget to brush your teeth every night before going to sleep", Jiang choked. "Don't forget to pray for your mother and grandmother, too."

Lin didn't raise his head, he felt his own tears swelling up on her eyes.

"And if one day you found girls around you suddenly seem so attractive, don't you worry about it. It's normal", Jiang chuckled, turning away so that Lin wouldn't see his tears. "Remember to fight well, live well, go through your teenage years well, and then age well so that you can grow old and go bald well, get sick well, and if you could, die well long after me."

A tear drop fell on the floor below, Lin still didn't look up.

"I don't care what terrible things you're about to do in the future in the name of our glorious Fire Nation, I will still love you nonetheless", Jiang sighed deeply, masking his sob. "Do you understand that?"

"Yes, Dad", Lin choked back.

"Good. I love you, son. And I am proud of you", Jiang's voice was near whisper. He steeled himself and said the next words coldly. "Now, get out of my house."

* * *

Zuko was shifting and turning on his bed, head to toes inside the thickness of warmth and comfort. But he couldn't sleep. Contrary to popular belief, working out at night actually makes it harder to sleep, scientifically proven. And Zuko didn't know this.

"Zuko, wake up!"

Now, there were only a handful of person who addressed him by name and even lesser who had enough guts, or death wishes, whichever sounds nicer, to enter his room without permission only to disturb him in his effort to fall asleep at hours this late. Zuko angrily threw down his blanket, ready to strike his disturber who turned out to be…

"Lin!"

"Shh! Quiet down! Don't you know that I'm a wanted criminal?"

"What are you doing here?" Zuko grinned, jumping down off the bed gleefully. His smile faltered when he noticed that Lin was wearing a travelling robe, a hooded travelling robe.

… _No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are…_

Zuko blinked. A faint memory of his own mother's last moment flashed on his mind, probably triggered by the robe. He put a hand across his forehead, suddenly feeling a little feverish. He tried to keep his mind on the here and now as he interrogated Lin. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Come on", Lin smiled, jerking his head at the door. "It's time for your extra training."

* * *

Zuko was not the only one who could not sleep in that palace that night. Two other individuals were also still wide awake at that late hour. Fire Princess Azula was still sobbing in her bed, trying to sleep and hope that that day was nothing but a bad dream but she kept being awakened each time she did fall asleep. General Iroh was sitting on his room sipping a cup of tea. He was not alone…

"With Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked.

"Yes, General", a Byakko assassin, one that was loyal to him, was kneeling on the floor, bowing. "Shall I contact him, General?"

"No", Iroh stroked is beard. "He might be alarmed. I need you to employ every man available around this perimeter. Make sure nobody but him comes in until sunrise."

"Yes, General", the assassin said before disappearing like a puff of smoke.

Iroh sighed at this unforeseen development. He had expected Lin to trample his way into his chamber with swords drawn but instead the boy was taking his sweet time with Zuko. Probably a good thing, pondered Iroh. But, then again, he could not be sure. His gift was not like Umma's: he could see glimpses or glances of the future but nothing more, unlike Umma and her unusually strong spiritual affinity, the one that apparently his grandson inherited.

"Sifu", Iroh prayed. "Help me…"

* * *

He was standing there, eyes closed for he could not rely on them, ears set on full alert for they were his only salvation, Zuko ignored the sound of the violent wind and rustling bushes for they mattered not to him—

—WHACKED—

"Ow!"

Well, apparently, the sound of the rustling bush mattered a little to him. It was when Lin leaped out of his hiding place to strike.

"Not good enough", Lin shook his head at Zuko. "It's your turn."

Lin closed his eyes, allowing Zuko to hide. Two years ago when Lin was still active as an Imperial Firebending Instructor, Zuko had asked him for an extra training and Lin had agreed to it under one condition: that Zuko would obey his every word without any question. Both of them honored their parts of the deal till today. Although Zuko was grumbling inside because the extra trainings had been nothing but physical training, sneak attack+counter sneak attack training, and many more, and none of the training had ever been anything involving throwing a fistful of fire at a target, Zuko did not complain; he was a Fire Prince and a Fire Prince honors his promise. All he could do was the only thing he had been doing his entire life: trust Lin.

Used to be trust Lin and Lu Ten but since the latter was no longer around…

"EARRRGH—ugh!"

"Sneak attack don't work if you're yelling, Zuko", Lin scolded; Zuko was slumping down on the ground after being busted on the gut. "Get up."

Zuko obeyed though still sore on the stomach.

"Work on this. Try to tail a random people, random _guards_, around. Make sure they don't spot you. And if they do spot you, it'll be twenty push-ups, fifty hot squats, and a hundred fire fists."

"What?"

"Complaining?"

"Erm… no…"

"Good", Lin smirked. "Now the next one: swallow-monkey tag."

It was the training where Zuko had to chase Lin in order to touch him, kinda like the normal game of tag. The only difference is the zone of the training included unlikely places like the roofs, across the thick bushes, along the ledge of a stair case. The one and only rule of the training was that Zuko must retrace Lin's step. So, if Lin was running across a ledge of a small bridge, Zuko must too and not run on the flat wide bridge itself.

So, there Lin was, already standing on the top of the roof while Zuko was still holding on for dear life on the ledge. It took awhile but Zuko finally hoisted himself up. Not giving any moment of rest, Lin leaped down and landed harmlessly on the soft grassy ground below with no effort at all. Zuko looked down, three meters down, that is, and gulped loudly. Bracing himself for whatever fate had in store for him, our courageous Fire Prince jumped down rather recklessly; he landed fine but he was petrified upon contact with solid earth.

"Am I dead…?"

"I have a better question", Lin flicked Zuko's forehead, sending the much needed jolt on his body to prevent him from passing out. "You ditched your cotton jumping training, did you?"

Zuko looked away guiltily; it meant 'yes'.

"Your cotton jumping training is the core, Zuko", Lin tried to sound serious and hide his disappointment. "It builds your basic, your lower body strength and agility. Had you done your cotton jumping properly, you wouldn't have had any problem with sneak attack or jumping down from that roof."

"Sorry", Zuko mumbled.

"As soon as spring comes, you will get yourself a new cotton seed and redo your training from beginning, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"And don't ditch your meditation. It will be the most useful for you."

"Yes, sir."

"And that technique that was supposed to be a secret, remember that one?"

"Yeah."

"Practice that, too. It will save your life one day."

"Yes, sir."

"And your—"

"You're really leaving", Zuko interrupted, looking up with the hopeful expression, hopeful that Lin would deny it. "Aren't you?"

"I am", Lin sighed. "I'm also here to say goodbye."

"Can't you wait until tomorrow?" Zuko tried to bargain; Lin could see desperation in his eyes. "I mean, you did promise Azula that you'd come to the Fire Fountain City."

"I'm afraid I have to bail", Lin shook his head slightly.

They stayed in silence for a while before Zuko spoke again.

"At least go and say goodbye to her", Zuko goaded. "She'll miss you."

Zuko did say that but he couldn't mean it wholeheartedly; Azula would most likely not miss him but she would want him to stay too, maybe... But, he did notice that Lin had a soft spot for Azula. Maybe this could get him to stay; Azula could make him stay. Azula could always make people do what she wanted them to do.

"I will", Lin smiled weakly. "In due time."

_Tch, bummer!_

"Don't ditch your training and listen to your uncle", Lin advised again. He hesitated before adding: "And take care of your sister."

Lin jerked his head at a point behind Zuko as if telling him there was someone or something there. Zuko turned around and saw nothing unusual. Frowning, he turned back to Lin, but Lin was no longer there.

* * *

Why… what did she do wrong…? Azula curled up on her bed, gripping her bed cover so hard she almost tore it. What had she done now to displease her father? She was _perfect_, she had done everything _perfectly_.

She had tamed her blue fire, she had finished her training in the advanced forms, she was about to be elevated into the master forms. What had she done wrong…?

Why, instead of being back under her father tutelage after being freed from Zuko who weighed her down and Uncle whose methods of teaching was too slow, she was given to a pair of old crones? Why wouldn't her father train her anymore?

She sniffed back the last tear for that night when the sweet embrace of sleep finally took her in, sparing her from any further torture that night. Fire Princess Azula finally slept with the hope to wake up the next morning and found that everything that had happened to her that day was nothing but a dream.

* * *

Under the dried up tree, on the small hill, at the south courtyard of the Imperial Palace he was kneeling… The Royal Family has their own cemetery plot but Iroh had insisted this one to be built under this tree, their favorite spot back in the good old days.

"Should have seen me now, buddy", Lin said, lighting a pair of incense sticks by rubbing the tips; he could still at least do that much with his firebending. "Sorry I have never visited you here. I've been busy, you know. As soon as Ba Sing Se was over, I got called back to the front. Didn't even have a chance to change my pants."

Now… where do we put the incenses? The Royal Families has their own style of tombstones; it was a miniature pagoda shrine, where people put burning cone incenses, and a tombstone that is styled to lay flat on the ground, unlike the more common upright ones. Usually, on the base of the commonly styled tombstone, a hole or two would be carved to be a place where people stick their incense sticks. This tombstone had no such thing.

"Oh well, you'd never been one who cares about traditions, anyway", Lin shrugged as he stabbed the sticks on the ground in front of the tombstone. "It's the thought that counts, right?"

He took a deep breath, already at lost of what he would say next. Funny, he had imagined making this visit so many times in the past year, already rehearsing the how scene of would play out in his mind over and over again. He had already missed the funeral, he had had a lot of chances to visit this grave during his stay in the Palace but he could always find an excuse to postpone the visit, because to be honest a part of him did not want to come. Did not want to have to come, to be more precise…

He looked up to the cloud above, dirty grey completely covering the sky. "Nice weather, huh?"

…nothing but the wind blowing in response…

"So, how've you been?" Lin asked. _Stupid question…_ "Sorry, no offense, man."

…the wind kept blowing…

"Anyway, I thought you should know: I'm going to the Earth Kingdom after tonight", Lin informed, surprised as how causal he sounded. "Not yet, though. I gotta make sure Zuko and Azula are okay first. You know, if you didn't get your butt killed in Ba Sing Se, teaching them would be a breeze."

Lin continued to telling the tombstone of the many physical and mental trials the royal sibling had put him through and how Lu Ten could have made it easier.

"It's the perfect solution: you take Zuko, I take Azula", Lin shrugged still casually as if Lu Ten was actually there sitting in front of him and not a pile of ash in a jar buried three feet under the headstone. "Azula's smart, I'm smart. Zuko's not so smart and you were an idiot. See, perfect matches."

…yeah, Lu Ten was an idiot. Joining the army, attacking Ba Sing Se. Moron…

"I'm… going to the Earth Kingdom", Lin restated. "I don't think your dad told you this but I'm… you know, going to perform the initiation journey into this— organization or something that he leads. You know what's funny; my initiation into the Nightshade Lovers Society will begin as soon as I got out, too. Oh, wait… you don't know what the Nightshade Lovers Society is, right? Hmm… well, I'm allowed to tell anyone. So… you know. Sorry, but sometimes a bro gotta keep a secret, too."

He sighed deeply. There were so many things he had to say, so much more he could have said. But, what…? He could not seem to find the right word to say it.

"Maybe next time", Lin got up. "Next time, buddy. Hopefully I have more to say by then. And next time I'll bring some of your favorite food too."

He bowed his head slightly, just a plain bow without any hand gesture. He turned around and walked one step before he felt his robe being pulled. He turned back and saw the hem of his robe caught by the point of the rectangular headstone; it was as if Lu Ten was pulling his robe, begging him not to go.

"I'm sorry, Lu Ten", Lin wrenched his robe free, tearing a little part of it in the process. "I have to see you father before I leave the Nation. This is for Zuko and Azula. And for you too."

With that, he ignored his departed friend's plea. Convincing himself that he was doing the right thing, he walked through the windy night back to the palace, ready for his confrontation against destiny.

* * *

A thunder rumbling in the distant robbed Iroh of the tranquility he was experiencing in his meditation. Ominous indeed, he pondered as he got up and walked toward the window that was slammed open by a strong gust. As he closed the widow and the sound of the raging wind outside died down a little. He felt a presence behind him; the one that he had been expecting that whole night. From the corner of his eye, Iroh peeked at the hourglass on his nightstand, three o'clock in the morning. That boy sure did take his sweet time.

"I have been expecting you", Iroh said calmly without looking back.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised", Lin replied.

Iroh turned to him; his face was neutral, a little happy even. "Has Master Piandao informed you of what you should be doing?"

"The initiation?" Lin asked back. "Yes, he has. I will go through with it."

"Then, why are you here?" asked Iroh; his amber eyes hardened. He already knew the answer but, who knows… the future is like the fog: it has a shape and is shapeless at the same time, all we can tell about it is that it exists. "Master Piandao should have instructed you to go to the Earth Kingdom as soon as possible."

"I have to make sure of something."

"What is it?"

"These dreams and visions… what are they? You told me that I should trust them, that they would guide me to the right path. Why? Are those the _future_ I'm seeing? And how do you know about this?"

Iroh walked back into his chair, gesturing Lin to sit down as well. Lin sat down, not taking off his travelling robe (hoping he would not have to… we'll learn why he would prefer that soon) and put Nightshade on the table. He noticed Iroh cast a sharp look at the sword before continuing. "You are not the only one blessed by the spirits, Young Dragon."

"I don't know what you're talking about", Lin replied coldly. _Again_! Talking in circles… round and round and round and round! Why couldn't he just give a straight answer for just once in this— *sigh* breathe… calm down… "What do you mean blessed by the spirits?"

"I cannot tell you yet."

—THUDDED—

Lin slammed both his fists on the table; Iroh's cup toppled, his teapot and Nightshade jumped a little.

"Why?" Lin growled. He had had it with Iroh and his confusing ways. "Why can't you tell me?"

"You are not ready", Iroh sighed sadly. "Do as we have planned: go to the Earth Kingdom and find a way to reach Pakku in the North Pole."

Lin slumped his forehead down on the table, eliciting a loud thud. He had to wait… again…?

"My dreams, my visions… they are _real_, aren't they? At least give me that much."

"Yes, they are real."

Lin raised his head. "I had a vision about Azula…"

And he told Iroh about that vision, about the fallen princess, defeated body and soul; he spared no details on Iroh.

"I have to stop it", Lin concluded.

"Why?"

"Wh—", Lin gawked; anger soon took over. "Are _kidding_ me? I just told you that _you niece_ is going to have a terrible fate at some point of her life! I want to stop it and you asked me '_why'_? What's the matter with you?"

"There are things that simply cannot be changed, Young Dragon. Changing destiny is impossible."

"Nothing is impossible…"

"Also means 'everything is possible'. Will it not also means that _impossibility_ itself is _possible_?"

"You're just twisting the words around", Lin barked angrily. "It does not prove anything! Don't you care about Azula?"

Now it was Iroh's fist that met the table. For the first time in his life, Lin saw anger in Iroh's old face. "She is my niece! I _care_ for her!"

Lin snickered sarcastically. "Don't make me laugh."

"I'm warning you. Don't question it, boy."

"Everybody can see it", sneered Lin. "You always favor Zuko more than her, you always keep your distance from her. Hah! I've never even heard you call her by name. It's always 'princess' or '_Princess_ Azula'."

Iroh opened his mouth to reply but a wave of emotion swept it away, the one we call guilt. Because, though Iroh had spent this last decade of his life trying to deny it, he knew from the very start how things concerning his nephew and niece would turn out. He knew that one day Zuko and Azula would face their own challenges and it would end up with them standing on different sides. And, truth to be told, Zuko needed him more than Azula did— no, that's not true, even Iroh acknowledged it. Sadly, Iroh also knew that he could only guide and protect one of them, and he chose Zuko because…

"Zuko and Azula… their fates are entwined. They are like the two sides of the same coin."

"One cannot be seen without the other being shunned", Lin finished his sentence.

"Exactly", Iroh concurred grimly. "That is why I… _guide_ Zuko. There is no one else who he can count on except me."

"And you're going to sacrifice Azula?" Lin asked Iroh incredulously. "Just like that?"

"No", Iroh shook his head. "I'm not going to. It's just that there is nothing I can do for her. It's not my destiny."

"I don't care about destiny", Lin scoffed. "I want to save her. I _will_ save her."

"You're being stubborn", Iroh sighed.

"Help her", Lin pleaded. "Keep her safe. I know you can, you just won't."

"I have made my decision, Young Dragon", Iroh said, clenching his jaw. "It is time you do as well."

"Then you live me no choice…"

Lin reached out to Nightshade and with a smooth motion pulled the blade free; Iroh, as impressive as it sounds, remained as calm as before.

"You told me that my dreams and vision are real, that they mean something", said Lin calmly. "I have this vision, General, of her. I saw her happy."

Lin smiled as he replayed the vision he had once had… of a raven haired angel he knew now was Azula running across a white sandy beaches, smiling and laughing, as breeze grazed her hair, the wave swept her feet; saw her kicking the sand, laughing, saw her spreading her arms and closing her eyes, breathing in the warm sea breeze. And it brought inexplicable warmth inside Lin and a smile on his face.

"I know that it is my… _destiny_ to make sure it comes true", Lin, still smiling, brought Nightshade to his own neck; the blade pressing against the skin of his jugular. "I don't know if I can do that if she go through that fall. And if I cannot fulfill this _destiny_ of mine, what other reason do I have to keep on living."

Iroh simply stared at the boy's eyes calmly. It took him a few second before he decided to tell Lin this: "Dying today is not your destiny, either; and it won't help Azula. Helping Azula, or Zuko, in that mater, is not your destiny. You _know_ this, too. You may not believe in destiny but destiny believes in you."

"Will you save her or not?" Lin demanded.

"I'm afraid my answer is final, Young Dragon", said Iroh, full of conviction. He knew things would come to this, he knew all along. But, the result… that's everyone's guess.

"Then you live me no choice", Lin lowered Nightshade and stood up. "I challenge you to an Agni Kai."

* * *

"Darn that kid!" the Byakko agent cursed in her mind, creeping low on the rooftop. She had been tailing Lin from the moment that kid entered the Palace with four other agents, saw him… _playing_ with Prince Zuko. And then, they lost him! So, she and her teammates split up to cover more ground. Then, she found him walking towards the Royal Male Living Quarters, saw him from afar as he jumped down onto the yard in front of General Iroh's room. But, when she tried to approach the yard, ten other assassins stopped her. Apparently, they were under an order not to let anyone to enter the quarter. Whose order? Certainly not the Fire Lord's. Because when she reported this to the Fire Lord, the man threw a fistful of fireball at her, spitting curses that even she would not use on anyone. And she was supposed to be a _killer_!

"There he is", she mumbled. She saw two figures on the courtyard; a larger and bigger one, definitely General Iroh, and a slender and smaller one in a fluttering robe, must be that brat.

* * *

Agni Kai… the honorable duel of fire. As the name suggests, it can only be carried out by firebenders. Usually, two benders would have to strip down to their pants, to avoid any of them hiding things like explosives or pocket-sized poisoned crossbow that might end the lives of one contestant unfairly; exceptions applied for women, of course. There will not be any judge since the winner of the duel is usually pretty clear, either the one who still stands or alive by the end of the fight, but there are witnesses or supporters, each sides has at least one. The fight will begin with the duelers kneeling on their supporters, back on each other, safe distance away. Then they will assume their fighting stance and let a loose duel shoulder garment that they would be putting slide down off their body; that is to signify that they are ready. And at the sign of a gong, in most occasions, they will begin fighting.

That night, at the courtyard in front of Iroh's room, Lin and Iroh might call it an Agni Kai. But, tradition-wise, it was nothing but a fight; none of the Agni Kai rules were followed. They did not strip down to their pants, it was understandable since the night was very cold, they did not have any supporters, but then again there was really no one to ask at this hour, and there was no point of having any either. And though they did kneel down backs at each other and Lin did let loose his travelling robe, it was still no Agni Kai. It was not an Agni Kai because there was no honor in it…

"Will you reconsider?" Lin's voice pierced through the raging wind.

"No", Iroh shouted back.

_As I thought_… Lin closed his eyes, reconnecting his mind to his inner fire. Darn it! _Nothing_… he could feel it but… nothing… He tried to reconnect his chi to the burning fire inside him but… _nothing_. It's almost like trying to fish without a hook, or pounding a nail with a loaf of bread: you know how to do the action but you just can't.

Iroh shouted a battle cry as he punched a fire blast at Lin; Lin simply looked calmly, not that he could do anything else. The victory in an Agni Kai can only be achieved by using firebending. And not that he needed to do anything else, either; the strong gust of wind blew Iroh's fire blast away before the flame could barely grease Lin's face. Still, to make his fire travel that far, Iroh was serious.

"Will you stand down?" Iroh shouted, taking one step forward with his stance up.

"Will you help Azula?" Lin shouted back.

Iroh didn't answer. Instead, he punched another fire blast, stronger and bigger this time; it was obviously a refusal. Can you believe that… an uncle who claimed that he loved his niece is willing to sacrifice her, knowing that a terrible fate awaits the young girl in the future, knowing well that he could do something, anything, to keep that terrible fate from happening… _**anger**_… Iroh's fire soared further and further ahead, everything went slow motion for Lin… _**hatred**_… Iroh knew all along about what would happen, he could see the future too, probably better than Lin could… _**rage**_… but, the old man, the mighty Dragon of the West chose to do nothing… _**fury**_… he just let everything happen, he let thing unfold before his very eyes without doing a crap to stop it…

Right before the fire blast made contact, Lin caught it. Yes, he _caught_ the fire like he would do a harmless ball. Driven to the edge of desperation, Lin approached the corner of his mind he had been trained all his life to avoid, the cesspool of anger, hatred, rage, and fury; the emotions a firebender should not descend into. He broke the dam, letting the dark emotions flow inside him, tainting his pure chi with savagery, forcing a connection to his inner fire, his inner fire that screamed with agony, tormented by its master's woe and misery, the scream that Lin let out.

He swept his hand sideways violently, the stolen fire engulfed his whole arm, tracing to the side as it was blown by the gust, giving it an appearance of a wing. Lin stared back at Iroh's still calm face with rage; hatred and anger was all Iroh could see in the young man's amber eyes. Stepping his foot forward and locking the other to the ground, Lin secured a firm footing. He thrust his flaming hand forward into a sharp palm thrust, the flame flowed onto his palm into a concentrated raging fire ball. Focusing on his fireball, he let out a battle cry, releasing his fire in the form of a sustained fire stream, the Flamethrower.

The flame soared towards Iroh, unaffected by the strong wind. Iroh jumped swiftly to the side, landing on his side and rolled away safely as the flame traced the ground he covered. The flame died out five seconds later as it ran out of juice; Iroh leaped back to his feet but Lin was already in front of him with a molded fireball at hand. Iroh slapped Lin fireball-holding hand away as it came into his range, causing the fireball to miss and punched a smoking singed hole on the ground. Lin fire-spin-kicked Iroh but Iroh ducked. Iroh retaliated with a double fire thrust but Lin and his own fire blast did not relent; the collision caused a medium sized explosion. Iroh managed to hold his ground but Lin was thrown back by the force of the explosion. Flying backward meters away, Lin landed roughly on his back and rolled himself to stop; he was back at his starting spot.

He must have hit his head because he felt disoriented and everything was blur for a few second. Once he found out that he was crawling himself up and he was sure that he was on the ground, he tried to take a deep breath but his throbbing head did not permit such action. Blinking his vision clearer, he noticed a few drops of blood, his own blood, on the ground. He tried to move and that was when his hand fell upon something long and smooth: Nightshade.

He did put the sword on the ground before the fight. Agni Kai should not be fought with weapons but Lin picked the sword up anyway; his survival instinct overrode his sense of honor. Wobbling up, he grabbed the still sheathed Nightshade by its handle; he shot a hateful glare at Iroh. Spirits… never before in his life he felt so much fury and hatred towards someone, let alone towards _Iroh_! Iroh had always been a central figure in his life; the father of his best friend, of his brother, the one who had been like a grandfather to him, the one who was practically his master.

Iroh leaped forward, punching two quick fire blasts. Lin raised his hand, the one grasping the sheathed Nightshade. Roaring, he channeled his firebending towards the blade; Nightshade's blade erupted, causing it to launch its handle forward, almost like how the artillery machine, the fire arrow, launches its projectile.

Nightshade's sheath flew past Iroh's fire blasts so close its kinetic force swept Iroh's fire blast away, missed Iroh's astonished face barely by an inch, but still able to lrave a thin cut on his wrinkled face. The sheath flew straight and strong, only to stop as it collided with the wall behind Iroh, embedded itself nearly halfway deep into the stone wall.

Iroh was still overcoming his surprise when Lin, wasting no time at all, swung Nightshade around wildly, all the while channeling his firebending into the blade; as the blade struck he empty air, a tendril of fire was formed and lingered in the air. The tendrils kept piling up, Iroh regained his composure and his stance was on the defensive. As the tendrils of fire formed up like a bunch of flaming twigs suspending on the air, almost hiding Lin completely, Lin threw his sword hand away and extended his free hand, forming a connection between his inner-fire-chi with each and every one of the tendrils, _each and every one of them_.

Fire Compression… he had done something like this once, when he was fighting his first battle in the Western Earth Base, he formed tendrils of fire and molded them into one compressed fireball. Ever since then, he had invented several theories, even experimented with some of them; this is now one of them. He had never tested this but to hell with that! When he had been thrown to the ground and his head hit something solid which probably caused some kind of mild concussion, he believed himself to have earned the right to use this untested technique on Iroh or anyone he well damn like!

He formed connections with the numerous fire tendrils, sensing their cores, their beats; and he compressed them, each and every one of them. Obeying the will of their master, the tendrils of fire pulled themselves together, transforming from a bush of flaming twigs into numerous individual tiny fireballs, each the size of a pebble but hundred times more deadly. Burning and flickering, their very existence heated up the air surround Lin, casting an unusually red light upon him. Letting Nightshade slid through his hand and fall to the ground with a soft clank for he needed his other hand, Lin brought his now free hand forward, also connecting his chi with the numerous fire pellets, granting him better control over them. Iroh, who finally overcame his amazement, quickly took action and shifted into the offensive. He punched a large and powerful fire blast the same time Lin launched his fire pellets all at once; Iroh's fire blast proved to be inferior as it dissipated into nothingness after being punch on numerous places by Lin's fire pellets which remained intact and kept flying towards Iroh.

Iroh jumped sideways instinctively, a prudent choice since the solid fire pellets could probably overcome whatever the Dragon of the West had in his arsenal; the fire pellets drilled numerous tiny holes on the wall behind Iroh, producing a weird noise each time one of them hit the wall, like the mixture of whistling and cracking sound. Iroh landed on his back and skidded on the floor. The second after, Lin already found his way on top of him. Taken by surprised, Iroh tried to fire punch him but the boy's punch found Iroh's face first. Punch... just the good old plain punch.

Lin's free hand found Iroh's collar, pulling it up; his other hand rewarded the stubborn old man with another punch on the face. Still grabbing the old man's collar, Lin pushed him to the ground, strong enough to prevent him to get up but too weak to choke him or do any other kind of damage; he wanted Iroh to feel his punch, just his punch, like the one he rammed onto his old face again. And again… again… again…

Lin raised his fist, ready to strike but something made him hesitate… Were they really… you know, _them_…?

Iroh and Lin… a master and his apprentice.

Iroh and Lin… a surrogate grandfather and a bratty practically-grandson.

Iroh and Lin… they were there to kill each other.

"ARRRRGGGHH!" Lin let out a frustrated scream; he brushed away all the good memory of how Iroh used to be like a father/grandfather to him, how Lu Ten begged him not to go on with this at the grave. He didn't care anymore, he let anger take his mind, hatred claimed his soul, rage clouded his conscience; he didn't care anymore… he was tired of caring. He just wanted to punch, and punch again, and again and again; he just wanted to hurt Iroh, to hurt him bad, so bad he— he _what_? Lin did not know what he hoped to achieve from this, but like I said before, he did not care… not anymore…

He punched… and punched… again… and again…

For hatred this much cannot be quelled by anything, not even by ignorance, a powerful tool it might be…

"You KNOW! You know all along!"

He punched… and punched… again… and again…

For hatred this intense does not develop overnight… for hatred this painful had been buried deep inside the young Dragon, so very very deep. For hatred this agonizing claimed his heart when he had to choose between two painful options: his best friend who had been a brother to him or this sad pathetic old man; he chose the latter.

"You know! You know that Lu Ten would die! You know it!"

He punched… and punched… again… and again…

For he was not just the betrothed of Fire Princess Azula; the only one left in this world who were actually trying to do her good. He was also the soul brother of the departed Fire Prince Lu Ten, the soldier boy this sad pathetic old man had led to his death.

"YOU! LET! LU TEN! DIE!"

He kept punching… and punching… again… and again… Each words accompanied by a fistful of hatred…

Lin raised his bruised and bloody fist, ready to deliver another blow to Iroh's nearly unrecognizable face. The old man was wheezing through his broken nose and swollen bleeding mouth. Pathetic… Lin had been raised by Jeong Jeong and Umma, even by this pathetic old man he had pinned to the ground, to feel nothing but pity and compassion to anyone who had been reduced to this state. But pity and compassion was nothing he had to offer right now, nothing he could offer.

Pathetic… he couldn't even bring himself to deliver his next blow. But he was still enraged, Iroh's non-responsiveness to the torture was just so… _infuriating_! Heaving, he choked up; and he let it out… screaming to the sky… a pillar of fire accompanied his heart-piercing cry, a pillar of fire that brought along with it all the young Dragon felt and agonized about… his hatred, sadness, his compassion, pity… his humanity…

Lin looked up as the last of the fire breath was swept away by the gust, just in time to see the thick cloud swept away by the wind, revealing the starry night sky above… so beautiful, almost heavenly…

And the Dragon of the Deep Forest cried…

"You let Lu Ten die… and now you will let Azula meet the same fate…?"

Iroh didn't reply… he could not…

Lin looked down on his pitiful face. _Pathetic_… a fresh wave of hatred swept over him, this time along with it conviction. Lin raised his fist yet again; he opened it and a flickering fireball was there, steady on his palm. He… _wanted_ to end this, wanted to end this so bad.

"AARRGGGHHH!"

A thunder roared in the sky above… his fire exploded upon contact with its prey… it was a harmony in itself, the harmony of death…

* * *

It was four in the morning; yep, four in the morning. At least according to Azula's hourglass. Lin crept into the room through the window he pried open with a knife. He tiptoed into the center of the room where a large bed was located, the bed that housed a sleeping princess. Azula was lying on her side; it seemed that she had had a nightmare or something. Her blanket that was a pile of wrinkled cloth after being kicked away, her messy hair that cover her face, her hand that had obviously been gripping the bed cover, and as Lin got closer, he noticed traces of dried tears on her cheek. Poor girl… must be a nightmare. Lin carefully pulled the blanket over her shoulder and softly pulled her hair away from her face. He would do something about the tears but that might wake her up so he didn't. And besides, he didn't want her to be awake; this would be a lot easier if she was asleep.

Lin knelt down and stared at Azula's sleeping face… yeah, she had been crying. He stayed like that for a minute or two before he pulled from his robe, a pouch, and took from it a beaded bracelet; the very same one that he had given to the princess long time ago. He put it on the bed near the princess's hand. He then pulled again from his robe the rose he had, erm… acquired from Lady Wen's room and placed it next to the bracelet.

Lin stared again into Azula's face; she shifted a little but did not wake up. She looked so peaceful and Lin would have done anything to keep it that way. Strange… why did he feel something like this for Azula, like he'd be willing to go to the end of the world just for her. Maybe because they were engaged, although only one of them knew that fact; but, nah… what does a thirteen your old brat like him know about love anyway? And besides, Azula was still nine; that's just… _wrong_. Because Azula was his student? Yeah, that actually sounded nicer, more decent. But, even so, Lin could not deny that it was more than just that, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

He sighed, knowing that he could not stay any longer. This would be their goodbye. Not the last goodbye, of course; spirits, no! His duel earlier with Iroh had made him realized something important. First, destiny _cannot_ be changed. And second… well, let's save the second one for later.

"Azula… I—", he started but stopped suddenly, speechless; he didn't know any way to say this nicely. Clearing his throat, he started again. "I… I can't save you, Azula. I'm sorry…"

The princess shifted again and let out a low grunt, still asleep.

"I can't do anything, your uncle can't do anything, either", Lin continued, whispering. "Don't blame him. He cares for you… in his own way. I'm really sorry."

He paused, trying to string words together to express his thought. It is actually harder than we might think, granted that it had been a rough night for Lin.

"I would want nothing more than to take you away from here, away from the Fire Nation, away from the Fire Lord, away from the war… but—", he snickered. "You'd probably kill me before I could even drag you to the front yard."

Azula moved again but still deep in her slumber.

"Listen, Azula", Lin whispered again. "You will rise far above everybody else; I know you will. You will be remembered as many things; as a Fire Princess, as a conqueror, a prodigy… but, sadly, also as a failure. You will rise above the heavens, soar higher and higher like a dragon, so high that when you fall, it will hurt you so much you'll just fall apart. It is understandable; the higher you are, the harder you fall, right?"

Azula did not respond… but Lin knew that had she been awake, she'd have understood.

"But, don't worry", Lin whispered again. "Because when you do fall… I will be there to pick you up."

He leaned closer to the princess and rested his head on the bed, smiling sadly. He knew his smile was sad but, strangely enough, what he felt inside was a certain warmth nobody could associate with sadness. Such is human's emotion: simply incomprehensible.

"I will be there for you at the end, when the whole world is against you, you can always find me standing in front of you, facing the whole world for you", swore Lin. "I promise."

He moved closer and landed a peck on the princess's cheek; it felt warm…

"But, now I must go", Lin got up. "But, don't worry. We'll meet again soon, you can count on it."

And he walked away…

Lin turned around just as he was about to climbed out of the window; Azula was still sleeping peacefully on the bed, the beaded bracelet and the rose were lying on the bedside.

"Goodbye. For now", Lin smiled. And he jumped out.

He walked through the palace, avoiding any guards and servants skillfully; his vast experience of sneaking in and out the palace when he was younger with Lu Ten made this almost too easy. He made his way back to the Royal Male Living Quarters, to Iroh's room. As he arrived, he pushed the door open; no point sneaking in from the window this time, right? As he closed the door behind him, he approached the table in the middle of the room and sat on one of the chair. He took from the table his Nightshade, wrapped tightly with black cloth, probably by one of Iroh's servants. After strapping it safely on his back, he took the cup of warm spiced tea Iroh poured him and drank it all in one gulp.

"I'm ready, General", he said, wiping his mouth.

"Good", Iroh replied, his face was heavily bandaged; only his left eye was left untouched by the Royal Physician. "Do not wait until the sun is up. And also, stay in Senlin for a while; I'm sure the Fire Lord will send someone to meet you there."

"Yes, General", Lin got up and bowed; he, himself, had nothing more than a small dressing on his temple. "Goodbye, General Iroh."

"Goodbye, Young Dragon", Iroh, too, got up and bowed. "And safe journey."

It was the last Monday of winter, year 95 after the first Great Comet, Fire Nation; the day that history would remember as the day the Dragon of the Deep Forest deserted his home country. But, as we all know, history cares not for details…

* * *

…But this is not history, this is simply a story; and a story is nothing without details…

Some of the details that history did not record was the fact that that morning, at five in the morning, General Iroh, the mighty Dragon of the West, retreated to his secret spot on the Imperial Palace, the Astronomy Tower where the Royal Astronomers would be have working had the sky been much clearer. On the top of the tower, he prayed to the spirits for guidance, for the safety of his student, the young Dragon of the Deep Forest. He remembered the thing he had said to the young Dragon earlier that night, that it was not the boy's destiny to safe Fire Princess Azula. He did not remember the young Dragon asking whose destiny it was, probably because the teenager was so hell-bent on doing it himself, hmph… young people…

Maybe it was for the better, thought Iroh. Because that destiny, it belonged to…

Iroh looked down, at the corner of the hallway below, a figure appeared; short and ponytailed. Fire Prince Zuko sure woke up exceptionally early considering how late he went to sleep the night before. Iroh smiled at his nephew who wasted no time to begin his morning training.

Yes… Iroh convinced himself yet again, like how he had been doing ever since he had made his decision regarding his nephew. He would guide Zuko… because, by doing this, he would end up saving both of them. This was for the best…

And not so far away from the palace, in the Lin Family's Estate, Jiang was sitting solemnly in his room. He still could not believe it… his son was really gone. He had known that this would happen ever since the boy was recruited into the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination. But, never in his wildest dream had he thought that Lin would be taken away this soon.

He glanced at his hourglass; it was already five in the morning yet the sky was still as muddy as it had been last night. Oh well… he shrugged. He got up, grabbed a fresh towel from his wardrobe, and headed to his personal bathroom. He took his bath that morning longer than he usually would; the feeling of water on his skin as he dipped his whole body into the bathtub, it felt somewhat rejuvenating. When he got out, it was almost seven in the morning; the sky was still dark and Young Lady Wen was sitting in his room, eyes baggy and red and she was holding a Lin Family traditional beaded bracelet close to her heart.

Their eyes met… silence ensued between them. Jiang sighed and nodded weakly, wordlessly telling the lady that Lin was really no longer with them; the boy was probably in the Earth Kingdom by now, considering that he had a steam-powered ship. That was the confirmation that Lady Wen dreaded. Fresh stream of tears flooded her cheeks as she ran towards Jiang and dived her face into his chest, sobbing.

A few blocks away, Mai woke up from her sleep. Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she regretted the fact that she had been wide awake mulling over something so shallow. She let out one of her rare snicker, a sarcastic one. _Stupid_… she cursed under her breathe. She withdrew from her nightstand drawer ten sets of various kinds of throwing knives and shuriken; as fast as lightning, she launched them one by one at ten tiny ink spots she had set up the day before on the wall in front of her, ten meters away from her it was. Some of the blades flew straight, some arched through the air, whistling several different sounds; all of them hit the intended target. Still ten-shots-ten-hits, she smirked. Yawning, Young Lady Mai got up and stretched, ready to begin her day; she had to go to the Fire Fountain City today, right?

And back to the Imperial Palace, Fire Lord Ozai was already in his usual Royal Garb, ready to begin the day. He was walking towards the hallway leading to his Throne Room, the hallway that housed various tapestry painting of past Fire Lords. Hmph! He smirked at them, all of them. Losers… They were all losers in Ozai's eyes. Hmph! Ozai was determined now, more than ever, not to make the same mistake they had made: failing to conquer the world. Sozin started the war, he had the right idea but he was still a loser, a failure, because he failed to accomplish his goal. _Weak_! Azulon was no better, he failed and he was weak; and, in the end, he was killed by a woman. Hah! _Fool_! But, Ozai… Fire Lord Ozai… he would not commit the same mistake.

And besides, Ozai smirked as he halted right before the grand door leading to the Throne Room, he had something the past Fire Lords did not have… and he was waiting for that something…

Still in the same building, in the Royal Female Living Quarters, Fire Princess Azula was crying. Sobbing, she gripped the beaded bracelet and the rose she knew her Royal Firebending Instructor had left behind.

"Why…?" She sobbed. "First Mom… then Ty Lee… and now you… Why does everyone leave me without saying goodbye…?"

* * *

The ship sailed smoothly, Lin had set it on auto-pilot. He was lying down on the wooden chest, his travelling robe was made into a makeshift blanket. He still could not believe it… he was really going to leave his Nation, his glorious Fire Nation. He had said his goodbyes to people who mattered to him; well, most of them. He had said goodbye to Mai, to Lady Wen, to his dad, to Iroh, to Zuko, to Azula, even to his mother, grandmother, and Lu Ten… he had decided to let his father deal with his uncles, aunts, and cousins; he knew that his sudden appearance and goodbye might upset Aunt Bing deeper into her sickness, Uncle Masa and Cousin Shi might not care much, Uncles Fu, Jung, and the others might try to persuade him not to leave, Uncle Kang might tried to forcible restrain him, but that if he could get to Lin before Biao did; Biao would kill Lin just to make him stay.

Lin smiled in this thought; the first genuine smile since… _yesterday_. Funny, had it really been just yesterday when he was still smiling and laughing like he had no care in the world, had it been yesterday when he was helping Yoku in the sick hall, when Oboro tried to cheer him up, when Yuu helped him with his laundry chore? Yesterday… it felt like a lifetime ago.

Sighing, Lin tried to brush away the thought; there was no use dwelling in the past, he told himself. He, instead, reached out to the sword he hung on a nail on the wall above him. He unwrapped Nightshade; maybe he could polish it or something, anything to occupy his mind. As the wrapping cloth fell off, his jaw was opened in shock. The burst of firebending on the sheathed sword the previous night had taken its toll, it seemed. The black ivory was sturdy; the firebending did not even scratch it. However, the golden dragon engraving had no such luck.

The dragon's head on the handle was mostly fine but the dragon's body on the handle… the part close to the handle, the neck downward more than halfway, had melted. The scaly and bulgy details Lin had painstakingly carved were now smooth and looked like molten candles. Lin tried to fleck it off with his nail and was surprised of how easily it came off. Next was the sword handle; apparently the dragon head took some damage too. It was cracked severely. Lin had barely dug his nail on it when the whole head shattered into many tiny pieces; it was less surprising this time.

He dusted off the golden scrap off his chest to the floor and sheathed Nightshade; the sword was now bare black, just like the one he had seen in the dream.

He laughed… he laughed a bitter laugh… he laughed a bitter laugh that came along with his tears. Nightshade was now plain black, just like the one he had seen in his dream…

Destiny cannot be changed… Maybe Iroh was right, after all.

* * *

Azula found herself still lying on her bed, still gripping the farewell gifts tight; the bracelet and a somewhat squished rose. A knock on her door jolted her back to life. She panickly shoved the bracelet and the rose inside his nightstand drawer. Jumping down, she wiped her tear-stricken face frantically, not forgetting to brush her slightly messy hair, trying to make herself looked more presentable, as presentable as a princess who had just woken up from her sleep could be. As soon as she was done, she walked to the door and opened it. It was the twin old ladies on the door.

"Princess Azula", Li, or was it Lo, said with typical old people bossy tone. "This is morning already."

"We must insist that you get ready for the day", the other twin finished the sentence. Azula would learn soon that they did that a lot. "Please, go and wash up. You have a long day awaits you."

"I'm tired", Azula mumbled, not trying to hide her dislike towards both of them.

"But, Princess—"

"I said I'm tired", Azula cut in, rather sharply. She turned around and made a gesture of wanting to go back in. "I'm going to sleep some more."

"But, the Fire Lord requests your presence in the hearing this morning", the first twin, let's just assume she was Li, said again.

"He is waiting for you in the throne room", Lo added. "Please, it is not wise to make the Fire Lord waiting."

"He… wants me…" Azula gawked. "He wants me to be with him for—"

Not bothering to finish her sentence, Azula squealed happily. She slammed the door closed and dashed towards her bathroom to wash up. In five minutes, she was already running across the hallway towards the Throne Room, grinning wide. Her father _requested_, not _demanded_, her presence, can you believe that? Bet Zuzu had never been requested for anything. Hah! In your face, Zuzu!

She skidded as she made a sharp turn of the hallway, the hallway on the end of which Fire Lord Ozai was standing. Beaming, Azula tried to calm herself but she could not stop the wide grin on her face. Well, even her father was smiling (smirking, actually, but Azula was still too young to tell them apart) as she walked, strode, to be more precise, closer to him. Well, Ozai let it slide for today; it actually pleased him that his daughter was acting this perkish this morning, just for this morning.

And, as all cake needs an icing, Ozai extended his hand, offering it; just for today, just for this one time… Azula looked at it as if she didn't believe it, she quickly took her father hand, afraid that the man might change his mind. Grinning at each other, Ozai walked her daughter through the opened gate.

Yes, perfect, he laughed triumphantly in his mind as Azula tried to keep up with his pace, looking as content as she could possibly be. _This_ is perfect!

_**End of Book 3 - Journey

* * *

**_

**Author's note:**

Sorry for the long update, this chapter turned out longer than I expect, harder to write too. Phew…

More about what becomes of Piandao and his students in the next book (I hope). Let's see… no new names, I guess. Oh, fire arrow is real. Check it out on wiki. I've never seen the real one in action, in person or on TV. But, I've seen a movie depicting the machine. It was kinda cool really, but it was a movie; who knows if it was really how the machine actually works or not. Oh well…

I'm gonna need to take a break for a few weeks, probably until the end of the month. Something big is coming my way and I need to focus on this. And then there's my school assignment. God, I hate assignment. It never comes at the right time.

To hpswst101, thanks for the insight. I remember faintly my lecturer talking about bullying and psychological basis of it a few years ago, I guess you were right; it sounds like the thing she said to us, like how bullies are probably having a hard time themselves and turn to making others' lives miserable so that they'll have other people around them who more miserable than them. I have to admit, I wasn't listening intently to the lecture. I spent my teenage years in a rather religious atmosphere, so to me even if things are bad, we are still not justified to do bad things to others. I guess it makes sense, huh. I still don't understand people… Oh well, I still have a long way to go. Maybe I will understand them someday. :)

As for Darwin, to be honest, I don't really like him. His works on plants and animals are impressive. But, when it comes to human, he was complete douche bag. I mean, he actually made up a hierarchy of people based on skin color; can you believe that? But, then again, maybe that was how everybody was thinking at his time and he, as brilliant as he was, was no exception.

Bur still… I don't like him…

To TwistedGem, thanks for the review. Glad you like how I narrate; I was actually kinda worry that people find it confusing.

Gotta wait for another Book (or two) before Lin confront Azula about the engagement. I'm still trying to decide between a formal Agni Kai or an outrageous fire blast on the face. Kidding…:)

We'll see about that.

Have a nice day, people!


	62. Chapter 61

_**Book 4 - Soldier**_

**Chapter 61 – Lieutenant Lin of the Earth Kingdom Army**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

A sunny day in the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se; spring in the Earth Kingdom is truly a season worthy of the vast land. Spring is after all the season associated with the element of Earth; it is no surprise that even the grumpiest of Earth Kingdom would flash a smile or two to strangers they meet on the street. Additionally, ever since the Fire Nation army had been pushed back to the Western Shore after nearly two years of numerous skirmishes between the two Nations, at this Year of Superior Military Rabbit, nearly two years after the 600 Days Siege of Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom lived in a relatively peaceful atmosphere; at least for those who did not live in the west where the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom armies were still mounting their random skirmishes.

Ah, but let's not talk about war. Today was the day of celebration; even the grumpy General How, the leader of the Earth King's Council of Five, let his prideful beam slip every now and then. Standing in his high podium, towering over the courtyard where a group of bright young officers of various units, he watched as the promotion ceremony began to take place. The newly promoted officers had already fallen in their own formation in the very front, the Vanguard Units in their own units neatly standing behind them, the spectators which consisted of vast assortment of government officials and nobilities sitting on their seats, honoring the procession with either silent respectful look or low chatters among themselves; time for the opening speech.

"Soldiers of the Earth Kingdom and honorable guests", How boomed; nope, he did not use a bullhorn, he thought that the sight of him speaking through one of those thing would make him look less authoritative. "It is with great honor that I, this humble general, welcome you to the inauguration and promotion ceremony in this fine evening. Long have we fought this war against the Fire Nation and long have we suffered on their tyrannical hands. More and more each day, men and women, sons and daughters of the Earth Kingdom are needed to serve our great kingdom in whatever way we can."

He swept his arm at the officers. "And before us are one hundred and eleven of such individuals who had heeded this call. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the recipients of today's award, the sons and daughters of the Earth Kingdom!"

The crowd, minus the soldiers, exploded into a loud applaud. How did say 'sons and daughters' but it was more like 'sons and a daughter'; among the hundred something soldiers, only one of them was female. Megumi stood proudly in his Earth Kingdom Combat Support Personnel's uniform. After dodging the typical treatment a female soldier might receive from her male counterparts ever since the day she stepped foot in Ba Sing Se to attend this prestigious ceremony, usually in the forms of lame pick-up lines or disgusting leers at her feminine parts, she could now stand with her dignity intact and pride elevated once she got the promotion. She was going to be a major; now she could pull rank on at least half of those perverts.

General How called the name of the soldiers one by one; the said soldier would march forward to his podium to receive their new badges and uniforms and either a pat on the shoulder by the famous general or a formal military bow, before marching back to their formation. Megumi watched silently as one by one her fellow soldiers were called forward to the podium, all the while trying to suppress her smile. Her father, whom she was sure was among the guests, had taught her ever since she was a little girl that when one was in a military formation, one must remain calm and steady like a rock. Her father, General Yan Keh, was after all the kind of combat general who was not above issuing flogging on his soldiers who displayed anything less that strict obedience to the military rules.

"Lieutenant Lin!" How's voice boomed; even Megumi noticed the thickened air of pride in How's voice. A young soldier, a teenager boy who could not be anything older than fifteen (and Megumi was stretching her estimation), marched forward steadily. _He's a little small_, thought Megumi, eyeing the soldier from the corner of her green eyes. After serving in the front as a combat nurse, Megumi had seen more than she would have preferred of how the fresh recruit of the Earth Kingdom Army had seemed to get younger and younger; once she had to assist a surgeon removed a bobbed crossbow bolt from a new recruit's gut. She remembered how the surgeon commented on how the soldier still had his 'baby fat'. Sarcasm, of course, but the meaning behind it was no lees grim, even Megumi agreed to that.

Ah, enough about this; today is the day of celebration, she shook the thought off. Lieutenant, huh? Hmm, probably the highest this boy could get in the army for now until he started growing some moustache or something. The rigid system of the Earth Kingdom Military would not permit this boy to be elevated higher. Furthermore, as Megumi noticed the soldier boy's army boots, he was not an earthbender; another predicament for a further promotion. Not that him making a lieutenant in his apparent young age was nothing exceptional, of course.

Lin halted right in front of How, saluting. He then received his new set of uniform and green jade badge from the general, along with the older man's proud beam. How was proud, naturally. Not even in his wildest dream the earthbender general thought that the boy he had randomly met and taken in during his inspection to the liberated town of Gaipan would be standing here, receiving a promotion to the highest rank the boy could have attained in regards to his age. How could still remember the fateful day when his entourage was about to walk into an ambush zone set up by mountain bandits. If not for this young boy, who had singlehandedly sprung and busted through the trap with his masterful display of swordsmanship, How might not even be alive today.

Against many raised brow, he had decided to invite the stranger, who introduced himself as 'Lin from the Senlin Village', into his house and the army; an offer that was met with satisfying reply for both of them. It had only been four months, four short months; but, here the boy was, already a lieutenant after dazing his fellow soldiers with his prodigal swordplay.

Lin walked back into his formation, holding his gifts in front of him. He stood there impassively, hoping that the ceremony would end soon. He was bored and frankly, he had thing to do, namely polishing Nightshade, practicing his sword combat forms, doing calligraphy, reading, etc., anything that might remind him of his glorious Fire Nation. Ever since his escape to the Earth Kingdom, following his eventful Agni Kai with Iroh, he had been contacted by one of the Byakko agents bearing the sealed correspondence form Colonel Wuxin regarding his initiation into the division. He was ordered to infiltrate the 1st Vanguard Unit of the Earth Kingdom Army under General How and to gain How's trust, spy on a certain individual who happened to be How's eldest son, and, when the time comes, kill him.

"Lieutenant Colonel Jung Wa!" How continued with the ceremony.

Lin felt a shivering grip on his chest as he imagined the look on How's face had he known that Lin was actually an assassin-in-training sent by the Fire Nation to spy on and then kill his son. How's son wouldn't even be a real target whose absence from the living bore a significant effect for the Fire Nation, simply a random individual in power that the Fire Lord chose to be the test of Lin's skill out of whim. Heh! Like a collateral damage; no matter how severe it becomes, it will never be acknowledged as the real sustained damage.

From Senlin, after receiving his instruction from Wuxin, Lin had resumed his journey to Gaipan where, according to the rumors he had heard on his way, General How would be inspecting. The news of the Fire Nation soldiers abandoning Gaipan had prompted the prominent general to made an appearance in the town, more specifically because Gaipan had been a Fire Nation colony for the past fifteen years and had more inhabitants coming from or related to the Fire Nation than any patriotic Earth Kingdom with a butcher knife would approve of. Fire Nation authority abandoning the town might incite a revolt or something by the Earth Kingdom locals and How, as a proud member of the Earth Kingdom Army, must prevent that. No civilians, irrespective of their nationalities, are to be harmed in the war; that was the agreement both sides had agreed on since the time of Sozin.

As Lin tailed the general on his way back to Ba Sing Se after he was finished in Gaipan, all the while wondering what he should do with this golden opportunity, he noticed something How and his men did not: a group of bandit ready with their a 'rockalanche' trap (large bended boulders rolling down a steep cliff) aimed at How. A gift from the spirit! Lin sprung that trap before How did and engaged the bandits right where How could see Lin 'saving' him. His plan worked; How was impressed by Lin, totally bought Lin's story of him being a wondering martial artist who 'came from' (note: not 'born in') Senlin, and just so happened to pass by. To show his gratitude, How took him in and made him a corporal in his 1st Vanguard Unit, purportedly the most elite military unit in the whole Kingdom, at least in term of status. Lin went through basic solider training where he impressed the general further by his skill in combat and leadership and earned him a promotion to sergeant after only a month in the army. And now, three months later, he got promoted again.

Lin smirked a bit… didn't How know that he had just invited into his army the very same boy who had kicked his keister only a little more than a year ago in a battle near Nan Shan River?

"Major Megumi Keh!" _finally, the last person!_ Lin sighed. He watched form the corner of his eyes the only female officer marching proudly toward the podium. Hmm… major, huh? They were called by the order of their new rank, the lowest to the highest, and they had two new lieutenant colonels in the ceremony; shouldn't this female major have been called _before_ those two lieutenant colonels? Ah, yes… Lin remembered from his study of the Earth Kingdom culture and society system: the Kingdom was still a little over their sexism, unlike the Fire Nation. Sure, to a certain extent, Fire Nation females were still below the males, like how females were prohibited to join any combat units in the Army and were only allowed to serve in the battle support such as army cooks or medics; and only in the Homeland Defense Force, which was a separate entity form the Army, were women allowed to serve as combatants. But, comparatively speaking, the Fire Nation had the most liberal system when it comes to feminism (not counting the extinct Air Nomads). In the Earth Kingdom Military, Army or Defense Force, women were not allowed to join as a combatant at all; they were only allowed to assume non-combat roles. But, even so, they were still discriminated. Like in the Earth Kingdom Army Medical Regiment, women were only allowed to enlist as nurses, not doctors or healers; even as members of the support unit, they had to take the sidekick roles.

That was why it was very very rare to see any female holding a rank higher than captain, a mid-rank. Lin watched as the female major accepted her uniform and badge, notice how less loud the applause the crowd gave the major. It takes no genius to correctly assume that Major Megumi Keh was called last and received less enthusiastic response simply because she was a woman.

* * *

_Leaves from the vine_

_Falling o slow_

Sang Iroh accompanied by his pipa. A sad song for a rather happy occasion, hmm… Happy occasion because when he woke up that morning, the last of his bruises he had sustained at the hand of Lin was finally gone. So, he decided to celebrate a little. Ah… spring breeze… fresh and gentle, and it carries with it the scent of life, of flowers and grass, of moist earth and fresh jasmine.

_Like fragile tiny shell_

_Drifting in the pond_

Spring… Lu Ten used to like spring. Spring meant hiking trip to mountain with Iroh, only the two of them; Lin wouldn't come because of his training with Jeong Jeong and Jiang, Azula would be busy with her study, Zuko would be begging to be allowed to come but Ursa wouldn't let him on account of his study. But now… Lu Ten was no longer with the living, Ursa was no longer around, Lin was gone, off to killing people in the name of the glorious Fire Nation, Azula was kept busy by her firebending training with Lo and Li, and Zuko had been elusive lately.

Zuko… the Fire Prince would turn twelve this year; just one more year before he would be old enough to fight the war. Now, in Iroh's opinion, Zuko had been acting weird lately; or maybe he was just acting out, who knows. While it is true that Iroh had been locking himself up in his room, feigning sickness while recuperating from his injuries, he had still kept his watchful eyes over the young prince, the young prince whom he had seen doing strange things like running and jumping around the palace, climbing the roofs of various buildings in the palace, raising a cotton plant on his front yard only to leap over the fast growing plant every morning, and snoop around the palace, tailing a random person everywhere at night. _And they said the palace is a safe place_…

Iroh's warrior sense, aided by his fatherly instinct, sniffed the young Dragon of the Deep Forest's claw-print all over this bizarre behavior of Prince Zuko.

_Little soldier boy_

_Comes marching home_

Soldier boy… let's talk about soldier _girl_. Azula… poor girl, thought Iroh sadly. To an outsider, Azula's life might be something akin to a fairytale; born into power and riches, with talent and look to match. Well, Iroh was no outsider. He knew exactly what the little girl was suffering even though Azula might not think that she was suffering.

_Brave soldier boy_

_Comes marching home_

Iroh put down his pipa. He reached to his teacup and took a sip of the warm holiness of ginseng. Ah… hot ginseng tea and spring; like fresh green tea and summer, or warm oolong tea and autumn, or spiced herbal tea and winter: a perfect match.

Iroh gazed outside the window, at the clear blue sky; a serene view that only people his age can truly appreciate. He drank the rest on his tea in several more sips, taking his time savoring the fragrance and the taste of the liquid. Putting his now empty cup back on the table, he got up. _Time's for destiny_, he stretched his back. Time for Zuko's firebending practice.

* * *

Lin gulped down nearly half of his apple juice in one go, smacking his lips. Took a while before he could finally stomach Earth Kingdom food and drinks. Unlike Fire Nation food, that are mostly spicy, and drinks, that usually have tangy flavor, Earth Kingdom food and drink tasted bland and plain to Lin. If it'd been only the food that tasted a little 'weak', it wouldn't have been a big problem; the thing is, even the juices were lacking the 'kick' Fire Nation fruit juice has. Heck, Lin had tried Earth Kingdom orange juice, the so-called tangiest of all juiced-able fruit, once and it got him thinking: would an Earth Kingdom faint if he gave him a glass of Fire Nation orange juice? Spirits! How the Earth Kingdom could stand toe-to-toe against the Fire Nation this long while consuming these 'weak-flavored' food daily, Lin would never know.

Abruptly, a music echoed in the hall; the crowd started to applaud and cheered. A second later, they poured down the dance hall in pairs, men holding women's hand gently as if it was made of paper. Lin had been to several 'high-class' parties in his homeland, grudgingly and courtesy to his father, and never had he seen anything like those twirly, tip-toey, fluid and smooth movements of these Earth Kingdom people, their so-called 'dance'. Fire Nation has dances too, restricted only to nobilities it might be, but Fire Nation dances were a lot different; less fluid, less twirly, and definitely less up-close-and-personal like this.

"Slow down, will ya!" a cheerful reprimanding voice reached his ears. Having nothing else to do, he turned around to the source of the voice: a man in the most magnificent Earth Kingdom noblemen's green and gold robe grinning at his companion who, though wore the exact same robe, did not wear the thick solid golden headpiece with the shape akin to a wall, and wore a more humble one, signifying their obvious difference in social rank; the first person was the higher one.

"After ten months eating nothing but army food?" the other man raised a brow, halting his progress of stuffing his already stuffed mouth with a handful of tofu puff and apple fritter.

"…Good point", the first man nodded and, to Lin's surprise, began to mimic his friends gesture: reaching out to the nearest plate of butter cookies and jammed more cookies than he should to his own mouth.

_Now, this is interesting_, Lin smirked into his cup.

"Hey, Spear", the second guy, the one with less fancier headpiece, a pair of green eyes, bright and clearly visible impish persona, and two meals worth of food stuffed inside his puffy cheeks, nudged the first man. "Don't you think we should go and say hi to our newly crowned major?"

The first man 'Spear', a man whose dark brown eyes followed the former's green ones to the only female officers in the crowd, Major Megumi Keh who was chatting rather animatedly to a bunch of ladies, all civilians, of course, ran his hand along his chin, imitating a serious thinking face unsuccessfully, unsuccessful because his mouth was also stuffed with food.

"I don't know, Trik", Spear shrugged, gulping down his chewed food with the help of a cup of beverage. "Too risky, don't you think?"

"Nah", 'Trik' shrugged casually; now that the food in his mouth had entered his next digestive system, Lin could see that he had a crooked mischievous smile. "We can just say you've been adopted by a noble man and were forced to attend this party against your will."

"And what are you doing here?" Speak narrowed his eyes questioningly, seemed bemused by this possible ruse.

"I'm your butler", Trik said nonchalantly through the naughty smile of his.

"You? A butler?" Spear chuckled. "You? The very same man who once tried to breed crick-roach inside your tent for profit? The same man who sniffed his last week's underwear when homesick? The sa—"

"Whoa there, buddy!" Trik shushed him off. "What do I tell you about leaking military secrets?"

"Do it in good health", Speak replied, puffing his chest proudly and unnecessarily.

"Fine reply, young man", Trik also puffed his chest; reaching out to a nearest cup, he raised it. "To good health!"

"And military secrets!" Spear raised his cup too, bumping it lightly on his friends.

"To good military secrets!" Trik added.

"And may they be healthy!" and they drank.

"What are _you two_ doing here?"

The source of snappy menacing hiss in the form of question was none other than Major Megumi Keh. If both men were surprised by the woman spotting them among the crowd, they hid it very well behind those silly grins of theirs.

"Oh, hi honey", Spear lightly greeted. If ordinary girls would usually slump into shy blush by this (in his opinion) charming greeting of his, Major Megumi Keh showed nothing but contempt.

"That's _Major_ to you, _Captain_", she seethed, putting heavy emphasis on the two military-related terms.

"Oh, hi Major Honey", Spear corrected his earlier greeting. Not exactly what the Major was looking for.

Biting back her hellish insult she had been holding up inside ever since the three of them met years ago, Megumi ignored Spear and his tomfoolery. Instead, she repeated her earlier inquiry. "What are you doing here? Both of you are supposed to be in the camp."

"The war's been slow lately so Haoqi gave us permission to come to this fancy party", Spear shrugged. He then abruptly pointed at something behind Megumi as if he saw someone or something so interesting that the lady major should simply see. "Hey, would you look at that…"

As Megumi turned around to see what it was Spear was pointing at, Trik skillfully reached out to Spear's fancy headpiece, pulled out the locking pin, yanked off the headpiece, and hidden it inside his sleeve pocket, all with Spear's silent consent and purposeful nonchalance. This underhanded activity, however, did not go unnoticed completely by Megumi who, upon turning back to Spear and Trik, noticed something was missing from Spear though she could not put a finger on it.

"What?" Spear asked innocently, confronting Megumi's subtle gape, while Trik was whistling his guilt away.

"…Something's different", Megumi muttered. Wanting to find out what it was, she threw the man a head-to-toe scrutinizing look; that was when she realized that there was not just something missing, there was something _extra_! "Where did you get that robe?"

"Oh, do you like it?" Spear asked, swinging side to side like a girl showing off a new dress. "We mugged a couple noblemen and stole their clothes on our way in."

"The same way Dr. Senshi Mor got his diploma", Trik butted in, his earlier impish grin came back on his mug.

"Don't even joke about that!" Megumi snapped at Spear, then at Trik. "And I do not tolerate this abuse on Major Mor's character behind his back!"

"What're we supposed to do, Megumi?" Spear shrugged. "We've tried countless of time abusing Major Mor's character in _front_ of his back but he wouldn't respond."

"Yeah, the man's too busy learning how to hold a scalpel right", Trik came again to Spear's aid.

"Enough, Captains!" Megumi lashed out, drawing several curios eyes from nearby guests.

At this moment, Lin felt a firm hand grasped his shoulder; it was General How himself. Lin bowed down politely as a soldier should to a general, a plain bow, which is an accepted form of salute within the Earth Kingdom Military (it took him awhile to get used to bowing without hand sign); How returned this with a fatherly beam.

"Come", How said. "Let's join the celebration."

How led the young lieutenant away from the spot and, to the aforementioned lieutenant's surprise, approached Spear and Trik who was arguing with Megumi, though the former two were virtually in lighter mood than the latter was.

"Good afternoon", How greeted them, almost cheerfully. Now, that's something! General How was usually grumpy all year long. But, as I said before… spring. The appearance of the strongest man in the whole Earth Kingdom (as far as the system was concerned) sent Spear into a shooting a subtle scornful look, Trik into a nervous grin, and Megumi into deep blush and stutters.

"G-general How", Megumi spluttered, bowing quickly and recklessly she nearly tripped. "W-what an honor to meet you, sir."

"Ah, _General_ How", Spear also greeted but more casually; so casual some might think he was being rude and that's not counting the unnecessarily sharp 'General'. "What a pleasure. You know, my _father_ is a big fan of yours. Boy, if I sent him a letter saying that I am now standing five feet away from the famous General How, he's gonna trip off his _Omashu_ mind."

Yeah… How got the message… no blundering Spear's identity.

"The pleasure is all mine", How managed to reply graciously.

"Sai Haoren. Captain", Spear introduced himself, offering a handshake. "And this less-educated looking man here is Akugi Sho, also Captain. Earth Kingdom Combat Support: Army Medical Regiment. Surgeons, both of us."

"Charming", How commented, smiling; he took Spear's, or rather, Sai's hand and shook it. Sai smiled smugly and annoyingly at the clearly annoyed and envious Megumi, a smile that said '_bet you can't do this', _flaunting how buddy-buddy he could get with General How.

"Oh, right. This is Major Megumi Keh, Head Nurse of our unit", Sai made it looked as if he had forgotten about Megumi, much to the lady's hateful glare chagrin. However, Megumi managed to reply How's gentlemanly nod with a smile.

"I would like to introduce you to Lieutenant Lin", How patted the boy on the shoulder proudly. "One of our newest and brightest addition to the 1st Vanguard Unit."

"Lieutenant", Sai nodded politely at Lin. Lin replied with similar nod and a, "Captain."

"Lieutenant", now it was Trik, aka Akugi, who received the same nod and 'Captain' from Lin.

"Lieutenant", came from Megumi, met with Lin's "Major."

Next was a chaotic and comical flurry of...

Sai's introducing gesture to Akugi and Lin, saying. "Captain, Lieutenant."

"Lieutenant", Akugi nodded again at Lin who automatically replied. "Captain."

"General", he turned to How who, of course, replied. "Captain?"

"Lieutenant", Sai gestured at Lin, prompting How to greeted 'Lieutenant' and Lin to reply 'General'.

"General, Major", Sai struck again at How and Megumi; both victims called 'Major' and 'General' respectively.

"Major, Lieutenant", now it was Megumi and Lin, who nodded at each other with 'Lieutenant and "Major', Sai went for.

"And that's the major introduction for today", Sai concluded, hiding his smirk skillfully while his three victims were reconstructing the fact that they had been had in their minds.

"By the way, Lieutenant", Akugi, Sai's unofficial sidekick, distracted everyone with a classic move taken from the principle of 'Pranks and Practical Jokes': changing the topic.

"Captain?" Lin instinctively replied, still hadn't recovered from earlier joke.

"You looked a little too young for your age. Mind if I ask how old you really are?" Akugi asked as politely as his smirk could get.

"Ah… Um, I'm turning fourteen this summer", Lin replied, still trying to shake off the feeling that he had just been a victim of a joke (which he was).

"Fourteen?" Sai frowned, he unknowingly raised his voice. "A lieutenant in the 1st Vanguard? Aren't you a little too young to join a combat unit?"

Like the Fire Nation Military, the minimum age for new recruits at that time was thirteen. Unlike the Fire Nation Army, however, young soldiers under eighteen in the Earth Kingdom Army were assigned to non-combat duties, like medic, army cooks, combat engineers, supply quartermaster, storehouse guards, etc. Only when they reached eighteen would they be assigned to do the real fighting. And the 1st Vanguard, like the other nine Vanguard Units, was a strictly combat unit.

"I made an exception for our young lieutenant here", How laughed, coming to Lin's rescue. "He may be young, but Lieutenant Lin is one of the best combatants in the whole Vanguard. His skill with his sword is out of this world."

"General, with all due respect to the Army", Sai said coldly; Akugi tugged his arm subtly, asking him to stop to no avail. "Am I seeing the birth of a new trend of including kids to our fighting force now? You may not know this, General, but to us who are serving up close to the front stitching up children together is not something any of us would want to make a habit of."

Lin raised a brow at the man's brazen impudence; a perplex feeling shared by Megumi's opened jaw and Akugi's 'he's done it now' sigh.

"As if the war is not terrible enough with the grown-ups doing all the fighting—", Sai continued with his berating.

"Captain!" but Megumi cut his short. Apologetically, she bowed deeply to How. "Please excuse Captain Haoren's manner, General. Being an army doctor in the front really is a stressful job. All the blood and gore, it can get unbearable sometimes,"

"Yes, I understand", How sighed. "Well, I'm afraid I must excuse myself. I just remember I have something I must attend to."

With that, How strode away from the crowd. Only when How had vanished into the crowd did Megumi lashed out again at Sai.

"Are you crazy?" she nearly yelled, slapping the man's arm. "That was the most honorable general in the army talking to you and you accused him of… of…"

"Homicide?" Sai guessed.

"Genocide?" Akugi didn't want to be left out.

"Stop this impudence at once!" Megumi yelled with all the authority of a major in the Earth Kingdom Army. Sadly, that very same authority earned her a disapproving glare from the guests with earshot. Fuming and blushing with anger and embarrassment, she threw a killer glare at both captains before stomping herself way angrily, followed by the captains' victorious smug.

"Thought she'd never leave", Akugi sighed in relief, handing Sai his headpiece back.

"Well, yeah. Thank the spirits she did", Sai replied offhandedly, donning his headpiece back on. "I was about to tell her about your secret rendezvous with Nurse Mei Ling to make her leave."

"Which one is Nurse Mei Ling?"

"You know, the one with pigtails, curvy figure, red finger polish. She likes it when you call her your 'little booboo'."

"Oh, _her_! Nah, she already knew. She ran into us when I was teaching Nurse Mei Ling human anatomy in the supply tent."

"…And?"

"About the same time _we_ ran into _her_ and Senshi when they were about to teach each other human anatomy in the supply tent."

Sai laughed out loud at this. They both had completely ignored Lin until Lin tried to walk away from them.

"Hey, Lieutenant", Sai called. There was no malice in his tone despite his earlier apparent disapproval of Lin becoming an officer in a combat unit. "Where are you going? Come on, talk to us."

"Talk with us", Akugi dropped in.

"Tell us a little about yourself", Sai continued, offering a glass of beverage form the table to Lin.

"Nothing much to tell", Lin shrugged, receiving the cup from Sai. "I was just a wandering swordsman when I met the general. He has been kind to me, kind enough to accept me into his Vanguard Unit."

"I see", Sai nodded. "How long have you been in the Army?"

"Since spring, I guess", Lin replied casually.

"Spring, eh?" Sai mulled out loud. "Four months and already a lieutenant. An amazing achievement for someone who are serving under General How directly."

"Thank you, sir", Lin nodded curtly.

"Where do you come from, Lieutenant?" Akugi asked; he had begun to stuff his face again.

"From Senlin, Captain", Lin replied, causing Akugi to choke.

"Senlin?" frowned Sai, interrogating Lin in Akugi's stead. "You make a trip halfway across the world to be in on the action, Lieutenant? I thought Senlin is the front of the frontier."

"Exactly why I decided to travel, sir", sighed Lin; he made it looked like had had been asked this question many times before. A fairly convincing act too.

"What do you mean?" Sai asked curiously.

"White sheet that is put for far too long near a yellow one will turn yellow as time goes by", Lin answered with an idiom.

"Impressive command of the literature for someone so young", Sai commended, genuinely impressed. Not every day he met a soldier who was strong as well as smart. "From what I heard, it was pure hell in Senlin. What's with the Fire Nation Army occupying the village every now and then."

"Well, what do you expect from a village located directly on the western shore?" Lin sighed again. "It's practically a welcome mat for the Fire Nation Army."

But before either Sai or Akugi could retort, How approached them again, more subtly this time, while looking from side to side.

"She's gone?" he asked Sai once he got close. "I thought she'd never leave."

"Now, now", Sai said patiently. "She _is_ a woman."

"And with us four charming men around, it is a miracle she didn't ask any of us to marry her yet", Akugi added, feeding his narcissism.

"…Trik, don't even joke about that", Sai replied, taking a step away from the man. Turning to the intruder, he inquired bluntly. "What's up?"

…_What's up…?_

"Later", How dismissed him. The general directed his attention to Lin. "Lieutenant, heed my order!"

"Yes, sir!" Lin bowed; Earth Kingdom Army bowed as the form of salute.

"Effective immediately, you are to perform a special duty as a single operative separate from the 1st vanguard", How declared. "Your new duty will be the safeguarding of Captain Sai Haoren of 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital."

"What?" came out from both Lin and Sai. While Lin was confused, Sai was taken aback.

"You're making me a bodyguard?" Lin asked while Sai shouted. "You're giving me a babysitter?"

"Yes", How answered both question with one ston— _answer_! Sorry…

"As you wish, General", a reply came from Lin; similar in sound but polar opposite in meaning compared to Sai's "You wish!"

"Make me proud, Lieutenant", How bowed to Lin and to Sai, he spat. "Shut it, boy! The war is going to take a bad turn soon and I have to ensure your safety!"

"I can take care of myself!" Sai argued heatedly.

"You need a bodyguard and that's final!" How yelled back. Not giving any chance for Sai to reply, he strode away quickly, followed by Sai's rather impolite remark that would, under normal circumstances, earn him a death sentence. It took a few minutes and few more cups of cold beverage to subdue the captain's rage. Then, Akugi broke the silence.

"I'm guessing you are wondering why the most powerful man in the army is so concerned about the safety of one lousy captain, huh?"

"I'm getting there", Lin admitted.

"Spear, may I?" Akugi asked Sai for his permission. Sai, still upset, simply grunted his reply before taking out his anger on some innocent cookies.

"Lieutenant", Akugi addressed Lin again. "This man right here is actually Sairen How. He's General How's son."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I'm alive! MWAHAHAHAHA! Ehem…

Names:

1. Sai (歳) Haoren (好人), in Mandarin 'sai' means talent, 'haoren' means 'good person'. His real name, Sairen, then would mean 'talented person'.

2. Akugi Sho, 'akugi' (悪戯) in Japanese means 'prank' and 'sho' (笑) means 'laugh'

3. Yan Keh , from Mandarin 'yange' (厳格), which means 'strict'

4. Senshi (山師)Mor; 'sen' being an alternative pronunciation of 'yama' (山), 'yamashi' in Japanese means 'impostor'. Mor is Thai for 'doctor'. Also, there is a word 'senshi' (戦士) in Japanese which means 'soldier'.

5. Haoqi, is from the words 'hao' (好), which means 'good', and 'qi' (気) which means 'spirit'.

6. Megumi is a Japanese name for girls.

About the year system, it would seem that at least the Earth Kingdom use the Chinese calendar system, as apparent in the episode 'the Library'. The kaleidoscope machine that the Gaang was using had the years bearing the names of the Chinese Zodiac animals. Also, the solar eclipse should happen in the year of Monkey, and this Book takes place four years before the start of Book Water, five years before the eclipse; so, that would be the year of Rabbit. As for the 'Superior Military' part, I'm not really sure about that. According to what the Gaang found out, the eclipse would happen in the year of 'Superior Military Monkey', so I just go with the Superior Military thing. Maybe it is the name of the cycle, once the twelve animals have all taken a year, they moved on to the next title or something. I'm not sure but let's just assume that. :)

Sorry for my lack of knowledge. I only know that in the Chinese calendar system, the Zodiac animal would usually be accompanied by one of the Five Elements (Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, and Metal); for example, the Year of Wood Monkey, or Earth Dragon, etc. And since in the Avatar Universe, they use the Four Elements version, which seems to be adapted from Greek philosophy, it doesn't seem to fit in.

And also, a pun on the 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital, the pronunciation for the number 4 in Chinese and Japanese have an uncanny similarity to the pronunciation of the word 'death' in those two languages. That is why the number four is often treated as an unlucky number, much like the number 13 in western society. Also, if you have a chance to visit a multi-storey building in Chinese speaking country, you would probably realize that the floor number for 4 is often replaced by '3a'; so it goes like, floor 1, floor 2, floor, 3, floor 3a, floor 5, and so on.

To hpswst101, sorry for the long update. Yep, the previous chapter was so very long, 20000+ words. Phew… Hopefully from now on I'll be writing the usual 4-6000 something again. but, who knows… I've decided to give up on my habit of making assumption or prediction long time ago; not doing particularly well...

Lin won't be going to North Pole just yet. Remember, the Chicken Lord is watching his every move.


	63. Chapter 62

**Chapter 62 – Enter Ba Sing Se**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"LIIIINNNN!"

"Arggh!" shouted Lin, rudely awoken from his sleep. Our young lieutenant rolled down from his bed onto the ground unceremoniously, his head met with the foot of his bed. Entangling himself from his blanket, rubbing the bump on his head, he groggily rose from the ground with his bruised dignity, still sleepy from last night's insomnia. Tsk! If only it hadn't been Sai who yelled him awake, there would have been a murder committed in the house of General How. _Yeah, hate him… hate him…_

Lazily, he stretched his stiff body. He then headed off to the indoor bathroom, carrying his towel. This was a nice change for him, living in General How's mansion. Up until two days ago, he was still living in the 1st Vanguard Unit Quarters, sharing a room with five other soldiers. Although the living condition for the soldiers of the Vanguard Units was so much better than normal soldiers, unsurprisingly since the Vanguards Units were mostly mid- to higher-class citizens of the Kingdom, sharing a room with others was not really something Lin was used to do. He was born a noble, after all, he was more used to having a room of his own.

Lin had already brushed his teeth, washed his face, and was submerged neck down in the bathtub when Sai barged into his bathroom.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"Taking a bath?" Lin guessed.

"In the morning? Geez… I called you a few minutes ago. Come on, we're going downtown."

"Nah, I'll pass."

"But, you're my bodyguard."

"In the warfront, not in Ba Sing Se."

"Same thing, life's a battlefield all the same."

"Says who?"

"Says me just now. Come on! Chop, chop! Five minutes; I'll be waiting in the stable."

Lin grunted, hard to say if it was a 'yes' or a 'no'. Sai took it as a yes. Sheesh, if only Lin could finish his mission right now. Not that he actually wanted to do it, of course. So, he hated him… hated him as much as he could…

Unlike the initiation test for the other three divisions, the initiation for Byakko did not focus on how fast the initiate could complete their objective. In the other three divisions, they aimed to produce effective killers; fast, agile, strong, cunning, cruel, decisive. The initiates of the other three divisions would usually be provided a target along with crucial information about him/her; name, portrait, daily schedule, layout of the target's home or something, anything that could accommodate the would-be assassin to take the target out. Then, they would be judged by the time it took to complete the assassination and how neatly they did it. Byakko, however, were more a group of spies than killers; the initiates were judged by their skill in infiltrating the enemy rank and staying undetected for as long as possible until the word from above came, ordering them to do a murder. The initiation for Byakko could take months, even years. And the instruction for Wuxin was simply 'infiltrate the 1st Vanguard of the Earth Kingdom. Target: Sairen How, son of General How'; that's it. There was no further information provided about the target Sai; no portrait, no schedule, no statistic, no nothing. Lin had to figure out the rest. And so, he hated him… tried to hate him as much as possible…

So that when the time comes, slitting Sai's throat would not be so hard for Lin…

And now, there he was, lazily putting on his soldier uniform; black uniform with yellow outline, all leather from the body armor to the shoulder pads, drab yellow sash, brown trousers, and black leather boots and metal-plated bracers. Custom-made, it seemed; normally, metal-plated bracers would not be a part of Earth Kingdom Army regalia. No doubt courtesy of General How; Lin had to remember to thank him later, just to be safe. He slipped a pair of short concealable knives on his boots, one in each, hit several sets of throwing knife behind his sash, two below each bracer, and strapped his Nightshade on his back. He picked up his helmet, also black with yellow outline, with a foot long pike and green tuff on top and jaw and neck cover on the bottom; it did not take him long to decide that wearing it would make him look ridiculous. So he put it back on the table and picked up his officer's badge; green jade carved into the shape and size of Earth Kingdom round coin, the Kingdom insignia, golden tassel tied around it, and the words '1st Vanguard' carved on one side, 'Earth Kingdom Regular Army' on the other. He tied the other end of the tassel on his sash, the badge dangled on his waist.

That should do it, he decided, observing his reflection in the mirror. He almost did not recognize himself in the uniform; Lin, the Dragon of the Deep Forest, a lieutenant in the Earth Kingdom Army. Heh… if only his father could see him right now, the shock might shorten five years of the general's life.

Oh well…

All dressed up, ready to begin the day; Lieutenant Lin of the Earth Kingdom strode to the stable.

* * *

_I hate them… I hate them… I hate them…_

Princess Azula carefully placed a cup of jasmine tea on the loop of the rope-trap she had meticulously prepared. It would seem unsightly for a Fire Princess to linger around the Royal Male Living Quarters without supervision but she was not feeling compliant that day. She hated her firebending training with the twin old-tweets.

_I hate them… I hate them… I hate them…_

Satisfied with her work, she let he feet tiptoed her to a safe hiding spot behind a large round beam. There, she waited for her prey to spring the trap. It had been four months since she started her training in the master level of the firebending; she should be happy but she was not. She hated her training; she hated her _trainers_ to be more specific. The pair of old coots who did nothing but talk; all they had been doing was instructing verbally: do this technique like _this_, that move should look like _that_, the sweeping kick should go higher like the last one! Bleh…

_I hate them… I hate them… I hate them…_

She missed her daddy on firebending practices; her dad would never neglect a demonstration of the move she would be learning, astonishing her with the technique before teaching her how to do it. Always showing his student that he could do what he was about to teach, proving his own skill before even attempt to teach anything. Now that's a teacher! Someone who does what he preaches.

"Arrrgh!"

_Gotcha!_

She emerged from her hiding spot, running towards the trapped target; an old man hanging upside down on his leg.

"Princess, did you do this?" Iroh gasped.

"Uncle!" Azula squealed. Crouching down and hugged the man's neck tightly. "Practice with me!"

"… You do realize that I am hanging upside down on a piece of rope, right?"

"Those old ladies are horrible! I hate them!"

"Now, now, Princess", Uncle Iroh, a good uncle through and through, offered his sagely advice. "Hatred is such an ugly thing. Surely, Ladies Li and Lo are not that terrible of instructors. Do you know that they used to train me and your father?"

"I don't care, I hate them!" Azula pouted. "They're— _bossy_!"

"All teachers are", Iroh shrugged, still upside down. "That's normal."

"I don't want to learn from them! I wanna learn from father!" Azula pouted again.

_Father, eh? _Pondered Iroh. "Princess, your father is the Fire Lord, the supreme ruler of our Nation. He is occupied with our Nation's affair."

"I know! And since Father's busy, I want you!"

Iroh sighed deeply (still upside down). Ozai never told him anything anymore. Iroh had to find out the real reason for Li and Lo coming to palace himself, by the time he did, Azula had already mastered the second form of the master level techniques. As far as Iroh concerned, Li and Lo were okay, they were not evils or anything; they were strict, yes. And snobbish, maybe. And prideful, a little. And, yeah, bossy. And scary sometimes. But, despite their (numerous) flaws, they were both excellent teachers.

"Why do you hate them?" Iroh asked, trying to reason with the sulking princess. "Were they mean to you?"

"…No. But I don't like them!" Azula pouted. "They always told me to do stuff and when I do it wrong, they punish me. But when I asked them to show me how it's done, they wouldn't do it."

_Because they're not firebenders_, Iroh was itching to say that. The firebending style practiced by the Royal Family is a secret art, not as secret as the Celestial Dragon Style of the Lin Family per se, but secret nonetheless. The Royal Procession were taught the beginner level, officers of the Royal Procession and Imperial Firebending Instructors may learn the advanced level. The master level techniques, however, were available only for those who carry the Royal Blood. Therefore, to preserve the secrecy of the higher-tier techniques of the art, Royal Master Instructors were chosen specifically from non-benders to learn how to _teach_ the art. They were taught the secret and the knowledge of the art, but the lack of Agni's Gift in their beings prevents them from using it themselves; a clever system created by the Fire Lords of the past.

"Princess, like it or not, they are your teachers now", said Iroh, deciding not to fill in the girl this little piece of information; if Ozai as Azula's father decided not to tell her this, what right did Iroh have to override Ozai's parental right? "I know you miss your father training you but you must also understand that every teacher has his way of teaching the students. Li and Lo's way might be a little odd, but trust me, it's effective. I mean, look at how your father and I turned out."

"I don't wanna learn from them" Azula whined, launching the puppy dog eyes on her uncle. "I want to train with you again."

"I… um…" Iroh hesitated; Azula's puppy dog eyes might have stopped working on Zuko but Iroh was a different story. "I can't. I'm sorry, Princess."

"Why not? You're training Zuzu…"

"Yes, because he is still nowhere near master level", Iroh reasoned. "He is not as good as you, you know."

Attacking Zuko's slow improvement behind his back while praising Azula's talent subtly; a prudent maneuver by Iroh…

"So ditch him", Azula suggested coldly. "Let him learn from an Instructor."

"Princess Azula", an old lady voice came from behind the girl, making her jump a little and saving Iroh from having to reprimand the girl. Lo and Li were standing a few feet away behind the princess and the upside down Iroh.

"You are late for your morning training", one of them started.

"We have been waiting for an hour for you to show up", the other added.

Azula narrowed her eyes at Uncle Iroh, wordlessly saying '_see what I have to deal with everyday'_; Iroh simply shrugged his reply. Getting up, Azula dusted off her pants; not waiting for the old ladies, certainly not wanting to hear any more of their lecture, especially the creepy one where they complete each other sentences, Azula ran off to her room to change into her training garb. Lo and Li followed suit without even showing any sign of acknowledging Iroh in trouble while Iroh was too busy feeling sympathetic for his niece. Yeah… after spending five years under the twin ladies tutelage, Iroh knew too well the kind of hell Azula was going through.

…

"Hey, somebody! Let me down!"

* * *

"Five minutes", Sai grumbled inside the carriage, arms crossed. "Do you not have any sense of time at all, Lieutenant?"

"Call me Lin", Lin smirked casually. "And I am sorry for my tardiness, Young Master."

He wasn't…

"Call me Spear", Sai replied. "The 'Young Master' thing is starting to get in on my nerve."

"Why 'Spear'?"

"You'll see", Sai smirked back. "And since you will be accompanying me beyond the wall of Ba Sing Se, I must tell you that as far as the Army is concerned, Sairen How and Captain Sai Haoren are two different individuals. Understood?"

"For your own protection?" Lin guessed. _Coward! Detestable! Deserved to be hated…_

"It's for protection alright, but not mine", Spear sounded grim.

Abruptly, the carriage halted. Lin picked up his sword and got down, followed by Sai. If two days ago Sai looked like our typical Earth Kingdom noble with hair neatly tied into the Earth Kingdom bun and fancy robes worn with dignity, that day he sported a more humble look; hair tied in Earth Kingdom bun still but his bang was left messy and a part of it covered his left eye, robe still signifying his status but much less festive than what Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring nobles would usually wear, and behind his sash something that looked like green silken cloth pouch covering a meter long piece of tube was strapped safely. Nobody would have guessed that this man was the son of the second most powerful man in the Earth Kingdom (at least according to the system).

"Here, take this", Spear shoved a large sack at Lin; _heavy… hate him…_ He pointed at a humble looking ostrich-horse carriage in front of them and ordered. "Load it onto that carriage."

Struggling a little because the sack was quite heavy, Lin heaved the burden onto the carriage as he was told. He was curious, naturally, but decided not to ask anything; seemed like he was bound to find out anyway. After helping the man unloading several more sacks and crates, they boarded the cart with Sai manning the rein himself. They traveled through the streets of the upper ring in silence; a stark difference was noted between the magnificently designed part of the city and their humble looking vehicle, drawing curious eyes from many onlookers. But, it seemed like Sai's noble demeanor and Lin's elite uniform drove their gazes away.

A few minutes of travel later, they reached the inner wall. Sai handled the talk with the guards skillfully; not only he managed to answer their questions, he also dodged their demand to inspect their loads. But, of course, saying that he was General How's son did wonder…

So, they rode again, through more shorter walls, scaling more ground in the outer rings; Lin noticed how the scene changed as they went deeper into the city, with each walls passed, the scenery got more and more humble.

"Wonderful place, isn't it?" asked Sai, noticing the look on Lin's face. "I'm guessing you've never been downtown."

"No, I haven't", admitted Lin; _nosy… hate him…_ "When I arrived, I was brought directly to the Upper Ring by the monorail."

"Ah, yes. The monorail!" Sai exclaimed ala tour guide. "The pride and joy of Ba Sing Se's architectural prowess. Built during the reign of Earth King Yi Ming nearly five hundred years ago, the Ba Sing Se Grand Monorail is the embodiment of the Earth King's impatient nature. Crisscrossing inside the grand capital city, the monorail runs through the walls, providing a safe and fast mean of transportation for the citizens of Ba Sing Se; it's also free. Rumor has it that Earth King Yi Ming ordered the construction of the Grand Monorail because he was too impatient to spend two full days of travel from one end of the city to the other. As the result, the Grand Monorail was born and people can travel through the city within hours."

"Impressive."

"And they said impatience is a bad thing", Sai scoffed. "Too bad you've never been downtown. There are many places you could go to have fun."

"I like indoors", replied Lin.

"Never been out of the barrack?"

"Nope."

"That's no fun. Well, that is fine too", Sai grinned. "A clean-cut kid like you in the Lower Ring? That's asking for trouble."

"So, we're going to the Lower Ring?" asked Lin; _to the crime lair, making my job difficult… hate him so much…_

"Yes and no", answered Sai lightly. "We will eventually go to the Lower Ring but we have to stop by the Middle Ring first. We will need help with our load."

"What are those?" asked Lin.

"Food, clothes, medicine", replied Sai.

"Where'd you get them?" asked Lin again.

"Well, you know… a generous contribution from General How."

Back in his mansion, General How was standing in his storeroom with his personal logistic staff, wondering where half of his battalion supply had gone to.

"Ah, there they are."

Sai stopped the cart in front of the wall separating the two sides of Middle Ring; a group of men and women in different clothes were standing there, some wore slightly fancy clothes like Sai, some less fancy ones, the other wore something akin to rags. The young man jumped down of the cart, followed by Lin. One of the men waiting for them, the one in brown-yellow garb, bearded face, and typical Ba Sing Se queue hairstyle (shaved front and long braided ponytail) approached them; smiling wide, he bowed at Sai, reciprocated by the man, and then shook Sai's hand in friendly manner.

"Young Master, it is nice to see you again", he greeted.

"Nice to see you too, Kwun", Sai greeted back. He then introduced the man to Lin as a member of some sort of charity foundation in Ba Sing Se, the one who set helping the refugees in the Lower Ring as its main objective. All those other men and women were other members of the foundation. After spending a few more seconds chatting, Kwun ordered his men to help unloading the cart.

"—bad housing, unsafe neighborhood, difficulty in finding stable jobs", Kwun went on the list of what Ba Sing Se had in store for refugees who could not afford a living in Middle or Upper Rings. "And on top of that, it is a crime lair down there. So, every now and then we help them by providing food and medicine. We also have fighters in our group who help the police patrol the streets at night, healers who help tend to the sick, also scholars who help teach children literature. But, there is only so much we can do."

"What about the government?" asked Lin, shoving a sack onto the empty monorail train they were loading. Kwun scoffed bitterly at this question.

"The government believes that simply exempting the Lower Ring from taxes and providing a detachment or two of the local police force is more than enough help for the refugees", said Kwun bitterly. "We have sent numerous petitions to the Palace; I'm still waiting the reply for the first one I sent when I was a teenager twenty years ago."

"I can't believe the government would treat their citizens like this", frowned Lin.

"Better believe it, it's the truth", said Kwun matter-of-factly. "I mean, I know that we're fighting a war—"

One of the women let out a loud startled gasp, everyone who heard their conversation abruptly stopped working, all of them eyed Kwun with disbelief or even horror, some of them even openly glared at his suddenly pale face as if reprimanding him.

"No, nothing", muttered Kwun, avoiding eye contact with Lin. "Forget I say anything."

* * *

Ozai was sitting in his empty Throne Room, eyes closed as he delved deeper into the state of tranquility in his meditation. The Fire Lord opened his eyes slowly, his gaze met with his Fire Ring surrounding the Throne. _His_ Throne.

"Come closer", he snarled at the silhouette bowing before him. The silhouette, a small framed female in black hooded garb, light leather armor, also black, worn over it; her face hidden under her mask, the mask of the Black Tortoise. A ninjato strapped behind her back, twin daggers around her waist, various kinds of shuriken and throwing knives under her armor. A Fire Nation Insignia, nearly invisible amidst the stylish intricate strokes and lines on her porcelain mask that formed the Black Tortoise, was branded on the forehead of the mask.

"I have report from Shu Jing, Your Highness", a muffled voice came from behind the mask; one that bore no emotion, no fear nor hatred, the two typical emotions one would feel when face-to-face with Fire Lord Ozai. "Piandao's School of Swordsmanship has been effectively closed. The three students charged with treason, Yoku of the House of Shu, Zhong the Viper, and Yuu the servant are nowhere to be found."

"What about Piandao?" asked Ozai through his clenched jaw; rats! His prey got away. He hated it when his prey got away. "Did you not lead the assault team sent to kill him last winter?"

"The assault failed, Your Highness", the female reported, still not showing any sign of emotion; usually one would be plagued with fear when reporting failure to Fire Lord Ozai. "Piandao managed to fend off the assault team. Our Suzaku agent and the two Seiryu assassins were lost in the process. One of our Genbu suffered a fatal injury and was nearly captured by Piandao. The rest of the team barely managed to get away unscathed, Your Highness."

"About this captured agent…"

"…she killed herself the second Piandao apprehended her, Your Highness", the Genbu assassin replied. "As per the standard procedure for Assassins, her mask was rigged with highly-concentrated acid. She managed to activate the mechanism which burnt off her face and killed her to protect her identity, Your Highness."

"What about the other survivors?" asked Ozai again, intrigued by this development. He had employed the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination multiple times and never before had he heard of anyone able to survive one assassin, let alone several assassins led by the Grand Mistress of Genbu, the Lady of the Shadow, herself.

"Two Genbu; one lost an arm, the other had his lung pierced. Both of them were retired permanently", said the Grand Mistress of Genbu eerily smoothly. 'Retired permanently' among the Secret Squad meant 'executed'. "Two other Seiryu sustained insignificant flesh wound."

"What about you?" grinned Ozai evilly.

"Several bruises, My Lord", replied the Genbu, still as calmly as before. A twisted mind game she was in, she knew.

"Hmm, I see", said Ozai, sounded almost disappointed. "Why do you take four months to report to me?"

"We had trouble escaping Shu Jing, Your highness", explained the Genbu; this is the part she knew Ozai would ask, the part she dreaded. "Piandao scoured the town hunting us. After the failed assault, we engaged him in numerous battles. Even when we finally made it out of the town, he caught up with us in the Fire Fountain City and Amber Island. I decided to bring the rest of the team to the nearby Suzaku's Headquarter in the Red Pearl Island to hide and recover our strength. Piandao caught up with us there and stayed for almost a whole month waiting for us to come out. Eventually, he gave up and left."

"So, he won", Ozai gritted his teeth. Abruptly, the Fire Ring around the Throne burst into life, burning and blazing hotter and wilder, casting an eerie light on the Genbu and her masked face and ominous shadow on Ozai's face. "We will leave him alone for now."

"Yes, Your Highness", the Genbu bowed. "Anything else, My Lord?"

"Not, not right now", said Ozai. "Go back to your post and standby for further instruction."

"Yes, sir", came from the Genbu. In a split second after, she vanished into the shadow and Ozai was alone again on the Throne Room.

Six assassins lost at the hand of one man; six out of nine. Nine assassins, one of them was the Grand Mistress of Genbu, could not take down a single target. Tch! Piandao… a nuisance had finally become a threat.

Or had he…

Ozai pondered on the situation regarding this particular issue. Ozai had long wanted to get rid of Piandao; he had taken his school away from the swordmaster, had taken his students away from him, his livelihood. But, was it enough? Certainly not! This incident had proven that Piandao posed a potential threat to him. But, to fend off nine assassins and take down six of them in one go, not to mention to actually hunt them, had them on the run for nearly four months. Piandao might be dangerous, but he also had a potential. Hmm… a potentially dangerous threat or a potentially valuable pawn? If only Piandao could be brought down on his knees. Yes…

Spare him…

* * *

"—stay away from spicy food and, for spirits' sake, don't let me catch you with liquor again", ordered Sai as he scribbled down a list of herbal ingredients on a piece of paper. The old man he was examining grinned guiltily. "Take this to the nice lady standing on the cart over there. She'll give you the medicine you need."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"No problem. Next!"

The queue moved on as the man exited the large makeshift tent and another man entered the tent. In the corner of the Lower Ring, Kwun had led Sai, Lin, and the rest of the group to a clearing on which a large makeshift tent was set up, the tent in which Sai and four other healers of various kinds were giving away free health consultation. Outside the tent, Kwun and many other volunteers were distributing food and medicine to the townspeople. Lin, on the other hand, was helping out the security team.

After Sai told Kwun of Lin being a member of the 1st Vanguard, Kwun wasted no time to enlist Lin's help. Kwun was not unprepared; he had in his group more than twenty fighters of various kinds, earthbenders, swordsmen, archers, knife-throwers, brawlers, ex-rumblers, former soldiers, etc. According to Kwun, the townspeople breaking into an open riot scrambling for food and medicine would not be the first time, hence the tight security. Also, local gangs and criminals were known to mug people on their way home from the tent for their food or medicine. A very depraved thing, yes, but time was difficult and people would do anything to survive. Even so, crimes were not something a mid-class citizen like Kwun would tolerate. So, he asked Lin to patrol around the vicinity along with several other local police whom Kwun had persuaded to help and fighters from the foundation. He hoped that with uniforms roaming around the streets, criminals would be discouraged from causing any trouble.

So, along with two strangers, a large shoeless shirtless man whose size reminded Lin of Chit Sang and tight huge muscle of Uncle Kang and a scrawny little lady who carried a set of bow, a quiver of arrows, and a pair of short swords on her waist, Lin walked across the town. A stark difference was not unnoticed between them; a slender clean teenager in soldier uniform, a rough looking man who grunted a lot, and a scraggy lady who spits a lot.

_It's okay… just walk normal_, Lin told himself as he caught a subtle movement of something or someone crawling deeper into the shadow on the corner of the alley. Must be the criminals… It seemed like his two companions noticed it too but, like Lin, they decided not to initiate a confrontation; their purpose of being on patrol was strictly bluff only, unless things really got out of hand.

But, boy… isn't the Lower Ring something? Living in the Upper Ring is like living in a utopian world; everything's clean and shiny (really, shiny! Some richer citizens gold-plated their roofs and front doors). The Middle Ring wasn't so bad, either. The Lower Ring, however, is like… how should I say this… Ba Sing Se is like one giant nobleman: magnificent looking clothes on top (Upper Ring), less magnificent looking pants down there since everybody would more likely pay more attention to the tops (Middle Ring), and the Lower Ring is like the sole of his shoes, covered with dirt, filth, and many other unsaid things. That's how Ba Sing Se was like.

_Oh well, don't think about it. This is not your city_, said Lin to himself. Better focus on the patrol; it'd be easier to do if they were allowed to just attack any criminals they came across, thought Lin. But, nah… he understood why Kwun stressed over and over again of how they must engaged in a fight only when it was absolutely necessary; violence, even against criminals who deserved it, might cause panic among the innocents. It might also cause trouble with the local authorities and result in any future event like this being prohibited. But, still… Lin was itching to lay his hands on those thugs who were hiding behind the barrel on that alley, or that group of gambling hooligans on the side of that road, or those people perching on the rooftops, watching them closely like viper-condors.

Wait… _strange_… Lin looked up to the hut on his side, on top of which he was sure— he _knew_ three individuals were perching, spying on them. For all he knew, those three could be thugs but his warrior senses told him that they were more than just average thugs. The way they lay still on the spot, how calm they felt to Lin; those three were not just thugs, and Lin was willing to bet every penny he had hidden under his pillow (that's where he kept most of his money) that those three were highly trained in the art of stealth.

"What is it?" the lady archer nudged Lin's elbow.

"Nothing", said Lin and he resumed their march. Throwing a last glance at the hut, Lin walked away from the spot, hoping that nothing too exciting happened at the tent.

And like two-headed rat vipers, the three Dai Li agents on the top of the roof crept away to their next targets.

* * *

"Don't worry, you won't feel a thing", said Sai persuasively; but, holding a needle and a thread on his hands, he was barely convincing. "I just need to suture that wound. That's all."

"That's what the acupuncturist said before he put those needles on me", said the middle-aged man. "I'm afraid of needles, doc!"

"Don't think of it as a needle. Think of it as… as…" Sai frowned, raking his brain. "… a hot lady with curves that can stop a grown man's heart and perfectly manicured talons pinching you lovingly."

"…Doc, I'm a _monk_."

"Okay, here's the deal", said Sai, pulling out his last resort. "You either let me sew you skin close or Healer Um Wa, the creepy looking old man right over there, will cauterize your wound."

"Counter… rice… what's that?"

"That's when Healer Um Wa heats up a piece of metal until it's red hot and presses it against your ski—"

"Stitch me up already, Doc!"

_Works every time_, smirked Sai triumphantly as he dabs a cotton dipped in anesthetic around the man's cut arm; apparently the monk got hurt when he was trying to trying to defend an old lady from a mugger. Oh, he did not get the cut from the mugger; being an ex-earthbender-soldier, the monk knew quite a lot about putting a hurt on a mugger. It was the old lady who swung her purse, which happened to be the place where she hid her emergency knife, at the monk because he let the mugger get away, and the monk got hurt when he instinctively raised his arm to shield himself. Yeah… Lower Ring's hell.

"Last one, Doctors", a volunteer announced as she guided an old lady to a free doctor.

"Great", Sai said to no one in particular, his trained fingers skillfully formed the stitches on the monks arm. "Now, remember not to overwork yourself. No physical exercises, no lifting up heavy stuffs or you'll rip your stitches open."

"Got it, Doctor."

"And I won't be here by the time you're ready to have the stitches open, so you will have to go to Healer Un Wa for that."

"…Do I have to, Doc?"

"Sadly, you do", smirked Sai. "Done— What's that ruckus out there?"

Frowning, Sai approached the tent's mouth and peeked out. A second later, he dashed back inside, picked up the stick in silken pouch he brought from home with him and dashed out, battle ready: the source of the ruckus was Kwun and several men brawling with two Dai Li agents.

"Stop!" Sai shouted to no avail, running to join the fight.

Two Dai Li agents against almost ten fighters; odd might be against them but victory was not. While one Dai Li agents shot his rock gloves simultaneously at the crowd, the other agent launched his hidden metal chain on Kwun who dropped his dagger as the chain sliced his arm. Next thing he knew, Kwun was dragged by the trapped arm towards the Dai Li; the other volunteers tried to free him by using earthbending to launch boulders or conjured up earth spikes, some shot quick arrows at the chain, some even tried to leap at it, wanting to yank it off, all of their efforts were nullified by the earth wall the second Dai Li summoned.

"Stop right now", one of the Dai Li warned, the other one, after quickly chained Kwun's wrists together, held him tight by his shoulder, pressing hard against a specific pressure point to weaken his captured prey. "This is an official arrest. If you resist any further, all of you will be arrested."

"Wait a second, you can't just— _hey_!" too late. As soon as Sai got there, a carriage driven by local police arrived by the Dai Li; they shoved Kwun into the carriage like he was some kind of baggage before jumping in themselves.

"Stop!" yelled Sai at the speeding carriage. Like hell he would give up! Without any regard for his own safety, he jumped up onto a nearby ostrich horse and gave chase; many volunteer workers also did the same. Soon, the streets of the Lower Ring became the arena for the chase; a police carriage chased by riders of ostrich horses, bull antelopes, various kinds of carts and carriages, and even on foot. It was understandable why even the fearsome Dai Li did not scare them; those people, people who had no faith whatsoever in the system, had no respect or even fear for the government because they believe wholeheartedly that the government did not care for them. That was why they would not give up on their comrades; because if they didn't protect each other, who would protect them?

* * *

"And then my mom was like 'if you want to be musician, then fine! You can eat your Tsungi Horn for dinner!', and then I was like 'you don't understand me, Mom! I hate you!', and then I took my Tsungi Horn and ran away from home."

"That's rough, buddy", muttered Lin sympathetically at the Earth-Kingdom-version-Chit-Sang while the lady archer patted the man's back softly.

"And what happened next?" the archer asked.

"I sold my Tsungi Horn and used the money to buy a passage to Gaoling", shrugged the man. "In Gaoling, I joined the Earth Rumble. My ring name was 'the Desert Chef'."

"…Desert Chef?" Lin raised a brow, trying not to laugh. Boy, life sure is strange: a tragedy can turn into comedy in a split second.

"Actually, it was supposed to be '_Dessert_ Chef'. I was gonna be come up to the ring with chocolate pudding in one hand a whisk in the other, you know, as my rumbler gimmick. I was gonna eat the pudding in front of my opponent as said 'YEAH! This is your butt when I'm done with you, dinner!'." the Desert Chef mimicked a scary and convincing, although slightly over-exaggerated, intimidating roar. "But, they guy on the registry kinda put an extra stroke on the character 'dessert', so it becomes 'desert'."

"So, what happened next?" grinned the lady archer while Lin laughed out loud.

"Well, the pudding had to be replaced with a handful of sand", shivered the Desert Chef as he relived the memory. "That was the reason why I lost the championship match to the Big Bad Hippo. Phew… bad batch of sand. The one I had that day has poodle-monkey's doodoo in it."

"Eeeeww!" Lin and the archer lady cringed in disgust.

"I still believe it was the Fire Nation Man who spiked my sand", thought the Desert Chef out loud. "You can never trust a foreigner. Whoa—"

As they reached the end of the alley, a speeding ostrich-horse drawn carriage ran past them; had they taken a single step further, they would have been flattened for sure.

"ARRRHHH! HEEEEEELLLLPP!" a familiar voice screamed from inside the carriage.

"Oh, hey that's Kwun", said Lin, pointing at the carriage.

"WAAAAITT! STOOOPPP!" now it was a stampeding ostrich-horse carrying a rider.

"And that's Doctor Haoren", the archer lady said.

"GET AWAY! COMING THROUGH! CAREFULL! AN OLD LADY CROSSING THE STREET AT TWO O'CLOCK!" a myriad of creatures and vehicles, carrying with them various kinds of people, came rushing. The old lady was fine, by the way; a good samaritan shoved her out of danger.

"And that's the rest of the camp", said Lin again. He and the others looked at each other questioningly, each asking the others of what the meaning of that chaos that had nearly ran them over was.

"Hey, you!" Lin stopped a man who came running, heaving form all the work out; he recognized him as one of the volunteers whom he and Sai had met in the Middle Ring. "What's going on?"

"*wheeze* Dayleegodkwn! *wheeze*Dayleecomtotentandmessup! *wheeze*" the man was having such a hard time breathing he couldn't even talk right.

"What's he saying?" frowned Lin at his companions. "Some sort of foreign language?"

"Allow me", the lady archer shoved Lin aside. "I've spent some time with the northern barbarian. I understand their language a little."

"*wheeze* Dayleegodkwn! *wheeze*Thyrtakmawayincarrage!"

"… Must be the southern dialect", concluded the lady archer.

"He's saying 'Dai Li got Kwun' and 'they are taking him away in a carriage'", said the Desert Chef; earning him Lin and the lady archer's look of disbelief and amazement. "… I read lips, okay. I've been around, too."

"I read lips too and to me it seems like he's saying… um, what are saying again?" said Lin to his companions before frowning at the nearly fainted man.

"*wheeze* Dayleegodkwn, thytakmawayincarrage! *wheeze* Oo! Oo!"

"Ng… he said 'the average weight of a healthy baby hippo-bull is two hundred and fifty six meters… yoyo'."

… a crow-raven croaked in the distance…

"WAIT! The Dai Li got Kwun?" the archer lady snapped.

"And they are taking him in a carriage?" Lin snapped too.

"And they used yoyo to measure weight in meters?" so did the Desert Chef.

"What?" Lin and the lady archer frowned at the Desert Chef. But, hey! No time for that!Without wasting any more seconds, the three of them ran toward the direction where the chaos went; the man they interrogated tried to keep up but after five lousy steps his heart gave up and he fell down face first to the ground and died…

Kidding… he slumped down on the ground and passed out, still breathing.

"Taxi!" Lin halted a distinctively yellow ostrich-horse drawn carriage and, without waiting for it to fully stopped, he let the lady archer jumped into it through the window before he did the exact same thing (ladies first, right?). The Desert Chef tried not to be left out and copied their action but due to his large frame, he got stuck halfway through the window. Even so, the part of his body that _did_ get in was large enough to squeeze Lin and the lady archer together onto the interior surface of the carriage; the lady was pressed face first on the wall, Lin sandwiched her from the back, and the Desert Chef came next.

"Driver! Follow that stampede!" the lady archer, though muffled, shouted.

"Gotcha", replied the taxi driver cheerfully. Spirits, did he not know that it was a… geez, what's the word again…? An EMERGENCY!

"So, beautiful weather we have today, huh?" the taxi driver said in all friendliness.

"Just shut yer trap and drive, idiot!" the three passengers yelled back their venom.

"Okay, okay", replied the driver, believe it or not, still cheerfully. But, when he yanked the rein, Lin and the other were shuffled inside the carriage as the taxi rocked forward with the Desert Chef's legs dangling on one side. "Don't know why you guys are in such a hurry. A beautiful day like this, it should be enjoyed. Take it slow, sniff the flowers along the road. Speaking of flowers, do you know that in Ba Sing Se there are seventy six kinds of poisonous flower? Yeah, seventy six! Can you believe that? You know, when I was a kid, my mom used to say to me, 'Son, life is like flower: you sniff the right one, it's okay; you sniff the wrong one, you're dead—"

"Yumi", whined Lin strugglingly to the lady archer, holding on to her for dear life. "I hate this cab driver."

* * *

"Why are you doing this?" Kwun struggled but with both hands tied behind his back, there was little he could do. "I didn't do anything wrong! I have an authorization to—Mmmpph!"

One of the Dai Li slammed his rock-gloved hand across his mouth, bending the earth loose from his hand onto Kwun's face, forming a mouth gag. Their carriage rocked violently suddenly; a hand came through the window and grabbed Kwun's shoulder. One of their pursuer somehow got on the side of their carriage. Not for long… one the Dai Li punched his face; the man fell off the speeding carriage.

Behind them, Sai and his steed still gave pursue. It seemed like the whole gang had joined in; Sai could see some familiar faces perching on the roofs on both sides of the roads up ahead, ready to jump aboard the Dai Li carriage. And that they did; as the carriage ran pass their point, they jumped down one by one. Only a few of them actually landed on the top of the carriage safely, none of them could hold out against the Dai Li who conjured four earth pillars that pierced the four corner of the carriage's roof, severing the roof of the carriage off the moving below.

Sai skillfully steered his steed across the pillars, the rest of the pursuers who were on ostrich horses did the same; those who rode larger animals had to stop though. But not for long; two earthbenders among the group broke the barricade with ease, allowing them to resume their march. And, gaining paces behind them, was a taxi carriage like any other except it had two legs sticking out on the side. Yep, Lin and the other were on it.

"—and then my son told me that he wanted to be a musician. Can you believe that?"

"NO!" Lin and the other two passengers yelled. The Desert Chef, however, added. "And let him be whatever he wanna be! Let him chase his dream—ufgh!"

"Sorry, my bad", laughed the taxi driver, apologizing for the turbulence. "Looks like some earthbenders' work. Seems like a fight broke out. Speaking of fights, did you know that—"

"Not again…" Yumi groaned.

"Hey, look! Up ahead", Lin exclaimed, pointing at the front through the front window.

In front of them was a wave of many carts, carriages, and steeds, carrying pursuers from the volunteer camp. In front of them, although hard to see, was an olive green carriage with busted top; the Dai Li and Kwun were in there, no doubt. The carriage was far ahead of the pursuers and was in the middle of crossing a bridge over a wide river. As it completed the crossing, a Dai Li agent popped out. Making hand gesture of grabbing and ripping apart the empty air, he earthbended the bridge, literally ripping the bridge apart into rubbles. A lone ostrich-horse rider, none other than Sai, spurred the steed and using the beast's natural ability to jump over the five meters gap with ease; several other ostrich-horse riders did the same. The others, namely those who did not ride ostrich-horses, halted; so did Lin and gang's taxi.

"Yeah, I don't think I can do that, so… if you'll just pay me my fifty six silver and ten copper pieces now…" the driver shrugged.

"Here, keep the change!" Lin growled, throwing two gold pieces at him. Strugglingly, Yumi led the exit of the cab where she tripped and stumbled on the ground, Lin came crashing on top of her a second later in his hurry to get out of the disastrous taxi. The Desert Chef tried to yank himself free but he ripped the carriage's door of the hinges instead. The driver threw him a nasty look before giving Lin a 'are you gonna pay for that?' look. Sighing in defeat, Lin threw his whole money pouch on the driver who drove away quickly before his carriage got wrecked even more or Lin changed his mind; both of them were equally bad for him.

"They took down the bridge", said Lin, peering though the halted pursuers, helping Yumi up. The Desert Chef, after ripping off the wooden frame off his waist with his bare hands, rejoined them.

"What're we gonna do?" asked Yumi.

"We gotta get close first", said Lin. he led the group forward into the crowd. They stopped at the edge of the river; it was an in-town river, more like a moat built in the city for decorative purpose.

"Pretty far to the other side", said Yumi, spitting bitterly into the river. Behind them, the murmuring crowd seemed to agree with her. "What're we gonna do now, soldier? …You can't be serious!"

"I am", replied Lin a few feet away behind her; from his stances, he was ready to (try to) jump across. Taking a deep breath, out brave lieutenant prepared himself (mentally) for the jump across. Sure, Lin had been trained in acrobatics aspect of martial art but… well, if you could see the moat, there's no way you wouldn't doubt him.

"Or maybe we can just—", the Desert Chef started but…

"EEAAAARRGGGHHHH—" screamed Lin as he dashed forward like a bolt of lightning! Propelling himself with all his might from the edge of the moat, the Dragon of the Deep Forest took flight…

"—AARRGGHHHH!"

—SPLASH—

… into the river below…

"—do this", the Desert Chef stomped the earth with his bare feet, forming a connection with the ground, making a pushing gestured downward with both hands, followed by double palm thrusts forward; a solid flat earthen bridge was formed, connecting the two sides of the moat. Cheering, the crowd resumed their march, on foot this time, some stayed to mind their steeds and vehicles, the rest led by Yumi swiftly walked across the earth bridge in an orderly fashion, all of them gave the Desert Chef an appreciative pat of the back or a 'great job, man' on the way.

"_Stupid Earth Kingdom boots!"_ cursed Lin on his mind, defensively attributing his crash landing to the standard Earth Kingdom Army boots he was wearing; like the normal Earth kingdom boots, they did not have extra space for the toes, unlike Fire Nation boots and their noticeable curved tips which allow more space for the toes which he had been wearing since childhood.

"Come on", Yumi pulled Lin out of the moat. "We gotta go. I know a short cut."

"Do you even know where they're heading?" asked Lin, trying to catch up with Yumi while fighting off the temptation to firebend himself dry. The archer led him and the Desert Chef off the crowd away from the main road into a various kind of alleys and small roads through the settlement area.

"There's only one place to go from here…" said Yumi, gazing at the tall wall far ahead.

* * *

"… _The Lower-Middle Rings Wall"_

A busted carriage halted to stop; from it a pair of Dai Li agents jumped down, dragging their hostage down with them. One of them ordered the wall guards to open the gate on the wall when Sai and his steed arrived at that spot. Sai quickly slid down off the saddle, slapping his steed away, he pulled out the long pouch he was carrying on the back of his waist and took out its content: two three-foot-long sticks, one had a pointy knife point and green tuff underneath fixed on one end and thickened part on the other, the other stick had similar thickened part on one end but different thick solid butt cap with a small pike on the other. It was a portable spear, the one you can divide into two shorter parts when you're not using it. Sai connected the similar thickened part together and twisted it, allowing the mechanism of both parts to interlock with each other, forming a whole six foot long spear. Heavily engraved and ornamented on every inch; the part directly below the spear's leaf shape blade was dragon head engraving, the dragon's body was golden enamel painting coiling all the way towards its tail on the middle where the first thickened part was, a similar dragon was mirrored on the base part of the spear, all the way to the dragon-head-shaped butt cap below.

Sai nearly leaped at the Dai Li in blind rage when a pair of arrows hit the ground between him and the Dai Li. Another pair hit the Dai Li's carriage when they tried to shove Kwun back into it, preventing them of the action. Seconds later, Yumi emerged onto of the hill nearby, her bow at ready with three arrows notched, aimed at the Dai Li, another arrow was ready between her clenched teeth. The Desert Chef emerged later of the other side of the road, reducing a large boulder that blocked his way into pebbles, roaring like an angry tigerdillo. Then, Lin appeared, jumping down out of nowhere behind the Dai Li, Nightshade at ready, hungry for blood. The Dai Li were surrounded from four directions.

And from Lin's direction, he could see clearly the whole battle zone: Yumi on top of the hill on his right, the Desert Chef with a bolder ready at his left, the so-called Dai Li agents and their captive in front of him, right between him and Sai who was ready with his green spear.

And it came to him...

—

"_We'll be fine", Sai reassured, readying his green spear; but the sight of the stampeding Fire Nation soldiers offered no comfort. "Maybe…"_

—

But, it did not matter to him…

Only twice had he felt this kind of rage, this blind fury that blocked his mind, darkening his sight, robbing him of the ability to think clearly, the ability that he was so proud of; the time when he caused an unimaginable destruction in Senlin and the time when he challenged Iroh to an Agni Kai. Screaming blood and vengeance, he rushed ahead without thinking, Nightshade whistling through the air.

Nothing else mattered to him… nothing but this…

—

_Lu Ten was standing there, a man in green robe and triangle hat died in front of him; the fearsome Dai Li agent, the first he had killed. Just a split second, just a split second the Fire Prince zoned off, contemplating this victory. Just a split second… a split second was all the treacherous Dai Li agent, the one who was ready to strike, hidden well among the fighting crowd, needed to launched his rock gloves… fragments by fragments… at the Fire Prince…_

—

—SLASHED—

"Arggh!" one of the Dai Li tasted Nightshade on his cheek, fresh blood gushing out of the man's face. Hah! He deserved it!

Still with rage unquenched, Lin swung his blade at the other Dai Li, this one managed to leap backward. Well, no matter, because the first one, the one with bloody face, was still there, down on his knees. _Kill!_ Lin raised Nightshade with both hands, ready to rain down divine retribution on these murderers who took Lu Ten away from him. But…

—CLANK—

"What are you doing?" Sai snapped at him, his spear engaged Nightshade in a deadlock. The bloody-faced Dai Li scrawled away from spot to his partner, the same time the Desert Chef ran towards Kwun, hoisted him on his broad shoulder, and carried the still-tied man to safety, and Yumi surfed down the hill to join the fight on a level ground.

Lin, still with fire and brimstone in his eyes, released Nightshade blade from Sai's spear. Fixing a killer glare at the Dai Li, he dashed towards them, ready to get the job done this time, but Sai tripped him with his spear, causing Lin to fall down to the ground and Nightshade to glide off his grasp. A sudden weight pinning him down told him that Yumi had leaped onto him, preventing him from getting up.

"We do not want trouble", said Sai at the Dai Li, though his spear still held pointing at them, at his feet, Yumi was struggling to keep Lin down. Fortunately, the Desert Chef came and, together with Yumi, pulled Lin up to his feet and pinned him on the carriage, allowing Yumi to back Sai up with her bow.

Realizing the disadvantage they were in, the Dai Li retreated; running towards the wall, they crawled up like a pair of spider-gators, leaving their prey behind. Sai and Yumi did not rest their weapons until the Dai Li were out of sight, after the last of Dai Li's fluttering green robe disappeared on top of the wall, Yumi knocked her arrows and Sai dropped his stance. Kwun, no longer chained, approached them but Lin was still pinned by the Desert Chef.

He failed at revenge… like always…

* * *

A fine evening in Ba Sing Se…

"Okay", Trik stroked his chin, thinking. "I see you eight-Fire and raised you… five cookies"

He shoved five of his butter cookies against General How. Trik launched his cards on the three piles, earning scores of 18, 29, and 28; eight, nine, and eight, How's six, eight, and nine were overwhelmed instantly.

"I win!" exclaimed Trik childishly. As he claimed his winning, the door to the living room he and General How were in creaked open, revealing a pair of dirty and tired faces. Sai led the way, clearly exhausted, while Lin tailed from behind, dragging Nightshade behind him, also exhausted. Both of them looked like they had just been mugged by thugs and thrown into a moat.

"Long day?" asked Trik cheerfully. He overslept that day and Sai was too lazy to wake him up.

Sai mumbled indistinctively, heading straight to his room.

"Dinner's in an hour", informed How.

Now both Sai and Lin mumbled indistinctively. Both of them walked to their respective room in silence, just like how they had spent the monorail journey home, in silence, although each for a very different reason…

* * *

Sai got to his room, slamming his door as hard as he could. Spirits! How he hated those Dai Li jerks! Always snooping around, always doing whatever the hell they like, and the worst part is there was nothing he could do about it. He might be the son of General How but… there was nothing he could do about it, nothing at all.

He dropped face first onto his bed, threw his disconnected spear lazily. There was nothing he could do, nothing he could have possibly done. Stupid! He had to admit that chasing the Dai Li in the first place was stupid to begin with. So, if he had gotten to them in time, then what…? Now that Sai thought about it, he _did_ get to them in time. So, _now what_?

Sighing deeply, he got up. Heading to the door, he knew what he had to do next, no other option than this, really: asking his father for help.

* * *

Lin got to his room, closing the door gently on the way; no need for any extra aggravation now. After making sure his door was locked properly, he dropped Nightshade hastily on the floor and ran to the bathroom, also locking the door behind him. _Hold it… hold it…_ he forced himself, not wanting to give in. He failed… Dai Li agents were right in front of him, Dai Li agents… the people who killed Lu Ten…

He shouted into his bathtub, red hot fire spewed out, blazing the surface of the water. Anger… hatred… rage… fury… Those were like sweet wine; once you've tasted it, it's hard to let it go. He slumped down on his knees, feeling weak all of the sudden; just like how he felt after the Agni Kai with Iroh. Firebending, the art that is closely affected by emotions; a dangerous art indeed…

He scooped a handful of now hot water from the tub and washed his face with it. Feeling slightly rejuvenated, he pulled out the plug on the bottom of the tub, allowing the hot water to flow out into the plumbing pie down below, erasing the evidence of his firebending.

Ignorance…

Just like how he erased the traces of the malice he felt earlier that day. The only thing left was an inexplicable hatred for Sai.

* * *

It was night and Kwun was walking down the street in the Middle Ring, the one leading to his house. After reassuring everyone that he would be fine on his own, he finally managed to dodge their offers to walk him home or something. No need to pull able-bodied personnel off the patrol team just to escort this one insignificant middle class nobleman, right? The incidence with Dai Li earlier that day, he sure it was all just a misunderstanding. He didn't remember ever doing anything that offends the law; his charity event was authorized, he belonged to a well-known charity foundation, he had informed the local authority and done the paperwork regarding the event and everything. There was simply nothing wrong with what he had done…

Sighing, he shook off the uneasy feeling he had felt since the failed arrest. He was not a criminal, he knew that! Instead, he thought of happier things like how happy those citizens in the Lower Ring were when he led his group to help them, how many lives he might have saved just by doing this one day act of kindness. It made the two months he had spent setting up the whole one-day thing worthwhile.

From the shadow, a silhouette emerged, a silhouette of a man in a long robe and triangle hat. With his memory of the Dai Li still fresh, Kwun's mind sparked into action before his brain could even register of the what, who, or why. He ran to the opposite direction. He had just turned to sprint down the alley when something… _grabbed_ his ankles, something hard and sharp. Suddenly, he found himself being pulled; that _something_ pulled him by his ankles. Screaming and clawing the ground to no avail, his bone-chilling scream pierced the full-moonlit night.

The next morning, Kwun woke up on his bed, in his room, with his wife at his side. Stretching a bit, he kissed his wife awake; a minute of morning pillow talk and several kisses later, he woke up and washed up. He had breakfast with his wife and two sons, spent an hour or so in his study room, working on some paperwork, before finally went to his office right before lunch time for a meeting. He came home at evening, as usual, had pleasant dinner with his family, helped his young son with his homework, and his older son with his book report, and then he went to sleep. He slept like a baby for it was a good life he was having…

…_because there is no war in Ba Sing Se._

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Names:

1. Kwun (君) is Korean which means 'ruler' or 'lord'. That because he's a nobleman.

2. Um Wa is from Swahili 'umwa' which means 'pain'.

3. Yumi is Japanese for 'bow', I think.

By the way, Lin knew that Lu Ten was killed fighting some creepy looking guys wearing green robe, triangle hats, and rock gloves and boots; and after spending a whole season in the Earth Kingdom Upper Ring, he should have heard about the existence of Dai Li too. But, he just hasn't pieced these two things together until now; he thought that the creepy guys who killed Lu Ten and the Dai Li were two different groups.

And remember the Dai Li Iroh captured in 'the Crossroads of Destiny'? The one with scarred face? That's the one Lin cut.

To hpswst101, nice observation on the two doctors! They were based on Hawkeye and Trapper from M*A*S*H. Actually Megumi and the whole 44th Army Hospital will also be based on M*A*S*H plus several other originals. I will also try to incorporate some storyline of M*A*S*H into the story later on, hopefully. At first I intended to have Sai as a runaway son of General How who became either a sellsword or a leader of a mercenary band. But then I remembered M*A*S*H and thought, 'hey, why don't make him a combat doctor?'. I mean, in the main series, we see many different kinds of combat army, right? There's the Royal Procession, the Dai Li, the Terra Team, the Yu Yan Archer; but, we don't many combat support unit, it's almost like they don't even have any. So, I thought having a main character who serves as combat support could be interesting.

And I love M*A*S*H too. It's too bad they don't make anything like M*A*S*H anymore. It is the only TV show I know that depicted war as something bad for everyone who's fighting it. And, the way I see it, now more than ever we need to rediscover that value.

Enjoy!


	64. Chapter 63

**Chapter 63 – Memoiry**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

Professor Jinshi Bei Fong walks down the corridor swiftly, his hand bag held steady on his side. Resplendent as always in his usual dark green suit, worn over white shirt, complimented with emerald green striped tie with tiny Earth Kingdom emblem pinned on the knot; on the collar of his suit was the Bei Fong's Flying Boar emblem perching, signifying his origin, and below it was his University emblem, signifying his allegiance. Behind the professor are two Air Monks; both middle aged like him, though bald unlike him and his queue. Well, having those two around is much better than having a squadron of Dai Li or a contingent of Royal Procession, at least.

Prof. Bei Fong walks the corridor still; he remembers how he used to complaint of how long winded and difficult a journey he had had to take as a student decades ago when trying to go from one class to another in the Ba Sing Se University. He still complains but not today. Today is an exciting one for him; so exciting if not for the two Air Monks behind him, he'd be cart-wheeling all the way to the lecture theater. Today he has a treat for his History class students, one of the biggest achievements in archeology world in this century. He will be giving a lecture and a presentation on a certain artifact that was unearthed a little while ago. He had to pull a lot of string, recalled a lot of favors to gain temporary custody over such artifact; in the end, he was allowed to keep it in his mansion provided that he let a combined team of the Earth Kingdom's Dai Li and the Fire Nation's Royal Procession, plus a pair of senior Air Monks to help him safeguard the artifact.

It was a year ago when a farmer near Nan Shan River accidentally discovered an antiquated dagger that dated back to the time of the Great War centuries ago, prompting Earth Kingdom officials to send their best team of scholars and archeologists to investigate and excavate the area. And who would be better than Professor Jinshi Bei Fong, PhD, one the world's most respected archeology experts to lead the team? Prof. Bei Fong spent countless days and nights working on the site, discovering great many things form the ancient times; but none was more precious than the rusted metal box he found just a few months ago. A metal box of Earth Kingdom design; inside he found numerous intriguing items from the past, items that normally don't go together in one box: a bottle of fine plum wine, a bag of dried up tea leaves (undrinkable), several rotted books that are no longer legible, ruined cloth material, and many more.

All of them useless, thought Bei Fong; they are still valuable simply because they are old. But, one thing among them is truly valuable, heck, _invaluable_, even. Though scratched by time, the item is still mostly intact; it offers not only a clue to the time of antiquity, but also an insight on the elusive author: the crown jewel of this century's archeological discovery, the Memoir of Lin, the Dragon of the Deep Forest.

Yeah, can you believe that?

Lin, the Dragon of the Deep Forest… nobody does not know that name. But, at the same time, there is so little known about his character; most information regarding Lin can be easily dismissed as legend or myth due to lack written evidence.

Lin, the Dragon of the Deep Forest… nobody in the whole world does not know who he was, although a lot of people in the man's time did not appreciate him. Simply the most controversial individual in the history of the Four Nations.

"Ladies and gentleman", begin Bei Fong on his microphone, standing tall and proud on his podium in front of nearly two hundred students of his faculty; tch! If only they would all show up in normal days too. "Today, we will begin our lecture on the subject of one man, one phenomenal man who I believe you all have heard of. He was known as many things, mostly bad ones: a soldier, a revolutionist, a traitor, a spy, an assassin, a cold-blooded butcher of men, a vigilante. Only after his death did his merit as a war hero, a firebender warrior, a master swordsman, a teacher, a strategist, an artist, and philosopher resurfaced, following the testaments of many who had known him while he was alive."

Prof. Bei Fong sweeps the room with his green eyes; students of many kinds are there, rich, poor, middle class, Fire Nation students, Earth Kingdom locals, Water Tribesmen and women, Air Monk Apprentices, even some colleagues from his faculty and the dean himself, all shows up today for this one special day.

"Even so, until this day centuries after his death, Lin, the twenty-sixth, the Dragon of the Deep Forest is still a pretty much unknown character whose popular portrayal is mostly regarded as the stuff of legend and myth rather than real historical account", he continued. "The most accurate account of his character would have to come from two very different sources, both were also phenomenal: 'the Last Testament of Fire Lord Zuko' and a semi-biographical novel 'Wolf and Dragon' (he held out a book; navy blue cover with the silhouettes of a wolf and a dragon, back to back on a symbol of white lotus) which depicts a journey of two different individuals, a young Water Tribesman from the South Pole and a Fire Nation disgraced nobleman who went to learn from the same master and both become excellent swordsmen who fights injustice along the course of the story, written by Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, a master swordsman and companion/brother-in-law of Avatar Aang, and also a close personal friend of Lin, the twenty-sixth."

He paused a little, smiling. Yes, he has the audience on the palm of his hand now; something that has never happened before.

"While 'the Last Testament of Fire Lord Zuko' proves to be accountable, many critics regard 'Wolf and Dragon' inadequate and inaccurate as a historical account for many a reason. Some because the author Sokka was an old man when he published the story, hence the credibility of his memory was naturally questionable, also the fact that the main character in the book, the Water Tribesman who was also named Sokka, is said to travel with, and I quote, '_some sort of giant flying thingy_', and as we all know, the usage of flying machine as a means of public transport was not introduced at least one and a half centuries after the Great War. Sokka is already dead by then."

The class giggles…

"However the case might be", Prof. Bei Fong smirks. "The history surrounding the Dragon of the Deep Forest is much a mystery. Let me go over of what we _do_ know about him."

He presses a button on his computer, activating the projector machine in the room. Behind him, projected by the mechanism is the list of what he is about to cover.

"We do know that Lin, the twenty-sixth, was born a firebender in the Fire Nation to General Jiang, a famous firebender and war general. His mother's name is unknown as the record that bears her name is either damaged or unavailable. His grandfather is Jeong Jeong the Deserter, also a famous person. Lin's real name is unknown as no records about it survived and the name 'Lin' is actually a title."

The class is dead silent but not because they are asleep. Not this time…

"Records in the Fire Nation Army archive told us that he was given a formal rank of captain and the title Dragon of the Deep Forest when he was eleven, something that had never happened before… or since. He was supposed to participate in the legendary Siege of Ba Sing Se but he didn't. Because of why, Mr. Tzu Lin?"

"…Huh?" a ponytailed boy in red t-shirt gaped. Rats! _Why does the professor do that?_ "Erm… uh…"

"Pay attention, Tzu Lin", Prof. Bei Fong reprimanded the boy. "This is your ancestor we are talking about."

The whole class giggles again, even Tzu Lin grins nervously.

"One of your text books, 'the Great War of Four Nations', lists the details of the Siege of Ba Sing Se. You can find the answer to that question yourself in your leisure time", says Bei Fong to the whole class. "Moving on. After the siege, for an unknown reason, his name disappeared from the Army archive. But, we have solid evidence that he was implicated on the great fire incident on Senlin Village, now Senlin Metropolitan; causing an immeasurable destruction over an unimaginable vast amount of forest landmass. Believe it or not, some of the more extreme environmentalist organizations, like the Earth Kingdom Tree and Animals Liberators, still hold their annual Spring Festival with the highlight of the celebration being when they put a large portrait of Lin, the twenty-sixth, on display and take turn spitting on it."

Professor Bei Fong pauses a little, taking a sip of water of his glass before continuing.

"After the incident, he simply disappeared from any historical record altogether", the professor continues. "He emerged years later during the Liberation of Ba Sing Se where he, again, _supposedly_, led ragtag teams of warriors and mercenaries and assisted Iroh, the Dragon of the West, by mounting simultaneous attacks on the city's defenses, allowing Iroh and his main forces to punch through the wall and assaulted the city itself. Have any of you watch the movie 'Two Dragons'?"

An energetic mumbled spread across the room, one of the students yelled out 'Jackie Lee rocks!', followed by applause and laughter; even Prof. Bei Fong smiled at this.

"Yes, a good one, eh?" nodded the professor, still grinning. "Although, unlike the portrayal in the movie, Lin was most certainly a man, _not_ a girl who was raised as a boy to please her father who wanted a boy as his successor and he certainly had _never_ associated romantically with Fire Lord Zuko; many experts believes that the roles Lin, the twenty sixth, played in his real life were mostly 'behind-the-scene', just like in the movie. But, let's talk what comes after the Liberation. What comes after that, Miss Wakka?"

"The Gray Flame Rebellion, Professor", answers a tanned skin, blue eyed, brown haired, confident looking Water Tribe girl smoothly.

"Yes, of course. But, there's something that comes between the Liberation and the Rebellion. Can anyone tell me what that is?"

Many hands rise up.

"Miss Lo Sue?" Prof. Bei Fong chooses a perky Earth Kingdom girl.

"The banishment, sir?"

"Yes… but before that?"

Nearly all hands disappears, only four remains.

"Mr. Tzu Lin?"

The Fire Nation boy from before answers confidently. "The Trial of Fire, sir."

"Exactly!" Professor Bei Fong exclaims, making a mental note to bump Mr. Tzu Lin's essay paper from D to D+. "The Trial of Fire… sadly, we do not know what the nature of the Trial is, or why Lin had to go through the Trial, or even whether he was forced to the Trial or went willingly. Either case, it resulted in his banishment from his homeland. And then, years later, he resurfaced in the Fire Nation where he instigated the Gray Flame Rebellion which resulted in the deaths of many prominent members of the Fire Nation Military Council. It is also believed that during the Rebellion, he kidnapped the fallen Fire Lord Ozai, brought him to the Earth Kingdom, and had him tortured and killed in his hideout in the Northern Korkea Mountain; further reinforcing his portrayal as a sadistic killer."

Professor Bei Fong now prepares the room's digital projector, still talking.

"And after that, he disappeared again, only to resurface decades later. An elderly man in his nineties, he was supposedly sought out by Avatar Korra, the Avatar succeeding Avatar Aang, to be her firebending master; interesting note: although Lin, the twenty-sixth, was no doubt an expert firebender, probably one of the best to ever walk the earth, he was _never_ pronounced a master", informs Bei Fong, dismissing his list from the computer. "And it was then Lin, the twenty-sixth, disappeared completely from the history. Some says he was killed some time after taking the Avatar as his apprentice, some says he simply disappeared again and lived the remainder of his quiet life in the Foggy Swap. A relic of a Fire Nation sword found in the Foggy Swamp three years ago seems to support the later assumption."

Prof. Bei Fong sweeps the room again, satisfied with his students' undivided attention.

"Either way, he never made an appearance again after this point", Professor Bei Fong concludes. "We know how Lin, the twenty-sixth, lived his childhood up until the Siege of Ba Sing Se. We know that he resurfaced later in the Liberation of Ba Sing Se, which leads up to the famous Gray Flame Rebellion. But, we do not have any records whatsoever about the huge gap between the Siege of Ba Sing Se and the Liberation of Ba Sing Se; history was so preoccupied during this era with the tales of Avatar Aang and Prince Zuko, nobody has ever asked: where did Lin go? What did he do during that time? As the result, we simply do not have any information about Lin regarding this period of his life…"

Time for the bomb: Professor Bei Fong lifted a thick black leather book, the one with metal rim on the edge and what appears to be a lock on the opening side. "….until now. Ladies and gentlemen… I present to you: the Memoir of Lin, the Dragon of the Deep Forest."

* * *

"Memoir, huh? You mean like some sort of diary?"

"It's not a diary!" snapped Lin defensively, pulling back his thick empty book. "This is a memoir."

"What's the diff?" snickered Trik again.

"Memoir is more… scientific… and manly", said Lin, still defensively. "Diary is for girls!"

"You mean you're _not_ a girl?" gasped Trik with a convincing surprised look. "And I used to have a crush on you."

"…Leave my tent, you sick freak", growled Lin. Trik and Spear laughed.

"Well, in any case, Lin", said Sai. "Your troops await. Right after lunch you are expected to begin your first training with them."

"Got it", replied Lin. With that, Spear dragged Trik out, leaving Lin alone in his tent. Lin went back to his book, his would-be memoir. A thick black leather book with metal rim along the edge and a locking mechanism; he kept the key with the pouch containing his Seed and carried it with his always. Now… he gotta start some time, so…

He opened the book and dipped his brush on ink, ready to begin his first stroke—

A knock on the door distracted him from his work. Sighing, he put down his pen, got up, and walked to the door, opening it. Greeting him on the door was the sweet smile of Major Megumi.

"Lieutenant", she greeted. "May I come in?"

"Uh… Sure", said Lin, stepping aside.

"I brought you some documents you might need", she said, handing Lin a bunch of scrolls. "These are the personal data of the men in this unit. Also there's a map of the surrounding area, map of the camp, and an Army Manual book. I thought you might find them useful."

"Thank you, Major. That's very kind of you", replied Lin, forcing an awkward smile. He put the scrolls on hi bed and back to the Major whom he wished would excuse herself anytime soon.

"So, how do you like this place so far?" asked Megumi again with all the good intention.

"… Not bad", shrugged Lin, still with forced smile. _Spirits… just go already…_ "Everything's seems… nice."

"Oh, please don't hold back", Megumi laughed, waving Lin's comment off. "Things are terrible here; the weather, the food, the artillery barrage every now and then, the wounded coming in constantly."

"Well, what do expect from a hospital", replied Lin as casually as he could force himself to sound like; to his amazement, Megumi burst out laughing.

"Good sense of humor", she chuckled. "That is very… good."

_Was I being funny_, Lin asked himself, grinning awkwardly at the Major. "Well, thank you again for bringing me the documents, Major", said Lin, subtly herding the Major to the door.

"Oh, yes of course. Not a problem at all, Lieutenant", replied Megumi. As Lin opened the door of his tent, she stepped out. "And if there's anything you need, please don't hesitate."

"Understood, Major", smiled Lin, bowing slightly. "Have a good day."

And he closed the door behind him, sighing. Finally, alone again! He returned to his seat, again with his pen ready. The tip of the brush was just five millimeters away from the surface of the paper when somebody knocked his door again. Gulping the incoming fire breath down, he put down his pen and walked to the door, opening it for a scrawny little guy.

"Uh… Lieutenant Lin, sir", the little guy squeaked. "Uh… the Colonel wants to see you. It's something about communication breakdown."

"…Colonel Gun wanted to see me about communication breakdown?" drawled Lin, confused. "Why would he want to see me about that?"

"Uh… I don't know, sir. But if you ask him in person I believe the Colonel will be more than happy to tell you why he wants to see you about the communication breakdown, sir."

… _Hey, that's a good point_. "Okay."

* * *

"_Oh, yes of course. Not a problem at all, Lieutenant", replied Megumi. As Lin opened the door of his tent, she stepped out. "And if there's anything you need, please don't hesitate."_

"_Understood, Major", smiled Lin, bowing slightly. "Have a good day."_

And the door was slammed closed on her face. On normal circumstances, Megumi would find that offensive but what she felt was nothing far from relief. Phew… She set out wanting to know the kind of person this new Head of Security General How installed in this unit himself, as a 'reward' for the 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital being the most efficient Army Hospital for five years in a row. That was why she went through the trouble of bringing the documents to the young lieutenant herself despite them having numerous enlisted men she could order to do the chore, like that scrawny little corporal who was walking to Lieutenant Lin's tent right now. Now?

_Uh-oh…_ not wanting to be mistaken for a stalker, Megumi quickly strode away from the spot. She nearly ran to the mess tent, few tents away from the lieutenant's. Luckily for the Major, military tent is quite different from tents that civilians might own; first of all, the fabric is much thicker, offering slightly better shelter. Second of all, army tent usually comes in two layer; the outer canvas cloth, the thick one, that are usually lifted up in sunny day like this, and the inner see-through fly screen. Lucky for the Major because even thought she was in the tent, sipping a cup of tea, she could see from the corner of her eyes, the Lieutenant walking to the commanding officer's office with the corporal.

"Major?"

"Eeep!"

"Oh… is this a bad time?"

"Oh, Father Shu! Spirits, you scared the hell out of me", Megumi heaved. "Oh… no offense, Father."

"None taken, my child", the bald friendly looking man in a strange assortment of outfit sat down; he was bald like normal monk, six dots were burned on his scalp, symbolizing his ordainment, he was wearing green army shirt and trousers like many soldiers do in the camp but also a long prayer bead on his neck and a shorter one the that he always carried in his hand.

"Anything I can help you with, Lieut— ahem, Father?" croaked Megumi.

"Er… Are you feeling well, my child?" instead of answering, the priest asked, frowning. "You seem a bit… well, pale. Is it something you ate? I heard they used yesterday's lunch as today's breakfast again."

"No, Father, no", laughed Megumi nervously. "Er… just a little tired, that's all. I had a night shift yesterday."

"Ah, yes", an understanding dawned in the priest's young face. "How is Private Gunjin doing? Has he awakened yet?"

"No, Father, I'm afraid not", sighed Megumi. _Yeah! Topic diversion, success!_ "He's still in shock. He was pretty beat up when they brought him here. To be honest, I'm surprised he can make it this far."

"Hmm, exactly what I'm afraid of", muttered the Father Shu, pulling out a sealed envelope from his shirt pocket. "I took the liberty of writing a letter to his parents… you know, in case if he didn't make it, Spirits forbid. But, it seem like I wasn't given any information about his home address. I hope that I won't have to send this letter but… Oh dear, I don't know what I'm saying."

"It's alright, Father", said Megumi, taking the letter from the suddenly downed priest. "I'll ask the Colonel to check the army record. Don't worry about it."

"Thank you, Major. That is most—"

"NOW! HIT IT WITH THE STICK, RABBIT!"

The unusually high-pitched scream came from outside, drawing the eyes of all ears that caught the scream. From the colonel's office, the Colonel, Sai, Trik, the little corporal from before, and Lin scrambled out and slammed the door behind their back. Huffing, they leaned on the door, barring it; the door rocked violently, nearly throwing them away, forcing them to redouble their effort.

Wanna know what happened? Let's go back a few minutes earlier…

* * *

Lin allowed the little corporal lead him to the colonel's office. Small guy, the corporal was, about Lin's height but from what Lin was told by Spear and Trik, he was already twenty-something. Wearing a brown hat and glasses, usual green army shirt, although he wore it rather casually like Spear and Trik did, and he wore shoes, indicating him being a non-bender; Lin remembered him being called 'Rabbit' by Spear and Trik. Unusual name, probably a nickname. If Lin remembered correctly, this 'Rabbit' was the company clerk of the 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital, meaning he was the guy on whom the colonel shoved all his work.

"Oh, sir", Rabbit turned to Lin. "I'm sorry I couldn't say anything more about the communication breakdown."

"It's okay, Corporal", smiled Lin kindly; a smile that he melt down a second later. _HE'S WITH THE ENEMY, STUPID! _Lin yelled at himself mentally. _Just go on with this initiation thing: spy on Spe— Sai, and get on with it as soon as you can. Don't have to get buddy-buddy with any of these Earth Kingdom guys!_

"I mean, I would tell you if I knew something but I don't know anything. Honest", said the corporal again. "I mean, I was in the mess tent when the colonel sent a sparrow-hawk to me. The message just said that there is a communication breakdown and I must fetch you to his office immediately."

"Of course, Corporal."

"I would show the message to you but I lost it somewhere", Rabbit scratched his head awkwardly. "I mean, we only use those sparrow-hawks for small messages, you know."

"Of course, Corporal", Lin forced a smile. _Geez, what's the corporal so nervous about? Am I that scary?_

"Here we are, sir", the corporal announced, gesturing at the only all-wooden building in the whole camp. Rabbit pushed the door open, allowing Lin to enter before him. A small office greeted Lin inside; four walls, a desk and a tall filing cabinet on one wall, covered with various scrolls and papers, a bed on another wall, the foot right beside the front door, another door on the next wall, the same wall the bed's head was facing, and on the next wall was the door leading to the colonel's office. This small office/room was Rabbit's.

"This way, Lieutenant, sir", Rabbit pushed the next door open, the one leading to the colonel's office.

Inside was another desk, a slightly bigger one, also covered with papers and scrolls, a comfy hair behind the desk and two less comfy chairs in front of it, all around the room was various tables and cabinets filled with 'medical stuffs', various of bottles and jars filled with pills, powder, or liquid, various boxes containing medical equipments, etc. On the wall behind the desk a large tapestry bearing the Earth Kingdom insignia was nailed, at the right was a leather wall cover of human's acupuncture chart, on the left was a skeleton. Fake skeleton, of course, made of some mineral composition; The Earth kingdom people are good with their minerals, making stuffs from it that even Fire Nation people could not make, like glasses and fake bones, to name a few.

And, perching on the chair, table, and a cabinet like three scared siamang-rats were Spear, Trik, and the colonel; a middle-aged man called Haoqi Gun, hailed from a port town on the Whale Island on the southernmost part of the Earth Kingdom, he seemed just like an average army doctor and human being, a comment that Spear and Trik would agree with.

Anyway, walking in on three men perching on tables and chairs was not really Lin or Rabbit had in mind when they opened the door.

"What's going on?" asked Rabbit.

"Jump on the nearest table, Rabbit!" screamed Spear. "There's a viper-wombat on the loose!"

Screaming, Rabbit scrambled up to the desk, hugging Haoqi, who was already on there in the process; Lin also swiftly sought refuge on a higher ground, reaching up to the cabinet at his side and lifted his feet as high as he could above the floor, albeit done more graciously without the screaming.

"The hell's going on here?" Lin hissed at Spear and Trik.

"Communication breakdown, kiddo", Trik muttered, green eyes fixed on the crevices around the room. "A viper-wombat's killing our birds and about to kill us. That's why we call you here. You're the Head Security, aren't ya? Do something!"

"Like what?" hissed Lin again, also scanning the room for possible danger.

"I don't know", Trik hissed back. "Fight it!"

By the way, viper-wombat… a native to the Earth Kingdom, the creature with the agile body of a chubby quadrupedal marsupial and head of a giant viper; it was known for three distinctive features: the green scales running from the viper head to the mid-section of its body, the creature's poisonous viper bite, and its cubic-shaped feces. A viper-wombat might be quite small, about the size of a koala-sheep or saber-tooth moose-lion cub, but having the head of a snake, it is considered big. I mean, just imagine it… Also, a viper-wombat is known for being a very dangerous animal; there are some articles in the newspaper about a viper-wombat killing cattle in the nearby village. In that respect, who can blame Lin when he said…

"Like hell I would!" protested Lin. "I'm the Head Security! Not a pest control! Unless that thing suddenly recite the Fire Nation Oath and start fire-breathing around, I'm not gonna do anything about it!"

"Calm down, all of you!" Haoqi hissed louder than both of them; although, shivering on top of the desk hugging his company clerk, it is very difficult for him to look or sound authoritative. "Everyone just calm down. And think of something."

"How did a wombat-viper get in here?" whimpered Rabbit to the room.

"It's _viper-wombat_, Rabbit", corrected Haoqi. "Wombat-viper is the cuddly one."

"Yeah, that! How did it get in here?"

"How should I know?" said Spear, perching on a table, holding a flower vase as a shield. "Trik and I came here to complain about Haoqi fixing the hole in the girl's shower and the next thing I know here we are; about to be a delicious part of the food chain."

A viper-wombat is carnivorous, by the way…

"Colonel?" Lin asked Haoqi directly; the man's sudden guilty fidget told him that Haoqi _did_ have something to do with this.

"Well… remember that farmer who used to live down the road", said Haoqi to everyone. "The last batch of patients, one of the tanks ran over his deerffalo."

"Yeah…" everybody drawled, accusing glares shot at the colonel.

"Well… he kinda came to my office, saying something about demanding a compensation", Haoqi laughed nervously. "So, I told him to go to the Combat Support Regiment Headquarter in Omashu since… you know, we don't keep any money here."

"Haoqi, there's no way the Headquarters gonna pay any compensation for civilians", snapped Spear.

"What am I supposed to do?" Haoqi snapped back. "We really don't have any money here!"

"You could have paid him with your own cash", Trik jumped in.

"What? But…" Haoqi tried to rebut but his words lost along the way. "Oh, come on, guys! You know I can't… Well, that guy seemed pretty satisfied when I told him that if he goes to the Headquarters, the Army _might_ compensate him. How should I know that he would show up this morning in my office and set loose a viper-wombat on me just because I gave him a suggestion?"

"You mean just because you _lied_ to him?" spat Trik. "You know very well ho— eeekkk!"

A rattling sound from the filing cabinet in the corner sent the four of them to an instant suspense.

"…Okay, everyone", hissed Haoqi. "Don't make a sound."

"You're making a sound, sir", Rabbit pointed out.

"Shhhh!" but the rest of room hushed him.

Thick eerie silence ensued… broken by Spear who proposed an idea.

"…Okay, guys. I have a plan", gulped the doctor. "Haoqi, you stay here and be the bait; the rest of you, including me, scram."

"Hey! Wait a minute! Why am I the bait?" protested Haoqi. "Why not… Rabbit?"

"Wha—? I'm too young to die, sir! And I'm not married yet!"

"You're the CO, our fearless leader", reasoned Spear. "It is only natural for you to sacrifice your life for us."

"Yeah? If I'm the CO, then I order you to stay and be the bait", snapped Haoqi at Spear.

"Why me?" Spear retorted, still with his usual joker personality. "You're closer to it than me. Besides, I'm also single like Rabbit; I'm planning to propose to him tomorrow at dinner."

—RATTLE—

"Eeeekk!" Haoqi screamed; a little too high-pitched for a man. It was when the viper-wombat rushed from the shadow and leaped onto the nearest living preys: Haoqi and Rabbit on the desk. Deciding that survival comes before dignity or solidarity, Spear, Trik, and Lin scrambled outside; Haoqi and Rabbit somehow managed to survive the initial attack and took flight behind the previous three. They dragged Haoqi, who tripped, out of his office into Rabbit's, and closed the doors behind them to no avail; they were the kind of door that open both ways so they couldn't really lean on it and had no time to lock it. They did have time to seek refuge on top of the desk and filing cabinet.

"I found a stick, sir!" announced Rabbit from on top of his bed, holding out what used to be a broom stick.

"Great, now all we need is a tiny tent canvas and we can build a tent for him. How do you feel about having a new bunky, Rabbit?" commented Spear sarcastically, dangling from the door frame.

"Spear", Haoqi interrupted reprimanding from the filing cabinet. "Don't— eeekkk!"

"Over there! Over there!" It's coming your way, Trik!" Spear yelled.

"Jump to the side! Jump to the side!" Lin also yelled.

"No! Don't come near me! It's coming!" Haoqi screamed; flailing his arms around on his filing cabinet and accidentally knocked down a pile of paper and scrolls on the charging viper-wombat.

"NOW! HIT IT WITH THE STICK, RABBIT!" they yelled.

"ARRGGHH!" Rabbit charged in with his stick, assisted by Haoqi who shoved down more papers and scrolls, and the other three who threw whatever they could get their hands on at the beast. After several seconds of fight, they ran outside, closed the door behind them, and leaned against it, barring the enraged beast inside. The beast rammed the door, rocking it and nearly throwing the men outside away, forcing them to redouble their effort.

"What're we gonna do now?" squeaked Rabbit; he had dropped his stick in his hurry to save his life.

"We… uh… we'll think of— Whoa!" Haoqi started but the door rocking violently made him stop.

"Sir, I can't go back in there", whimpered Rabbit, barring the door the best he could.

"How do you know I was going to volunteer you to go back in?" asked Spear, jokingly of course.

"You guys always volunteer me to do stuff", grumbled Rabbit.

—RATTLE—

A ram on the door making them all scream. Some people who just happened to pass began to gather around them, looking at the group with inquiring look on their faces.

"What's the matter, sirs?" a random soldier asked.

"Communication breakdown", shrugged Trik.

"A viper-wombat's in there", Spear offered more explanation. "Half of our communication birds are already KIA."

"…Here's a dagger if it's any help, sir", the random soldier shoved the blade at Spear before taking many steps back.

"Wha—? Aren't you gonna get in there and kill the viper-wombat?" asked Spear incredulously, offering the dagger back.

"I'd love too, Captain, but I'm not married yet", shrugged the soldier.

"What are we?" Spear asked Haoqi. "Single men camp? Whoa— _Hold the door! Hold the door!_"

"That's it!" growled Lin, snatching the dagger off Spear's hand. "I'm going in."

"Whoa! Are you sure, Lieutenant?" Haoqi barred Lin's march with an outstretched hand. "This is not like battle drills in the training camp."

"I don't know whether I'm sure or not, Colonel", admitted Lin. "But I do know that I'm _pissed_. Now, get out of the way!"

They did… an angry Lin with a dagger was much scarier that a half-viper-half-wombat creature.

Preparing himself for the encounter, Lin took a deep breath and exhaled; the rest of the onlookers rallied behind him, cheering, Rabbit and Spear steady at the door, ready to open it.

"Ready, Lieutenant?" asked Spear; Lin nodded, bouncing up and down a little, like a brawler before a fight. "On three: one… two…"

Without counting to three, the duo captain-corporal pried the door open, allowing Lin to charge in, screaming and waving the dagger around. Without any consideration as to provide the courageous, or suicidal, whichever fits the bill better, lieutenant an escape route, Spear and Rabbit abruptly slammed the door close and barred it from outside, half of the crowd instinctively moved out to help them. And coming from inside the office…

"EAARGHH! TAKE THIS!"

A loud series banging….

"AND THIS!"

Numerous loud thuds…

"AND HERE'S A LITTLE BONUS!"

A series of whacking sound and a roar… (yes, viper-wombat roars; not sure which part of the animals it comes from)

…. Silence…

"Is it over?" whispered Rabbit intensely.

"Maybe", guessed Haoqi, also whispering. "Why don't you take a peek— _Sweet Mother_! Keep the door close, all of you!"

From the room was a racket, louder than before, accompanied by Lin screaming; whether it was a battle cry or a scream of terror, nobody could tell. Anyway, after a minute or two of the racket, it got really silent, so much thicker than before. Seconds later, the door creaked open and emerged from the battlefield was our brave and slightly suicidal lieutenant; his uniform was ragged, torn here and there, one of his sleeves was ripped off, one hand guard missing, knees torn and scrapped, one boot had bite puncture, bruises and cuts here and there but he was otherwise unharmed. A dagger at one hand and a (unconscious) creature dragged by its tail on the other.

Panting, Lin raised his dented dagger, the crowd cheered at their hero. Led by Spear and Trik, the crowd hoisted him up and began parading him and the defeated viper-wombat around the camp.

"Huh… would you look at that?" commented Father Shu who did not join the procession. "Our new Head Security seems promising. Unlike the previous one, not that I'm complaining."

"Well", reasoned Megumi. "He's not a member of the 1st Vanguard for nothing."

_He seems okay…_ added Megumi in her mind, smiling at the delirious lieutenant among the crowd. _At least he's not a clown like certain people here_.

* * *

It was difficult getting himself free from the crowd who insisted that he joined them in their crazy celebration. Phew… but, here he was, back in his tent. Beaten and bruised but it didn't matter; what mattered was that he was _alone_. Now, after changing to his spare uniform, Lin was again ready on his chair in front of his table, the thick empty book opened in front of him, ready to record what he hoped to be an important contribution to the history of mankind.

Not really…

Lin knew all too well the unpredictability of human's mind. He was afraid that spending so much time among the Earth Kingdom as one of them might actually rob him of his proud identity as a Fire Nation. That was why he bought this thick book, why he made a promise to write in it every day, every night, every chance he got as Lin, son of the glorious Fire Nation; it explains why the book cover had a locking mechanism installed on it. It cost a lot; this kind of book was still considered revolutionary at that time, but it worth every penny he had spent. At least the secrecy on the content would be kept better; Lin had no plan to spare any words on the book, not one word. He wanted to be able to talk freely about his origin or his mission on the pages of the book.

So, a pen brush ready on his hand, he descended his right hand, ready to begin his first stro—

Knock, knock…

_Oh, my Sweet Agni! What a man gotta do for just a minute of peace and tranquility in this lousy camp?_

"What?" he barked at the visitor who turned out to be Father Shu. Now, barking at a clergyman is a bad bad thing, even for a Fire Nation; you can go to hell for that. Fidgeting, Lin muttered apologetically. "Oh… Um, sorry Father."

"It's quite alright, my son", the priest replied cheerfully, like always. "It's nothing compared to what I got from the Head Abbot in the Monastery when I forgot to iron my ceremonial robe the night before my ordainment. My left ear still rings at night."

"…Sorry to hear that, Father", replied Lin as sympathetically as he could "What can I do you for?"

"Ah, yes", Father Shu exclaimed as if he had just remembered something, which he did. "Colonel Haoqi told me to come get you. The troops are ready for the training."

"What? Now? You mean like…_now_?" whined Lin. The priest's innocent shrug, which he took as a 'yes' came like a blow to him. Sighing in defeat he muttered. "Fine… lead the way…"

And once again, dragged by his duty, Lin convinced himself that living in an army camp sucks.

* * *

The full moon shone brightly when Lin dragged his feet back to his camp; right after the first training with the thirty soldiers in the camp, learnt a new meaning for the word 'incompetent' by watching those men in action, dismissed them after the training ended in the evening, being dragged by Spear and Trik to the mess tent (that's the Earth Kingdom Army term for dining tent) where he had something green and blobby with side dish of disappointment for dinner, throw up a little in the bathroom, had a cold bath, and some other things he forgot.

An interesting and exhausting day it had been, not to mention disappointing and… urgh!

Taking a deep breath to calm his frustration, Lin focused instead on his diar— _memoir_! Sorry… Now, how should it begin…? Hmm… Lin frowned, thinking. How 'bout this…?

_Dear Memoir…

* * *

_

**Author's Note:**

Intended pun on the title. Names:

1. Jinshi is from Mandarin 'jin' (今), which means 'now', 'shi' (師), which means 'teacher'.

2. Wakka is Ainu for 'water'

3. Lo Sue is from Spanish 'suelo', means 'ground'

4. Tzu Lin, from Mandarin 'zi' (子), which sometimes alternatively spelled as 'tzu', means 'kid'

5. Korkea is Finnish word for 'tall'

6. Shu is from Shuken, a former name of a phenomenal Zen monk, Ikkyu.

About how Prof. Bei Fong describes Lin. Well, as a wise man says regarding history: 'always keep part of your mind doubtful; history is known to be treacherous, more treacherous than fiction sometimes'. So… be doubtful. That didn't come out right…

Just, you know… history is the written event not necessarily the transpired event.

Well, the truth will come out eventually. So, don't worry. About the Gray Flame Rebellion and Ozai dead, don't think about it for now. I'm planning a sequel for this fic after the end of the last Book which will have the rebellion as the center. Also, another sequel after that which will include Avatar Korra (hopefully). We'll see… :)

To hpswst101, about Lu Ten's death, well… in Chapter 40 we see his death from his point of view. The last chapter's flashback was the exact same scene but viewed more objectively.

Also, nice observation on the 'no war in Ba Sing Se' thing! I actually watched the episode where Jet was brainwashed and noticed the words the Dai Li agent used on the process. So, 'there is no war in Ba Sing Se' versus 'there is no war'. I remember from a psychology lecture regarding hypnosis, it seems like hypnotic suggestion works better if it is worded as specifically as possible. So, in that respect, 'there is no war _in Ba Sing Se_' would work better than simply a broader more ambiguous 'there is no war'. Also, the fact that they were living in Ba Sing Se, by adding the Ba Sing Se part seemed to boost the strength of the process since the subject will find the suggestion more applicable to his personal live. But… nah, I'm probably just overanalyzing.


	65. Chapter 64

**Chapter 64 – Dear Memoir I**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

_Dear Memoir,_

_I'm not sure if this is how one should start a memoir or if it should sound more formal than this. But, this is how Biao starts her diary in every entry, so… Yeah, I took a peek on her diary once. By accident, mind you! I was looking for a book she borrowed and she told me to look for it myself in her room. So my book is twice bigger than her diary, so her diary has 'Biao's diary, do not open without authorization!' written on the front cover with red ink; accident happens. And in my defense, I was six. When you are six, you are allowed by the will of heaven to be curious._

_Anyway, here we are; the first entry. _

_Year: Superior Military Rabbit, according to Earth Kingdom Calendar; month: first, summer; day: eleven. _

_I am here, in the 44__th__ Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital, working as a lieutenant in the Earth Kingdom Army. This Army Hospital, located in a clearing near Nan Shan River, is quite unique; it's like a hybrid of a real hospital and an army encampment. But, more about that later. I guess I should start with how I got here first, huh?_

_It was day seventh of the first month of summer when we finally depart from Ba Sing Se and heading to the front; Sai, Trik, and me, three days after the incident with the Dai Li… _

_It was a five days travel from Ba Sing Se to the 44__th__ Army Field Hospital; we had gone through two of them when…_

—

In a moving cart, on the highway leading to the west; three men was on the cart, one of them manning the rein. Spear was inside the cart, observing Nightshade up close, Lin was lounging around, resting his back on the edge, enjoying the sun, while Trik on the driver seat.

"—that long-handle katana, remember?" Spear asked Trik; unsheathed Nightshade held safely with both hands. "Remember that General Woo…Zee… or Woo-something; he was yours, you amputated his butt."

"Oh, yeah. Him! Hard to forget him", exclaimed Trik, grinning; noticing Lin's frown, he provided some back-story. "The General had been fighting a longwinded battle with some Fire Nation infantry unit for a week, he was tired; so tired when he sat down on a rock he didn't realize that the rock in question was in the middle of a minefield. I had to take off a chunk off his butt."

"And the next day the same general took off riding an ostrich-horse sideways", laughed Spear. "He has this sword with him; it's a katana but with longer handle."

"A nagamaki", corrected Trik.

"Yeah, that", replied Spear before back to Lin. "Your sword's handle looks like that, only a little shorter. And of course, your sword is a straight jian. Why the handle, by the way?"

"For parrying", answered Lin.

"Huh…" replied Spear, holding Nightshade out, defending himself against an invisible opponent. "You're right… it feels so stable. Nice sword, kid."

"Thanks."

"And I particularly like this White Lotus painting on the hilt", added Spear, sheathing Nightshade and smiling at the black-enamel painted on Nightshade's hilt, the painting of White Lotus tile located a little below the upper hilt; at first, it was located directly in front of the dragon's mouth, making it as if the dragon was breathing white-lotus-shaped fire but since the dragon was no more… "Why black enamel?"

"Beats me", shrugged Lin; he hadn't noticed about that lotus being there before he had to remove the wrecked dragon engraving. It was painted with black enamel, darker than the color of the ivory, so the sword had to be held in certain way to allow light to fall on the painting so that we can see it clearly. He did know that it had something to do with the Order and that… "It was my master who painted it."

"Well, in any case, a beautiful blade", praised Spear, handing Nightshade back. Lin received his weapon back and put it at his side.

—

_Nightshade… the only thing I have to remind me of the good old days. It was such a shame that I have to leave Master Piandao and the others so soon. Being with them, it was the first time I've ever been… you know, 'normal'. Face it, I've never had a normal life. Normal kids grow up with the only worry in their lives being what games they're gonna play tomorrow, I grew up learning how to fight from Grandpa and his Pai Sho, Grandma and the strategy-planning, and then Dad and firebending. Normal kids spend their twelfth birthday partying with friends, I spent my twelfth birthday guarding my friend's coffin in the battlefield. Normal kids know their mom and I… don't. _

_At least, when I'm at Master Piandao's, I get to know, even though just a little, how it feels like to be a normal kid; not a war hero, not a soldier, not a Dragon… just normal: normal student, normal friend, normal person. No fighting, no war… And I am forever indebted to Master Piandao for that._

_And the only thing I have to remind me of that time, of the time when I lived normal, is Nightshade. _

—

"Hey, Spear", Trik called, jerking his head to a lone rider a little farther ahead of them. "Guess who?"

"Well, well…" grinned Spear gleefully, like a kid who was presented with a house made of candy. "Driver, forward!"

"Yes, sir!" replied Trik military-like, accelerating the cart forward, toward Major Megumi, the aforementioned lone rider.

"Hey, honey", called Spear as they caught up with her, smiling (in his opinion) charmingly. "Care for a ride?"

"Good morning, Captain", greeted Megumi back with forced gracefulness. "I see you are also heading back to the camp."

"Weeeelll… it does seem that way, doesn't it?" replied Spear, still (according to him) charmingly. "Must be fate."

"Or deadline", argued Megumi with sarcastic smile.

"Oh, come on, Major", offered Spear. "Do your tushie a favor and hop in, will ya?"

"Thank you, Captain", smiled Megumi venomously; yes, a smile can be venomous if one tries hard enough. "But my tushie is none of your concern."

As if on cue, Megumi's ostrich horse suddenly squeaked in an abnormal high pitch scream and stopped walking. Wobbling a little, the creature lowered its head, scratching its beak on the ground; a common body language of a tired ostrich-horse.

"See that?" said Spear matter-of-factly. "Even your ostrich-horse agrees with me."

Megumi glared at him, as if blaming him for this.

"Probably tired from carrying a heavy load", added Trik casually, causing Megumi to gasp in an offended manner.

"Watch it, _Captain_!" she snapped, pulling rank on Trik, blushing.

"I was talking about your baggage", grinned Trik mischievously, referring to three or four suitcases Megumi had forced onto her saddle. "What's in them?"

"A woman has needs, Captain", replied Megumi sternly. However, she became less stern when she sheepishly decided to take on Spear's earlier offer. Next, she found herself on the cart, sitting beside Lin, and her ostrich–horse walked along, tied to the back of the cart.

—

_It was quite an unusual trip, if I do say so myself. Don't remember much, just remember Sai talked a lot, Major Megumi got mad at him a lot. Trik was no help at all, not to the Major. I noticed how she glanced at me every now and then whenever she was arguing with Sai and Trik, probably wanting me to help. But, I've learnt from my short stay in General How's that when Sai and Trik are arguing with someone, I better not take their opponent's side; the opponent's side is doomed to lose. Anyway, the trip that day was not so peaceful. Because, after an hour or so…_

—

"Hey, Trik", called Spear. "Three o'clock."

Trik didn't even glance at the road that opened up at the right, he knew very well where Spear was getting at though he did appreciate the thought. Grinning like usual, he replied to Spear with slightly solemn tone. "Nah… no reason to stop."

"Your family is reason enough", rebutted Spear. "Come on, let's just say that we… uh… have a broken axel or something."

"I can break it, if you want", offered Lin, somehow guessing what they were talking about correctly; Trik's family lived on that road.

"What are you guys talking about?" Megumi dropped in, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at the two of them; Lin's not included.

"I'm not feeling well…*cough*" replied Spear with a rather convincing sick act. "I think we must stop somewhere and rest for the remainder of the day. Hey, I know! There's a village down _that_ road, why don't we stay there for the night?"

"Nonsense!" refused Megumi. "We're medical people here. I can take a look at you—"

Too energetically, Spear ripped his shirt open, exposing his (not) muscular bare chest at the yelping horror-stricken Megumi. "Here…" he sighed, grinning like your average pervert, flexing his (non-existent) chest muscle. "Touch me…"

"Driver, to the village, please. Hurry!"

Trik turned around and smirked at them, hiding his gratitude. "As you wish, Major."

* * *

Across the ocean to the west, in the Fire Nation Palace, Iroh was sauntering along the hallway leading away from the Meeting Hall. War meeting again; they're getting more frequent nowadays. And when war meeting gets more frequent, the real war is lurking nearby.

He was tired of it all…

"Uncle!" a voice called out, a little girl's voice and only one little girl in this whole world who may call him that way.

"Princess!" exclaimed Iroh; an old reflex nearly kicked in as his arms jerked, nearly opening them for a hug on the incoming highlight of his day. Luckily, or unluckily, depending on your perspective, he managed to mask the movement as straightening his robe sleeves.

Without stopping, Azula grabbed Iroh's wrist and dragged the bewildered Dragon along with her, grinning; an almost long-forgotten childish mischievous glint was apparent in her amber eyes. With her uncle on tow, she dived onto the nearest beam, the one near a widow. Peeking from the corner, her uncle's head popping out above hers from the corner, she saw the pair of old crones walking down the hallway, completely unaware of what she had in store for them. Spirits, even their steps were identical; right… left… right… left…

Azula took a rope that was dangling against the wall, a rope that was connected to some sort of mechanism she had installed on the ceiling; how she managed achieve such feat is still considered one of the greatest mysteries in the whole Four Nation, right after who Zaq the Butcher really is?

"Care to do the honor?" she offered her uncle the rope, smirking.

Iroh, however, did not share his niece's enthusiasm. He took the rope but said sternly. "No."

And he cut the rope down with a perfectly aimed fire needle from his fingertips.

"Okay", Azula shrugged; she pulled out from behind the window's curtain the _real_ rope. Ignoring her uncle's astonished expression, she pulled the rope without the slightest hesitation. A series of 'twangs' the Dragon of the West took notice and raced against as he leaped out of his hiding spot and dashed toward his former teachers; the bewildered ladies could merely witness wordlessly as their former student dashed toward them, turning back and screamed 'NOOOO!' as he shielded them from two ink-ball shots. The end result: one got Iroh's face, the other his belly.

Not exactly what she had in mind… Azula quickly vanished from the spot; when a prank failed, it's every prankster for herself.

"Iroooooh…" Li and Lo drawled dangerously at the same time. Shuddering, Iroh creaked his neck towards them, grinning guiltily. Déjà vu… by many a time they had gone through scenes similar to this. Let's just say that growing up, Iroh was not exactly who his mother Illah would nominate as her 'good kid'. I mean, if we look at how Lu Ten turned out, it was not surprising at all; Lu Ten must have got his affinity for pranks from somewhere, right?

"I know… push-ups", sighed Iroh in defeat before rolling around on his belly under Li and Lo's stern gaze. _That girl will be the death of me…

* * *

_

"Alright now, girls", laughed Trik, entangling himself from his two daughters, a three and a four year old. "Go to Uncle Spear. He's got something for you. But first, say something nice about his hair."

Chirping merrily, both girls swiftly ran back to the house; Lin smiled warmly at this, perching from a rock a distance away from Trik's home backyard. Apparently, his earlier guess was not that far off; this village was where Trik's family lives: a wife and two daughters. Inside the house, Megumi, out of courtesy, was in the middle of helping Mrs. Trik fixing dinner; as for Spear, since he was (pretending to be) sick, Megumi (forcefully) asked him to stay in his room, forbidding him to play outside. A small measure of revenge but revenge nonetheless. And as we have agreed before, revenge is like sweet wine; you know it's bad for your health but the taste sometimes makes it worth the risk. Kudos for revenge! And Megumi.

Hmm… the place's not that bad. A highway village deep in the forest, it seemed like a pretty safe place, untouched by the horror of war. Trik's home, a rather large home with a fairly vast backyard for the children to play in; unsurprisingly since Trik was the village chief's nephew. In front of his comfy house was a humble embroidery store that used to be his own clinic; that was before he received his draft notice, of course. Once he had to ship out to join the Army, it was transformed into a store by his wife since, without a husband around, she needed to work to earn a more stable income for the family.

"Lieutenant?" Trik's voice snapped Lin off his contemplation. Drawing his eyes off the setting sun, he glanced at the man who was sitting down on the rock beside him.

Trik waited for a moment, as if unsure what to do next. Then, he spoke again. "You know, even though they said 'curiosity killed the bearded-cat', you have been unhealthily un-curious about certain things that you should be curious about."

"Like what?" inquired Lin with an arched brow. Just pretending, of course; he knew exactly what Trik was referring to.

"Like what the deal is with your new employer", said Trik. "Have you ever wondered why the son of the most powerful man in the Military is serving as a lowly captain so close up to the front under a pseudonym while he could have easily used his father's influence to land a comfy office job back in Ba Sing Se?"

"It's none of my business", shrugged Lin. Then it hit him… Trik was right. Sure, as a soldier he was supposed to follow any order unquestioningly; but, as a regular Earth Kingdom person should he not show at least a little curiosity of why Spear was… well, whatever Trik just said he was? "But, to be honest, I do wonder sometimes. Why?"

Sighing, Trik looked up to the setting sun for a minute, reminiscing.

"When Sairen was five, his father started to get fanatic about his career", Trik started his story, not taking his eyes off the sun; the golden ray on his face, it made him looked strangely wise. "His father was a colonel under Omashu Regiment; they had a nice house there, Sairen, his father, and his mother. And then, his father took the whole family and left for Ba Sing Se hoping to have a better opportunity there. And we all know how it turned out for him, so let's get back to little Sairen."

Trik shifted his behind on the rugged rock for a better position before continuing.

"When he was ten or something, and was attending school in Ba Sing Se, one day he was kidnapped. Along with him was a friend, just a random noble kid who was unlucky enough to be playing with him that day. Anyway, a rescue attempt was staged, carried out, and resulted in the death of this friend", said Trik solemnly. "It was quite traumatic for Sairen. It was traumatic for his mother too, to the point that she took off with Sairen back to Omashu, back to their old house. There, they lived under assumed identities."

"Haoren?" guessed Lin.

"Yep, Haoren. Oh, General How knew all about it, of course; he wasn't exactly onboard with the idea but he knew. Anyway, Sairen promised himself that he would not let his identity as General How's son bring any disaster to any of his friends anymore, so he had never told anyone about it; until now, only few people know who he really is."

"So, that's what he meant by 'protection'?"

"Yeah", Trik chuckled. "He attended Omashu University, became surgeon, learnt spear-fighting from spirits-know-where. And then, when he was seventeen, he came back to Ba Sing Se, to his father. And guess what? General How made him a colonel!"

"Wait… he's a _captain_ now."

Trik laughed. "_Haoren_ is. Sairen was a colonel; later about that. At some point, his mother passed away in Omashu and it somehow caused a rift between him and his father, something about General How missed the funeral for some stupid war meeting. Then, this and that happened, until about five years ago, he retired from the Army and became Haoren again; he opened a practice back in Omashu and guess what? Some bozo in the Army Administration sent a draft notice to Dr. Sai Haoren in Omashu! Hah! He got out of the Army only to be drafted back into the Army, and this time, he was only a captain. Ironic, huh?"

"General How…"

"… did not know anything until it was too late; not that Spear actually tried to contact his father about this anyway. So, yeah… that's what you need to know about Spear; more importantly, that's what you need to know about Sairen. Remember, they were two different persons as far as the Army is concerned."

* * *

"Don't worry", Trik smiled reassuringly at the tear-stricken girls; it was morning already, time to say goodbye. "Daddy's gonna be alright. Daddy's an earthbender, you know."

Well, Lin had never seen him wearing shoes…

"Here, check this out", Trik looked around, eyes fell on a small boulder. He stomped his foot down, got on his stance; palms pushed forward to the direction of the stone, then pulled back onto his waits, beads of sweat popped out on his forehead as he strugglingly pushed both his trembling fists forward at the speed of snail-o-dillo's pace, wheezing through his clenched jaws.

"Phew… there! See that?"

"See what?" it was Spear who asked that question.

"That rock! It moved!" Trik pointed at the said rock.

"… I didn't see that", admitted Spear flatly (actually, the rock did move… by a millimeter). Turning to the children, Uncle Sai ignored the sad excuse for an earthbender and beamed childishly. "But don't you girls worry about your daddy. We have Big Brother Lin (he pulled the unsuspected Lin by his shoulder forward) here to protect him. Look, he's got a sword."

Repositioning himself kneeling behind the girls, he conducted a: "Come on, say it with me: Take care of Daddy, Big Brother Lin…"

"Take care of Daddy, Big Brother Lin…" the girls obeyed.

_God, I hate him…_ "Um… sure. No problem", replied Lin uneasily under the girls' puppy-dog eyes; even after years knowing and dealing with Azula and Ty Lee, his biggest and most fatal weakness would still be the puppy-dog eyes. He, fortunately, managed to form a stiff smile.

"Good girls", Spear cooed, ruffling the girls' hair. Getting up, he addressed Mrs. Sho. "Well, about time."

"Be careful", she replied, smiling. Pulling Spear in a quick embrace, she moved to Megumi next, and then, much to his surprise, Lin. As she released the boy from her arms, Trik moved in and embraced his wife long and hard.

Funny… Piandao had taught Lin of the folly of Fire Nation upbringing of believing that Earth Kingdom people are a pack of savages; but, old belief dies hard… somewhere along the way, Lin seemed to have reverted back to this foolish notion without him realizing it. Look at them! A loving family like this… how can anyone call them barbarians?

"Say goodbye to Daddy", Mrs. Trik ordered her children. Both girls with long faces dived into Trik's embraced, hugging him tightly as they muttered their goodbyes. Megumi looked at them with teary eyes, even Spear smiled sadly at the touching moment. War is hell…

* * *

_These people are not savages. I have to remember this. _

_Anyway, the rest of the trip back to the hospital was quite unmonumental. Well, Sai did managed to say something about things he shouldn't mention in front of Major Megumi which was offensive enough to make her silent treatment him for a whole day. The next day, it was Trik who got silent treatment by the Major. And, believe it or not, they dragged me into their mess; I was next! Spending times with those two sure is hazardous…_

_Anyway, the next evening, we finally arrived at the 44__th__ Army Field Hospital. _

—

Their cart slowly entered the encampment with Lin at the rein; Trik and Spear passed out on one side, Megumi on the other. Greeted them in front of the camp was what supposed to be a… gate; two rough unsmoothed poles erected with a rough uneven plank nailed in between, on the plank was a doodle calligraphy of '44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hostipal' (yeah… they miswrote 'hospital' by two strokes). Things looked quiet. And green… not green like trees and grass everywhere; green as in everything was colored green, the tents, the clothes people were wearing, the laundries people were hanging. And tents… almost every building were tents. The only building that was not tent was the wooden house right in front of them. The tents looked unfamiliar to Lin; unlike in the Fire Nation Army, Earth Kingdom Army tents seemed to have wooden door. Hmm… fascinating, Lin made a mental note to analyze this later.

As the cart entered the gate, the three passengers abruptly woke up at the same time; Megumi was stretching, Trik was yawning, and Sai took a mighty sniff of the air.

"Ah… the smell of death and pain and suffering", he sighed before turning to Lin on the driver seat. "Lieutenant, welcome to hell."

—

_The place does smell rather funky…_

—

"Nice", replied Lin dryly.

"Well, we can't get'm all", said Trik lazily. "But we are the best when it comes to medic support. That's why we've got you here."

—

_Oh, right… I am here incognito as a 'reward' for this unit for being the most efficient Army Hospital unit for five years in a row. Since this is a hospital, they don't have many combatants here, only a small detachment of twenty or thirty men, if I remember correctly. So, here I am; a lieutenant from the 1__st__ Vanguard stationed as the Head of Security, replacing the old one who went missing after one of the doctors, Dr. Senshi Mor, ordered him to sweep the minefield, from what Sai told me. _

—

"Hey, Bullhorn!' exclaimed Sai, waving at a plump man in green shirt, wearing a straw hat, sitting lazily on top of what looked like a tree house, only the tree house was not on a tree, it was on a podium built five meters high. On the small balcony of the hut was a wooden chair, a broadsword and a telescope hanging on a nail on the wall, and a… bullhorn fixed on the railing. The chubby man, a middle-aged man with friendly face under his saggy beard, set his mouth before the device and said.

"**Welcome back, Doctors! Major!"**

The booming voice startled Lin a little. They did have bullhorns like that in Fire Nation but the Army didn't used it that much so it was quite an unusual experience for Lin to hear the magnified voice coming from the device.

"That's Bullhorn", informed Trik to the lieutenant. "He's our announcer who doubles as a look-out."

"You'll be _hearing_ from him soon", joked Spear.

"And often", added Trik.

As they got off the cart, somebody approached them; a little scrawny guy. Average looking Earth Kingdom youth, about Lin's height, wearing a dirty green cap, something that looked like a pair of round clear thin ice on top of his nose, in front of his brown eyes, framed by some metal rim (_…Apparently, Earth Kingdom people call those 'glasses' and they wear those glasses to help them see…_), and the face of someone you can push around (_…and I am trying to make sound as lovingly as I can…_) trod towards them.

"Um… sir?" he addressed Lin, bowing clumsily. "Could you possibly be… uh… (the man took a peek on the clipboard he was carrying and read…) Lieutenant Lin from the 1st Vanguard Unit who is supposed to arrive yesterday?"

"That depends", answered Lin, conflicted between wanting to mess with the guy a bit as the prankster in him dictated or forcing himself to hate anything Earth Kingdom in that place; for better or worse, he chose the slightly neutral route. "Was there a Lieutenant Lin from the 1st Vanguard Unit who is supposed to arrive yesterday reporting in yesterday?"

"…Uh… no, sir", replied the man, almost whimpering.

"Then, since the last time I check my name is Lin, I'm a lieutenant from the 1st Vanguard Unit, and I was supposed to arrive yesterday, I am him", smiled Lin briefly. Even Lin was shocked of how sour his brief smile felt like. "And you are… soldier?"

"Oh, um… Corporal Haizi, sir! Company clerk", the man bowed again hastily, nearly tripping himself. "But, everybody calls me Rabbit, sir."

"Lieutenant Lin! New guy", Lin mimicked his bow. "And why do they call you Rabbit?"

"It's because I can hear thing that people don't hear, sir", Rabbit announced somewhat proudly. And he added "By the way, the latrine is that way, sir. Two tents on your rig—_left_, there's a sign that says latrine on the door." …when Lin said. "Can tell me where the toilet is?"

Lin froze… wow_… this guy can even hear people's thought_…? Still trying to overcome his amazement, or confusion, the two things are awfully similar sometimes, Lin could only drawl back. "…Right…"

"Uh, no, sir. Left."

"…Left", drawled Lin again. "Got it."

Shaking off his thought, Lin made his way to the toilet while the corporal greeted Spear and Trik and helped them with the luggage.

—

_I guess I could write about the latrine but I'd rather not. Just having to live near it and was forced to use it is torture enough, I don't wanna be reminded of it each time I open this book too._

—

Lin got out of the latrine as quickly as he could, pale like ghost and gasping for air. Leaning against the closed door, our young lieutenant had this expression on his face, the expression that he hadn't shown for quite some time now since he emerged from his childhood; the same expression he had when he, as a mere three year old brat, learnt that his cousin Biao was a girl by accident (please don't make me explain this…), or when he, as a four year old kid, caught his cat-owl ate his gold-clown fish, and many more traumatizing events that he would rather forget.

And to complete his misery, someone or something approached him. Lin's initial impression of this someone or something was, as he wrote in his diar—um… memoir…

—

…_fluttering in the wind was a fluffy bright yellow skirt, on top of it was a vibrant dress fit for a lady. A yellow parasol held tight on its hairy arm, on the other was a picnic basket filled with wild herbs. The face that looked up to me… firm jaw line, flat forehead, thick eyebrows, brown eyes, and big nose, under his crisp tanned skin. When it, or he, or she, or whatever that is, smiled, my heart missed a few beats… in bad way; in a I-might-just-have-my-lifespan-shortened way…_

—

"I've never seen you before", the creature spoke, taking a few steps closer to Lin; had Lin not been so scared, or alarmed, as he so delicately put in his memoir, he would have noticed that the man was smiling kindly. "Ah, you must be that new lieutenant General How sent for us."

"W-wh… ahem, what is to you?" said Lin, trying to maintain his calmness.

"Corporal Rha-Mi, sir!" that… erm, _man_ straightened up, still grinning. "Sandbender, draftee from Si Wong Desert. I am _crazy_, sir!"

"…W-well, I can see that", croaked Lin, scanning the man from head to toe, unsure whether he should laugh or be afraid; ¼ of him was all for the laugh but the larger portion of ¾ was scared witless. Sand-dweller… this was the first time for Lin to meet one. A man dressed like this? Definitely the first.

"Well, don't just stand there", said Rha-Mi, still all friendly. "What do you think?"

"About what?" asked Lin incredulously. Great… first day at the camp and already in a mess.

"About my dress", scoffed Rha-Mi, spinning around to grant Lin a better view on his outfit.

"…Well, objectively speaking, it really brings out the color of your eyes", Lin commented weakly. By the way, even though he did not write this in his memoir, he was being honest when he said this.

"I'm glad you like it, o' fair-minded one", exclaimed the sand-dweller poetically. Ignoring Lin's yelp, he wrenched the boy's hand and shook it airily. "Are you here to liberate me of this shackle that chained me to this hellhole, o' great lieutenant of fair complexion, to free this poor son of the Great Desert from having to live so close to the war zone and live alongside sick people every day and night?"

"…huh…?"

"Cut it out, Rha-Mi", fortunately, Trik and Spear came to Lin's rescue. Without wasting any more second, Lin quickly dived behind the protection of Trik's shoulder; Trik was bigger than Spear.

"He's just a lieutenant", informed Spear. "He's not a special envoy from the Council or something."

"So, you're saying… he doesn't have any authorization to grant a discharge?"

"Nope", Spear shook his head.

"Oh, great", Rha-Mi grumbled, clearly upset, not to mention disappointed.

"On the bright side", Trik grinned. "I love your dress."

* * *

"I see you have met some of our camp's most colorful members", inquired the middle-aged colonel. "Well, if it makes you will any better, think of it this way: you're gonna have to meet them eventually anyway. So, you know, don't think about it."

"Thank you, Colonel. That was really… helpful", replied Lin stiffly.

"Anyway, this is Father Shu, our chaplain", Haoqi gestured the small bald man who was sitting on the chair; the man, whose kind face match his prayer beads he was wearing on his neck, yet seemed so out of place on top of his green army shirt, got up, greeted, and shook Lin's hand friendlily.

"So, Lieutenant, do you worship the Mother Prithvi?" the priest asked suddenly. "Or could you be a worshipper of other spirits?"

"Uh…" aw, crap! Lin had invented a slightly true background for his Earth Kingdom identity; name Lin (as Lin can also pass as normal Earth Kingdom name), a travelling swordsman who could not earthbend (which is true…), and came from Senlin Village (not _born_ in Senlin although if people wanted to assume the otherwise, so be it). But, he did not anticipate this one… _religion_! Arrghh! Even in the Fire Nation, he was not really a religious person. He had been trying to make his Earth Kingdom identity to be as similar as possible to his Fire Nation identity in order to minimize the chance for slip-ups. So… "I don't know much about religions, Father."

"Oh…" Father Shu sounded awkward for a moment before he reverted back to his earlier cheerfulness. "Well, don't worry about it, my son. There will be a lot of time to learn."

Unable to reply, Lin forced a smile. Fortunately, Haoqi started a new topic, addressing the room at once; Lin, the priest, Spear, and Trik.

"Anyway, Lieutenant", he sounded serious. "We all know why you are really here, also your involvement with Spear, as per General How's order."

"Colonel?" Lin frowned, deciding to play it safe.

"Well, um… you know", Haoqi struggled to find the right word to no avail. Turning to Spear, he asked for the man's support.

"They _know_", was all Spear said. "And only them."

"Yes, aside from Captain Sho, Colonel Haoqi and I also know about Spear's… um, background", concurred Father Shu. "Colonel Haoqi naturally knows since he is our commanding officer and I… well, as you learn more about religion, my son, Spirits willing, you will come to know that many people regard lying to a priest as a mortal sin."

"And since an officer from the 1st Vanguard can't just pop in as a random no-name captain's bodyguard, General How has arranged for you to be our new Head of Security", added Haoqi.

"I see", nodded Lin; How did brief him something like this before.

"And also—"

Haoqi was cut short by the door that was swung open by Major Megumi and an unfamiliar man; the man looked about Spear and Trik's age, wearing the same kind of green shirt they were wearing, only worn less sloppily, and his face was… well, plain, almost no distinctive features aside from the fact that his face somehow made Lin wanted to punch him for no reason. The man had that kind of atmosphere around him.

"Colonel", Megumi, smiling sweetly, said to Haoqi who looked sour for some reason. "Major Senshi would like to—"

"**Attention all personnel! Incoming wounded! It's a big one so, move it!... Sirs…"**

It was Bullhorn's voice echoing through his… um, bullhorn. Abruptly, all of them dashed out, almost leaving Lin behind had Father Shu not dragged him by his wrist. Still, though he wasn't really sure, Lin could have sworn he heard Spear muttered. "Saved by the bell…"

* * *

_It was hell…_

—

"Over here, doctor!" a nurse yelled, kneeling over a… _bloody mass_ who was put on a stretcher.

Trik rushed to her immediately. Much to Lin's amazement, or horror, hard to say which one was more dominant, Trik took a peek on the man's bandaged head; frowning, he quickly pressed his hand against the man's jugular. His frown turned to scowl as he wordlessly pulled the blanket that was put over the man's body over his head. Sighing deeply, he got up and moved to another man in another stretcher. The nurse, with similar expression on her face, the one of both sadness and indifference, called out to Father Shu who arrived later to tend to the fallen soldier, allowing the nurse to attend another wounded man for there was nothing more she could do for the fallen one.

—

_I am not a stranger to war. I've seen people die, I've seen the horror of how a simple battle of glory, as we often call it in Fire Nation Army, could result in so much pain and suffering. But standing there that night, frozen by fear and disgust, I felt like a child again. A little helpless child._

—

"Rha-Mi!" Lin heard Spear yelled. "Come here! This one has to go first!"

"I'm full, Captain!" Lin heard Rha-Mi yelled back, carrying one end of a stretcher with a random soldier on the other end, a stretcher on which an unrecognizable mass of red and dirty-green was lying; strange… the sandbender's fluttering pink summer dress did not seem so funny or dreadful to Lin anymore.

—

_I know that people got hurt in war, most of them are soldiers; that's their duty, after all: to get hurt in war in civilian's stead. But now that I think back on my experience in war, I have never asked this question to anyone including myself: where do we put all those wounded soldiers? I mean, where do they go? Do we just send them to their beds where they would somehow heal and send them back to do the fighting the next day? Or do we just send them home and make do with what we've got left? I guess I was just too afraid to learn the truth; that's why I've never asked that question._

—

"Lin!" Spear's voice snapped Lin back to the reality, to the sea of blood in front of him.

"W-wha… what?"

"Don't just stand there", Spear yelled again furiously. "Help me here!"

"B-but… I'm…" _this isn't right! I'm the Head of Security, not a medic!_ But those words did not escape the young man's lips.

"Lieutenant", Lin jerked to the direction of the hand that grasped his shoulder; it was Rabbit, the corporal from before. If the guy was a little jumpy and nervous earlier that morning, he now seemed… well, maybe still a little jumpy and nervous but he was doing so much better that Lin by far. "Come on, Lieutenant. We can use some help."

Lin didn't know what possessed him as he let the corporal lead him to Spear; he could have pulled rank on the corporal, or he could have just declined. But he didn't…

"Come on, kid", Spear goaded; at the other side of the stretcher, making sure the patient was secured. "You'll be fine. Okay, ready? Go."

They lifted the stretcher, the injured soldier groaned weakly; Spear, at the foot, was walking forward while Lin, at the head, was walking backward. Noticing how pale and shocked the lieutenant was, Spear asked with concern. "Are you okay?"

Spear was taken aback when Lin glared at him bewilderedly but he didn't show his surprise; somehow, he knew things would turn out this way for the young man. As for Lin, what he was feeling at that time… he answered Spear's question with a: "I hate you…"

—

_War is hell…

* * *

_

**Author's Note:**

Names:

1. Haizi (孩子) is Mandarin for 'child'

2. Rha-Mi is from Arabic 'rhamil' which means 'sand'. Also, there is an Indonesian word 'rami' which means 'hemp'.

Hey, I'm planning a sister project for this fic, it will be called 'The Dragon of the Deep Forest: Bloopers, What-ifs, Side Stories, and Whatnots'. As the name suggest, it'll contain some side-stories for this fic, like how Jiang and Lian first met, for example, which I plan to put in but couldn't seem to fit anywhere, or some wacky twist that could have happened to some of the events in this fic. What do you guys think? I'll upload the first chapter maybe along with the next chapter for this fic or sometime before the next weekend.

To hpswst101, Bei Fong… hmm… I don't think Toph had any sibling. But, if we think about it objectively, there's a chance that Toph had brothers that didn't live in the house. I mean, those two rude guys from Master Yu's school just said that the Bei Fong Family didn't have a _daughter_, right? Also, a family like that would most probably need an heir. Or maybe Bei Fong Family has extended family outside Toph and her immediate relatives and from one of them centuries later Jinshi Bei Fong came forth.

And here we have our Klinger, Frank, P.A. announcer, and Radar. And of course there will be Klinger. M*A*S*H wouldn't be as good without Klinger, the sanest person in Korean War. :) He's my favorite character, by the way.

What do think about my idea for the sister project? I got the idea when I realized I was running low on chapters for the previous book and had to cut Lin's adventure with Piandao's school short. I have quite a lot planned for that period: his almost encounter with Azula and Zuko who was on vacation in Shu Jing, his first time shaving, forced blind date with Oboro, Lin nearly eradicated the whole school with his cooking, Biao who unexpectedly showed up and almost tear down the whole town looking for Lin, Jiang traveling incognito to visit Lin, etc.

Not sure if I can write all those, maybe I'll try to fix some of them to fit the 44th Hospital, or something. And they'll be some funny or weird bloopers for the previous chapters or something. What do you think?

Have a nice day, everyone!


	66. Chapter 65

**Chapter 65 – Let's Get Ourselves Some Mercs**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

Ah… a very fine morning in the 44th Army Hostipal, I mean, _Hospital_. A very fine summer morning, still the second week of the first month, the air was still filled with the lingering scent of spring yet delightfully tainted with the warmth of summer. Time to start a new day…

Lin got out of his tent, the one he inhabited alone; a Head Security had that kind of privilege. Closing the door behind him, the young soldier was greeted by the pleasant breeze on his face, warm sunlight on his skin. Ah… refreshing… for a firebender, the sunlight was naturally a welcomed addition to the otherwise chilly air. Stretching energetically, he took a mighty sniff of the warm air…

… and nearly suffocated himself to death…

Gagging, he wobbled to his door, the nearest surface he could reach for support, feeling woozy almost instantly. As if having to live in this cesspool of everything bad and unholy was not torture enough, even the very air lingering in this area stink of… _stuffs_. It was hard to describe… like the mixture of the smell of an old herbalist lab and the toilets in Master Piandao's school shortly after Lin was put in charge for kitchen duty for the first (and last) time. Yuck!

Oh, well… ignorance… Sighing, Lin resumed his march to the training ground, a little south of the camp; he had scheduled a combat training for the men today. The camp, it was almost like a village. Even the tents had wooden beams and doors and all, just replaced those canvas with planks and you'll have huts.

The shape of the whole camp was like a 'U', at the very end was the only all wooden multipurpose multi-chambered building: the CO office/the operating room/the treatment room/the recovery room. It was a big building; the layout, at one end was the clerk's office, also serving as an intersection leading to the CO's office and the recovery room. After the recovery room was the treatment room, also multipurpose as the place where healers treated superficial wound and the place where the surgical team prepared themselves and the patients before entering the next room, the operating room. Apparently, according to Ba Sing Se University Surgical Guidelines, the operating room had to be kept as sterile as possible; failure to follow this guideline might result in elevated risk of infection for the patients. Opening up somebody's skin and exposing their insides to open air carries that risk naturally, so surgeons had to do all they could to minimize the risk.

And at the right and left of the building were the mess tent, Earth Kingdom Army's term for 'dining tent', and the supply tent respectively. And from that, were the girls' and boys' tents, fanning out from officers to enlisted men's tent to the rear. And the outer layouts? At the east, behind the CO's office was a minefield. At the south, behind men's tents was another minefield. At the north, behind nurses' tents, guess what? Another minefield. The way to the east was clear, leading to a highway.

Landmines… Many make the mistake of regarding them as Fire Nation invention; on the contrary, it was Earth Kingdom's invention. Hundreds of years ago, during the reign of Chin, the Conqueror, when the Conqueror King swept his influence to the far reaches of the Earth Continent, the Fire Lord at that time, Fire Lord Huozing, Sozin's father, sent some spies to infiltrate the Conqueror's rank as an anticipatory move in case Chin would turn his aim at the Fire Nation after he had taken the whole Earth Kingdom. Luckily, Avatar Kyoshi ended the tyrant's reign, and the spies were called back to the homeland, bringing with them some intelligence reports, including the blueprints of several revolutionary siege and incendiary weapons; along with it was the prototype of the earlier version of landmines.

Nasty things, those mines. Soldiers buried them on roads, plains, civilians' rice fields, civilians' front yard, etc. hoping that enemy soldier would trip on them. A nasty thing, indeed. Lin knew a guy in the Fire Nation Army, he was in Chit Sang's unit; a great fighter, according to Chit Sang. One day, when they were advancing on a village under Uncle Masa, this soldier tripped on a mine; the mine blew his right leg off, ending his career as a soldier and a warrior. Imagine that, a seasoned warrior taken out by a trap that could have been set up by a snotty inexperienced trapper.

War is hell…

"Soldiers!" Lin called out to the thirty men under his command. "Let's go over your drill yesterday. In my opinion, your performance yesterday was…"

The soldiers looked back at him wishfully, including among them Rha-Mi in a striking navy-blue dress, a matching handbag and a wide hat.

"…extremely and devastatingly… _disappointing_!"

The lot broke into a loud protest.

"What did we do wrong?" Rha-Mi protested.

"Remember what we practiced yesterday?" Lin asked back flatly.

"Basic combat moves, basic combat formation, basic combat march."

"And who lost a fight… against a training dummy?"

"I did…"

"And who knocked down half of the men while you guys were assuming a basic line formation?"

"He did…"

"And who marched to the south while I specifically ordered the march to the west?"

"We all did…"

"Any questions?"

"But, sir", Rha-Mi didn't give up. "We're not really soldiers. Well, we _are_ soldiers but not… you know. Most of us don't even wanna be here."

"I know", yes, Lin knew. "Most of you were drafted against your will. But, the fact remains that you guys are stationed here. This place is your home for now. And if this place is attacked by the enemies, it is your duty to defend it."

"Actually, sir", frowned Rha-Mi. "Usually, when this camp is attacked by enemy, we just make a run for it."

"Yeah", another soldier concurred. "We've never had to fight. We're hospital."

"…Never… fight…?"

"Never."

"… Wait here", was all Lin said before he dashed back to the camp, to the colonel's office. Kicking the front door open, Rabbit quickly said that the colonel was in his office. Ignoring the fact that his fury might have scarred the corporal for life, he kicked down the door leading to Haoqi's office with the same grace, making the colonel spit the drink in his mouth. And to the man, Lin yelled.

"What the hell is this? This unit's never had to fight?"

"W-well, yeah… obviously", stammered Haoqi, sweating under Lin's dragon stare. "I-I mean… um, we're a hospital."

"So, what's the purpose of having a Head Security?" spat Lin. "Or those soldiers for that matter!"

"Um… for security reason?" grinned Haoqi nervously.

"But, you said we never have to fight the Fire Nation", Lin gritted his teeth. _What kind of joke is this?_

"Well, yeah… But, we still need to secure our camp", explained Haoqi. "I mean, you know… Sometimes bandits attack us or thieves broke into our supply and steal stuffs. So… you know…"

Grumbling, Lin pinched his temple, calming himself.

"Your purpose here is more as a police than as a soldier, Lieutenant", said Haoqi as Lin sat down. "I'm sorry if I didn't brief you beforehand, I thought you already knew."

"This is a nightmare", sighed Lin. Yes, a nightmare, indeed. "So, I'm just a bouncer in this place. Great…"

"Well, look at the bright side", grinned Haoqi. "…"

"…"

"…There is no bright side."

* * *

"Spear, wake up", yawned Trik, kicking the former on the feet. Both he and Spear shared their tent with the other doctor, Senshi.

"Huh? What?" Spear groggily yawned back, not even opening his eyes.

"Wake up! It's morning", Trik retrieved his towel and fresh clothes from his footlocker. "You asked me to wake you up in the morning, remember? Something about Nurse Huang Mei and her toes."

Spear mumbled back indistinctively, not waking up.

"Wake up!" Trik kicked him again.

"Would you be quite over there?" another voice echoed inside the tent as a pile of (highly debatable) human being arose from the bed on the other side of the tent; it was a clearly irritated Major Senshi. "Somebody's trying to sleep over there."

"So shut up and let him sleep!" Trik snapped back. The grumbling major at the other end simply dived back into his blanket, grumbling something about military discipline and court martial. And, as Trik turned back to Spear, the latter had already risen, sitting on the bed, although still messy.

"I had a dream", muttered Spear, rubbing his eyes. "You were in it. He (jerking his chin at Senshi) was in it; Haoqi, Rabbit, Rha-Mi, Father Shu… even Megumi and the nurses."

"What's the dream about?" asked Trik as he sat down on the bedside, flicking some lice off his towel. Even Senshi took a peek from under his blanket, intrigued.

"We were a circus troupe instead of an Army Hospital", said Spear, still sleepily. "Haoqi was the ring master, Rabbit was at the ticket counter, Rha-Mi was the animal trainer, you and I were the clown MCs, Father Shu was a magician."

"Uh-huh", grinned Trik, handing a cup of cold tea to Spear.

"Megumi and the nurses were the magician's assistants", he took a sip of the cup; the horrid taste instantly woke him up. "*cough*, yuck! And guess who Senshi was in my dream?"

"Who?"

"He was the main attraction. Hear that, Senshi? You were the main attraction in my dream."

"What'd he do?" asked Trik, smirking.

"He was the dancing platypus-bear."

* * *

"Good", nodded Lin at Rha-Mi as he pinned his sparring partner on the ground in an arm-lock. "Apply more pressure by tilting his arm upward if needed."

Heh! Take that Earth Kingdom Army. So, the Army dumped him as a _police_ rather than a _soldier_ in this hellhole. Big whoop! Lin just had to adapt his approach to this condition, right? Instead of training an army, he would train a group of police; instead of battle formation, he would teach apprehension techniques like take-down and arm-lock. Haha!

"Like this, Lieutenant?" asked Rha-Mi enthusiastically, adding the pressure the way Lin told him; his victim screamed in pain a little.

"Yes", Lin smiled a bit. "You can use this move to subdue your opponent before tying his hands behind his back. I believe you are given some restraining devices along with your standard equipment, right?"

Abruptly, all men, those who were locking arms and those whose arms were being locked looked back at Lin as if the young man was crazy.

"…Oh, no…" sighed Lin as he assumed the worst from their stares. "Did you guys even receive any basic training? At all?"

"They did send us to a training camp for awhile", shrugged Rha-Mi from on top the downed soldier. "They taught us how to put on the armor, about military ranks, how to swing a sword and a spear a little, how to tell arrow and bow apart. You know, stuffs like that."

"How long were you there?"

"On average, a week."

"Do you know what a bolt is?"

"You mean like the lightning or something?" Rha-Mi asked back, frowning.

"Do you know what a spear is?"

"Well, yeah", the soldier below Rha-Mi replied. "It's a pointy thing on a stick."

"And a javelin?"

"…A pointy thing on a stick?"

"Do you know the difference between a dagger and a knife?"

"Um…" another random soldier tried his luck. "A dagger is the one you hold, a knife is the one you throw."

"… Wait here."

* * *

"And let the sky be bluuuuuueeee", sang Spear as he rubbed his torso with soap under the shower.

"'Cause in my heart there's only yooooouuuuu", Trik was on the other cubicle beside him.

"Shh…" Spear shushed him, turning off his shower; he caught a sound from outside.

"What?" asked Trik, also turning off his shower.

"Probably just my imagination", shrugged Spear before he turned his shower back on, resuming his morning ritual. "I thought I heard a stampede outside."

* * *

In his office, Lieutenant Colonel Haoqi was lounging, peacefully sipping a cup of rice wine. It was nine in the morning but our colonel was never the type who fuzzes over when one should enjoy some quality wine. He was in a good mood today, last night he performed a rather difficult surgery on a soldier who was shot on the neck; not only did he save the man's life, Haoqi even managed to improvised on his conventional technique while working on that case. Ah… he might even go down in medical history for this. Now, if only he hadn't drank all those wine last night… When he woke up this morning with a massive hangover, he could barely remember that he wasn't in his home back on the Whale Island and needed an hour before he could stop calling his pillow Wu-Mei; that was his wife's name.

Oh well… he was never one who care about glory, anyway.

"Rabbit", he addressed his clerk who was in the middle of cleaning the room. "Would you believe that I was _this_ close to becoming a pioneer in medical world?"

"Of course not, sir", answered Rabbit, dusting the cabinet.

"Yes, I was. _This_ close", chuckled Haoqi, gulping down a generous amount off his cup. "That kid was so busted on the neck it was a miracle he could actually survive that long in the operating room. But, I did it! I saved him."

"Yes, sir."

"And I'm not even the best in my class", Haoqi reminisced aloud, refilling his cup. "In college, I was in a class of forty. And do you know what my rank was, Rabbit?"

"You were the 20th, sir."

"Nope, I was the 20th", by the way, Haoqi was half-drunk. "I was the 20th out of 40 students. My professor said I could only be a mediocre at best. But, look at me. I'm a colonel, a surgeon, and I just saved a kid. Not bad, eh?"

"Not bad at all, sir", replied Rabbit. "Oh, and, sir, you asked me to remind you about lecture tonight. It's about smoking and alcohol consumption, sir."

"Really?" frowned Haoqi, swaying on his seat. "Tonight?"

"I guess so, sir. You said the lecture was tonight", shrugged Rabbit. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have asked me to remind you about a lecture tonight if there is no such thing as a lecture tonight, sir."

"Good point. I'll go get the material ready", Haoqi tried to get up but he sank right back to his chair. "As soon as I can feel my legs again. Rabbit?"

Haoqi continued with his order of, "Tell Bullhorn to announce the lecture tonight", as Rabbit said. "I'll just go tell Bullhorn to announce the lecture tonight" at the same time.

"You know what, son", said Haoqi in all seriousness. "I still wonder how you do that."

"You're not that hard to read, sir", Rabbit grinned back. "I'll go and put the no-disturb sign on the door, sir."

"It's okay, Rabbit; just go and put the no-disturb sign on the door."

"Yes, sir. Would that be all?"

"That would be all, Rabbit. Bye…"

"Yes, sir", rolling his eyes, Rabbit exited the door only to enter back first as a certain someone stormed in in front of him. "Uh, sir? Lieutenant Lin is here to see you, sir."

"Tell him to come back later", replied Haoqi, not noticing Lin in the room.

"Colonel?" Lin greeted though his clenched jaw.

"Oh, hi there, Lieutenant. Come on in", Haoqi greeted back cheerfully. "Rabbit, go and tell Bullhorn about the announcement, will ya?"

"Uh, yes, sir", replied Rabbit timidly; he swiftly bowed at Lin before literally running out of the room.

"Colonel?" called Lin again.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"It's about the men", Lin started. "I just learnt that they know nothing about fighting."

"Of course", laughed Haoqi. "They might be soldiers on the outside but they are more specifically medics. They help out in a hospital unit like this and… uh… that's it. No fighting for them."

"How am I supposed to work with them?" Lin nearly screamed at the drunkard. "They can't even— Can you do something?"

"Nope", simple and short came from Haoqi. Noticing the dagger in the young lieutenant's stare, Haoqi continued more seriously; as seriously as his blurry vision could get, anyway. "Listen, Lieutenant. I know that you kids from a combat unit are all fired-up about fighting and stuffs. But, we at the 44th Army Hospital are just not like that. We are a hospital, our purpose is to save life, not take them."

"I know that", Lin grumbled. "But…"

Lin frowned, struggling to find the right words. He couldn't, so he settled with. "They're pathetic!"

"Exactly", concurred Haoqi lightly. "They're medics, not fighters."

"But you have weapons in this unit! ... You do have weapons, right?"

"We have five spears, four swords, two sets of crossbows, and a half-broken bow", Haoqi added. "Two of the five spears are currently being used as beams to replace the ones broken in the nurse's shower. One of the swords is in the kitchen; our cook uses it to peel potatoes. The crossbows are in a good shape but nobody in this camp knows how to use one and the bow? Last time I checked, Father Shu is using it as a fishing rod."

"Bluff tactic, huh?"

"Yep, bluff tactic", nodded Haoqi. "The only tactic we can use to utilize our men and weapons."

"So, what am I supposed to do here?" asked Lin.

"Well, you can train the men how to fight", shrugged Haoqi. "It won't hurt to teach the men a thing or two about self-defense. Other than that, it is your duty to come up with duty roster for night patrols and whatnot."

"Training, shift regulation…" Lin drawled, lifting up two fingers.

"And occasionally keeping us all safe; like that one time with that wombat-viper", added Haoqi.

"Viper-wombat", corrected Lin.

"That's what I said."

"Right", Lin added another finger. "Anything else?"

"I don't know", said Haoqi airily. "Help me think."

"There is a report about bandit attacking people on the highway to the south", said Lin. "May I ask your permission to bring the men there for a combat practice?"

"What, you mean like fighting those bandits?" Haoqi asked incredulously. "Is that wise?"

"I have contacts with some mercenaries", informed Lin. "They said it was only a group of three or four bandits. I don't think it would be too much of a problem for our men."

"Well, hmm… okay", snorted Haoqi. "Just make sure you bring the men home in one piece."

And from behind the door, Rabbit quickly ran.

* * *

Hundreds of miles away to the west, in Fire Nation…

"Uncle?" the girl's head shot up from behind the opened door; but alas, Iroh was not in his room.

Not giving up, Azula walked down the corridor, looking for the old man. What a boring day for the Fire Princess. Her father had a war meeting, her twin teachers had taken a short leave, her school had not yet begun, and Mai was away on a vocation. Boring…

And yeah, she had pulled something on Zuko, out of boredom. Remember when I said Mai was away on a vocation? Well, earlier that morning, Azula had managed to persuade Zuko to drop his schedule for the day and go to the Amber Island with her, saying something about brother-sister quality time. Zuko was suspicious at first but Azula could be very persuasive if she wanted to and Zuko fell for it. And as they embarked on the Royal Ship, Azula suddenly 'remembered' that she left something on the palace and went home to get it; she told Zuko to wait in the ship. What Zuko didn't know was that Azula had instructed the ship captain to set sail the minute she got down from the ship without Zuko and, as the result, Zuko was probably on the Amber Island by now. By the way, Mai was there on Amber Island; that's the joke. Sure, Azula got a few laugh out of it but… meh, after a few minutes, it got old.

And now, back in the palace, alone, the princess was in desperate need for an entertainment; and the only source of entertainment left around here were two: ordering the servants around and something to do with Uncle Iroh. Now, the servants in the palace had been avoiding her lately; they didn't stop and greet her or play with her anymore like they used to when she was little, so not much hope there. The only obvious choice left was uncle.

And so our princess looked around for her uncle. Behind the tree near the pond where he liked to take a nap? Nope, not there. On the corner in the library, at the right side of the shelf for botany section, the second place where he liked to take a nap? Not there, either. In the kitchen, where he liked to hang out? No; although, he left some traces of him being there, nobody else in the palace ate roast duck this early in the morning. The _other_ kitchen, the bigger one? Not there, too; but Azula found another trace in the form of a pile of cleanly picked duck bones, only Uncle Iroh could eat so much roast duck in one sitting. And, usually after eating such heavy food before lunchtime… the Royal Toilet…? Sadly, or maybe fortunately, Azula's dignity as a princess prevented her from breaking one of the oldest rules in any known culture. Huffing, she stomped away from the door she nearly kicked down, letting her feet carry her somewhere, anywhere, didn't matter where.

What a boring day…

Uncle Iroh, where in the spirit's name is he? Azula thought back to the day when she pranked her twin teachers, the one where her prank backfired on Uncle Iroh. She thought back particularly on the fire needle Uncle was using. There were some perks that came with her blue fire; the size and intensity of her firebending had been significantly magnified ever since she manifested her blue flame to the point that she was having a hard time toning down his firebending. She remembered her first lesson with the twins; she was so amazed by the size and power of her fire she had actually frozen on the spot. Objectively speaking, being able to produce bigger and more powerful fire without even trying is a good thing, right? Well, not for Azula… One of the first lessons Lin had taught her and Zuko was the importance of balance; a firebender must know how to bend strong fire as well as how to produce small harmless spark. It is to demonstrate their level of control over their element as well as to fulfill their need for a quick source of lighting or something.

And when she saw her uncle's fire needle, a flame so small yet powerful shot from his fingertips; Azula thought she could do the same. She had experimented with it; she had tried shooting fire via finger jabs instead of punches and it worked! The size of her fire blast was reduced much but she couldn't form it into needle-like flame like Uncle's; her fire would still at the size of a very large apple or a small watermelon. She remembered spending the next few hours practicing until her fingers got sore and woke up the next day almost unable to move her index and middle fingers. That was why she needed Uncle; those two old crones would not be happy about Azula asking things that had nothing to do with what they were currently working on for sure, so her only salvation would be Uncle Iroh.

Now, Azula was a smart kid. She usually used her brain for things like pranks on Zuko, never for firebending; she never had to before. However, influenced by her former instructor, the boy who invented Fire Compression, a technique so lethal and devastating, from absolute scratch, she had begun slowly to take a more scholastic approach on her firebending, just like Lin. So, earlier in the morning, as she nursed her fingers, she thought back on the finger jab technique.

First thing first: what's the difference between big and small fire produced with the same amount of effort? Naturally, bigger fire will be weaker and less intense compared to smaller fire produced under this condition; even the firebending inept Zuzu knew this. But, this condition did not apply for Azula and her blue fire anymore, so moving on: how to tone down her fire. There were two problems here; toning down her fire's size and power.

First, the size. As Uncle Iroh demonstrated with his fire needle, decreasing the size of the point of exit seemed plausible. By making the point of exit for the fire smaller, surely the effect would be a more intensified but smaller-sized fire; like jamming a finger on water hose. That would mean that while she could make her fire smaller, she would also make her fire _stronger_; one problem down, the other one got worse.

As for suppressing the power of her bending, she did not have a clue… now, think, think…

If smaller fire is stronger than bigger fire, what makes it stronger then? Hmm… smaller fire is more compact, bigger fire is more expanded; like sand, wet sand is denser than dry sand. Sounds reasonable.

So, bigger but less compact fire vs. smaller but more compact fire. Guess she could either apply restraint on her fire-finger-jab or enhance her fire punch and kick. Hmm… wouldn't that be easier if she just learnt how to intensify her existing firebending skill, learning to intensify her fire blast from her fists? Nah… too troublesome; it would mean putting more effort each time she punched fire. It sounded easier if she could just refine her skill in fire-finger-jabs. But, as she faced trouble in the form of her fingers not used to such method and she didn't know any effective training method to condition her fingers for such technique, she needed her Uncle.

And besides, intensifying her usual firebending, she knew how to do it and could do it easily. Training her finger-jabs, however, she did not. This way, she would end up acquiring both skills. A good choice, no? Azula was so deep in her calculation she did not realize that she was back where she started; Uncle's room.

"Uncle?" she called as she opened the door for the second time today. Iroh was there this time; drinking tea as usual. The surprised on his face as he gasped at Azula's sudden appearance, the childish side in the princess was hurt a bit; Uncle Iroh's face looked as if he saw a ghost. But, no matter; now that Lin was gone (_without saying goodbye,_ added Azula furiously) the only available guidance for stuff like her firebending issue would have to come from Iroh. Well, not solely… there was still Daddy Ozai and the mean voice in her head was all about waiting for another time when Daddy's not busy. But, another voice in her, the one she liked more, though she could not bring herself to admit it, chose now and her uncle.

"Princess?" Iroh frowned as his niece walked towards his spot on the floor in front of his window, his favorite spot in his large chamber. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you", said Azula as she plopped down on the floor beside the old man. "I've looked everywhere for you."

"Is something the matter?" asked Iroh, pouring a cup of tea for the girl. "Need help with your homework?"

"School hasn't started yet", yawned Azula, ignoring the tea. She hated tea; a trait that she and Zuko shared which, contrary to popular belief, they inherited from Ursa. Ozai secretly loved tea but hated to be associated in any way with Iroh.

"Need help with firebending?"

Azula mumbled indistinctively as she laid down her head on Iroh's lap; who knows wandering around the palace looking for uncle while thinking about her firebending could make her feel so exhausted. Iroh incorrectly interpreted her mumble as a 'no', as so, he asked again.

"Trouble with boys? Ow, ow! Ouch! Sorry, sorry!"

Azula stopped pinching the old man's fleshy thigh. Smiling, Iroh stroked the girl's hair. It was a nice change for him; usually at this hour, she would be up and running about things like firebending or making Zuko's life miserable, dragging Iroh down with her when things go wrong. Speaking of Zuko…

"Hey", now Iroh remembered. "Shouldn't you be on your way to Amber Island with your brother?"

"Zuko's got a date", Azula yawned again, already half asleep on the Dragon's lap.

"Oh", Iroh arched a brow; years spent formulating battle plans on the battlefield assisted him in detecting his niece's neat handiwork on this alleged date.

This was a difficult moment for Iroh, whenever he was torn in two when judging the girl's… _everything_; her pranks on Zuko? Either showing the girl's ingenuity in pranks or her twisted fun on her brother's expense. All the traps she laid all over the palace for Zuko? Could be her natural talent in trap-building and application or just her willing to go great length at torturing Zuko. Her prodigal talent in firebending? Proving that she could be either a great asset or a great threat to everything 'good' and 'right', the scale leaned more towards the latter, much to Iroh's dismay and Ozai's delight. Her brilliance in formulating and executing her many plans to trick Zuko into something, like this one where she tricked Zuko into going to Amber Island alone where he would run into that gloomy girl whose name Iroh somehow forgot? Could be a gift in the art of strategy-planning that might aid her in days to come or a curse on everything and everyone who stood in her way in days to come, _like Ba Sing Se_.

What Iroh wouldn't give to be able to 'unsee' the things he had seen, or foreseen, in the girl's future. _Maybe this is what the Young Dragon is feeling_, he smiled bitterly.

"You know", said Iroh again, choosing to change the topic. "Your teachers made me do a hundred push-ups because of your prank yesterday."

"I know", said Azula, almost whispering; her amber eyes, tracing towards the clear blue sky outside the window were half-closed. She had nearly added an apology with her statement had her father's cold voice in her mind not told her that a Fire Princess _does not_ apologize. It was a difficult time for her too; whenever she wanted to do something that she knew would not please her father, apologizing was on the top of the list.

'_I'm sorry', just say it_, a voice called out. A familiar voice.

_No_, another voice called out; a stronger and colder one, the one that brought the image of the disapproving scowl on her father's face to her mind.

_Apologize, Azula_, the first voice did not relent. The one voice so soft, so close to her, close but felt so far; one that made her feel warm, one that made her feel loved.

_A Fire Princess does not apologize!_ True, Daddy's voice! She found herself agreeing with this voice. But…

_Your Uncle loves you…_ that's it! She finally recognized that voice, the one she had not heard since… ah, she couldn't remember; she didn't want to remember, to be more precise. That voice, it was familiar alright; it represented the one thing she had ever wanted in her life but couldn't bring herself to admit: her mother.

But, she did realize that the voice made her shed a silent tear.

"I'm sorry, Uncle", she whispered; feeling a sense of relieve, which she welcomed, and this subtle yet overwhelming fear she always felt whenever she was with her father that made her shudder despite the warm weather.

As for Iroh, he was taken aback to the point that he let out a gasp. _I'm sorry, Uncle_, he could not recall the last time he heard those words coming from the princess; mainly because Azula had never done a lot of things she should apologize for to Iroh. Another conflict inside Iroh…

Iroh, the Dragon of the West, knew of the dark path Azula would have to walk on in the future, for it was her destiny, and the wise Dragon knew that he had to view this girl as an enemy when the time comes; so, would it not be wise for him to start distancing himself from the girl _now_, so that when the time comes, it would not be so hard for him, for both of them, to do what had to be done?

But, Iroh, uncle of Azula, wanted nothing more than to love her as an uncle should, to guide her, teach her, to laugh at her pranks openly for he could only do it secretly, secretly even to himself, to admire her talent in academic and firebending, to praise her openly, not keeping to himself those kind words he was dying to give to her, keeping those word even from himself. Being an uncle… nobody said it was gonna be easy.

It was difficult… And it brought a silent tear to Iroh's eye.

Caressing the girl's hair lovingly, he let Azula sleep on his lap. He tapped the girl's shoulder to sleep, loving his niece the best he could in their unfairly unique condition. For the only thing harsher than not being able to love is not being allowed to love.

* * *

"Let's see", thought Spear aloud, assessing each and every possible choices in front of him, Trik, as usual, at his side. "Hmm…"

"Well?" asked Trik.

"Nurse Huang Mei is in an obvious bad mood today", he said, pointing at a nurse who was in the middle of beating her mattress with a stick and unnecessary amount of force. "Nurse Mei Ling, looking perkish as usual", at another nurse who was talking rather animatedly in a group of nurses. "Nurse Jen, fabulous as always, the way those ample bosoms just… _woof!_"

"Nurse Jen?"

"Nurse Jen", he decided, licking his hand and rubbing his hair. "Now, my already-married compatriot, watch the master in action."

Leaving Trik who snorted, Spear marched forward to the battlefield. A gentleman as always, our brave, charming, and kindhearted doctor who was a keen supporter of charity and environmentalism did not forget to greet Major Senshi who just happened to pass through.

"Morning, Senshi", he called in all (fake) friendliness.

Looking back indignantly, the other man snapped. "Oh, boo you!" before walking away furiously.

"Charming as always", smiled Spear sarcastically. But, no matter! A perfectly curved nurse awaited our hero.

Right in front of him, the object of many men's fantasy, not to mention wildest desire, was Nurse Jen; long black hair she let untied, beady green eyes, soft cherry-red lips, straight nose and thin brows, the face of an angel of mercy and that's when she wasn't smiling. With the air of a (perverted) gentleman, Spear marched forward towards his (highly doubtable) destiny.

"Hi, baby", he called, smiling his usual smile at the nurse who was in the middle of reading a book on a folded chair. "Where have you been all my life?"

"Hiding from you", answered Nurse Jen smoothly without even taking her eyes off her book, the one titled 'How to Reject a Guy for Dummies' which, sadly, Spear didn't notice.

"Listen, there's a lecture at the mess tent tonight", ah, yes, perseverance; something that Spear had never left home without. "Why don't I save two seats for you and me? You know, in the dark corner of the room, alone, just the two of us?"

"Because I'm engaged", the nurse shot him a sharp look, though her amused smile nullified the effect of her stare.

"So?" scoffed Spear. "Disengaged yourself just for tonight. And then we ca—"

"Um, Spear?" a timid nudge on his shoulder cut him short; it was Rabbit.

"Just a minute, Rabbit", Spear slapped his hand away. "I'm in the middle of making this war a better war for us. And when I said us, I meant 'us'", the last part was for Nurse Jen; he wiggled his brows smiling seductively at Nurse Jen.

"Um, it's important", Rabbit came again. Right on cue, Nurse Jen got up, waving sarcastically perkish at Spear and walked away, leaving the distraught doctor alone with Rabbit.

"This better be good, Rabbit", growled Spear. "I was _this_ close to—"

"No, you're not."

"…You really should tell me how you do that one of these days", said Spear flatly. "What is it? Somebody stole your lunch money?"

"No. It's Lieutenant Lin", reported Rabbit. "He just took off with all of our men to the south highway. He said something about hunting bandits."

"What?" asked Spear wide-mouthed. "Is he crazy? And Haoqi let him go?"

"Well, Colonel has been drinking."

"Clever", Spear shook his head in disbelief. "Make the man drunk before taking advantage of him. Get me a ride, I'm going after them."

"Uh… I think you better wait", said Rabbit, ears wiggling.

"…Oh, _come on_!"

"Wounded!" Rabbit shouted, running back to the office. "Incoming wounded!"

"**Come one, come all! Incoming wounded! Get two for the price of one!"

* * *

**

"Okay, let's see", whispered Lin to the lot. "Corporal, report!"

Rha-Mi slid down off the cliff, a rather amazing feat for him since he was still wearing a dress and apparently a pair of high heeled snake skin boots. "Three bandits; one big, probably earthbender, one archer, and one spearman, sir!"

"Good", at least they're good at scouting, thought Lin, somewhat proudly. Then, he remembered that they were Earth Kingdom and he was a Fire Nation and he felt cold towards the men again. But then, he remembered Piandao's teaching and he felt guilt for thinking in such a way again. And now he was confused… should he hate them or what?

Aaaanyway, down in the clearing below the cliff they were hiding was a small tent near which three bandits were lounging, eating something that they were grilling on a campfire. Focusing on the here and now, he gave a signal to his men; the men would assault on his signal in three groups from three different direction. Nope, Lin would not be joining in. I mean, sure his men sucked but it was thirty against three, the odds were 10:1. What could go wrong?

Lin waited for another five minutes to make sure his men were in positions, he and his bow were at ready; the signal would be an arrow shot at the camp. It was hard convincing Father Shu to let him borrow the bow for a day and—

"ACHOO!"

_Oh, my dear Agni! They are IDIOTS!_

Now or never, Lin emerged from his hiding spot, bowstring pulled. Just as he had feared; the bandits were alarmed by that sneeze. Launching his arrow, he shoot at the three men below, two consecutive strikes; one hit the rock where a spear was rested, disheartening its master to take it, the other one hit the bandit archer's bow, knocking it off his hand. And that was when his brave but idiotic thirty men came out, screaming battle cries as they swarmed the bandits.

Sighing, Lin sat down on the rock with a new arrow notched on his bow, just in case. Now, just sit back and enjoy the brawl.

* * *

"Scalpel", Spear asked through his mask; Nurse Mei Ling, who was assisting him, handed him the instrument. They, along with the other doctors and nurses were in the operating room, working on numerous wounded soldiers and were clearly overwhelmed. Why wouldn't they be? Most of their men were gone hunting bandits. Usually, those men helped around doing menial jobs like carrying the wounded around to and from the operating room so that the medical staff could concentrate on doing the hard part. Now, Megumi was forced to mobilize half of her nursing staff to assist Rabbit and two or three other soldiers with it; heck, even Bullhorn helped out.

"When he comes back, I'm gonna stab him on the leg", growled Spear as made an incision on his patient's intestine, the part that was penetrated by an arrow. "Then, I'm gonna treat him, let him heal, and then I'll kill him! Retract a bit, I can't see well", the last part was for the nurse.

"Hmph! Shallow as usual, eh, Haoren?" sniffled Senshi, working on his own patient behind Spear. "They are soldiers. It is their right to receive training in how to be good fighterrs so that they can fight and die honorably for our Kingdom."

"Of course, every man has the right to die for our Kingdom. Pfft! What was I thinking?" scoffed Spear sarcastically. "By the way, Major, when're you gonna execute that right of yours?"

"Watch it, _Captain_!" spat Senshi venomously. "Just for once show me the respect I deserve from you!"

"Of course", replied Spear lightly. "…So, when are you going to start earning it?"

* * *

It was evening…

Lin walked the road, dragging his feet; behind him was the lot that had followed him in the hunt. So, let's see… half of the men were supporting the other half, one of them was knocked out cold, Rha-Mi's dress was wrecked beyond repair, all of them looked like they had just been assaulted by a group of platypus-bear. Thirty soldiers against three bandits; what could have gone wrong? Tch! Had Lin not interfered the fight, none of those thirty would have survived the brawl.

And they called themselves soldiers… It is a wonder that Fire Nation hadn't taken this Kingdom yet.

As they entered the camp, the men groaned in relief. Lin wordlessly ordered them to— just disappear or something; it was painful enough for him just to look at their pathetic… Urgh! Heading to his own tent, Lin swallowed the acid he was itching to spit on those men. Idiots, all of them! As he reached his tent, a little guy in green dashed towards him; it was Rabbit and he was pale. Before any of them could utter a word, a hand grabbed Lin's shoulder and forcefully turned him around; the next second, Lin was down on the ground with a sore cheek.

"Are you insane?" Spear yelled at the younger man; Trik was holding him down so that he wouldn't assault Lin again. "Taking them to fight? Who do you think they are? Soldiers?"

"Yes, they are!" Lin yelled back just as angrily, scrawling to his feet furiously, ignoring his bleeding lip. "They are soldiers! If they don't know anything about fighting—"

"They are not soldiers!" Spear screamed on top of his lungs, the commotion had drawn several curious eyes around the camp. Heaving and red from anger, Spear tried to calm himself, Trik still didn't let go; and he spoke again with seething anger. Anger towards whom, nobody knew for sure. "They are _not_ soldiers. They are _civilians_! Civilians wearing soldier uniforms!"

He waited for Lin to rebut but Lin didn't; couldn't, actually. He simply stared back at Spear with anger.

"If not for this #$% war, they will be home toiling fields or selling wares", continued Spear through his gritted teeth. "If not for this #$% war—"

He stopped, speechless. But, they all understood, including Lin. Because war is hell and they were all in it.

* * *

It was evening…

Azula woke up from her sleep; the first thing she saw was her pillow. Sitting up, she rubbed her tired eyes, yawning; she was on her bed in her room. Must be Uncle who brought her here; the last thing she remembered was falling asleep in uncle's room. Seemed like she had not got the chance to ask him about fire needle after all the wandering around. So she let out a sigh, a day went by without anything worth remembering.

She jumped down off her bed, stretching. Would have been easier if Lin were still around in the palace, she thought. Had Lin been around, she could have just barged into his room or to the library or a nearby training room, as he spent most of his time on those places, and just asked him about it. Maybe he would dillydally at first, but it was nothing her puppy-dog-eyes could not handle.

Letting out another sigh, she felt furious for some reason, she felt hurt. Deep down, she knew why she felt that way, but she just didn't want to admit it. So, she simply walked out, obeying her growling stomach, and headed to the dining room, ignoring that she was still hurt by the fact that Lin walked out on her without saying goodbye while he said goodbye to Zuko; he said goodbye to Zuko and not to her.

_Just like Mom…

* * *

_

"First of all, I would like to say that, in my defense, I thought he was just gonna bring three or four men for training", said Haoqi, shrinking under Spear's withering stare. "I didn't know he was gonna bring the whole camp with him."

Spear's stare grew sharper…

"Honest! Swear to the spirits!" said Haoqi again; and when he caught Father's Shu disapproving look. "Oh, um, no offense, Father."

"It's quite alright, my son", replied Father Shu. "And now, for our problem here…"

"Well, I think we don't have any problem at all", cut Senshi, Megumi was nodding at his side. "Those men have duty to protect us from the enemy. And how are they going to do that when they can't even win against three lousy bandits?"

"In thirty against three fight, too", added Megumi.

"In thirty against three fight, too", repeated Senshi.

"I'd say Lieutenant Lin should train them harder", suggested Megumi.

"Make them bleed!" added Senshi.

"Teach them more about self-defense."

"Teach them how to make people bleed!"

"And show them what it means to be proud soldiers of the Earth Kingdom."

"Send them all to fight people every day!"

All room looked at the pair…

"Told you", exclaimed Spear, slapping Trik's arm. "See, I _told you_ but you didn't believe me."

"Yeah", sighed Trik. "You did."

"Told him what?" asked Senshi.

"…", Spear ignored him at first, then. "Hmm? Oh, what is it, Senshi?"

It took a while for Senshi to notice that he had been had; then he whined. "Why won't you guys be nice to me, huh?"

"Because you're a rotten person", replied Spear matter-of-factly.

"Right to the core", added Trik.

"Also a lousy doctor."

"With the aptitude of an amoeba."

"Not to mention a narcissistic self-righteous piece of crap."

"And don't forget you're a rotten person."

"Okay! Cut it out, all of you!" shouted Haoqi with the authority he didn't really have as Senshi and Megumi were about to fight back.

"Now, as I believe", Father Shu quickly started before any of them start another bicker. "Lieutenant Lin, as the Head of Security, has the obligation to ensure our safety and cannot do it without the cooperation from our men. On the other hand, we also need our men in our daily day-to-day activity concerning our function as a hospital."

"Yes", drawled Haoqi agreeingly. "And now, we are here to find a solution for this problem. And as my mom used to say: the best solution is the one that makes everyone happy. So, I would appreciate it if anyone can contribute a solution that can make everyone happy. You know, the one where we can keep our men available at all times _and_ can still have them as… um, coldblooded killers to protect us or something along that line. So, any idea? Anyone?"

"I still think we should let Lieutenant Lin do whatever he could to make those men suffer", Senshi proposed vigorously; notice the change in Spear and Trik's expression, he continued quickly before being interrupted. "It is my belief, and the belief of any law-abiding patriotic citizen, that our freedom can only be maintained only if—"

"Shut up!"

And so Senshi did. All jaws were dropped; all heads were turned to the source of the voice. Lin had only been in the camp for a few days so they didn't know him that well yet. But, even so, Lin had always struck them as polite young man who had never been disrespectful; a little stiff and callous, maybe, and a major loner but never rude.

"Wha— watch how you talk to me, Lieutenant!" snapped Senshi as soon as he overcame his surprise. "I am a major! And you, you sniveling—"

"_What_?" Lin took a menacing step towards the man; the look of cold anger on Lin's face instantly reduced Senshi into a jabbering wreck. "You're a major, I'm a lieutenant; so what?"

Senshi backed down towards a wall, Lin stood inches away from him; amber eyes fixed dead on the major's green ones as he seethed. "You seem to have forgotten that in the Earth Kingdom Army Regulation that you are so proud of, Chapter 5 – Army Rank Regulation, paragraph ten, subsection eight: regarding subdivisions in the Earth Kingdom Army; the Vanguard Units are ranked first among the combat units, and combat support is _below_ combat units. You know what that means, _Major_?"

Senshi gulped, his lips grew pale. He didn't really know what that meant.

"That means, even though I am a first class commissioned officer and you are, as a major, a third class officer, I am still from the 1st Vanguard, and hence, by status, _outrank_ you", hissed Lin threateningly. "So, don't you think for a second that you are anything above me, _Major_. You don't even know half of the things I am _entitled_ to do to the likes of you; I can pull your nose, pinch your cheek, poke your eyes, bite your ear off, give you a wedgie, or I could just take out a knife and slit your throat. And who's gonna give a jack about it, huh? General How? He sent me here, remember?"

Senshi whimpered like a lost puppy as his knees gave up on him; he slid down to the floor weakly although nobody seemed to care about him. Everyone was too astonished by Lin's outburst. A good thing too, because Lin… "I have an idea."

"Let's hear it", said Haoqi, making a mental note to check the authenticity of what Lin just said in the Army Manual and, more importantly, if that rule applied for him as well; after all, a lieutenant colonel is just one rank above a major. Now, if only Haoqi could remember where he put his copy of the Army Manual…

"First of all, we all agree that our men are not qualified to do anything even remotely close to fighting, right?" asked Lin, answered by a murmur he took as a 'yes'. "And we also agree that we need people who can do the fighting, just in case, right?"

Another murmur…

"So, here's my proposal: we'll hire mercenaries."

* * *

The night had fallen when they emerged from the office, each went their separate ways. After an hour or two of heated argument of whether or not they should hire mercenaries to help them secure the camp, the finally reached a consensus that they could really use some muscle around; and that was only the first hour. Next, it was the matter of how many they should hire, which mercenary group they should contact, whether they should provide lodging and food for the hired mercs or let them fend for themselves, and so on and on and on.

At least, it was all behind them now. And so, walking lazily towards their tents were Spear, Trik, and Lin; Lin's tent was next to theirs.

"Well, know what, Lieutenant", started Spear as casually as he could. "You're not half-bad a human being I thought you are."

"Yeah, the way you stood up to Major Senshi", laughed Trik. "It is a commonly accepted fact that anyone who hates that guy is a good guy."

"And a good guy is our kind of guy", added Spear. Extending his hand, he said. "I'm sorry I hit you before. It was wrong of me."

"Sure", smiled Lin, taking his hand. But, something distracted him, something in the form of. "Oh, my… Nurse Jen in a see-through blouse…"

Spear and Trik automatically jerked their heads toward the direction of Lin's stare and…

—THUDDED—

"Now, we're even", grinned Lin, walking away triumphantly; leaving Trik who was helping Spear up to his feet.

"Hey, Trik", said Spear, rubbing his jaw.

"Yeah?"

"I think I like that kid."

* * *

The next morning, everything went on as usual; Bullhorn woke up early, tried and failed to peel his back off his bed, so he naturally slept back in. Spear and Trik were having a duo performance in their snoring concert; Spear at bass, Trik at baritone. Lin was scribbling something on his memoir since midnight because he couldn't sleep. Haoqi was on his bed hugging a pillow on one hand and an empty rice wine bottle on the other. While Rha-Mi was mending his torn skirt from yesterday, Father Shu was praying in his tent and Senshi and Megumi were in the recovery room since they were on shifts. Rabbit, on the other hand, was having an unhealthy amount of breakfast in the mess tent. Everything looked like the normal everyday… um, day in the 44th Army Hospital; well, almost normal anyway.

Coming in from the gate were two men; one was large, the other was average-sized; the large one was a mid-twenty man, the smaller one was clearly still in his late adolescent; the large one was shoeless, bearded and looked humorless under his tanned skin, and had his black hair tied into an Earth Kingdom bun while the other was pale-skinned, clean-shaven, and had an undeniable childish glint on his face; the large one had no weapon with him, unlike the smaller one who had a set of bow and a quiver of arrows strapped on his back, plus a short sword dangling from his waist. Both men were wearing identical uniform; black leather armor under black garb, a small logo was branded on their armor chest, a symbol of an ostrich-horse inside a circle. There were only a few differences in their outfits; namely the large man wore no shoes, although he wore a pair of shin guards, and the archer was wearing archery-gloves, fingerless gloves with the exception for the thumb, index, and middle fingers of his drawing hand, which was his right hand, also the archer's garb was short sleeved and the large man's was sleeveless.

"This is the place?" asked the archer to the large man, the large man grunted back; if he shared the distaste with the archer, he did not show it, unlike the archer who openly cringed in disgust at the surrounding. "And I thought our barrack is crummy. I really have to go out more often, to broaden my horizon."

They delved deeper into the camp, being completely ignored by several men or nurses who just happened to have woken up that early in the morning. Fortunately, Rabbit emerged from the mess tent a minute later after he finished his breakfast and felt an urge to use the latrine; I know it might sound nasty but… we'll talk about that later. Anyhoo, as he got out of the tent, he caught the glimpse of those two men and concluded that they must be the mercenaries Colonel Haoqi had told him to anticipate. Striding towards the two men, he could not help but marvel at Lieutenant Lin's resourcefulness. Haoqi had told Rabbit that Lin was the one behind them hiring mercenaries and Lin had volunteered to contact the mercenary, talk the deal, arrange the contract and everything, and all was done in just one night by himself. After just one night, here we have two mercs in our hands.

"Um… excuse me, sirs", Rabbit bowed down clumsily, the two sirs nodded back curtly. "Could you possibly be the mercenaries from the Black Rider Company that our Lieutenant Lin has asked to come so that we don't have to die for our Kingdom like Major Senshi told us to, sirs?"

"Lieutenant?" the archer snickered at the larger man. "Kiddo got demoted, hah! Wait till sis hear about this."

"Um… sir?"

"Ah, yes", Taka turned back to Rabbit, smirking chummily. "We are from the Black Rider Company, here on request of Lin from 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital. Your Lieutenant Lin is our friend and benefactor. May we see him?"

"Um… I don't know, sir", said Rabbit, fidgeting uncomfortably; being near weapons or scary looking guys like Rocky gave him that effect. "I think he's still sleeping, or at least he's supposed to be asleep."

"Then", laughed Taka again. "Let's surprised him."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Not sure if Ozai really liked tea but he was seen drinking some in the eclipse.

And behold: the return of Taka and Rocky! More about them later, maybe next chapter.

To hpswst101, the project for 'The Dragon of the Deep Forest: Bloopers, What-ifs, Side Stories, and Whatnots' is on! I think I've got the first chapter almost ready, which will be some wacky bloopers for chapter 60. I still have to smooth parts here and there. It should be ready in a day or two, maybe less. No side stories yet, at least for awhile.

Zuko's banishment… Zuko clearly said that the Agni Kai took place when he was thirteen. Considering that Zuko is turning twelve at this point in this fic, I'd say we will get to the banishment next year storywise, at summer the soonest; either next Book or by the end of this Book. So, tik-tok, Zuzu.

.


	67. Chapter 66

**Chapter 66 – Two of a Kind**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"I have to say, it is an honor to have two of the Black Rider Company's senior members such as yourselves in our camp", said Haoqi politely. "Drinks?"

"It's a bit early for drinks, Colonel", Taka pointed out delicately. "Anyway, as we understand, your unit requested for two of our personnel at a time, lodging and food provided, 24/7 protection, strictly defense."

"Right."

"Okay, but you also understand that we may have to rotate our personnel periodically, right?" Taka continued.

"Absolutely", Haoqi nodded, smiling. "We, more than anyone, know how this place might get dreary once you stay long enough."

"Wonderful", replied Taka, extending a hand. "In that case, rest assured. Our company provides only the best with negotiable price."

"Speaking of price…" drawled Haoqi, halting his handshake. According to last night's meeting, to cover the payment for the mercenaries, each officer would have to chip in. That was why they decided to settle with only two mercenaries so that they could afford the price, some mercenary brigade charged per heads they sent, some per days they spent. And the currency involved were always gold pieces.

"Ah, yes", smirked Taka, glancing at Rocky who nodded. "We have discussed this matter with Lieutenant Lin in the letter. We have agreed to provide free service as long as our men are provided with food and lodging, that is."

"Wha— _free_?" sunshine on the colonel's face. "Really? Wowie… had I known that sooner, I would have requested more men from you?"

"…Don't push it, Colonel."

"Sorry…"

* * *

"I'm just saying that I don't trust those kind of people", argued Senshi heatedly.

"What's wrong with them?" retorted Trik. "They're just like us, making profit from the war."

"What is this time?" said Spear as he arrived at the table where Senshi, Trik, Father Shu, and Megumi were having breakfast. "Tied your underwear too tight again, Major?"

"None of your business!" the major snapped.

"They were arguing about us hiring mercenaries", informed Father Shu.

"Again? Haven't we gone through this last night?"

"Well, I don't mind mercenaries, but why the Black Rider when there are obviously so many other better choices?" argued Senshi irritatedly. "And I still don't see why we should hire some sellswords when we have plenty of enlisted men we can sacrifice in battle in the first place."

"Oh, sure", replied Spear lazily, taking a sip of his tea. "Cause we're all about sacrificing. No offense, Father."

"None taken", waved Father Shu. "To be honest, I don't know much about the world of mercenary. This Black Rider Company, have anyone heard about them?"

"I have", answered Megumi. "They're pretty new in the business. They were formed just last year, if I remember correctly; only two hundred something people. Even so, they have shown tremendous effectiveness as mercenary group."

"So, they're good?" asked the priest again.

"From what I heard, _very_", said Megumi seriously. "Some soldiers who came through here often talked about them. They said the Black Rider has formidable archer units, also great infantry and cavalry units; well-equipped and -trained. Quite a well-rounded mercenary group, in my opinion."

"You see, Father", added Trik. "Some, if not most, mercenary groups tend to be more… say, specialized; you know, like the Falcon-Crow Brigade, it's an archer-only group, or the Bull-Horse Raiders."

"Cavalry?" guessed Father Shu.

"Strangely, no", Trik shook his head, grinning. "They're infantry. They got the name from their uniform which consisted of a hollowed out bull-horse skulls worn as helmets."

"Well, I still think even them would be a much better choice than those Black Rider", spat Senshi. "But, that doesn't mean I trust mercenaries. Hmph! The so-called warriors! What nerve they have… They're nothing but a bunch of sword-swinging overgrown losers who loyal only to money. Money, money, money, that's all they care about."

"See, I told you", Trik slapped Spear's arm. "I told you they only care about money. But, nooo, you said the care about their hungry wives and children at home, too."

"Oh, just clam it!" growled Senshi. "Even so, I still don't understand why we must invite mercenaries from that particular group into our camp; they're traitors! Heh, don't tell me you guys don't know what their name means."

"Hold on… hold on… I got this one!" Spear fell into deep frown, acting as if they were palying a guessing game. "Black… Rider… Black Rider… They wear black cloth… black lipstick and eyeliner, I'm guessing, for the female personnel… and, um… Rider, Rider… they ride things around! Oh, boy, you're right; we can't trust them."

"Don't joke about this, Haoren!" yelled Senshi angrily; the whole table, minus Megumi laughed. "You know about the Black Rider, _the_ Black Rider!"

"I've told you: it's a person wearing black cloth and riding something around", shrugged Spear again.

"That's not what I meant", snapped Senshi impatiently. "It's the Black Rider, as in the _Fire Nation_ Black Rider."

"What's that?" asked Trik, his earlier grin still lingered on his face.

"Any dimwit in the army knows about the Black Rider", said Senshi, smirking his insult.

"Yeah, _any_ _dimwit_ in the army knows", said Spear to Trik nonchalantly.

"So, what's the deal with this Black Rider?" asked Father Shu.

"He is one of the Fire Nation Army commander", explained Senshi; he clearly did not notice his insult backfired. "He showed up sometime after the Siege of Ba Sing Se, fighting in their retreat campaign."

"What's so special about him?" asked Father Shu again.

"Well, he led a cavalry unit and once fought General How in a place not too far from here and forced General How into withdrawing", said Senshi again. "They said he wears a black uniform and ride a black ostrich-horse. See the similarities, huh? First the name, then the ostrich-horse and black uniform. And that's not the only odd thing about this Black Rider guy."

"What else about him?" asked Father Shu curiously.

Senshi, instead of answering immediately, looked around as if checking if someone was eavesdropping. Then, he leaned forward, prompting other to lean closer to him; about the same time, Lin entered the mess tent, yawning lazily with Rha-Mi and Rabbit at his sides.

"He's a _kid_", whispered Senshi as suspenseful as he could.

"A kid?" whispered Father Shu back, frowning. "You mean a kid as in…"

"As in a _kid_. Small kid, not even a teenager."

"Wow", Father Shu sighed. Not too far from them, Lin was frowning at the brown-yellowish thing the Private Liu, the camp cook, claimed to be rice cake. "A kid? Fighting the war? I wonder who his parents are and why they would let him fight the war."

"Oh, you'd be surprised", smirked Senshi proudly; proud because he knew something that the others did not. "Rumor has it that he is a son of a Fire Nation general."

"Yeah, but which general?" asked Spear.

"Who knows?" Shrugged Senshi, back to his cup. "Could be any general."

"A kid fighting in the war…" drawled Father Shu to himself, frowning.

And while they pondered to themselves of a Fire Nation general who was crazy enough to let his young kid fight in the war, Lin arrived at their table with Rabbit and Rha-Mi for breakfast.

* * *

"He's watching us closely", whispered Taka as he locked Lin's arm behind his back. "Not long after we arrived at the mountain, Rocky spotted a group of spies following us."

Lin twisted his arm, freeing himself from the lock and caught Taka's arm in a lock of his own. He pushed Taka away; Taka turned around and dashed forward again. Lin, using Taka's force, slammed him to the ground and locked his head.

"*choke* _Take it easy, will ya_?" hissed Taka. "We somehow managed to shake them loose but staying with our folks would be too dangerous so we kinda formed this mercenary group."

Taka forced himself up, loosening Lin's grip; catching Lin's left arm, he repositioned himself on top of Lin's back, securing Lin's left arm with one hand, the other locked around Lin's neck.

"Anyway, we choose the name 'Black Rider' because that's what a lot of people call you here", grinned Taka as he tried to maintain his submission hold against the squirming Lin. "You know, when you were in your father's battalion."

"Black Rider, huh?" muttered Lin, gasping. "Birdie?"

"Yeah, Birdie. Whoa!" a successful counter from Lin resulted in Taka locked in what we call Ant-aconda (_anaconda_ with mandible like _ant's_ instead of mouth and fangs) choke, where the grappler trap the grapplee's neck with his own arm. "Ack! It's free advertising in our end. Hehe, a lot of wandering warriors have heard about you and when a random mercenary group was set up using your name, they just had to come and join."

Taka reversed Lin's hold into a rear-naked choke. "Earth Kingdom Army still hasn't forgotten about you defeating General How; so, when they heard about us, they sent some soldiers looking to apprehend you because they thought you were in the group and you know how clumsy the army is at doing things hush-hush. Another free publicity."

"So", heaved Lin as he caught Taka's arm and locked it in a cross arm-lock. "How's everything now?"

"Two hundred and sixteen, men and women", hissed Taka, cringing form pain. "We have everything: infantry, cavalry, archer, firebenders, earthbenders, waterbenders, even some siege machines."

"Black ops?" inquired Lin, nearly breaking his hold against Taka's resistance.

"That… we don't have. Earrgh—ow, ow! My shoulder blade!" cried Taka, prompting Lin to ease up a bit.

"Three master assassins leading the group and you don't have any black ops", sighed Lin, sounded nearly disappointed.

"How 'bout you?" asked Taka, finally broke free and launched a double arm-lock on Lin. "Ready to join us, yet?"

"Not yet", now it was Lin who cringed as the sharp pain invaded his shoulders. "My target's here."

"The colonel?" guessed Taka.

"Have you met him?" through his pain, Lin managed to grin. "Get real, man."

"Yeah, he is insignificant", concurred Taka. "So, which one?"

"You'll see", said Lin as he broke free of the submission hold and counter with one of his own; at the same time, from the mess tent few meters away, Spear and Trik emerged.

* * *

As both doctors got out of the tent, the first thing they saw was Lin and Taka struggling on the ground under Rocky's supervision in the square in the middle of the camp, watched by Bullhorn and few people.

"Third day at school and already harassing new kids for lunch money", commented Spear, scoffing.

"I'm so proud", added Trik solemnly; not seriously.

"**Attention! The following personnel have volunteered for morning fitness exercise under Major Senshi's supervision: …"**

"Oh, hey", started Trik. "Wanna go and say hi?"

"Nah, my mom told me not to talk to strangers", Spear waved it off lazily.

"And if it's the stranger who talked to you first?"

"Now, that's a different story."

"Sirs", Rabbit ran up to them. "Sirs? Nurse Jen asked me to ask you about the preparation for tonight, sir?"

"Well, well", smirked Spear mischievously. "Tell Nurse Jen that tonight is on and ask her this for me: 'your place or mine?'"

"Come on, guys", grumbled Rabbit under the two captain's laughter. "This is important!"

"Alright, alright", Spear chuckled. "Tell Nurse Jen: Father Shu is on to the cake, something about an underhanded deal with the Abbey in the north, Nurse Huang Mei is in the middle of procuring ribbons and toilet paper for the decoration, I haven't checked on Rha-Mi and the entertainment department yet but I'm pretty sure he's doing fine."

"Okay, I'll go and tell Nurse Jen", muttered Rabbit, jotting Spear's report down on a clipboard he was always carrying. "Oh, and the mail got held up in the Headquarter. There's some kind of emergency going on there so they can't deliver it yet", Rabbit continued as Trik asked. "What's the word about our mail?"

"I always wondered how he does that", admitted Trik, shaking his head in disbelief at Rabbit who was already on his way to the nurses' tent.

"You're not that hard to read", shrugged Spear at Trik, resuming his steps.

So, they resumed their march back to their tent, wooing nurses they met along the way.

"By the way, how's your kid doing?" asked Trik as he opened the door to their tent, followed closely by Spear who yawned.

"Should be fine", Spear rubbed his eyes, plopping down on his bed face first. "He's past critical phase so it is unlikely that anything would happen. In fact, it is so unlikely for something to happen that if something does happen, I'm gonna kill him myself."

"Said like a true physician", scoffed Trik. "Buy you a drink?"

"So that you can take advantage of me after I'm drunk?" asked Spear, feigning a suspicious look.

"Sure, why not", replied Trik grinning, fetching two glasses of wine he extracted from a rather sophisticated still consisted of a large glass jar with rice and grain in it, tubes and pipes connecting the jar to a another jar containing liquid, and a single thin rubber hose coming out from the liquid jar; it was the still Trik and Spear built from 'borrowed' goods and instruments from the camp to brew their own rice wine. Trik took the clamp, also borrowed, off the small rubber hose, allowing the clear alcoholic liquid to flow out of the wine jar onto two glasses. He then offered one of the glasses to Spear. "What are we drinking to this time?"

"To men", proposed Spear, raising his glass high. "To men who take advantage of drunken people."

"I'll drink to that", Trik also raised his glass.

"May they die early of syphilis", added Spear.

"And don't forget painfully of #$% shrinkage", and they drank.

"**Attention all personnel!**" roared Bullhorn through his bullhorn. "**Incoming wounded arriving via tanks and carriages!**"

"Ah, yes", sighed Spear tiredly. "Life goes on."

* * *

While the doctors were busy in the operating room…

"Now I see why you need us", said Taka, wiping his sweaty brow. "So, they really don't have any fighters here, huh?"

"Yeah", concurred Lin, plopping down on the stool beside Taka in the mess tent. They had just helped the doctors and medics bringing the wounded to the operating room and some other things Lin would rather not remember.

"Seems like the Hongmen Convention had softened them up", sighed Taka, receiving a tray of food from Rocky with obvious disgust in his face. "Urgh! Are you sure we can't charge them? This food is more like a punishment than a payment."

"Get used to it", said Lin flatly, also disgusted by the food Rocky gave him. "We're gonna have to eat this kind of food for a rather long time."

"Come on, man! I mean… *sniff*", Taka braved a sniffle at the brownish thing he held between his chopsticks and turned green abruptly. "Even the smell is bad."

"Just eat", replied Lin; like Rocky, he had begun eating without complaining.

"But, look!" Taka, however, was still in the mood for complaining. He held out his brown thing for Lin and Rocky to see. "My meat is dripping."

"Don't be ridiculous; that's _not_ meat. That's broccoli."

"What? Which one's the meat then?"

"See that yellow stuff at the corner; _that's_ meat."

"I hate this place", whined Taka, dropping his chopstick loudly. "I wanna go home!"

* * *

In the operating room, the dedicated doctors and nurses from the 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital were working, treating their patients, combating wound, saving lives and whatnot. The proud sons of the Earth Kingdom, they always do the best they could; no punches were pulled, no effort were wasted, and certainly no kinds of tomfoolery around conducted by these group of dedicated men and women.

"What has two legs, two arms, no personality, and doubtable morality?" asked Spear, not taking his eyes off the bowel he was dissecting.

"Senshi!" exclaimed Trik from the other table. "Now guess this: what has no chin, no lips, but enormous ego?"

"Senshi!" now it was Spear who exclaimed.

"Right!"

"What do I win?"

"Will you two shut up over there?" shouted Senshi from another table, the little part of his face not covered by his mask was crimson red from anger.

"I agree", exclaimed Megumi too. "Can't you do something, Colonel?"

"Spear, Trik, cut it out, will ya?" said Haoqi with no air of authority whatsoever.

"Yes, Daddy", replied Trik and Spear in unison.

Not exactly what Senshi or Megumi was hoping for but it seemed like they'd have to settle with that. And so, our dedicated team of medics went on with their duty, tending wounds, fighting Death, saving lives, and all that; four surgeons cutting into people to save them, nurses assissting them, Nurse Megumi pacing back and forth, from table to table, bright green eyes sharp as falcon-hawk as she supervised the works of her nurses, stepping in to help if needed. But, as expected, after five or so seconds, Trik opened his trap again.

"Hey, Spear", asked Trik. "Wanna see something interesting?"

"Coming, honey", said Spear, then at his assisting nurse, Nurse Mei Ling. "Close it for me."

"Yes, Doctor", replied Nurse Mei Ling.

"Will you give me the very same answer if I ask you to go out with me tonight?"

"Don't let the table hit you on the way out, Doctor."

"Cold engaged woman!" Spear cursed jokingly, avoiding a scalpel slash from the nurse, grinning under his mask. And as he arrived at Trik's table, he took a peek on the patient's leg.

"Nasty, huh?" sighed Trik. "Resection or amputation? Your call."

"Hey! Why is it his call?" protested Senshi loudly from the table behind Trik's. "I _am_ the ranking surgeon here!"

"Just because your paycheck's bigger doesn't mean your ego's smaller, Senshi", snapped Trik gruffly. Spear, however, was completely focused on the patient in front of him.

"Resection", said Spear finally. "The artery seems fine, just cut along the edges. Be careful!"

"Yes, Doctor", answered Trik loudly, loud enough for Senshi to hear.

"Colonel, I must protest this breach of command! I demand the respect I deserve from this people!" barked Senshi at Haoqi while Spear, with fresh gloves, stood alongside Trik, helping out with the patient.

Sighing deeply to calm his mind, Haoqi addressed the whole room, Senshi especially. "Alright, let's see… hmm, we'll we have a Head Security in this camp; basically he is the one responsible for security, and every enlisted men and the mercs obey him when it comes to security stuffs, right?"

"Yeah, so?" asked Spear; though eyes still fixed on the patient's leg. "You're gonna make up a position like that for operation sessions?"

"Why not? Not a bad idea, right. I'm finished, bring out the next one", said Haoqi lightly; the last part was for Nurse Huang Mei who was assisting him. Putting on a pair of fresh gloves, he continued. "The 57th has one. We'll need a doctor, a surgeon with skills and experience, someone we can depend on in any operating sessions, someone we can consult regarding surgical decision."

"Well, I understand those requirements, Colonel", replied Senshi humbly, though his smirk was apparent even with the mask on. "But, as you can see, I am already busy with many duties outside medical duty as it is."

"Good", replied Haoqi brusquely, shooting a withering look at the arrogant major. "'Cause I'm giving the position to Spear."

"What?" Senshi snapped angrily. "Wha—why—you—!"

"Well said", commented Spear jauntily at Senshi's speechlessness.

"Colonel, I'm afraid I must protest!" and Megumi jumped into the fray. "Surely, as the ranking surgeon and second-in-command, Major Senshi should be the one to be appointed as the Head Surgeon of this unit instead of this… this…"

Megumi gave Spear a disapproving look before settling in with the word: "…clown!"

"Now, now, Megumi", grinned Spear mischievously under his mask at the bemused nurse. "Be nice or I won't make it to your birthday party. Hyuk hyuk hyuk!"

"Alright, gang!" exclaimed Haoqi before either Senshi or Megumi could react; that was one of the little ways he extracted his vengeance on them for making his life as the CO miserable: by making sure they lose an argument with Spear and Trik by interjecting them. And besides, he did have better things to do, namely pulling out an arrow that was lodge on an unconscious soldier's butt in front of him and crowning his new Head Surgeon. "My decision is final! So, by the power vested in me by various people up top, from Earth King Kuei, the Council of Five, all the way to General Chang Ye in the Earth Kingdom Army Medical Regiment, and by the will of Mother Prithvi, our Mother Earth, and as stated within my right as a Commanding Officer in the Army Regulation Manual, chapter something, subsection I-can't-really-remember, paragraph blah-blah-blah, yada-yada-yada, so forth, so on, I appoint thee, Sai Haoren, Captain, Head Surgeon of our unit, effective immediately. Now, if you all excuse me, I have a butt to save."

"Thank you, thank you", bowed Spear courteously, receiving a standing ovation from all free hands in the room. "Now, for my first act in the seat of power: I decree Short Skirt Sunday for all female personnel with strict exception applied for Rha-Mi."

The last part devastated Rha-Mi who was standing with wide grin beside his table as the corporal distributed several fresh surgical equipment and supply. "Congratulation on the rise in your career, sir, and may your first born have eleven toes."

* * *

"Of course", seethed Taka, scanning the inside of the tent begrudgingly. "I should have known! We have to _share_ tents with you."

"At least I don't snore", said Lin as he tossed a pillow at Taka's face. They were in what used to be Lin's tent, now it was _their_ tent. Two extra cots and nightstands/desks/drawers had been set in the tent; both were set parallel at Lin's bed head and foot around the heating stove in the middle of the tent.

"But why can't I have my own tent?" whined Taka again, huffing as he sat down on his bed.

"They don't have any tents left to occupy", explained Lin patiently. "Even if they do, they will have to save it. You know, just in case this place overflows with patients."

"Do you even hear yourself?" Taka snickered at Lin, throwing the pillow back. "You almost sounded like you actually like these people."

"Wha—", gawked Lin, feeling a jolt in his stomach that he could not discern. "I do _not_ like these people! They're—"

They're what? Enemies? Savages? Trash? Lin found himself speechless trying to respond to Taka's accusation. Taka, however, kicked his feet up, laughing on his bed.

"Hah! You _do_ like these people", exclaimed Taka triumphantly. "Hey, Rock, check it out: he's got soft on them."

Rocky, sitting on his own bed, however, did not share Taka's enthusiasm. A cold look he shot Taka from his green eyes wiped the grin of the latter's face gradually.

"Oh, sorry, Rock. I forgot", muttered the archer apologetically. A reminder: Rocky was an earthbender. He was both a Fire Nation and an Earth Kingdom.

"Anyway, tell me more about this spy", asked Lin, assuming a more serious look. "Who and where?"

"Dunno", shrugged Taka. Back to their earlier topic: the rumor of a spy sent by the Fire Lord to keep an eye on Lin "I just heard that Colonel Wuxin's sending someone to keep an eye on you, so I'd bet it is someone in this camp. Seen anyone suspicious around?"

"Not really", pondered Lin, recalling each and every men and women he lived with in the camp. "No one particularly suspicious."

"Hey, how 'bout that one; that hairy guy who's wearing green polka dot sundress?" suggested Taka.

"Who, Rha-Mi? Nah, he's just a draftee trying to get out on a psycho discharge", Lin waved it off.

"Psycho discharge? You mean they let crazy soldiers walk out of the army here?" frowned Taka incredulously. Unlike the system in the Earth Kingdom Army, Fire Nation Army did not have insanity discharge; on the contrary, military leaders often put their 'crazy' soldiers in the frontline on the ground that crazy soldiers may go berserk on the enemies, hence crazy soldiers equal bloodthirsty fighters. Or, the heat of battle might ward off the crazy out of those soldiers; either way, there was no going out for them.

"That's crazy", said Taka, accompanied by Lin and Rocky's approving nods. "So, if it's not the hairy guy, then who's the spy? We can be sure it's not that Sai guy since you're supposed to kill him. The colonel, maybe?"

"Unlikely", Lin replied flatly, Rocky nodded at this response.

"That little guy, the clerk?" guessed Taka again.

"The chance of him being the spy is as big as the chance of the Fire Lord doing waterbending dance."

"Cross the clerk", Taka scratched his chin. "One of the doctors?"

"The one they call Trik, impossible; he's an earthbender, the most incompetent one I've ever seen", assessed Lin dryly. "The other doctor, the one called Senshi…"

"The one who looked like a chinless squid-rel?" frowned Taka.

"Yep, him", Lin nodded. "… I don't think it's him, either; he's married to the heiress of the Black Ring Trader."

"The black marketeer?"

"Yeah, the black marketeer."

"One of the nurses? How 'bout that hot one? Female spies are usually hot."

"The major? Her dad's an Earth Kingdom general."

"Or so she wanted you to think", drawled Taka, eyes narrowing. "Maybe his dad's a spy too."

"… You should stop eating mushroom for breakfast", Lin shot the argument down.

"Hey, it's possible. Think about it."

"No, it's not."

"Okay, so who's the spy?"

"I don't know", sighed Lin, letting gravity dragged his back onto the bed. "In any case, we must be careful."

"That brings us to the next question: how careful?"

* * *

"Head Surgeon! Head Surgeon! HIM?"

"Calm down, Major", Megumi pulled the man's by the sleeve with strength that her small frame hid very well. "Listen—"

"You're hurting my arm…"

"…Listen", Megumi forced a smile. _Pansy_! "You're as good a doctor as he is. You know it, I know it, the whole camp knows it; that's all that matter."

"Of course I know I'm a better doctor than that degenerate", hissed Senshi, massaging his arm.

"I didn't say bet—urgh!" Megumi pinched the bridge of her nose. "Will you stop fuming for one second and listen to me?"

"I can't, okay!" Senshi yelled back, trembling. "I feel hot!"

"Not _now_, Senshi", growled Megumi through her gritting teeth. Tch, talk about lousy timing.

"No, I mean it. _Hot!_" Senshi shot up suddenly, almost toppling over the table in front of them. "There's something in my pants!"

Screaming, Senshi ran out of the mess tent, back to his own tent, followed by Megumi's frown.

"What's with him?" asked Lin, sitting down on the seat in front of Megumi with a cup on his hand. "Got beetle-ants on his pants?"

"Seems like it", replied Megumi, still trailing to where Senshi had run to. Through the fly screen, she saw Senshi ran to his camp, grabbed a pair of spare pants, and ran to the male shower. And when she turned to Lin, she saw the corner of the young man's lips curling upwards behind his cup. "… You?"

"You're welcome."

And Megumi broke into laughter. "How did you—?

"Some secrets are to die for, Major", grinned Lin. "So, What's new?"

"A Head Surgeon", said Megumi, taking a sip of his cup. "Captain Sai got the job."

"That why Major Sucker-head got all grumpy about?"

"Yep."

"But, why Captain Sai?" asked Lin again. "I thought you said Colonel Haoqi is an _incompetent_ leader."

"That is a comment that I both agree with and resent", grinned Megumi. "Sure, Captain Sai is a very skilled surgeon, probably the best in the outfit, but Major Senshi, as second-in-command, should be the one who got the job. It's in the rule."

"I thought the first rule of being a doctor is 'compassion'", rebutted Lin.

"Your point?"

"Remember last night's batch of wounded?"

"Yeah?"

"Major Senshi refused to operate on a patient because the said patient was a mercenary from the Northern Tribe. He even called him a barbarian."

"I admit that Major Senshi might not be a very compassionate doctor…"

Lin raised a brow questioningly at her.

"Alright, I get it", sighed Megumi. "Look, the reason why I am against Captain Sai's appointment as our Head Surgeon simply because being a Head Surgeon means being a role model for all the doctors and nurses in this unit, not to mention he should be able to represent our unit outside too."

The door to the tent opened up, allowing Trik and Spear to come in for lunch.

"And Major Senshi is better suited for the job, is that you're saying?" argued Lin. "A guy like him?"

"Well… he's—", Megumi struggled to find an answer. "Let's just say that this unit being part of the Earth Kingdom Army, Major Senshi has qualities that wil—_might_ make him a better Head Surgeon."

"Such as…"

"Military courtesy, affinity for discipline…"

And as Megumi went on with the list, Spear and Trik were doing water-earth-fire-air to decide who would get the last piece of meat bun.

"This is a hospital", snickered Lin. "You can't expect doctors to act like soldiers."

"Why not?" argued Megumi. "We have many doctors who can act like perfect army man."

"Like who?"

"Like the founder of the very first Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital unit, for example", answered Megumi dreamily, 'hero-worship' was practically written all over her face. "Up until about ten years ago Earth Kingdom Army did not have any hospital unit, you know. The Army had medics and healers but they were just a bunch of tag-along in the battlefield, not like now. Now, the medic squad is treated as a whole entity within the army, not just one or two healers assigned to a random battalion. And we all owe it to a man."

"A man?"

"A man, a revolutionist, only seventeen year old at the time", explained Megumi. "A doctor, a colonel, who, despite the Earth Kingdom Army disdain on the idea of forming a stand-alone medical unit, fought relentlessly for his vision."

At the other side of the tent, Trik and Spear were halted by Rabbit who came up to them and whispered something.

"A young bright army doctor who became a pioneer of the Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital", continued Megumi; the look of admiration on her face grew brighter and brighter with each words. "No more hastily applied first-aid treatment, no more endangering the lives of dedicated medical practitioners in the frontline. With this Army Hospital, we have the right equipment to give an all-out treatment given by the right people from the safety of the backline."

"Sounds neat", commented Lin.

"Absolutely", concurred Megumi, taking a sip of her cup to wet her dry throat. "Survival rate of Earth Kingdom soldiers fighting the war has never been higher."

"So, what happened to this guy?" asked Lin again. "He's still around?"

"I don't know", admitted Megumi. "Some says he retired from the army at some point, some even says he was reinstated to an army hospital somewhere in Ba Sing Se."

"Huh", shrugged Lin. "Sounds like a true army doctor. Who's this guy, anyway?"

"Colonel Sairen How, son of General How", announced Megumi proudly. A second later, Trik and Spear joined their table; Trik sat down at the seat beside Lin, Spear took the unoccupied one at Megumi's side.

"Hi, honey", wooed Spear. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

"Go eat dirt!"

* * *

It was dusk and Lin was in his tent, scribbling onto his memoir. Also in the tent were Taka, fixing his bow string while talking about the mercenary group he and the other two had set up, and Rocky who was in the middle of making home-made hand grenades.

"I'm hungry", said Lin loudly, halting the other two's activities. "Wanna go and grab a bite?"

"Do we have to?" said Taka reluctantly, feeling queasy all the sudden.

"We gotta eat sometime", shrugged Lin. "Come on. If you stop your breathing while chewing, it actually tastes pretty decent."

It took more persuasion but in the end, dragged by Rocky, who was much bigger than him, Taka ended up joining the two for dinner. As they arrived in the mess tent, they were met with the scene of celebration. The interior of the tent had been decorated with white toilet paper hung across the beams and edges of tables and chairs, on the back of the tent was a large banner made of used white sheet with a big 'Congratulation!' written on it, in front of the banner, standing on a stool, surrounded by many was none other than Sai Haoren, the newly crowned Head Surgeon. Almost the whole camp was there. Senshi and Megumi naturally were not there but it was because they were on duty shift in recovery room, Bullhorn was obviously not there since he had to be on the lookout and Haoqi had passed out in his tent due to the guys laced his evening tea with sleeping powder because he did not permit them having a party for Sai in the first place.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen", Sai shushed the cheering crowd with a raised hand to no avail. "Please, please… extremely attractive and devastatingly handsome I might be, I am still but a hum— Hey! Who threw this meat bun at me? Don't you know that medics are protected against violence of war by Hongmen Convention?"

The crowd laughed and stopped throwing stuffs.

"Now that I have your attention, dear friends and foes", Spear continued. "I believe it is time for me to deliver a speech or two."

The crowd applauded.

"But, since this appointment is quite sudden, I hope you will understand if I don't have any prepared."

A loud boo from the crowd as they began pelting him with various assortments of food and stuff; Spear barely managed to shield himself with a tray.

"Ah, civilized soldiers of the Earth Kingdom", said Spear sarcastically as the rain of food subsided. "Now, now, people, you will get your chance to kiss my ring later. But now, let us welcome our new friends to this camp!"

He gestured at Lin, Taka, and Rocky; the whole camp turned their attention at the three who was sitting at the other corner of the room, away from the celebration. Cheering, some men approached them and dragged them gently to join the procession.

"First of all, the newcomers who arrived this morning", announced Spear gesturing at Taka and Rocky. "And you are…"

"Taka, Black Rider Company", Taka grinned and waved at the cheering crowd. "This is Rocky."

Rocky nodded curtly at the crowd. And now, back to Spear.

"Now, we all know Lieutenant Lin, the Slayer of Wombat-viper—"

"Viper-Wombat", Rha-Mi whispered.

"Viper-wombat", corrected Spear before he continued. "The Protector of the Unit, the Knight in Shining Boots, the Perfect Gentlemen, and the Defender of Anything Female; ladies, keep your hands to yourselves, he's still underage."

Spear paused a little to let the crowd laugh at blushing Lin who was fantasizing a brutal way to murder the annoying surgeon alive.

"Although Lieutenant Lin arrived three days ago and has already made name for himself due to his heroism in the defense against a wombat-viper invest—"

"VIPER-WOMBAT!" they all shouted.

"What you said", resumed Spear nonchalantly. "We are not supposed to officially know him yet since we haven't thrown a party to welcome him, so…"

He eyed Trik, who was standing behind him near the banner sharply; Trik looked back questioningly.

"…so…"

Trik still looked clueless.

"…_so_…"

"Oh, is that the cue?"

"You think?"

"Sorry."

"So…" Spear turned back to Lin, the same time Trik cut a rope tied to the top of the banner, unrolling another banner that completely covered the first one; the new banner read 'Happy Berated ('belated' miswrote) Birthday!'. "Happy birthday!"

Mimicked by the crowd who threw papers and bits of bread at the dumbstruck Lin.

No, Lin did not forget his birthday. His birthday was the fourth day of the first month of summer, today was the thirteenth, his birthday was more than a week ago. He remembered his birthday, never once he forgot his birthday, the most meaningful day in his life. Not meaningful because it was the day he was born and he'd have celebrations and parties on the date, but meaningful because on that very same date two persons he cared about died, one he knew only from stories his relatives told him, the other had been a brother to him; on the fourth day of the first month of summer fourteen years ago, Lian died giving birth to her son, and two years ago on the same day, Lu Ten died fighting for his glorious Fire Nation. To Lin, his birthday was the occasion worth mourning not celebrating.

* * *

Meanwhile, not joining the celebration were Majors Megumi and Senshi; supposedly in duty in recovery room, they had abducted and forced a pair of nurses to fill in for them since they had things to do, important things that, as Megumi had put it, concerned the wellbeing of the outfit. So, after sneaking into Haoqi's office and borrowed a fast falcon-dove, a bigger bird for a bigger message, Megumi had composed a letter to his old sweetheart in the upper echelon: General Chang Ye, the Grand Commander of the Earth Kingdom Army Medical Regiment.

"Are you sure you've sent the letter?" asked Senshi worriedly, pacing back and forth in Megumi's tent.

"You were there, you saw me set the bird", sighed Megumi, sitting in front of her mirror, brushing her hair. "Would you stop acting like a worried parent and rub my shoulder?"

Senshi complied, moving in to rub the lady's stiff shoulder. But, his anxiety did not subside.

"And they were celebrating", he cursed at the cheery noise emanating from outside.

"Just ignore them", sighed Megumi again, back with her brushing her hair.

"I mean, just listen to them", Senshi growled hatefully, unwittingly tightening his grip. "Partying, laughing, having fun like a pack of wild lizard-dogs."

"Senshi?"

"Hmph! The nerve… and I bet that clown Haoren is in the middle of it, prancing and flirting with nurses like usual", Senshi continued without realizing his grip had grown iron-like.

—WHACK—

"Ow, my fingers!" he pulled his hands back quickly, the hands that was slapped by Megumi with an iron-handled comb.

"Come on", Megumi got up and dragged Senshi by his wrist. "Let's see what they're up to."

* * *

Back in the mess tent, the celebration went on…

"And now, unlike how we celebrated Haoqi's birthday last month, when we were forced to build a birthday cake out of tofu, yam, and a rubbery red stuff we found under Trik's bed", informed Spear at the crowd. "For this special occasion, we have… a real cake!"

The crowd cheered again, making way for Father Shu and Rabbit, grinning widely, who each carried a side of a large tray on which a big creamy white cake with fourteen lit candles around it.

"And it's all courtesy to Father Shu who braved a venture of an unspeakably shady deal with the Mother Superior of Mo Ce Abbey", added Spear to the crowd.

"Not true", denied the laughing Father as he and Rabbit put the cake on the table. "I just happened to strike a deal that I'd rather not talk about in public, is all."

"Of course", Spear winked at Father Shu then returned to the cake. "Anyway, good news for you girls, just two more years, two more celebrations of this very same occasion in this very same place, spirits willing on the celebration, forbids on the this place, our young lieutenant will be available for all to woo."

And the nurses cheered, sending Lin deeper into his crimson state.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, and everything in between", shouted Spear across the tent.

"Bless your soul, Captain", grinned Rha-Mi.

"Thank you, Corporal, lovely as always in pink", smiled Spear. "The moment we have all waited for: the cake!"

Cheering like the rest, Father Shu and Rabbit brought the cake with the flaming candles in front of Lin, holding it out for him. Now… why'd they do that? By the way, they didn't have birthday cake in Fire Nation. Birthday parties were just like any other parties; food, drinks, people coming and giving presents, have fun, go home when they got bored, that's it. Lin did learn from his Byakko training of the Earth Kingdom culture that, as Earth Kingdom is a widely diverse society, they tended to have many different ways to celebrate something; in Omashu, birthday celebration included noodle as staple dish, in Gaipan honey-glazed roast duck stuffed with berries, in Si Wong Region honeyed fruit with a smidge of cactus juice, Huxin Province famed for its fruit tart with the rare emerald cherries lined around it, the number of cherries equal to the birthday person's age. But, cake with candles? Well, they didn't have this in Senlin, that much is true…

Lost at what he should do next, Lin eyed Taka and Rocky desperately, silently asking for help. The response he caught from the corner of his eyes, Taka puckering his mouth; intended as a face of someone blowing the candles, Lin somehow interpreted it as a kissy face. I'm gonna have to kiss the fire? Lin thought incredulously. Luckily, Rocky caught the drift of the misunderstanding; clapping his large hands, he chanted: "Blow the candle…"

"Blow the candle…" the others mimicked.

_Oh… so I have to…_ "Blow the candle…"

Lin took a deep breath, the crowd was silenced instantly. Blowing through his mouth, he put off the fourteen flaming candles in one shot, eliciting a cheer and loud applause from the crowd who proceeded to pat him on the back, shake his hand, and congratulate him, grinning all the way. Lin himself was in the middle of both forcing a smile and forcing his smile down; confusing, but possible, trust me.

Huh… kinda hard to believe these were the same person who had been giving him a headache since the first day he got here; Corporal Rha-Mi, the guy who had lost a fight against a training dummy under Lin's supervision, the same guy who had nearly got beaten to death by a bandit, Private Liu, the cook, the very same guy who put Privates Yau and Jou in hospital during a march formation training. There they were, all of them. Lin had honestly thought that he had gotten to their bad sides thanks to the disastrous training and bandit hunt he had put them through. Guess he was mistaken in his assumption, but while he usually hated to be proven wrong, he somehow felt happy that he was wrong. And then, almost instinctively, he reminded himself that he was a Fire Nation among Earth Kingdom enemies and despised them again.

Receiving a slice of cake from Nurse Jen, Lin sat down with Rocky, who was sipping a cup of tea, and Taka, who was busy stuffing his mouth with the perfectly edible cake. The celebration, however, was far from over. The crowd proceeded to singing and dancing, Trik was playing a pipa, Spear singing an off-tone song about badger-mole and cave, Rha-Mi steady on the samisen (some kind of three-stringed slender instrument played by plucking the strings with a plectrum), and Father Shu covered their back with his shakuhachi, a bamboo flute that was heavily associated with monks and their rituals. None of those inside noticed that two more attendees entered the tent.

"An unauthorized party. Why am I not surprised?"

Megumi shook her head slightly, having a hard time to decide which one she found more unpleasant; Senshi and his constant snipping or the wild party before her eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the tent, an ornate green army cart sped towards the camp. A driver and a soldier on the driver seat, manning the two ostrich-horses; inside the comfortable carriage, the kind afforded only by high ranking officers, was General Chang Ye, the Grand Commander of the Earth Kingdom Army Medical Regiment, the man to whom all men and women serving as medics answered to. Tough yet gentle face, hidden under his long beard, long brown hair tied into an Earth Kingdom bun, and his firm jaw line and cheek bone, looking prime in his early thirties, General Chang Ye prided himself to be one of the first doctors who heeded to call of the pioneer Army Field Hospital ten years ago when, upon his arrival in the frontline, he served directly under the legendary Sairen of the How Household. Additionally, it was onto him Sairen passed down the mantle of leadership, making him the second and current Grand Commander of the Earth Kingdom Army Medical Regiment.

The carriage halted as it reached the center of the camp. Chang Ye felt it rocked slightly as the driver and the bodyguard jumped down; a familiar odor of herb, medicine, dirt, and Death entered his nostrils as his bodyguard opened the carriage door, allowing him to get out. Now, where to go…? His ex, Megumi, as she told him in the letter, said something about her requesting a sudden inspection on the camp. Now, first thing first: _where is she?_

Brown eyes darted across the camp, scanning the dim-lit surrounding, tents, and the announcer/lookout post, eventually, it darted to the only tent that showed any sign of live: through the fly-screen, even if it was on the other end of the camp, he could see groups of people dancing and having fun. A party, it seemed; he couldn't help but smile, reminiscing the memory of the time when Army Field Hospital units were still at their infancy, of how the horrid of war he and his comrades had had to experience on daily basis seemed to have been banished by their wild parties. And, of course, of how his friend Sairen always seemed to be in the front of any celebration, the one who partied the most and drank the heaviest.

Sighing for he knew he had to assume the role of a strict leader, Chang Ye marched toward the tent, followed closely by his bodyguard. As he opened the door to the camp, he was met with two contradictory scenes: the crowd having fun and four people arguing heatedly.

"I'm telling you: this party is over!" a man whose plain face reminded Chang Ye of a hairless lemur, yelled at two men. "Colonel Gun certainly did not authorize this wild party and I, as the second-in-command, have to step in and—"

"Stuff it in your nose, Senshi!" one of the two in the other side, the larger one with green eyes, brown hair, and expression the mixture of anger and exhaustion with a lingering trace of fun; an expression familiar to Chang Ye and many others who shared his experience in the war.

"I do not like that tone of yours, _Captain_!" the lemur-guy attacked again, taking a menacing step forward, only to be held down by a lady who apparently took his side of the argument; her back was turned on Chang Ye and the general could not see past through her brown hair. "You better stop this at once or I'll have you flogged and then court-martialed!"

"Just lay off, _Major_!" the second man on the opposing side exclaimed, holding down the first brown-haired man who had also taken an anger-induced step forward. _Him_… Chang Ye had nearly shouted his name in extreme delight had he not remembered the briefing (and scolding) General How had given him about five years ago: General How had admonished him for the mishap of drafting Sai Haoren (Sairen's assumed identity) into the army and informed him of Sairen's wish to be left alone. But, friends are friends through thick and thin, right? So…

"Captain Haoren!"

The music abruptly stopped, the dancing suddenly doused, all eyes darted towards the smiling General Chang Ye at the door, standing in his gold-trimmed armor and green silk cape. Abruptly, everybody bowed to the man who owned their lives and signed their paychecks, all save for Trik who was too angry to do anything courteous, Senshi who was simply confused, Megumi who rediscovered her old crush on the general, and Haoren who gaped at first, then laughed out loud.

"I can't believe this!" laughed Sairen as he strode forward to the other man's extended hand, shaking it before pulling the laughing general into a tight embrace. "I can't believe _this_! So, you're still alive, after all."

"The same goes to you", laughed Chang Ye back. "It's been a while; five years?"

"Five years", nodded Spear, gesturing at Trik, he said. "You've gotta meet this guy, he makes a much better batch of wine than you. Captain Akugi Sho, but we just call him Trik."

"Ack! My old name's taken", Chang Ye grimaced, though he smiled when he shook Trik's hand.

"Well, that's what you get for snitching on me about the cadaver incident back in college", replied Spear jokingly. "What are you doing here? I thought you're supposed to join the army soon after college. You know, when you said that you wanted to work for that _other guy, _that Colonel Sairen What-his-face."

"I _did_", winked Chang Ye subtly; yep, he got the hint. "And here I am now, holding all of you by your paycheck."

"Ahem!" Senshi cleared his throat annoyingly loud. Slipping through Trik and Spear, he gave Chang Ye a military bow. "Major Senshi Mor, General; surgeon and second-in-command. And here is our Head Nurse…"

"General…" Megumi greeted with lovely smile and sparkling eyes.

"Meg-meg…" Chang Ye smiled back lovingly. Yeah… you see, when Person A is in love with Person B, it is understandable that while they were still actively dating, they call each other by pet names. What not so easily understandable is when they had broken up for two years and yet they still call each other pet names in public.

"_Meg-meg?_" Trik and Spear mouthed each other, frowning in both glee and disgust. Senshi, on the other hand, was blank-faced, Megumi blushing, Chang Ye awkward, and the rest of the lot was struggling to hold down their laughter.

"Clearing his throat, General Chang Ye assumed a more authoritative front. "Major", he greeted Megumi successfully in military courtesy, this time. "It is a pleasure to see you again."

"_What's going_—", Haoqi picked that very moment to make an appearance; slamming the door open, he was steaming from both anger and side effect of his 'evening tea'. His rage, however, was quickly replaced by awkward gawk as he caught the sight of someone in Earth Kingdom General's uniform; gold trimmed armor, green silk cape, and golden headpiece. Stammering, he hastily bowed to the man who held his family's financial wellbeing by its paycheck. "G-general Chang Ye, what a… um, pleasant surprise. I didn't know you were coming."

"Colonel", Chang Ye nodded back. "I was told that you have appointed a Head Surgeon. I'm here to meet him. Which one is he?"

"Uh… that would be Captain Sai Haoren, General."

"Who? _Spear_?" Chang Ye raised a brow, wide mouthed. Turning to the pair of majors, he frowned. "I… don't understand. _Why am I here_?"

"To see that the colonel has made a grave mistake of giving the position to Haoren, of course", replied Senshi quickly, throwing an acidic stare at Spear. "This man is the most unmilitary man in the whole army, appointing him to a seat of power is against regulation!"

"… Don't get snippy with me, Major", Chang Ye took offense of Senshi's tone. "I happen to know Army Regulation regarding Medical Regiment a little better than you, I helped wrote at least half of them."

"I apologize, General", Senshi replied a little more calmly. "But, this man, he does not fit to be a Head Surgeon or an army doctor in that matter. And, if you have read the report I sent to you over the years about Captain Haoren's misconducts, you will understand why I believe that this man should be put in a death row! And then court-martialed!"

"What… are you talking about?"

"This man, this man!" Senshi seethed, trembling for pent-up anger. "Do you know that he goes to the camp's monthly flag ceremony without proper attire befitting those of an officer's?"

"I hate green", shrugged Spear at Chang Ye. "Green always reminds me of the thing that came out of me every time I eat something served by the camp's kitchen."

"And, once, in the 25th of the second moon of summer, Year Superior Military Ox, he attended the ceremony wearing nothing but underwear and a scarf!" shouted Senshi.

"It was _summer_", scoffed Spear lightly. "If a man can't wear underwear in public during summer, when else can he do that?"

"And it was an unauthorized underwear, too!" yelled Senshi again.

"Well, _excuse me_ for forgetting to hand over my underwear to Haoqi to stamp with his Officer's Seal."

"It was red! That underwear is_ Fire Nation_!"

"So? Fire Nation happens to produce the best quality cotton."

"And remember about the time when you set a POW free?"

"It was a Fire Nation _colonial_ soldier", Spear began to raise his voice. "They're neutral, remember?"

"Silence!" Chang Ye roared. He took a second or two to calm his mind before giving Senshi a sharp and unfriendly glare. "You… I remember those _doodles_ somebody sent me! It was _you_! Senshi Mor, right? I knew I read that name somewhere…"

"Yes, sir", grinned Senshi nervously, sweating. "Um… so, you did get my report."

"Unfortunately, yes", retorted Chang Ye through his gritting teeth. Gripping Spear on the shoulder, he continued louder, loud enough for the whole tent to hear. "This man, Sai Haoren. I know him personally. We attended medical school together. He was two year my junior yet graduated a year ahead of me. Colonel?"

"Yes, General", Haoqi quickly bowed again.

"You made the right choice."

"Thank you, General."

"Wha— what about me?" Senshi nearly shrieked, not wanting to give up. "I'm the ranking surgeon, I'm a major and second-in-command! I should be the one who—"

"If you hadn't enlist to the army, Major", Chang Ye quickly interrupted. "The Artillery Regiment would have drafted you to be a catapult operator!"

* * *

Few hours later, by the mercy of Mother Earth, midnight came…

Yawning, various personnel exited the tent one by one, or group by group, heading to the well-deserved sleep. It goes without saying that Senshi and Megumi were the first to leave after losing the argument against Spear; Senshi was steaming, Megumi was torn between wanting to stand by Senshi's side and her desire to stay and catch up with her former 'the one'. Haoqi, knowing that his effort was already futile, plus swayed by his respect, or fear, whichever sounds nicer, of Chang Ye, had reluctantly allowed the party to go on and even joined in himself. But, of course, after ten or so minutes, his evening tea kicked in again and Rabbit and Rha-Mi had to carry him back to his tent. Lin wanted to leave early but couldn't since the party was also his; Taka and Rocky slyly excused themselves back to the camp early. And now, hours later, across the camp walked six silhouettes in the dark.

Chang Ye and his bodyguard decided that they should go back to the Regimental Headquarter that very night and politely refused to stay for the night; Spear, Trik, Father Shu, and Lin, out of courtesy walked him out to his carriage.

"So, that guy who looked like a bald lemur, Senshi", started Chang Ye. "He's… um… Megumi—"

"Nah, I wouldn't worry too much if I were you", Spear waved it off. "He's married."

"I don't remember Megumi as the type who would…"

"Don't trouble yourself", Trik said reassuringly. "She's just lonely and, unfortunately, the one person she finds most compatible happened to be him."

"Give it a year or two, she'll come to her senses", added Spear.

"Huh…" shrugged Chang Ye. They had arrived at the carriage; the bodyguard pulled the door open, allowing Chang Ye to enter before he joined the driver in the front. Through the carriage's window, Chang Ye bid his farewell. "Well, this is it, then. Take care, everyone."

"May the Mother guide you on the way home, General", bowed Father Shu, hands held upright on his chest, a prayer bead wrapped around them; a formal bow among clergymen.

"Thank you, Father", Chang Ye graciously nodded back. Turning his gaze at Spear, who smiled, the general added. "Stay out of trouble, huh? It'd be tragically funny if you got kicked out from the unit you created yourself."

Spear merely grinned back without a verbal response; this made Chang Ye grew more worried of the man's future. Sighing, he ordered the carriage to move, leaving the camp finally. Remaining in the camp were the other four, staring at the speeding carriage, each with their own thought.

"I still find it hard to believe that you are acquainted with such a man", it was Father Shu who broke the silence. "He seems like a nice enough man."

"Of course he is", yawned Spear, stretching. "I should know; back in med school, he let me cheat off his test paper."

* * *

**Author's note:**

So sorry for the late update, something unexpected came up, and then there's my getting sick and busy at the same time. T_T

Hongmen Convention, think of it as Avatar universe equivalent of Geneva Convention. The name Hongmen was inspired by the Hongmen Banquet, an event some time after the fall of Qin Dynasty. In the banquet, two rivaling sides came to a treaty, albeit a rather awkward one. The banquet itself was actually a failed assassination attempt; that's why the treaty was awkward.

Names:

1. Chang Ye; from Korean 'chang' (将), which means 'general', as in army general, and 'ye' (医), which means 'doctor'.

2. Yau, from Cantonese 'yau' (右), which means 'right', as in opposite of left.

3. Jou, from Cantonese 'jou' (左), which means 'left', as in opposite of right. Notice how similar the two characters are.

4. Liu, from Cantonese 'liu' (料), which means 'ingredients'.

I might need to take a little break for a week or two. I'm currently facing a triple threat in the form of my sleep problem, exam, and some blood I found clotted up in my nose almost every morning. God, I hope the blood is just because I accidentally smothered my nose with my pillow when I sleep or something…

Anyway, onto happier stuffs!

…

There is no happy stuff… Oh well, another time. :)

To hpswst101, good luck with the cold. Try warm orange juice, it always works for me. Adding honey would be great, too. Oh yeah, about the MASH unit can't fight, next chapter, or the chapter after that, should explain more about why it is so. I hope…

Oh yeah, I watched the Last Airbender the other day and I agree with you; the name thing sucks. Although, objectively speaking, that's how their names are supposed to be pronounced. But, yeah they should have followed the one in the series, it would have been less irritating that way. And I think the movie is not so bad, it was pretty good, great fighting scenes. Although a little bit disappointing; it was a whole season worth of movie but Sokka only got hit by Katara's waterbending twice! And Uncle Iroh looks kinda cool. That's just wrong… the coolest thing about Iroh is he does not look cool in the slightest but _is_ one of the coolest characters in the series. That's one of the things I like about Iroh. And… is it just me or the movie is kinda short? It was like the characters were in a hurry or something. Hopefully the second movie would be better.

To ciccia96, so sorry again for the late update. Hope you like this chapter!


	68. Chapter 67

**Chapter 67 – New Kids on the Camp**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

44th Army Hospital, operating room…

"When will they arrive?" asked Spear, flashing Haoqi only the slightest of his gaze; he was treating a man's gut.

"Sunday", yawned Haoqi widely under his mask. "This was supposed to be the _tomorrow_ when we started this session, but Sunday has become _today_."

"They grow up so fast", joked Trik adimst the pulverized gut he was trying to save.

"They should arrive by river boat", Haoqi, ignoring Trik, continued. "There are four sent by the army, one for each of us surgeon."

"What about us?" asked an acupuncturist curiously, the one who was assisting Trik keeping his patient asleep and relaxed with his expertise.

"Headquarter said only for the surgeon", Haoqi replied without taking his eyes off his patient. "There aren't many enthusiasts in the fields like acupuncture and herbal medicine to begin with, not like surgery; you wanna learn to cut people open, you join the army medic. The more traditional method of medicine has a lot of learning opportunities back home already."

"Wonderful", Trik commented sarcastically. "More kids in battle zone."

"How old are they?" asked Spear.

"The usual: thirteen, fourteen", replied Haoqi somewhat bitterly. "So, we let them spent some time with us, give them our lousy food, share them our lice-infested bunks, hid them under our tables during enemy barrages, and those four bright young surgeon-wannabes will hopefully be mentally scarred enough to want to go home in a week or so."

"Twenty silver on less than a week", called Trik quickly.

"Make it forty and you've got a bet", raised Spear to the challenge.

"Deal."

"Would you care to join in, Father?" offered Spear.

"No, Spear. I'm afraid my religion forbids me from betting on another person's wellbeing", refused Father Shu, snickering; due to the lack of manpower, which was due to them having been in duty for nearly twenty four hours non-stop, Father Shu had to rally up the more delicate and medically inept members of the camp to substitute for several nurses and medics that had to take a little break. Pacing the room back and forth, the priest was assuming Megumi's usual role while the woman passed out a little in her tent, Rha-Mi was steady on the door with a clipboard in hand, regulating and taking notes of patients' circulation, Private Liu the cook finally got to save lives (instead of slowly taking them… with his cooking) by replacing Nurse Jen with his instrument assist on Haoqi, Private Jou the supply-master and Private Yau the stable boy were busy making trips between supply tent and the operating room, making sure the surgical staffs were not insufficient in fresh towels, mask, surgical gloves, and other stuffs. Even the camp's two herbalists and three acupuncturists who claimed to have weak stomach for blood helped out.

"I do not see how any of you could make a bet out of this", sneered Senshi. "Those kids are the future combat medics of our great Kingdom. I personally agree with the Headquarter: the sooner those kids experience the horror of war, the more advantage they'll get when it's finally time for them to serve the Kingdom."

"Of course", scoffed Spear. "No doctor better than one with serious case of yellow belly."

* * *

"And naturally, I am your first choice", said Lin coldly.

"Of course", replied Spear offhandedly, throwing a small bag with unusually colored Earth Kingdom insignia on the ostrich horse carriage; white, instead of green, with golden trim, a symbol of Earth Kingdom medical unit. "Your buddies from the mercenary brigade have to stay, our men are useless on the field, not to mention exhausted from helping around in the operating room for the past ten hours, and here you are, still sane and fit for travel."

"Shouldn't we use… I don't know, that caterpillar tank over there?" suggested Lin impatiently, gesturing at a metal plated tank parked on the middle of the square.

"That's for patients", Spear pointed out flatly.

"But, it's safer", argued Lin.

"We're not going to the frontline. We're not going west, we're going east", Spear emphasized his point by pointing at the direction of Ba Sing Se. "There's no fighting where we're going. A simple roofless carriage will be enough. Come on!"

Spear leaped up onto the driver seat. Lin spent the next two seconds trying to made the stubbornly moronic don't-know-anything-about-warfare man relent with just his stare but… *sigh* Lin was a practical person; when a practical person is faced with a challenge he can't defeat, nine out of ten, he'll just bail. Why do things that we know will fail, right? Why fight a losing battle? After knowing Spear for nearly a month, Lin knew very well how relentless Spear could get just to make people do things his way. Sighing in defeat, Lin shoved Nightshade and a small pack into the carriage before pulling himself up. A second later, Spear gleefully spurred the steed, steering the vehicle forward.

A son of General How… _him_! Resting his back on the railing, hands crossed on his chest in discontent, staring onto Spear's back as he drove the carriage while singing 'the Girls from Ba Sing Se (Spear Haoren Remix, with more profanity and less quality)', Lin could not help but wonder why General How hadn't disown this son of his yet. Just like in the Fire Nation, in Earth Kingdom society, sons, especially eldest sons, are expected to follow their fathers' footprints: sons of hunters were taught to hunt since little, sons of warriors were raised swinging swords, sons of merchants were taught the way of money-making since youths, etc.

And here we have the eldest son of the most powerful man in the Earth Kingdom's warrior cast: Sairen How, son of General How of Ba Sing Se. This idiot drove to the middle of nowhere in the middle of the Great War on a _carriage_, a roofless one at that, too. Clearly he didn't know much about soldiering. Sure, the fighting was concentrated to the west. With the combat soldiers holding the line, an aid station behind them, and after miles of forest and mountain path to east, the numerous Earth Kingdom Field Hospital units, one could assume that there would not be any hostile Fire Nation soldiers anywhere on any point past the Earth Kingdom Field Hospitals. So, it should be safe as Spear predicted, right? _Wrong_!

Many people made the mistake of assuming that hostility in wartime was only resorted between the two fighting sides; a common mistake. Lin, however, knew better; threats that they might encounter on their way to rendezvous point to the east still existed. Not from Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom, but from a third party that, like the first two parties, was just trying to make the most out of the war: bandits.

* * *

Ozai strode along the corridor of the palace, _his_ palace. Finally, after a long wait during winter and spring, two seasons he hated the most, the time had finally come. Also, the report from Wuxin indicating that the brat Lin had successfully infiltrated the Earth Kingdom Army, more specifically the medic regiment, made everything just so very much better. Hehe… Ozai smirked (not smiled); a gift from Agni! It just so happened that the medic regiment that brat was in was the kind that stationed just a few miles behind the frontline, not the one set up inside a walled cities like Omashu or Tianshui. Imagine the possibilities…

Ozai could order for a slip-up to happen… artillery barrage on the regiment camp…

Or perhaps a good old-fashioned night raid… we all know how terribly similar medical insignia of the Earth Kingdom Army is to the combat army insignia at night…

Or maybe Ozai could bribe local bandits and marauders to do the job… should be easy to sent one of his generals to make contact with some of those money-grubbing Earth Kingdom savages…

Sure, in the aftermath the goodie-goodie citizens of the two Nations would cry out about this inhumanity during the war, probably bring out the Hongmen Convention, too. But, here's how the equation played out in Ozai's mind, as he fantasized about the world without that brat while sitting on his throne:

No more that brat = (Killing the brat : Obliterating the whole camp) x (goodie-goodie citizens + Hongmen Convention)

So, those self-righteous hypocrites wanted to open their bun-hole after such… uh, 'tragic and unfortunate incident at the hand of bandits/insubordinate officers of Fire Nation (Ozai was still mulling over these)'? Let them! As long as that brat was no more, Ozai could not careless.

"Father?" a voice, a soft voice, brought Ozai back to reality. Azula had been there, kneeling, for quite some time. She could called out anytime during those two or so minutes of his father grinning to himself but… a shiver down her spine as her father's gaze and lingering grin fell upon her.

"Azula", Ozai called, almost chuckling. "Come closer, _my dear_."

Yes, my _dear_… Ozai might felt the need to brush his teeth and rinse his mouth with vinegar after this audience but it was necessary. Just look at her, all beaming and grinning as she crept closer to Ozai and the Fire Throne, _his_ throne… Yes, yes… _necessary_…

Azula, as innocent as she was whenever her father was around, crept closer to the wall of fire in front of her, close enough that she could feel the heat grazed her forehead, close enough for her to see the shade of her father's face, but still maintained a healthy distance away. Their roles now were not father and daughter, but a Fire Lord and his subject.

"Now, Azula", said Ozai, sounding almost amused at her daughter's face, at her closing in on him so longingly… like a _dog_! "Tell me, how did your training go?"

Azula's smile melted… why? Why did it melt? Ozai was not pleased!

"It went well, Father", Azula answered smoothly, putting on a spare mask of fake smile.

Tsk, tsk… lying…

Azula gulped subtly, but not subtle enough to escape Ozai's trained eye. Lying, eh…? Not exactly something Ozai would discourage from Azula, but _lying to Ozai_? This girl got nerve, Ozai gave her that much.

Hah! Daddy's little girl… she grew more and more into him; how could Ozai possibly be mad at her.

Now, let's see…

Fact #1: Ozai was not a fool! He could clearly see through his daughter's pathetic attempt to lie.

Fact #2: Ozai had been keeping tab on Azula's training, like all daddies would, and knew that she was having difficulties in her training.

Fact #3: just look at her, trying to act calm and collected in front of Ozai despite the obvious fear in her eyes.

Now, facts 1 and 2 justified punishment but fact 3; fact #3, ladies and gentlemen, was the only thing that Ozai cared about right now. Azula, Azula… turning ten soon. Oh, how time flew; felt just like yesterday when she was still a crybaby daughter of his, a weak girl stuffed with all those goodie-goodie barfs by Ursa, attached to weak possessions like a stuffed animal and friends, cared too much about insignificant events like a firebending performance. Azula… she was growing up; more importantly, she was _growing_…

Soon, pretty soon… Sozin's Comet was coming; Azula should be, uh… fourteen or fifteen by then, old enough to stand by Ozai's side as the ruler of the new world, a world unified under the banner of Agni's Flame, a world ruled by Ozai, Fire Lord Ozai, the greatest conqueror known to man!

All hail Fire Lord Ozai!

"Father?" Azula called again, softer this time. The chill she felt earlier came back full frontal, made her shuddered despite being so near to the Fire Throne, almost made her topple over from her kneeling position. Though it made her happy to see her father smiling so much (she still couldn't tell the difference between her father's _grin_ and _smile_), whenever she saw her father's lips curled upwards, she just somehow felt this uneasy feeling. I mean, not all smiles are good, right? A pretty boy smiling, that's good; an evil spirit smiling the same smile; nu-uh.

Ozai, being snapped from his daydream for the second time in the past fifteen minutes, instead of offering a verbal response, merely stared at his daughter, his sweet daughter who was beginning to tread upon the intricate and complicated path of a liar.

Now, Ozai could stop grinning and gave her his usual scowl; you know the one. That one, the one he flashed an unsuspecting maidservant the day before when he was bored or something which, by the way, caused the maidservant to resign from his post so hastily she forgot to claim her last paycheck. That should teach her! Azula, I mean, not the maidservant; that should teach Azula not to even try to lie to Ozai. But, Ozai, a sly calculating man he was, chose the other option; keep on smiling, only add a little dab of acid on that smirk of his. This would wind up teaching Azula two things…

Thing number one…

"Azula?" called Ozai, still with grin, a grin that grew a little wider as he noticed Azula's face had grown pale, beads of cold sweat on her forehead, and her shuddering shoulders. "Care to rephrase that?"

_Yes, yes, fear me, little girl! I am your father! It is my right to be feared by you and your duty to obey!_

Of all things that raced across Azula's young mind, aside from the mean voice that was taunting her, provoking her to scream or break down crying, was the one thought that happened to be the second thing Ozai was trying to… er, for the lack of better word, _teach_ her on this particular occasion: that her life was on his hand whether he was happy or angry; even when the Fire Lord was in a good mood, the Fire Princess better think twice before doing something to disappoint him.

Taking a calming breath, tasting burnt coal and incense on her nostril, no doubt coming from the Throne, Azula looked Ozai dead on his eyes, flashed a smirk on her own, and said with tone as airy and easy-going as possible. "_No, Father_."

Ozai's smirk faltered a little; unexpected this was, for Azula to stood her ground. It made Ozai's smirk faltered, only to come back wider and… hah! If not for his dignity, Ozai would have been laughing so hard right now. Azula, Azula… truly daddy's little girl.

"Good", replied Ozai, satisfied with this turn of event, unexpected it might have been. "Very good, my _dear daughter_."

Yes, his dear daughter! His dear, dearest daughter! Her, her! She would be his legacy, his representative to the world, the world that would soon be his! All his; the world and her!

"Is that all, Father?" asked Azula, bowing her head to hide her triumphant smirk.

"Yes, Azula, that would be all", replied Ozai, still grinning wide. "You are dismissed."

"As you wish, Father?" said Azula before bowing even deeper, got up and exited the room on her normal pace. Though she wanted to run, she knew she must walk as she usually would. This was a game they were playing and she was winning. And to seal her victory, she must stay calm. She gulped again instinctively, so hard she nearly choked on her saliva. Suddenly, everything seemed so real to her, so very real, no matter how much she forced herself to ignore it; her cold pale face, her heart thumping against the inside of her chest, her cold forehead plus each and every beads of sweat popping on it, the sound of her own breathing, hard and unnaturally regulated, the warmth of the air coming out from her nostrils… everything. It was as if her own body was conspiring with Ozai to ensure her failing to gain a victory over this game the father-daughter pair had just played, her very first victory.

_Come on, come on… just a few feet away… one more step, there you go, girl! Now one more…_

_One more…_

_One more…_

Finally, the grand door a feet away from the tip of her nose, standing tall and proud as a princess should, Azula let the door slid open by the two guards standing faithfully on the door. Remember now, A Fire Princess does not do anything, she lets servants do things for her. As the door was completely opened, she resumed her steps, still with earlier pace, earlier posture, _do not spoil anything! _She practically yelled in her mind. Funny, how the very air outside the boundary of the Throne Room felt so different, so easy and light and less stuffy and so welcoming. Argh! Another conspiracy to make her submit to her desire to just run away to her bedroom, lock the door behind her, and hide under her blanket; hence, showing her weakness to her daddy, resulting in his win… _again_.

_No, no! Not this time! This is my victory and nothing can ruin it!_

And so, the proud Fire Princess Azula, lovely and strong as she had always been, took an almost nonchalant step away from her father. Just walked, no running… she walked and walked, eyes kept to the front, not fixed on anything, certainly not turned around on anything. Just walked… and walked…

As she turned on the first corridor, however, and her ear caught the sound of the grand door of the Throne Room slammed closed, she ran…

* * *

"Should you be driving?"

"Why are you asking?"

"When is the last time you sleep?"

"Sleep? What's that, some kind of food?"

"Idiot…" Lin cursed under his breath.

"What?" asked Spear cheerfully from the driver seat.

"Nothing", Lin dismissed him. "Look, a tree."

"Where? Oh, right; nice tree", exclaimed Spear like an overeager three year old. "Hey, wait a minute. That's _not_ a tree; that's a man hiding behind a rock holding a tree branch with this mean savage look in his eyes."

It is a well-known fact that when somebody hasn't been sleeping for, say, the past twenty four hours they'll get really slow up there.

"Run, my furry friend, run!" Spear spurred the steed forward; the carriage rocked violently, nearly throwing Lin overboard. "Do something!"

"Like what?" Lin shrugged innocently, struggling to hide his devilish smirk. The day of reckoning is at hand.

"I don't know", Spear yelped as he was nearly thrown off when the carriage ran over a rocky path. "Anything!"

"Just keep driving", Lin suggested lightly; one hand holding on to the railing, the other on Nightshade as the carriage sped forward, chased by now a small group of six or seven outlaws on foot. As Spear brought them away from the mountain path, they arrived at a clearing with three noticeable landmarks at the other end: a forest at the right, a small path, and a river, the Nan Shan. "Go to the highway."

And to the forest, Spear brought the carriage…

* * *

Tired, beat up, sore, and strangely hungry; the Dragon of the West dragged his old feet along the corridor of the palace. Who knows training Zuko could be so tiring for him nowadays. It couldn't have been more than two years ago when he stood tall and proud on the field of battle, rallying men and machines under his imperial banner. But, now? Just having to stand and watch Zuko perform a series of training, assisting and correcting every now and then, and a little spar at the end of each training session taxed his constitution so much. And to think that, only a couple of years ago, he was standing toe-to-toe with the best warriors Earth Kingdom had to offer. And won!

Well, in Iroh's defense, he was still feeling the repercussion of his Agni Kai with Lin. Lin… truly Umma's grandson. That kid might have inherited his mother's look and his father's talent but personality-wise, he was like a second Umma; a younger and healthier one, which made him much more dangerous than the Tiger-hawk.

But, it didn't mean that Zuko didn't cause a number on Iroh. Zuko was beginning to grow, both physically and mentally. He had grown taller; soon he'd reach Iroh's height. He had also matured a bit but his maturity seemed to be restricted into his firebending training; no longer did the young prince get upset as easily and ditch his training in a particular move altogether when his initial try ended up in failure. Zuko had beginning to show tenacity and perseverance befitting a true firebender warrior. Still hotheaded, though. And as his bones and muscles grew into a teenager's, aided by his strange… err, 'exercises', jumping a cotton plant and climbing the palace and whatnot, Zuko had developed quite a stamina and agility that Iroh had hard time keeping up with.

Iroh stopped his pace and decided to rest a little. Sitting on a bench in a nearby lawn, he let out a sigh, a heavy and tired sigh. Lin and Zuko… just one of them was trouble enough and Iroh was supposed to guide _both_ of them! He reached out to his forehead, a little surprised to find out that his fingertips were icy cold despite the warm Fire Nation summer air all round him, and his forehead was burning, warmer than usual. Must be exhaustion, thought Iroh.

He let out another sigh, resting his back on the comfortable bench. Looking up at the clear blue sky above, he let his mind wander. Lin and Zuko…

If Iroh's predictions were true, both boys would have great important roles to play in years to come; but, not before they each faced their own trials. Trials and tribulations, so difficult and severe, even brutal, that they would no doubt fail.

Yes, they would fail in their trials, both of them; Iroh had foreseen that. However, boys and girls, their failures would be but another test; the ultimate test. They would face challenges, difficulties, they would shoulder burdens, make difficult choices, they would be forced to deny themselves, to let go of those precious to them, they would endure suffering, temptation, hatred, rage, and so much more; they would be scarred, maimed, physically and mentally. They would suffer so much they would fail.

But, as I said before, their failure would be but another test. The ultimate test…

Both Lin and Zuko would face the ultimate test, that much is true; that much is the extent of Iroh's knowledge. For the Great Spirit never forsake His/Her creations. Iroh was given a gift of foresight; even as a little boy, he could peer into the Spirit World, he could see the flow of cosmic energy, and from it, see the flow of destiny itself, learn the past, notice the present, and even see the future. Now, ask yourself this: if you could see the future, if you could see the events of what to come as clearly as you read these words, will you be able to have _faith_? Faith is by definition an ability to believe; can put a faith in someone during a time of his trial when you _know_ that he would fail? It's like having faith that a person would not die if he lose his head.

_Faith_, boys and girls, is a wonderful thing: it gives you hope. So, tell me; if you could see the future like Iroh could, would you have _faith_…?

But, the Great Spirit, merciful as S/He is majestic, never forsakes His/Her creations; the Great Spirit did not forsake Iroh, for at the beginning of time it has been willed that the future is a mystery and would always remain that way. Iroh, wise as he was, knew that by heart and was grateful for it; it gave him hope. The future is a mystery and would remain that way; Iroh might be able to see the glimpses of the events to come but, as mentioned before, where it would lead him is a mystery event to one such as him.

Yes, Iroh _knew_ that Lin and Zuko would both face their own demon, they would inevitably fight their own battle and lost; they would face their ultimate test. And what comes after that…?

_Well_, smiled Iroh at the clear blue sky_, it's a mystery_.

Iroh got up, shivering a little. Stretching his back and was about to resume his march back to his chamber, a little girl in red running across the corridor in front of him caught his attention; Azula, without noticing her uncle at all, dashed away as quickly as her feet could carry her.

Azula… Iroh was surprised again, as Azula vanished at the end of the hallway, of how fierce his stare at the girl was; it was the stare of a Dragon, not an uncle. Mouth opened slightly, perplexed and… _disgusted_ at himself, he sank back down on his bench. Azula… nothing he could do for her. And into his hands, Iroh buried his face, in shame and helplessness.

Azula, an innocent little girl, she would _have_ _to be_ twisted and scarred by the man she called father to finally be redeemed by those she would come to swear eternal enmity: Zuko and Lin. And to do that, Zuko and Lin would have to face their own downfalls first and choose between the two options: to stay down and be swept away by cruel fate, or to rise back up to the sky above like the Majestic Phoenix. And, to Iroh, this part of the future is _the_ mystery.

All Iroh could do, was to have faith on both boys, to believe that they would make the right choice. Because only together could they save Azula. The destinies of three youths were connected, after all, by a link so strong that one would inevitably affect the other two; like the three sides of a triangle, or rather, an inverted triangle, where two sides are supporting the third. So, only together could Zuko and Lin redeem Azula. As for Zuko and Lin themselves, their redeemer? One more destiny entwined with theirs, one that is so old and powerful, revered by both men and spirits, one that would redeem the Fire Prince and, possibly, the young Dragon.

"_Isn't that right?"_ asked Iroh at the man standing in front of him. Silent but proud, imposing yet gentle, wise and calm, with long snow-white hair and beard, and a distinctive two-pronged golden headpiece; it was the man respected by the Four Nation, a proud son of Fire Nation. _"Avatar Roku."_

The spirit of the previous Avatar smiled; Iroh got up, straightened his robe, and offered him a deep solemn Fire Nation bow. Roku bowed back and vanished as a warm summer breeze swept across the lawn. Iroh stayed down for another few seconds, silently praying for Lin, Zuko, and Azula. When he got up, he simply walked away from the spot, back to his room but not before making a detour to the infirmary because he'd got fever.

* * *

"You _have_ to pick the forest", said Lin dryly at Spear.

"I thought I could lose them here", grinned Spear nervously. Like Lin, he was tied up on a tree while ten or so bandits searched their carriage for valuables. "How should I know that they set up a trap in the forest?"

"Well, I _did_", Lin narrowed his eyes at the hopeless doctor. "That was why I told you to pick the highway."

"I'm sorry, okay!" Spear exclaimed, squirming as he tried to get free. "Just— think of something."

"Like what?" Lin asked back, nonchalant as ever. "They've got our cart; my sword's in there, your spear's in there, your money pouch in there, my bag that contains some snacks in there, your bag that has your voodoo black magic instruments in there…"

"…What was that?" one of the bandits caught the conversation between their two captives, the part about 'voodoo black magic'. "What did you say?"

"None of you beeswax!" spat Lin; turning back to Spear, he continued berating the man in raised voice. "I also _did_ tell you not to forget to do your daily morning ritual to the great Paddleloopoopsicklepsippolus. Now, look where _not_ doing the morning ritual gets us!"

"I said I'm sorry!" Spear yelled back. "Why can't you just let it go?"

"What? Paddle-what?" the bandit from before asked again.

"You know, Paddleloopoopsicklepsippolus, the Spirit of Death and Physical Suffering", replied Lin. "Don't you know him? That's blasphemy."

"Wait, I thought Nightcrow is the Spirit of Death?" the bandit frowned. "And Dawn-Shadow is the Spirit of Physical Suffering. What the hell are you talking about?"

"Yes, that's true", Spear retorted. "But, just as how we all answer to the Earth King, Nightcrow and Dawn-Shadow answer to Paddleloopoopsicklepsippolus. In fact, every summer they step down and let Paddleloopoopsicklepsippolus reign in their domains in our mortal world while they stay on the sideline."

"You know, summer", Lin pointed out. "As in _now_."

"And we all know how summer is favored by firebenders", added Spear again. "That's why Fire Nation people are so messed up; they are Paddleloopoopsicklepsippolus favorite Nation."

"What's that got to do with anything?" asked the bandit incredulously.

"Nothing, just pointing out", Spear struggled to hide his smirk; the bandit's terrified face was just priceless. "But, of course, we all know how cruel and twisted Fire Nation people are; just imagine how cruel and twisted their patron spirit is, especially if he finds out that two of his disciples were robbed and tied up in a tree by a bunch of ignorant infidels. Just saying."

"Boss, look", another bandit shouted, nudging the bandit leader; in his hands was Spear's surgeon kit. "Look what I've found."

The bandit leader rummaged the pack and extracted from it several medical stuffs that might seem foreign to them; several bottles, an empty syringe, packs of bandage and cotton, and a wooden box that contained… "What the hell are these things?"

"Oh, that?" said Lin, gesturing to scalpels, clamp, and various surgical instrument inside the box with his chin. "Nothing important; just some tools we used to cut dead bodies open in order to bring them back to live so that they can serve Paddleloopoopsicklepsippolus as his loyal zombie minions."

Like the winter snow melted when the summer sun scorches the earth, the group of bandit grew white in an inhuman speed; Spear and Lin nearly broke down laughing at their faces. Plus, a well-timed breeze blowing past them, adding shiver in the bandits' already cold spine and eerie rustling sound on the already tense atmosphere.

"W-what? That's against the law!"

"Says who?" asked Spear incredulously.

"Yeah", Lin added. "Just look at the bag; it has the Kingdom's insignia. What we do is legal."

"B-boss?" a random bandit whimpered, looking around nervously because he could have sworn he saw something black flashed pass through the trees. "C-can we— _Boss, wait up!_"

"H-hey, wait!" Spear shouted at them as they ran away from the still tied to the tree evil spirit worshippers. "Untie us first! Ack, idiots."

"Nice catching on", Lin commented.

"Well, at least we're safe and our stuffs are still with us", sighed Spear. "But, how're we gonna untie the rope now?"

"I seem to manage", said Lin lightly as the rope that was cutting his arms and chest fell off abruptly. Peeling his back off the tree, he revealed in his hand a small easily-concealable knife. "Never leave home without one."

* * *

"They get younger and younger, don't they", commented the middle-aged Earth Kingdom soldier, green eyes gazed fondly at the four youths sitting on the passengers seats on the ship they were on. "It's a little sad, don't you think; that kids have to be involved in the war."

"Sure is", sighed the ship's captain. "At least they won't get to do the fightin'."

"It'll be worse for them", replied the soldier grimly. "I've been to the field hospital once; it was terrible, I tell ya. That place I've been was more like a butcher house than a clinic."

"That so?" asked the captain, eyes widened.

"Yeah", soldier nodded. Before he could comment more on the subject, he caught the sight of two men in Earth Kingdom uniform; one was an adult in simple soldier tunic worn casually, the other was a young teenager in unusual Earth Kingdom armor, black with yellow outline. "Is that our contact?"

"Seems like it?" said the captain, wincing at Spear and Lin at the distance. "They sent a doctor and a soldier with a carriage."

"Yep, that's them", said the soldier as they got closer, close enough for him to notice Spear and Lin's carriage parked a few feet behind them. Turning to the passengers, four young giddy boys in Earth Kingdom Army green tunic, he smiled. "We've arrived, boys."

A look of relief spread among the four, two of them began murmuring with each other excitedly, one of them looked impassive, the other one looked too nervous to talk. Widening his kind smile, the old soldier addressed the nervous boy, the effeminate looking young boy wearing a bandana. "You will be fine, young man."

"Thank you, sir", the boy squeaked.

In a minute or so, the boat rocked softly as it bumped against the river bed. A plank was set down, allowing the middle-aged soldier to get down first to greet the two escorts.

"Sirs?"

"Captain Haoren, Lieutenant Lin, 44th Army Field Hospital", Spear introduced himself and Lin. "We're here to pick up four army-students for medical units, combat surgeon course."

The doctor took out a scroll from his pocket and read it aloud at the four students who were already standing in front of them with their luggage. "Um, let's see… Yee Shoo from Omashu Medical Institute?"

"Here", one the boys, the one with bright green eyes, saggy short brown hair, obvious excitement on his freckled face raised a hand enthusiastically, nearly knocking the nervous boy from before, who was standing at his right, off his feet.

"Hey, I'm from that hellhole", laughed Spear.

"You're an alumnus?" Yee Shoo asked back brightly.

"Alumnus…? Yeah, why not", replied Spear evasively. "We're gonna have a lot to talk about. Okay, next; Seito from Tianshui Academy of Medical Science?"

"Here", the boy standing on Yee Shoo's left with equal enthusiasm raised his hand; also green eyed like Yee Shoo but with long black hair that was partially formed into a bun and the rest was left untied, a common hairstyle of nobility in the southern region.

"Good", smiled Spear kindly. "Next, Shoto from Ba Sing Se University?"

"Here", the impassive kid from before raised his hand. With straight face, black eyes set against Spear's dark brown ones calmly, it was hard to say if this bespectacled boy was upset or simply cold.

"You… um, got seasick?" asked Spear.

"No."

"Hungry or something?"

"No."

"Tired? Wanna use the toilets?"

"No, I don't think so."

…

"What are you feeling right now?"

"Happy, I guess", Shoto shrugged, still with straight face although he did frown a little; with Spear not responding immediately, the boy felt he should give more detailed explanation. "I don't like travelling with boats and here I am now; on solid ground not on the boat."

"You're happy?" asked Spear, wanted to be sure. "So, um… smile or something."

"Why?"

"… Dibs!" exclaimed Spear, turning to Lin, he said. "You're my witness; I call dibs on this one. Okay, next… "

Spear's earlier grin turned to frown as he read the scroll. He looked up to the last boy and then back on the scroll again as he called. "Um… from Tianshui Academy of Medical Science, um… _Bob_?"

"Here", the last boy said timidly, nearly whispering. Shorter and smaller than the other three, his diminutive effeminate appearance further set him apart by his the green bandana he was wearing.

"Your name's… uh, _Bob_?" asked Spear incredulously; even Lin was perplexed. "Uh, nice name…"

"Thanks", Bob replied; he didn't seem to be offended though.

And, after a few parting words with the kids' escort, the four young bright surgeon-wannabes, Yee Shoo, Seito, Shoto, and Bob, along with Spear and Lin, resumed their journey to the west, to the 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital or, as the camp's occupants' so lovingly coined: hell.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

So sorry for the long update. There were some distractions in the form of exam and twisted ankle, among other things. But, here we are, a new chapter and four new characters!

Names:

1. Shoto is Japanese for 'beginning of winter'; it can also be translated into 'small sword'

2. Seito is Japanese for 'student'

3. Yee Shoo, from Mandarin 'yi shu' (医術)which means 'art of healing'

4. Tianshui is a real place in China. It is also mentioned in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I read the name once in the book and it kinda stuck in my head ever since.

5. Bob… well, no comment from me for now. :)

6. Paddleloopoopsicklepsippolus: paddle, loop, poop, sickle, sip, porous modified a little. You guys think it's just a nonsensical word, don't ya? Well, it is... :)

Btw, Ozai's calculation should have used a symbol of 'less than' but it doesn't show in the fanfic's edit window so I have to change it to '='.

I'm not sure if M*A*S*H has other kind of doctors besides surgeons but Earth Kingdom Army Hospital should have some. More about it in the next chapter along with more explanation about why they don't have fighters. It will be either a two-part 'Dear Memoir' or just a single chapter. Either way, the planned title will be 'Boxes and Stairs'.

Not sure when the next chapter will come up. Something's big coming on the 19th, so I'd say a week or two after that; unless I can squeeze some time between now and the 19th. We'll see.

To hpswst101, so sorry for the long update. About movie Iroh… Yeah, I see your point; it kinda makes Iroh stand out among the rest of Fire Nation. But, I don't know. To be honest, I don't really object that. I mean, even in the first season of the series when he was first introduced, Iroh was already portrayed as having slightly different characteristics when compared to some more stereotypical Fire Nation people like Zhao or Zuko. Given that the movie is kinda short and everything is rushed and simplified, having Iroh played by the actor (don't know his name, not sure about his ethnicity…) could actually be a good thing; just by looking at him, viewers who don't watch the series can safely guess that he was different from the others, right? And besides, I think the only thing different about movie Iroh, appearance-wise, from other Fire Nation people is his beard.

But, yeah… in a way, it would be better if Iroh was played by an Indian actor like the rest of Fire Nation and given more lines. Oh right, that reminds me; doesn't Ozai look… I don't know, not scary at all in the movie? It was a little disappointing. Just like Zhao; he looked more like a bully than an evil person.

About Meg; I'm not really sure about Margaret not having her own mind. Her character strikes me as some sort of a feminist trying to stand out using the wrong methods; you know, like those who sadly mistook 'female superiority' with 'gender equality'. As for Meg-meg, she's more like how I interpret Margaret as rather than an Avatar version of Margaret whom, like in the previous chapter, expressed by her conversation with Lin. Who knows; it's only been three and a half chapters taking place in the new setting. Hopefully, as the story foes by, I could develop her character further. :)

To ciccia96, so sorry for the long update. And here's the new chapter!


	69. Chapter 68

**Chapter 68 – Dear Memoir II**

**-Friends and Foes-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

_(Dear Memoir,_

_Year: Superior Military Rabbit, according to Earth Kingdom Calendar_

_Month: second, summer_

_Day: two. _

_This is a midsummer period in Earth Kingdom. They say Fire Nation people thrive in midsummer because Fire Nation people are those who favor the sun. So, why do I hate summer this much…?)_

—

"I'm hot…"

"Shut up."

—

_(Theoretically, Fire Nation people should be able to stand any summer day no matter how hot it gets, right?)_

—

"But, it's _so_ hot…"

"Take a shower."

—

_(Especially Fire Nation like me, a firebender; I should not be bothered by summer heat, right?)_

—

"It'd still be hot…"

—

_(Wrong!)_

—

Lin slammed his pen, vein popped on his sweaty temple. As if the heat was not annoying enough, Taka _had_ to be constantly whining about the weather too. What the hell was that guy thinking anyway, that Lin could somehow change the temperature of the atmosphere of command the sun to stop shining like the Spirit of Majestic Phoenix? Perhaps in his own heat-induced whining, Taka failed to notice that like him, Lin had been reduced to an undershirt and trunks; heck, even Rocky was in his underwear.

Frustrated himself, Lin closed and locked his thick memoir and shoved in inside his drawer. Getting up, he grabbed his towel as he would Taka's throat and stormed off, ignoring Rocky's slight frown and Taka's 'where're you off to?'

Slight relief coming from him slamming the door of his tent evaporated as his face hit the sun. He dragged his feet towards the men's shower, hesitated a little when he saw Bob hurrying away from the tent and Spear, the latter looked like he was about to take a shower too; Spear entering the tent shortly after Bob was gone proved Lin's assumption. Now, Lin was in no mood to deal with Spear and the constant annoyance he wrought everywhere but, it was really really hot. Must be the humidity; higher of humidity equals wetter air, wetter air equals more water particles heated up under the intense sunlight. Kind of like how the steam cleaning in volcanic areas of Fire Nation islands worked. Whatever the case, the heat won. Reluctantly, Lin dragged his feet further towards the men's shower.

* * *

Spear walked through the camp, whistling, with a towel draping on his right shoulder and a small bucket filled with his bathing stuffs in it; he was wearing nothing but a sweat-soaked undershirt and extremely short pair of boxers. Greeting several personnel on the way, none shared the big grin he had on his mug, he arrived without any event worth mentioning in front of a tent like any other save for the plank nailed across the front saying 'men's snower (shower miswrote)' and its function as the tent where male personnel might wash or, in heat like this, find refuge from the murdering sun under ice cold shower. But, before Spear could even touch the handle, the door was pushed open from inside by Bob, one of the new kids.

Judging from his the shirt he was buttoning, with small water patches forming here and there, and his fresh rejuvenated and not at all dry face, plus more water stain on his bandana, the one he always wore, Bob had just finished taking a shower. Upon his eyes meeting Spear, Bob let out a startled gasp.

"At ease, soldier", was Spear's response to the boy's clumsy bow. "Aren't you hot?" Sai followed with a question after a quick look at Bob's outfit. Since the medic squad is not part of the so-called 'real army', military discipline was not strictly imposed especially against the will of nature; nearly all personnel from various rank and shape had stripped down to their undergarment during the season. Colonel Haoqi, our fearless leader, came to the operating room yesterday naked save for his green boxers, Spear and Trik, beyond any doubt, had followed suit, Father Shu conducted the Sunday sermon that morning in pretty much the same outfit Spear was wearing right now, even Nurse Jen had made Lin blush heavily when they shared a lunch table in the crowded mess tent yesterday while she was wearing a very cleavage-revealing top. But Bob, that kid was wearing Earth Kingdom medic uniform, the one designed for summer; made from thinner cloth and sleeveless with shorts instead of trousers, but from heavy and thick yet durable cotton.

"Um, no, sir", squeaked Bob timidly like a kid caught stealing candies. Quick and awkward, he slid his way away from Spear who was still frowning.

"Strange kid", muttered Spear to himself before shrugging and entered the empty tent. Ah, empty shower tent… refreshing ice cold water and nobody to criticize his singing under the shower; oh joyful summer! Stripping what's left of his clothes, he entered the nearest cubicle and turned the water on. Delightful moan escaped his lips as the highly anticipated cold invaded the heat on his skin and won the fight. He had just finished putting his head under the shower when the door was slid open and a distraught looking Lieutenant Lin joined the occasion.

"Well, well", grinned the dripping surgeon, clearly not noticing the vein suddenly popping on Lin's temple. "Look who's decided to take a midday shower. I see you like our present."

Spear, of course, was commenting about the trunks Lin was wearing. It was green like so many other worn by various personnel in the camp but it was no army-issued. This one had been given to him by the guys as a birthday present; although Spear and Trik did the choosing and buying, the other just took care of the monetary contribution. This trunk had a medium size Earth Kingdom insignia on the butt. Gotta love the implied meaning…

Oh, by the way, the girls gave Lin an engraved oaken-handle mirror.

So, there they were, two guys under the shower; one was jovial, the other was simply grateful to be wet. A curious thing, the shower tent was. Before this, Lin had never had been to any semi permanent army camp like this; he had lived in Fire Nation Army camp, yeah, but it with his father's combat unit. Their camps had never been meant to stay longer than a few days. But, this hospital camp? Replaced every canvas with planks and you'd get yourself a small village. This shower, for example, was clearly not meant as a temporary establishment. The interior was easy enough to set; two adjacent shower cubicle made of planks and wooden beams. The water system, however, was absolutely trickier. They used the kind of plumbing system found in city dwellings, gaining source from a large water tank outside.

The shower itself was rather peculiar; hollowed bamboo pieces joined by the end forming something that looked like this: ^, with one end attached to the water pipe and the other had a wooden cap on it. The wooden cap had numerous small holes on the surface from which the water sprout out. The mechanism behind the working of the seemingly advanced and complicated device was actually pretty simple; similar to a fountain or normal water pipe, only with an addition that enable the user to control the water flow at will. A hemp rope attached to a lever; when you pull the rope, you pull the lever, and water would flow out. A peculiar thing indeed, produced by the same private-run company that manufactured pipes and metal cogs, strictly for army use.

Deep in his contemplation, Lin had just begun to rub his back when the door was pulled open yet again; Colonel Haoqi entered, sweaty and weary, also with towel perching on his shoulder.

"You guys done?" he asked with flat weary tone.

"Aw, I'm just about to get into the good part!" shouted Spear gleefully with his head under the falling water. "Wait in the line, Haoqi."

Not having enough strength to respond, Haoqi sat down on a nearby bench, sighing; the colonel had the expression on his face as if he had just been told that his puppy had just died.

"What's wrong?" ever the (in)sensitive one, Spear inquired; he must be serious since he turned off his shower to give Haoqi his undivided attention. After all, Spear happened to know that Haoqi had been working on a wounded with pierced chest yesterday.

"Nothing", Haoqi sighed lifelessly. "My kid's not awake yet, is all."

"Haoqi, you did all you can", said Spear firmly, failing to lift Haoqi's spirit up. "Besides, he responded well to the treatment; vital sign okay, blood pressure stable, checked on by the hour. He just needs time."

"Thanks, Spear", croaked Haoqi, failing also to smile.

"Yeah", Spear tuned the shower back on. "Rather than musing around, you should really get on the requisition. I really need some menthol powder for my butt."

"What's wrong with your butt?" asked Lin, intrigued. He dared a peek across the wall but Spear covered his naked butt with both hands pretty quickly.

"Just some summer rash, no peeking!" he shouted.

"Prickly heat?" Lin raised a brow, suppressing a smile.

"_What_-ly-heat?" it was Spear's turn to frown.

—

_(Prickly heat; also know as 'summer rash' in Earth Kingdom)_

—

"Prickly heat", Lin repeated, remaining calm. "That's what Fire Nation soldiers call it."

"Oh right, you're from Senlin", shrugged Spear.

"Actually, a delivery arrived from headquarter this morning", reported Haoqi; his mood lightened up somehow, though he still sounded sour.

"Terrific!" exclaimed Spear. "If I weren't naked, I'd hug you right now! Did they send it?"

"Nope", replied Haoqi flatly. "I requisitioned for menthol powder, summer netting, some watermelon, and all liquid plasma they could spare and they sent us fur coats, snow boots, and syringe needles instead."

"What?" Spear nearly screamed. "Those idiots! Just once I'd like to get what I ask for! My butt is on fire whenever I sweat; it's so itchy I'm considering sitting on a bonfire if only it is not so damn hot out there! I need my menthol powder!"

"Well, what can I do about it, huh?" Haoqi also raised his voice. "I just sent another requisition this morning with an express bird and they send us a reply saying that since it's hot out here, they were inclined not to send any courier here because they could not afford to have any of their personnel suffering from heatstroke!"

"Well, you write him back and tell him to risk the heatstroke or it'll be a _right_-stroke on his jaw!" several octaves rise were noted in Spear's scream.

"Yeah! I _have_!" Haoqi's yell matched Spear's in term of volume and intensity as he shot up from his seat. "And you know what? I said I'd give him an uppercut TOO!"

By this point, both Spear and Haoqi were panting and crimson faced from frustration with Lin watching on the sideline. And then…

"Boy, that was good", sighed Haoqi, breaking the intense silence, slumping back to his seat. Inside his cubicle, Spear showed similar reaction. "Now I know why people like to yell in summer."

"Yeah", Spear concurred. Done with his shower, he dried himself with his towel before wrapping it around his waist, stepping out of the cubicle, and joined Haoqi on the bench, scratching his itchy butt all the way; about the same time Rabbit and Rha-mi walked in. Both corporals also wore the unofficial 44th Army Hospital's summer uniform; Rabbit wore shorts and shirt he pulled up to his chest while Rha-Mi looked dashing (as always) bare-chested with a pair of shorts and a see-through silken shirt that, under usual circumstance, would be worn by women, exposing his hairy arms, legs, and torso to the open air.

"Oh, are you sirs about to be done?" Rabbit asked.

"Not me", said Haoqi, already stripping. "I'm going in."

"What's that, Rabbit?" said Spear in the middle of drying his hair, nudging his chin at the large and carefully packaged and sealed sack under Rabbit's arm, about the size of a small crate wrapped in green velvet.

"Oh, right! There's a package for Lieutenant Lin, sir", replied Rabbit quickly, addressing Spear and Lin at the same time. "The courier said it's from General How."

"You sure?" Spear could not help but teased. "He could be an impostor and _that_ could be a Fire Nation bomb-package you know."

"Of course, I'm sure!" snapped Rabbit defensively at the laughing Spear. However, turning to Rha-Mi, he asked timidly. "I'm sure, aren't I?"

"Absolute sure", nodded Rha-Mi amusedly.

"Yeah, absolute sure!" Rabbit napped again at Spear. "That guy said he was from the Vanguard Unit and he was wearing the same black armor like Lieutenant Lin's and he had a badge like Lieutenant Lin has a badge too!"

"So, why are you bringing it with you to the shower?" chuckled Spear.

"Well—" anger turned into awkwardness as fast as a jug of iced orange juice disappear from last night's dinner menu. Rabbit looked awkward while Rha-Mi refused eye contact with both Rabbit and Spear. "W-well, since it's important I thought I… um… I should hold on to it personally by having it in my person until I can find time to deliver it personally to Lieutenant Lin in person… sir."

"_Thank you_, corporal!" said Lin rather sharply, relieving Rabbit off the package. Lin had finished his shower as well, standing dripping with towel around his waist while Rha-Mi moved in to occupy his spot. Lin proceeded to put his package on the bench, put on his trunks, and dried his body and hair with no hurry at all. From the corner of his eye, he caught the glimpse of fidgeting Rabbit. Sighing, Lin relented. "You can open it."

Excited like a rabaroo on a carrot farm, Rabbit scrambled onto the package sitting in between Spear and Lin and squeezed between them, nearly knocking the two aforementioned higher ranks over the edges of the bench. The corporal, however, hesitated a little in front of the waxed seal of Ba Sing Se Council of Five. Rabbit bowed to it slightly and timidly, but respectfully, before ripping it off enthusiastically. And inside the package was…

"There's a letter, sir", reported Rabbit to Lin who was in the middle of drying his long hair. "And a box."

"Read the letter first", instructed Lin from under his towel.

Rabbit obeyed. He had just read aloud '_Dear_…' when the door was opened by Father Shu. Scanning the rather crowded room, he smiled widely to everyone and greeted. "Ah, I'm not the only one who wishes to seek solace under the cold shower, it seems". His bright green eyes caught the opened packaged on Rabbit's lap and so naturally he asked. "What's that, Rabbit? A package from home?"

"No, Father, from General How", said Rabbit brightly; Father's Shu sudden confusion from prompted him to add. "It's for Lieutenant Lin. I'm just about to read the letter because he said it was okay for me to read the letter. Lieutenant Lin, I mean, not General How."

"What does it say?" curiosity plagued the young priest as he crept closer to the sitting lot.

"_Dear Lieutenant Lin, _

_I hope you stay in the 44__th__ Army Hostipal _("Hospital", Spear and Lin corrected)_ has been en— em— _What does this word say?"

"'Enlightening'", peeked Spear.

"…_enlightening and bearable. _Heehee, '_bear_able'", Rabbit's giggle died out under Spear and Lin's withering stare. Shrinking, he resumed._ "With this letter, I send to you your monthly celery _("Salary")_ and several other things you might need. Also, there are some of your favorite cookies, some sun block lotion, and an updated map of the central and western regions. Keep away from the sun and nurses in bikinis and drink lots of water. _

_Have a nice summer,_

_General How."_

"For a moment there I thought General How would end it with 'Love, Dad'", confessed Father Shu innocently while Spear laughed out loud and even Lin cracked a smile.

"Wow… at first I thought General How hated you or something so he sent you here but this is really more like a letter from your father than from your general, sir", chuckled Rabbit.

"Don't— don't you know", wheezed Spear in between his laughter. "General How will adopt him when he got promoted into a colonel."

"Come on, leave him alone", Rabbit defended Lin though the ghost of his own laughter was apparent on his bespectacled face. Around that time, the door slid open again by Trik with Yee Shoo and Seito on his tail; all three were laughing, sweating, and half-naked in an acceptable way.

"Oh, hey, gang", greeted Trik, mischievous glint gleaming on his emerald orbs. "What have we here, a conspiracy to overthrow the heat?"

"Hey, what's that?" Seito asked, pointing at the package.

"Oh, a package from General How for Lieutenant Lin", answer provided by the benevolent Father Shu. "Why don't you open the box, Rabbit?"

Rabbit need not to be told twice. He unfolded the velvet cloth wrapping the box and, again, bowing slightly and respectfully, to the carved insignia on the lid this time. He opened the box and instantly his jaw dropped to the floor. Why, you ask? Because on top the pile of goodies in the box was…

"Holy Korkea!" Rabbit exclaimed, taking out a bundle of Army script money slowly and carefully as if the bundle of paper was made of fragile glass. "Just how much is your salary, sir, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Annual salary for a first class commissioned officer in the Vanguard Unit is 7260 gold, 70 silver, and 80 cooper pieces", said Shoto.

"Eeeekkk!" they all screamed, including Haoqi and Rha-Mi who were in the shower.

"When did you get here?" asked Spear incredulously.

"When you sniffed your fingers after you scratched your butt", Shoto replied with his usual monotone.

Frowning at his intern's answer, Spear lifted the hand he used to scratch his butt, and… "*sniff*"

"Ewww!" they screamed again.

"Two minutes ago", said Spear with absolute confidence.

"What are you, a dog?" Trik grimaced in disgust.

"So, if Lieutenant's Lin's annual salary is as Shoto said, then", said Father Shu, bringing everyone back to the topic. "So, in this bundle of his monthly salary it should be…"

Silence as everyone calculated to no avail in their minds until…

"600 gold, 55 silver, and 90 copper pieces", Shoto came through with an answer.

"600 gold pieces!" exclaimed Rabbit. "Boy, that's like…"

"…"

"Rabbit?" asked Trik.

"My pay pretty much fifty gold pieces, give or take a few copper", Rabbit turned to Shoto, hurting from the math.

"Twelve times."

"Yeah! Your pay is twelve times more than mine", Rabbit turned again to Lin.

"Well, I'm a lieutenant", shrugged Lin.

"I'm a lieutenant, too", Father Shu butted in. "But, I assured you, I earn so much less than you do."

"He's in the Vanguard", explained Spear, back with his butt-scratching. "It's an elite unit. Evidently, the pay's elite, too."

"But, the Vanguard Units only accepts nobleman people, right?" Rabbit came again. "Nobleman people are rich, right? So, if nobleman people have so much money already, why do they got big money from the government, too?"

"Well, young Rabbit", replied Spear sagely, grabbing the corporal by the shoulder. "'Tis an unjust world we live in."

"… Is this the hand you scratched your butt with?"

"You know it is."

"Eww! Ick! Get away!" frantically, Rabbit tried to keep away from Spear's butt contaminated hand, shoving Spear off the bench onto the floor as the result. Spear, laughing, tried to get back on the bench but Trik, boys and girls, Trik, fast like a lighting bolt, dashed and claimed the spot as his own.

"What are we, little kids?" Spear, sitting on the floor below, slapped Trik's foot. His summer rash acting out again, Spear began to rock back and forth, rubbing his butt on the floor.

"You know, I had a pincheranian once, he used to do _that_", Trik said matter-of-factly, pointing at Spear.

"Yeah", challenged Spear, still pitting the skin of his buttocks against the floor beneath his towel. "You try having rash on you keister. Argh! I'd smear my but with honey and sit on a bull-ant nest just to make the itch go away!"

"Oh, hey guys", Taka and Rocky entered the tent. Looking at Spear squirming on the floor, he raised an inquisitive brow at everyone.

"Summer rash", Haoqi, wrapped I towel, replied his unasked question; he and Rha-Mi had stepped out of the cubicles and gave way for Father Shu and Trik. "What's the rest of it, Rabbit?"

"Let's see…" Rabbit rummaged the box; the money he had given to the rightful owner. From the vast assortment of goodies, he pulled out a sealed small wide round container with, "Sun block lotion", written on it. Another container similar to the first one, only red not green, said, "Red pepper (for food)".

"Nice…" Taka couldn't hide his smirk as he took the red pepper from Rabbit.

"Oh, and some clothes", Rabbit pulled out several thin and light cotton shirts and shorts, brown and green in color, designed specially for summer as the fabric let air get through.

"Cool", said Seito nearly longingly as he pulled one from Rabbit's arm and inspect it. "…Um…"

"Take one", offered Lin kindly. "You take one too, Yee Shoo."

Gleefully, both intern took their presents. Rabbit put the rest of the clothing on Spear's lap before taking a smaller box from the package that said. "Almond cookies."

"Ahh!" Lin exclaimed, snatching the cookie box before Spear, Rha-Mi, and Haoqi could. "Anyone values their fingers, stay away from my almond cookies!"

"There's more", Rabbit took out a similar box; this one, however, contained: "Pickled river kelp."

"Yuck!" Lin gasped; everybody backed away from the box.

"Pickled river kelp, gentlemen", Father Shu commented lightly from under the shower. "Is my hometown's delicacy and usually consumed at dinner during summertime. The sweet, sour, and savory taste makes you less thirsty somehow. Our Abbot likes to use it to explain the concept of miracle."

"It's yours, Father", offered Lin quickly.

"Bless your generous heart, my son", Father Shu's smile grew brighter.

"Another box", said Rabbit. "This one is… chocolate chip cook—"

—WHOOSH—

…

"You could've just asked", Taka narrowed his eyes reprimanding at Rocky who clutched the chocolate chip cookies close to his chest like a precious baby. Turning to the rest of the guys, Taka apologized on behalf of the earthbender. "Sorry, he likes chocolate."

"Here's more boxes; two more!" chuckled Rabbit, taking the remaining two boxes at once. "Um… salted rice crackers…"

"Oooh, that'd go well with plum wine", Haoqi clasped his hands happily, claiming the first box as his own.

"And… honeyed dried persimmon."

"Dibs!" Trik called from under the shower.

"Shampoo", announced Rabbit again. Spear took the bottle and sniffed.

"*sniff* Lavender… the kind Nurse Jen uses", turning to Trik in the shower, he said. "I'm gonna be late tonight, don't wait up."

"Hey, another box, kinda small", announced Rabbit, taking out a long box and read the label on it. "Purple jennomite. Warning: do not touch by hand! Should it grow on you, run to the nearest earthbender."

"I can use some jennomite, may I?" asked Shoto. "I have low blood sugar."

Giving the box to Shoto, Rabbit pulled out, "Two bundles of parchment with strings around it. Lieutenant Lin, sir, I think these are the maps General How mentioned in his letter, sir."

"Lessee", said Haoqi, opening up one of them, the one for the western region. "Hey, look! They put the burnt forest near Senlin on the map and gave it a label."

"What is it called?" asked Trik, joining them once more along with Father Shu; Shoto and Yee Shoo moved to fill their spots under the shower.

"'Burnt Forest near Senlin Village'", read Haoqi aloud. "… Well, at least it's true."

"Oh, hey, what do think this pouch is?" asked Rabbit, showing the small strong-smelling green pouch to the tent.

"That's camphor bag", explained Rha-Mi in Lin's stead. "The smell might be a little off-the-chart but put the little bastard in your footlocker and your clothes will stop smelling damp. Kinda like how 'fight poison with poison' philosophy works."

"Want it?" asked Lin.

"_Need_ it!" Rha-Mi retorted gladly. "Hey, Rabbit, what's that bamboo tube in there?"

"Let's see", Rabbit took the tube and opened the cap. "Menthol powder."

"Great Mother Earth be praised!" Spear snatched it away quickly, and desperately if I might add. Without any care for proper decorum, our young surgeon let his towel slid down as he rigorously applied the cooling itch-repelling powder on his butt, not noticing how… erm, _uncomfortable_ the close-up nude view of him was making his friends. Around that time, the door was opened yet again, and on the mouth of the door were…

"I'm fine, really!" Bob protested to no avail. Neither Megumi, who pushed him from behind, nor Senshi, who pulled him by his wrist listened to his plea.

"Now, now, Bob", Senshi tried to reason again. "You nearly fainted from the heat. Cooling down under cold shower will help."

"Listen to him", Megumi added. "He knows what he's talking about, he's a doctor."

"But, I have taken a shower", Bob nailed his feet on the floor, kept resisting. "I'm fine."

"It won't hurt a bit", Megumi insisted. "Just one more time to— EEEEKKK!" and she just ran like hell from the spot.

"AARRGGHH!" too late… but better late than never; Spear quickly wrapped his towel back around his privacy. Senshi was gawking, clearly astonished by the… um, _view_, Megumi was probably scarred for life, but Bob, after snapping out of astonishment himself, took the opportunity to flee from his mentor, Senshi.

"What in the name of— _what are you doing naked in the shower tent?_"

"What's so strange about being naked in the shower tent? Would you rather me naked in the mess tent?" Spear snapped back. "Boy, sometimes you make some really dumb comment, you know that?"

"Wha— what?" Senshi gaped; scanning the tent full of laughing faces and pretty much half the camp, he frowned. "What are you guys doing _here_?"

"Oh, Lieutenant Lin is giving away stuffs!" Rabbit exclaimed excitedly; clearly he had lost tracked of what actually should happen with General How's package.

"Package?"

"Yeah! Look, Father Shu got pickle, and Colonel Haoqi got rice crackers, and stuffs!"

"Oh, really?" a rather sly, greedy, and rather hopeful smirk found its way to Senshi's mug as he shamelessly asked. "Do I, uh… do I get any?"

"Well, let's see", Spear took control of the box; rummaging the content, he pulled out. "Sword sharpener?"

"I don't have a sword", refused Senshi blatantly at the slab of black stone Spear was wiggling in front of his face.

"A bag of peanut?"

"Peanut makes me phlegmy."

"Pocket-sized glowing crystal on a tube?"

"I don't need those."

"A book entitled…" Spear read the title silently then shoved it to Trik evasively. "I'll keep it, it's clearly not for you, Senshi. What about this book instead: _'Master Goom-sha's Manual for White Turtle-Crane Style of Swordsmanship: 7__th__ Edition, with highly detailed illustration'_?"

"No."

"In that case, you won't be able to refuse this one as this is the last one", replied Spear. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

Spear shoved the empty box on Senshi, prompting a deep frown from the latter and laughter from the rest of the gang.

"That's all?" Senshi asked disappointedly. "No more?"

"Well, there's the wrapping cloth", offered Trik, handing over the green-brown velvet from before.

"Why would I want this?" snapped Senshi, throwing it back at Trik.

"Please, Major", Rha-Mi took the cloth from Trik almost lovingly with an offended expression and tone. "This is Ba Sing Se's velvet. I can make a nice scarf out of this."

"So, the box?" offered Spear again.

"Actually, sir", interrupted Rabbit. "Can I have the box? I just got a new ferret-mouse and he kinda needs a place to sleep."

"Well, you do have a humanitarian reason for wanting the box. Why not?" decided Spear easily. Turning back to Senshi, he grinned widely. "Well, I guess this just isn't your lucky day, Senshi. Why don't you come back next time?"

Mumbling some mixture of angry curses and incomprehensible growl, Senshi shoved the box back to Spear and stomped his way out of the tent, not forgetting to slam the door on the way out of course.

"Well", Spear clicked his tongue airily. "Some people just don't know gratitude. We'll just leave something 'nice' on his bunk later. Say, Rabbit, that ferret-mouse of yours, is he going to poop anytime soon?"

* * *

Late in the evening, while most of the camp were (sarcasm alert!) enjoying dinner, Lin stayed in his tent, cool in a set of cloth General How sent him, a piece of almond cookie bitten on his mouth, a cup filled with cool water held in one hand, a pen steady on the other while he resumed his memoir in peace; Taka and Rocky was out on an evening patrol, they had received a tip-off from some of the locals about bandits lurking around the camp only two hours earlier.

—

_(The crazy thing about being here is you simply can't treat these people like how you would normally treat them when you are proudly wearing Fire Nation Army uniform and leading fifty riders behind you. Now that I think about it, even during those times I never actually hated them or anything. But now, even when I have been taught that hating them is wrong, I somehow end up hating them even more than I did before. But then again, if I really do hate them, why do I feel like I somehow—)_

—

"**Attention all personnel! Incoming wounded!"**

Lin sighed, he put down his cup on the table, his half eaten cookie also; gulping down his snack already in his mouth, he hastily scribbled down the rest of his words, completing the last sentence of his memoir entry before hurriedly got out to assist the medic team anyway he could. In his hurry, he forgot to close his memoir and still glistening on the opened page was wet ink forming the words: _(—look to them as I would my friends back in Fire Nation.)_

"**Attention all personnel! More wounded arriving via tanks and carriages! Fortunately, dinner tonight will be canceled on their account!"

* * *

**

_Earth Kingdom… Earth Kingdom… _

_O land of Prithvi, Great Mother Earth, benevolent her blessing be…_

"Run!" the man screamed, lying on the floor, bloody as a butchered animal. "Ruun!"

—STABBED—

"Monster!" another man screamed, rage and fury as hell would provide, dashing back to the first man's corpse with a cleaver raised up high aimed at the 'monster' standing above it.

_Lush is thy plains, proud are thy mountain…_

—SLASHED—

"ARRGHH!" was the last sound that escaped the man's lips, his cleaver dropped, his life ripped.

"Run!" the rest of them screamed, terrified of the 'monster'.

_Strong are thy people, mighty is thy element…_

"No! Wait! Wait a—"

—SLASHED—

"_And red is thy blood_", the monster whispered, licking his bloody knife. The rest of them were running away. But, no matter… no matter… said the monster to himself. Besides, he pondered again as he lunged towards his next victim, what fun would the preys be if they did not run.

—SLASHED—

"Ack!"

"HYAHAHAHAHA!"

* * *

**Author's note:**

I'm back!

Let's see, one new name:

1. Goom-sha, from Korean 'geomsa' which means 'swordsman'

Not sure when the next chapter will be ready. For reasons I'd rather not admit, I'm using my old virus-infected laptop again, the one that 'faints' every time two or more programs operate simultaneously. So, I'd say in a week or two. We'll see. :)

'Boxes and Staircases' will be next!

To hpswst 101, thanks for the review! Oh yeah, I didn't really noticed about Jeong Jeong. Haha! Nice one. I guess Lin did inherit little from him. Poor guy…

To ciccia96, enjoy the new chapter!

Oh yeah, and for the other readers, feel free to review. You can write anything you want. I don't bite (that much) anymore... :)

Live well!


	70. Chapter 69

**Chapter 69 – Dear Memoir II**

**-Boxes and Staircases-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

Summertime in Earth Kingdom, specifically 44th Earth Kingdom Army Hospital, had never been, as any of the more senior occupants could recall, pleasant. Just moments ago, the camp's announcer had rallied the presence of any living members of the camps to work, all of them, whether they were actually trained medics or not; Earth Kingdom Field Hospitals, as Lin had come to understand, were _always_ shorthanded. Speaking of the midget, our young lieutenant who was just slightly taller than Bob, the shortest of the four army-students, was in the middle of the camp's square, kneeling on the ground with Rabbit, Trik, and a nurse beside a stretcher containing a young teenager not much older than Lin himself; the teenage soldier's head was covered completely by bloody bandages and semi-dried blood.

"—pulse, breathing: irregular", Trik sighed, eyes focused on nothing in particular, his attention was full on the wounded soldier's wrist he was pressing with his finger tips. "Head wound, blunt weapon. If we're fast, we can still save him", he dictated while peeking on the bandage; Nurse Huang Mei took note in a clipboard she was holding with a pencil. "Prep him, quick!"

On the doctor's last order, Lin and Rabbit, knowing their drill, each moved to pick up an end of the stretcher. But, Trik stopped them, well, Lin, anyway. "Not you, kid", he said to Lin. Ignoring the slightly bewildered Lin, Trik summoned a random male personnel in the form of Private Liu to replace Lin. Grabbing Lin's shoulder, he semi-pulled the boy away from the commotion so that they could converse better without having to shout at each other. "Look, I need you to round up the interns."

Interns… a term that might be a little foreign to Lin had Spear not explained it on their (slightly disastrous) way to pick up the four new kids weeks before; 'intern' means 'student' or 'apprentice'. Earth Kingdom scientists and medical practitioners, perhaps wanting to sound distinctive from the others of different professions, called their apprentices interns.

"Are you sure?" Lin asked, frowning slightly. "Is Haoqi okay with that?"

Oh right, as per the protocol of sending learners for army medic units, the interns must not, under any condition, handle any patients before they have undergone intensive training, tests, and examination by their respective maste— _professor_, sorry. So, in this case, Bob, Seito, Yee Shoo, and Shoto would have to study a little bit more under Senshi, Haoqi, Trik, and Spear respectively; mainly theoretical revision subjects about various surgical techniques, some hands-on practical on non-human and, preferably, already dead, objects (couple days ago, Lin walked into the mess tent just to find Trik supervising Seito dissecting a sausage), and other stuffs Lin did not really understand. And even if they did brilliantly, which they did, they would still need to receive a formal clearance to assist their professors with real human patients from headquarters through recommendation by Haoqi, the CO. But, of course, as we all know, the headquarters didn't really read their letters so it was all up to Haoqi, really.

"Yeah, we had a meeting 'bout it two days ago", said Trik. "Herd them to the prep-room, prep them— you know how, right?—, and gather them in the corner somewhere in the operating room if we're not there by then."

Still not believing the well-known prankster, Lin said. "I hold you responsible for everything", before walking away to the tent the four kids shared. On his way, striding of course, dodging several stretchers on the go, Lin came across Private Jou and Corporal Rha-Mi, not helping with the wounded but walking towards Lin's opposite direction each carrying two steamy buckets instead.

"Coming through, Lieutenant!" Rha-Mu exclaimed in his hurry; Lin jumped away quickly. "I'd ram into you if I had no humanity whatsoever, sir; these are our dinner I'm carrying."

"What's cooking?"

"Something yellow we dumped chucky potatoes into", Rha-Mi answered, examining the content of the bucket on his right hand. And on his left hand was, "And… something with gravy."

"What's in the gravy?" inquired Lin.

"Only the Nightcrow knows. Mwahahaha!" replied Rha-Mi, plus the creepy laugh.

Chuckling himself, Lin looked back at them as they moved to the latrine to dispose the abomination they had to call food on daily basis. Man… that's Earth Kingdom for you. Lin had never been in any other Earth Kingdom Army camps before this, even during his days in the Vanguard, but he was sure that while any other non-combat support unit probably shared their tragic living condition, the combat units probably had it better than the rest of them. Now, how could this best be explained…? Hmm… perhaps, a theory by Woo Fy, a famous Earth Kingdom sociologist who lived nearly half a millennium ago, 482 years ago, to be exact. Woo Fy was well-known for his extensive study in Earth Kingdom societal system and the first person who coined the terms 'boxes' and 'staircases'.

The Boxes and Staircases Metaphor explained Earth Kingdom societal system as being in each their own boxes and possessing their own hierarchies, or staircases. Woo Fy theorized that Earth Kingdom system, no matter what area, be it peasantry, soldiering, politics, or commerce had two characteristics. First, the 'box': each system or area belongs to a box exclusive only for the members of their system. Warriors had a box of their own any anyone who were not warriors could not get into their box, artisans had their box too and did not teach their craft to anyone outside their box, same thing with farmers who did not show, say, soldiers, how to tend a rice field. It was a more rigid time, five hundred years ago; when a person was born into a certain box, he or she would be doomed to live their life as a member of the box whether they like it or not. Unlike today, when a farmer's son could learn literature and be a scholar without offending the system or a merchant's child join the army in his own freewill. However, some degree of membership exclusivity still existed; like how only people with noble background were allowed to join the Vanguard units or enter Ba Sing Se's Royal Palace.

Second, the 'staircases', which would explain a lot, I hope: representing hierarchy which exists in each box, each box houses a staircases which represent various ranks within the system. A prime example would be this box labeled 'Army Hospital'; at the top of the staircases was the Commanding Officer, whoever he might be, One step below him perched the second-in-command, then came the doctors, nurses, and finally the medics and miscellaneous personnel. That was not all, of course, for boxes can belong to a larger box and perched on a staircase above or below another box.

Of course, 'Army Hospital' was but a box sitting inside a bigger box labeled 'Combat Support Regiment', which was also housed by an even bigger box labeled 'Earth Kingdom Army', and so on. So, yeah… the 'boxes and staircases' particularly the 'staircases' bit, explained a lot about Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital's lousy meals, constant lack of personnel and equipments, and… well, in general, their miserable existence.

You see, adhering to the Metaphor, 'Earth Kingdom Military' box had a set of staircases in it with 'Earth King' perching on the top overlooking 'the Council of Five' below him ('Earth King' has the privilege of being on the top of every staircases in every boxes). And below that should be the box 'Earth Kingdom Army' _in which_ 'Council of Generals' ruled, undeterred by two other boxes below; a bigger and more fancy looking, perched on higher step, called 'Earth Kingdom Combat Regiments', and then a beat-up, worn-out, stinkin', Spiritsforsaken 'Earth Kingdom Combat Support Regiments' sat on the bottom.

So, yeah… Army Field Hospitals, which, although perched on a relatively high place among others Combat Support Units, sat inside the aforementioned beat-up, worn-out, stinkin', Spiritsforsaken 'Earth Kingdom Combat Support Regiments'; received their funding from taxpayers and Imperial Treasury after, and only after, the said funding went through filters in the forms of the combat units, higher-ups in the Council, who all enjoyed higher priority. Basically, Combat Support got the leftovers of the funding. Prime quality rice and meat went to the Council of Generals, based on a fort town of Tay Kho, comfortably way behind the frontline, then to Spirits-know-how-many combat units, and, of course, none would be left for the combat support; the same thing happened to freshly packaged quality tea leaves cultivated from the famous plantation in Mount Teja, first-grade lice-free clothes, uniforms, blankets, and bedding equipment, tightly sealed jugs of sweet wine, fresh and succulent farm products like fruits, veggies, and eggs.

All that was left for the combat support were stinky rice, rotten meat, cloth items that come with holes, lice, and sometimes stain of unknown substance as bonus, tea that produced unusually black color and indescribably horrible taste once brewed (which would break Iroh's heart terribly just by whiffing it), wines that came in bottle and taste bitter as sinful remorse, and week-old farm product like funky smelling yellowish cabbages, squishy darkening apples, dangerously soft oranges, and eggs which could give you rashes should you even touch it raw.

Yes, some might call it discrimination; but, it was in the system, heck, it was the system itself, so it was _legal_! Nothing any of them could do about it, certainly nothing Lin could do about it. Not that he wasn't concerned or anything; he had to live at the bottom of the 'Earth Kingdom Army' box along with the rest of the lot, didn't he? That meant he had to consume their rotten rice and meat, with their wormy vegetable at the side, drink their abomination of tea, have their rotten fruit as desert while wearing clothes of questionable quality and history provided by the camp while conversing about their gut-wrenching wine which he would have to drink when he reached the coming-of-age (part of tradition for boys' coming-of-age ceremony in Earth Kingdom; sharing a cup of their very first alcoholic beverage with their fathers). If only his doting father Jiang knew about this… he'd march his battalion down the camp and scorch anything in sight just so that Lin wouldn't have to live there, maybe…

Smiling to himself, Lin walked through the darkening sky towards the particularly new tent, the one set up for the interns; usually, during rush hour such as this, Haoqi issued a house arrest for the four of them. Knocking the door, Lin caught a sudden rustling sound from inside the tent. Suspecting the worst, he opened the door without invitation, much to Yee Shoo and Seito's pale sweaty faces' surprise. Sitting on their respective beds, looking strangely formal, Seito and Yee Shoo grinned nervously at the incoming lieutenant; Shoto, uncaring as usual, was half-lying on his bed reading a thick book with a picture of human entrails on the cover, Bob was behind his desk writing something quickly to hide his own awkward response.

"What's going on?" Lin drawled, eyeing each and every one of them suspiciously.

"Nothing", replied Seito quickly through his fake grin.

Now Lin's stare was focused on the two troublemakers. Not wanting to waste time with useless interrogation, Lin chose the foolproof method of acquiring the truth; no, not by asking the meekest of the four, Bob, but by turning the question on Shoto, the most-unlikely-to-lie one.

"They were (gesturing to Seito and Yee Shoo who suddenly tensed up) trying to sneak out", Shoto said in his usual flat tone. "They tried to persuade me to come along but I said no. They were in the middle of asking Bob when you knocked."

"Dude!" Yee Shoo protested, much to Shoto's confused frown.

"From your tone, I assume you are unhappy", he concluded.

"You just snitched on us!" Yee Shoo said again.

"Because Lieutenant Lin asked", replied Shoto matter-of-factly, frowned deeper as if bewildered by this simple fact escaping Yee Shoo's mind.

"You should've… I don't know, _lied_!"

"But we have no agreement of some sort on this matter beforehand", said Shoto again, still with the same tone and expression. "How should I know that I must lie during the incoming spontaneous engagement without a briefing or something beforehand?"

"Guys", Lin said, narrowing his eyes sharply at the two criminals, stern as he could get. But, before he could continued, Seito interrupted.

"Okay, we get it! It won't happen again", he grumbled.

"Of course, it won't", said Lin; though a part of him wanted to smile as he delivered the news, he did not. "You guys've got your clearances."

"Really!" Yee Shoo, exclaimed, beaming, exchanging look of excitement with Seito; even Bob jumped a little in his seat and Shoto showed something akin to mild surprise on his face.

"Not so fast!" Lin quickly barred the door with his arm, nearly toppled over when Seito and Yee Shoo, both a little taller than him, Seito twice wider than him, rushed to the door. "My order is to get you all to the operating room. Now, if you all will be so kindly as to drop whatever you're doing and follow me in an orderly fashion…"

Lin let his hand go; the interns, Seito and Yee Shoo still grinning, followed him out quietly. Their earlier enthusiasm, unsurprisingly, faded a little as Lin led them through the center of the camp where numerous wounded people were still being sorted and checked by various medical staffs; Spear was pale-faced as he performed a standardized injuries examination on an unconscious man with missing left leg in the pool of the man's own blood, Trik was busy restraining a young man who was bleeding all over and thrashing about half-consciously, assisted by Nurses Megumi and Jen, who were holding down the man's arms and legs, respectively, and Father Shu who put his hand on the man's chest lightly and shouted 'it's okay, it's okay!' to no avail. A little distance away, Haoqi was dictating fast to Rabbit who scribbled on his notepad swiftly, Lin caught some words like 'inform the 57th…', 'overflow…', and a rude curse on 'fire-spitters…'; Senshi was not doing any better, ordering a nurse to get an unconscious Earth Kingdom soldier with a large burnt scar visible on his bare chest to the operating room as quickly as possible, albeit with a somewhat proud expression and tone the other doctors did not expressed.

And all those scenes did not escape the four interns' eyes…

Lin, benevolent as he was trying to be, led the four kids without dillydallying into Haoqi's office; the multipurpose wooden building had three entrances: one directly led to the recovery room, another one to the preparation/treatment room, and the other to Rabbit's office. Rabbit's office was adjacent to the preparation/treatment room, which led to the operating room; while recovery room, like preparation/treatment room, could be reach through on of the two exits from operating room. I kinda looked like this:

(entrance) Rabbit's Office—(entrance) Treatment/preparation Room—Operating Room—Recovery Room (entrance)

Lin purposely chose the recovery room entry; he wanted to give the kids a little room for breathing before they had to get any closer to the wounded. It was not possible for the wounded to be brought through this entry because they would have to be prepared first to receive surgery in the preparation/treatment room, so the other two entries would be no doubt packed with bleeding maimed people. An intention appreciated by the kids, it seemed; Yee Shoo and Seito no longer had their grins, Bob looked like he was about to cry, and even Shoto looked slightly pale.

Yep, I've said it before and I'll say it again: war is hell…

"You guys okay?" asked Lin softly, feeling a little guilty for playing this part of his, no matter how small, on the shattering of their innocent worlds. "Need a minute?"

"I-I saw a man d-died", whispered Bob weakly; he looked as if he was going to puke. "O-out there… he was screaming and then- then…"

Bob slumped down on a nearby bed; recovery room was filled with beds lining up neatly against the walls. Seito and Yee Shoo followed suit and only Shoto managed to stay on his feet; all three shared the same shocked reaction to what they had just seen. The view of numerous people covered in wound and blood in the amount that no human being should be allowed to sustain is harsh enough to shake any grown men's constitution physically and spiritually, let alone four little kids; it was actually a testament to their strength, having been able to witness that without passing out on the way.

"Breathe", Lin said. "Just breathe. Try to calm down."

"How can you calm down…?" whispered Seito weakly with cracked voice. "It was…"

"Horrible, I know", Lin finished the sentence for him. "That's war."

_You should've known what you signed up for_, Lin almost added this. Luckily, the kinder side of him decided not to. Besides, he did not know much about this 'Combat Medic Internship' thing of theirs yet; it was not impossible that Seito et al. did not know beforehand of the things they would have to handle. Face it, it would not be the first time for the Army to hide and sugar-coat the ugly side of war in order to gain profits in some way from the populace; to mask deaths with glory, and horror with honor.

"Feeling better?" Lin asked them again after several minutes spent in silence.

"I'm ready", said Shoto. The boy had, surprisingly, kept his composure the whole time; this side of him somehow reminded Lin heavily of Mai and Zhong the Viper.

"Me, too", the next one came unexpectedly from Bob; though still shaken and traces of tears had not completely gone from his eyes, he gulped with forced conviction. "We'll do this sooner or later."

"Yeah", said Yee Shoo, almost whispering, as he and Seito also got up. "If Colonel Haoqi believes we are ready, than we must not disappoint him."

"Are you sure?" Lin asked again; various responses from them including, Bob's steady stare, Yee Shoo's nod, Seito's loud gulp following his grunt, and Shoto's curt 'yes'. "Then, let's do this."

* * *

Across the ocean to the west, far, far away from the chaos of war…

Azula shot up, gasping, cold sweat flooded her forehead; lying on her large bed was Mai, unstirred by Azula's sudden movement, was sleeping peacefully. She had just got back from Amber Island a couple of days ago and already had she been confined by Azula in the palace for 'a week's worth of sleepover', as Azula had eloquently put it.

Back to Azula; a bad dream had woken her up… something about stuffed panda attacking her while she defended herself with her firebending to no avail (the blue fire she was so proud of turned into blue-colored cotton candy upon contact with the panda's fluffy fur), then Ty Lee threw her a whip which turned into a giant black and white beaded bracelet while Zuko mocked her with the annoying singsonged 'nya nya nya nyaaah!' and poking his tongue; Mai was somehow absent from the dream.

Sighing, the princess leaped down the bed and walked towards a table in the center of the room. From the table, she reached out to a small goblet and a pitcher, and poured herself a gobletful of cold water she drank down rather greedily; the night was exceedingly hot, even for summer. Helping herself to more water, she tried to push the thought of a certain beaded bracelet, similar to the one in her dream, away from her mind. She was still furious and hurt about Lin leaving suddenly and without saying goodbye to her, especially since Azula always thought that, like Ozai, Lin had always favored Azula for her skills (which was somewhat true).

But, Lin said goodbye to Zuko, even to Mai whom she was sure he was acquainted with less better than he was with Azula; although, Lin did visit her in her room while she was sound asleep, leaving nothing behind but a bracelet and a rose. No notes, no explanation… just a bracelet that was practically hers and a stinkin' rose she had let wither. Even though it took her almost no time to get over the initial hurt, what's with her father requesting her presence in her first ever war meeting attendance, sitting on her father's left hand side (traditionally, a place for a daughter, just like how a son is on the right hand side), the pain in her heart still hadn't gone away completely.

She let out a sigh, then emptying her third glass of water. Dragging her feet lazily towards her bed, she sat down on the fluffy red-covered mattress and opened her nightstand drawer as quietly as possible. From it, she took the beaded bracelet in question; she knew it was the very same one that had been given to him years ago in the dark lawn in the Lin Family Estate, the very same one she briefly lost the previous winter, and returned to her four months later. She knew because there was a tiny crack on one of the white beads; Lin had said that once he accidentally banged his wrist on a beam to break a fall, hence the crack. Rubbing the tip of her finger against the cracked surface of the bead, she let her mind wonder a little, reminiscing fond memories she had spent with Lin; that was when her father's voice reminded her coldly, _'emotions are for the weak.'_

Yes, emotions are for the weak, not for a Fire Princess, because a Fire Princess is never weak…

Shoving the drawer back, with the bracelet back in it, rather forcefully than she had anticipated, Azula laid back down on her bed and turned to face Mai whose eyes were wide opened; well, as wide as they normally did anyway.

"Can't sleep?" asked Mai; ragged tired voice betrayed her sober face.

"Bad dream", said Azula, shuffling around to turn her back on Mai. Slight shake on the bed told her Mai did the same. "Night", Azula called, answered by Mai's low grunt.

The Princess couldn't help but smirked at this; a feeling akin to fondness but not exactly fondness (you can be sure of that because Ozai taught her this one) erupted in her chest. Sure, yeah… Lu Ten had died, Lin had gone away, same thing with Ty Lee, Uncle Iroh was rarely available, and Zuko was as good as didn't exist at all; even Mom, she ignored a prick in her chest, was probably dead too. But, it did not matter, right? Azula pondered, because even without all those people around her, she still had Mai, a friend, a _possession_… a _property_…

Just like Daddy said…

* * *

"Do we really have to be here?" whispered Taka uncomfortably. He, Lin, and Rocky were steady on the corner of the bustling operation room, the room with eight tables grouped into two rows of four, away from everybody's way in the corner. Like Taka, Lin did feel like he was intruding something here.

"Sadly, yes", murmured Lin. Yep, sadly, the three of them had to be there. Colonel Haoqi had ordered them to stay in the operating room just in case any of the four interns, to quote Haoqi's words, _flipped_. Apparently, it would not be the first time for a medically qualified yet inexperienced surgeon to go hysteric or at least faint in the middle of the operation session; and now we have four less-medically qualified and inexperienced _kids_ doing grown men's jobs here.

So, in this stuffy room, rich with the aroma of medicine, blood, and Death, Lin could do nothing but observe, observed how indelicate the medics' job might seem to many people. Cutting people up to save them…pumping them with bottled blood through thin tube… putting them to sleep with the combination of chemicals and acupuncture… It all seemed weird and foreign to Lin who was wondering if his grandmother had been a part of something like this in her youth. He would later on learnt contradictory evidences, of course, but more about that later.

The effort it took to save one life… Lin had pretty much worked out that one table required at least three people to work on: a surgeon, an assisting nurse, and a person-who-make-people-sleep (he'd learn later that they were called _'anesthetists'_, people trained in the way of alchemy and acupuncture restricted to the use of subduing nerves and muscles (took a week for him to learn how to pronounce the word right). A patient lying down on the table, a surgeon worked on the opened wound with various instruments, sometimes sinking the hand elbow-deep into the patient's inside, an assisting nurse helped the taking and handing over of instruments, and keeping the wound open with some hook-thingy they called 'retractor', and the anesthetist applied hair-thin needles on the patient's head, for full-body tranquilizing, or partially on a specific body parts, sometimes they also applied a sweet smelling clear liquid by dripping it in a strange looking mask that looked like a small cup with which they covered the patient's mouth and nose. All done just for one life, the three worked as one team. Sometimes, though, depending on the case, a table might need more than one surgeon or nurse. Luckily, now that they had interns for each doctors, this need seemed to be remedied a little…

A rather upsetting realization came to Lin; perhaps this was the reason why the Army set up this internship thing in the first place. Certainly, providing fresh green university graduates seemed cheaper and easier than rounding up skilled experienced doctors from across the Kingdom. But, then again, why would Lin care? This was not his Nation…

Lin could not help but silently praised and prayed for the interns. Shoto might be quite steady alongside Spear and judging from Spear's recurring praises, the boy was doing a good job, but the extreme pale on the uncovered part of his face looked worrisome. Bob was crying outright, tears flooded his brown eyes as he clumsily helped Senshi with his patient; Senshi's constantly berating the boy for his display of 'cowardice unbefitting a true Earth Kingdom medic' did not help ease the boy's nerve at all. Yee Shoo did not laugh at Haoqi's joke about meatball, noodle, and surgery, as he usually would; even slightly glance, he did not. Instead, he was concentrating hard on his task of assisting his professor in removing fragments of shattered bones from a man's intestines. Seito also focused on his task, holding a man's amputated leg steady while his Professor Sho (Trik) was multitasking: suturing the man's stump and defending poor Bob from Senshi.

"Cut the kid some slack, Major!" bellowed Trik above all other sound. "That's it, kiddo, steady and gently", he added much more kindly to Seito before raising his voice again at Senshi. "This is their first day! And you're supposed to teach and guide, not to terrorize hem!"

"Hear, hear!" Spear's support came though the said man did not seem like he was paying attention at all the whole time.

"Shut up!" shouted Senshi, almost shrieking, startling Bob and his assisting nurse. Face crimson of anger, he shouted more loudly. "Bob is _my_ intern and I have every right to yell or shout or otherwise physically and mentally punish him for his incompetence should I feel the need to do it! It is my right, _my right_, as his professor!"

"Right? _Right_, you say?" scoffed Spear angrily. Turning completely to the insolent fool, he assumed an authoritative tone he wished he would never ever have to assume again. "In that case, by _my right_ as the Head Surgeon of this stinking hellhole of a hospital, I order you, Major Senshi 'Sh**head' Mor to LAY OFF! Happy?"

No, Senshi was not happy… his face twitched a little as if trying but failing to say something equally rude but Spear did have a point: within the confinement of this four walls called operating room, Spear had the right to order him around. Unable to channel his anger to Bob, who was still shaken, he re-routed all his frustration towards unfortunate Nurse Xiao Ling who was assisting him.

"I'm done!' Senshi said rather sharply. "Bob, close this for me. And don't _you_ (at Nurse Xiao Ling) help him!" then at Spear again, still sharply. "Or does our exalted Head Surgeon disagree that a supposedly qualified university graduate is capable of closing an open wound? Hmm?"

Spear, calm as before, turned to Bob. Smiling, or Lin though he was smiling, his eyes turned to a curved slit and his cheeks rose behind his surgical mask, Spear asked Bob kindly. "How are holding on, Bob?"

"F-fine, sir…" Bob sobbed weakly; hands trembled rather violently holding a needle and string.

"Can you close the wound by yourself?" Spear asked again.

"Y-yes, sir…"

"Do it, then", said Spear. "Don't worry, you'd do great. Trust me; whatever you do, you can't do any worse than that patient have endured. He has just, after all, survived the ineptitude of Senshi Mor."

Chuckling slightly at the joke, at Senshi's expense, of course (but, nobody cares, right?), Bob resumed his work with more steady hands after Spear promised him to come over once he finished with his own patient. Major Senshi 'Sh**head', biting back a venomous reply, moved towards a new table at his side, on which a large rough hairy man was already lying unconscious. Snapping at Nurse Huang Mei for being too busy changing Trik's rubber gloves to help him with his own, he took one look at the rough man with punctured chest in front of him and backed away from him as if from a pile of dung.

"Will somebody get _this_ off my table, please?" he called with a rather patronizing tone.

"Come again?" growled Spear, stabbing a sharp glare at Senshi. "What's wrong with _that_ patient, Major?"

"This one is a Northern barbarian", said Senshi matter-of-factly. "Look at his chest! There's a rock-turtle tattoo on it. Hmph! Barbarian and their pagan beliefs…"

"_Major_", said Haoqi with obvious angry trembling voice, emphasizing in the military related word. "Go and treat that patient _now_. And don't make me go over there!"

"No way in hell", refused Senshi, backing away even further. "The order on which patient come first is clearly defined by the Army Manual: out soldiers, our citizens, allied soldiers, allied citizens, allied mercenaries, colonial soldiers, colonial citizens, and then enemy soldiers. This person—"

"—is an Earth Kingdom citizen, you nimrod!" bellowed Spear heatedly; having already finished with the soldier he was working on, he took quick steps toward Senshi and the dying Northerner. "And we don't list people by status and nationality here; we list them by how close they currently are to the Spirit World, pardon my spiritual reference, Father (Father Shu shrugged lightly). In here, he who bleeds the most gets treated first!"

"Not by me, he's not!" Senshi yelled back. "I haven't gone to med school just to treat a barbarian when there are loyal and courageous soldiers of our great Kingdom lying outside and needing my skills!"

"Skills? _Skills_! You, skills? Hah!" Spear laughed sarcastically. "You and the word 'skill' can't even exist in the same sentence without the word 'not' in between!"

"Wha— Colonel! Can you make Haoren stop questioning the rules set out by the Council and my skills?"

"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!" finally, Haoqi reached his boiling point. Vein popped out on his crimson temple, he addressed Spear. "Spear, can you take it?" Spear said yes and began working immediately, not before taking off and throwing his bloody gloves over his shoulder onto Senshi's face, of course. Then, at Senshi, several octaves rose on Haoqi's voice as he ordered Senshi to. "Get out there and do the next one!"

And juts like that, all is well in Death's wonderland…

Still on the corner, probably forgotten by everybody, Taka whispered to Lin. "Do they really have that kind of rule in the Army?"

"What rule?" asked Lin.

"That one about who can get treatment first?" said Taka. "I mean, we're mercs, right? That'd mean we're 'allied mercenaries'. We're like number five on the list."

"How should I know?" shrugged Lin.

"You're in the Army", Taka pointed out. "Don't you know anything about this? Whatdya think, Rock?"

Rocky grunted and shrugged.

"Yeah, you're probably right", replied Taka, nodding. "They _need_ us. Surely, that gives us some leverage. But still, I think we _should_ charge them some money."

No reply from both Lin and Rocky, Taka went back to keeping an eye for any fallen interns. Until, five minutes later…

"Uh-oh… man's down…"

"Where?"

"Urgh!" Taka ran out, gagging.

Holding back a very rude verbal response, Lin sighed and muttered the more socially acceptable. "Moron…", a low grunt from Rocky, Lin caught as. "Idiot…"

Turning to the earthbender, Lin said. "You know, you don't talk much but when you talk… you _talk_!"

"…Thanks."

* * *

'Twas early morning when their trial finally ended. Of all four interns, Yee Shoo was the only one down; in the middle of his fifteenth patient, the boy, already pale and wobbling, had vomited in the middle of the room. He had been escorted out by Taka and come back few minutes later, only to walk out again because he was trembling so much he could not hold any instruments right. Seito, as soon as the session was over, had collapsed on the square; Rocky had to carry him back to the interns' tent where the boy, according to the latest report had regained consciousness and was in the middle of crying for his mother. Shoto, though he had displayed nothing short of rocklike determination, threw up in the latrine and had to literally drag himself back to his tent. Bob, the meekest, had surprisingly outdone the other three. Sure, he was crying all the way through the session and on the way to his tent, but at least he was running when he went back to his tent, still wearing his bloody surgical gown, though.

As for our heroes, Lin and co., well earned cups of tea they were enjoying were forgotten on the mess tent table. Rocky had walked back to the tent few minutes ago, yawning; Taka collapsed from sleep deprivation on the table; Lin, who was used to what he often call 'wolfbat sleep pattern' sat there, just sat there, thinking…

Had his grandmother experienced anything like this…? Even as a bystander, Lin had had a hard time keeping himself together. And to think that he often voiced his underestimation of his grandmother's military service as a 'mere medic officer' to the old lady.

And then, his father and uncles… They were combat soldiers, also a rumor that the 212th Battalion had made a touchdown on Senlin yet again. More unsettling was the fact that these wounded soldiers came from the frontline to the west. Could it be that Jiang and the other had been the ones who—

Lin quickly shook the thought off… the idea that his father was the one who— _No, no, no!_ he told himself. But, even he could not deny that the possibility existed.

And to think that he used to admired soldiers like his father, the ones with skills, strength, and valor… Only now did he realize that one side's skills, strength, and valor equals the other side's pain, suffering, and deaths.

Unable to stomach the thought any longer, he got up from his seat. Deciding not to disturb Taka, for the lad had also earned some measure of peace, he walked out of the nearly empty mess tent. Nobody talked to him, saying goodnight, or simply greeted, everybody was too tired for anything like that. Haoqi was positively drunk, snoring on his seat with a bottle on his hand. Spear, one of his drinking buddies, was alternating between drunken stupor and sleep talking. Trik was no better than them, slumping sideways, he was telling the stories about a dog he once had to Father Shu who was positively sleeping.

On the other side, Nurses grouped together, all were also either half-conscious or practically dead. Nurse Huang Mei and Jen were sleeping back to back, Nurse Xiao Ling rested her chin on her folded hands on the table, gazing onto nothing in particular. Nurse Megumi tried to greet Lin but what came out was something that sounded like a bullfrog croak, so she just smiled weakly at him, the smile Lin had a hard time to return.

Out of the tent, Rha-Mi and Rabbit walked pass him into the tent in silence, both looked exhausted. Lin walked across the square towards his tent, waving a goodnight, though the dawn was already breaking, to Bullhorn. Inside his tent, he found Rocky on his bed, blanket pulled above his head, and his own memoir sat open on his table. Tch… he was getting careless, he told himself. But, then again, trespassing rarely happens to a place where three accomplished martial artists sleep, so… meh…

Though every fiber of what was left of his consciousness decreed a long long sleep, effective immediately, Lin decided to take sometime to reread his latest entry; he distinctively remembered being interrupted when he was writing it. That was when he caught the last words of his latest entry, the one he barely remembered he wrote: _(…look to them as I would my friends back in Fire Nation…)_

Just like that, the fire inside him, the one he had been forcing down ever since he left his glorious Fire Nation in shame, sparked back to life… strong, overwhelming. His hands trembled, tears rolled down his face like rain. He missed them…

His missed Lu Ten, he missed Zuko and Azula… it felt like it was a lifetime ago when he was still tracking down Azula across the Palace when she ditched training and making sure Zuko did not fall when he made him scale the Palace rooftops; _two_ lifetimes ago when he and Lu Ten were working on a miniature catapult trap, sneaking off into the market to but ink and skin-pouch, or into the woods to gather materials.

He missed his grandparents, though one was no longer with him and the other one, his coward of a grandfather, was just as good as dead… but he missed him still…

He missed his father and uncles. And his father had promised him a sneak-peek on Form 20: Fire Claws, his Uncle Kang had also promised to assist him should Lin finally reach this stage for Form 20 was one of Kang's specialties. Uncle Masa, too, had unexpectedly agreed to show him how to best utilize this move in combat. And, of course, Uncle Jung had promised him to be his sparring partner for the remainder of the winter since his battalion had been disbanded following the death of General Lu, the Red Maelstrom, and he had not been reinstated since. And also his adventurous Uncle Fu had also said to him that he had gained Jiang's permission to take Lin for a trip to the Northern Korkea Mountain in the Earth Kingdom provided that Lin mastered up to Form 20 before spring. But, of course, it had all changed due to his falling off his pedestal; him being incarcerated, a fugitive, a criminal, and all that…

He also missed Biao and his many relatives. Biao, one that he would be proud to call a sister; funny how little thought he spared her ever since he left his Nation, his glorious Fire Nation. Also, Aunt Bing… he made a mental note to find out more about her illness from the doctors here; who knows, they might know a cure that the entire Fire Nation did not. And Lady Wen, he wondered if his father had made their relationship a more permanent one yet; a betrothal, at least…

And Spirits know how he missed Master Piandao and the others, of how Mater Piandao, though as wise as Iroh, and love to test people just as much, rarely spoke in riddles and confusing proverbs. He missed Shin, a man that he secretly idolized; the thought of how Shin became one of the most powerful swordsmen he had ever met despite only having one arm never failed to encourage Lin in his effort to rediscover his severed connection to his inner fire (he had lost his ability to firebend again after his duel with Iroh; it was, after all, a moment of intense rage). He also missed Yoku, a kind heart hidden in snobbish distant demeanor. He missed Ren, a man with the kindest heart of all. He missed the twins, too; he smiled a little thinking of how they were probably in the middle of hanging Yoku's undergarment on the flagpole again, right about now. And, of course, Yuu, the man cursed with bad luck yet gifted with a heart of gold, and Zhong, a prodigy of the sword who, despite his cold personality, was loyal to his friends and respectful to the Art. Heck, he even missed Fat the Butt-tight! And his class… Oboro and the others... and he had had a week's worth of fun stuffs planned for them, too…

He missed them all, he missed his old life…

And, above all… he wanted to go home…

* * *

The dawn was breaking, a new day came greeting… yet, there he was, the 'monster'…

Crouching low inside the bushes, he let his long saggy untied hair veiled his face; it tickled his forehead but he let it. The villagers had grown bold in just a few moments, he thought, licking his bloody butcher knife. At the night he struck, at the night he slaughtered, at the night they ran and screamed and bleed and… died. At the dawn, they had him on the run. Aww… no fun! He liked it best when they ran and screamed and bleed and… died… he hated it when they fought back. No fun!

Crouching that low for about five minutes tolled his leg a little; a sudden cramp he could not hold for more than a few seconds made him shifted a little. Just a little shift, a little shift, yet so much noise. It alerted them, it alerted those vermin, signaling them of his hiding spot. One man, holding a sharpened stick, jerked his head towards the noise; his green eyes lit up in horror as the torch light fell upon the face of the 'monster'. "There he is!" the man yelled. And that was the last word the sharpened stick wielding man with green eyes had got to say in this short life of his.

"There!" another sharpened stick wielding man screamed, pointing at the 'monster' and his victim. "There! He killed Mister Hoi! There! Over there!"

_Otte-rats and pestilence!_ The 'monster' cursed. Oh, how he longed to nip them off one by one… Bet their flesh rip in a nice sound… bet their blood sweet like morning dew… but, too many… simply too many…

The cramp promptly forgotten, the 'monster' resumed flight. Hot on his tail, a group of men wielding sticks and pitchforks and spades and torches. _Wanna stop, wanna stop… wanna stop and rip them apart, wanna stop and HEAR THEIR FLESH RIP IN A NICE SOUND! Wanna stop, I wanna stop… wanna stop to rip them apart, TASTE THEIR BLOOD WHICH IS SWEET LIKE MORNING DEW! WANNA STOP!_

But, no… no, no, no, no, NO! Too many, too many…

So, the 'monster' ran; faster and faster, deeper and deeper into the woods. _But, wanna stop, wanna stop… NO! RUN!_

_Gotta run, gotta run… GOTTA RUN! _

And so, the 'monster' kept running. His pursuers did not relent. Tch! How foolish and relentless and ignorant they were. STUPID! Wanna stop, wanna stop… but gotta run, gotta run…

In front of him was light; he had reached the end of the woods but slow down he did not. A bad choice, one might think, for immediately at the edge of the woods was a slope. Losing footing yet gaining speed, he lost his balance and rolled down the slope like a ball, bouncing here and there but did not stop rolling. 'Till even land he reached, sore all over his body he got; his pursuers were scaling down the slope slower than he did albeit with more grace and dignity.

_Otte-rats and pestilence!_ He was cornered…

For running with fast current behind the 'monster' was the Nan Shan; its water deep and treacherous. He could stay and fight, he could stand down and be judged, he could take a leap and risk death. Oh, how he wanted to stay… but he had got to run…

_Mother, o' Great Mother… Protect me, be my shield…_

The pursuer at the very front had barely stepped on the even land when the monster, despite common logic, took a leap of faith into the Nan Shan and its treacherous current, and did not resurface. They stood there, still holding on to their sticks and pitchforks and spades and torches, waiting for any sign of confirmation of whether the 'monster' survived or not.

"Crazy bastard…" one of them spat, breaking the silence at last. Unanimously deciding that the 'monster' did not survive silently, they retraced back to their village.

Ah… if only they knew…

* * *

The next morning… 44th Army Field Hosti—_pital_. Sorry…

"Is that today's paper?" asked Spear, sitting down on the table with his tray of food.

"Yep", Haoqi replied, not peeling his eyes off the front page news.

"Can I have it after you?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" blabbered Spear. Haoqi had never said 'nope' when this question was asked before.

"I'm gonna need it for a while", said Haoqi, still reading. "I need to ask the Headquarter about this…"

"About what?" asked Spear, munching his bread with as much effort as if he was munching on a carpet. "About us getting our morning paper on time? Don't! They'll deliver it twenty-four hours late again if you told them."

Haoqi looked up, not laughing. Spear promptly understood something big was going on in the paper. Haoqi held out the paper's front page for Spear to see: _'Terror of Nan Shan: Zaq the Butcher Strikes Again!'

* * *

_

**Author's Note:**

I set up a deadline for this update fro Christmas; kinda glad I missed it. This chapter is not really Christmasy.

I am really really not sure when the next chapter will come up. Sorry. Definitely next year, though. :)

Names:

1. Woo Fy, from Wu Dingliang, a Chinese anthropologist, and Fei Xiaotong, a Chinese sociologist. Never know what the difference between the two disciplines is…

2. Tay Kho, from Greek word 'teikhos', which means 'fortification'.

3. Teja, a Latvian word which means 'tea'.

4. Hoi, Cantonese for 'harm' or 'kill'.

Oh, and although in the monster's internal dialog there are lines about tasting blood, he is not a vampire! I repeat, NOT a vampire! Just a cold-blooded murderer who likes to lick a knife he uses to kill people, is all.

To hpswst 101, thanks for the review! I let my laptop update the software a little and now it's buffed up a bit. Still lame, though. How I miss my trusty, marginally more powerful desktop… And it's got my games there too. T_T

And the monster is not Hei Bai; he used a knife, right? :)

The village is just some random unnamed village near the Nan Shan River, nothing fancy. More about the monster as the story progress.

Now that I think about it, Bob didn't get anything from the package too. Hmm… maybe he just didn't need one, didn't want one, was given one off-scene, or it's just my own usual carelessness, whichever sounds nicer. :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


	71. Chapter 70

**Chapter 70 –Dream**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

_In a meadow, vast and… erm, somewhat crooked, they stood; two soldier boys of their respective clans, two of the most powerful ruling families in the Fire Nation, Land of Dragons. Lu Ten stood with pride in his black and gold Royal Armor, the kind that is worn only by the members of the exalted Imperial Family who has proven his/her worth in the filed of battle, held in his left hand was the Imperial Banner, black, golden-trimmed, and tasseled, fluttering by the slight breeze; at his right hand side was his brother-in-arms, the pride of the Lin Family, a bloodline that had produced some of the very best firebender warriors known in history. Magnificent in his clan's ceremonial armor, black with crimson-trim, with his clan's taiji emblem on the back, in his right hand his held his clan's banner, Lin Family's taiji circle embroidered in the middle of the Fire Nation insignia._

"_Ready, bro?" asked Prince Lu Ten, his usual grin was on his face, amber eyes fixed on the horde of bloodthirsty axe-wielding rabid purple sea-bunnies in front of them._

"_Rhetorical, bro", the other soldier boy grinned back, Lin, the Dragon of the Deep Forest, had never felt so alive. Finally, a showdown! Ever since they were little boys who could barely produce tiny sparks, they had been wanting to one day fight side by side like this. And now, when both of them were finally of age, when both of them had become two of the best firebenders in their generation, now… the time had come…_

"_On three", said Lu Ten, raising his flagpole._

"_One…" Lin started counting, also raising his flagpole._

"_Two…" Lu Ten turned to Lin and grinned wider._

"_THREE!" they both stabbed their poles on the ground and dashed forward yelling like mad._

"_ARRRGGHHH— wait, wait, wait!"_

"_What?" snapped Lin impatiently. Didn't Lu Ten know that rule #1 of running-towards-your-enemies-yelling-like-mad is __**not to stop**__? _

"_I forgot to tell you something!"_

"_Tell me what?"_

"_Remember you secret stash of cookies hidden in your wardrobe?"_

"_Is it my secret stash of cookies hidden in my wardrobe right beside my training armor or my secret stash of cookies hidden in my wardrobe under my cloaks guarded by Mr. Grizzly Boar?"_

"_Your secret stash of cookies hidden in your wardrobe under your cloaks guarded by Mr. Grizzly Boar", Lu ten confirmed._

"…_What about it…?"_

"_Well, I was kinda hungry at that time… so…"_

"_How could you? And Mr. Grizzly Boar was guarding it too!"_

"_Well, he didn't put up much of a fight…"_

"_Wha— that's not the point! And Mr. Grizzly Boar is a pacifist!"_

"_Come on! It was just some cookies!" Lu Ten yelled back; neither he nor Lin paid any attention to the incoming horde of bloodthirsty axe-wielding rabid purple sea-bunnies. "And don't think you've never done anything wrong in your life! You're no saint, either."_

_Lin had almost resumed his march when he turned back to Lu Ten yet again. "What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_Well, you're marrying Azula, aren't you?" accused Lu Ten. "What kind of bro marries another bro's baby cousin?"_

"_Wha— what's that got to do with anything?" gaped Lin. "And I'm not marrying her!"_

"_So, you're going to disobey an Imperial Decree, that's what you mean?" asked Lu Ten threateningly, slamming the pole of his imperial banner (that, for one reason or another, was on his hand again) to the ground. "Think before you answer, brother…"_

"_No, I'm not", replied Lin as calmly as he could. If you are wondering about the horde of bloodthirsty axe-wielding rabid purple sea-bunnies, well… they were still marching._

"_Not what?" asked Lu Ten again incredulously. "Marrying Azula or disobeying an Imperial Decree?"_

"_Both of them."_

"_So, you're not marrying Azula?"_

"_NO!"_

"_But that would mean disobeying an Imperial Decree!"_

"_I'll think of something, okay!" Lin practically yelled. "I'm smart, I'll think of something! I won't disobey an Imperial Decree just as how I won't marry Azula!"_

"_What? So now my baby cousin is not good enough for you!" Lu Ten raised his voice._

"_What the— but you said I must not marry her!"_

"_I've never said that!"_

"_Can— ARRGHH!"_

"_Head's up!"_

_Lu Ten dived just in time, pushing Lin out of harm's way when a flying komodo rhino flew by, almost impaling Lin on the back with its tusk._

"_Stand up!" Lin was a little taken aback by how strong Lu Ten was when he pulled him back up to his feet. "We'll save this for later", said Lu Ten again. Back to their earlier grin of excitement, both boys turned their attention back to the incoming horde of bloodthirsty axe-wielding rabid purple sea-bunnies. And back to screaming their battlecry, back to marching forward to meet the enemies in battle—_

"_Wait…"_

"_WHAT!"_

_But, as Lin turned to Lu Ten, annoyance turned to fear, excitement turned to horror… stood before him was the fallen Prince Lu Ten, armor torn in many places, top-knot nearly disintegrated above his now messy hair, dirt, dried blood, mud were all over his face… and crimson was the blood flowing out from his pierced gut, pierced by numerous fragments of solid sharp earth…_

"_You… didn't come… for me…"_

"_No…"_

"_You were…" Lu Ten staggered, coughing in his effort to simply stand and talk. He raised a hand from his stomach, a hand tainted by his own blood. "… you were… too… late…"_

"_AARRGGHH—"

* * *

_

"—RRRGGHH!"

"—up! Wake u— URRGH!"

A loud crash was heard by him, but he did not care; a larger stronger pair of hands now held him in place, but he did not even realize that. He had only mind for his fallen brother…

"Wake up!" he hard the voice, a familiar voice, hoarse, deep and rough, the one that always made him thought of a silent mountain. But, who cared about a mountain when Lu Ten was all alone out there, bleeding to death while a horde of bloodthirsty axe-wielding rabid purple sea-bunnies were closing in on him! And what about that flying komodo rhino; for all Lin knew, it could have decided to fly pass by again. And how could Lu Ten dodge this one now when even standing straight he could not.

"Wake up!" the hands that gripped his wrist now grabbed his shoulder, lifted him a little off his back, and shook him hard. Finally, Lin opened his eyes. Rocky's calm green eyes looked down on his amber ones; he was frowning a little.

"Wha— what…?" Lin started groggily as he sat down straighter; Rocky released him.

"Nightmare", said Rocky.

"Huh? Where's Taka?" asked Lin, sighing as he wiped his sweaty face.

Rocky did not answer; he merely pointed at the messy heap on the floor near a collapsed nightstand that Lin recognized as the unconscious Taka. "…Nice punch", Rocky commented.

"…Thanks", replied Lin, half amused half guilty.

A moment of silence for a minute or two, in honor of the fallen Taka, broken by Lin who added. "The key is to aim for the center of the jaw line…"

* * *

"Ah, a lovely morning, is this not, Master Archer?" greeted Rha-Mi, shifting on the long bench to give space for Taka to sit down with his tray of breakfast monstrosity.

"Morning, Corporal. Ouch!" greeted Taka, grimacing; he traced his hand to his bruised left jaw.

"A heated argument?" guessed Rha-Mi. "A quarrel? A love spat?"

"Why'd you ask?"

"Please, sir. In summertime, we crave for a story of bravery and valor that doesn't include any countrymen being blasted by firebending."

"Bad dream", said Taka, still grimacing. "They said I fell on my bed or something and crashed into the lieutenant's nightstand."

_They_ (Lin and Rocky) had also said that Taka had sleepwalked a bit; that was why he smashed into Lin's nightstand, which was located across the tent from Taka's bunk, and not his own.

"—and luckily, the lieutenant was not angry about it", shrugged Taka as he finished his story. "He can get a bit touchy when he felt that his interest has been violated, you know."

"Ah, the man has a heart of gold", commented Rha-Mi, lifting his cup in honor of said man. "No wonder I like him even though he belongs in the army."

The door to the mess tent was opened; a pair of messy captains walked in. As they were ten feet or so from the food table, the smell of the food prompted them to do water-earth-fire-air, which was won by Spear, and they parted ways; Spear towards the only empty seats, on Taka and Rha-Mi's table, and Trik was tasked with the more perilous task of procuring food for both him and Spear.

"Good morning, guys", he greeted them. One look at Taka's face and he patted his back sympathetically. "Now, what did I tell you about flirting with Nurse Huang Mei?"

* * *

Meanwhile, in Rabbit's office…

"Ready, sir?" he called into Haoqi's room; in his hands, a small ferret-dove was safely secured. The diminutive chirpy brown bird could fit into an adult's palm and was used by the Army for fast and short messages.

"Yo…" replied Haoqi airily. He slipped out of his door wearing his full uniform, plus his non-regulation hat, of course. He was wearing his usual brown straw hat on which he had pinned several colorful fly fishing lures; Lieutenant Colonel Haoqi was known among his peers for having only two hobbies: drinking and fishing, sometimes at the same time.

"Aren't you hot, sir?" Rabbit frowned at his CO's attire.

"If I take off my hat, I'll pour down at least a gallon, Corporal", said Haoqi, still cheerfully, though. "Now, is the line ready?"

"Yes, sir", replied Rabbit, grinning proudly of his hard work; he lifted the small bird in his hand for Haoqi to see. "The bird's ready, just write the letter and we can send it over to the headquarter just like that, sir."

"Very good, Corporal", Haoqi puffed up his chest and began dictating. "Ehem… here goes: '_Lieutenant Colonel Haoqi Gun to Brigadier General—_"

"Um, sir…"

"What, Rabbit? What did I tell you about interrupting me when I'm talking to people who have higher ranks than mine!"

"Um… you have to write it down, sir."

"What do you mean I have to write it down?" snapped Haoqi. "You're the company clerk, for Prithvi's sake! _Sorry, Father_ (Haoqi shouted at the passing by Father Shu who cleared his throat rather loudly outside)! Why should I write it, it's your job, isn't it? You write it!"

"Um, uh…" Rabbit looked around, brainstorming for a solution. "Um, here, sir. Take the— yeah…"

"Okay…" Haoqi received the bird from Rabbit, securing it safely in his cupped hands. A little awkward chaos ensued as Rabbit and Haoqi shifted and squirmed in the narrow space, switching sides; Rabbit, with a clipboard and a pen brush ready, got up and stood behind Haoqi, who sat down in the chair with the bird. "Right, ready, sir."

"Alrighty, then", grinned Haoqi. "Okay, ehem… _Lieu_— wait a minute! I can't be sitting down when talking to a brigadier general! He'll know."

"But, how, sir?" Rabbit frowned, scratching his head with the base of his pen brush.

"I don't know. I'm not a brigadier general yet!" Haoqi snapped again. "Those people at the headquarter are psychic when it comes to this kind of stuff."

Without a second to waste, our ditsy lieutenant colonel stood up, unknowingly knocked Rabbit's pen brush holding hand; the result was a long scratch of ink on his back that he did not know about but caused Rabbit to let out a horrified gasp.

"What?" Haoqi asked.

"Um… n-nothing, sir", evaded Rabbit successfully. No need to tell the good colonel that his impeccably clean and tidy uniform might have been vandalized beyond repair. Not now, at least; one problem at the time.

"Right", Haoqi turned his back on Rabbit and puffed his chest again as if the brigadier general was there standing invisibly in front of him; he stood in a manner that he believed to be formal, well as formal as he could get holding down a chirpy little bird on his hands, at least. "Ahem… '_Lieutenant Colonel Haoqi Gun to Brigadier General Toon Qin. Thank you for the—_"

"Um, sir…"

"What now!" snapped Haoqi again, irritated by Rabbit tugging his shoulder.

"Um, the first message is the introduction, sir", Rabbit reminded him timidly.

"Oh, right. I forgot", Haoqi grinned guiltily; holding up the bird between them, he inspected it a little. "So, now we send the one. Now, how do we… here, put the message on the… no, no, not the beak! There's a small tube on the—"

"I know, sir, I've done it before!"

"Well, you don't have to yell!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

"Oh, just put the message in the tube already!"

"I know, I know! If you would just—"

"But, I already…"

"Sir, you're hurting—"

"Oh, sorry, Rabbit."

"Not me, sir, the bird."

"Right. Sorry, little birdie."

"…"

"…"

"…And… done!' Rabbit announced. Taking the bird off Haoqi's clutch, he shoved it into the air towards the opened window. Approximately ten seconds later, the same bird flew in. Haoqi was waiting for Rabbit to take the reply for him but the corporal was just standing there with his clipboard ready, eyeing Haoqi in puzzled expression. Sighing, Haoqi relented and extracted a small neatly rolled piece of paper from a small tube tied on the bird's leg, and read: '_Brigadier General Toon Qin to Lieutenant Colonel Haoqi Gun. State your business'_.

"Heh… _state your business_!" Haoqi mimicked. "Boy, sure is great to be a brigadier general, eh, Rabbit. _State your business_! Hehe…"

"Um, sir…"

"Hmm?"

"Message, sir."

"About wha— Oow, right!" Haoqi scrambled back to his earlier more dignified position. "Uh… what was— right! '_I would like to thank you for the shipment of summer clothing, fly nets, menthol powder, and sun block cream last winter_—"

"Winter, sir?"

"Yeah, winter", Haoqi reaffirmed his statement. "Remember last year when we nearly froze our keister off? Spear and Trik replaced Senshi's shaving cream with the sun block cream and he nearly cut off what little left of his chin? Or when they mixed the can of powdered sugar his mommy sent him with menthol powder and Senshi had to move his bunk closer to the latrine for the sake of public sanitary?"

"…Right…" Rabbit grinned gleefully at the fond memories.

"Okay, continue. '_However, it was not in our plan to use them all up before spring even begun'_."

"It certainly was."

"Yeah, I know that, Corporal", snapped Haoqi again. "But, Brigadier General Toon Qin doesn't have to know, does he?"

"But, won't he know?" frowned Rabbit.

"Well, it depends on how you write it, doesn't it?"

"… Ah, understood, sir", nodded Rabbit. Then he frowned, then shrugged, and wrote down Haoqi's dictation word per word.

"Right, ahem… '_And now, it is with regret that we must_—"

"Sir?"

"What NOW?"

"You're out of space, sir."

"Oh, really?" asked Haoqi; easing up, he slumped down on the chair. "Oh well, just send whatever you've got there, Corporal."

"Yes, sir. Um… sir, the bird…"

"Oh, right. Here you are."

"Hold it down, sir. It's struggling."

"I am. I'm holding it— OUCH! It bit me!"

"Don't squirm so much, sir!"

"But it just bit m—"

"A little more, sir!"

"Hurry up! My finger stings!"

"Got it, sir!"

And flew away the bird did.

"Ow… does it look like it's going to bleed to you?" Haoqi shoved his finger under Rabbit's nose. "I can't see it if it's bleeding."

"Sir, you're a surgeon, Colonel, sir."

"So?" Haoqi put his swollen red finger on his mouth and sucked. "I could paint my house with a bucket of somebody's blood; it's the sight of my own blood that gives me the jeebies."

Rabbit was saved from having to comment any further by the arrival of the reply; this one just said: '_Continue'_.

"Right. '_And now, it is with regret we must implore you to_—"

"Um, sir?"

"Yes, Rabbit", Haoqi turned around a little.

"Is this how you write 'implore', sir?" Rabbit showed him his writing.

"No, Rabbit; that's 'explore'", explained Haoqi. "Just write it like how you write 'deplore' but turn the square strokes upside down. That should be about right."

"Got it, sir", Rabbit scribbled fast on his clipboard. "So, what's next?"

"Well, um… '_we must implore you to send us another shipment of summer necessities, just like the one you sent us last, _uh_, winter_", Haoqi cleared his throat awkwardly before continuing. "'And_ should you worry about_—"

"Sir?"

"Out of space?"

"Out of space, sir."

"Right", Haoqi slumped down on the chair again, swallowing down the desire to crush the little noisy bird he had on his hands; why can't they carry bigger messages? He asked himself. And after another miniature chaos like the previous two, he let the bird and the messages fly out through the window.

"What're you going to add, sir?" asked Rabbit curiously.

"Well, I'm just gonna say that he doesn't have any reason not to send the requisitioned supply because he's worried that his messengers gonna get heatstroke because… well, we _are_ a hospital, right?" chuckled Haoqi sourly. "So, I'm just gonna tell him to send our needs anyway and stop worrying 'bout his messengers' butt getting wrinkly for staying too long under the sun or something. But, of course, you're gonna have to make sound a little more military before sending it, Rabbit."

"Understood, sir", nodded Rabbit in agreement. "Uh, the reply's arrived."

"Right", Haoqi rose again from his seat as the tiny bird landed on the desk, allowing him to retrieve the message. "Now, lessee… Hmm… _'Unfortunately, we cannot fulfill any request for assistance at the moment on account of the war. End transmission'_. Rabbit… did Brigadier General 'Loony' Toon Qin just refused to send us supplies that he should have sent us two months ago?"

"Seems like it, sir", shrugged Rabbit. "Oh, and Lieutenant Lin also asked for some weaponry to be sent here. I've got the list here somewhere."

"A list's not gonna do us any good now, will it, Corporal?" Haoqi snapped.

"It's not my fault, sir", Rabbit protested.

"Right… sorry, kid", Haoqi sighed. "And I don't even get to ask him about that Butcher guy, too."

"Shouldn't you be asking General Chang Ye in headquarter, sir?"

"General Chang Ye's attending a seminar in Omashu", informed Haoqi. "Before he left, he told every CO to send whatever correspondence to Brigadier General Toon Qin over at Supply Regiment."

"So, what would you tell Lieutenant Lin, sir?"

"Wait, me? Why me?"

"I don't wanna be the one who tell Lieutenant Lin that you cannot get him the weapons he requested from the headquarter, sir. He's…" Rabbit hesitated a little before confessing: "Well… I'm a little afraid of him, sir."

"Rabbit—", Haoqi chuckled but…

"Alright, alright! I'm a lot afraid of him, sir!" Rabbit raised his voice, turning pale all of the sudden. "I mean, well… it's not like he's mean like Major Mor or somethin'. It's just that he's… scary."

"Rabb—"

"And one time he caught me near the nurse's shower and then he just stared at me like he's gonna do something mean to me, sir!" Rabbit continued, oblivious to the thickening vein in Haoqi's temple. "And his eyes, sir! It's like they're shining in the dark or something."

"_Private_!" Haoqi finally made his voice heard.

"Um, you mean 'Corporal', sir?"

"Not if you don't shut up, Rabbit", threatened the higher ranking one.

"Sorry, sir", Rabbit replied, then realizing the noise he made and clasped both hands across his mouth quickly.

"Atta boy", Haoqi said. "Now, you go there, find Lieutenant Lin and bring him here. I will brief him about this myself", he ordered, about the same time Rabbit muffled a series of 'mmmphh mmpppphhhh mmmph, mpphhh mmph mpph, mppph'.

"Walk along now", Haoqi dismissed him, a little amused. As Rabbit let the door swing close behind him, Haoqi took off his hat and wiped his sweaty brow dry.

"Huh… Lieutenant Lin _does_ have a pair of uniquely colored eyes", he muttered to himself, spinning his hat absentmindedly. "Yellow... more like golden. Almost like tiny fireballs… but, a little dim; unlike that skinny guy with a bow. Now, his eyes have more life… Hmm…"

* * *

"Like I said before, do not, I repeat, _do not_ mess with the nurse with long black hair and beady green eyes who answers (sometimes) to 'Major'", Spear began.

"Or 'Meg-meg'", Trik added. Both captains were attending to a young man's brutally savaged arms in the recovery room.

"The last man who _accidentally_ touched her backside nearly lost a finger", Spear continued.

"And, of course, we almost had to amputate his right leg", Trik added again.

"Well, the leg was the result of the said man trying to outrun a Fire Nation tundra tank, but still…" Spear shrugged, wrapping the man's hand with bandage.

"The Major bites harder than the tank's spiky wheels", added Trik again, tying the man's other arms now.

"I can't help it, sirs", the man grinned, or grimaced… kinda hard to tell. "I mean, she's such a—OWW!"

"You better help it, Private", said Spear firmly, 'accidentally' tying the bandage too hard.

"The Major's daddy is General Keh", Trik added… again. "You know, _the_ General Keh."

"General Yan 'Killer' Keh, sirs?" the man stuttered, sweaty and pale all of the sudden. "Man… I really do have to help it. I'm from his division."

Spear and Trik, expectedly, burst out laughing at this confession. Ah, yes… Karma exists. Guess Father Shu had been telling the truth, after all. Anyway, at that moment, Rabbit entered the room, cowering into a timid bow as Senshi passed him by. Not forgetting to throw the corporal a disgusted glare or two, of course, Senshi walked away quickly with nose turned up high as Rabbit fidgeted his way to the two friendlier higher ranks.

"Um, Spear, Trik… have anyone seen Lieutenant Lin anywhere?" he asked.

"Last time I saw him, he was having a telepathic conversation with his soup in the mess tent", replied Trik lightly. "The kid seems to be adjusting well to this place."

"Telepathic conversation with a bowl of soup is stage two of adjusting to this place", Spear said to the wounded private jokingly.

"Yeah? What's the next stage?" grinned the wounded private… or was he grimacing?

"First stage is crying into a pillow every night, second stage is staring deep into things that people don't normally stare deeply into", thought Spear aloud. "Next stage should be extreme feeling of helplessness followed by either crude suicide attempts or small-scale undermining of anything military."

"Come on", chuckled the private dismissively. "It's not as bad as what we have to endure back at the combat unit. You try dodging arrows and fire blast every two seconds."

Spear smiled to the private; a sad smile, almost as if he was pitying the soldier. "You try cleaning your boots of other people's blood every two seconds."

* * *

" '_And should the requisitioned supply arrive just a second later from the appointed time, which is midday tomorrow, a formal complaint will be written about you and sent to General How directly via express messenger'_ ", Lin dictated while Rabbit scribbled quickly and Haoqi held the tiny ferret-dove on the sideline; the last two were grinning wide.

"Out of space, sir", Rabbit chuckled, then cleared his throat diplomatically.

"Right, here you are", Lin handed his 1st Vanguard badge over to the corporal.

The small coin shaped badge had the shape of Earth Kingdom insignia, the words '1st Vanguard' was carved on the front and 'Earth Kingdom Regular Army' on the back. This kind of jade badge are only given to officers of Vanguard Units and can be used as a seal of recognition; the front side, that is. Rabbit carefully dipped the badge on a small puddle of red ink poured on a small saucer before pressing the inked badge across the message. The result was an inverted red '1st Vanguard' stamped across the black ink and it kinda made some of the letters nearly intelligible but Rabbit and Haoqi did not care, of course; not when they have a Vanguard officer on their side. Ah, yes… feel Karma working on Brigadier General 'Loony' Toon Qin!

As the rolled paper was set onto the ferret-dove', which Haoqi released, they waited a little. Seconds later, a reply arrived, a rather shakily scribbled '_continue'_.

"'_We will be expecting the delivery of ten sets of spears, ten sets of bows, fifty quivers of arrows, ten sets of crossbows, fifty quivers of bolts, twenty sets of broadswords, fifteen sets of tower shields, twenty sets of infantry shields, a crate of low-power hand grenade…'_ I think that's all for mine", Lin pondered aloud. "What're yours?"

"Mine?" Haoqi pointed at himself, then frowned. "Well, lessee… _'sun block cream, summer netting, summer clothing, as many liquid plasma as you can spare…' _"

"More menthol powder for Captain Haoren's butt, sir?" Rabbit suggested.

"Right, that too", Haoqi agreed. "But don't tell him about Haoren's butt (much to Haoqi's bewilderment, Rabbit swiftly scratched a few words on his letter). Oh, and some bottles of Tay Kho's chrysanthemum wine will be great… scratch the wine, Rabbit", he added hastily when Lin gave him a nasty look. "Hmm… Oh, ask for more material for burn treatment, Rabbit; this is summer when the boys usually take hard beatings from firebenders."

"Got it, sir", Rabbit answered, scribbling fast.

"Anything to add?" Haoqi asked Lin.

"The Butcher?" Lin reminded him.

"I almost forgot", Haoqi twitched. "Rabbit, ask them to keep us informed about Zaq the Butcher unless he is no longer sighted near Nan Shan River."

"Got it, sir", Rabbit wrote it down quick and short. Stamping the message yet again with Lin's badge (each and every message has to be stamped, according to regulation, to avoid forgery) and taking the ferret-dove from Haoqi, he prepared the message to be delivered.

"I must say, we owe you a lot for this, Lieutenant", Haoqi smiled at Lin who was wiping his badge clean with a rag; the red ink came off easily of the smooth jade surface.

"No problem", shrugged Lin. "Higher ranks like to remind people of lower ranks that they are above them; the best way to deal with them is to do exactly what they do."

Yep… a lieutenant of the elite 1st Vanguard has a much higher status than even a brigadier general of a stinkin' supply regiment. Surely enough, a reply of _'Absolutely, sir; it is always an honor to serve an officer of the 1__st__ Vanguard. Your request will be put as our first priority. End transmission'_ seemed to prove just that.

"So, uh…" Haoqi started awkwardly; it seemed like he shared Rabbit's fear of the young lieutenant a little. "Um, mind if I ask you why you want to set up an arsenal in my camp?"

A carefully emphasized 'my camp'…

"All the commotion about the Butcher", said Lin matter-of-factly, frowning a little. "It'll boost the morale to have well-equipped personnel patrolling the camp, don't you think?"

"Of course, but, uh… aren't you forgetting something?" asked Haoqi.

"What?"

"Our men can't beat my fishing hat in combat even if you blindfold my hat and tied its lace behind its back", answered Haoqi dryly.

"They can be trained", smiled Lin mysteriously.

"The last time you train them, half of them nearly died", said Haoqi flatly.

"Whoever said I'm going to train them", laughed Lin, securing his badge to its silken tassel.

"If not you, then who's gonna train them?"

"Taka and Rocky, of course", reply Lin as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole world.

"The mercs? Are you sure?" asked Haoqi warily.

"Of course I am", scoffed Lin, walking away; then he added a single necessary drop of truth: "They used to train me."

* * *

That very evening at the mess tent, dinner was served early as it always was at midsummer. This was the time when Fire Nation soldiers were at their most vicious stage, emboldened by the gift granted to them by the scorching sun; at times like this, wounded would be flowing in almost every night, sometimes numbered up to three digits. Usually, there would be no time to eat at later hours, so Haoqi and the cook had to arrange this schedule. However, it would seem that almost nobody were interested at all at the prospect of having to endure dinner; somebody had let slip that today's dinner would be yesterday's lunch.

"Great", Megumi growled as she slammed her tray in discontent on the food table. "Yesterday's lunch was breakfast from two days ago."

"How do you know?" asked Father Shu curiously.

"I carved x's on those sausages two days ago before returning them to the pile", Megumi said, pointing at the pile of rather blackish brown sausages that indeed bore the mark of Megumi's x's.

Losing his appetite instantly, Father Shu also put down his tray, albeit more softly, and like Megumi, opted to have a cup of coffee for dinner. Together, they walked towards one of few occupied tables, the one on which Spear, Trik, Lin, and Rocky were having dinner… sort of.

"On diet, you two?" Spear asked, nodding at their cups.

"No, we just want to live a little while longer", said Megumi acidly, from behind her cup. Grimacing at the foul taste of the beverage, she found it difficult to even criticize her coffee. The drink must have nullified some function of her tongue, she sarcastically surmised.

"Have you heard news about Zaq the Butcher?" asked Father Shu to the lot. "Some soldiers who came around this afternoon said that they sighted someone who matches his description lurking around a Fire Nation fort to the west."

"We have", Lin raised his fork, Rocky raised his hand. "I sent Taka to scout around. He should be back in an hour or so."

"Alone?" Father Shi gasped; judging from the others' similar reaction, Taka's departure for this seemingly suicidal mission was news to them also. "Won't that be dangerous for your friend? Erm…. Not that I'm doubting the skills of your fellow mercenary, of course", he added sheepishly at Rocky who remained impassive.

"Nah", Lin dismissed the unnecessary worry lightly. "Taka is like a cock-roach; hard to kill. Tell him the story, Rock."

"One time", Rocky started, ignoring a rather not-subtle-at-all startled gasp from his dinner table buddies (minus Lin who recklessly went back to trying to finish his sausages); seemed like they were even more surprised that Rocky could actually talk than at the fact that Lin had sent his own friend to go after a dangerous serial killer. "Taka was sent on a mission to snipe down a Fire Nation commander at Pohuai Stronghold. He got caught. He got shot twice by the Yu Yan Archers on the back, once on his chest. He escaped but Fire Nation sent tanks to pursue him. He got ran over by a tank but survived. Then, he sneaked back in to the Stronghold while still wounded. Then he put an arrow in the commander's heart. But he was captured when escaping from the premises. He was tortured in the dungeon for two days but he escaped. Then he ran into a group of mountain bandits and got beaten down bad. He beat them back. He had many bruises, all ribs were broken except for one, fractured limbs, four ruptured internal organs, cracked frontal cranium, severe concussion, extensive flesh wounds from arrows and bladed weapons, lost a pinky toe, and his right eye nearly went completely blind. Then he ran into a pack of wild boarillas. The wild boarillas almost ate him alive. But, his sister found him and saved him."

…

"W-wow…" Father Shu cleared his throat, speechless; the others were more or less on the same circumstances.

"See", said Lin, trying to cut the lofty piece of meat with both hands. "Told you he's like a cock-roach."

* * *

"ACHOO!" Taka couldn't hold back his sneeze any longer. Darn! Kinda made his effort to stay hidden among the thick foliages of the old oak tree seem pointless if he could not even hold down a sneeze.

They say when you sneeze once out of the blue, it means someone is talking about you behind your back somewhere. Hmm… now which cute nurse was talking about him, his narcissistic side sparked the question, curling his lips into a smile. Nurse Xiao Ling, maybe; Taka had caught her staring at him often at the mess tent (Nurse Xiao Ling was staring at his short swords that he carried around everywhere hanging on his waist, actually; Nurse Xiao Ling's father was a famous blacksmith in the eastern hemisphere). Or could it be Nurse Mei Li; Taka could have sworn she was leering at him rather lustfully at breakfast (but, in reality, Nurse Mei Li was leering at Taka's bruised jaw and thought he really should have it looked at or lest it would get worse come tomorrow).

I mean, who could resist such a guy, right? Young (in a way), macho (compared to a toddler), handsome (ick!) with a straight nose (that he picked regularly on dinner table), firm jaw line (perhaps not for long, courtesy to a certain lieutenant), shiny black hair (that he washed once every full moon), and mysterious golden-yellow eyes (that actually made him look a little creepy at night under dim light). Plus, he was a mercenary (a macho job, okay) and a sniper to the boot (a more sophisticated kind of archer). Yes, ladies and girls, Taka was a very desirable guy (not!).

—RUSTLE—

Taka promptly stiffened. His left hand dared not loosen the grip on his bow. He moved his eyes, adjusting them to the dark; a little further to his left, a man emerged from the bush: saggy black hair untied, face covered in dirt, mud, and all sort of dirty earth, black travelling robe torn in many places and unfit to even be called a rag. The man limped towards a nearby tree and held it for support. Thin emaciated face looked up to the sky, to the stars above, heavy huffs escaped his mouths.

"Gotcha now, Zaqie", Taka muttered, grinning coldheartedly as he drew his bowstring. Years of training and practice and the peace he had already made to the guilt cause by numerous lives claimed by his expertise numbed his conscience as he released the deadly arrow…

* * *

"There! He ran over there!" the Fire Nation officer shouted, pointing at the bushes through which the dark figured darted pass.

Gotta run, gotta run! The dark figure goaded himself, dashing gracefully like a lynx among the trees; the heavily armored Fire Nation soldiers had a hard time catching up with him through the thick bushes and crowded trees. Darn it! The dark figure cursed. Whoever knows taking the right turn at that forked forest path would bring him directly to the front gate of the Pohuai Stronghold, one of the many places in the western provinces invested with Fire Nation soldiers! Should have taken the left one, he said to himself, the left one would have led him to the Seedy Merchants Pier, a place where people like him are anonymous, a place where he could find a moment's rest.

Gotta run, gotta run! He goaded himself again. But…

—THUDDED—

His foot got caught in a thick looping tree root, sending him crashing to the ground below with a loud thud. A sudden sting invaded his ankle; he might have twisted his ankle. Darn it! He rose quickly, shouting foul curse that did not ease his pain. The soldiers were getting closer, so he resumed his flight despite his hurting leg. Four or five steps he took before he got knocked down from behind and was sent crashing down to the ground once more. Spitting out dirt, he instinctively rolled around to his back and caught the invader's spear by the shaft. He shoved it away just in time to deflect the path of the spear, sending it a foot deep into the soft crisp earth; a second later, he kicked the soldier's gut hard with his healthy foot, the said soldier crashed back-first into more soldiers behind him, reducing the unorganized pursue party into a pile of disoriented reds on the ground.

Sensing the opportunity, the figure quickly leaped onto his feet and limped/hopped away from the scene as fast as he could. Choosing the more thickly covered path, he finally lost his pursuers after some times of running. But, he did not want to take any chances; he crawled low on the ground under the bushes, as quickly and silently as he could farther and farther away from the Stronghold. Minutes that felt like hours spent creeping his way like some sort of critter under the bushes led him to an open path in front. He waited, straining his ears to detect any sound at all from the Fire Nation soldiers; when he could not, he decided that he was safe, far away from the soldiers, and exited his hiding place, the bush rustled as he did so.

His first thought was to continue down the road, perhaps, and find a village or something…. Yeah, a village; he'd like that. But, alas, as adrenaline rush gave way for momentary relief, the pain of his twisted ankle reemerged full throttle. Swaying, he caught the nearby tree to prevent himself from falling. Holding back the pain, he looked up to the sky, indentifying several stars; he had learnt how to use the stars as a compass, and that was when momentary relief disappeared and fear assumed control; a sharp 'twing' from afar, followed by an insanely close 'whoosh' as an arrow flew by his face, greasing his cheek. Had his back-jerking reflex not kick in; his head would have been skewered by the deadly arrow.

The dark figure dared not waste time to estimate the location of the sniper; he leaped away and took flight, limping away fast. Another arrow flew and bit him on the shoulder; the figure yelped and snapped the arrow in two in his attempt to pull it off, all done without slowing down even one bit. Dropping the broken arrow, he clutched the bleeding wound across the splintered shaft buried on his shoulder, he felt sticky warm blood flowing and felt terror but he dared not stop, let alone look back.

Gotta run! GOTTA RUN! He yelled in his mind as another arrow flew so close over his head, yanking some strands of his dirty black hair off. But no matter, just keep running! Another arrow flew by, piercing an innocent tree on his right, but he kept running; obviously, in his terror, he did not realize that the sniper's shot was getting more and more inaccurate as he gained distance. And yet, boys and girls, should a crazy sniper is shooting arrows at you and you have gained enough distance from him, enough to muddle with his accuracy, it is still wiser to keep running.

Gotta run! Gotta run! The figure kept running but fatigue was slowly claiming victory over his battered constitution. He fell down face first yet again but blurred vision and pain in his lungs told him this time it was not because he tripped something; his body was reaching its limit. But, he could not give up now, he must not! Gotta run, right? And so, Chey picked himself up and resumed his escape. And besides, if he was late for even one hour, Master Jeong Jeong would have his head on a platter.

* * *

Lin was sitting in his tent, his chair was set facing the door. Rocky was out on patrol around the vicinity along with some camp members who could at least bend earth. Lin was left behind to secure the camp. After organizing two or three men on patrol shift, he went back to his tent to wait for Taka. In the tent, his mind could not help but think back on his dream, his nightmare.

Ah yes, it was a dream by the way, a normal ordinary dream, and not… you know, a 'dream'. Notice the meaningful quotation mark. How he knew that? Easy: whenever he had one of those 'dreams', he would wake up feeling whatever he felt in his 'dreams'; when he 'dreamt' about being blasted on his chest by a rock into the ocean, he woke up gasping for air and felt this heavy pain on his chest; when he 'dreamt' about racing across a meadow on a black ostrich horse, he woke up still feeling the tingly sensation of breeze on his skin though it was a hot summer night. Sometimes, he would even do what he was doing in his 'dream'. Two days ago, he woke up with hands held firm in a fighting stance in front of him, traces of fire were alight around his hands and forearms; he had been 'dreaming' about fighting countless firebenders in a massive Agni Kai.

Weird, huh?

But, last night? Last night had been your normal ordinary everynight dream, a bad one at that. Lin closed his eyes, trying to ignore the prick in his heart. Lu Ten, his brother… He did wonder; what if he had arrived earlier, would Lu Ten have been still alive? And what if he had been alive? What would he have felt about Lin's supposedly act of treason? Would Lin have told him the truth like he did his father? I mean, Lin didn't say anything specific to either Zuko or Azula, right? Would he be able to trust Lu Ten more than he did the other two royalties?

Lin quickly shook the whole thought off his mind. Ignorance… a powerful tool, indeed. To distract his mind, he focused his mind on Taka, instead.

Lin did say those stuffs about Taka's physical constitution and lifeline being close to those of an immortal but his return was long overdue he was growing wary; Taka should have come back two hours ago. Now, Lin had strictly instructed him to cover one spot along the forest path, the same path in which Lin and Sai had been captured by a group of forest bandits and tied up to a tree; Lin had used that opportunity to study the terrain along that path. He had noticed an ancient oak tree that stood taller than most trees around a mile in all direction; it would be a perfect vantage point for a sniper. Taka was to hide on that tree and wait, not to wonder around and look for trouble.

Lin sighed deeply; perhaps he was being overly worried. I mean, this is Taka we're talking about! The dude had survived being beaten down, beaten up, shot by arrows and bolts of various shapes and sizes on various inches of his body, sniffed an extremely powerful Grade A military issued sleeping poison, nearly drowned his butt in the Great Ocean, run over by a tank, endured all manner of physical torture, slapped across the face by numerous ladies of various nationalities, the first and only person who survived a whiff of his own socks and lived to tell the tale, and many more. Lin smiled a little at the thought; Taka really was like a cock-roach: he had an enormous will to live.

Lin was snapped from his thought; the door was creaked open by the devil we were speaking of. Taka walked in, yawning, dragging his bow and quiver.

"Got him?" asked Lin, trying hard not to smile too much.

"Nope, he got away", Taka dived in face first onto his bed; his weapons left lying down on the floor.

Lin scoffed silently at this. This Butcher was quite something, he thought. No ordinary people could have survived the combination of Taka, his bow, and the element of surprise. Zaq the Butcher… Lin grinned slightly at the prospect of personally meeting him in mortal combat. He would be a worthy adversary…

But, before that… one thing had been nagging Lin's mind all day: just who the hell is Mr. Grizzly Boar?

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Ohh… Haoqi is more insightful than he let on… creepy… The skinny guy with a bow is, of course, Taka, who also has amber eyes and is a firebender.

Think of the ferret-dove as this fic's version of telephone, or maybe text messaging.

By the way, Chey is not Zaq the Butcher! Chey is just one of the 'wrong time, wrong place, I'm sorry but you look like the criminal we've been looking for' case. And, of course, Lin and Taka did not notice that. Everybody makes mistake…

Names:

1. Toon Qin; from Mandarin 'tun', which means 'butt' and 'qin', which means 'kiss'. A buttkisser.

So sorry for the long update. This month has been very trying for me; lots of bad situations I found myself in. Phew… I'll try to update faster next time, but as usual, there is no guarantee. Sorry…

And the creepy dream. Well, I realize that there hasn't been any dream sequence lately. There's a reason for that; one being that I'm stumped. Hehe… Also, it is an opportunity to show that Lin can dream about stuffs that are ordinary and not at all prophetic.

To hpswst101, thanks for the review and, as usual, sorry for the long update. So, anthropology's the one about culture? I thought sociology was the one about culture; rats, that means I wasted a semester taking sociology. I've always been more interested in learning about various cultures.

To Natrim, thanks for the review. Yeah, my English teachers, who are Americans, by the way, often say that English is a crazy language. Guess they were right; they warn us often about exceptions in English, which are numerous and varied. So, what do you think about this chapter? I hope there is no 'his/her' mistake in this one, the same goes for all other mistake I often make. And I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. :)

Have a nice day, people!


	72. Chapter 71

**Chapter 71 – Kisa the Bard**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

On the vast plain on which there was a battlefield, they stood there victorious; a monk in white robe riding a camule, a monkey spirit in bright yellow garb, a fat were-pig in purple holding a rake, a water spirit with his trusty spade, and a young prince with an unsheathed straight sword. On their feet were their fallen adversaries, a large wild looking man and a young beautiful but deadly woman. They all stood there, unmoving, as if frozen in time.

"And so, boys and girls, our brave heroes, venturing through the perilous Valley of the Weeping Spirits, finally arrived at the Demon Bull's Castle", the narrator, a young man whose clean-shaven face housed a pair of olive green eyes radiating a childish glint, crisp tanned skin hidden under his extravagant veiled turban, straight nose and soft jaw line sporting a wide smile that prided his almost unnaturally white teeth; he spoke loudly on the stage on which a group of actors in costumes froze, giving a chance for the narrator to narrate the story.

The narrator pulled his bamboo flute, also decorated with ribbons, bedazzled with fake but brightly-colored gemstone to his mouth; he played three long-blown tunes before addressing the viewers back, the viewers which consisted of children, camp members, and several wounded soldiers in bandages or on wheelchairs.

"By this time, Monk Xuan Zhang has led his three disciples: the Demon Monkey Sun Wukong, the Were-Pig Zhu Bajie, and the Water Spirit Sha Wujing, plus Prince Jeun the Charming, against many a challenge", the narrator exclaimed, throwing his hands around for more effects. "Surely, you still remember how they defeated the Mute Bandit King of the Flower and Fruit Mountain (the narrator pointed at a corpse on the floor, which was Rocky in rough animal hide costume) or their flawless victory over the Princess Iron Fan (Nurse Jen, also lying on the floor in a fabulously frilly green gown, a headdress made of fake peacock-swan feather, and a large fan made of the same feather lying not so far from her hand)!"

"But, remember, boys and girls", the narrator continued darkly after giving a chance for the audience to cheer. "Now that the Demon Bull has found out that his wife (a spotlight fell upon Nurse Jen) has met her ultimate demise at the hands of our heroes, his rage has reached its peak", the audience fell silent in suspense. "And here we are (a new background dropped, replacing the old one, depicting a vast plain, with a dark castle with a pair of giant horn at the sides), as our heroes arrived in this arena for the final battle of this saga, let us find out if they would emerge victorious!"

The audience exploded into a loud cheer and applause; the narrator played yet another three tunes, only different ones, more intense ones before he stomped his bare feet on the floor and punched both his fists sideways, causing the part of the earthen stage on which Rocky and Nurse Jen were lying 'dead' to slide to the curtained sides of the stage, away from the audiences' eyes; still maintaining his footing, he made a forceful pushing move with both palms downward, causing the earth below his feet to propel himself upward, up towards a hidden platform on the ceiling on which Bullhorn and Nurse Xiao Li were on standby with a bunch of props within their arms reach, props like flower petals or fake boulders or a bucket of water.

A thick sound of gong rang through the stage, abruptly the heroes began moving again. On the stage, Sha Wujing the Water Spirit (Lin) cracked his neck as covertly as possible; he was wearing a costume in the form of a ragged blue monk robe, a huge prayer beads hanging on his neck, a semi-bald cap covering the top of his head, soot smear on his face, fake bushy beard, and a large heavy monk-spade, a weapon favored by the fighting monks of the Eastern Region. Kisa and his long narration, he grumbled in his mind, the guy should really stick with singing and storytelling.

"Master, Master, *snort*", Zhu Bajie (Private Liu, the cook, wearing baggy robe and a sack of flour underneath to make his gut stick out, and a real pig-hen snort he got from kitchen, and a rake he burrowed from the camps stable) started. "Look, look, *snort*, the Demon Bull's Castle."

"Yes, my disciple", Father Shu, who was wearing his real ceremonial robe and hat, nodded; from on top of Cammie, a camule the camp members bought for Rha-Mi two years ago to cheer him up when his fell into a severe depression due to him being in the army, Father Shu, known at the moment as Monk Xuan Zhang pointed his ceremonial staff (Kisa's prop) as a general would with a sword. "Onwards!"

But, watch out! Not a full step they had taken, an enemy jumped out from the nearby (paper) bush, a group of demons! Wearing armor similar to Earth Kingdom Army standard, but each were horned and tailed, and soot covered, each carrying a (rubber) spear, they jumped out halting the march of our heroes; the leader of the demons (Senshi) held out a hand and thundered: "HALT!"

"Watch out, Master!" Sun Wukong, the Demon Monkey (Spear), vigilant as always, took initiative. He jumped out and whacked the demon leader with his (rubber) legendary staff, the Golden Celestial Cudgel.

"Be careful, Master, *snort*!" Zhu Bajie, the second disciple, also jumped out, bashing the dull end of his rake at the demon leader.

"Danger, Master!" Sha Wujing, too, jumped in into the foray, waving his spade like a windmill. And soon…

—WHACK, THUDDED—

"Be careful, Master!"

—WHACK, THUDDED, POW—

"It's dangerous, Master, *snort*"

—WHACK, THUDDED, POW, SMACK—

"Watch out, Master!"

Five minutes later…

"Hey, Captain?" Private Liu hissed from the corner of his mouth. "D'ya think we overdid it a little?"

On the ground in front of them was…

"Dunno", Spear shrugged, also whispering; Lin poked the mess of human being in front of them with his spade, confirming wordlessly that the demon leader actor (Senshi) was out for real.

"Improvise, improvise!" Lin hissed urgently at his 'fellow disciples'; turning to the rest of the demons (Trik, Seito, Yee Shoo, and Shoto), he thundered in his forcibly deepened voice. "Give it up, you demons! Righteousness on our side, evil we fear not!"

The crowd cheered.

"We have come to rescue the Lovely Princess from you evil clutch, *snort*!" Zhu Bajie added full of determination.

The crowd cheered louder.

"And we shall not fail!" Sun Wukong slammed his rod on the ground. Then, the three of them twirled their weapons in a rather fashionable way and as they finished, slammed their weapons at the ground again.

The crowd cheered louder than before.

"By the order of our Majesty, the Demon Bull, ye shalt not pass!" the other demon leader (Trik) jumped forward.

"My brothers, allow me", Sha Wujing took a step toward the opponents; he twirled his large spade around for a little before saying. "My Water Spirit magic they shall taste!"

Twirling his spade yet again, Sha Wujing finished with a sharp palm thrust, calling forth the magic of his kind which manifested in the form of a mass of water that splashed down from above on the spot where the first demon leader was laying lifelessly, waaay off the intended target which was the still conscious one. Brow twitching, Lin stole a glance upward; Nurse Xiao Li grinned guiltily back at him. The woman sure lived up to her reputation; it was a well-known fact in the 44th Hospital that Nurse Xiao Li had the lousiest aim in the whole Earth Kingdom; the woman could not hit a watermelon with a pebble within arm's reach even if her life depended on it.

Trik shot Lin an inquiring look, Lin shot him a look of confusion; the two kinds of look that would not lead them anywhere. Now, according to the script, in this scene Lin's character would defeat the enemy with 'water magic'. In the rehearsal, they did not actually use the water splash effect; unnecessary, according to Kisa. Over Trik's shoulder, Lin could see Kisa, on the backstage, waved his arms desperately, mouthing _improvise something! _And so, Lin did the one and only thing he could think off: the enemy must be defeated with water magic, and water magic Lin shall give.

"*spit*"

Got Trik's right eye…

"Ooooohhh, nooooo! I'm dyiiiiing! Curse you, Sha Wujing!" and fall did the demon. With two of their leaders fell so easily to the might of their opponents, the rest of the demon entourage dropped their weapons and flee.

"The way is clear, my Master", Sha Wujing bowed graciously, allowing the rest of the group to join him and the crowd to cheer. And then, poof…

Great smoke enveloped the whole stage; Trik quickly got up, grabbed one of Senshi's legs and dragged him out of the stage in the cover of the smoke, around the time when Kisa earthbended a rough looking stone throne on the stage and Haoqi, wearing a suit of fur, a mouth piece the shape of gorilla-bull's mouth, and a set of large horn, and Rabbit, the Demon Bull's sidekick, wearing more or less similar costume but smaller and less hairy, made way to the throne, also in the cover of the smoke. As the smoke clear, our heroes jolted by genuine yet perfectly rehearsed surprise to find their nemesis sitting on a throne in front of them.

"Mwahahahahahaha!" the Demon King (Haoqi) thundered; his sidekick tried and failed to laugh along.

"D-demon Bull!" Prince Jeun (Bob) croaked; his voice cracked a little. Had he not been wearing a very baggy set of robe, the audience could have seen him trembling on the stage. "W-we are here to rescue Princess… um…"

Bob gulped rather loudly, sweating a river. He leered to his sides, silently asking for a hint from the nearest actors. But, Kisa, who was shaking his head from the backstage, mouthed: _she doesn't have a name. _However, Bob interpreted it as_ I don't remember her name, either_.

"Never!" luckily, Haoqi caught the drift of the miscommunication. He stepped down from his throne and slammed the butt of his gigantic (prop) mallet on the ground, causing a mini tremor (well-time earthbending by Kisa and Nurse Huang Mei on each sides of the stage). "Go forth, my underling!"

Rabbit jumped forward to the center of the stage. There, he twirled his spear (prop) like a windmill, stabbed three times on three different direction, the he twirled again, and then stopped in a rather cool pose. A spotlight fell on him, also flower petals for additional effect. Reaction from the audience was quite favorable.

"And who amongst you shall face me first!"

"I-um… *gulped* I will defeat you, demon!" Prince Jeun pulled his sword free but the three disciples of Xuan Zhang stopped him.

"No, my noble Prince", Sun Wukong held his shoulder. "I shall go forth and—"

"No, Eldest Brother!*snort*" Zhu Bajie prepared his rake. "I shall handle this!"

"Do not trouble yourselves, my Bothers!" Sha Wujing, however, was one step ahead; without hesitation, he jumped forward. "This cretin is mine! Taste my Water Mag—"

"ARRGH!" Rabbit quickly dropped dead, covering his eyes with his hands. Soon, the awkwardness from before retuned, even more so when a mass of water splashed down on the empty throne, twenty feet away from Rabbit. Now, according to the script, the demon sidekick withstood the water magic and defeat Sha Wujing. And the Zhu Bajie stepped forth and defeated the demon underling but was bested by the Demon Bull. Then, one by one, the heroes fell until only the Prince remained. So, in conclusion, the play was ruined. Strangely, Kisa, the director, seemed to be enjoying the show from behind the stage. Well, he was rolling on the floor with one hand clasping his mouth shut and the other clutching his side, and his eyes were watering, apparently tortured by gleeful laughter.

Rabbit, got up a little, frowning, wan't sure what to do, and then decided to 'die' anyway, leaving Lin raking his brain to decide the next move. Only one thing popped in his mind.

"Here I come, Demon Bull!" Lin charged at Haoqi who was definitely startled but… "Arrgh!"

He leaped backward and fell flat on his back; with his dying breath he yelled out. "Curse you and your telekinetic power, Demon! Forgive my carelessness, my Master… my Brothers… my Prince…arrgggghh…"

"_That is just sad…" _everybody else on the stage thought as they shot Lin a withering look. But, hey, the audience liked it; the little kids did, at least.

"My turn, Demon Bull!*snort*" Zhu Bajie spun his rake. "Receive my Fire *snort* Magic!"

Tiny long cuts of crimson red velvet fell from the ceiling slowly… on Sha Wujing's carcass, ten meters away from the one and only antagonist on the stage…

Oh, Nurse Xiao Li… bless your soul…

"Arrghhh! Not the telekinetic attack agaiiiinn!" and so, our next hero fell.

"NOOOO! My brothers!" great was Sun Wukong's grief, fierce was the pain in his heart (don't let his strained smile fool you!). "Revenge!"

"No, Wukong!" Monk Xuan Zhang slid down his steed in time to stop his disciple to walk the path of darkness. With his staff across the disciple's chest, he held the disciple's murderous intent from being realized. "This is not the teaching of our Great Mother Earth!"

"But, Master! Look what he did to my brothers!" Sun Wukong might be enraged but Spear Haoren was stifling a laugh because the next of his improvised line was. "Look! Because of him, Sha Wujing had been cremated against his last will even though he had specifically asked to be set adrift in the Northern Sea should he met his end in our journey, remember!"

"Y-yes, I do- pfftt…, ahem, I do remember", Xuan Zhang sighed sadly through Father Shu's strained face, strained from holding in laughter. "But, you…" Father Shu had to exhale a little to banish the leftover laughter. "*cough*… have to remember that we must never deviate from the teaching of our Great Mother", Xuan Zhang put his hand on his still enraged student, smiling a patient smile that can only come from an enlightened person. "Love and compassion."

"But, Fath—, I mean, _Master_…"

"Do not raise your weapon in the moment of anger, my son."

"Magic?"

"Magic, too."

"…fine!" Sun Wukong grumbled. "I am calm…"

"Good", Xuan Zhang nodded. "Now, shall we defeat this misguided creature of darkness together?"

"Yes, Master", Sun Wukong readied his staff. And together, the master and student charged!

…and fell down face first…

Remember the long thin velvet clothes? Some of them got tangled around Father Shu's feet and made him lose balance. So, to break his fall he reached out instinctively to the nearest thing he could reach out to: Spear's waist. Like a pair of domino block, they both fell down on top of the other, both suddenly at lost at what to do or whether they should get up or not. They just stayed there, lost; Haoqi and Bob were brain dead also, not knowing what to do, and Kisa was at the verge of fainting from excessive laughing. So, Lin, being the closest person in the mess, decided to take charge.

"I'm ALIVE!" he sat up, wailing like a ghost… or something like that. "My Master… why have you fallen into their booby trap, my Master… Arrrghhh… I'm dead again…"

And so, Sha Wujing once again fell into the abyss, only this time he got a spotlight. Upon this extremely absurd scene, Father Shu and Spear exchanged look and shrugged and just dropped… Okay, next!

"No, my friends!" Prince Jeun exclaimed. He dashed toward the fallen Monk Xuan Zhang and knelt down in despair despite the Demon Bull's cruel evil laugh.

"It is time, weakling", the Demon Bull thundered. Another smoke, but this time it was more concentrated on the throne. And as the last of the smoke was gone, so was the throne. Instead, it was a veiled bed standing sat there and though nobody could see who was in there, it was definitely the Princess sleeping there under the enchantment of the evil demon.

"Feast your eyes upon your goal; goal that you shall not achieve. Mwahahaha!"

The Prince looked up to the bed and the Princess with longing on his face. But, his brown eyes were plagued once more with grief when he turned to his fallen friends once more. However, when got up, it was neither longing nor grief overwhelming his character; it was conviction. He lifted his sword (prop, army surplus blunt metal sword) and said with all his might. "I shall not back down from the likes of you!"

"Then, be gone!" the Demon Bull screamed. He launched forward and waved his mallet in a wide arc, aimed at the Prince's head. Prince Jeun rolled away in time (stepping on Private Liu's stomach in the process), the Demon Bull moved with comparable speed; their weapons clashed with the sound of metal clank (sound effect, courtesy to Bullhorn). Two more blows they exchanged, Prince Jeun, being the smaller and wielding smaller weapon, soon began to lose his ground. And so he moved; he rolled sideways just in time to avoid the Demon Bull's heavy blow (which missed Private Liu's head by an inch).

Prince Jeun used his sword to claim part of the magical fire still engulfing Sha Wujing (he basically scooped some of the clothes with the tip of his sword) and threw it to the impeding demon. His tactic was a success; it hit the Demon Bull right in the smoocher. Shrieking in pain, the demon barely able to defend against Prince Jeun's renewed and ferocious blows with his mighty (prop) mallet. After the fifth blow, Haoqi's wooden mallet snapped in half; Bob's prop sword might not be real but it was still made of metal and Haoqi's prop, though the head was made of rubber, the handle was made of light wood. A second or two of awkwardness later…

"Argh! You got meee!" the Demon Bull suddenly clutched his chest; he staggered of his feet and then keeled over and passed on to the next incarnation cycle.

"Finally, my friends", Prince Jeun let his sword dropped on the floor for he no longer needed it; a spotlight was upon him, the fallen heroes, and the bed. "Now, you shall rest in peace."

The spotlights on the fallen heroes were off; only the Prince's and the bed's remain.

"And now, my princess", he walked slowly to the bed. "Now, I shall release you of your curse with—"

_Oh, dear…_

Now, you see, if this had been a, say, better executed play, Haoqi's character should have told Bob's character the way to break the Princesses' Curse of Eternal Sleep. And that is after Haoqi's character tells everyone about what the Curse of Eternal Sleep is, of course; which he did not.

"Um…" Bob froze, unsure of what to do.

"Arrrgghh!" Lin's earlier rise-from-the-dead stunt was replicated by Haoqi, who could not come up with an original idea of his own. "I am not dead yet…appaernetly… but, I, uh, will die soon. But not now… y-you, foul snobbish stupid prince!"

Bob knew Haoqi was expecting a respond or something like that but he just could not give any...

"The Princess has been cursed!" the Demon Bull yelled, gasping short and heavy breaths in his last moment. "The Curse of Eternal Sleep can only be broke with…"

A dramatic pause, give a chance for the audience to hold their breath.

"…a kiss", the Demon Bull finished, drawing a series of catcalls and wolf-whistle from the audience. And then he dropped dead again.

A second or so organizing his thought, Prince Jeun proceeded to veiled bed. Finally, the one thing that he had been wanting for so long, the one thing that he had paid dear price for, was finally within his grasp. He knelt down beside the bed, accompanied by the audience's 'oooh', and opened the bed curtain a little, allowing himself a peek. Next, his lifespan was shortened by five years. He glanced the eager audience awkwardly and then shot a look at the 'Princess' furiously. Rha-Mi, grinning, whispered. "Major Meg-meg had an emergency, food poisoning from yesterday's dinner."

Oh, dear…

Another awkward glance at the audience, accompanied by a trembling smile, a desperate glance at Rha-Mi, who was shrugging and, thankfully, hidden from the audience's view, and a glare at Kisa, who egged them on to proceed with a large grin on his face. Now or never, Bob leaned closer slowly, already making promises to the Spirits in exchange for a way out, Rha-Mi who was in no better mood either, could do nothing but closing his eyes tightly, hoping it would be over soon.

But, by the will of the Spirits, the gong rang…

Bob instinctively froze; all actors had to when the gong rang. Kisa had actually made them do the gong drill for five hours two days before the play. So, with Prince Jeun stopping in the midair, sighing in relief, Kisa slid onto the center of the stage using earthbending. He jumped lightly and stomped mightily, spun his left arm like a windmill, then his right arm went through the same motion, he let out simultaneous forceful palm thrusts to his left and right; the very ground beneath each and every dead tolls moved by his will, the stage was now empty save for Kisa, the Prince and the bed, and two spotlights on them.

Kisa calmly played his three tunes to the bewildered audience. When he finished, he narrated. "And so, with the power of the kiss, Prince Jeun the Charming broke the Curse of Eternal Sleep, and he and the Princess lived happily ever after."

And he closed with a full serene song with his flute, hoping that it would be enough to distract the audience from the botched ending. His hope was in vain; the audience started to boo and demanded the kiss scene. But…

"Oh, right", Kisa abruptly stopped his playing. "I was also told to inform you that they have found the missing candy cart. So, as of now, the candy stand is officially open."

Plan B worked like magic. Led by the kids, the whole audience dashed away to the candy stand like sand swept away by waves, leaving Kisa who was back to playing the rest of the song calmly with big grin on his face.

* * *

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: you should stick to singing and storytelling", said Spear Haoren who was in the middle of taking off his fake face fur.

"My eye burns", complained Trik, holding a towel over his spat eye.

"Sorry about that", Nurse Xiao Li giggled guiltily.

"Job well done, my friends", Kisa swept along the crowded make-up tent gracefully; in his hands he held a velvet covered cheap looking golden vase. "Candies for everyone!"

"I still can't believe it's really yours, Father", commented Spear, grabbing a handful of candy before passing the jar to the interns.

"Ah, yes", laughed Father Shu, stroking his monk-spade lovingly; a cumbersome halberd with metal plated staff and a crescent blade on one end and a spade-like blade on the other. "I wasn't always a peaceful monk, I'm afraid. As a teenager, I followed the way of the Sohei Sect of Warrior Monk in the Eastern Region. You see, as a kid, I was a little meek and my father, who was a veteran town guard, thought I could do with some…"

Absorbed in Father Shu's story, nobody realized a lone lieutenant making his way out discreetly.

* * *

"Hi, boss", Taka greeted from on top of the rock, fanning himself with a large wide leaf; his bow and arrows resting on a rock near him.

"No luck?" asked Lin as he got closer.

"Not at all", sighed Taka, gulping from his water pouch. "I think he's gone for real this time."

"Keep watching for the rest of the week", Lin decided. "By that time, news or no news, we'll stop hunting this Butcher."

"Yes!" Taka exclaimed. Picking up his tool and discarding his leave, he made his way to the clearing near the camp where a mini carnival was being conducted for a well-earned fun, leaving Lin alone with his contemplation on top of the hill. About ten or so minutes later…

"I thought you'd be here", a female voice snapped Lin of his thought. Nurse Huang Mei was a few feet away from him.

"I thought you'd be in the tent", replied Lin.

"We're done with the props few minutes ago", informed Huang Mei lightly. "Not joining the festivities?"

"No", replied Lin curtly.

"Typical of you", said Huang Mei, now standing by Lin's side. "Sitting on top of a hill, overlooking all the fun."

"I _am_ the Head Security", scoffed Lin.

"Psh, come now!" Huang Mei waved it off. "You should have learnt by now that nobody's taking anything seriously in this place."

"Doesn't mean I have to—"

"Yes, it does!" she laughed. Nurse Huang Mei then grabbed the younger boy by his wrist and started dragging him downhill. "Come on! Have some fun with the others!"

"But, I—"

"Come on!"

Lin opened his mouth to reply but his words were met by nonchalant ignorance from the woman. So, he just surrendered to Nurse Huang Mei's dragging him across the stands to have fun. After all, just like everybody else in this hellhole, a simple fun like this was a real treat for her. Not to mention that a man had died in her arms the previous day; just like everybody else, Nurse Huang Mei was just trying to stay sane.

* * *

"Man the catapult!" an order was shouted and echoed through the moonless night. A small chubby middle-aged man in an officer uniform was shouting it; behind him was a young general in his early thirties, shoeless, brown haired, an angry reddish burn scar marred the right side of his neck, his humorless lips framed by wispy mustached and long well-groomed beard hanging down from his chin to the base of his neck, firm and short nose under his pair of deep green eyes. His green cape fluttered by the slight breeze in that summer night.

"Fire when ready", he said; his order was echoed by the small middle-aged man, his aide.

The five catapults were ready, rugged boulders were set upon each one. All five were aimed at the battlement ahead of them. Built of wood along Nan Shan, this battlement had been supporting the Fire Nation's supply line for far too long. For a simple battlement, this one had proven to be exceptionally tough. The Earth Kingdom general, General Hocho, had besieged it for a week and yet it still stood. Even the reinforcement from the Southern Water Tribe Fleet proved to be of little help. It was understandable; Chief Hakoda, the leader of the Southern Water Tribe fleet did say that Colonel Shimazu of the Fire Nation Army who command this battlement was a tough opponent to defeat. Not to mention that he had secured the deployment of the Rough Rhinos among his ranks in his firebenders only unit, and don't forget that this was summer, the season of fire.

From afar, one could hear the sound of battle drifting in the wind; Hakoda and his men fighting the Colonel's main army, diverting his force while Hocho sneaked around the back to deal with the battlement. Hakoda was a great warrior, he and his men could handle the Rough Rhinos, Hocho told himself over and over again.

Psh! Listen to him. Now he got himself all worried about a bunch of Water barbarian.

Upon his steed, Hocho cracked a stiff smile, a smile that was, thankfully, hidden by his beard. What a man Hakoda was; even Hocho and his Earth Kingdom-ish pride could not help but admire Hakoda and the charisma he constantly radiated. A born leader, Hakoda was, thought Hocho. Even so, Hocho still found the way Hakoda mingled with his men distasteful; if Hakoda had any flaw, it was his ignorance of the line that a man of his standing should draw between him and others of lower birth.

"The gate has fallen!" the chubby middle-aged officer shouted, followed by cheers from the soldiers around him. In front of them, their target had fallen. The gate of the battlement had finally been breached.

"Charge!" the general screamed, spurring his steed forward, leading his men into the foray. Finally… finally after a week of besieging this small, weak-looking, trashy battlement, victory would be his.

* * *

"You resemble the Gray Wolf Spirit", the old lady said, examining her client's palm. "Cunning, clever, quick, and deadly."

"I don't know how to respond to that", replied Lin in all honesty. Beside him, in front of the palm reading stand, Nurse Huang Mei was trying hard not to laugh.

"And witty, too", added the palm reader rather sharply. "Hmm… you have experienced much… and about to experience much more. Oh, my…"

"What? Am I gonna die?"

"Hmm…"

"…Um…?"

"…"

"…Okay, now I'm scared…."

"It says here that you will have big role to play", said the reader with the utmost interest in Lin's palm.

"I just did, I was Sha Wujing the Water Spirit in the play awhile ago. I was like one of the main characters and had a cool dramatic death scen— are you sure your prediction's not outdated?" Lin drawled to no avail; the palm reader was now taking Lin's hand even closer to her face, murmuring to herself, and acting as if Lin's hand was some sort of very interesting ancient relic or something.

"Hmm… interesting. It also says here that you will take on an entire nation", she said finally, though still not taking her eyes off Lin's palm.

"Huh? You mean like fight them 'take on', or…"

"…"

"You're ignoring me again, aren't you?"

"And you will lose so much… a person that you love the most will die…"

"Come again?"

"You will lose faith and become a great destroyer."

"I will _what_?"

"And it says here that you will die at sea."

"That does it. I'm committing suicide tonight."

"…Hmm? But, it says here you will die at sea", frowned the reader, finally acknowledging her customer properly.

"My, thank you for the confirmation, ma'am. That's exactly what I need", replied Lin rather sarcastically. Turning to Nurse Huang Mei, who was positively laughing, he said. "Let's go."

"But, I'm not finished!" the palm reader exclaimed, not wanting to let Lin's hand go.

"Yes, you are", frowned Lin, pulling his hand to no avail. "I'm gonna die at sea, right? What could possible come after _that_?"

"Well, it's the stuff in between that's interesting!" said the reader, looking slightly hurt. "Don't you want to know about the scar that you're go— Hey, wait! Don't—"

"That's enough! Gimme my hand back!"

"No, wait! Just a— Look, a triangle love! Oooh, the plot's thickened— _stop pulling_!"

"What am I, a novel? Let go, woman!"

"Just a bit…! Aha! A shield that protects great men! Leader of … _don't struggle, midget_! Leader of a band of— Noooo! Come baaaaack!"

Far away from the crazy palm reader's stand…

"She's crazy", Lin commented to the laughing Nurse Huang Mei.

"Oh, come on… according to her, your life will be colorful", she laughed, dragging the boy deeper into the crowd.

"Yeah, yippee", grumbled Lin.

"And of course, there's the love triangle, the scar, the dying at sea…"

"If I buy you fried noodle, will you stop trying to cheer me up?"

"Two."

"Okay."

And soon, they found themselves sitting under a small food tent set up by the fried noodle merchant. The tent, like the taste of the food, and the rest of the carnival, was quite ordinary, objectively speaking. Understandably, even though the fighting was nowhere near the 44th, the area was still classified as warzone and not many merchants would risk their wares or lives opening up their business in such setting. Only those who could not make decent profit selling their wares in safe places, due to many reasons, usually concerning the quality of their goods or the validity of their permits, had enough gall to do so. But, even so, the daily food quality of the 44th was just so crummy, this average looking, so-so tasting fried noodle tasted so good to Lin and the others.

"But, you know", said Nurse Huang Mei while chewing her food. "You do have those wolf-ish qualities."

"I don't have fangs, do I?" smiled Lin sourly.

"No, not that", Rha-Mi waved it off. "It's just that you… you know."

"What?"

"You like to spend your time alone", said Yee Shoo. "Like a wolf."

"That's right", concurred Seito, accompanied by the others' murmur.

"You eat alone", added Yee Shoo again, eliciting another wave of murmur.

"Your hobbies are the kind of thing people do alone, like reading and calligraphy", added Rha-Mi.

"And you've stopped training the guys, too", said Nurse Xiao Li. "I know they suck, but (ignoring an offended '_hey_!' from Corporal Rha-Mi, Privates Jou, Liu, Wu, Ming, Thoo, Wang, Li, Zhung, Zhou, Yang, the other Li, and Yau) even if you do spend time training them, you really don't spend too much time around people, you know."

"There's nothing wrong with that", Bob tried to defend Lin but a chorus of frown and raised brows aimed at him drowned what little courage he had.

"I mean, seriously, dude", said Seito again, as if Bob had never said anything. "You're like a lone wolf."

"Ah, yes, the lone wolf", said Kisa, waving his chopsticks like a musician would a baton. "The warrior of the herd, the protector of the pack. It is said that while travelling with the pack, the lone wolf will always walk ahead. Alone… cut off from the rest of its group. It will hunt for its own food alone, huddle under its own rock, and lick its own wound. All for the sake of its pack."

"How so?" asked Rabbit, wide-eyed; Kisa's bard-like way of speaking had that effect on children… and Rabbit.

"Well, you see, young Rabbit", Kisa tapped Rabbit's nose lightly with his chopstick like he would a kid, a little tricky since Rabbit was sitting three persons away from him. "The lone wolf travelled ahead to clear the path for the pack. It will hunt down preys and left some on its trail for the pack to find and eat. It will fend off any predators before they get a chance to even set eyes on the rest of the pack. A selfless and noble creature, indeed."

* * *

"Hakoda!" a man in deep blue leather armor shouted. Hakoda, a Water Tribe warrior wearing similar but more elaborate armor, ran up to him. As Hakoda reached the man, the man leaned forward and whispered something to his ear.

"Again?" Hakoda sighed. "Where is he?"

"In the command room", replied the Water Tribe warrior. "Bato's arguing with him; or stalling, as he put it."

With that, Hakoda dashed into the battlement with the warrior on his tail. As they reached the courtyard, their eyes fell on the small wooden building adjacent to a bigger one; the prison and the command building, respectively. With no hesitation at all, Hakoda dashed across the courtyard that was still littered with debris from the earlier battle, only to find that the prison building was guarded by two Earth Kingdom soldiers. The warrior who was with Hakoda, understanding Hakoda's intention, patted the Chief's shoulder and nodded. The next thing, he was being carried away to the infirmary by those two Earth Kingdom soldiers because his 'old battle wound on his knee was suddenly acting up and he could not make it back to the Water Tribe's camp on his own', thus allowing Hakoda, who was hiding behind a nearby barrel all the time, to make his way into the prison uninterrupted.

As he got in, he was greeted by a cracked but fierce voice. "If you're going to kill me, you better do it quick."

"Colonel Shimazu?"

"Yeah?"

He sounded fine, thought Hakoda as he got deeper into the dark room. He took out a small candle and spark rock and lit it. The eerie dim light it cast sent shivers to the back of his neck. But, it was light enough for him to make out of the Fire Nation officer slouching against the wall behind bars in the cell room.

"Colonel?" Hakoda bowed to the man; a man with snow white hair and slightly wrinkled face but muscle tone of a hormone-crazed teenager, one of his amber eyes was hidden behind a red eye patch, his healthy eye was badly bruised, just like his bleeding lips, swollen cheeks, hurting jaws, and his torso behind his tattered red tunic. He had obviously been tortured shortly after his capture. Squinting, his amber eye scrutinized Hakoda's face.

"Have we met before?" Shimazu asked. His voice might be cracking due to dehydration but his spirit was clearly unbroken.

"Around second month of spring, Wu Lin Highway", smiled Hakoda as he offered the prisoner his water pouch. "We sort of… met."

"Oh, right. Hard to forget", smiled Shimazu, finally recognizing Hakoda. He raised the pouch in a toast for Hakoda, drank slowly, and coughed a little. "Again, I'm sorry about that."

There had been uncountable numbers of incident in the Great War that had gone unrecorded in history. One of such incidents was the time when a group of bandit attacked a Fire Nation merchant caravan in Wu Lin Highway. Mounting up to nearly fifty, they quickly overpowered the caravan guards and was about to harm the merchants when a band of Water Tribe warriors showed up and saved them. Unfortunately, one of the merchants had released a messenger hawk bearing a distress call to the nearby Fire Nation post and it ended up with a unit of firebender soldiers showing up under Colonel Shimazu just when the Water Tribe warriors, led by Hakoda, was about to wrap up the rescue. So, the two rescue missions collided and almost turned into an onslaught had the merchants not explained the situation to the eager Fire Nation soldiers quickly enough. That was when the two leaders first encountered each other; Shimazu was impressed by Hakoda's virtue, willing to rescue Fire Nation citizens despite the war, and Hakoda felt respect for the colonell simply because Shimazu did not attack him just because they were in the opposing sides of the war.

And here they were, two enemies: one was defeated, the other a victor.

"So", Shimazu coughed. Or did he scoff? It was a little unclear. "What will become of me?"

"From what I've gathered, General Hocho was at the verge of flipping a coin to decide whether he should execute you right away or bring you as a trophy to Ba Sing Se", replied Hakoda with all honesty.

Shimazu threw his head back and cracked a sore laughter. "Honesty is a virtue, lad!" he boomed, but then he sounded more serious when he continued. "Shouldn't you have sugared that a little?"

"I thought it would only offend a man of your caliber", smile Hakoda.

"Well, my fate is sealed", shrugged Shimazu almost lazily. "You better go before— heh, you're more of a fool than I thought."

"I'll take that as a compliment", chuckled Hakoda as he struggled to open the cell lock with a lock pick. "Some of the greatest people I know are a fool."

"You have that kind of people in South Pole too?" replied Shimazu, standing up and stretching his aching back.

"Something like that", Hakoda replied lightly. Hakoda's thought drifted to a certain boy wearing his Water Tribe warrior training armor, warrior battle paint, and carrying his travelling pack, and about to sneak into one of the ships of the fleet his father led. "This way, sir", succeeding with breaking the lock, Hakoda opened the cell and let Shimazu out.

With the old colonel close behind him, Hakoda took a peek at the courtyard from the door. Once he was sure the courtyard was empty, he let himself and Shimazu out. Crouching low across the tent, they took cover behind an abandoned cart when two guard sentries walked passed by, cursing something about 'fire-spitters'. Hakoda and Shimazu laid low until the voices trailed off further and further away till they became nothing but whisper to them. Deciding it was time to move, Hakoda took another peek before leading the colonel to the stable; two of Hakoda's men were there, standing by a cart filled with hay.

Noticing their chief and the escapee coming close, both men climbed the sides of the cart and began pulling the content to the sides of the cart, leaving the middle part thinner. When Hakoda jumped onto the cart, Shimazu paused and gave him a 'you've gotta be kidding me' look. However, silent persuasion from Hakoda won him over and with the two men laying on the middle of the cart, covered completely with hay, the earlier two Water Tribe warriors took the driver's seat and spurred the ostrich horse forward, toward the exit. But, as they reached the gateway, they were stopped by the sentries.

"Halt!" the two guards crossed their halberds together, barring the cart's route. "What's in that cart?"

"Hay for our steeds, sir", one of the Water Tribe Warriors answered calmly.

"Steeds?" though they had ease their halberd, they sentries still looked alerted. "I don't know you Water Tribe people had steeds with you."

Though he could not see anything from inside the hay, Hakoda knew Shimazu had tensed up. He wanted to ease the colonel a little but he dared not moved a muscle. After all, if anything went wrong here, his two men would get dragged in as well.

"For our contribution, General Hocho has granted us ownership of the komodo rhinos confiscated from the Fire Nation, sir", the warrior from before lied smoothly. "This hay is for them."

"Oh, okay", the sentry seemed satisfied with that answer. "You may pass."

The cart must have only gone for about twenty feet when one of the Earth Kingdom sentries struck a conversation with the other one. "Hey… don't komodo rhinos only eat fresh grass?"

"…_Stop that cart_!" he screamed at the top of his lung. But, alas, the cart sped up, leaving nothing but dust on them. Though rocked rather violently inside, Hakoda and Shimazu laid still. Few minutes of the bumpy ride later, the cart stopped completely; but yet both men laid still. It was only until some Water Tribe warriors clawed their way through the hay and Hakoda smelt the night air again did he rose up groggily, followed suit by Shimazu. Without muttering a word, they both jumped down. All around them, Hakoda's men were working swiftly dismantling their camp.

The one thing that seemed to stand out from the scene was the beat up badly bruised man, Fire Nation, by the looks of him, tied up on the middle of the camp to a pole. This captured man wore no armor like typical soldiers'; instead, he wore light brown tunic under his heavier faded red leather jacket. His left hand was gloved, his right hand was not, though his right index, thumb, and middle fingers were bandaged heavily with some sort of brown cloth, not because he was wounded there but because they were his drawing fingers; this man was an archer, a pretty decent one, according to Bato whose arm he nicked. Brown pants, typical pointed Fire Nation boots, a headband with a red triangle symbol (Hakoda guessed this had something to do with archer unit), top-knot; the other things that distinguished him from the other soldiers were the red tattoo covering the upper part of his face, especially his wide squinty eyes (for some reason, Hakoda also thought that this had something to do with him being an archer), almost like an ugly but intimidating face paint; and the fact that this man was one of the Rough Rhinos, the one Bato brought down with a boomerang to the back of his head.

Capturing a Rhino was quite a deed; Hocho had temporarily gained custody on him, which would explained his bruises, but when Hakoda found out about the torture, he tried to reclaimed this man as a prisoner of war. That was why Bato was called to Hocho's place; as the man who captured Vachir, according to the rule of conduct, Vachir was Bato's prisoner and only with Bato's permission could Hocho gain permanent custody over Vachir. But surely Bato could rebut Hocho's attempts to claim this prisoner with that smooth silk tongue of his; it had been at least thirty minutes when their prison break started but Hocho had not marched down this camp leading the bulk of his unit yet.

"Heeeyy!" speaking of which; there he was. Bato rode a fully equipped ostrich horse down the road toward them, grinning from ear to ear.

"How did it go?" Hakoda asked, leaning on the cart while Bato halted his steed in front of him without descending.

"General Hocho will be waiting to ambush you on the western highway", said Bato.

"And how do you know that?" smiled Hakoda.

"Well, apparently I could not 'in good conscience' (Bato made a quotation gesture) betrayed an 'honorable' (another gesture) general like him and so, with 'heavy heart' (another gesture) I have decided to betray you", answered Bato smoothly. "So, for all he knows I'm leading you to the ambush site right about now. Oh, and he even gave me this ostrich horse. It comes with armor, a survival kit on the saddle bag, a snack compartment on the saddle horn, and all. Neat, huh?"

"Nice", Hakoda commented, moving in to touch the steed's beak. Meanwhile, Shimazu cast a weird look at Vachir, it looked as if he was more surprised that Vachir was there at all, rather than disheartened by the extent of Vachir's injuries.

"We're ready" a Water Tribe warrior showed up, throwing Bato's pack to him.

"Right, let's go", said Hakoda. He gestured Shimazu to get on the cart and followed suit after the colonel did. Half a dozen Water Tribe warriors who were too wounded to travel did the same as they were helped up by Hakoda and several men; Shimazu helped too, still stealing glances at Vachir.

"Hey, what about him?" asked a warrior, pointing at Vachir who stared indignantly at them.

"We can't really bring him", another warrior argued. Then, they all looked up to Hakoda, asking him to decide; some, including Hakoda, threw uncomfortable glances at Shimazu who understood their reluctance.

"Just leave him", Shimazu said roughly. "Never like the likes of him anyway. Besides, the other Rhinos are bound to come back for him and when they do they can hold the Earth Kingdom for us."

So, leaving Vachir tied up behind, the procession marched forth: Bato on his new ride and a group of warriors in front; the cart driven by Hakoda and Shimazu, carrying several wounded warriors in the middle, guarded from all sides by spear wielding warriors; and the rest of the men following from behind on foot. Instead of leading them west, as Bato had promised Hocho, the group headed east into the forest path, away from the battlement and Hocho.

Their travel met no real resistance, aside from the unusually cold night summer breeze. After what seemed to be hours of travel, they hit a clearing. Deciding that they had put enough distance from the Earth Kingdom armies, they stopped. Hakoda jumped down first, followed by Shimazu; around them Water Tribe warriors sat down on any surface, resting.

"Let's see…" murmured Hakoda, looking up to the sky to read the stars. "Colonel, Pohuai Stronghold should not be long to that direction", he said pointing at the path down the hill. "You should be able to get there without any problem."

Shimazu followed the direction of Hakoda's finger, squinting his only good eye, but he could not penetrate the dark of night. Then, one of Hakoda's men shoved a green Earth Kingdom tunic and a water pouch at him. Taking them, Shimazu, who was always so composed, seemed to be at lost for words. Hakoda then turned to Bato and asked him to dismount, much to Bato's dismay.

"But I'm about to name him", protested Bato, but he led the steed to Shimazu anyway. "You owe me for this one."

Hakoda, grinning slyly, only said four words in reply: "Moon Festival, Yuna's fruitcake."

"So, his name's Thunder, a bit broad on the back but very supple at the rear, dry fodder only, twice a day, at morning and sundown, and he like it when you scratch his neck just below his chin. Enjoy", said Bato quickly, handing the rein off to Shimazu. Throwing a rebellious pout at Hakoda, Bato then picked his spear and joined the men in their short break.

"This is it, huh?" Shimazu forced a smile on Hakoda, though his bruised lips made it look as if he was grimacing.

"I hope so. Every time we meet, it always seems to involved battles", replied Hakoda, reciprocating Shimazu's handshake. Helping the old man getting up the steed, he gave further direction about the route.

"Thank you, Hakoda. You are a true gentleman", said Shimazu in all gratitude.

"Safe journey, sir", replied Hakoda, smiling.

"You know", Shimazu said, wanting to even the score a little. "Up northeast, there's a port town. Neutral ground, few soldiers from both sides, loads of imported merchandise from other regions. You can get decent herbs from there."

"I will most certainly pay that place a visit, sir", bowed Hakoda gratefully.

"Well, take care then", Shimazu bowed back as much as his position on top of the steed permit. "May Agni protect you", he continued before spurring his steed forward down the hill, leaving them.

"A fine lad", commented Bato at the colonel riding the steed on high speed.

"He is."

"… I was talking about Thunder."

* * *

"To the greatest!" Rha-Mi yelled.

"The bravest!" Kisa added, raising a cup.

"The cleverest!" Private Liu joined in.

"The kindest!" Nurse Xiao Li added.

"The richest!" Yee Shoo too joined in.

"The handsomest!" Trik yelled louder than anyone.

"The strongest!" Private Wang this time.

"Eh, shut up!" grumbled Lin as he handed a bunch of Earth Kingdom Army script to the noodle vendor who, upon receiving the bunch of paper, was 155 gold, 65 silver, and 93 copper (plus tip, tax not included) richer, accompanied by the gang's loud applause as they sealed the transaction. So, while the vendor laughed gleefully, fanning himself with his new wealth and the boys patted Lin on the back and thanked him for his (forced) generosity. Apparently, upon wanting to pay for his and Nurse Huang Mei's bill, their table companions took notice of how loaded Lin's purse was and so after much pestering from the shameless lot, the unfortunate lieutenant ended up paying for the whole camp! Luckily, Lin had not spent all his salary yet.

"You're leaving already?" asked Lin to Kisa. As they got out from the tent, he noticed Kisa was carrying his pack.

"Yes, as the matter of fact I am", smiled Kisa broadly, securing his bamboo flute on his sash. "The kids are anxious around soldiers so I really can't stay overnight in the camp."

As if on cue, a group of kids approached them, led by a plump man with thin long moustache on his round cheerful face; he was wearing thin white robe with pink edges, also pinned on his farmer cone hat was a small pink flower which added more friendliness to his atmosphere. The man carried with him a small drum, hanging by the strap on his neck.

"Moku, are all kids present and counted for?" asked Kisa cheerfully. Those kids who were with Kisa ran up to Moku and joined up with the group.

"Yes, Kisa", Moku answered after quickly counting the newly arriving kids. "We are all set to go."

"Are you sure this is safe?" Lin asked, feeling uneasy about sending a bard, his assistant, and about forty harmless kids into the night in the middle of the Great War.

"You worry too much", replied Kisa, after being released from Nurse Jen's goodbye hug. "The Oya Abbey is just five hours ride to the east and even if we cannot make it tonight, we can always make camp near the mountain. This close to the battlefront, the forest is relatively free from bandits or wild animals."

"I can send some—"

"No, no, no", Kisa refused airily before pulling the young man into an embrace. "You don't worry about a thing. We will be just fine. We've done this before, you know."

It seems like there was no changing Kisa's mind. So, all Lin could do was to wish him safe journey. With that, Lin and pretty much the whole camp walked Kisa and his group to their transports: a large cart people usually use to transport big slaughter animals that had been modified for people and comfort, padded and decorated with bright colored clothes in the inside, pulled by four large ostrich horses, used by the kids with Kisa on the rein; and a regular cart they used to carry their props, manned by Moku.

"Alright, then people, Colonel", a special shout out to Haoqi, replied with a nod and a smile, Kisa threw his arms and said a very hearty. "Until we meet again!"

The gang responded with applause and goodbyes, replaced by wishes and waved hands exchanged with the kids as the carts marched down the road. And still chipper as always, Kisa led. "Alright, everybody! _Wonderin' why you are lost~_" he sang.

"_Beggin' to the heavens above_", the kids started to sing along. Carried by the wind, the camp could hear their singing clearly.

_Oh, Mother show me way,_

_Don't let me stay this way,_

_Please, oh, please, hear. _

_Let the lotus blooms once more._

* * *

"Man, I'm beat", yawned Taka as he and his two tent mates walked to their tent.

A long night it had been, especially for him. While Lin and Rocky made an embarrassment of themselves in Kisa's butchered play, Taka had been doing his scouting routine with the only highlight of it all was when a wild moose-bull relieved itself on the tree on which Taka was perching. So, it was understandable that, as soon as they entered their tent, Taka, without as much care as to take off his shoes and light armor, or properly stowed his weapons away, dived down onto his bed; a second later his snore echoes inside the canvas. Rocky too was tired; he mimicked Taka's action only without the snoring and with more grace. Lin was also tired; he only took off his boots and cast a quick glance on his memoir, that he silently decided to be unwritten for tonight, and his empty money pouch he threw lazily on it, making mental note to start carrying less money with him whenever he was in this camp. So, already comfy on the less than comfortable bed, he shifted to the side for better position. That was when he came face to face with that thing.

Lin sat up sleepily and took that thing up with one hand; the stuffed wolf that Nurse Huang Mei had won from the dart stand had a note slipped under its collar and the note read:

"_To our Wolf,_

_Cheer up!_

_From the nurses._

_P.S. it's from us too!_

_Spear and Trik_."

The P.S. part was written with different and messier handwriting. So, the story went like this: the nurses decided to give Lin the wolf to, I don't know, cheer him up or something because Lin had been unusually gloomy lately, not that he was not usually gloomy around them or anything, but since some people often testified that they sometimes saw the you young man smiled, _actually smiled_, when he was not busy being gloomy, they thought something must have been bothering him for him to be gloomier than before lately. Anyway, as it was against regulation for female personnel to enter male personnel's tent for non-military purposes, they decided to ask the pair whackjobs of a doctor (Spear and Trik) to deliver it and the said whackjobs _accidentally_ read the message even though they had been expressly warned, with death threats no less, against such perversion, and decided that they wanted to bask in the glory of this selfless act of charity and friendship as well.

Smiling, Lin sniffled, "_Girls_…", though he did feel his chest becoming lighter somehow. Lying back down, he stared at the childish face of the wolf, reminiscing about a certain stuffed animal won in a festival just like this; only that it had been a panda, and it had been a still autumn night, a Fire Nation festival, him winning the prize, and him presenting the stuffed animal to someone. Seemed a lifetime ago when he was still with Azula, Zuko, and Ursa, with Jiang, Biao, and the rest of his family, or with Piandao, Shin, and the others; two lifetimes ago with his grandparents and Iroh, teaching and guiding him always, and with Lu Ten having fun, training, and pulling pranks with him; the good old days. It had seemed that it would go on forever. If the crazy fortunetelling lady had been right about anything, it would be the fact that Lin had indeed lost so much…

Sighing tiredly, Lin hugged the wolf, drifting his mind to happier thought, and wondering why most of them were filled by the bright amber eyes, the mischievous glint, and the impish smile of a certain Fire Princess. The thoughts brought smile to the boy's face, a smile that melted a little when he came into another realization that sooner or later he would have to confront Azula about the truth, especially the truth about their engagement.

_Oh well_, he yawned; his smile came back a little. Maybe Kisa was right, he really did worry too much. And with more thought on the happier days, the young Dragon drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The kids had seemed to have fallen asleep. Kisa had not predicted the ride to drag this long but he made no plan to stop. After all, after seeing some faint signs of battle near the mouth of the forest, pressing on did really seem to be the most prudent choice. Even so, it did not stop Kisa from asking Moku to switch place with him; it had been Moku's cart leading the way with its brighter lantern, and with Kisa's larger cart, that only housed two small lanterns at the front seat, following from behind. But, fearing something like a kid falling off the cart in the dark or something, Moku had taken the rear, keeping an eye on the kids' carriage. Also, since the windows of the back entrance allowed the passengers of the larger carriage to look outside, having Moku at the rear within the children's sight would offer some morale boost.

A sudden rustle! Kisa tensed up, ready for anything but nothing happened. He prayed to the spirits above it was not bandits or animals. He did not really care if it was soldiers. Kisa the Bard was a very well-known face, after all.

Though there was no official record about this, Kisa was pretty much the only non-Fire Nation person who received a permission from the Fire Nation Army to enter any colonies, any camps he liked whenever he wanted to. After all, with all these military cruelties and incidences that might (or might not) have involved innocent civilians of both Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation colonials, Fire Nation Army had been keen on preserving face to the folks back home. And since Kisa was a well-known bard to begin with, plus he was a living god among humanitarians, they decided to come up with this unique policy just for him.

You see, aside from barding, Kisa also took in any orphans he found in his travels since he could not in good conscience leave them to fend for themselves; Earth Kingdoms had somewhat negative views on orphans. Kisa would take them and bring them to temples or orphanages where they could settle. Furthermore, Kisa never cared about nationality or ethnicity when saving children; among his current group he had Earth Kingdom locals, Fire Nation orphans, even those of mixed ethnicities whom were regarded as abominations by the closed-minded typical Earth Kingdom.

Kisa peered through the window behind the driver's seat and smiled at the sleeping children, feeling a little prick in his heart. It was not the first time he wondered if he was truly doing the right thing. At that time of war, orphanages were, simply put, hell. With the war raging on with no end at sight, the governments had to relocate much fund that was supposed to save life for other purposes such as building armies and producing arms; worse still was the fact that orphanages often acted as recruitment grounds. Kisa smiled bitterly at himself. _Well, at least they won't have to live and die like dogs_.

Another rustle! Only this time, the source of the rustle stepped forth: an old man wearing green tunic and an eye patch riding a fully armored ostrich-horse. For many a reason Colonel Shimazu had decided not to seek refuge in Pohuai Stronghold. First of all, the commander of the Stronghold, Colonel Bujing, was one of the many colleagues who hated his gut. Second of all, considering that the Stronghold was the nearest Fire Nation Army-controlled military ground within a radius 100 miles from his fallen battlement, there was a very strong possibility that the rest of the Rhinos had also sought refugee there; Shimazu would not be able to weasel his way out from them and their most definite questionings about the fate of Vachir. And also the very probable possibility that Vachir had been saved; the archer must have informed them of his temporary alliance with Hakoda and his warriors, the very group of men who had delivered the Rough Rhinos a rare serving of defeat. Shimazu was a formidable firebender despite his age but even he could not win against the Rhinos in his condition

With all that taken into his consideration, Shimazu had decided to ride further still to the east to the town of Gaipan, the nearest colony in the area. That was when he ran into the large carriage manned by a man wearing a turban, a loose robe, and an unbelievably wide smile on his face.

"Colonel Shimazu", Kisa greeted as Shimazu leveled his pace with the cart.

"Master Kisa", Shimazu greeted back. "Going somewhere?"

"Oya Abbey, north from here", replied Kisa, still smiling. "Would you care to tag along, Colonel?"

"No, I have to go to Gaipan", refused Shimazu with a sour smile. "In case you haven't noticed, I am covered in bruises and cuts and, although it looks like I'm having the time of my life, I'm really hurting right now."

"Aw, I can treat your wound, I have medicine somewhere. So, you will come with us, right?"

"No, actually I really prefer—"

"Please, please", begged Kisa, still smiling, but with the addition of puppy dog eyes. "Pretty please…"

"…"

"…*sniff*"

"…One of these days, Kisa", Shimazu gave up. "One of these days."

"Thank you, Colonel", Kisa smiled wider, triumphantly.

"Iroh was right about you", commented Shimazu. "You're as slippery as an eel-mole."

"Ah, the Grand Lotus has ways with words!"

"He indeed does."

* * *

Inside the large cart, a small boy of four or five year old woke up, apparently disturbed by the conversation Kisa and Shimazu were having. He sat up and took a peek from the front window, catching the sight of the back of Kisa's turban and a slight glimpse of the eye-patched newcomer; both adults were discussing about someone who '_looks exactly like his mother_' and was '_a little heavy on the serious side, like his father_' and '_exactly like how Master Chong Chong_ (if he heard correctly) _described'_.

Not understanding any of those, the boy crept slowly and carefully as not to wake any of the other sleeping kid onto the side window. He scanned around the bushes on the roadside for him. He did that for a while with no result and was about to give up and go back to sleep when he heard a distinctive sound of bird call. Recognizing it, he concentrated more on the bushes and there he was! The boy's brown eyes met another pair of brown. The bow nodded his head through the window bars; Jet nodded back at him. The next second, Jet vanished into the bush silently, and The Duke, having accomplished this phase of their plan, went back to sleep.

* * *

**Author's note:**

A million sorry for the super late update! I just started a new course at college and it was a little more difficult than I expected it to be. I have actually started writing this chapter around March but then a gazillion assignment attacked my schedule, my sleep, and my weekends. I just finished my last assignment last Friday and finally got time to finish this chapter.

So, the first part of this chapter, about the play Kisa directed, was a hybrid of _The Journey to the West_ and Avatarized version of _Sleeping Beauty_. The characters played by Father Shu, Spear, Trik, Private Liu, Lin, Nurse Jen, and Haoqi were taken from _The Journey to the West_. I do not own them!

Hakoda made an appearance! So did Jet, The Duke, Moku, and Bato; all from the main series!

Names:

1. Kisa, from Indonesian 'kisah', which means 'story' or 'tale', explains him being a bard

2. Jeun, Cantonese for 'handsome'

3. Hocho, Japanese for 'cleaver', because he is a little cruel

4. Oya Abbey, 'oya' is Japanese for 'parents'

5. Sohei Sect of Warrior Monk; 'sohei' was the Japanese term for warrior monks. They were some sort of mercenary/Japanese-version-Templar-Knights, as I understand it, and were said to be proficient with polearms

6. All the other names of 44th men were generic Chinese names.

Yep, Kisa and Shimazu are members of White Lotus. More about them, especially about Kisa, later.

To hpswst101, Natrim, TwistedGem, ciccia96, and all others; again, a million pardonnez-moi from this unworthy human being. Right now, I am having about a month or so break, so I hope I can update on my usual pace before the start of the new semester. Again, so sorry…

And I hope you all enjoy this one!


	73. Chapter 72

**Chapter 72 – The Return of a Prankster**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

It was a crisp autumn morning. Traces of summer were still apparent in the warm morning sky but breeze of autumn had already begun to sneak in every now and then. Lin was sitting on his favorite rock, secluded behind the main building, and high enough to provide a vantage point on the whole camp. From his spot, he could see Bullhorn on his pedestal, slouching on a couch set up on the balcony of his quarter/watchtower, reading what appeared to be the latest edition of the comic book '_Captain Earth Kingdom'_, which Lin had already made plan to borrow later. Scattering around the camp were some nurses, either doing laundry or other chores, chatting amongst themselves as they watched the men's combat training from a distance away, or simply savoring the more-than-much-welcomed gift of autumn breeze that gave a long-awaited break to the usual murdering summer heat.

On the middle of the square, most of the men were drilled in the various methods of combat by Rocky, Taka, and Bara. Yes, Bara. The time for the next shift of mercenary group had finally arrived. No more than two hours ago, Bara had arrived with another female around her age to relieve Taka and Rocky. Soon after they had reported the shift to Haoqi, as formality required, Bara decided to assist Taka and Rocky in their last training before their departure while she and the other mercenary waited for Haoqi to prepare a tent for them. I mean, it would not do for them to share a tent with Lin like Taka and Rocky did, right?

And so, there they were; the three of them with the men; on one side, Rocky was wordlessly teaching the use of shields and swords by arming the men with those and shooting small rocks at them, having the men alternating between defending themselves from the rock attack with the shield and then slashing the thin air as they would an enemy. A distance away from them, Bara was in the middle of barking something at the three groups of men in front of her. She was drilling them in the Earth Kingdom Military standard Mandarin Duck battle formation; that's when two men armed with sabers and tower shields positioned themselves defensively in the front, two other men armed with spears stood behind them battle ready, and either an earthbender or a man with a crossbow taking up the rear for long range attack. Bara seemed to be particularly annoyed with Rha-Mi, who was stationed as the rear guard of one the 'ducks', whose bright yellow skirt seemed to irk her somehow, not to mention his less than satisfactory earthbending performance. And on the far side of the camp, Taka was teaching several men in the use of bows and crossbows; he seemed to be doing not much better, judging from the practice targets that were still free from any arrows.

Seemed so long ago when Lin was the one at the receiving end of Rocky's bulging vein, Bara's death threat, and the cause of Taka's frustrated screams…

Time sure flew fast around him. A movement from the supply tent he caught from the corner of his eyes. He saw Captains Haoren and Sho leading the four interns into one the entries to the main building, the one leading directly to recovery room. Each of them was carrying boxes of medical supplies for the coming days. Apparently, according to the more experienced camp members, the seasons of summer and autumn were the times when the Earth Kingdom would take the most beatings.

You see, the war between Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, the Elements of Fire and Earth, was so much like a massive and neatly sequenced series of pushing between two behemoths. Starting from spring, the Season of Earth, when the earthbenders were blessed by the Great Mother, the Earth Kingdom Army would usually begin of the offensives, pushing back the Fire Nation Army back to the west. But then, summer would come. In the Season of Fire, the table would always turn almost immediately; Fire Nation would usually shift to massive offensive and push the Earth Kingdom back to the east, emboldened by the gift of Agni. As the autumn arrives, earthbenders would be weaker, and so would firebenders, having been exhausted during summertime. But Fire Nation would not abandon their offensive just yet, not when earthbenders were squeezed off their juice; they just had to switch firebender soldiers with artilleries to capitalize on their advantage accumulated during the whole summer, forcing Earth Kingdom further into the defensive. But then, winter would come and put Fire Nation into severe disadvantage, even more so due to their effort the previous two seasons and their advance deep into the heart of enemy's territory. Usually in winter, Fire Nation would fall back a bit to the west, positioning themselves on their strongholds and colonies along the middle region of the Earth Continent, as they could not afford to put the their already exhausted army and machines in the front, while the Earth Kingdom would march up a little to even their pace and reposition themselves, building strengths for the coming of spring when the cycle would repeat itself all over again.

And they wondered why the war had not ended yet?

A footstep behind him made Lin turned around. It was a young woman. She was quite beautiful; ivory colored skin gleaming under her black outfit. Her face sported her usual sour expression but it did not diminish her beauty. Her eyes were bright emerald under her thin brows, her lips thin and seemed humorless, but all that gave out an air of mystery that greatly complemented her appearance. Her black hair fashioned into a feminine ponytail, secured by a green ribbon underneath a simple hairpiece with two pointy locking pins half the length of a regular chopstick, two long flocks of hair veiled the sides of her face, the right one was held above her temple by a simple hairpin and tucked behind her ear, the left one flew down freely.

Her outfit looked similar to Bara's; short black sleeveless garb and simple leather breastplate that exposed her midriff, and shorts complemented with leather boots. Summer uniform for female personnel, according to Bara. A knee guard was on her right leg and a simple black cloth wrapped around her left knee; she also wore a pair of cloth armguard. While her boots were metal plated on the shin area, her armguards were adorned with small metal studs. Strapped behind her back was a short ninjato, much like how Bara kept hers around. What set her outfit apart from Bara the most was the dark green silken scarf she wore loosely around her waist, tied into a knot on her left side with a rather long part of it dangling on her waist, adding more feminine charm to her appearance; on the right side of her waist she normally placed a pouch of bolts as she was also an accomplished crossbowman. Also, the fact that she kept hundreds of thin hair-like needles people usually use for acupuncture in her outfit as projectile weapons that she could threw with deathly accuracy on the opponent acupuncture point, enabling her to hurt, paralyze, or even kill an opponent from a distance subtly.

"Hi, Rain", greeted Lin lightly as the female gave him a polite Earth Kingdom bow. "Not joining the training?"

She shook her head slightly.

"Yeah, I can understand that", sighed Lin, turning back to the camp below. Rain did not answer, she just stood there faithfully. They spent the next fifteen minutes like that, in total silence; until finally the sun shone its light through the thick cloud above and the training down below was declared to be over. Lin stood up, stretched and was about to turn back and walk away when he felt Rain's hand on his shoulder. Turning back to her, the woman shook her head again, wordlessly telling Lin that he should not leave yet. Understanding it, Lin nodded slightly and sat back down.

Oh, by the way, Rain could not speak.

Bara, Taka, and Rocky did not seem to be comfortable about the subject when Lin asked them earlier, and Lin could not bring himself to ask Rain herself about it. But, from what he had gathered through Bara's gritted teeth earlier, it would appear that Rain's condition was not the result of illness or naturally occurring physical defect or something like that, but rather a result of 'losing her tongue'_,_ if Bara's words were to be taken literally. What it actually meant, Lin could only guess. But hey! Rain was a very competent warrior, according to the three, one of the few in the Company who could actually hold their ground against the likes of Rocky, and that was all that mattered to Lin.

Moments later, the aforementioned three approached them on the hill. Bowing to Bara deeply, the one without hand sign, Rain made her way down the hill, leaving them with their privacy. Lin got up and smiled at them. It had been awhile since the four of them convened, all four together like this. Giving each other a group hug they could not display openly before, followed by Bara fussing over how thin Lin had become or how messy his hair was, acting like an overprotective big sister she was, they proceeded to compare their notes on the important things that concerned only them; mainly the confirmation from Bara and her consulting her sources among the Secret Squad that Ozai had indeed sent some spies to keep track on Lin's movement, also Lin's need to reach the North Pole as soon as possible, much to the three's surprise and dismay when Lin did not provide any satisfactory reason behind such absurd request, which eventually led to an argument.

"Look!" said Bara loudly, gaining full attention from the others. "The fact is the North Pole is enemy territory and we have a spy on our back and we don't know anything about this guy. How do you think this will look if the Fire Lord finds out that you are snooping around the North Pole when you should be in here, doing your initiation?"

"I know that", replied Lin impatiently. "But, I've told you before: the initiation is going nowhere! I have completed the first phase, right; I am here and nobody suspects anything. But now, I'm stuck under this cover with no possible—"

"There's a spy on you!"

"I know!"

"Aright, guys! Look…" Taka rose up. "First thing first, you", finger pointed at Lin. "What's the deal about the North Pole?"

"Can't say", Lin shrugged, avoiding eye contact. "General Iroh's order."

"What? Maaan, that's big", commented Taka, sounding almost defeated. After all, the three of them owed Iroh too much and they could not really bring themselves to disobey him in any way. "Okay, then, Sis. About this spy, we've been trying to uncover him but no luck so far. Are there any more info you got?"

"No, just that the Fire Lord sent several", Bara said. "Sleepers, from what I've heard."

Sleeper agents; the ones either sent to infiltrate the populace or recruited from among them, ordered to stand by and pose as one of the enemies until the time comes to serve.

"That's bad, we'll have no way to recognize them, then", pondered Taka aloud. "I'm sorry to say this, kiddo, but it seems like you won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

"What's with the North Pole, anyway? Do you really have to go now?" demanded Bara again.

"Well—", Lin started but stopped abruptly. Yeah… now that he thought about it, neither Iroh nor Master Piandao had ever set up a deadline or anything; just Piandao saying that Lin should find the _right moment_ to reach the North Pole. The right moment… did Piandao know about Lin being an assassin, the boy could not help but wonder…?

"No", said Lin finally. "There's… no hurry."

"So, it's settled", sighed Taka, relieved. "You'll stay."

"Look, I know it's hard", said Bara sympathetically, placing a hand encouragingly at the boy's shoulder. "I know it must be hard for you to stick around, playing buddy-buddy with these people, people you must betray someday. But you must be careful of what you're going to do."

"And what you're doing now", added Taka, sounding serious and somewhat stern. "Look, man. You're supposed to be their friend, right? But you've been distancing yourself lately. Remember, you're being watched by the Fire Lord's agents. What do you think the spy would think if he saw you like this?"

"That I'm not doing my job right", answered Lin, feeling cold to the stomach.

"Like I said; it's hard", replied Bara. "You're a Byakko, a spy. Unlike us, you don't get to kill _strangers_. You get to kill people you know… personally. We kill _faces_, you kill _names_."

"I'm sorry, kid", said Taka again sympathetically.

"It's just… it's so difficult sometimes. You know…?" Lin's voice began to crack.

"We know."

* * *

In the mess tent, they sat around a table. Cups of tea they were enjoying, a short respite before continuing with restocking the hospital building. Spear Haoren was telling the interns a rather animated stories about a certain mischief he had committed when he was their age, Trik Sho was taking a nap on the table. All of those stopped when Corporal Rabbit entered carrying a familiar looking sack.

"Mail!" the young corporal called, eliciting cheer from the whole tent.

"Finally!" said Spear with the excitement of a child. "Two seasons late but still…"

After walking around the tent, delivering what was rightfully theirs, Rabbit made their way to Spear and the others' table. "A letter from your wife, Captain", he passed the said letter to Trik. "And another one from… you daughter. And another one from your other daughter. And this one's from your neighbor Mr. Wang", he said rummaging the content of the sack for more letter addressed to Trik but couldn't find any. So, while Trik gleefully opened his letters, Rabbit passed several letters addressed to the interns.

"Your neighbor writes to you?" asked Spear.

"Yeah", yawned Trik, in the middle of reading that letter. "Something about a tree in my backyard blocking his sunlight."

"Wretched tree", cursed Spear, not seriously, of course. "Hey, wait! Where's mine?" he said, stopping Rabbit who was about to leave.

"None, sir."

"Nothing for me?" asked Spear incredulously. "No letter from my dad? From my friends? My butler, at least? I'll even settle for a creepy stalker letter from one of my ex's."

"You've ever got one of those?" asked Seito, intrigued.

"College, sophomore year, Miss Qian Xing, the lovely and se—"

"*cough* _underage_*cough*", coughed Trik, tilting his head meaningfully at the interns.

"—I mean, erm… well, she's hot, okay. Anyway, we dated for like a week and suddenly she knew that I have a scar on my thigh, even though I have never told a soul about it. Not to mention she kept sending me those disturbing letters at some specific times."

"Like what?" grinned Yee Shoo.

"One time, I was having grilled fish for dinner at home and a sparrow-hawk entered bearing her letter telling me not to choke on the fish bone."

"That's not so bad."

"The next day, when I was doing the 'big one' in the toilet and found out that I ran out of toilet paper, the same sparrow-hawk defiled the sanctity of my privacy bearing another letter from her, saying that she would be back with more toilet paper."

"Uuh, that's creepy", commented Seito.

"Well, did she?" asked Yee Shoo curiously.

"I don't know. I just ran out of my house like hell", shrugged Spear.

"Wait, you mean without…" started Bob before stopping, feeling rather sick.

"Some kids still call me Mr. Poopy Booty", shuddered Spear. "Anyway, that's the story of why I learn spearfighting. Any luck, Rabbit?"

"Well, there is one here", Rabbit pulled out a large envelope, sealed with an official looking wax. "It says '_to the 44__th__ Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital_'."

"Sold!" Spear took it without hesitation. Opening it, he was confronted with an official dispatch from the headquarters. "Hey look, it's an annual update on the rules and regulations."

"Arriving in the middle of the year", scoffed Trik. "Well, let's see if we have broken a rule or three."

"Let's see…" Trik flipped the pages fast, the first few were just some big words containing nonsense. Finally, he found the good part. "Here we are. The headline says _'Rules of Military Attires and Dress Codes'_. Do we care about that?"

"No", they unanimously voted.

"Next!" Sear flipped a page. "Ah, '_Rules of Language and Verbal Appropriateness'_. _It has come to our attention that well-defined and officially sanctioned abbreviations are of advantageous nature to bolster the efficacy of a hospital unit. Therefore, we have provided a list of such abbreviations, some of which may have already been employed without the Council's permission or knowledge_."

"Really?" snickered Trik as Spear continued.

"_Headquarters = HQ_" read Spear, mimicking what he thought to be official-like tone. "_Commanding Officer = CO, Operating Room = OR, Killed in Action = KIA, Missing in Action = MIA (not to be confused with the spelling of a common female name),_ and many more."

"Can you believe this?" said Trik in between his laughter; all the others were also positively laughing. "How did they come up with all this stuff?"

"Well, it seems like they…" drawled Spear, analyzing the letter, tilting it sideways for better view. "They took the first few strokes of each word, combined them together, and... huh…"

"What's next?" asked Trik, wiping his eyes.

"Lessee… a subsection, _'Banned Words and Abbreviations'. It has come to our attention that several made-up words and abbreviation had been unlawfully used by several individuals in military affairs. It must be noted that no other parties outside the Council of Generals and the ones above them has any right to sanction any new words and abbreviation for military use. As of the official sanction of this dispatch, subsequent rule breach will be punished accordingly, with official punishments ranging from tongue cutting to forceful ingestion of at most ten pounds of raw green pepper_. And here comes the list. Drum roll, please."

Trik and the interns, plus several people who had been listening drummed their tables.

"_Superintendant of High Inquisitorial Team = SH_ –"ACHOO", Private Wang sneezed loudly three tables away-, _Front of Underage Communication and Envoy Riders = FU_ –Private Jou, who was walking back to his seat with a tray of food, tripped and dropped his tray with a loud crash-, _Bureau of Intelligence, Technical, and Communication Helpers = BI_ –Corporal Rha-Mi choked on his noodle and coughed loudly-"

"There are many more on the list", informed Spear as he flipped a page… and then another… and another. "But, for the sake of public decency, I suppose we should warp this up for now", which met by a loud disappointed 'boo'. "Worry not, my dear friends. Captain Sho will make sure we publish these pages daily on the bulletin board. One at a time."

With that, he pulled those several pages off the bundle and handed it over to Trik. As the crowd calmed down, he resumed with the reading. "Ah, here's a goodie: a notice on new units. _After numerous diplomatic attempts_—"

"Much bribe", Trik translated.

"—_the Council of Generals has agreed to approve on the foundation of a separate entity for the Communication Unit within the Combat Support Regiments. As we are still in the initial stage, limited distinctions have been established regarding the aforementioned unit. Further details will be provided once they have been established by the Council of Generals and representatives from each Combat Support Regiments_. Do you want me to continue?"

Another 'boo'…

Flipping the pages, Spear went on with, "_Report on the Peace Talk_", which stated that after few moths of heated discussions, both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom representatives finally agreed that the discussion table should be rectangular in shape; round resembled Earth Kingdom insignia too much and square did not look too homey. Then, it was, "_News from the Front_", stating that Fire Nation had renewed their attack on several cities to the west, though Omashu and Tianshui still stood strong, thanks to Omashu's natural fortress and Tianshui's military might. And the last was, "_Additional Notice_", warning the 44th that Fire Nation's recent aggressive stance would result in high flow of casualties, and that due to harvest failure in Mount Teja, owing to the recent heat wave, they would not be getting any tea; their share would be reallocated to the combat units up front who '_severely in need_' of them.

"**Attention, all personnel!"**

"Hey, how did you miss that?" Trik frowned at Rabbit who shrugged while chewing a cookie.

"**Incoming wounded! Arriving via tanks and carriages! This is a big one, folks!"**

* * *

In the training yard, he stood. Eyes closed, stance wide, hands joined in a lotus form near his navel. The last days of summer sent a bright ray of sunlight tainted by early autumn wind. This might be the last day he got to train under the summer sun. A wave of autumn breeze whistled through the tree; several loose leaves flown by the wind. Opening his amber eyes, he focused his mind on his targets and his chi towards his finger tips.

He punched a finger jab; a thin needle of fire erupted, launching itself onto one of the leaves. Standing still, he sent several more finger jabs, each hitting a leaf accurately. Changing his stance to the one more mobile, he danced through the yard, launching numerous finger jabs, sending countless fire needles; each and every one of them pierced leaf midair. Until the last of the brown leaves fell to the ground, Zuko resumed his wide stance, brought his hand down ceremoniously, calming his raging chi.

"Very good", Iroh praised from his chair, a cup of tea forgotten in his half raised hand. "Very good, indeed."

"Can I learn a new move now?" asked the young prince enthusiastically.

"A new one? Prince Zuko, that was a master level technique you've just learnt", said Iroh calmly, back to his tea.

"Well, yeah, I know but— wait, what was that?"

Iroh did not answer; he just smirked behind his cup as the boy came to a realization: that he had just begun in his master level education in firebending. So, while Zuko was jumping around in childish glee, Uncle Iroh calmly put down his cup, subtly cracked his fingers and toes, and all of the sudden. "Think fast!"

"Whoa!" Zuko barely managed to sidestep and evaded Iroh's blast. Without giving the prince a chance to gather himself, Iroh leaped forward towards the yard and launched a barrage of fire blasts, all of which Zuko evaded with his superior agility alone.

"Use you fire, Prince Zuko!" ordered Iroh right before two consecutive fire blast flew towards the latter direction; one was evaded, the second one Zuko instinctively defended against by raising his hand across his face. Uncle Iroh had applied a magnificent control over his firebending; sure, it was sore getting hit by Uncle's blast but it did not burn. The corner of Zuko's mouth curved into a confident smile as he repositioned his arms into a stance, and his feet secured firm footing.

Long the Prince and the old Dragon locked eyes, each waiting for the others to take the initiative. An autumn breeze blew across the lawn, carrying with it another flock of brown leaves. As the last of the leaves fell to the earth, their fire clashed…

Iroh sent a blast, evaded one, and slapped another away; the hand he used to physically parry the blast was smoking a little. The young prince Zuko still had a lot to learn about restrain, about toning down his fire blast into a safer kind. But, then again, his previous teacher, a certain young Dragon, was not really known to be a master of this particular aspect of the art, either.

Zuko sent two, three, four more fire punch; in the middle of sending his fifth blast, via a finger jab, Iroh suddenly employed the offensive. A condensed fire ball forced the young Prince to abandon his attack; another fire ball forced him to jump back. As he landed, his footing still a little less than stable, Iroh performed quick movements with his hands, molding his chi. The Fire Prince, recognizing the technique, was dumbfounded; it was a master level attack. At that time, Zuko was not sure if it was because his uncle had so much faith in him or simply because the old man had finally gone senile! He could only watch as Iroh brought his hands together on his waist, palms facing each other; such was the might of the Dragon of the West's firebending that Zuko could see heat wave forming between his palms with his naked eye. And when Iroh launched his palms, sending a powerful fire stream, Zuko raised his hands and tensed up by instinct.

"_Use you fire, Prince Zuko!"_

Like his fire could do anything! He cursed as he shut his eyes closed.

"_Have faith in your chi!"_

Oh, how Lin _always_ made it sound so easy. Well, for a prodigy like him (and _her_, he added sourly) maybe it was easy. Then again, it was not like Zuko had any other option. And so, the Fire Prince put faith in his chi. He did not know when the moment of the impact was, he did not even dare to open his eyes to see…

But he did put his faith in his firebending; a fire dome appeared just in time a split second before Iroh's fire stream collided with the boy. Iroh watched silently as his fire failed to drill its way through the fire dome. Lin Family's technique, one of the higher levels, one that was forbidden to those outside the clan; and to be executed so perfectly by a young boy of twelve years old. Ah, the young Dragon of the Deep Forest… whenever he was involved, something unexpected would always happen.

Well, not that Iroh did not expect this… For someone like Iroh, there was really just one last surprise life could give him yet; a surprise that Iroh really wanted to keep a mystery, even to himself.

Anyway, about the Fire Prince; Lin Family's Fire Dome… it was impressive for someone so young to be able to master a technique so difficult. The dome was still alight even though Iroh's stream had subsided. The dome; thick roaring sphere of flame, unyielding and impenetrable, refusing to give access to its master. For Zuko to be able to perform this technique flawlessly… or maybe not. Why did it not subside yet?

Frowning, Iroh raised a hand and charged his chi; with a sharp punch he sent a fire blast that shattered the dome instantly. The explosion knocked Zuko backward; he was sore and smoky from head to toe.

"Restrain, Prince Zuko", Iroh sighed as he walked closer and pulled the boy up by his hand, noticing that Zuko's hand was very warm like a bag of hot potato. "Always exercise restrain, at all time. Especially in techniques that require large and constant flow of chi like that one; without restrain, your fire will go out of control and won't stop draining your chi until the very last drop. You could be crippled… or even die a painful and agonizing death."

"Sorry, Uncle", Zuko grinned guiltily, scratching his head. "I still haven't gotten that one right yet."

"You will", Iroh smiled, patting his shoulder. "As long as you master restrain, that move will be yours eventually."

Grinning, rather satisfied with himself, Zuko bowed as student should a master; Iroh bowed back. None of them seemed to notice the pair of amber watching from the farthest corner of the hallway.

* * *

Lin sat on his rock, watching the commotion down there with mixed feelings. He did not know what to do anymore…

He was a spy; loyal to the Fire Throne, sent to infiltrate this Earth Kingdom Army establishment, task to gain trust, to build bond… only to one day betray that trust, sever that bond.

He was an initiate; recruited by the masters of the Elements, taught to see past the folly of the Four Nations, tasked to perform a journey of learning, of wisdom-seeking. But he was trapped in his duty to his Nation…

He did not know what to do anymore… for the first time in his life, the intelligence and wisdom he had always bragged about failed him. At the moment, he was not a prodigy, not a Dragon, not a soldier boy…

He was just… a boy…

He heard frantic shouts of a female; Nurse Megumi was struggling to keep a wounded soldier still, a soldier badly burnt all over his body, whose mind, as it would appear, refused to believe that he was among friends. He saw Privates Jou and Wang approaching the wounded, each holing down one of the poor man's flailing arms, allowing Megumi to inject the man with sedative.

Lin scoffed as he remembered his childhood, of how he wanted to grow up quickly so that he could go to the war. He had been trained for it all her life, had listened to the story of glory and honor of the battlefield from his uncles, had made vow with Lu Ten, his brother, to, one day, end the war themselves, perhaps by taking down the impregnable titan, Ba Sing Se.

Now, he just wanted peace…

He just wanted to go home… to go back the way things were used to be…

War is not always a bunch of men with sharpened sticks marching down the field on steeds; he used to think that that was all war is, and that he would be one of those men… marching down the field on a steed with a sharpened stick. Only recently he learnt that there is another side of war, the more subtle one, the dirtier one, the bloodier side: of the clandestine warfare, of espionage and assassination… of how he, almost instantly, had been drawn into that side.

He just wanted thing to go back the way they were…

He could have been a soldier, marching down alongside his father, on his steed and with his sharpened stick. He could have been fighting for glory and honor.

…He could have been the one burning _that_ wounded soldier… or shot that arrow at _that_ soldier… or ordered the catapult shot that shattered _that_ soldier's arm….

Lin felt sick all of the sudden…

He was a spy, sent to betray… sent to kill.

He was an initiate, sent to learn… trapped as a spy.

And, above all that, he had had enough!

Shooting up, he leaped down from the hill onto the roof of the CO's office. Running along the ridge of the roof, he glanced around without slowing down, looking for his target. There! On the square, near the bulletin board; Sai Haoren was crouching down, examining his patient, an unconscious soldier with an arrow protruding on his chest. Turning to that direction, the young Dragon accelerated his dash; using the momentum, he jumped as he reached the end of the path and landed almost soundlessly on the ground in front of the startled captain. Turning around slowly to the bewildered captain, the Dragon asked. "What can I do?"

A few feet away, Bara, who was helping out with the wounded gazed the young Dragon approvingly as the aforementioned Dragon lifted up one end of the stretcher, assisting Spear who was on the other end. Exchanging glance with Taka, the latter nodded. As it turned out, they were better teachers than they thought…

* * *

"How are your fingers?" asked Iroh. They were taking a tea break from the training.

"They're fine", answered Zuko, grasping his hand. But, an uncle will always be an uncle, or in this case, an uncle will always be like a father; Uncle Iroh would not accept it before he inspected the condition of his nephew's fingers himself. After all, firebending using finger jabs is a rather difficult method.

"Uncle, they're fine", said Zuko again, ignored by Iroh.

"Remember what I said about restrain?" muttered Iroh, not taking his eyes off Zuko's index finger that he was scrutinizing on.

"That they suck?"

Iroh gave him the stare.

"Without restrain, a great power in you will turn against you", Iroh lectured. "Here, look; there's a blister on the surface of your finger", he showed the said blister to the boy.

"I still have much to learn, huh?" asked Zuko, raising his blistered finger in front of his face, looking sullen.

"We all do", Iroh replied sagely, back to his tea.

"… Do they… are they any good at restrain?" Zuko asked solemnly, glancing up uneasily at his uncle's eyes that, for a split second there, hardened. The 'they' that Zuko meant, when the context was firebending, were the two of his role models in firebending, two prodigies of the art: Lu Ten and Lin.

"Oh, Spirits, _no_", Iroh said finally, chuckling fondly. "Your cousin was completely oblivious on the subject of restrain; always seem too busy with either improving the power of his bending or finding a way to put something in my tea."

Zuko snickered; _yeah, sounds like Lu Ten, alright_…

"Your former teacher, Lin, on the other hand… he has excellent _control_", said Iroh. "But, though many believe that _control_ and _restrain_ are one and the same, they are hardly similar."

"Aren't they?" inquired Zuko.

"The young Dragon has a great potential in controlling fire; we all know how he could easily bend and mold a tiny flame into a great inferno without breaking a sweat, just as easily as forcing a large flame to assume the form and intensity of a tiny solid rock", yeah, Zuko knew that. "But he lacks discipline in _restrain_. Not that I belittle him or anything; the concept of restrain really is a difficult one, even more so when you are born with the Gift of Agni."

Iroh noticed Zuko's raised brow; chuckling resumed before being interrupted. "Remember, Prince Zuko, fire is the element of passion. A firebender's emotion closely affected the fire within him; and this relationship appears to be mutual."

* * *

Busy day as always in the OR, the surgeons going elbow deep into patients' guts, nurses faithfully assisting them with instruments, interns lending an extra pair of hands to the doctors, acupuncturists and alchemists making the process that much easier by knocking the patients out cold with their crafts. In the prep room, things were more or less as busy, only more chaotic. Patients lying around in the pool of their own blood, the lucky one were unconscious, less lucky ones were writhing in pain. Nurse Megumi led the team on this room; some of her nurses were with her, running all over the place at the sound of her command, several medics who actually knew medicine were helping out, three of the camp acupuncturists were also at her employ, busy relieving the wounded of their pain with their needles.

"Sergeant Chim!" Megumi called. "Over here!"

"I'm full, Major!" the acupuncturist shouted back with a needle held in his hand, ready to be used; now, if only his patient would stop squirming.

The patient Megumi was tending to had a deep slash on his gut and he was losing much blood fast. Without a proper surgery, he would bleed to death. But, the operations tables were all occupied. The best she could do was to stop the bleeding momentarily. Megumi might be an excellent nurse but she was no miracle worker; she could not stop the bleeding effectively without employing acupuncture or any sophisticated method. The nurse was frantically scanning the room for … _anything_, while pressing her hands tight over the bandage she had put over the wound tightly. That was when the woman in black armor appeared.

Megumi was startled, dumbfounded, as Rain quickly applied several needles on the wounded soldier's face; her movements were so fast and precise that when Megumi finally came to and screamed her disapproval, Rain had already inserted her fifth needle.

"You can't do that!" Megumi yelled, catching Rain's hand midair. "You're not authorized to—"

But the rest of her words were swallowed by the light groan the injured soldier let out. Heaving, Megumi quickly checked his wrist and neck for blood pressure and found that it had slowed down. Peeking below the bandage, she also found that the man's wound had stopped bleeding.

"Nice", a voice commented from behind her shoulder; Sergeant Chim had joined them and was inspecting Rain's handiwork. "I recognize your style… you practice Yuan Man's method, don't you?"

Rain gave the man a light nod before applying more needles. Megumi, however, was still unsure so Sergeant Chim pulled her aside to give Rain more space and explained to the bewildered Major. "Ma'am, this young lady appears to be a student of Elder Yuan Man. You don't have to worry."

"…You mean… _the_ Elder Yuan Man?" gawked Megumi.

There was no medical practitioner anywhere who had never heard of Elder Yuan Man. He was… well, _a god_; born nearly a hundred years ago. Elder Yuan Man was a well-known hermit and philosopher, also famous as a healer whose skills had been attributed as heavenly. Rumor has it that a decade ago, he decided to abandon his hermitage and started teaching his healing skills to the public in some far distance region of the Eastern Provinces. However, after numerous emergence of con-artists who claimed to have learnt the Elder's secret longevity elixir or his famous chi acupressure technique, and were willing to offer their services for a decent pay, while in truth the elixir was nothing but fruit juice mixed with ostrich-horse's excrement or the acupressure applied caused nothing but sore, many people would readily dismissed anyone who claimed to be the Elder's students as frauds. However, it did not mean that there was no one who had actually learnt from him. Elder Yuan Man had indeed opened a traditional medical school and Rain happened to be one of his students. But, it was a lifetime ago…

"I'm still not sure about this", fidgeted Megumi, clearly holding herself from stopping Rain to attend more patients.

"Major!" Sergeant Chim frowned at her as if she was crazy; pointing at the soldier with slashed gut, whose condition had stabilized. "Look, the fact is we are shorthanded and there are still many more wounded out there. I don't know 'bout you, but I sure ain't pullin' a pair of adept hands like hers off the game, if you know what I'm saying."

* * *

"I'm telling you: no!" Senshi spat.

"And I'm telling you: yes!" Spear shouted back. Both were in the OR, both were tending their own patients. A few moments ago, Megumi entered the room and excitedly announced that the new mercenary females were both experienced medical practitioners and were willing to help in treating the wounded. So, everybody else were happy, grateful, even; everybody, except for Senshi who refused blatantly before yapping something about contract rules did not say anything about the mercenary being responsible to play doctors.

"Well, the contract doesn't say anything about them playing medics, either", Trik added heatedly, fighting two fronts against Senshi and a patient with pierced neck. "But they have helped us with each and every wounded batch since the first day they arrived, remember?"

"That's different!" Senshi yelled back. "That's what we called 'goodwill'! It is their duty to help those in need. But to actually let them treat patients? That's absurd!"

"Listen, you moron!" Spear attacked again. "We have someone who has experience as a combat medic, and another one who studied under the God of Medicine himself! And you're telling me you don't want them in your team?"

"That medic woman is a Fire Nation!" Senshi yelled again, not wanting to relent. Oh, right, mercenaries are neutral irrespective of their nationalities (or crime records, …just saying), so nobody made a case about Bara being a Fire Nation. As the matter of fact, they all knew Taka was a Fire Nation but considering that Taka, out of respect for his Earth Kingdom employers, had never firebent unnecessarily within the boundary of the camp, they were all cool with him (nobody suspected Rocky as of Fire Nation origin, though). "And the other one, student of Elder Yuan Man, hah! The nerve of that woman! Using the great Elder's name for… _profiteering_! She's nothing but a fraud!"

"She's not a fraud", refuted Sergeant Chim, only to receive an acidic. "You stay out of this, Sergeant!" from the higher ranking Senshi. Then, turning back to Spear, he growled. "Will you, then, Haoren, as a member of Earth Kingdom Army, put the lives of your countrymen in the hands of a Fire Nation and a fraud?"

"No, Major, I will not", answered Spear heatedly. "I will, however, as a member of Earth Kingdom Army, put the lives of my countrymen in the hands of a medically-trained mercenary, doesn't matter even if she is the Fire Lord's wet nurse, _and_ a highly qualified healer who had been trained by the best!" turning to Sergeant Chim, Spear ordered. "Bring them in!"

"No, you don't bring them in!" Senshi stopped him. "He's a captain, I'm a major! You listen to me!"

"He's a moron, I'm the Head Surgeon: bring them in!"

Doesn't take a genius to know which one, between a moron and a Head Surgeon, Sergeant Chim obeyed…

"Y-you… you!"

"Hey, watch who you're calling a 'you-you'! Ah, good you're here."

"As I understand it, you need help", greeted Bara, Rain was close behind her.

"We always do", sighed Haoqi, speaking at last after finishing his last patient; a teenager who would be missing a limb. "Anything you can do to help, we'll take it."

"She's good with needles, alchemy, acupressure. She can help here", Bara gestured to Rain. "I'm more useful against flesh wound and broken bones; I'll help out outside with lesser cases, if you don't mind."

"Thank you", Haoqi nodded gratefully. However, as Bara reassured Rain, who seemed to be a little uncomfortable being separated from her, that she would be fine, Spear halted her.

"You used to serve with the Fire Nation Army, you say?" he started; on the background, Senshi began yapping about a breach of protocol and something about 'unpatriotic bastard' again, but nobody paid any attention to him anymore.

"Is that a problem?" Bara asked back, lifting her nose up and narrowing her eyes.

"Yes", Spear replied; taking his eyes off his patients, he addressed Bara fully and seriously. "As I recall, Fire Nation medics sometimes use firebending to close open flesh wound."

"That is correct", Bara drawled.

"Please don't", Spear frowned, looking as serious as he could be. "Some of our boys are more comfortable with the good old bandage and stitches."

"I'll see if I can find my kit", said Bara before exiting the room.

So, she exited the room, leaving Rain behind who looked like a lost puppy before Bob took the initiative and guided her to a nearby table occupied by a still very conscious man with numerous cuts and bruises, earning himself a scolding from Senshi for '_leaving their table without permission_'. It was followed by, you've guessed it, another nonsense yapping about rules, regulations, letting unauthorized personnel doing their jobs; it really burnt everybody's ears in the OR, but most of them were too busy playing tug-of-war with Death using their patient's lifeline. But, fortunately, Lin happened to enter the room just in time to hear all those nonsense. And it burnt him too; cutting in the middle of Senshi's lecture/protest/bullcrap about 'something, something, _patriotic_, something, _army regulation, _whatever…_'_, the young lieutenant shouted: "Oh, for crap's sake! Who agree we should **not** let Bara and Rain help us?"

"Aye", from Senshi only. He eyed Bob sharply, demanding support, but Bob suddenly found their patient's spleen so interesting.

"And who agree we should let them help?"

"AYE!" from the rest of the room; even the wounded soldier Rain was tending said 'aye', but it simply because he was a hormonal teenager thanking his luck for being treated by a woman as beautiful as she. So, his 'aye' did not really count…

But, anyway, Senshi lost. So, without further ado, they resumed their work, Senshi begrudgingly of course. Sensing that she was still unsure, with her patient asking her postal address in between her needles, which did not help either, Lin approached Rain and, after non-verbally threatened the wounded, he smiled reassuringly at Rain; she smiled back weakly.

Lin might have lost his old life, but this was his new one; new friends, new family… the 44th were his new friends, Bara and the others were his new family. And family sticks together.

* * *

Azula was sitting on the hallway, leaning against the beam; a piece of bun bitten in her mouth, a thick opened book sat on her lap. It would be unseemly for a Fire Princess to spy on her brother's training but desperate times require desperate measures. Uncle Iroh had refused to teach Azula anything about the finger jabs, saying something about him teaching her would be inappropriate considering that her present teachers had been Uncle Iroh's previous masters, so Uncle Iroh training Azula would be a breach of traditional hierarchy or something like that. All Azula got was _blah, blah, excuse, excuse, not gonna teach ya_. And in the immortal words of her previous master, the Dragon of the Deep Forest (who would be so dead the next time she met him): anything goes!

So, here she was, spying on Zuko, who conveniently were taught finger jabs by Uncle Iroh. _He taught Zuzu but not me! _However, there was only so much she could learn by observation. She had spent a few weeks doing that; Zuko had improved from producing fire the size of booger, to larger loose fire that burnt off part of his brows, and to actually become proficient at it. While Azula herself had learnt so little from it; she needed verbal instruction and she was sitting too far to get any!

"You missed one", Uncle Iroh's voice trailed off to her ears; it was unusual for him to raise his voice like that. Looking up, she was just in time to see Zuko protesting; she could not get all of what he said but she registered something about Zuko… _hitting it_. Sensing the coming of something interesting, most probably in the form of Zuko receiving the rare scolding from Uncle Iroh, Azula crept closer into the yard, stealthily maneuvering her way to the spot behind a nearby bush. There, she could hear their argument clearly.

"—see that! I hit it!" Zuko protested furiously, pointing at the leaf bearing a burnt hole.

"It is not the matter of your accuracy, it is about the proper execution of your technique", Uncle Iroh might have suppressed most of his impatience but he still sounded somewhat tired for having to give the same lecture over and over again. "Restrain, Prince Zuko. Holding this much amount of energy with finger tips alone requires great restrain. Without it, the energy might explode out all at once; your fingers could, quite literally, shatter to pieces."

Azula nearly gasped at this, making a mental note to _stop_ training finger jabs on her own; she still liked her fingers. Straining her ears, she bore through several warning from Uncle Iroh about other more gruesome complications that might be caused by improper execution of the technique. Finally, after Uncle Iroh's uncharacteristically graphic description of chi implosion in the arms, he got to the part where he would, like usual, reminded his student of the proper technique; that was why training with Uncle, though fun and effective, would always get boring at certain point. Whenever they made mistake, Uncle would corrected their mistakes and then repeated the basic theory from the beginning again.

"Remember, Prince Zuko", Uncle's voice trailed off to Azula's ears, sending grin to her face. "To perform finger jabs, you must gather large amount of chi on your fingers and dispense them little by little; to gather sufficient amount of chi focusing it in a specific body part requires _control_. But to regulate the specific amount of chi you dispense, you need to exercise _restrain_! Without restrain, you will lose control of your chi; it might force its way out all at once, ruining the vessel in the process, which, in this case, are your fingers. Understood?"

"_Yes, Uncle_", Azula's smirk grew louder; Zuko's sullen pout due to the scolding was a sweet extra. So, they key is a massive build-up of chi, huh? Interesting…

Not wanting to waste anymore precious time, Azula waited for Zuko to resume his practical training before she crept away out of her hiding place; spying on Zuko had lost its purpose once she got her hands on this particular information. As she made her way back to get her book, she dashed away back to her room, eager to test her new discovery, leaving in the yard Zuko, who was determined to win back his uncle's praise, and Iroh, who was wondering whether he was doing he right thing teaching _both of them_ this particular technique…

* * *

The sun had already begun to set when the last of the wounded was sent to the recovery room. Bara and Rain had been a tremendous help, both in the anesthetic department, due to Rain's expertise, and in tending the less serious cases, thanks to Bara's skills. As soon as the numbers of the wounded diminished to the point where they could manage on their own, Bara and Rain were allowed to retire early. They soon joined Rocky and Taka in the mess tent, where the latter two broke them in on the less than satisfactory quality of the camp's sustenance. Anyway, by the time Bara could feel her tongue again, the last of the surgery was over. The doctors were still on standby though; a correspondence from the first-aid units in the front warned them about more flows to be expected later on. But, as the time for Rocky and Taka to go had come, they wanted to see Lin before they go. He was not in his tent, so he must be on his favorite rock up on the hill again.

There he was, sitting like a lone wolf on top of the rock, observing the whole camp below. He did not move when the four of them approached but they knew he noticed them. They stood in silence for awhile, the four mercenaries behind their contractor, watching the camp savoring the much needed but short respite. They stayed that way for a few more while before Lin started, still not turning around.

"Weird, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah", Bara said. She was about to place a hand on his shoulder, as a form of encouragement, but something told her she should not. Not this time.

"Guys, I had a…"

…

They waited…

"Oh, what's the word again… it starts with '_epi'_… epi-something…"

"Epitome?" Bara suggested.

"Epitaph?" Taka tried his luck.

Lin turned around and shot them an incredulous look. "What am I? A walking tombstone?"

However, Rain tugged Lin's sleeve and pointed with a tree branch held in her other hand her guess that she had scribbled on the ground: 洞 察 (_epiphany_).

"_Yes_, that's it! Thank you, Rain. You're smart", Lin grinned at her, then at Bara. "She's smart. I like her."

"So, about the epiphany?" reminded Bara.

"Well", Lin turned his gaze back to camp. While his gaze had been somewhat cold and distant as of late, according to the rather concerned Taka and Rocky, the aforementioned two plus Bara could see something familiar in those amber orbs of him that night, something that was… _him_. "I realize that no matter what I do, no matter what I want to do, the fact is that I am _here_, trapped in this…" he tried and failed to find the word, so he just gestured to his outfit, the green shirt and pants he was wearing.

"You'll get out", Bara reassured him.

"Oh, I will", Lin smiled again; there was really something about him tonight, something that the mercenaries, minus Rain, had not seen in a long time, not since the last time they met, right before the battle in Meitan. "But, I'm here; _now_. And so, I thought that, well… might as well make something fun out of it."

Oh, yes… they could see it now, the something that had returned to the mischievous grin of the young lieutenant. Bara, Taka, and Rocky exchanged looks and smiles, knowing full well that Lin was…

"Does it mean…" Taka's smiled grew wider by the moment; his question was finished by Bara. "… _you're back_?"

"With a bang", Lin concurred, matching their grin. "But, not now, not yet. Before that…" he gestured to Rain but asked Bara. "May I?"

Still grinning Bara nodded, chuckling slightly. Receiving the honor, Lin got to say. "Rain, welcome to the family."

Upon which the group proceeded to group hug the slightly confused Rain; Rocky only joined in after much pestering from them. But, that's not all; for the comeback for the old Lin and kick-out of the grumpy Lin shalt not be complete without a bang! In the camp below, Haoqi, who was in his office, taking a nap on his table, with Rabbit doing paperwork a door away, Spear, Trik, and the interns, who were forcing themselves on dinner, Megumi and some nurses, who were busy clearing the OR and prep-room for the next batch while the other nurses were resting in their tents, Senshi, who was busy bossing pretty much all the male members around as they resupply the OR and treatment room, and Father Shu was in the recovery room, giving spiritual consultation to some soldiers; none of them knew what was waiting for them. And up on the hill, Lin decided, as a welcome gift for their newest family member, Rain would be given the honor…

"This is the part where you count from five backward", Lin explained. Rain did not seem to understand what was going on but Bara and Taka seemed giddy, in a good and… slightly childish way; Rocky remained impassive, but he was… well, Rocky. So, it shouldn't be anything bad, right? With that as conclusion, she raised her five fingers. And slowly, she folded her pinky…

Then her ring finger…

Middle finger…

Index finger…

And the last was her thumb…

…

They waited…

…

"…I think I put the cue too early."

"You think", Taka grumbled but Bara slapped his arm.

"But, hey", Lin had another epiphany, or maybe a mini epiphany. "We're family; family sticks together."

"So, let's do this", Bara suggested. "Together."

And Lin led the way. "And so… in _five_."

"_Four_…" even Rocky joined in.

"_Three_…"

"_Two_…"

"_One_…"

A series of booms, lots of bangs, plenty of screams… the camp below was a chaos of chalk powder, ink splats, paint explosions, and countless dead critters. Nearly none escaped the numerous booby-traps going off nearly simultaneously.

Lin took a mighty sniff of victory before he proclaimed to the world: "Lin, the twenty-sixth, is back…"

* * *

**Author's note:**

Names:

1. Chim, Korean word for 'needle'

The Mandarin Duck battle formation is real, though not quite as it was described here. I remember reading a book about it and I think it actually requires at least eight persons.

By the way, the sister project is updating. There's a side story about Tyro's youth. Check it out.:) It might explain why many Lotus members in this fic knew Lian well enough to see her resemblance in Lin.

To ciccia96, thanks for the review! Enjoy the new chapter.

To hpswst101, thanks for the review! Actually, it was the hippies minus everybody. Just Moku the drummer. Glad you like the Kisa's play. :)

More about Jet's plan, Kisa and Shimazu's story, and Hakoda's adventure later. I hope…

To TwistedGem, thanks for the review! You have a talent in fortunetelling. Haha…

I was just wrapping up the second half of this chapter when I received your review. It's good to read from you again.

Now, happy reading, everyone!


	74. Chapter 73

**Chapter 73 – 100 Ways to Kill A Haoren, Part 1**

**-Sai, the Target-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

_(Year: Superior Military Rabbit, according to Earth Kingdom Calendar_

_Month: first, autumn_

_Day: ten. _

_Our endeavor to uncover the spy sent by the Fire Lord is still unsuccessful. By the day, I find myself having difficulties keeping my head on this particular task. Life here, in this camp, is hard. And it did not get any easier…)_

"—don't know", the annoyed voice of Spear Haoren penetrated the canvas of Lin's tent, now occupied by him alone, although the two additional bunks for the mercenaries were still there. "What did Haoqi say?"

A muffled voice answered the former's query; Lin registered it as Rabbit's. Not caring for whatever they were discussing about, Lin returned to his memoir. After all, it might just be some left over suspicions of Haoqi towards the pair of well-known clowns of the camp. You see, the massive prank Lin pulled on the whole camp had gone so smoothly that nobody suspected him at all, and everybody had been more than willing to blame Spear and Trik for it despite the fact that the two suffered from several paint splats themselves. Nurse Megumi, Lin suspected, knew the truth; what's with her knowing full well the real responsible party behind Senshi's pants crawling with beetle-ants, Senshi's morning tea mixed with vinegar, and Senshi's lips super-glued to his cup, among (many) others, was. But, it seemed like she had decided to keep quiet anyway (despite her suffering from a dead spider-beetle falling on top of her head). Although, to be fair, she did enjoy overseeing the punishment of cleaning the whole mess the camp members had imposed on Spear and Trik few days ago.

Well, not Lin's problem. Back to the diary…

_(My target, Spear…)_ Lin halted abruptly. He then dipped his penbrush into the ink saucer, blotted the last word, and corrected. _(…Sai Haoren, remains oblivious of who I really am. But, then again, I can always find an excuse to avoid his suspicion, or his presence altogether. Frequent interactions will only increase the chance of me making a blunder of my identity.)_

Lin halted again, not knowing what to write next. He could think of some but, nah… they were not that good. But, then again, he really did not have much to say this time. The day was still young and he had been cooped up in his tent since breakfast. It was autumn, they were a lot of wind. And wind does not sit well with Earth Kingdom; it makes them uncomfortable, said Bara. Therefore, Lin could not really bring his men into the training field; even Haoqi, the CO had advised him against such idea the previous night, saying something about '_can't afford getting the man sick'_ and something about _'need all available personnel on standby'_. Haoqi had also said something about '_shelling'_, although Lin thought he somehow missed the meaning. Well, Haoqi was holding a half empty bottle of wine when he said that. Anyway, since Lin had not been successful to talk Bara into assisting with the training anyway, he had decided to cancel it altogether. For now…

_(There had been quite an increase in the number of wounded for the past few days. Last night, there were four different waves and each waves numbered up to more than a hundred; that was four hundred soldiers coming in here in a night.) _

He stopped again; he really did not feel like discussing about injured soldiers that much… it was sickening to him. At this point, he lost interest altogether… but, he knew he had to keep writing; he had made a promise to write every day. But, why…? This was one of the times he had to remind himself that he was a Fire Nation. For that purpose, he had carved onto his desk a small 林 (Lin), with two figures on the right and left of the character: three vertical lines, signifying the three prongs of Fire Nation insignia, on the left side; and a triangle, signifying a mountain, on the right side. Fire Nation, Lin, Earth Kingdom… Fire Nation's Lin posing as an Earth Kingdom.

Not a particularly good thought either. Deciding to take a short break, he put his pen down. He was about to get up, take his coat, for the weather had significantly cooled down as summer ended, and get out to get fresh air and inspiration, in that order, when Spea— I mean, Sai's voice once again reached his ears from outside the tent. It was unclear what he was saying but from the tone, he sounded unhappy…

If only he knew…

_Hey, an idea!_

Lin, the Vanguard, might be almost solely responsible for the creepster's safety and wellbeing, not mention life, but Lin, the twenty-sixth, was not. There would be day when the Vanguard must step aside for the twenty-sixth to do a hit. So, why not prepare himself for that? There was nothing to lose right? Also, who knows, this could ease his conscience as a Fire Nation a little, a tribute to his duty or… whatever. More importantly, he was bored.

Now, he was here to eliminate Sai Haoren. But he had never thought of the details yet. So, without further ado, he got back on his seat and jotted down _(100 ways to kill a Haoren)_ and listed:

_(#1. Beat him with a stick)_

A good classical method, never gets old, highly satisfying, in a bad way. What else…? Hmm… maybe Lin could…

(#2. Stick a knife to his throat)

Lin had, after all, kept his knife sets well-polished. Smiling a bit, he wrote more entries and the list continued.

* * *

Autumn is never pleasant in Earth Kingdom. Rocky did not like autumn, but it was a given since he was an earthbender. He did not mind Fire Nation autumn too much, though. Fire Nation autumn was predominantly breezy with occasional drizzles; but the sky would still be bright and sunny unlike this. Autumn was just beginning to take reign and already the afternoon sky murky with muddy grey clouds, the air tainted with cold wet wind, and Rocky's nose runny with boogie.

They had departed from the 44th Army Hospital nearly a week ago and had been taking their journey slow. As per an additional order from their boss, Rocky and Taka had been doing their travels somewhat unorthodoxly; resting at days and travel at nights. When people asked, they just said that they wanted to avoid walking under the summer heat. But now autumn had set in, they had switched their alibi into some random blatant lies like, for example, when the inn manager from two days before asked them why they checked out right after dinner, Taka had said that he had just got a ferret-dove bearing news of his sister going to give birth soon and so they had to hurry home; or something like that.

It was now noon and they were resting in the woods under a tree. Taka was snoring the day away after another long and uneventful night travel. As you might have guessed, Lin's intention when he instructed the duo of this travel plan was far from having Taka spreading rumors among inn proprietors about Bara going into labor, or teahouse keepers about Bara falling from stairs and breaking a pinky in a most severe way, or any other stuffs Taka might have made up about many unfortunate incidents that had befallen his sister. It was about the Butcher.

Rocky noticed how this Butcher seemed to intrigue Lin somehow. But, then again, with Lin trapped in the camp, with the most danger he had got to face was whatever the cook fixed up for mealtime, the boy might be a little bored. And this Butcher seemed to have filled that boredom in some way. At the very least, the Butcher gave him something meaningful to do.

Lin's instruction had been a proof to that. Lin had noticed that the Butcher of Nan Shan, according to the newspaper, had only strike at nighttime. That was why Taka and Rocky were to perform their travel at night; to draw the Butcher out. If they could draw him out and subdue or kill him, then they would save Lin from, to quote the lieutenant's word, _'possible future pain in the rump'_. With the 44th stationed so close to Nan Shan, the rumor about the Butcher had sent quite unrest among the camp members. And who to say that the Butcher would never try something on the camp? Calculative as ever, just like when they were still in the Fire Nation; when Lin would expose himself in the open to bait the Secret Squad's spies sent on him, only to give a chance for Rocky, Taka, and Bara a clean hit on them.

And this was supposed to be their vacation…

When they first arrived here, after being separated from Lin prior to the battle of Meitan Village, Rocky, Taka, and Bara had been given an order from Iroh to tend to their families until Lin contacted them. Their families, after being broken out from the Fire Nation secret prisons, had been kept safely hidden in the mountainous area in the northern part of the Kingdom. Bringing them to safety was one of Lin's uncles, the navy-commander-turned-wanderer, Sahn, one of Jiang's cousins.

After his very early retirement from his stellar career in the Navy, Sahn had decided that he wanted to see the world beyond the Nation, as he had told his family, prompting himself to become a fulltime traveller, his wife to divorce him, the Elders of the clan to scorn him, his brothers to be disappointed by him, and the Nation's many gossip tabloids to print numerous articles about speculations of why a man on the peak of his military career wanting to break free from his great and prominent family tradition. Some speculated he had an illegitimate Earth Kingdom wife and kids out there.

Nobody knew why Sahn decided upon this, not even Jeong Jeong and Umma, who, against the Elders' pressure, gave Sahn permission to do so. After a while, his family learnt to accept his decision and Sahn had grown to form many friendships with many people from the Earth Kingdom. That being the case, Sahn had never been happier and he was an obvious and the most suitable candidate for the particular job of finding a safe haven for the assassins' families. One of his connections, a tribal chief of one of the Northern Tribes, had provided him and the families of the three assassins a temporary shelter before they ventured even deeper north. The northern part of the Earth Kingdom is a rugged mountainous area and believed to be uninhabited area; none would be safer than there.

Sahn had stayed with the families for a while, assisting them to build a small house and a farming field. And after making sure they could survive on their own, Sahn returned to the Nation, relaying to the assassins, through Iroh, the exact location of their families' new dwelling. But, of course, when the news arrived, Rocky and the others had already halfway finishing their project in the Zhong Thu Plain, an area located in the middle of the Great Divide and Si Wong Desert. Their mercenary fort was half ready when they decided to leave the rest of the construction to their subordinates while they travelled back to their families just to make sure they were okay. But, alas, two days after they started their journey, they had run into a great terror: Colonel Wuxin, the Spymaster himself.

Promptly disguising their journey as one done for the purpose of recruiting capable men into their cause, they had decided to postpone their reunion with their loved ones indefinitely. At least until Lin would be free again…

Lin would know what to do next...

They had revealed little about their predicament; though bright and capable, Lin was still young, far too young, in Rocky's honest opinion, to be caught up in this web. The boy had enough on his plate already without having to worry about their families and the mercenary business.

The sudden rustle was low and soft, so much so that most people would not even considered it anything but breeze passing through the bushes. But Rocky and Taka were no ordinary people. They might have remained calm and undisturbed but Rocky had begun straining his ears, trying to catch any more additional noise, and he noticed that Taka's snore had become too neatly sequenced to be real. They both waited, knowing full well that they could only wait for the source of the noise to make the first move. It was dead silence for the next few minutes, save for the occasional breeze. Rocky could think of two options; he could stay in wait and fend off the incoming attack, or he could take the first strike now. His Fire Nation side chose the offensive.

Standing up suddenly, he planted a mighty step on the ground, securing a footing; Taka had done the same, shooting up suddenly from his sleeping bag with a tiny crossbow ready at hand. Rocky's other foot went ahead another step, the very earth beneath it vibrated, creating fissure that trailed to the bushes where the voice was heard; pushing his palms down to send his chi to the earth, he secured one hand back to his waist while the other balled up into a fist that punched forward. The end of the fissure, right on the spot where the bushes were, erupted, sending bodies flying. Their screams dumbfounded the two mercenaries, even more so when both men finally got a good look at those children.

* * *

Sai Haoren was walking down the square with a bucket on his hand and a rag draping down his shoulder. He had just finished cleaning up about five different tents from paints, dust, chalk powder, and many other substances that he kept insisting he did not know about (though nobody listened to him). His compatriot, our very own Trik Sho, seemed to still be busy in the supply room, scraping the floor off some rubbery thing. The punishment for the two had been going on for almost two weeks now and still the cleaning up had not shown any sign of ever going to end.

Deciding to fill his growling stomach with a little bit of lunch, or whatever the mess tent had at this hour and hoping that he would not survive it, he stepped tiredly towards the mess tent. His pace, however, was halted by a nudge on his back. Turning around, he came face to face with a certain ponytailed boy.

"Good afternoon, Captain", Lin greeted, nodding a little.

"Ah, Lieutenant", Sai managed. "A very good afternoon, indeed. May I inquire as to when you want me to clean up your tent from the mess I sure didn't cause?"

"My tent needs no cleaning up", Lin replied courteously, throwing away a thin tree branch he was holding away.

"And why is that, if I may ask?" inquired Spear again, just as courteously. "Surely the massive prank of colossal proportion that I did _not_ pull two weeks ago must have caused quite a disturbance inside that tent of yours."

"Oh, please, my tent is fine."

"Why?" Spear did wonder why whoever pulled that prank had left out Lin's tent. Maybe…

"Because you are not foolish enough to pull anything on me or my tent", plus a devious smile were Lin's response before he walked away.

Watching the boy's departure, Spear thought about it a little, and then he shrugged. _That's true_, the captain thought. A proud prankster like him would readily pull all manner of tricks and pranks on anyone, especially Senshi (who had been wondering why his pillow smelt weird, kinda sweet), but there is no enough money, wine intoxicating enough, or women beautiful enough that could tempt him into pulling something on the lieutenant. After all, Lin was a very capable and highly dangerous fighter, according to Spear's father, General How. Spear himself had never actually seen Lin in action, except for the time when the boy assaulted those Dai Li agents last spring. He was fast, Spear acknowledge that, and precise. And brave too, assaulting two Dai Li agents like that. And… there was something else about the way Lin had fought that day, something that Spear could not properly grasp, something… _wild_. Spear Haoren could not suppress his shiver as he remembered the carnal rage in the lieutenant's eyes that day.

A breeze flew pass him; he took an involuntary whiff of the usual smell of dirt, medicine, and Death… and something else, something stinky. Ignoring that, Spear resumed his venture towards food. And there it was again, the stink. He bowed his head and smelt his pits, but it was not him that stank. Hmm… must be something else. But no matter, not when the mess tent door was within his reach. Pulling the door open, he entered the tent; people inside promptly booed him. It had been that way since the massive prank; Spear and Trik had been antagonized whenever they were in informal setting (meaning when they were not busy saving lives).

Waving them off with a sarcastic smile, Spear put his load on a nearby empty seat and moved towards the line and picked up a tray. In the line in front of him were Corporals Rha-Mi and Rabbit, both threw him a sour look. Understandably, since a giant paint explosion had ruined nearly all of Rha-Mi's Madame Hang Um's Autumn Collections, and a bucket of whitewash that fell on top of Rabbit's head took a full week to fade from his hair completely.

"You smell something, Rabbit", Rha-Mi asked sourly, one hand fastening his winter fur coat (that he had to wear for the time being).

"Yeah", replied Rabbit, sour as Rha-Mi, both stole sharp glances at Spear. "Smells like whitewash."

"Really, because to me it smells like…" Rha-Mi stopped mid-sentence and frowned. Scrunching his large nose, he said again to Rabbit. "I was gonna say paint, but it kinda smells like the stable."

Rabbit must have smelt it too because he had also hid his nose behind his hand, apparently disturbed by whatever it was. Spear frowned at them and was about to say something when a murmur behind him prompted him to turn around, most people in the tent, especially those closer to him had begun to show similar symptoms to Rha-Mi and Rabbit. Feeling somewhat offended by the silent accusation of their judgmental eyes, Spear stomped towards the middle of the tent protesting the treatment, declaring that he had, in fact, taken an extended shower in the morning. With soap, too!

"Hey, Cap!" Rha-Mi shouted at him, nose hidden behind his hat. "On your back!"

"What?" Spear turned to him. He then tried to peered on his back, turning around on the spot; somehow, the action he did resemble a dog chasing its own tail. Realizing the futility of his action, he took off his outer garb and inspected the brown smear on the back of his garment. "Okay, who put doo-doo on my cloth?"

* * *

"_Because you are not brave enough to pull anything on me or my tent", plus a devious smile were Lin's response before he walked away. _

Lin walked lightly without turning back. Only when he heard the sound of the tent door slammed shut did he crack a chuckle.

_(#25. Stab him in the back with a sharp instrument)_

Too easy, simply too easy. Spear's— I mean, _Sai's_ life really was in Lin's hand. If Lin could sneak up behind him and stay undetected long enough to smear his back with a stick dipped in Cammie, the camule's, excrement, imagined what Lin could have done had his intentions been to kill and held in his hand were Nightshade coated with virulent poison. Too easy…

Lin walked pass the square, waving his greeting at Bullhorn, who waved back, and trotted towards the tent in the other side of the square. As he arrived he extended a hand to knock the door, just as the door swung open towards him. Rain was a little surprised when Lin held the door and gestured her to walk back inside.

"The mess tent's in a bit of a mess right now, no pun intended", grinned Lin as he entered and closed the door behind him. Taking out an apple from his pocket, he offered it to Rain. "How's she?"

Rain merely shrugged. She walked back to her bunk and plopped down, nibbling her apple while Lin visited the other bunk where a mass of human being was lying lifelessly under a blanket, a low groan could be heard from it.

Poking the said mass with a finger curiously, Lin asked lowly. "Hey… you're alive?"

"I'm gonna kill Taka…"

For not warning her about the food quality…

"For a master assassin and mercenary captain to get food poisoning", Lin snorted. "Man, you really are something, Bara."

"I'm gonna kill him…"

"He's your brother."

"Which will make it so much sweeter…"

"… Rain, keep your needles handy. You might need them one of these days."

* * *

It was still bright. He had waited for autumn in vain.

Must be because this part of the continent is located literally on the center of the Four Nations; the Tong Shui Province of Western Earth Kingdom was renowned for two things: the Nan Shan River and extreme weather conditions. According to many scholars and experts, the geographical positioning of the Region is heavily affected by the Four Elements, resulting in the inherent imbalance of the natural chi which manifests as extreme weather conditions all year long: springs are wet and rainy, summers are hot and humid, autumns are cloudy and stormy, and winters are snowy and brutal.

He had had difficulties moving around in summer. At days, he had not been able to move at all. At night, they were on full alert for him.

_Otte-rats and pestilence!_

Stupid peasants and laypeople, ignorant of his grand role in the service of the Great Mother!

Oh, Great Mother… how weakened you must have been by this cursed autumn, the Season of Air, Element of Vayu, the Lord of the Winds; to be unable to provide this faithful son of yours thicker cloud in the sky…

He waited in his hiding place, on top of the majestic oak tree, waiting. He hugged the tree branch on which he perched tighter. Wait, just wait… _as the Great Mother, patient as she was benevolent, patiently waiting for four hundred years for the first sprout of tree to emerge from the Earth, the Banyan-Grove Tree, the most majestic of all plants_.

_The Book of the Earth – Genesis, 1: 6-8_.

Patient… patient… wait patiently…

Waiting, waiting… just keep waiting, waiting for more clouds…

_Or for them to sleep_…

He had been tailing those two for three days now. He hated them. Moving around in broad daylight was hard enough; he just had to nearly run into those two at night too. Those two were not ordinary travelers; he knew that much. One was carrying a bow for the Mother's sake! Now, how many travellers carry bows around. Carry bows but with little load; not to mention suspicious travel plan. They were a lot alike with him; both he and those two were not very fond of traveling at day. Like him, those two rested at day and travelled at night.

_*gasp* could it be!_

But, no… no, no, no, no… they were none like him! Neither was the rest of the Earth Kingdom, the rest of the Four Nations! None loved the Mother like he did; for the Great Mother was his reason, his purpose, his essence of being. And he was loved by the Great Mother; he was Her favorite son.

_Like She always tells me… Right, Mother?_

So, be patient, like Mother asked him to; patiently wait for those people to finish their meal, after which he knew they would go back to sleep. At least those two would; he did not know what those _other two_, those strange looking kids would do next. Steal their stuffs and scram, maybe. But, no matter. The Great Mother said he should be patient and strike only when they were asleep. And Her words were his commands, the Mother's words are absolute.

And so he waited and waited…

Time passed, clouds did not get thicker, nor did it clear up. The wind dies down a little, the air was still damp and wet and cold. His stomach growled and yet he stayed still, immobile; _for it is the will of the Great Mother_. Hungry, hungry, so hungry…

*growl*

Louder than before, _excuse me, Mother_. He had not eaten since three days ago when he almost ran into them. Oh, so hungry… and cold… and thirsty. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a glowing cricket flew by and landed on the branch he was on. The creature's bioluminescent antennae did not glow for it was not dark yet; too bad for it, and him. He stared at the creature, which perched on immobile as he was; the bug seemed to look back at him with its protruding eyes. It waited, so did he. He knew not what was on the bug's mind; he did know, however, that creatures such as glowing cricket did not usually approach human easily. And he could only think of one reason why this one would.

_As the Mother wills it, so it shall be… (The Book of the Saints – Chief Khon D 2; 23) _

He snatched at the creature with his left hand, pinning it down on the surface of the branch. With his knife, held in his right hand, he severed the bug's antennae, separating the poisonous part of the creature. Thanking the Great Mother, he then swallowed the bug whole.

He was hungry…

The glowing cricket made a nice crunchy sound yet it was juicy inside; like the 'popping balls', his favorite childhood snack. Small cube of palm sugar wrapped inside batter, shaped like little balls or marbles, sprinkled with sesame, and deep-fried. He drooled as he remembered the crispiness of the shell when one eats a popping ball, and the rich flavor of the melted palms sugar bursting inside the mouth at the first bite, and the sesame… crunchy and sweet, just like this glowing cricket. Only it was not sweet.

He tensed up. Those people in the clearing ahead had begun to move. One of the men, the smaller one, led one of the kids, the taller one, away for the camp fire; each was carrying a bow. Left on the camp were the other man, the bigger one, and the other kid, the one with saggy hair; the man was sitting straight, unmoving like a rock, while the kid was eating still; he was probably famished like he was. _But that kid has something to eat!_

Calm down, calm… for the Great Mother demands a clear and focused mind for before each endeavor committed in Her name; calm and stable mind, like a rock.

And so he waited, waited a little longer, waited until he could be sure that the man with a bow and the other kid were gone far enough to hear. To hear the man who was sitting calmly and the kid who was eating greedily screamed.

And when he was finally sure, he struck…

* * *

Trik Sho was walking down the square when he nearly ran into him.

"Are you insane? Put on some clothes!" he exclaimed to Spear. The latter was in his undershirt, holding what appeared to be his damp outer garb on one hand. The wind had grown steadily stronger and colder.

"I'm out of fresh cloth. Can I borrow yours?" he pleaded.

"Yeah, sure", Trik shrugged. "What happened to that?"

"I don't know, there's Cammie's turd all over it somehow", definitely Cammie's since the camule was the one and only current occupant of the camp's stable. "Somebody's playing me."

"Hey, don't look at me", Trik denied all involvement without further ado. Raising his bucket and dirty rag, he testified that. "I was cleaning the supply tent since morning."

"I know you it wasn't you", Spear scoffed. "You'd just, I don't know, play around with it or something."

"I don't play around with doo-doo!" denied Trik.

"Of course you do. The whole camp knows about the rumor."

"Who spread that rumor?"

"I did."

"Loudmouth!"

"Turd-eater!"

"Snore-snout!"

"Teeth-grinder!"

"Sleep-talker!"

But then Senshi walked pass by, and though immature and childish, Spear and Trik were gentlemen.

"Hi, Senshi", Trik greeted, while Spear said. "Morning, Senshi."

To which Senshi replied a very snappy. "You can't say that about me!" before walking back to his tent with nose held upright.

"Interesting reaction", said Lin who appeared out of nowhere behind the two captains.

"After a few years, he just rewired his ears to interpret anything we say as insults", explained Spear lightly while Trik added. "It's his survival mechanism."

"Really?" Lin raised an intrigued brow. "It's different for me. Here watch", Lin then called out to Senshi who was a few meters away, who froze up and turned pale as he acknowledged the caller. And upon Lin's, "Morning, Senshi!"

"Eeeekkk!" the major screamed and ran like hell, not to mention a little girl.

"It hurt my feeling, at first. But now, it's kinda fun", confessed Lin. Then, he remembered why he was here. "Oh right, Haoqi wants us officers to be in the mess tent before dinner for the meeting."

"Oh, great. It's that time of the month again", whined Spear as he and Trik resumed their walk and Lin left them for his own tent. But fortune still favored the pair doctors as two very attractive females in the forms of Nurses Jen and Xiao Li walked towards a different reaction; from their giggles, they were talking about hand lotion that they had just tried.

"Does it really work that well?" small talk, by Spear Haoren.

"Well, yeah", Nurse Xiao Li beamed. "Here, feel my hand. It's so soft and smooth."

No need to mention that Spear took on that offer gladly. "It really is", he admired, taking prolonged time to feel Nurse Xiao Li's hand. "What's the brand?"

"Oh, it doesn't really have one", informed Nurse Jen. "At least the bottle doesn't have any labels."

"It's homemade, I think", added Nurse Xiao Li, whose hand was still within a certain captain's grasp. "I'm pretty sure it's from Whale Island. Fishermen's wives made it at home to sell for extra money."

"It's made of fish?" Trik asked incredulously.

"No, seaweed", Nurse Xiao Li corrected.

"Seaweed, huh?" Spar said, still admiring the effect of the seaweed hand lotion on Nurse Xiao Li's hand. But then, it struck him. "_Seaweed_!"

"Yeah, why?" asked Nurse Xiao Li, confused as to why Spear pulled his hand so suddenly and now was in the middle of staring at them with a look of horror in his dark brown eyes.

"I'm allergic to seaweed!" the captain whimpered as hives formed on both of his hands before his eyes.

_(#48. Booby-trap a nurse)_

* * *

It was very much like his, only so much dirtier. The two bunk on the right side of the tent were littered by dirty laundry, empty bottles of wine, a dirty magazine or four, lots and lots of food wrappers; separating the two was a peculiar looking sets of glass jars and bottles, connected by pipes and tubes: the still Spear and Trik use to produce their own booze. Of the two bunks on the left, one was empty.

There were originally four surgeons here, not counting Haoqi. But, as a field hospital unit was considered a semi-military division, they did not really enforce too strict military conduct, including those regarding personnel exchange and transfer. Doctors, nurses, and even medics come and go. Haoqi was forced to let Lieutenant Hako Bu, a young but eager surgeon, a top alumnus of Tay Kho Imperial College, to be transferred to the 63rd; one of their surgeons had been badly wounded and had to be discharged after a freakish incident involving a butcher knife, a drunk nurse, and a walk under a dim moonlight. Anyway, since his departure, Bu's bunk had been unoccupied.

The bunk next to Bu's was Senshi's; or at least Lin hoped it was, otherwise he had been targeting the wrong person. But, all clues indicated it was the major's: the overall cleanliness, the bed that was tidily made, framed portrait of Senshi's mother on the nightstand. Lin approached that bunk and, as he reached the side of it, landed a kick on the bed frame. A yelp, followed by the head of Senshi Mor, emerged from below the bed.

"Mess tent, before dinner, officers meeting", Lin said with no particular emotion; to which Senshi could only afford. "Yes, sir", before submerging once more into his hiding place.

Shaking his head slightly, our young lieutenant traced his way back out of the tent, not forgetting to throw a piece of rope on Spear's bunk, of course.

_(#52. Put a venomous snake on his bed)_

* * *

"You kids should be more careful", Taka chided again, serving more bread to the two starving kids who were chowing their meal too quickly; Rocky was grilling a possum-chicken on the camp fire. "Want hot sauce with that, Bee?"

"*munch* Dom'b callb mee Bhee! *much*", the smaller kid with bushy brown hair managed in between her veggie bun and deer-falo jerky.

"What'd you say?" asked Taka, seemingly bemused.

"*gulp* Don't call me Bee!" Smellerbee finally managed, sounding characteristically impudent for someone who had been provided food by the hearer. "Only my friends call me that!"

"Alright, alright. Sheesh", Taka then turned to the other kid, gesturing to the broken device lying on the kid's side. "You can throw that away. I think I have a spare bow for you."

Because of Rocky's earthbending attack, which caused Longshot and Smellerbee to be thrown up into the air, when he landed, Longshot fell on his bow, snapping it in two. It was an accident; so was the earthbending attack. Both Rocky and Taka thought they were being watched by bandits or something along that line; imagine their surprise when they realized that it was only two hungry kids drawn by the smell of their campfire. From their stories, the two kids were out hunting when they noticed Rocky and Taka resting under a tree. They confessed that they were in the middle of debating whether or not they should steal their food when Rocky decided to earthbent them out of their bushes. And imagine _their_ surprise when the two adults willingly offered them to partake some of their food, although, at this point, 'some' had become 'most'.

So, while Rocky distributed the long-awaited grilled possum-chicken, and the two kids ate their fill and then some, Taka went through his stuff rummaging his backpack for his spare equipment. Finally, he drew from among his shirts and underwear, a roll of silken bowstring, which, when fitted on an unstrung bow he found lodge between his sword and cudgel in his weapon bundle, would make his spare bow. Taking the two items back to the camp fire, he swiftly and efficiently assembled the weapon. A simple wooden short bow, brown with the handle part covered with dark orange leather strips. It was quite small for an adult, but for a child like Longshot, it fit his size well.

"I got this from a street vendor, never been used", he offered the fully assembled bow to Longshot. "You any good?"

Longshot shrugged.

"Wanna find out?" grinned Taka tentatively, taking his own custom-made black-lacquered composite reflex bow. Longshot stared at him for a while before deciding that Taka was serious. Gulping the last bite of his meal, he got up, dusted off his pants, and picked up his new bow and quiver of arrows; the old broken bow was quickly forgotten.

Taka too got up and, gestured the boy to follow him. They both walked out of the clearing, into the woods, leaving Rocky, Smellerbee, and a rather thick awkwardness. Rocky had never been good with kids; kids would normally be terrified by his large build and serious demeanor instinctively. Smellerbee was no good with adults herself; adults would almost always assume many unfair things just by one look of her: that she was an unruly kid, that she was a boy, that she was rude, that she was a boy, that she was hotheaded, and, of course, that she was a boy. All of them true, of course, except the one concerning her gender.

So, they both sat, each looking at each other uncomfortably. A minute or so later, it was Smellerbee who decided to break the ice, however, her stiff and flat, "S'up", just made the situation more awkward.

* * *

Rha-Mi was exiting his tent when the corporal nearly rammed his front door on him. Rha-Mi was, after all, in a hurry. He had barely had time to get to his tent and changed his exquisite (fake) ferret-fox fur coat into a more appropriate nurse uniform (long light-green dress robe with white apron bearing the medical insignia on the middle), before he was due for his involuntary voluntary cleaning duty in the operating room, as per a rather unhappy Lieutenant Colonel Haoqi Gun's order. Quickly apologizing, he soon found himself a strolling companion in the form of an unusually light-mooded Lieutenant Lin.

"How long are you going to keep this up?" asked Lin purely out of curiosity.

"For as long as it takes, Master Lin", declared Rha-Mi proudly.

"Do you know that in Fire Nation Army, they put crazy soldiers upfront", added Lin. "You know, so that they can go crazy on the enemy soldiers. Quite literally."

"It _is_ a crazy Nation', Rha-Mi pointed out. "More importantly, I can't help but notice, o' fair-minded one, that you have grown accustomed to this", he pulled his skirt up a little and pranced a little like a dancer girl saluting.

"Meh, I got used it after all the scare you gave me", Lin gave a shrugged. "To be honest, I kinda like this outfit. It looks good on you. Gives you this motherly air."

Gasping in disbelief, the wide-eyed Rha-Mi declared. "I think I'm falling for you."

"…I have a knife."

"Alright, baby steps", Rha-Mi backed down a little. Then, after resuming their march.

"Do you really into, um…" Lin inquired awkwardly. Wanting to avoid any offensive words, he just gestured wordlessly on Rha-Mi in general.

"Nah", Rha-Mi chuckled. "I'm just doing this to get out of the army. Inside, I am a hundred percent man. My *beep* leaps at the sight of a nurse in our unofficial summer uniform. My body longs for the lady's soft caress."

"Not the lord's solid arms?"

"Not even his ticklish finger tips."

"That explains a lot", pondered Lin aloud.

"Like what?" asked Rha-Mi.

"Well, for one, it explains why you don't use the girl's bathroom", answered Lin.

"Hey, do you think maybe if—"

"As the Head Security, I may have to castrate you alive."

Finally arriving at their destination, Lin knocked the tent's door. Upon a muffled, "Enter", from the occupant, they entered the tent. And, of the two, Rha-Mi was the first to speak.

"Corporal Rha-Mi, reporting for cleaning duty, sir!" the whacky corporal exclaimed all soldier-like.

"At ease, corporal", Megumi sighed.

"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!" Rha-Mi saluted before making himself at home. He went over to Megumi's cosmetic dress and started sniffing her perfume collections. That was when a well-aimed pillow hit his head.

"And call me '_sir'_ again and I'll shave your legs and stuff the hair up your nose!" she shouted irritatedly before her second pillow attack.

"Yes, madam!" Rha-Mi was clearly unfazed by the pillows.

"Don't call me '_madam'_!"

"Mother Superior?" Rha-Mi suggested.

"Get out!"

At the order, the corporal did after an exaggerated military bow. Left alone with the stressed major, Lin waited a little for the woman to calm down before conveying the verbal invitation to tonight's officers meeting. Before he got out, however, Megumi remembered to hand him the tiny porcelain bottle; the bottle that Lin pocketed with a devious smile.

* * *

When they arrived at the clearing, Taka gestured the boy to take position. Standing side by side few feet apart from each other, he looked around for potential target, all the while wondering why he was doing this. Taka might have many weaknesses: booze, women, crying girls, girls crying over spilt booze, crik-roaches, women crying at the sight of a crick-roach… the list goes on and on and on. But his one true and biggest weakness would always be children.

To be fair, he did have one kid brother and two baby sisters, and at some point of his life, long long time ago, when Bara decided to join the army and leave him to be the family's breadwinner at the tender age of nine, put in his hands were the lives of three children whom he let down. Taka did not know why, but ever since his unfair imprisonment, leading to him joining the Suzaku division, children had suddenly become a weakness to him. Not that he minded, though.

Spotting a clean flaked off patch on a nearby acacia tree trunk few meters ahead of them, Taka gestured to the spot and said. "See that spot on that tree. See if you can—"

—TWING—

The arrow not only hit the designated target area right on the middle, it also hit a falling leave, pinning it on the tree trunk.

"Show off", Taka sneered jokingly. "Now see if you can—"

Two more arrows flew; each hit a falling leaves, adding the number of the pinned leaves to three.

"Marvelous!" Taka exclaimed; beaming at Longshot who smiled back slightly. "How old are you, kid?"

However, before Longshot could answer, a bone-chilling scream was heard from the direction of their camp. Exchanging a look, they both dashed back to the camp without further ado.

* * *

Spear and Trik was late for lunch as they had been this past two weeks. The cleaning up had taken up most of their free time; not to mention that they had to swing by Herbalist Tua Huo's tent to get some ointment for Spear's hives. The swelling had gone down a little but his face still resembled the victim of a very violent pugilist. Bottom-line, they were late for lunch. And whenever they were late for lunch, the most edible bites would always be gone. Just like today, when they stood with their empty trays, low hope, and irritation.

"Oh, come on!" Trik argued the server, nearly cried. "No more rice cake? But it's like the only thing edible in this whole camp."

"Yeah, and what happened to the ones I asked you to save for me?" demanded Spear, fighting tooth and nail for his compatriot, hungry stomach, and offended palate (in reverse order).

"Sorry, sirs", Private Wang shrugged apologetically. "Father Shu made me give him those rice cakes."

"Father Shu stick you up?" Spear asked in utter disbelief.

"Well, not really, sir", Private Wang scratched his head, grinning guiltily. "But, when I refused to give him the cakes, he began telling me this story about the Great Mother and a selfless rabbit-vole. It's just *sniff* so touching… The rabbit-vole offered up its own body for the Great Mother to eat."

Spear and Trik exchanged a look and a gawk. That was when Lin approached them from behind. "Father Shu finally learnt how to use religion for personal gain?"

"Yes", Trik sighed, dropping his tray on the table, losing appetite all of the sudden. Spear followed it up with. "We're doomed to live a life of poverty from now on."

"Aw, come on", Lin tried to cheer them up. "It can't be that bad. Here, try some baked cassava. They're pretty good today."

The young lieutenant did not wait for Spear's permission as he loaded several pieces of brownish grilled cassava onto the surgeon's tray. The latter tried to thank the former but the combination of desperation, shock, and hunger forced Spear to just leave for the nearest table. As they arrived, Spear took some time to say a grace, very unusual of him, while Trik was just too stunned to do anything other than staring into empty space.

"Nothing we can do about it", shrugged Trik finally. "Is it good?"

"Hmm", Spear mumbled as he chewed his lunch. "A bit smoky and…"

"And what?" Trik frowned as Spear suddenly slammed his palms on the table, raking his hair, ruining his hair-bun, making a sound that was a mixture of choking and gasping, not to mention his busted-up face was suddenly red and his eyes abruptly watered.

"HOT! HOT! WATER!"

_(#74. Poison his food)_

* * *

Smellerbee did not know why this man stared at her like that. He had been sitting there like a hunk of rock the entire time. _Don't his feet get cramped?_ So, she just sat there, faithfully stuffing her mouth. After all, it had been forever since she had had a decent meal. And this man did not seem like a bad person. Sure, he was scary –what's with the sharp stare, big muscles, and mean looking face- but aside from that, he had been nothing but generous stranger. First they fed her and Longshot, and now they even gave Longshot a new bow and all. A good kind of bow, too; at least good enough to be sold and bought somewhere, unlike the one Longshot constructed himself from some ambiguous looking wood and strings pulled from scrap clothes and stolen flags.

"Where are you going?" asked Smellerbee, trying to strike a small talk.

Rocky's answer, however, was a short and precise: "Home."

"Where's home?"

"South."

Cold, stoic demeanor… vague monosyllabic answers… the looks of an average outlaw… _suspicious_. Wait, could he be… one of those people who kidnap children from their homes and sell them into slavery, the one Smellerbee had heard so much about? Far-fetched and too much conjectures on her part, even Smellerbee had to admit that. However, before she could come up with better assumption (or accusation), that ragged man appeared out of nowhere.

Even the large generous stranger was taken by surprise…

Suddenly, just suddenly... he was there. One second he was there, standing in his ragged garb and messy dirty hair; the next half second, a silver gleam struck the bearded faced, sharp-staring, big muscled, scary-looking, but generous and kindhearted guy; and in the other half second, her scream finally came out as his blood gushed out.

Zaq the Butcher strikes again…

* * *

"This is not my day…" sighed Spear tiredly. Both Sai Haoren and Sairen How were notorious for their hatred towards spicy food; a justifiable trait, as Earth Kingdom people are never known to have fondness for spicy food. Walking rather limply towards the exit door of the mess tent, he was damp with sweat and a little tear due to the killer black paper camouflaging perfectly into the slightly burnt surface of the earlier baked cassava. What kind of self-respecting Earth Kingdom cook would sprinkle such abomination on a piece of baked cassava, Spear would never know. He did, however, made a mental note to interrogate Private Liu the camp cook later about it, adding a mental footnote to bring his spear along with him (just in case).

—SQUISH—

"Oh, no… _no_, _naw_, _naw_…!" he was positively crying now, hugging Trik like a child would a father.

"There, there", Trik patted the former's head like a father would a child, peeking below to see the damage. "It's not so bad. Let's just walk to that patch of grass over there where you can rub your sole to get the boo-boo off. 'Kay?"

"No, I don't wanna anymore!"

"Aw, come on. Do it for Uncle Trik, huh. Good boy", Trik cooed, suddenly feeling a nostalgia for his daughters back home. "Come on, big boys don't cry. Coochie coochie coo!"

Only after Trik pulled a candy from his pocket did Spear finally let himself be dragged to the aforementioned patch of grass.

_(#87. Set a landmine on his walking path)_

"You broke a mirror or something?" Trik could not help but ask while watching Spear cleaning his shoe; Spear denied it without any hesitation.

"So, what's happening, man?" Trik sounded a little more serious. "You've incurred more bad luck in one day than the bad luck we've caused Senshi all these years."

"I don't know!" Spear replied rather heatedly. He was beat up, tired, hungry, his body still swollen, his mouth still sore, he was sticky, stinky, and he just wanted to go back to his bed and sleep. Maybe when he woke up, all this would be nothing but a really bad dream.

"Hey, you don't supposed—" Trik started but then he scoffed. "Nah, can't be true."

"What?" Spear asked, halting their pace right in front of the latrine, their destination.

"You know… well, maybe Father Shu had been telling the truth all this time: karma _does_ exist", Trik said; Spear just laughed.

"Yeah, right!" he challenged. "If karma exist, then I ask, nay, _demand_ karma to show me some proof!"

"Ahem" was heard from behind the closed latrine door.

"Sorry, Father!" the both exclaimed quickly. A few second later, Father Shu came out of the latrine, bearing a towel and a rolled-up copy of the comic _Blossom, the Dancing Warrior_. Throwing a rather sour smile at the pair, our good chaplain made his way towards his tent. Spear took no time to enter the latrine to relieve himself while Trik waited outside. Then, suddenly…

—BOOM—

"Arrgh!"

"Oy…" Trik shook his head in disbelief. Pulling the door open, he let Spear run out. The latter's head was covered with white powder. All eyes around the square turned to him now.

_(#88. Set a bomb in the latrine for after he had lunch.)_

"Wh— Wha—", blinded, Spear groped and staggered his way across the ground. Feeling great pity for his comrade-in-prank, Trik stepped up, wanting to assist him. But, Trik had only taken exactly two and a half steps when suddenly…

"Argh!" one of the camp's mutts ran over to them, barking and barring its teeth, and started to bite on Spear's trousers.

_(#89. Smear his clothing with substance that induce crazed state on animals with fangs)_

…though, in this case, it was only buzzard-wasp's honey; a substance inedible to any other creatures but produces a very faint fragrance that other animals just do not like.

"Get lost, you stupid mongrel!" Spear tried to shake the goat-terrier away. He was too preoccupied with it to evade when…

"Watch out, down there!" Lin shouted from up above; he was helping Bullhorn hanging the latter's bed sheet on the watchtower's balcony when Lin's hand 'slipped'. The wide fabric fell down accurately on the hapless surgeon, covering him completely, sending his already pathetic state deeper into panic.

_(#90. Drop something heavy on him.)_

"Spear! Watch your step!" Nurse Huang Mei tried to warn him but too late. The next thing he knew, Spear found one of his foot trapped inside a small bucket somebody had carelessly put on the ground near him.

_(#91. Set up a foothold trap for him, preferably one that comes with teeth.)_

And then…

"My other foot!"

_(#92. Dig a deep hole on the ground.)_, though it was only six-inch deep this time.

—RUSTLE—

"Arrgggh!"

_(#93. Push him onto a bush of poison ivy),_ but it was just bush for now…

"Oh, Spear, are you okay!" Nurse Xiao Li to the rescue, pulling Spear, still covered under the sheet, up.

"Wait! Seaweed!" Spear blindly jumped away.

"No, no, no; I've washed it. Now, I'm wearing almond and walnut cream."

"I'M ALLERGIC TO NUTS!"

_(#94. Poison him when he is unaware. Again.)_

Staggering away quickly, Spear was still struggling to entangle himself from the spirits-damn wide and large sheet. Such was the intensity of his struggle, he could not possible hear Cammie stampeding towards his direction from afar, chasing a carrot that was strapped in front of its face; and Spear certainly could not hear Rha-Mi screaming. "Watch out!"

Only when Bullhorn grabbed his gear and boomed. **"Captain! Cammie's closing in on two o'clock!"**, did Spear get a grasp of what was going on in the outside world. Heeding the watchman's warning, Spear recalled his martial training and leaped backward with all his might.

Anyway, at the moment of impact, Spear was thrown away screaming. "Arghhhh! MY LIVER!" while Bullhorn added a very guilty and apologetic sounding. **"…**_**My**_** two o'clock…"** as he hopelessly watched the very unfortunate captain arcing in the air and landing ungracefully on the clearing behind the latrine tent.

_(#95. Stage a traffic accident.)_

The onlookers, led by Trik hurried their way towards Spear; Rha-Mi excluded as he had to pursue his Cammie. The crowd ran quickly to the clearing, only to skid their march halfway; horror soon reigned all over their pale faces. Without further ado, they raised their voices at approximately the same time, all wanting to warn Spear about something that sounded very urgent. But, when thirty or forty something people speak at the same time, the result was a chaotic rumble.

"What? What!" Spear stood up, not realizing the raising panic in his campmates' screams. Still tangled up in the sheet, he raised his fist into a rather pathetic defensive stance, turning side to side, anticipating another attack. "What now? The Fire Lord challenging me to a duel? I'm ready!"

The chaotic chatter grew even fiercer. For, unbeknownst to Spear, there was one thing standing on the fifteen feet long distance between him and the rest of the camp: a small board nailed on an erected pole.

"Wait, WAIT!" Father Shu tried to make himself heard. But, it was Rabbit's, "QUIET!" that was heeded by the distraught camp members.

"Everybody, together. Now!" Father Shu led their unison exclamation. _"You're standing on a mine field!"_

"I'M NOT READY!"

_(#96. Throw him in the middle of a minefield.)_

* * *

_HYAHAHAHAHA! BLOOD! _

One down! One more down! Look, look, Mother! There the man was, falling down flat with chest cut open. A feast fitting for Your majesty. But, no; not good. A sacrificial lamb should not be let bleeding for too long. It is cruel to do so. And so he raised his blade, ready to strike again.

But, alas! An arrow flew out of nowhere, hitting his hand, piercing it and the blade's wooden handle together. Turning to the assailant, he saw another arrow flying by, so close, so fast… it hurt when it pierced his side…

That man, that young man who could not be much older than twenty. A professional, no doubt. He was, after all, wearing armor, light leather it might be. But his eyes, Mother; his amber eyes were calm even if he had sure gotten a good look of his friend lying on the pool of blood, his friend's own blood. A professional… _a feast!_

The Great Mother demanded a feast, and a feast he shall give! Shouting a battle cry, he ran ahead. While running towards him, the amber eyed man fixed and shot another arrow with uncanny speed and unmatched efficiency. But, he hit it aside midair with his blade; it did not hurt any more though the arrow that had pierced his hand was still there. _Such is the blessing of the Great Mother! _

Their distance was closing quickly; the man with amber eyes was finally within his reach. He did not even change his expression, but no matter, no matter. The amber eyed man was now within his striking range. And so, he struck; his blade swung towards the man, arrow still lodged and all. But the man, he braked his step and leaped behind fast like a graceful dragonfly; the knife missed its target. Another strike, then; this time he leaped forward for range support. The amber eyed man rolled sideways.

_Otte-rats and pestilence…!_

For standing ten meters away behind the amber eyed man was a child; a small frame had been hidden behind the bigger one. A child aiming a deathly arrow at him; his heart, to be more precise. At least that was what it felt like when the arrow lodged itself between his ribcage. _Oh, Mother… what pain… to fail providing you with a humble offering… _He barely felt the man's blade nesting itself on his chest, an inch apart from the spot the arrow pierced him. What an overkill; although, deep down he knew it was of mercy, because the man did not want the kid to be a murderer. _A murderer like him_…

Whoever knows that Earth Kingdom's autumn sky could be so dark… so very dark.

_Earth Kingdom… Earth Kingdom… _

_O land of… of Prithvi_,*cough*…_ Great Mother Earth, _

_Be-… benevolent… her blessing be…_

* * *

"How's he?" asked Lin as Trik let him into their tent; Lin was carrying a tray of soup for Spear. The latter was lying on his bed, sobbing.

It was surprisingly easy to get him out of the minefield, mainly because it was not a minefield. Apparently, the real minefield was a little further ahead from where Spear had been standing. According to Lin, who came to rescue about two, three hours after Spear inadvertently landed in the supposedly minefield, the young lieutenant, who had spent the said two, three hours 'searching' for the misplaced map of the minefields surrounding the camp, the signboard must have been knocked down and dragged by the wind. And when someone found it lying on the ground, he/she (Lin) must have carelessly planted it without checking.

Oh, well… at least it was all good now. Sergeant Chim had applied some acupuncture, Lieutenant Ben had set some dislocated joints, Father Shu had paid a visit and blessed the surrounding with holy water and good fortune invocations, and the soup Trik was feeding Spear now was fixed by the Rain using ingredients especially prepared by the camp's Herbalist Tua Huo.

"How long has he been sleeping?" asked Lin; the 'he' Lin was referring to was not Spear, however. It was Senshi. Blanket pulled up over his shoulder, he was snoring the afternoon away with this childish smile on his face as he mumbled something about his wife and gold bars.

"I don't know, he was already like this when I brought him (nudging his chin at Spear) in", replied Trik, frowning at Senshi. "Better wake him up now. We have the officers meeting next."

"Nah, let him sleep", Lin grinned. "Besides, here they come."

The door was pulled open and entering the tent was the party of the officers. Haoqi at the front, smoking a long thin yellow pipe; Rabbit right behind him carrying his usual notepad; next was Father Shu who took off his felt hat and stepped aside to let Megumi enter before him.

"Somebody wake him up", ordered Haoqi, pointing his pipe at Senshi.

"He won't wake up", Lin replied lightly.

"Why not?" Haoqi drawled, narrowing is eyes suspiciously, missing the meaningful exchanged glances between Lin and Megumi. "What did you do to him?"

* * *

It was hard to tell if the sun was about to set or not; the cloud had grown steadily thicker since the afternoon. The highway village on which Healer Sano lived was just one of the unnamed unremarkable villages scattering across Tong Shui Province. The weather had gone colder now; even Healer Sano's thick wool jacket proved of little use against the wind that blew in through the window. Maybe he was just getting old. The eighty-eight years old walked to the window and closed it before lighting a candle to provide some illumination. He then walked towards the bedside to check on his unconscious patient's pulse and temperature.

_Hrmph! Killing the Butcher of Nan Shan… what a lie!_

What people today would not do for a fifteen minutes of fame… the society had fallen low! Zaq the Butcher had been terrorizing the area around Nan Shan River for quite a while; hundreds had fallen under his blade and yet he was never caught. And now, a small skinny man, a wounded and nearly dead man, and two little kids claimed that they had not only encountered and survived the Butcher, but they had also brought him down? Nonsense!

But it sure did not stop the village chief to lead a group of men to check the place where that skinny man claimed they had fought the Butcher. Bah! A waste of time. But still, Healer Sano was a proud practitioner of medicine; he would not turn his back on a life he could save even if it belongs to a conman. A deep slash on the chest, grazing the bones, breaking some ribs, barely missed the vital organs; whoever did that was an expert at using blade.

Pulling the blanket over the man's shoulder to keep him warm, Healer Sano left the room for the patient to get rest. Outside the door, in the living room of his house/waiting room of his clinic, was the rest of the group. The kids were leaning on each other, napping with a thick black coat draped over their shoulders. The man was pacing back and forth; upon seeing Healer Sano, he quickly approached the elderly and asked about his friend.

"He's past critical stage", reassured Healer Sano; conmen they might be but solidarity is a trait Healer Sano admired. "His bones will take time to heal. He will need to take things easy until at least the end of the year. He cannot be moved for at least a month."

The last sentence answered Taka's next question. Then, it was Healer Sano's turn to ask question; you might think he would ask about the Butcher, but Healer Sano was more interested about other subject. "What did you guys do for a living?"

"We're mercenaries", Taka muttered, glancing at the door behind the old man, trying to hide his annoyance at the old man who barred him entry.

"Mercenaries, eh? That explains the scars all over your friend's body?" the old man was certainly sharp. He was intrigued by the multitude of scars covering Rocky's being, some of them, he recognized, were the result of explosives and mauling by wild animals, other than blades, arrows, and other manmade instruments of war. "You're friend must've been a mercenary since he was a child to have accumulated all those scars."

Taka clenched his jaw; the old man's words pierced his heart like an arrow. Instead of answering verbally, he took off his clothes, revealing to the gasping healer his own savagely scarred body. "We have a rough childhood. I don't know what you're accusing us of, but we meant you and your village no harm; I give you my word."

"I see", muttered Healer Sano finally. He looked more solemn and apologetic for a moment, up until Taka asked his permission to see Rocky, the old man reverted back to his snappy stern demeanor.

* * *

"You sure this will work?" asked Trik for the umpteenth time.

"Absolutely", replied Lin, grinning. It was dusk and all around them, the camp were busy preparing for the next, say, _activity_. Rha-Mi and several nurses were busy sewing up cloth material together, Haoqi was overseeing the men setting up boards and planks over the tents and covering them with bended earth, Father Shu was in charge setting up the stage. Smiling broadly, satisfied with the men's hard work and gleeful smiles, Lin declared with utmost certainty. "This… will be _grand_."

* * *

"You kids will really be fine, right?" asked Taka again.

"Yes, gramps!" Smellerbee snapped impatiently. "We know this area inside out!"

"I still think I should take you home", Taka offered again; it was met by the kids' verbal disapproval. "Are you sure you'll be fine?"

"Yes!" Smellerbee nearly screamed. Sensing more nagging coming from Taka, she quickly said her goodbye, dragged Longshot by the hand, and scrammed from the spot.

"Remembeeer!" Taka shouted to the kids again. "Black Rider Company! Mention our names!"

"Yeeeaaaah!"

"Weird kids", Taka muttered to himself, smiling fondly at those two towards the highway.

Really weird kids; they claimed to be homeless but blatantly refused when Taka offered them to live with them in the barrack. Maybe those two lived with other homeless kids, thought Taka. Oh well, nothing he could do. Though he did not like letting those two go alone, he could not really force them to stay or anything. All he could do was pray for their safety. Besides, he had instructed them of the direction to the Black Rider Company's barrack and that, should the need arise, they could ask for help there.

"Really weird kids", with the last thought, he entered the hut. He had a friend to tend to.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Names:

1. Hang Um; from German word 'umhang', which means 'cloak' or 'cape'

2. Hako Bu, from Japanese' hakobu' which means 'transfer'

3. Ben, a Swedish word for 'bone'

4. Tua Huo, inspired by the legendary Chinese physician Hua Tuo who lived during the Three Kingdoms era. It is said that his skill as a physician was unparalleled. Legend has it that he was the first person to have performed the first surgical treatment in China; some say he had even perfected this particular skill to a level matching modern surgery. He was also credited as the first Chinese physician who employed the use of chemical anesthesia; one source described it as some sort of herbal wine that patients were asked to drink. He was later executed by the Prime Minister Cao Cao after diagnosing the latter's series of intense headache as brain tumor and proposing a treatment of _'cutting the skull open and take off a chunk of the brain'_. Some say, it was because they did not have a specific word for 'surgery' at the time, so Hua Tuo had to describe it that way. Anyway, Cao Cao, who was a paranoid man to begin with, accused Hua Tuo of wanting to assassinate him and sent him to jail to be executed. In the prison, Hua Tuo was said to have passed down his treatise of medicine to the warden, hoping that, at the very least, his knowledge in medicine would still be of use to the society after his death. Alas, the warden's wife found the book and burnt it without the warden's knowledge, fearing that it would implicate them in Hua Tuo's 'crime'. The only surviving part of the book was a page describing a method of castration for goats.

5. Vayu, the Hindu god of wind

So sorry for the late update. I have to wait until I get the most of the next chapter done before I can update this one, since they will be connected somehow. And, I confess, I have been distracted by Skyrim. :)

Ah, yes… the manifestation of excellence, Skyrim is; laggy, buggy, and in serious need of patch though it is.

To ciccia96, thanks for the review! Yes, he is back, indeed.

To hpswst101, thanks for the review! Iroh has his flaws, of course. Hopefully, I can explore more of his character soon. As for Rain, she won't be one of those one-time characters. I have been trying to create a counterpart for Taka for a long time now; archers or the like of that, but with major differences in personality and character. At first, I thought it would be Yumi, the archer lady from Ba Sing Se but it didn't seem to fit somehow.

In any case, the next chapter is about done, still need some checking and polishing here and there. Too bad I missed the Halloween deadline I set for myself though; the next chapter has Halloween theme. T_T

Enjoy the reading, guys! And Merry Christmas!


	75. Chapter 74

**Chapter 74 – 100 Ways to Kill A Haoren, Part 2**

**-Senshi, The Savior-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

He was born nearly 29 years ago in the stratocratic city of Tay Kho. Like many other kids of low nobility, he attended school with peasants' children in public school. And the very first thing they learnt was to hate anything Fire Nation. Tay Kho housed the Earth Kingdom Army Council of Generals, after all; residents who as much as wore red scarf in public could be charged with treason and lynched alive.

His life was unremarkable. When he was thirteen, he was enrolled in compulsory military boot camp; he failed miserably. When he turned eighteen, he tried to enlist in the army, even resorting to bribe and fraud to do so; again he failed. Upon the suggestion of his father, he enrolled in the Tay Kho Imperial College, barely got accepted and spent the next seven years trying to graduate from the medical course. He did not do so well, even worse when his father passed away when he turned twenty five, leaving the family penniless. Upon his father's death, he and his mother made their way to Ba Sing Se; the family still had a residence in the Capital's Middle Ring.

Upon him moving out, his educational pursuit was redirected to Ba Sing Se University (much to the delight of his teachers and colleagues in Tay Kho). But, as Ba Sing Se University was the crème de la crème among all educational institutions in the whole Four Nations, the University naturally rejected the misunderstood washout who had been misled by those jealous bastards in Tay Kho Imperial College.

It was not until a certain young lady laid eyes on his chiseled handsome face among the crowd, mesmerized by his emerald green eyes and his other manly features, did his life started to move up to a better direction; namely northeast into the Inner Ring: the girl's family mansion. They were married almost on the spot. He received an elevated status of nobility, wealth, and privileged entry to the University. A year later, his brilliance shone through; he graduated from Ba Sing Se University a full-fledged surgeon.

Life was good for him; until his patients started dying, his wife got bossy and forced herself to be his assisting nurse in his clinic after firing all his female employees, his father-in-law (a suspiciously rich nobleman who never went anywhere without a battalion of armed bodyguards) started using his clinic to store some suspicious looking crates and packages, and his mother to be addicted to the gambling. It would seem that his life was heading towards another dark path.

But then, salvation arrived. Anything war-related was forbidden in Ba Sing Se, but he somehow got his hand on a recruiting brochure for army medic unit. An army recruitment brochure in the heart of Ba Sing Se… Crazy, right? Therefore, without further ado, he signed up; after all, it was his lifelong dream to join the Army and fight those sadistic pyromaniacs! What's more, he could get away from his wife, family, and the multitude of malpractice accusations (in that order). Three birds with one stone.

His status of nobility secured him a rather high rank of an officer in the Army. Finally, after spending his childhood in Tay Kho, being one of the smallest and weakest kid, bullied and alienated by those cruel peasants kids; his teenage year in boot camp, labeled worthless by his ill-hearted superiors; his earlier adulthood in training to become a surgeon, being held back by those jealous people he called teachers; and his clinic that had become a prison for him; he was finally free and had people he could order around.

Not!

Those pair of clowns had made his life a living hell since day one! Those two dimwits, unworthy to be doctors! One was from Omashu Medical Institute, the other was from Garsai Regional College; a second rate institute and a countryside college. And they were beneath his rank too! But, just like all those mean kids, that brainless drill sergeant who failed to see his unmatched patriotic heart, those teachers who did not appreciate his brilliance, and so many other, everyone on the camp he was assigned to chose _them_ over him!

Stupid worthless people! Blind to his brilliance and genius. He was, after all, the one and only personnel who had attended an institute as high-class as Ba Sing Se University; even their commanding officer was just a mediocre graduate of some backwater medical college in the Southern Earth Kingdom.

He was simply the greatest, the best! But the whole world was against him…

His colleagues; those two captains and that half-wit CO…

His subordinates; like that mousy bespectacled corporal, or that cross-dressing psychopathic maniac, or that lousy embarrassment of a cook, even that baldy meek weakling of a priest and that allegedly higher-ranking Vanguard lieutenant.

Even his family; his wife who might as well neuter him with her very presence; his father-in-law who turned his clinic into an illegal storehouse; even his mother who displayed such weakness as to succumb into the snare of mahjong.

Everyone was against him…

His life was hell everywhere he went; his life in the camp was a torture thanks to, well, everyone. His life back home in Ba Sing Se was hell thanks to, again, everyone! Everywhere he turned, it was unpleasant, unappreciative, life-sucking, _hell_.

And now, in this autumn morning in the middle of nowhere; Senshi Mor woke up from a long and exhausting sleep.

* * *

General Hocho rode his steed fast; the heavily armored ostrich horse dashed like lightning bolt across the meadow, leaving his aide, captains, and the rest of his entourage trying hard to keep their pace. The general turned around a little, snickering at them. His steed Buma truly lived up to the reputation of its breed. Her sire was a champion Garsai-breed and her dam was a strong Tian Shui chariot steed. Buma had inherited the strength and beautiful chestnut coat of her dam, and the speed and mobility of her sire. A gift from the old King Nara, the Lord of Tianshui himself, when Hocho aided him in their resistance against Fire Nation invaders.

Good times, good times… when good deeds were rewarded and loyalty was reciprocated. Hmph! That bastard Hakoda…

We live in a bad era indeed, pondered Hocho. When loyalty is paid with betrayal… That bastard Hakoda. Hocho gave him the honor to fight alongside him and his army, and what did he get in return? A betrayal.

Well, to be fair, they did leave the captured Rhino behind… as promised.

Hocho halted his steed. He waited for a few second for the rest of his men to fall in; their heaves were matched by those of their steeds. The last to arrive was a prisoner cart; a wooden cage that resembled the one used for cattle but with top made of planks instead of beams. Two planks put together, three circular opening was made in the middle to function as cangue for the prisoner's head and wrists. The occupant of this particular cart was a Fire Nation soldier, beaten and slightly emancipated, weak and defeated. He was no ordinary soldier, as his face tattoo would suggest. He was Vachir, one of the Rough Rhinos.

That bastard Hakoda… Hocho smirked this time, as he had seen through Hakoda's ruse. He knew why Hakoda left Vachir behind when that slimy Water barbarian ran off with the captured Fire Nation commander few weeks ago: it was the so-called 'baiting the tigerdillo to fight the giant moose-lion' tactic. Leaving Vachir behind was intended to entice the rest of the Rhinos to attack Hocho, hence allowing Hakoda to escape unimpeded. Sadly, Hakoda made a slight miscalculation, or he had done such a great job battling the Rhinos in the fight to seize the battlement. The Rhinos did not attack that night.

It would seem that Hakoda and his men had dealt such a blow on the Rhinos, they had to take some time to recuperate. However, Hocho knew that the Rhinos would return, so he quickly seized the prisoner Vachir and set up a trap on the battlement. He withdrew his army from the battlement before rigging it with explosives. It did not work, though. Somehow, the Rhinos had gotten wind of his movement and marched straight to him; the bobby-trapped battlement was a wasted effort.

They had engaged in numerous skirmishes almost every day; the Rhinos' expertise in shock attack and clandestine maneuver was legendary, making them hard to evade and defend against. However, even without that Water barbarian Hakoda, Hocho was able to hold so far. Vachir was still secured, with him was about a hundred riders of his personal unit, and the rest of his battalion was fighting the Rhinos at that very moment.

History had little records of Hocho, mainly because he was one of the hundreds other nameless faceless generals fighting in the real battles in the front; and, as we all know, it was the politician generals and aristocratic commanders that gained the fame and recognition in history. Even so, Hocho was known by his peers as a great warrior and talented tactician. The trap he had set and had been sprung by the Rhinos showcased his skills as the latter. He had put the prisoner cart on display, guarded only by few soldiers in the middle of the encampment. There had not been many soldiers to be seen because they were supposedly resting in the camp. And when the Rhinos marched down the encampment, they did not know any better.

At the sound of the war drum, soldiers emerged from their tent; all in armor and had their weapons ready. The officers led the men in the Rhinos hunt while Hocho led his personal riders to secure the trophy. They had been riding for almost two hours non-stop to their rendezvous point. They were now facing the direction where they came from, ready on their steeds on the higher ground. Lancers were in their formation behind him and his two banner bearers; mounted crossbowmen were ready at the front of the formation with their weapons loaded. The prisoner cart had been stashed away on a nearby wood, guarded by at least ten soldiers. Should by the off-chance that the Rhinos managed to survive the onslaught, Hocho and his men would have the advantage of the higher ground; if the bolts did not get them, the lances would skewer them. And if that was not enough, he still had fifty armed infantry with him.

Hocho was ready…

Deep down inside, he was hoping it would be the Rhinos, and not his scout, riding out of the woods in front.

* * *

The man rode his steed slowly across the field, whistling his care away. The hood of his cloak were put on, shielding his head from the cruel wind, showing only his smile framed by his thick bushy moustache and pointy goatee as he returned the friendly nod the farmer gave him. His steed, the tall brown ostrich horse, walked steadily on the narrow path in between the rice paddy fields. It was already autumn and he knew something was wrong.

_Farmers don't plant rice paddy in autumn… _

He rode still, returning more nods with his own, all the while covertly counting the numbers of the farmers around the fields. The closest to him were three on his right and two on his left.

There were more a little farther from him, at least fifteen more scattered across the fields, doing the impossibility of hoping that their plants could survive cruel autumn climate. The man rode still, ignoring the field hut he was passing, in which a group of women and children were weaving bamboo into hats and mats, ignoring the merry chatters and laughter emerging from the group. He did not want to fight…

He finally made it through the fields and in front of him was the road leading to the village on top of the hill; a curved dirt road leading up, only wide enough to accommodate two riders side by side. He rode the road up to the village; a humble village of only fifteen to twenty households. The huts were poorly made of mud earth, straws, and woods but neatly arranged on the right and left of the road. At the end of the road was the only structure decently made and the biggest building around. It was the village chief's mansion, built with entrance and front yard at the front of the hill but the interiors were carved directly inside the hill. And on top of the hill was an altar, with square roof design like the chief's mansion, housing a carved image of a terrible spirits with eight hands, clad in armor and full-face masked helmet, with each hands carrying a different weapons- a dagger, a sword, a chakram, and a single arrow on the left side; a baton, a halberd, an axe, and a short whip on the right-; the image of Yahata, the Spirit of War.

The riders rode to the village square, pausing little; though they were good at concealing themselves, the rider was painfully aware of the fact that at least ten different pairs of eyes were focusing on him from the shadow. He could even feel the tingling sensation on the back of his neck from the crossbows pointed at his back. He knew he must not initiate the fight: he was completely surrounded.

And so, he got down from his steed. Leading it to a nearby pole, he tied the ostrich horse there and walked into the outdoor teahouse; a small hut where the tea maker would work, serving tea to customers sitting on at least ten sets of private tables and five larger and longer communal benches set on the front yard. That day, however, the teahouse was empty save for an old man sitting on a low rock bench; a carved rock table was in front of him.

The patron was sitting with his eyes closed, sleeping or meditating, hard to tell. He was the kind of old man people would walked pass by without a second glance; old and wrinkly, but slightly plump and his shoulder was broad. The old man's face still radiated certain kind of strength despite the wrinkles and dark spots. His face was typical; firm jaw, bushy long gray beard, thick brows. His conical bamboo hat hung on the back of his head by its lace on his neck, his graying hair was saggy and untied, covered under his dirty green bandana. His attire was not typical of a farmer's, though; two layers of yellowish white undershirts below his long-sleeved grass-green garb, on top of it was a brocade sleeveless outer garment of lighter green. Cloth armbands, humble green trousers that were probably as old as he, and a pair of straw sandals. Held between his folded arms was a handsome wooden walking stick with engraved ivory handle. Around the handle, near the top, was a green silken tassel that had a small gourd tied at the end. A fragrant scent of barley wine from the gourd the stranger smelt whenever wind blew his way.

On the table in front of the old man, on the left corner, was an empty cup set beside a pot of already cold tea. On the right corner was a pile of circular Pai Sho tiles; similar to the piles on the other side of the table. In the middle of the rock table was a series of grids carved onto the surface.

"…Zzzz… hmm?" the old man woke up abruptly when the hooded stranger sat down across his table. The old man snorted, yawned, rubbed his eyes, and then he addressed the stranger with a kind smile. "Howdy, strangers?"

"Chilly up here", the stranger gestured to the proprietor; who soon arrived bearing a tray of tea and small eats. "You any good, old man?"

"Been doin' this for a livin' quite a while now", the old man puffed his chest proudly, nodding a little as the stranger offered him a cup. Upon seeing the face of his guest, an elderly man with a missing eye, he asked still with all friendliness. "How's the war goin'?"

"No idea", the stranger shrugged, smiling mysteriously at the patron before adding. "I haven't been in in the war for quite some time now."

"Deserter?" the old man cracked. "Hah! Five hundred gold pieces just landed on my village."

"Are you sure?" the stranger let go of all pretenses now; his amber eye turned sharp and his knuckles balled up. The old man, however, laughed harder as he waved it off as a joke.

"We are deep in the mountain, isolated from the rest of the world", he poured the stranger a cup of tea as an apology. "Even if I wanted to turn you in, there'd be no place to cash your head in 'round here. Come on, let's play! The first round's on the house."

And so they played. As per the custom, the guest has the first move: a white lotus tile in the middle of the board.

"The White Lotus Gambit, eh?" the old man commented, stroking his beard. "Not many still cling to the ancient ways."

"Those who do can always find a friend", the one-eyed stranger nodded and reciprocated the patron's gesture; hands clapped lightly then opened with palms facing upwards, like a lotus blossoming. He then countered the old man's orchid tile with his wheel tile. And so on, the game flowed, tiles were put forth one after another, White Lotus Gambit battling its own. Until the last tiles were set in place, beauty and harmony was achieved: a lotus flower blossom on the battlefield of Pai Sho.

"The White Lotus opens wide to those who knows her secret, Brother", the old man nodded solemnly. He then lifted his left hand, folded all fingers but his thumb and pinky, and then he grasped hard. At the gesture, multiple black-clad characters appeared out of places unimaginable: from inside the bushes, one emerged dripping wet from inside a well, three from under the tables, two from behind a rock, many were climbing down from roofs of random huts, even the teahouse owner sighed a relief as he pulled out a large metal armor-piercing crossbow from under his counter and started disarming and dismantling the deadly weapon.

"We were told to expect two", the old man got up and shook the guest's hand.

"Master Kisa is held up downhill", Shimazu pointed at the direction below. "He was travelling with a group of orphans and refugees in a large carriage."

The old man waved his hand, summoning four of the black–clad warriors forth. They were wearing light leather breastplate and shoulder pads on top of their dark cotton garb. Sets of armguards and shin guards, also leather, complimented with a dark cloth bandana and face mask. Each of the warriors had a straight thin sword strapped on their backs and a set of small one-handed crossbow and a pouch of bolts on their waist. The old man waved his hand again, shooing them this time; the warriors bowed an Earth Kingdom bow before dispersing into the fields below.

"They will guide Master Kisa and the guests up", the old man said. He then got up, dusted off his pants and led the guest down the road into his mansion.

Upon reaching the village chief's residence, they were greeted by a pair of guards, who were not there before; clad in black armor like the rest of the men, but armed with spears and they had their masks down. Inside the mansion, the source of lighting came from eerie light emitted by the green glowing crystals. The old man, the village chief, led the guest deeper into the establishment, passing a humble but comfortable living room, an open door that led to what looked like a training room, a closed door that says 'armory', and then to another open door that they entered.

Inside the room were three middle-aged men, three of the highest ranking members of the Order: a swordmaster, an artist, and a pirate.

* * *

When Senshi Mor got out of his tent, he thought he must be dreaming. Why? Simple: the building in front of him bore a signboard that says 'tavern'. Now, since when did they have a _tavern_ set up in the camp? And it was not a tent too; it was an earthen building, nicely made and all.

He turned around to the tent he got out of and the sight knocked a few beat off his heart. It was not a tent, but another building. Built of rock and had a roof; no traces of wood or canvas. He was about to enter again, pushing the door open with his palm, to check if the interior had change when a well-aimed arrow lodge itself on the door right on the spot in between his index and middle finger.

He screamed…

* * *

A mounted scout bearing an Earth Kingdom banner emerged from the forest a few hundred yards below. Hocho sighed at the sight; of relief of disappointment, it was a little unclear. He felt his aide eyeing him hopefully; upon receiving a nod from the superior, the small middle-aged man boomed. "VICTORY!"

It was reciprocated by a loud cheer from all around.

General Hocho let his men basked in their glory. He was proud of his men; especially, since they did not break formation in their celebrations. They were cheering, jumping up and down, punching the air, giving each other a pat on the shoulder, or kneeling down to give thanks; but no men nor steeds broke ranks.

It showcased his own worth as a leader…

"Men!" Hocho exclaimed, his men fell silence and into standby formation abruptly. The general, with renewed pride, took a banner from the bearer and thrust it to the sky. "VICTORY!"

And they cheered again, louder than before.

However, the celebration was cut short. While the men were busy cheering and celebration on the spot, Hocho's mood was disrupted by the scout. The rider had fully emerged from the woods. However, the ostrich horse he was riding slowed down and started to walk around in circle. Only when the beast lowered its head to peck the earth for grass, did the riders body slid almost all the way down in an unnatural position. The banner pole was tied to the side of the saddle and the rider's lifeless body was tied onto it…

A horrible realization came to Hocho.

"Infantry, secure the prisoner!" he screamed; his voice was that of panic. "Cavalry, with me!"

He did not wait for his aid to finish echoing his orders when he spurred Buma down the slope. He rode fast, fist clenched hard; he was still holding his banner. He rode past the tight formation of trees skillfully, goading his agile steed to jump across a small creek, and raced deeper into the trees when he finally arrived at the clearing. His green eyes widened in horror, his jaws clenched in fury.

A mile away from his spot was camp from which thick pillars of smoke arose.

* * *

"Apocalypse!" he heard somebody screamed. "Run for your life!"

Even if he was so very panicked and scared and confused, he could not help but notice that the man who had just ran past him by had a… _fluffy pink tail_.

"Save yourself!" next, he was out of breath when a mass of living creature collided with him. After entangling himself from the other person's_… bathrobe…?_ Senshi Mor recognized the face as… "_Haoren?_"

"ARRGH! Save yourself!" the person he thought to be Sai Haoren simply screamed louder and scrammed. Wondering all the while why Sai would wear a bathrobe and had a pair of tiny horns protruding from his… shoulders, our Major Mor got up and gave chase immediately. He wanted an explanation.

"Waaaaait!" Senshi was desperate, desperate enough to tackle his prey down. After successfully entangling himself from the other man's bathrobe and… some sort of frilly ribbons of clothes that came out from the inside of his bathrobe, he frantically asked. "What's going on?"

"…Huh?"

"What's happened to the camp!" Senshi demanded. However, instead of answering, Sai pulled him by the wrist and shoved him into a nearby cover, which happened to be the inside of a large crate. Second after, the bathrobe clad man entered himself. Inside the crate, Senshi waited for Sai to calm down, finally noticing that he had… _whiskers_? Just what the hell is going on…?

"You're not from around here, are you?" Sai guessed, still panting.

"Wha… _what?_" Senshi really did not know what was going on. "And why are you wearing… _that_! It's against regulation!"

"Regu— what are talking about, man?" now, it was Sai who looked perplexed.

"I'm warning you, Haoren! I can get you court-martialled for this!" Senhsi wasted no time to exercise his authority.

"What— who's Haoren?"

"…wha—?

* * *

"Hakoda?" the man repeated, frowning. The blue-garbed man raked his brain, trying to remember the name, all the while scratching the part of his head below his beaded blue headband, near the nasty scar that ran down his cheek. "No, I can't say I know anyone by that name. Did he say where he came from?"

"Yes! South Pole", Shimazu exclaimed; he had forgotten about it until now. "I distinctly remember he said that he came from South Pole."

"Southern Water Tribe, then", the man in blue garb from before surmised without doubt. "I came from the North Pole, so I won't be of much help. From what I understand, the Northern Water Tribe has not been in contact with our Southern sister since the war began."

"A pity, Master Takkuro", Shimazu sighed; the man in blue garb, the Northern Water Tribesman nodded his agreement. "Hakoda has potential and a small army at his command. He could be a great asset to us."

"Maybe we can try to contact him, somehow", Kisa the Bard, ever the optimistic, proposed. "If we can reach one of our more mobile brothers—"

"Like Chong…" the other five men mumbled.

"—then, we can invite him to join our Order", continued Kisa with a big grin on his face. Kisa did have a way to make everything sounds so simple; even something as impossible as contacting their brother, Chong the Nomad.

"Did Master Chong say where he would go when you last saw him, Master Kisa?" one of the three guests that came before Shimazu and Kisa asked; an elegant man with pale skin and long brown hair tied into partial ponytail, with steaks of dark stylishly dyed into it. He was carrying a folding fan with which he often cover his lower face with out of habit.

"No, Master Zan Wa", Kisa shook his head, "After lending Moku to me, Master Chong just took a big sniff of the air, licked his finger to test the wind, pointed at a random direction, and said, '_that way_'. And then, he and the rest of his group just marched down there, singing _'By the Blade of Wind, Love Shall Prevail'_."

"Sound like him, alright", the village chief muttered, sipping his tea calmly.

"Maybe your men have heard some news regarding a group of singing nomads, Master Wojin?" the pale-faced brown-haired man redirected the question to the old village chief.

"No, not recently", Old Wojin replied, massaging his aching left thigh. "I have to withdraw most of my spies since autumn started. Fire Nation advances have made it difficult for them to stay under covered."

The fell into silence, each thinking of a way to reach Hakoda. Several other arguments were put forth, but all were deemed moot. Until later, they moved on to a more pressing issue, namely temporary shelter for Shimazu, Kisa and his charges, and resupplying and providing aid for those who needed it in Kisa's group. Along their journey, Kisa and Shimazu had encountered and rescued several refugees and wounded stray soldiers, most of which were taken with them.

After summoning some of his warriors, all of which descended down from the ceiling of the room when the grandmaster called with his hand gesture, Wojin had made some arrangement for Kisa's group to be sheltered in the village's inn and infirmary. They spent the next few hours catching up, as it had been quite long since they saw each other, when one of the dark warriors appeared silently behind Wojin, whispering something that brought an approving nod from the old master.

"Everything's been taken care of", Wojin declared, much to the relief of Kisa. "Stay for a few days", the old chief wasted no time with the invitation. "There should be some big storm comin' in a week or two. It'd take a month for you to reach the nearest branch of Oya Abbey. You as well, Colonel."

"I may have to decline, sir", Shimazu politely refuse. "I have to report back to the nearest Fire Nation post or I'd be declared a deserter.'

_And then, there's the Rhinos too…_

"I can try to arrange something with the Grand Lotus", the one who had been keeping silent since the beginning, Jian Wu, the Imperial Sword Instructor, spoke at last. "He should be concerned about this. We have been losing more and more allies who are active in Fire Nation Military."

"He is also losing ground among the Council", added Zan Wa, the artist with brown hair and folding fan, added. "Especially after the recent blunder with General Zong's failed campaign to seize Tian Shui and General Jiang's failure to defend Mo Yang Pass."

"Grand Lotus stuck his neck out protecting those two", muttered Jian Wu, caressing his blade that he put on his lap on the sheath's handle part. "Official reports were scarce and subjective, of course. As usual. General Zong being of humble origin and General Jiang a hater of bribery and bootlicking did not help those two much."

"They were only court-martialled for their failure. Any testimonies put forth in their defense were deemed inconsequential by the Council since they were not recorded in the official report", Zan Wa recalled. "And, since the official reports done by the Fire Lord's Military Inquisitors did not specify anything about why they failed…"

"Why, indeed", Wojin pondered. He took out a long thin smoking pipe from behind his garb, filled it with a pinch of tobacco from a pouch he carried around on his waist, and, ignoring Shimazu's deadpan eye, shoved the pipe's bowl part to the one-eyed firebender, flashing the latter a grin that said '_I forgot my spark rock_'.

"General Zong is young and inexperienced", Zan Wa commented. "Tasking him with capturing Tian Shui is, in itself, a stupid thing to do."

"Fire Lord's order?" Wojin guessed, pulling his already lit pipe to his lips.

"An Imperial Decree no less", Zan Wa shuddered. "Beyond any remonstrations."

"The Fire Lord believes that young generals must be given high profile tasks so that they'd have a chance to prove their worth and gain reputation. That was why he decreed General Zong to seize Tian Shui", Jian Wu explained.

To this, Old Wojin chuckled, coughing up puffs of smoke in between his coarse laughter. "Sendin' a… what, a twenty five years old—?"

"Twenty nine", corrected Shimazu. Wojin cracked louder.

"—a twenty nine years old against _the_ King Nara? Hah!" Wojin slapped his thigh gleefully. "I thought the new Fire Lord is smarter that the last one!"

"General Iroh must've wondered so himself", the corner of Jian Wu's mouth curved up a little. "Threw the Fire Lord's words right at his face; he said that since General Zong was young and inexperienced, he was bound to make mistake, decide upon wrong judgment. He… heh, he even quoted a line from the '_Art of War_', the one about delegation of duty."

Unable to hold on anymore, the swordmaster let out a guffaw. "He quoted the line about how soldiers must not be punished for their superiors' ineptitude in delegating duties."

"And since it was the _Fire Lord_ who delegated the campaign of Tian Shui to General Zong…" Shimazu, catching the drift, began to laugh along. "*sigh*… sometimes I wonder if Iroh really has gone senile. Challenging' his brother in front of the Council like that…"

"However, it should be noted that the court-martial hearing was a little unfair", Jian Wu continued, wiping his eye. "General Zong's achievement in capturing three of King Nara's top generals was not considered at all."

"And General Jiang?" Takkuro, the pirate inquired; his hand traced itself towards the burnt scar on his left arm. "Master Jeong Jeong's successor, I believe? I've met him once, at Seedy Merchant Pier. He must've recognized my face from wanted posters at that time."

"Didn't he injure your arm twenty years ago?" asked Kisa; his toothy grin when he asked that question earned him a withering look from the infamous pirate.

"A brat lieutenant in the Fire Nation Expeditionary Force", reminisced Takkuro. "Has his father's talent in firebending; fierce firebender, but more calculative. Unlike his mother."

"What happened at Mo Yang?" asked Shimazu, intrigued at what it was that could impeded the fierce warrior from achieving victory.

"Bad weather", Wojin recalled. He took a long relaxing puff before redressing. "Or bad timing. They started buildin' their barricades around the slope of Mo Yang somewhere at the finishing weeks of summer, defending the Pass against the combined forces of Generals Lo Fang and Hocho, and about a thousand peasant militias. Then, autumn stepped in and it started raining; their barricades got washed away by rains and storms. But, of course, Colonel…" Wojin nodded courteously at Shimazu. "…General Hocho breakin' off from the siege and seizing your battlement, hence exposing General Jiang's flank, was the determining factor."

"Fire Lord Ozai was in a quite nasty mood over the loss of such an unimportant location", Zan Wa added. "If General Iroh had not stepped in and pleaded for leniency in respect for General Jiang's past merits…"

"Nah, General Jiang is a great asset to the military", Shimazu waved it off. "Reputation, talent, experience; not to mention wealth and political influence. The most the Fire Lord could do is suspension or something."

"Yeah… He's highly decorated, too", Zan Wa commented. "He became a general at quite a young age, if I'm not mistaken; twenty three."

"Been a general for more than fifteen years", Shimazu added. "I fought alongside him once. A great leader."

"Ah, yes", Zan Wa lit up. "The Liberation of Garsai Colonies!"

"Garsai, huh…?" Takkuro looked up as he reminisced the past; of the others present, Wojin, Shimazu, Jian Wu, and Zan Wa exchanged meaningful smiles. But then, it got Takkuro thinking. "…Hey, he's Master Jeong Jeong's _eldest_ son, right?"

"That's the one", Wojin nodded.

"Didn't he marry Lian? Remember that little colonial girl Lord Shian Li rescued from Garsai?" Takkuro frowned. Then, his face turned a little sour. "She put a bucket of whitewash on my doorstep, ruined my favorite boot."

The rest of the room bursted into laughter at this.

"Yea, I remember her", Wojin guffawed. "Oh, and… pfft, and she slipped a poisonous insect into Tyro's shirt. Made a fool out of himself in front of Lord Shian Li."

"A troublesome kid", Takkuro shook his head in fond disbelief. Then, his expression turned sad; those others in the room, even Kisa who had not have the pleasure of knowing Lian in person, knew what was in the Water Tribe pirate's mind. Takkuro reached to the teapot and poured his brothers a full cup; Wojin took off his gourd and gestured it to the pirate, signifying that he preferred his wine. Then, together, they offered a toast to the dearly departed. While their Water Tribe and Fire Nation brothers drank theirs, Wojin and Kisa, conforming to the custom of their Kingdom, ceremoniously poured their drinks on the floor before Kisa touched the empty cup on his forehead and retuned it to the table, and Wojin put the cap back on his gourd.

"She was a sweet kid", Zan Wa said softly, staring into blank space.

"Oh, hey! I met her son not long ago", Kisa suddenly remembered. All heads but Shimazu's snapped back to him. "Lady Umma once showed me Lian's picture; her son looks exactly like her. Amber eyes, though."

"His father's line is a strong one", Zan Wa nodded lightly.

"His father didn't get along well with him in his earlier childhood", Jian Wu, a close personal friend of the Lin Family, recounted. "Too much grief, according to Master Jeong Jeong and Lady Umma. Lady Umma practically raised the boy herself."

"Oh, that might explain why he fought a lot like his grandmother", Zan Wa, also a close personal friend of the clan, pondered aloud, smiling behind his fan. "Once, I visited his family and had a chance to meet him while his father was training him in firebending. I made Jonsa, my bodyguard, spar with him. It was… interesting."

"Nature versus nurture", Wojin grinned. "Nurture wins!"

"What is he doing here in Earth Kingdom?" Takkuro frowned.

"From what I can tell, serving the Earth Kingdom Army as a Vanguard Lieutenant, attached to a field hospital unit as Head Security", shrugged Kisa at the others' bewilderment.

"A Fire Nation nobleboy servin' as an Earth Kingdom soldier", Wojin raise a brow inquisitively; Zan Wa snickered behind his folding fan. "Now _this_, I've gotta see."

"A covert mission, perhaps?" Takkuro suggested; but, Wojin interrupted. "Wait a minute, I thought the Lian passed away giving birth fourteen years ago. His son shouldn't be…"

"He was given a formal military rank at the age eleven by Fire Lord Azulon himself", Zan Wa provided an explanation. "He was made a Dragon, too: the Dragon of the Deep Forest."

Answering the non-Fire Nation members' surprise, Shimazu recounted to them the Western Shore Campaign, in which the twenty-sixth Lin etched his name in history, also the subsequent events which led to his short but high-profile incarceration and escape, and his involvement with Master Piandao.

"Lian's son, alright!" Wojin laughing, slapping his thigh in excitement. "Or should I say Umma's grandson?"

"A little bit of both", Jian Wu aided. "Though, Umma would undoubtedly blast her way into the Imperial Palace and challenge the Fire Lord into an Agni Kai or something. That woman always preferred frontal and direct confrontation in her youth."

They laughed.

"Of course, Lian, on the other hand, always knew when to retreat", Zan Wa smiled fondly. "Seems like our young Dragon inherited this trait from his mother."

"Is there really no indication as to what he's doing here, Master Zan Wa, Master Jian Wu?" Kisa asked.

Zan Wa, the Fire Nation artist whose patrons include many high-ranking officials, and Jian Wu, who himself, as an Imperial Sword Instructor, was a high-ranking official of the outer sanctum of the politics, denied any knowledge of such information. They, however, expressed their confidence in Grand Lotus Iroh's control over this particular issue.

* * *

"What is going on here?" Senshi asked after he had calmed down. Against his better judgment, he had let '_Haoren'_ led him to the large earthen hut that bore the sign 'tavern'. A part of him was still sure that he was really in the 44th; all the building, well, the positioning of them and the general outlook, looked exactly the same. The establishments, however, were not. They were no canvas tents as far as he could see; only huts and earthen buildings. This 'tavern' was located on the spot where the mess tent would be… back in the 44th. And so, taking a huge gulp of his (juice) tankard, Senshi asked the vital question. "Where am I?"

"The Spirit World", '_Haoren'_ answered, frowning at Senshi's gawk as if he was crazy. "What's wrong with you, man? Did you die hitting your head on something? You look like you have a post-mortem concussion or something."

"The Spirit World?" Senshi repeated in squeaky voice. "Am I dead?"

"Well, of course you are! Stop asking stupid questions, already!" it was starting to annoy '_Haoren'._ "What are you, a newly departed?"

Senshi was starting to cry again, drawing weird looks from the other patrons of the tavern; all of which had weird appearance like '_Haoren'_; tails, horns, fluffy wings and tails. One, who bore a striking resemblance to the acupuncturist Sergeant Chim, even had boar-q-pine-like spines all over his back. And they all came in different shapes, size, and colors too. Senshi felt like he was back in Ba Sing Se, in one of the upper-class Hungry Ghosts Festival costume party.

"How… why…? How could I die?" the major sobbed.

"How am I supposed to know?" _'Haoren'_ shrugged. Taking a sip from his own tankard, he continued. "Well, it's done. You're gonna live here now. As a spirit."

"B-but, I—" Senshi gave the other person a head-to-toe glance; even with tears in his eyes, his face did not hide his disgust as he said. "I don't want to turn into… this!"

"Ouch", 'Haoren' replied with flat face. "Can't help it. I was goat-cat when I was alive."

"Really?" Senshi frowned, casting another inquisitive glance. "Well, you have certainly cleaned up nicely since death."

"Yeah, I— oh, hey! Here he comes", 'Haoren' waved at a newcomer. At the sight of him, Senshi missed another heartbeat. The newcomer was a splitting image of Akugi Sho, but with a thick fur outfit and a pair of brown pointy ears protruding from his skull. He was a little hunched and was carrying this bundle on a stick like a traveller.

"It's over!" he shouted; the whole tavern cheered at this. The gloom and suspenseful atmosphere instantly lifted and the music band started to play their instruments again. Cheery mood soon reigned over the place. This '_Sho'_ made his way to '_Haoren'_ and, after some sort of secret handshake between the two, he slumped down on a seat next to '_Haoren'_ and ordered himself a tankard of drink. "Who's there?" he asked, pointing his paw at the open-mouthed Senshi.

"A newly departed", 'Haoren' replied; then, he realized he had not asked Senshi's name yet.

"Senshi Mor", the major replied after being asked. "Major, combat surgeon of Earth kingdom Army."

"I'm Spear, he's Trik", '_Haoren'_ casually reciprocate, ignoring Senshi's confusion. "Welcome to the land of the spirits."

"So, have you seen the boss yet?" Trik asked after draining his tankard in one gulp. "Every newcomer must go to see the boss."

"Boss?"

"Yeah, the boss", Spear nodded. "He's the leader of this village. Everyone who comes by this place must pay him a visit. You know, courtesy."

So, abiding to the courtesy of such strange place, Senshi let himself be led by those two through the place that had become lively so suddenly. No longer were people running around in panic. Many spirits of many kinds were around the place. Everyone was happy as they chatted with each other, or engaging in a game of earthbending ball in the square near a large podium, or like that group over that corner who were dancing along the rhymes provided by a group of musicians. It somehow worried Senshi that all those tails, abnormal ears, horns and wings no longer scared him.

"Ah, there he is."

Spear pointed at the podium right in the middle of the square. On the podium was a throne occupied by a man. He was wearing a thick fur robe akin to those worn by kings and warlords of the Eastern Earth Kingdom. Perching on his skull was a pair of large bull horns. Next to him was a smaller throne on which a female sat. Even with myriad of colorful flowers on her green dress, her crown made of linking flowers, and her thin veil covering her face, Senshi recognized the face of Major Megumi Keh, the only ally he had in this world.

"Who is that lemur?" the flowery woman frowned in contempt at Senshi's failed attempt to ran up to her in the podium; she showed no sympathy at him even as he struggled against two large gorilla-bull who kept him at bay.

"He's Senshi Mor, My Queen", Spear bowed. The earthbending ball match had stopped due to Senshi's disturbance, all eyes were on him now.

"Thee, lemur-bat!" the bull was never happy when his fun got interrupted. "What doth thee want!"

"I— well, I… I-I'm new here, and, er…" he frantically eyed Spear and Trik for help. The pair quickly explained the situation to the boss.

"I see", the bull spirit, who reminded Senshi of his commanding officer, that mediocre meek leader, Haoqi Gun, stroked his chin as he eyed the major from head to toe. "So, tell me, lemur-bat, what causeth thine death?"

"Oh, we believe it was some sort head trauma, Your Bossiness", it was Trik who answered that. "He called Spear 'Haoren' for a moment there. And he said something about 'court-martial', 'Earth Kingdom Army', and 'war'." Leering a little at Senshi, Trik continued with a whisper. "We also think he might be rabid."

"Of course", the bull boss nodded. "We shalt summonth the Holy Shaman. He shalt be able to judgeth this one."

As if on cue, a commotion occurred at the side of crowd. They parted as they gave way for a bald spirit. He walked slowly, with a tall bulgy wooden staff on one hand and prayer beads on the other, on his back was a large turtle shell. From Senshi's point of view, he looked exactly like the camp's chaplain, Father Shu, and the shaman's four acolytes, who also bore resemblance to turtles, looked like the four interns. They waited for the shaman and his acolytes to reach the podium. The shaman walked slowly. So slowly…

So very slowly…

By the time he and his acolytes did reach the podium, Trik had already won his second Pai Sho round against a random spirit (a gray rabbit that looked so much like the 44th's company clerk), and Spear had done grilling a sausage on a camp fire he started with a spark rock.

"I see that we have another ambiguous newcomer", the turtle shaman spoke with a voice of an old man. "And I thought that giant lobster-butterfly would be the last."

At the comment, all eyes turned to a truly peculiar spirit that had a pair of wide colorful butterfly wing on his back and a pair of pincer sticking out his hair; though, what Senshi saw was Corporal Rha-Mi in the most ridiculous state. By the way, there was no such thing as lobster-butterfly.

"And you, hmm… I see", the turtle gave Senshi a long examining look as he muttered. "Yes, yes… truly ambiguous… a lemur-bat without wings or fur… ambiguous, ambiguous…"

"What?" Senshi just had no comprehension whatsoever of what was going on here. "What lemur-bat. I'm human."

Loud uniform gasp occurred so suddenly from the crowd. It was followed by whispers and murmurs. The boss bull and flower queen started whispering to each other, the turtle's apprentice started to whisper with each other too, while the turtle shaman looked stunned. Trik was open-mouthed and Spear did not realize his sausage slipping from his hand.

At the very unexpected reaction from the crowd, Senshi could only ask the very understandable: "What?"

* * *

_Damn it all…_

It broke his heart as he rode through the camp. It was now a chaotic array of burnt wood and canvas, of charred earth and grass… of maimed bodies and burnt flesh…

There was no survivor…

Nearly three hundreds trained and well-equipped soldiers; no one survived. Still could not bring himself to believe the sight around him, he slid down his steed, noticing his feet landing directly on a charred banner of his Kingdom, irked by the irony. He paced slowly like a man who had lost his mind further inside, still clasped in his grip was his banner. He could not believe it…

His army had been decimated by four men, mere four men…

Screaming blood and rage, he stabbed the pole of his banner to the earth below.

* * *

Wojin's walking stick echoed eerily each time it touched the floor. He was walking through the spiraling stairway leading down to one of the spacious basements his mansion had. Following him closely from behind were Kisa and Shimazu. Jian Wu, Zan Wa, and Takkuro had decided to stay behind as Wojin led Kisa and Shimazu to the basement hall he had prepared as shelter for Kisa's group of orphans and refugees; Jian Wu and Zan Wa because they wished not to cause panic to the group, since they were Fire Nation, and Takkuro because he was a notorious pirate with hefty bounty on his head.

As they walked, Kisa was informing Wojin, as a reply to Wojin's question, about a man he found in his travel. A saggy dirty man who looked more like a pile of dirty laundry than a human being, who was heavily wounded and unconscious when Kisa found him bleeding nearly to death just the day before.

"Arrow wounds on the hand and chest, and then stab wound in the chest some more", Wojin shook his head in disbelief. "And he was really still _alive_ when you found him?"

"The man has an enormous will to live", Kisa commented. "He looked dirty and all, must be a refugee. We think he was attacked by bandits."

"I really must meet him", grinned Wojin. "All the better if he really was a refugee. Could always use tough men like that 'round here."

As they reached the end of the staircase, a guarded entrance greeted them. They let the guards opened the door for them, allowing them entry to a spacious basement. Green glowing crystals gave illumination to the place. On one side of the hall, children were resting on numerous sleeping bags, Moku was with them, and on the other side, numerous beds made by earthbending provided comfort for fifteen men who all owed their lives to Kisa. Most of them were unconscious or sleeping as they were being tended by healers and doctors. At the far side of the hall, a long table and bench were being cleared of dirty dishes and food scrapes by several servants.

"There he is", Kisa said as they arrived at the side of one of the beds. Lying on top of it was a man with saggy dark hair who was now wearing a clean white pajama. He was lying sideways, facing away from them. But, even then, they could see bandages under his shirt covering his torso up to the lower part of his neck, and his left hand also covered with bandage, just like his head and left foot. "He had certainly gone through quite an ordeal."

"He asleep?" Wojin poked the man's back lightly with his pipe. The man's body tensed up and he instinctively turned around. The village chief noted this, of the man's honed reflexes.

"Oh, Master Kisa", Chey sat up, grimacing from pain. "You scared me for a little there."

"Sorry about that, Mr. Chey", Kisa smiled; then at Wojin, he informed. "Not this man, Master Wojin. This is Mr. Chey. We first met him when he heroically fought off a group of bandit who was trying to harass us a couple of days ago despite his extensive injuries. The man we were talking about is… ah, over there."

Wojin trailed Kisa's finger to a man lying four beds away. He bore strong resemblance to Chey; same built, same saggy dark hair, both were injured and wearing white pajama provided by Wojin's team of healers. It was really easy to mistake the two. After offering their apologies to Chey, they let the injured go back to sleep as they made their way to the other man.

This man, he was also heavily bandaged like Chey on the torso and head, also his right hand. His hair was messy and unkempt, even after the medical team's attempt at cleaning him. His face bore fresh scar on his left cheek and numerous older ones all over his face. His face looked ordinary with no pronounced feature; an asset for people whose line of work lies in clandestine warfare. Now Wojin _really_ wanted him in his group.

The man seemed to realize he had visitors. He slowly woke up, opening his eyes weakly. He tried to breathe; his face and neck suddenly strained, and his sickly sounding cough signified that it was painful for him to do so. Kisa went to his side and tried to comfort him the best he could while Wojin called for one of the healers to help.

"Relax, young man", Wojin said. He and Shimazu stood at the bedside while Kisa and a healer tend to the injured man. "You should be dead, from what I've heard."

The man was still struggling with his own system; but his eyes were on Wojin. And there was fire in those eyes.

The old man pointed at a point on his chest with his cane. "An arrow lodged here, a blade stabbed your chest just an inch apart. They should have pierced you heart. Twice."

"But… they… didn't…." the man somehow managed to wheeze.

"No, they didn't", Wojin nodded. He blew a puff of his pipe before continuing. "You have a special heart, you know that?" Staring deep into the man's eyes, Wojin laughed a little as he said. "You _do_."

"Your heart is on the right side of your chest", Kisa smiled as he pressed an acupressure point on the man's back.

"Indeed, young man", Wojin concurred. "You are _special_."

At this, the injured man breathed a little easier.

* * *

"There is a prophecy", the wise turtle started his story, pausing a little to give a chance for the others to repeat the word 'prophecy' out loud as they lifted their hands to the heaven above. "It was prophesied of the arrival of a savior. A spirit of man who died like an animal, which led to his spirit being transferred to the spirit world of animals, naturally."

Senshi Mor was not sure if he was justified to feel offended at this…

"However, the said man, who died like an animal, (Senshi tried to ignore his bulging vein) shall be prophesied to be a savior of animal spirits", the turtle spread his arm wide for an effect as he addressed the crowd. "And so the prophecy prophesied."

The crowd murmured the word 'prophecy' yet again. The turtle then take a full two minutes to turn back to Senshi; another two to cover the five feet distance between the two. Poking a finger on Senshi's chest, he said. "You, my son, are a man who died like an animal, as it is has been prophesied in the prophecy."

The crowd murmured again.

"And you", the turtle continued. "Shall be the one to liberate us from…"

He paused for dramatic effect before he whispered with utmost intense: '… the Oppressor…"

The crowd gasped; it was so intense Senshi could felt like he had just heard that short intense string music people add during scary scene in a thriller play.

"The Oppressor is so oppressing, my dear son", Shaman Turtle explained. "He terrorizes us day and night. He steals, vandalizes, destroys, and worst of all…"

Senshi could not help but leaned forward as he waited for the turtle to finish his sentence.

"…he's a Fire Nation."

There the music was again!

"Fire nation!" Patriot Senshi spat. Even in the spirit world, Fire Nations are bad! "What is he, huh, this Fire Nation? Hmph, I bet he is some sort of fire breathing forked-tonged lizard!"

"No, not all", Shaman Turtle shook his head, his long thin beard dangled as he did so. "That is why we need a savior who is a human who died like an animal", he continued, oblivious to Senshi's hardened jaw. "That is because the Oppressor himself is… a _human spirit_."

"Would you stop that!" the Bull Boss shouted at one of the musician who was playing his stringed instrument again. The said musician shouted back his 'sorry, Boss'.

"And a Fire Nation no less", Shaman Turtle trembled again with intense hatred. "The Prophesy has prophesied that the man who died like an animal- yourself", he ignored the bulge on Senshi's temple. "Shall be a chosen as a champion to compete against one of the Oppressor's in a contest to decide whether the Oppressor shall leave us in peace forever… or the animals shall be enslaved by the Oppressor… for all eternity. _Don't even think about it!_"

The musician from before instantly froze.

"Wait, I have to… what?" Senshi was having a hard time processing the information. "I have to fight the Oppressor's—"

"No, no", Shaman Turtle shook his head. "First, you have to be chosen as a champion", then turning to the Boss Bull, he asked. "Do you choose him as your champion?"

"Yes, I do."

"Okay then, now you'll get to fight", Shaman Turtle was surprisingly nonchalant at this.

Before Senshi could say anything, the chaos from before ensued. From the very back of the crowd, peop— er, spirits dispersed in great hurry; like a crowd of bull-ants being poured hot water. The 'hot water' was a group of the most normal sight Senshi had seen so far, even if they were Fire Nation. Three humongous komodo-rhinos stampeded through the crowd, each was carrying two riders; the one who steered the middle steed seemed to be enjoying shooting fire blasts from his fists to scare the occupants.

As they halted, a giant of a man in Fire Nation uniform jumped down and spat fire ball at a nearby crowd; the flame died out inches before it touched the would-be victims. The said man spent a little more time scaring the crowd until his burning amber eyes fell upon the unfortunate recently departed man. Senshi, even with all his bullcrapping over the years about his hatred for anything and anyone Fire Nation, all his bravado about him so very willing to take up the arms himself if needed be, felt nothing but utmost fear for the incoming Oppressor.

"Who's this?" the Fire Nation giant boomed. With his massive hand, he lifted up the jabbering wreck by the cranium, twisting the pale-faced Earth Kingdom a little to better inspect him. When the Fire Nation put him down, Senshi slumped down involuntarily as he lost all sensation on his knees.

"A puny spirit of man, hoping to defy the Oppressor", the giant cracked, throwing his head back and laughed hard. "Desperate measure, indeed, o' Great Oppressor."

"It is", answered a cold voice from behind the giant. The source of the voice, Senshi was somehow not surprised to see that the Oppressor was…

"A riff-raff group of animal spirits had finally chosen their champion", the Oppressor, a young man in Fire Nation army uniform, plus a red cape, jumped down gracefully from the komodo rhino. His face was those of the Vanguard Lieutenant Lin, who, in Senshi's opinion, looked better in Fire Nation uniform than in Earth Kingdom armor.

"Is this your champion?" the giant from before boomed at the cringing animals.

"Yes, he is", Shaman Turtle answered. "Today, the prophecy shall be fulfilled."

Okay then. So, while the invaders retreated back to a corner where they were to prepared their champion, on the other corner Spear and Trik was preparing Senshi with chest protector made of… wood, while Shaman Turtle and Boss Bull briefed Senshi on what he would do next.

"Thee shalth faceth the Oppressor's champion in three constesth", Bull Boss began.

"You shall match him in gut, strength, and intelligence", Shaman Turtle continued.

"Gut, strength, intelligence", Senshi muttered. Why not? He was brave (not!), he was (arguably) strong, and he was certainly (un)intelligent. Puffing his chest in pure confidence (or foolish huge-headedness), the courageous champion of the animal spirits declared. "I'll win this."

And so they presented their champion, Senshi Mor, the man who died like an animal, to the cheering crowd, up to the podium. With him were the shaman, the boss, and Spear and Trik. On their corner, the six Fire Nations seemed to be still in the middle of choosing their champion. They seemed to be arguing. Senshi found himself straining his ears, trying to catch whatever it was they were arguing about.

"Who do you think they will choose?" Shaman Turtle asked with his trembling voice.

"The biggeth one", Boss Bull suggested, nudging his chin at the giant Fire Nation from before.

"The pretty one", sighed Spear, fawned at one of the two females in the Fire Nation group; one that reminded Senshi of the mute mercenary woman.

"The hot one", gulped Trik, eyes leering lustfully at the other female; she reminded Senshi of that Fire Nation medic mercenary, somehow.

"In any case", said Shaman Turtle again, after smacking the impure thoughts off of Spear and Trik's minds with his stick. "As long as the Oppressor does not compete himself, your victory is assured."

"Thou shalt win."

"Enough of this! I'll do it myself!" the Oppressor's voice tore through the commotion.

"Oh, dear…"

"Thou art screweth."

* * *

The rest of his army arrived shortly. Without waiting for orders, perhaps, like him, driven by shock and anger, they proceeded to scouring what was left of their camp, trying to look for any survivors and salvage anything they could. Hocho himself could only stand there petrified, clutching the pole of his banner so hard his fingers were going numb. His aide had taken upon himself to direct the men in this particular ordeal.

Hocho was still proud.

His men, shaken as he was, still managed to get their act together. Twenty years of career, twenty years of tears, sweat, and blood shared together had led him and his men to this. Most of his army had been decimated and the survivors trying to scrounge up any that was left of their honor and fallen comrades.

Twenty years of career, brought into utter destruction by mere five Fire Nations. _Four_, Hocho snickered bitterly. They still had Vachir but the thought did not bring him any comfort. Yeah, great… instead of brought down by five, now his army had been brought down by four people. Four Rhinos…

Wait… the other Rhino…

…_oh, no…_

"Back to the rendezvous point!" he screamed, rushing back on top of his steed. Again, without waiting, he spurred ahead.

Retracing back his track with a new surge of horror, he found his way back to the hill where he was waiting for the Rhinos… only to find the prisoner cart where he had stashed his trophy lied broken and abandoned, surrounded by the corpses of his dead soldiers.

* * *

"The Test of Gut", declared Spear, on top of his podium with the two contestants. "Designed to test the gut of gutsy champions to determine who is the gutsiest of all."

Turning to the two contestants, the Great Oppressor clad in black-crimson armor, and Senshi Mor, having donned helmet made of coconut shell and chest plate of hard tree bark and hemp rope, which looked pathetic compared to the Oppressor's resplendent outfit, Spear inquired. "Champions, ready?"

Not taking their eyes from one another, both Senshi and the Oppressor nodded.

"The Test of Gut, begin!"

And engorge themselves in the feast they did. On the long table before them, lay two portion of identically large bowl, containing similar amount of what appeared to be buckwheat noodle with black bean sauce. So, while the crowd cheered on their champions; and the aforementioned champions busy stuffing themselves with the noodle with their bare hands, as disgusting as it sounds, Spear, as the MC, provided commentary with his bullhorn while his assistant; Trik, stayed with judges with his own bullhorn.

"—displayed such great technique, honored judges", Trik said, trotting around another long table perching on an earthen podium in front of the one where the contestants were. Shaman Turtle, Boss Bull, the big Fire Nation, and the hot one had been chosen as judges. "Just look at Champion Senshi Mor! The way he clawed his way through the entanglement of those five-millimeters- thick noodle. Such grace, such finesse! So, how long do you think it would take for him to realize that we use an unhealthy amount of black pepper in the cooking of that noodle sauce?"

Shaman Turtle raised a score board of '6', Boss Bull '5', Big Fire Nation '8', and Hot Fire Nation '10'.

"Ten?" asked Trik.

"Oh, my mistake", Hot Fire Nation turned her score board upside down into '01'

A second later Senshi screamed fire. And since he broke the rules by running off the boundary of the stage, even if his destination was the water jug nearby and his intention to save his life, the judges still had to disqualify him.

####

"The Test of Strength", roared Spear. "Designed to test the strength of strong champions to determine who is the strongest of all. Champions, ready?"

Yeah, he was ready. Senshi was determined to win this one, even if he had to compete against the Oppressor who was wearing this disturbingly wicked smile and throwing him the most unsettling stare, in hand-to-hand combat.

"The Test of Strength, begin!"

_(In present time, Professor Bei Fong turns pale as he abruptly stopped reading aloud. Flashing an awkward smile briefly, he fights off beads of sweat on his forehead as he skim-reads ahead a page or five, and then apologizes to his audience for not being able to explicitly read the next few passages aloud; all the while attributing the decision to the excessively graphical and detailed accounts of the events as penned by the writer himself.) _

Back to the fight…

-SMACK, THUD, POW-

"Uuuh!" the judges grunted along with the crowd.

-WHACK, SMACK, POW, WHACK-

"Oh, my god… it's so horrible but I can't look away…"

"… I never knew a person's arm can bend that much…"

"I shalt be sicketh…"

Five minutes later, the oppressor was declared a winner unanimously.

####

"The Test of Intelligence", said Spear. "Designed to test the intelligence of intelligent champions to see who is the intelligentie… iest…stt... the most intelligent of all! Champions, ready?"

"Do I have to…?" whined Senshi, pressing a piece of wet cloth to what was left of his face. "He already won two. He's going to win the whole thing anyway. Why do I have go through this one too?"

"It's the rule", shrugged Spear, almost uncaringly. The judges raised him '10's and the crowd applauded; our humble MC graciously accepted. "In the test, I will give you three riddles and should you know the answer, you raise your flag."

Senshi looked down to the small green flag he was given earlier. An oral quiz, huh? Though he was confident in his intelligence over his physical prowess or his ability to handle spicy food, he really was not in the mood for this. I mean, the Oppressor won two out of three already; why bother fight this third round? He really was not in the mood for another humiliati—

The flower queen smiled at him shyly through her veil. She winked and Senshi got fired up all of the sudden. "Ready!" he declared unhesitatingly to the cheering crowd.

Soon, he found himself face to face feet away from his great oppressor, whose crooked grin was very unsettling; like the smile of cruel kid bullying a scared little bearded kitten. But scared little bearded kitten, Senshi was not. Sure, he was weak, tired, sore all over, and his nose might not regain its original shape, but he was not scared. Never!

Senshi Mor was ready to win. He felt like he was one of those heroes from action play, you know, in the last fight scene where the hero and villain had an intense stare down; wind blowing, thunder rumbling, music flaring…

"I thought I've told you to can it!" yelled Trik at the crazy musician from before, who abruptly stopped playing. The latter was promptly being jumped at by nearby crowd, had his instrument confiscated, and himself bound.

"Okay, now's that the interruption's gone, first question: 'tis but one part of the body, something that every man has. 'tis straight and stiff, unbending and inflexible."

Senshi strained his ears, raking his brain.

"As man grow older, it grows along; gets bigger, longer, hairier. What – _Senshi Mor_!"

"That's dirty!" Senshi yelled, ears red and mind in the gutter.

"Wrong answer! Mr. Oppressor!"

"A leg."

"Correct!" Spear exclaimed, the crowd cheered. "One point for Mr. Oppressor."

Grumbling, Senshi calmed himself, taking refuge in the fact that the test had just begun. Two more questions, two that he would get right. Never before as focused he had been as Spear uttered the second riddle.

"An Earth Kingdom woman went to a market in a barbarian town. She wanted to buy chicken breast but she does not speak the barbarian language. So, gesturing to her chest, she imitated a chicken clucking. The barbarian butcher understood what she wanted and gave her what she needed. The next day, she needed to buy sausages, but she asked her husband to go instead. Why? Senshi Mor!"

"Now, _that's_ dirty!"

"Still wrong! Mr. Oppressor?"

"The husband speaks the barbarian language."

"Correct answer!"

It took all the mental strength Senshi could muster to stop himself from going dark and fainted. Another look at the beauteous flower queen, thankfully, managed to force him to stay until the end.

"Final question", Spear declared. "But, before that, Mr. Champion Senshi Mor, _you suck_."

The crowd dutifully booed along.

"Last question, a short and practical one: what is the fastest way to write backward characters?"

"I know this, I know this!" Senshi's flag again rose fast. "Err, there is this paper written by a professor of philosophy in Ba Sing Se University. Ng, something about… spiritual transcendentalism… you know, deep spiritual experience gained through the practice of mundane activities performed backward. Like walking backward or, or—"

"Out with it, will ya!" snapped Spear.

"W-well—" Senshi stuttered, caused by both excitement from finally knowing the answer and panic from being rushed. "W-well, the paper says something about mediation to train awareness of mind before each and every practice to—"

"Just tell me how long it will take!"

"A couple of decades or so", muttered Senshi meekly.

"…To write backward…?"

"No, to achieve the necessary state of mind to be able to write backw—"

"Mr. Oppressor!" Spear did not even wait for Senshi to finish. "You have something in mind?"

The Oppressor nodded.

"How long will your method take?"

"About the same amount of time it takes to write normally, without any need for meditation", the oppressor added the last part casually.

"How would you do that?" asked Spear.

"Just write on a piece of clear glass", shrugged the oppressor, making it sound like it was the most obvious thing, which it was. "After you finish writing, turn it over. There, your writing's backward."

"Yes! And the winner is… Mr. Oppressor!"

* * *

Hocho rode back to his decimated camp, greeted by what was left of his soldiers. How was he going to explain this to his superiors…? An army of three hundred strong men lost against five, _four_ Fire Nation riders. Impossible! But look at this…

His career was over.

"Men!" he roared, his voice cracking. Still clutched in his hand was the banner of his army. "We have lost", he declared. A few moment he gave for his men to seep it in. "Tomorrow, I will head to King Nara, to face the consequence of this defeat."

Low murmur spread across the camp.

"From this moment onward, you are all disbanded…"

And the murmur broke into chaos.

* * *

It was also chaos in the Spirit World. Many disputed the result of the test, led by the loser champion Senshi Mor, of course, while the invaders proved to be equally stubborn. Also, there were some who just wanted to murder Senshi for his ineptitude. It was all, however, brought to halt by Shaman Turtle and his acolytes, who, as last ditch attempt to save their community, had been consulting the rule book for any loophole.

"The Shaman wishes to speak!" an acolyte yelled.

Smacking his lips, the old turtle flipped a page of the book ever so slowly. Two minutes later, he spoke with that trembling shrilly voice of his. "It is said in the rule book of rules of the tests, that both the animal spirits and the Great Oppressor must each send _a champion_."

The muttered their agreement.

"However, while the animal spirits chose a champion, that incurably idiotic dweeb of a bald lemur over there", the crowd booed under Shaman Turtle permission. "The Oppressor chose to fight for himself."

"Yeah, I'm my own champion", Mr. Oppressor sneered. "No mention against that in that book of yours, I presume."

"No, but there's no mention that it was allowed either."

…

"Oh…" understanding dawned in the Oppressor's mind. "I'm being disqualified, am I?"

"That, you are."

"*sigh* Alright, gang. Let's go home."

And soon after the oppressive Great Oppressor and his gang of oppressive goons were banished from the vicinity, Senshi Mor, the man who died like an animal, finally got what he truly deserved: to be hailed as a champion.

In just mere few hours, he had transformed from a stranger to a newly departed, from an ambiguous bald lemur to a champion of animal spirits, from a loser to a real winner. He had achieved in mere few hours of death more than what he could have ever had in 29 years of life. He was victorious at last.

Basking in glory as he was hailed to the throne of Boss Bull, being crowned a wreath of twigs and leaves and a mantle of similar material, he was the proudest man alive… or dead; you know what I mean. Deep in happiness and ecstasy was he when the crowd cheered his name, flowers were thrown at him. And even when Spear arrived by his side, grinning widely as he said, "Say goodnight, Senshi."

Senshi Mor so very willingly said. "Goodnight, Senshi."

And then, it was all dark…

* * *

Hungry Spirit Festival, celebrated every eleventh day of the ninth month of the year; according to legend, in that day, the boundary between the Spirit World and mortal realm would be weakened to the point that spirits of ancestors would be allowed to visit their living descendants for a whole day while the Great Spirit fixes the problem. It has a rather romantic story behind it, involving two star-crossed lovers, a war between two Earth Kingdom clans, and a field of luminescent white flowers. Anyway, the modern versions of the story seemed to only concern themselves with the fact that some of the evil spirits would also be set loose on mortal realm. Which was why, the celebration of the festival often included people dressing up in costumes, as to disguise themselves as one of the escaped spirits, and wild parties, to fool the real spirits that they too were happy for the weakened boundary between the two realms.

Just as it was celebrated here, in the middle of the square where a podium was set, surrounded from the sides by lines of earthen huts. Only, it was not really a spirit realm of animals, only the 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital being silly as ever. Doctors, nurses, the guys, some patients who were able to move around, and three colonial soldiers who were visiting to reclaim several Fire Nation civilians who just so happened to come through the hospital as patients.

"Thank you, for the uniform loan", Lin, already changed back into his usual green-brown shirt, shook the colonial captain's hand while Rain and Bara returned the loan to the captain's two men.

"Anytime, Captain", laughed the giant of a Fire Nation. "We have heard of this Major Mor."

"Oh, you have men who've been treated by him too?" asked Lin as he ushered the captain and his men to the celebration before them.

"The lucky ones live", smiled the captain.

And in the celebration in the square; the birthday boy and girl, Lieutenant Father Shu and Major Megumi Keh, assumed the thrones, the musician group from before played an upbeat song for the men and women to dance to, food and drinks were brought and served on the long tables and benches borrowed from the mess tent.

"How long will he sleep?" asked the Fire Nation Captain, receiving a glass of prune juice from Lin.

"I don't know", shrugged Lin as he pulled out a small bottle from his sash. "This stuff is pretty strong from what I've heard."

_-Flashback-_

"_I knew it! You killed him, didn't you?" Haoqi promptly jumped to the conclusion, eyes fixed upon the bottle Lin wiggled in front of his face, which he believed to be a bottle of poison with deathly potency._

"_Why would I kill him?" laughed Lin out loud; strangely, Megumi smiled too. "When we can have so much fun with him."_

"_So, what did you do to him? Rabbit, stopped that!"_

_The corporal abruptly stopped poking Senshi's nose with his pencil. Lin gestured the small bottle again. "Do any of you know what this is?"_

"_Urine sample?" guessed Spear._

"_Dirt?" Trik raised a finger._

"_Water?" frowned Rabbit._

"_Blood sample?" Spear tried again._

"_Mud?" Trik guessed again._

"_Okay, stop! All of you!" even Lin grew impatient. "This, people and dimwits (at Spear, Trik, and Rabbit), is distilled essence of yellow Xin Ta flower."_

"_Oh hey, my mom grow those", Rabbit lit up. "They're pretty."_

"_Do you know what we use Xin Ta flower for in medicine, Rabbit?" asked Haoqi, frowning deeply; Rabbit shook his head. "Anesthesia", Trik provided the answer._

"_My mom makes tea out of them", said Rabbit, shuddering. _

"_The leaves and flowers are harmless; it's the root we use in medicine. Yellow Xin Ta flowers are unique", explained Lin, shaking the bottle a bit. "Unlike other species of Xin Ta, the extract of yellow Xin Ta is useless. It has to be distilled before it can be used for anything. And even then, the effect is unique."_

"_It induces sleep; natural sleep", continued Megumi. "Not the knocked-out unconsciousness regular anesthesia gives."_

"_People can still dream and move around in their sleep under the influence of Yellow Xin Ta", added Spear. "Which is why we don't really use it in surgery. Why do you have that?" the last one was for Lin, who merely nudged his thumb at Senshi._

"_Are you insane?" Haoqi raised his voice while Trik quickly moved to Senshi and checked his pulse. "That thing can only be administered by professionals!"_

"_I know", Lin replied in all seriousness. "That's why I have a professional preparing the right dose for me", all heads followed Lin's finger, and just like that, mouths were hung open and brows were raised._

"_You?" Haoqi shook his head in disbelief at Megumi who had this satisfied smile plastered on her face._

"_He forgot my birthday", she shrugged airily._

"_Why?" for the fourth time the question was directed at Lin._

"I was having a very boring day. And whoever knows that Kisa's, if we can call it that, _career_ in theatric does have some good outcome", added Lin, showing this time a rolled up screenplay that Kisa left behind, the one entitled _'the Savior of Animals Spirits'_. Rated G, for children; but the version performed on Senshi was a little bit PG.

"And now!" amplified voice of Spear Haoren pierced through the crowd. "For the birthday cake, courtesy to Captain Sa-Cho of Fire Nation Colonial Army!"

Appreciative and grateful applause bombarded the captain as the aforementioned cake were brought by Privates Liu and Jou towards the podium on which Megumi and Father Shu were sitting as canopies rained down on them and a banner of 'Happy Birthday Father Shu, and Happy Belated Birthday Major Megumi' unfolded behind them.

All the while, Lin smiled to himself… eyes fixed on his prey.

_(#100. If you are found, distract him, regain his trust, and then back to square one)_

As the celebration proceeded, in the windy slightly stormy night, one that guarantee no new patient input, the Fire Nation military guests excused themselves, saying something about not being able to stay too long on the account of direct order from their superior. They did, however, accepted Lin's polite offer to walk them out to the nearest highway.

It took few minutes for the three men guiding their komodo rhinos and one other boy to reach the highway. With a polite salute, the two soldiers soon mounted their steeds and rode ahead a few steps while the two captains, of two opposing forces, pulled each other into a warm embrace, one that they could not share before.

"It's so good to see you again, little cousin", chuckled Sa-Cho, who was in fact Jiang's third cousin's wife's second uncle's only sister's favorite nephew's eldest son; so, he was Jiang's distant nephew, Lin's distant cousin, one that had an infamous streak of questioning authority during his three-years-long career in the Army. Which was why, despite his familial relation to one of the most powerful noble families in Fire Nation, Sa-Cho was now but an anonymously lowly captain in the Fire Nation Colonial Force.

"Same here", Lin smiled. "Take care now."

"You, too", said Sa-Cho as he mounted his steed. "Uncle Jiang sent word to all family members living in the Kingdom: if anything happens, we must be ready to provide shelter for you."

"Tell him it won't be necessary", replied Lin. "I have contacts among the Black Riders mercenaries. They will be my shelter; I'd rather not involve family for now."

"As you wish", with the last nod and smile, Cousin Sa-Cho rode ahead. A few steps later, though, he turned around and asked. "Any message you'd like to send to the Grand Lotus?"

"No… nothing important", Lin managed to hold his gasp. Grand Lotus Iroh; terrifying indeed was the extent of his reach. "You can tell him to pray at Lu Ten's grave for me, though."

"Of course", with that, the young captain rode away, humming the song _'Four Seasons of Love'_ serenely.

* * *

When he woke up, the first thing he tried to do was to ascertain the time; whether it was still noon or already night. Hard to say when he had been spending the most part of the day underground in a windowless basement. His grumbling stomach and the deep sleep the others were in though told him it was night already. He tried to get up, wincing from the pain. That was when he caught the low groan from a bed a little distance from his own.

Chey got up, a bit of a struggling for his injured leg; grabbing a simple walking cane somebody had put at the side of his bed, he limped towards the groaning patient. The heavily injured man Master Kisa and the old man from before mistook him for.

"He okay?" Chey asked the female who were tending the man's bleeding wound. The woman shook her head slightly, sighing. Chey understood.

"You're tough", he said to the sick man, tone rose. Chey felt like he was back in the army, training the new guys. "Hang in there, buddy."

The other man's green eyes met his own; and yes, he was tough. Chey saw them hardened as he strained the very fiber of his being to withstand the intense pain he must be feeling. Nodding, Chey gripped the man's shoulder as form of encouragement; to his surprise, the man's grabbed back, at Chey's waist.

"That's it!" he almost bellowed, impressed by the injured man's willpower. "Fight it, my friend. Don't give in!"

Chey stayed there, supporting the man's struggle to stay alive and the healer's effort to let the pain pass. As the last tincture of the strong smelling liquid was applied and fresh bandage was tied up, the healer went ahead and the injured began to breathe more easily. He loosened up gradually and his grip fell. Chey took the dangling hand and was about to return it to the owner's side when it gripped him again by the wrist, more weakly this time.

"…thank… you…" the man weakly wheezed.

"Anytime", Chey turned the grip into a handshake. "Name's Chey. What's yours?"

The injured man's lips parted but only low croak came out. He seemed to have exhausted himself to the point that he could not speak aloud. So, Chey leaned over, and the man whispered lowly at his ear.

####

Miles away, under a fresh mound of earth he was buried. Alive…

They thought he was dead, thought he was defeated. But, no… never!

####

"I'm…"

####

For the Mother Earth, blessed be Her mercy, never abandoned Her child. Never one as faithful as he.

####

"… I'm…"

It started to rain, thunder started to rumble. The Great Mother hailed, her horn hearkened! As if She was calling him: _Awake!_

And that he did.

From the fresh mound of earth, his hand shot out.

####

"…I'm… Yuan… Cay…"

"Nice to meet you, Yuan Cay", grinned Chey; dang, even their names sounded similar! "Can I call you Cay?"

####

The Butcher of Nan Shan lived!

* * *

It was already raining but nobody cared. They proceeded on under the rain anyway. If anything, the pouring rain and battering wind only made the party wilder. Lin himself simply stood there, dripping. He was enjoying himself too. Rha-Mi and several guys had dragged him to the center of the dance where Rha-Mi taught them a traditional group dance of the desert people. They had been dancing along with a group of girls dancing the female counterpart, led by a female sandbender mercenary who, until a day ago, was one of the patients.

The pouring rain had only fueled their fun, even Lin's though he no longer joined them. He stood there, enjoying the drops of rain on his face, the feel of wind on his skin; the sky and the cloud and the rain and, of course, the wind. But, the lightning… and thunder…

"_I won't leave without you!" he declared, brandishing Nightshade, ready to defend the line with the old man and his few remaining warriors. _

_The said old man frowned at first, but he cracked a coarse laughter. "Too much of Umma in you, Nobleboy."_

_Lin was a little late in registering the meaning of his sudden nod at whoever it was behind him. First, it was a throb at the back of his neck accompanied by a flash of white. Next thing he knew, he went limb. He saw, barely, his Nightshade slipped through his weakening grasp, and did not hear the clank it made at all. He felt himself being hoisted up on somebody's shoulder; Rocky, maybe, since he was the biggest in their little group. And before it finally went completely dark, the last thing he saw was the old man's back. There he stood, the old master and his loyal warriors; blades raised, crossbows loaded, and arrows notched. Ready for their last stand._

_The last stand of the Grandmaster of the Ash Shadow._

"Oh, crapster…"

* * *

It rains, but he did not care. He laid still almost unnaturally natural on the tree branch. He let the little drops of rain hit his face, the young face of barely twenty. A handsome clean shaven face of ivory skin that housed his straight nose, his soft yet masculine jaw, his lips that curved to a ghost of a smile, and the greenest of grass colored eyes. He wiped the water drops from his brows before leaping down, graceful as a swallow-monkey. Straightening his surprisingly ordinary long-sleeved brown-yellow long garb, he walked ahead away from the tree and into the rain. Looking up, he relished in the sight of the rain drops on his face, like pellets; in the smell of the moist air and wet grass and damp earth; in the sound of water hitting the grass and leaves, of the distant thunder ahead. He ran his hand through his hair, his black hair he tied into a usual Earth Kingdom bun, a hair bun that was held together by a simple white cloth covering the whole mass of hair and held onto it by a long piece of thin tasseled and braided silken ribbon.

The man spun on his spot, without even knowing he was doing that. His smile grew into that of longings, that of a deep-seated longings. The man longed for peace, like the one he was having now. Under the rain, inside the wind, under the sky, on this piece of earth; a simple but a real and true peace. So real and true not even the thunder rumbling in his ears and lighting flashing in his eyes could break it.

Or even when Mongke appeared right in front of him as the lightning flashed and thundered roared.

"You have been successful, I take it?" the man smiled, not breaking from his serenity.

"The fire trap you set on the clearing we herded the Earth Kingdom Army into worked perfectly", said Mongke emotionlessly. "You have served the Fire Lord well, Strategist."

"Have I now?" smiled the man playfully. Then, ignoring Mongke he closed his eyes again, back to enjoying the storm.

"The rest of your payment", said Mongke after a while; he threw the pouch of gold coins to the ground. "The Fire Lord's offer still stands; should—"

"So does my decision", the man abruptly stopped moving, though he was still facing the sky The man's voice, however, brought Mongke slight shiver that had nothing to do with the weather; it made him halt his hand midair as he pulled the small folded vellum. "The Fire Lord has my gratitude. But, I prefer not to serve any master. I like this chronic addiction to freedom I have, you see."

"Very well", replied Mongke; though he crouched down and put the vellum letter under the money pouch. And with that, he left. The man, the freelance Earth Kingdom strategist the Rhinos had employed in their fight against Hocho, went back to his communion with the storm.

The storm that blew that wind on the damp earth; the sheer force of it blew the fold on the vellum open, revealing the content of it written with red ink: _44__th__ Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital._

"Ah, Holy Mother Earth… blessed be Her creation…"

* * *

**Author's note:**

Names:

1. Yuan Cay, from Mandarin 'yuan' (远) which means 'distant', an Lao 'cay', which means 'heart'

2. Xin Ta, from Aramaic word 'sinta', which means 'sleep'

3. Wojin, an Ukrainian word for 'warrior'

4. Buma, from Mandarin 'bu' which means 'no' or 'not', and 'ma', which means 'horse; not a horse

So, there are three different people here: Chey, that we know and love; the Butcher of Nan Shan, that crazy guy with a cleaver; and Yuan Cay, whom Kisa et al saved from dying.

Sorry for the late update. I guess everything happens for a reason.

I have pretty much finished this chapter few weeks ago, but somehow I could not bring myself to update it. When I first have the idea for this fic, I have already gathered in my mind several events or stories that I want to put in; like the Ceremony of Ascension, the Battle of Western Base against Fong, Ursa leaving, and many more. The animal spirits world prank is one of them and it is one of my favorite. Everything happens for a reason, I guess. Including me always finding an excuse not to publish this chapter.

This chapter may be a little late, but this is one of my favorite and now I can dedicate it to a friend of mine whom I love like my own brother. He died yesterday.

And to you, my brother, I am so sorry I cannot be there for your funeral. I hope you may find peace that you so truly deserve. God be with you…


	76. Chapter 75

**Chapter 75 – Evil in This World**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

_When life gives you lemon, you throw it to its face and demand a melon._

It is the unspoken creed that he had followed all his life: never ever be satisfied of what you have for there will always be more to gain.

He yawned and squirmed in his bed. The faint dark blue light that met his eyes was that that shines moments before dawn. He had missed another night sleep again. He rose from his bed; the creaking sound of its wooden frame made him cringe a little as it eerily echoed in the spacious room. After all, his nine roommates would make his day hell if his insomnia disrupted their restful nights again. The man of barely twenty walked out groggily, heading for the door. The moment the door parted from the frame, he found his grip momentarily overwhelmed by the force of the wind outside. Shivering, he made his way out anyway.

His first two steps were halted for a moment by a rather loud sneeze, followed by a great shiver. He resumed his pace, walking through dormitory buildings similar to which he had just exited; earthen with wooden frame, with window and door frames of Easter Earth Kingdom style, which shape is more circular in fashion. Each of the buildings was numbered and there were five in total; the one he inhabited with his fellow students was the one numbered five.

Finally arriving at the small wood surrounding the dormitory complex, he took a relaxing whizz on a tree nearby. When he was done, he walked deeper into the wood, battling the cruel autumn wind. He took off the rubber band he used to tie his hair with, the one he wore around his waist when he slept. Instinctively, he tied his hair up into his usual ponytail. Yawning again, he stretched. Feeling the blood flow returning to his shoulder and back, his pace broke into a sprint.

And the man dashed.

Dodging the low branches and falling leaves was good training for him, so was the run. He kept running, noticing how his breathing had improved these last few months. By the time he reached the creek, engulfed almost completely by the still dark sky and the thick almost ghostly fog, he felt that he could still run some more. _Later_, he decided.

He walked to the creek, knelt down, and scooped a handful of cold water to his face; it woke him up instantly and chased away the remnant of restless sleep from the previous night. Taking in a deep breath, he stood up, straightened his back, brought his hands together in a lotus form, and closed those dark eyes of his. He began his morning meditation…

It was not peaceful.

The young man had faced a lot. Or maybe not…

He did not know anymore.

####

"_Fall back, fall back!" screamed the soldier in a red armor amidst the chaos, the fire, the burning village, the escaping panicking innocents, and the mortal combat between the two armies._

"_Down with Fire Nation", the young man heard his lips shouted, though he did not remember ever doing so; and cheered his mighty army did, though he did not remember ever hearing them did so._

_And so, the carnage of war began, led by the young man with the dark eyes and ponytail. _

Though, he did not remember it.

####

_He swung his saber down with all his might, but he missed. The retaliatory blow from his opponent was staggering. Another swift blow from his other opponent nicked him on the leg and brought him to his knee. The boulder shot from his first opponent he instinctively dodged by rolling sideways, taking advantage of his positioning. _

_However, a crossbow was waiting in his path. With him lying on his back, the crossbow-woman pointed her device right between his eyes. Next, his second opponent, the other woman who slashed his leg joined in._

_Sheathing one of her twin daggers, she declared. "You are under arrest."_

But, he did not remember it ever happened.

####

He broke off from his contemplation. He did not remember any of that ever happening. But each and every one of those events, in which he supposed to have taken part in, had left scars on his being, on his soul. He knew it.

He knew that he was just a student of Master Sun's Academy of Warfare and Strategy Planning but he also knew that he was so much more; that he was a commander, he was a criminal, he had committed atrocities of all kinds. That he must die…

Death would be his salvation, he had made peace with that. And the one who would wield Death, the one who would grant him salvation… the man of barely twenty with dark eyes and ponytail looked up to the rising sun above the cloud and fog and smiled; a friendly smile as if to an old dear friend.

"_Good morning, Deep Forest."_

Hundreds of miles away to the west, Lin, the twenty sixth, the Dragon of the Deep Forest woke up with a sharp gasp.

* * *

Of all the many different varieties of tea known to man, Piandao loved spiced jasmine tea the most. He was enjoying a cup in the company of an old friend and mentor early in the morning. He sat there savoring the fragrance of his tea while Iroh was contemplating his next move.

"Star Arrow gambit?" he frowned, assessing Iroh's Pai Sho pieces that were led by a rose, a wheel, and a hawk tiles in a wedge formation. There goes Piandao's Lord Wang-Ti gambit.

"This place has got quieted down now", commented Iroh while Piandao mused over his counter move. "I am sorry that this is the best I can do."

After Piandao's crime of providing shelter and comfort to a criminal fugitive known as Lin, the twenty sixth, was discovered by the Imperial City, many noble families and politicians (who did not know better) called for a punishment to be administered on the swordmaster. However, the best Ozai and his confidants within the Court could do was forcing Piandao to close down his school. After all, a team of imperial assassins did try and fail to kill Piandao, several of them met their end by Piandao's blade in his own courtyard, whose remains had been unable to be recovered by Imperial Agents. Who knows, Piandao might have found something in the dead bodies of the assassins, something that could be of harmful nature to the Fire Lord's and the Imperial Court's reputation.

"I do miss teaching", confessed Piandao earnestly. "I never knew a day could drag on for so very long when one doesn't have anything to do."

"At least you can still make sword", Iroh pointed out.

"And for that", Piandao bowed a little. "I thank you."

Iroh bowed back and resumed with the game. After a few seconds, he said again. "But, you know, the Fire Lord's Decree only stated that your school must be closed down."

"…And?"

"It doesn't say that you must never teach again."

"You're planning something again, aren't you?"

"No, just asking for a favor."

"What favor?" asked Piandao, intrigued.

Iroh smiled as he took a long sip off his cup. Setting it down, he nodded to Fat the butler who was standing on the corner of the room, attending to his master and guest. Understanding the gesture, Fat walked to the door and opened it. Outside the room, on the door step, sat Zuko in a formal seiza position.

"Meet your new student", said Iroh, a little bit too happily.

* * *

"Morning", Lin sat down on the seat next to Bara and Rain, set his food tray down, took one look at it and shoved it away, and let his head crash-land on the table.

"Not sleeping well again?" inquired Bara.

"Yeah", yawned Lin.

"Maybe Rain should take a look at you", suggested Bara, ruffling the boy's messy ponytail. "I heard there are some acupuncture techniques tha— _what's going on out there_?"

The all too familiar sound of terror and panic woke him up instantly. Lin quickly dashed out of the mess tent, followed closely by Bara and Rain, and several men. When he pushed the door open, it happened so fast he could barely think: a flaming boulder came flying his way, Bara pushing him to the ground, and an explosion followed by a rain of hot embers showering his back he assumed to be Bara destroying the boulder with her bending.

"Shelling!" somebody screamed.

Next, Bara's surprising strength pulled him up, and he and the two mercenaries, aided by several men, began evacuating the camp personnel to find a shelter inside the CO building. After quickly coordinating Bara and several earthbenders in the square as a counter-measure against the barrage of flaming boulders, Lin found himself with Rain and Rha-Mi running across the camp, busy helping and guiding people who were too petrified to react.

"Come on!" he goaded as he dragged the crying pale-faced Nurse Li Wen towards the CO building. "Go!" he shouted again as they get close enough for the scared nurse to make the journey on her own. Lin turned around, scanning for any other personnel in distress; right by his side, Rha-Mi dissolved the very earth he was standing into loose sand with a mighty stomp and bended the sand to douse a fire that had started on a nearby tent. That was when he noticed a boulder flying towards Rain, who was in the middle of pulling a wounded Private Jung up. Lin's mind stopped working, logic stopped calculating; he let reflex take control: Lin dashed forward as fast as he could and flew to cover the two.

And it happened…

####

"_Hey, sis!" the little boy shoved to her a green silken scarf. "Happy birthday!"_

_####_

_Elder Yuan Man, a diminutive ancient man whose long white hair and beard, plus his long pearly white robe, made him look like a mass of cloud, paced around the room. He stopped here and there, providing guidance and advice to students who needed them, and praises to those who deserved them as the students practiced their acupuncture skill on the sand-bended mannequins. _

"_Beautiful work", a childlike glee was in the Elder's voice as he commented her handiwork. "Only sixteen and already you have accomplished so much. You show great promise, young one."_

_Her heart soared to the sky._

_####_

_Her little brother was a teenager now, not long from marrying age. She comforted him as they walked through the backstage. This was to be her brother's first performance as a lead actor in a drama. And to be watched by noble families, no less! Her silent pray when she watched along among the audience, however, was swiftly replaced by awe. Her little brother was no longer a child, she thought._

_She felt lonely somehow._

_####_

"_Hey there, pretty lady", she found her way blocked by the stranger. "Didn't I see you at the play a week ago? 'The Ode to Nan Shan', was it?"_

_She did not answer and walked away. But the man was persistent._

"_What's your name?" he blocked her again. She slipped away again. "Where do you live?"_

_####_

_It saddened her whenever her brother was unhappy. Just like now; when all she could do was sit and listen as her brother let all his frustration out. About not being able to find a job, about directors not wanting to employ him, about a rumor of how he somehow had offended the young master of a prominent noble family in town. _

"_But I didn't! I swear, sis! I don't even know who that— hey, who are you guys!"_

_And it saddened here that there was nothing she could do to prevent the group of men from taking his brother away._

_####_

"_I'm sorry", the stranger, the young man from few days before evaded casually, sipping tea all the while. "I honestly don't know that he was you little brother."_

_He got up and paced closer to her. No longer was he friendly; in his smirk was cockiness, the feeling of superiority. In his eyes was something more sinister: lust._

"_Well, you see, we __**can**__ work something out here", he caressed her cheek; she look away in disgust. "In our family, there is an ancient custom; a tradition, so to speak. We never prosecute family members. So, what do you say if we come up with a deal, you know…"_

_####_

_She lied down on the cell floor, in her rag, on the dirty layer of hay. She did not care anymore…_

_She was a bright student of medicine; her little brother was a talented actor. Now, her little brother was dead, drowned in a river shortly after he was dragged away from their home; and there she was in her cell, defeated, beaten, broken, violated. So, she did not care anymore…_

_The only reminder of the happy days was the green scarf she got from her brother at her birthday, the scarf that she had always worn ever since; the one that would have been taken away had she not fought like mad to keep it with her._

"_Poor little bi—", the prison guard sneered but the other inmate called out loudly._

"_Hey, guard!" the lady in black shouted. "When is the next meal? I'm hungry."_

_The woman got guts, she pondered without really caring._

"_You know what happened to this one, bounty hunter?" she did not really care but she could feel the guard's pointing a finger at the back of her neck. "She got her tongue cut off; a special request from Wang Family no less. So, unless you want to suffer the same fate, you show some respect to me, eh!"_

_She did not care…_

_Even when the guard spat on her and the lady next cell argued with him again, she did not care. Even when the other guard came in with their porridge and just threw it on her through the cell door, she did not care. Even when it all got quiet down after a while, she did not care. Even when night came, and one of the guards opened her cell door to do unmentionably cruel thing to her like always, she did not care._

_Her little brother was dead, her world had shattered, she had been broken and utterly shattered body and soul; so, how could she care anymore?_

_Even when a single arrow flew through the cell widow and hit the guard who was about to harass her right between the eyes, and when the shadow on the corner of the room came to life and slit the other guard's throat with a sharp knife; even those could not make her care._

"_Jun, you okay?" a woman's voice called. She liked her voice; tough, commanding, but also soothing in a way. The voice of a big sister; like hers once was._

"_Took you guys long enough", the other inmate, the lady in black replied. _

"_Hey, sis", oh, hear that? That man called someone 'sis'! Like her little brother used to call her. "What should we do with her?"_

"_Leave her", the woman with tough, commanding, and in-a-way-soothing voice, a big sister voice, said. "We shouldn't concern ourselves with other unnecessary complications."_

"_No, we'll take her", the lady in black interjected. Next, she heard the hay near her head crunched beneath somebody's footsteps. And then, she felt a touch on her shoulder; a soft one, a calming one. Not rough like those of that evil young master or those perverted prison guards. "She has suffered much."_

_Indeed she had. But she did not care…_

"_But Jun, we have—"_

"_Listen, Bara", uuhh, the lady in black's voice got sharper; danger lurks in there... "This woman had been tortured, and her tongue cut off so she could not speak of it, and so much more since she was thrown here to die. You're a woman too; would you really leave her like this when you know that you can save her?"_

_Either way, she did not care._

_####_

_She lied down on her bed, grasping her green scarf. Her cuts and bruises had begun to heal, her health had begun to return. But her spirit was still broken and she was somehow content with it. She did not care, really. Her brother was gone, so was her reason to live._

_On her nightstand was the only thing her rescuers could salvage from her burnt down house. Apparently, as the story goes, her little brother suffered sudden madness from not being able to find a job and, in a fit of desperate anger, he burnt down their house with her in it, and then he jumped into a river where he had been found drowned a few days earlier. But, she did not care…_

_It was only her medicine box, where she kept her bottles of medicine and rubbing oil, and also her acupuncture needles and other equipment. It seemed like so long ago when she was working on her own clinic, supporting her brother in his pursuit of his dream of being a professional actor. But life was not like that no more, so she did not care. She reached out to it anyway and opened it. She rummaged the content until her fingers found a scalpel. She did not care, even when the big sister opened her door, only to find her drowning in her own blood from her slit wrist._

_The big sister woman saved her, but why should she care?_

_####_

_She had taken to drawing small human figure on her pillow, and, after she got bored with it, a life-size human figure on the surface of her bed and stuck her needles at them; just like how she practiced with Elder Yuan Man. It took a lot of crying and whining and throwing tantrum to make the big sister woman let her keep her needles (though her scalpel was still confiscated). Her room had also been 'suicide-proof' by them; any sharp objects and glass materials had been cleared out and she had been eating and drinking with earthen wares now. _

_Pinched in between her fingers delicately was one of her needles. She gently put it on the surface of the figure's neck and punctured it; the Shi Yi point, down the base of one's throat. If done correctly, the puncture would cause the throat to clog up, like what happens when one is drowning. Death by suffocation would be inevitable._

_She put another needle on the figure, still the neck area, imagining the victim lying face down now. Directly in the middle of the neck, through the spines; the Shi Er point. Deep enough puncture would over-stimulate the nerves enough to cause seizures followed by an instant paralysis. An inch deeper would cause the needle to completely sever the vital nerve, causing a hemorrhaging to the brain, followed by bleeding from every orifice of the head. Death would be painful._

_Then, she put three more needles; two on the temple, the third right between the eye. The San Yan points of the body; often applied to stimulate blood flow to the brain. But add another needle half an inch below the middle one, if will become the Shi San technique and induce the chi to overflow the skull cavity, sending shock to the brain enough to either knock one unconscious or cause mini coma. If the needles were left for too long, the flow of chi would eventually weaken the brain so much it would just shut down. Death would be merciful._

_Too merciful, she smirked at the noble young master. But it was not the young master; it was merely a figure drawn on her bed sheet. It would be impossible for her to do this, to apply the only thing she knew to mete out justice on the villain. She could still hear her little brother crying for help, asking her to save him… she could still feel the pain, the suffering, the humiliation she had braved through for naught…_

_She cried, for she only wanted two things now, two things that she could not have: her little brother, her only family left in this world; and justice. But her brother was now with the spirits and justice cared little for a broken mute girl when her villain is of noble born. She cried, not only caused by sadness but also by anger, pain… unimaginable pain. _

_She screamed, but no scream came out. It was her final blow…_

_In her agony, she threw the needle she was holding to the wall. It did not ease her suffering but she noticed that the needle stuck._

_####_

"_Ah yes…" he moaned of pure bliss. Who knows inspecting his father's farm workers during harvest season could be so tiring. But no matter now, for here he was, lying on the massage table facing down, letting her heavenly touch chased the ache away from his body._

_Every inch of his skin touched, every part of muscle squeezed, he felt paradise; every second he spent there, he experienced pure joy. Heaven does exist, the young master thought. She excused herself, saying that she needed more oil; he groaned back hoping she would be quick. And, dang! She __**was**__ quick._

"_Back so soon, hmm?" he teased, resuming with bliss tasting. Oh, right… that's the stuff… who knew that part of his back could even ache! Felt so good… _

_It took quite a while when he realized that he could not move: he realized it when he tried to flex his toes and he could literally feel the signal from his brain bouncing back. He tried again, moving his arm this time, only to experience similar unusual sensation. He tried to roll over but his body failed to heed his brain. He tried to call out but his throat could only manage a slurred gurgle. By this point, he could literally feel blood draining from his face and temperature abandoning his being. And when he was forcefully turned over, his horror was complete. _

_It was her…_

"_You should be dead", he tried and failed to scream; what came out was a mixture of panic gurgle and horrified slur. _

_She smiled, an evil smile; the smile he knew he had when— oh, no… _

_Yes, you are not dreaming, she taunted in her mind. Now, __**you**__ are weak._

_It was an even greater horror when she pulled a six-inches long hair-thin needle and pointed it at his naked stomach; even greater when she thrust it down, all the way down his navel diagonally. His greatest fear, however, came from the fact that he could feel nothing of that. And when pulled out a pair of scalpels, and started to slowly and methodically slit every inch of his skin she could reach, still his greatest fear was that he could feel nothing, even when the blade sank all the way down into his flesh._

_It was horrifying how red his blood was, how much of it he had in him, how much of it she had drawn, would draw still. And how much of it was on her; the beautiful bloody angel of death…_

_When she was finally done, she pulled several thin needles and began to apply them on the joints of his limbs and his throat. And then, without warning, she pulled the big needle on his stomach out; just as suddenly, sensation came back to his being. All the accumulated and numbed pain exploded all at once!_

_He screamed… but no sound came out…_

_He struggled… but he could not move a muscle…_

_Young Master Wang finally learnt that hell hath no fury like a broken woman with needles._

_####_

_It was his birthday; one that she had planned since… wow, only six months earlier. By now, his brother should have had a steady job, a steady romantic relationship (hopefully with that kind noddle soup shop owner's daughter), and enough money to buy a carriage for himself as planned. Her presents would have been a party where she would have procured her brother emerald cherries for his birthday cake, and a ticket to catch Jinan City Royal Academy of Art's premier of the new drama '600 Days Siege of Ba Sing Se: the Day the Wall Stood Still'._

_But now, here they were: the big sister who could offer nothing but incense and flowers to the little brother who could no longer be._

_Only six months ago, they were happy…_

"_What would you do now?" asked Bara. "You obviously cannot return; you'd be caught and executed. And you don't have anyone else left in this world."_

_She did not answer; even if she could, she would still have none to offer. _

_A rain drop fell on her brother's headstone; she found herself drawn to the tiny drop that blackened the grey surface of the stone. She liked rain, it brought a lot of fond childhood memory; like when she and her brother were little and how they loved running and dancing in the rain; and how their mother would scold them when they came home dripping wet, and how their father would scold them some more when they got sick the next day when he would be busy preparing herbal soup for them. It was hard to believe that those days were long gone now, and that she could not just close her eyes and open them again only to find herself back in her mother's warm embrace, or sitting in front of her father in one of his lectures about herbs, or cowering behind her little brother's back as he defended her from mean boys at their school. _

_No more of that when she opened her eyes; only rain that masked her tears…_

"_If you are to come with us", Bara continued. "First, we need to call you something. So, what's your name?"_

_I am Rain…_

* * *

"What are you going to do with those pens?" Lin's sharp question, following his sharp narrowed eyes halted Spear and Trik's penbrush-holding hands midair.

"Nothiiiing", they evaded unconvincingly.

"What happened?" Lin groaned, as he tried to get up, right after smacking the two clowns in the forehead.

"You passed out during the evacuation", they explained lightly, which sent a sense of rush to Lin's system enough to make him get up too fast and suffered a moment of light-headedness. "Don't get up. And don't worry", Spear added quickly. "Everything's fine. And Rain owes you her life."

"Ow… what happened?" Lin groaned, seeing spots all of the sudden. "Last thing I remember, there were a flash of yellow and a lot of sand flying..."

"Yeah… that was probably Rha-Mi in that frilly yellow sundress of his", said Trik. "He and Meng-Lu –that other sandbender- saved the supply tent from burning down. I guess your fire drill is pretty useful, Lieutenant."

He was referring, of course, to the emergency fire extinguishing protocol Lin came up with specifically for sandbender personnel. A sandbender would pair up with an earthbender, the earthbender would bend rock or earth into fine gravels, the sandbender would further reduce the gravels into easier-to-bend sand and use it to douse the fire. A rather ingenious thought he came up with thanks to the many sleepless nights spent staring blankly at his ceiling.

"How are things?" Lin braved another question through a surge of headache; images flashing through his eyes, he tried to ignore: a young man in a play, a family picnic by a happy family of four, a vast eerie swamp, a girl with blue eyes and how sweet her kiss tasted, and, amazingly enough, a flying azure dragon.

"We're still on lockdown", Spear's voice barely left a trace in Lin's perception, his head hurt too much he felt like he was going to vomit. "Bara and Rain are out to scout around. Most of our men are here defenseless; we barely had enough time to get to the weapon tent to arm ourselves."

"Father Shu is taking care of the moral support", added Trik, eyes tracing to the said clergyman who was soothing a scared wounded soul four beds away. "Rha-Mi is put in charge for base security by default… I know what you're thinking, but with you down and the mercenaries out, we really don't have any choice left."

"Although, to be fair, Senshi did volunteer to lead our security detail in this time of distress", said Spear with a snicker. "But, he is, um… well, to preserve the dignity of the good major, let's just say that he really didn't know how to operate a crossbow."

They laughed, not that Lin could care less; it felt like there was a carnival in his skull, colors and images flashing and dancing so fast he could barely register any of it; fire clashed with earth, a towering ten feet tall vine monster rampaging among squadrons of firebending tanks, an ancient swamp, a flash of blade wielded by a smiling bladesman, a laughing girl who cartwheeled her way towards him and crushed him with a hug, a bed on which he laid with her, a child taken away by a group of Fire Nation soldiers. "Anyway, once Haoqi pulled that crossbow bolt from his thigh, he put Senshi on a compulsory standby in the corner of the OR. Now, Haoqi and Rabbit are trying to contact the HQ to find out what's going on."

"Speak of the devils", Trik nudged his chin at the pair CO-camp clerk who had just emerged from the operating room. "Hey, Haoqi, over here!"

"You're not gonna believe what that moron in the HQ had to say about this!" he started heatedly as he limped his way towards the bunk; tied around his right thigh is a bloody bandage. "Apparently, we're being shelled by our own artilleries!"

Gasp and murmur emerged from everyone within earshot; Haoqi proceeded with his explanation. "They mistook our coordinate with enemy camp's and now they're testing their new long-range trebuchet units on us!"

"Didn't you ask them to stop?" asked Megumi incredulously.

"Of course I did! I told them that we are on the same side and I assured them that we are in the right coordinate and they are aiming at a false one; he told me that since we are not supposed to be here, then we are not here at all. And then he accused me of being an enemy spy trying to confuse the Earth Kingdom Army communication line. Can you believe that? And I even used Lieutenant Lin's 1st Vanguard stamp too!"

"You used _what_?" yeah, having his privacy violated apparently snapped Lin out of his headache at least long enough to shoot the colonel a glare.

"Y-yeah, we-well…" Haoqi laughed nervously as he pulled a green jade badge form his pocket and handed it back to Lin while fighting off an overwhelming feeling of fear. "Sorry about that."

"The major at HQ said that they will be doing the testing until nightfall", resumed Rabbit. "And when Colonel Gun tried to send them another message asking them to stop… a shot fell right outside our window…"

The result of that shot landing right outside their window was explained by the charred and smoky carcass of bird Rabbit held up for everyone to see.

"So what're we gonna do now?" asked Nurse Huang Mei in a low voice.

"We will all stay put until the shelling stop", answered Haoqi with a tone of authority he only used if situation demanded him to take the mantle of leadership. "Rabbit, take a few earthbenders to the kitchen and supply tent to gather some provision and medicine", ordered Haoqi about the same time Rabbit announced. "I'll go gather some earthbenders and gather food and medicine from the kitchen and supply tent."

"Rabbit, remember to get dried food only", shouted Haoqi at Rabbit as the latter trotted out and said. "I'll get the dried food, sir."

"Oh, and I'll get some burn treatment salve too, sir. Just in case", added Rabbit.

"No, that's okay, Rabbit. Just get some burn treatment salve from the supply tent. Just in case", replied Haoqi. After all those years with the bubble head Commanding Officer, most of the personnel had learnt the futility of responding to how Haoqi went wrong in that conversation. Besides, it was not everyday Haoqi got to play the lead; his men loved him too much to mess with his jam.

"Okay, what else… Rha-Mi!" Haoqi called, looking around for the corporal.

"You rubbed my magic lamp, o' mighty leader?" the yellow and slightly singed mass of sandbender appeared from the clerk office.

"Is there any news from the HQ yet?"

"Not yet, my tall brown-haired boss", replied Rha-Mi with all eloquence. "And if you ask me, the chance of that is pretty bleak. It's still raining flames outside."

And as if to accentuate the corporal's point, a boulder shot landed so perfectly close that the building literally shook, causing shrieks of horror from some of the occupants.

"Keep waiting", ordered Haoqi out of breath. "And prepare the emergency bird for a message, I'll be there soon."

Turning around, Haoqi offered a much appreciated words of encouragement. The last of his order were to put Spear in charge of briefing the mercenaries of their situation once they returned and Father Shu, aided by Megumi, of the common welfare of the recovery room that they currently occupied for sanctuary. Then he just limped away; he did not even try to give Lin anything to do, which Lin found a little insulting but, at the same time, was grateful for. At the verge of entering the clerk's office though, Haoqi paused.

"I think I'm forgetting something…" he frowned deeply, tilting his head in his effort to recall what it was he had forgotten about. In the end though, he shrugged. "Nah, probably nothing."

In the corner of the operating room, the empty cold room devoid of any human presence he stood, facing the corner but glances behind his back he sneakily stole…

"Hello?" Senshi half-called, half-whimpered. "Guys? Can I go now…?"

* * *

The two men locked eyes, amber versus amber. There they stood unmoving, like two statues of ancient warrior locked in a stare down for all eternity. And suddenly, at the drop of a single leaf, the dashed forward.

The first man performed an impossibly fast iai-strike with his jian sword, a feat that was by no mean small when performed with a straight sword. The second man bent his spine backward as he continued his trajectory forward, sliding so dangerously close under the lightning fast blade. Skidding themselves to stop, they turned around and clashed once more. The sword once again proved its superior speed by claiming the initial strike; the second man leaped backward and somersaulted into a smooth landing on both feet. A safe three meters between them, a dangerous zone none of the two would rush ahead to close in.

"The Zan Family style of hand-to-hand combat truly lives up to its reputation", the swordsman commented, still maintaining his stance.

"Your Peerless Blade technique too is a marvel to behold, Master Jian Wu", replied Zan Wa courteously, flipping his fan open and hiding his lower face behind it as he always did before he bowed slightly without taking his eyes of his opponent one bit.

Again the stare down ensued; this is what happens when two masters duel: a large portion of the time will be spent on assessing each other's strength rather than exchanging blows mindlessly. It was not until Jian Wu loosened up his stance and sheathed his sword in one graceful fluid movement did Zan Wa close his fan and stood up straight. They then bowed deeply to one another.

"Will you not join us, Master Kisa?" asked Zan Wa kindly to the bard who had been sitting on the sideline, watching the rare treat of a duel between masters.

"Who, me?" Kisa's surprise did seem genuine. "Master Zan Wa, whatever a humble bard like me can do to even hold my ground against one such as you?"

"Master Kisa", though Zan Wa's eyes grew sharper and his tone that of light playful reprimand, his smile behind his fan was gleeful. "A simple bard who spent most of his time travelling through warzones, taking in orphans and refugees surely knows more than a thing or two about martial art."

The corner of Kisa's lips curved up into a rather uncharacteristically sly smile; his usual smiles were always either wide and toothy or calming and encouraging. Without warning, Kisa dashed forward and broke into a flying frontal dropkick; Zan Wa easily evaded the sneak attack. Jian Wu retreated back to a safe distance. A subject to the force of gravity, Kisa crash landed but the moment he hit the ground, he spun on the floor like an overturned turtle-duck and, believe it or not, bounced up like a ball with only a tap of his hand; his right foot aimed at Zan Wa again. This time, Zan Wa caught him. With the same hand, he gripped Kisa's ankle and pulled it up high; the one foot upward split however, did not hurt Kisa and his well-trained flexibility.

"Qiunu Tribe traditional style of earthbending combat", commented Zan Wa, arching a brow, smiling a little, and stretching Kisa's foot higher a lot. "I am impressed. I thought they do not teach their art to outsiders."

"I _am_ a charming man", shrugged Kisa with an equally wide smile; he pulled down the trouser of his caught foot to show a ring of leaves and rock tattooed around his ankle, a sign that he was an honorary member of the Qiunu Tribe. With his free foot, he channeled his bending to the ground. Though the effect was invisible to human eye, the very earth he was stepping on obeyed his bending and lent him support in his liberating backflip kick; with his bending, his movement was faster and more powerful than without. Such is the unique trait of Qiunu earthbending: to use earthbending to aid speed and power of acrobatic martial art movements that requires acts like jumping and somersaulting. Comparison in modern conventional earthbending would be the earth-propelling or earth-riding technique, but with less visible disturbance to the physical form of the earth itself.

Before the two duelists could exchange another blow though, a messenger bird flew pass between them and landed on the shoulder of the man walking towards the field they were in. Wojin halted his trek in order to extract the rolled up letter from the bird and waved the creature off. Even from afar, Kisa, Zan Wa, and Jian Wu could see frowns folding on the old man's forehead.

They waited respectfully for the old man to approach them; limping and huffing though, he did not abandon his smoking his lit pipe as conventional wisdom would have dictated. Halfway towards his destination, Wojin stopped and called them closer with his hand gesture instead.

"I have news from my contacts within Fire Nation Army: Colonel Shimazu has been declared a deserter", heaved Wojin; none of the other three showed anything more than a mild surprise.

"Not surprising, since he did technically cooperate with enemies", muttered Jian Wu, referring to Shimazu's recount of how he was aided by Hakoda and his Water Tribesmen last summer.

"Then, shouldn't it be 'treason' and not 'desertion'?" asked Kisa.

"The crime of treason requires the convicted to be tried by the Military Tribunal", pondered Zan Wa aloud. "The crime of desertion calls for a more direct approach: instant death penalty."

"The Fire Lord is cleaning house", commented Wojin, his breathing was back to normal now. "Or maybe a disgruntled third party among the Army's higher-ups?"

"The good colonel does have a knack to piss off powerful people", shrugged Zan Wa while Jian Wu added. "Shimazu can be a bit too righteous for his own good, which is coincidentally why he still hasn't made a general despite his decades of active duty."

They fell silent, each deep in their own thoughts; Kisa pondering whether or not he should continue taking the colonel with him to Oya Abbey now that the old man was practically a walking bag of gold for bounty hunters; Jian Wu with whether or not he should take this up with Iroh and Fire Lord Ozai; Zan Wa with trying to recall if his family had any property in a nearby colonial area Shimazu could use as a temporary shelter; and Wojin with whether or not he should stop smoking.

But then, Kisa broke the silence by bringing forth a more pressing issue. "So, who's gonna tell Shimazu?"

* * *

The crashing noise and explosions outside went on. Despite his full understanding of the gravity of the situation they were in, Lin found himself growing accustomed to it all and it concerned him. Shouldn't normal people feel horror still? Even if it had been going on for nearly eight hours straight?

Bara and Rain had returned three hours earlier, bearing the report that the source of the bombardment was a camp on top of a tall mountain about five kilometers to the south and the camp belonged to the Earth Kingdom Army. Haoqi then filled them in about the transmission he received from the headquarters regarding the bombardment which resulted in Bara's rather fiery angry fit. Anyway, with no risk of enemy raid, the security had been relaxed a bit. With the majority of the camp still gripped in fear, no one made a case about Spear and Trik thumb wrestling in the corner of the room loudly. In fact, the sight seemed to have a rather encouraging effect on the rest of them, even if they did catch the pale of the two surgeons' faces.

"Listen", Spear said suddenly. Following his direction, everyone shushed up and strained their ears to catch any sound they could.

"I don't hear anything", said Nurse Xiao Li finally.

"Exactly", sighed Spear in relief, his big grin took reign as he announced. "It's over!"

Loud chatters spread across the room, one that was full of anticipation. Led by Haoqi, with Rabbit on tow, they slowly and carefully exited the room in to the courtyard. Their presence did not draw any further shelling; it really was over…

In silence, the camp moved back to life. They had to clean up the mess, reopen the supply and mess tents, and put the weapons and patients back to where they belong. Such is the life in an army camp. Missing the busy work ahead were a certain lieutenant and two mercenaries.

* * *

Lin sat on his rock, playing his flute. A tune taught to him by his beloved grandmother, one that made him think of her, one that made him think of home…

Bara and Rain were sent on scouting mission to secure the perimeter of the camp, to make sure they are safe from enemy soldiers or scavengers who thought they could grab the opportunity after the bombardment. Below, he saw the interns restoring the medicine supply back to the supply tent under the watchful eye of Major Senshi Mor; the nurses sweeping and cleaning the ground overseen by Nurse Megumi; Spear and Trik being in charge of the group rebuilding destroyed tents; and Rha-Mi and Private Meng-Lu, the other sandbender, working together with several earthbenders building walls and domes to fortify the tent against the strong wind that had started to pick up the pace.

Despite having spent the majority of the day lying on his back, Lin was tired. He shut his eyes but continued playing; he let the melody of his flute lulled him into a relaxing, almost hypnotizing, state of mind. He rearranged his thoughts… the visions. It was all meshed up into cuts and pieces that did not make any sense, or even connect with each other… Picnic? Dragons? Soldiers? Vine monster? Swords? Making out with a blue-eyed girl?

And a swamp… _the swamp_. For some reason, Lin felt strongly about this vision. A swamp covered with trees and vines so thick he could barely see the sunlight shining through the vegetation. His analytical mind, without any shred of doubt, recalled the picture from a book he once read in the Fire Nation Imperial Library: a journal written more than a millennium ago by an Earth Kingdom explorer about the Foggy Swamp. About a giant banyan-groove tree growing roots everywhere and somehow swamp topography was formed around it.

Lin stopped playing as he stopped his train of thought; he senses Bara and Rain approaching.

"The surrounding is safe", reported Bara.

Lin got up, turned to the two and nodded. Then, without further ado, he walked up to Rain and embraced her. Though bewildered by such gesture, the mercenary hugged back, albeit a bit awkwardly; she still just barely knew Lin. When Lin let go, he further his instruction by telling Rain to report to Haoqi, and Bara to stay. As Rain disappeared into the woods behind the cliff, all the while thinking of ways to convey the information nonverbally to the colonel, Lin finally confronted Bara about Rain's history. Up until that point, the only things he knew about Rain from the three assassins were that Bara trained her personally and she could be trusted with their assassin secret stuffs.

At first, Bara seemed reluctant to divulge anything, even deliberately try to wiggle away from having to have that conversation. But Lin was persistent. In the end, Bara told him about how they saved Rain from a prison, about her tragic tale, and about how she came to be one of their top members in the Black Rider Company. Hearing her story brought Lin into a feeling of relief with a tinge of fear: the visions he had had about Rain was spot on! Yes, he believed Iroh's confirmation about the authenticity on his dreams and visions but now having put them to the real test, it gave him a whole new perspective about it.

_This is truly a gift_…

"I have decided", said Lin, determined. "About what we should do next."

"Taka, Rocky, and I will be with you utill the end", sad Bara reassuringly. "We owe you that much."

"We have two objectives here: one is to get to the North Pole; and two, to stay within the Fire Lord's good grace", as he said this, Lin's amber eyes were fixed on a certain Spear Haoren, who was foolishly multitasking hammering a nail on the busted up bulletin board and wooing a passing-by nurse.

"You know", Lin smirked at the sight of Spear squirming in pain. "At first, I thought I could just run a blade through Haoren's throat and reported to the Fire Lord that it was inevitable. We would be saving a lot of precious time and get to the North Pole a lot quicker. It was against his order but I'm sure Fire Lord Ozai would appreciate the gesture anyway."

Bara shrugged and grunted her agreement.

"Just like how it usually is in the stories: the heroes were set on a quest and they just left everything and go for it", snickered Lin. "But then I realized: this is not a story. This is real life. And in real life, sometimes heroes have to wait for the right time to set out on their quest."

"You will stay then?"

"I don't have any other choice", sighed Lin. "But now, I have accepted that fact", he pulled from his garb a scroll that he handed over to Bara. "This is a preliminary report containing Sairen How's profile, a rough map of Ba Sing Se Upper Ring, intel about Ba Sing Se Vanguard Forces protocols and barracks, and General How's mansion layout. Send this to Wuxin. Hopefully, this could help speed things up a bit."

"It will be done."

"There is evil in this world, Bara", said Lin again. "And we will do what we can to fight them… even if the only thing we can do to fight it is to wait"

* * *

On top of the mountain where the Earth Kingdom Army artillery units were, a general was in the middle of delivering the men a scolding of a lifetime; the primary target was the group of clerks and analysts who were put responsible for the mishap of them trying their new weapons on an allied camp. The analysts received a double dose since not only they failed to ascertain the mistake before the trial, they had also been put responsible for the date mishap; the trial was supposed to be conducted the following week.

Despite the convicteds' protests, arguing that they did not misread or misinterpret the encrypted message from the higher-ups in the Artillery Division, those five unfortunate men would still be put to the slammer pending a court-martial.

No one will suspect the hand of a freelance war strategist General Woo had employed earlier, the one he ordered on standby in this artillery camp because the poor man came down with a fever during a march and they happened to be nearby this camp. The man, the barely twenty man with a handsome clean shaven face of ivory skin that housed his straight nose, his soft yet masculine jaw, and the greenest of grass-colored eyes had skillfully interrupted the messages and altered them well enough to fool the clerks, and had tampered with the camps intel to fool the analysts.

He _wanted_ the artillery strike to destroy the 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital…

It appears that he had failed, pondered the man as he leaned on the beam of the tall look-out tower, examining the work of the artilleries with a spyglass. The camp below, far to the east might have suffered damage but they was not done in. With the device he could catch the signs of human activities down there, rebuilding the camp.

This is what you get for using untested siege machines, he reprimanded himself with a smile, throwing a sigh at about half a dozen gigantic sets of fifteen-feet-tall, impressive-looking, metal-reinforced trebuchet.

Spinning on his heel, he trotted back down; his white robe, put over his brown-yellow garb, fluttered in the air. Looking up to the twilight sky he closed his eyes for a moment, calculating his next moves. Several steps, methods, ideas came flooding to the brilliant mind of his. Of all that, he picked one.

On the last step of the ladder, he, being in sane mind and body, skipped and landed on his ankle. The next minute, he found himself being transported out on a caterpillar tank to the east; to the 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital.

* * *

Commander Zhao rode his steed, ever so calmly. Yes, his preys were running away and yes, he had been given the honor of being ordered to lead the manhunt by the Fire Lord himself. But, come on… a naval commander with a full squadron against some riff-raff traitors. Even the Fire Lord had not deemed them worthy enough to send the Army against them; the exalted Fire Lord Ozai believed that the Navy would do. Not that the Navy was inferior, mind you; it was just that at this point Fire Nation would need to capitalize on the weakened Earth Kingdom Army defenses and engaged them as much as they could on land combat. They would gain so much more territories that way. Usually, at this time of the year, the Navy would be occupied more with escorts and supply shipment duties rather than engaging Earth King Navy in battle.

"Ther—"

His man could not finish his words due to a flash severing his windpipe. The said man's soul had not even left the body completely when the cloaked figure dashed even further on the offensive, claiming at least five more lives with his lightning fast strikes in matter of seconds. Zhao, still a little shocked, instinctively punched a fire blast to the figure's direction. His blast, however, suffered the same lightning fast strike from the criminal's blade; it dissipated before Zhao's widened eyes.

Growling, he jumped down from his komodo-rhino, ready to fight with honor. But, before both his feet even touched the ground, the figure had already hightailed away, far beyond his reach. Enraged, he dashed forward and gave chase, he refused to give a single second of head start for the fugitive by bothering himself with his steed. The rest of his mounted men, out of respect and sheer stupidity, followed suit by abandoning their komodo-rhinos and gave chase by foot. Not that Zhao had any moment to notice; his fiery amber eyes were fixed dead on his prey like a true predator he was.

He did not know when it happened; all he did know was that the very earth he stomped on suddenly swallowed him. His front foot sank first, it robbed his balance and he fell in face first to the patch of quicksand. His chasing men, those who were unable to stop, fell in after him. The rest could not proceed further because of it. Ahead, the figure kept running towards the edge of the woods; there, he stopped. He was soon joined by two more cloaked figures. The three traitors of the Fire Nation looked at their pursuers before the melted into the shadow behind.

Left trapped by and in the mercy of the very earth itself, Zhao gritted his teeth furiously.

* * *

Iroh was dozing off in the middle of the Pai Sho match, still holding his cup. That was when it came to him; so sudden he let out a rather loud gasp and spilled his tea all over his trousers.

"General?" asked Jiang, eyeing the older man with genuine concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing", smiled Iroh, already back to his usual calm self. "Just a little head rush. I have not been sleeping well these past few days. Not to mention I just got back from Shu Jing."

Nodding and smiling, Jiang placed his tile down and proceeded to drying the old Dragon's trousers with hot steam he shot out from his palm, all the while kindly offering the service of Lin Family healers who, according to Jiang, would concoct a special sleeping draught in no time for Iroh to bring home. Iroh, however, was not exactly listening anymore though he put courtesy smile and polite nods on auto-pilot.

His mind was set on _the swamp_…

When he got home, in the sanctuary of his royal chamber, he summoned a black-clad royal assassin. The white-masked woman knelt faithfully, waiting for Iroh to finish brewing himself a pot of fresh ginseng tea. After taking a well-deserved sip or three, Iroh turned to the assassin.

"It is time to contact the Dragon of the Fifth River."

* * *

Let's see, the area has been secured, those Earth Kingdom guys have settle down, the kiddo has been tugged in… Bara ran the checklist in her mind, not entirely oblivious of the fact that had his brother Taka been here, he would have made fun of how motherly she had been when she forcefully suggested that Lin gave up his night watch duty to some other guy (Rha-Mi, the cross-dressing sandbender, was more than happy to volunteer), and head straight back for a good night sleep. After all, the boy had been nearly blown to pieces earlier that day.

Bara was, however, completely oblivious to how unusually compliant Lin had been. Lin was in no mood to argue… or to do anything, really. He did not know… he just… didn't know anymore. He had to stay, he had to wait. He knew that now, and he was so full of conviction and determination until just a few moments before. But as he laid down on his bed, watching Bara fussing all over his tent, picking dirty laundries or setting a random furniture straight, and he let his mind wander, he felt… lost. Again…

"Wait—", he halted suddenly; Bara, after saying her goodnight and was about to get out, stopped abruptly with one foot outside the tent. "No…" Lin faltered. "Never mind."

Bara would not take it, as you would have guessed. Stepping back inside, she inquired. "What?"

"No, it's silly", Lin smiled, or at least he tried to. "Goodnight, Bara."

"Lin, come on. I really want to know what you wanted to say", insisted Bara, closing the tent door with her back inside and standing there with arms crossed. After a few seconds of fidgeting and avoiding eye contact, each of which felt like a full minute, Lin spoke in a low voice while still failing to maintain eye contact.

"Well, I just… you know, since Taka and Rocky are not here and… and they are not using those beds…" Lin said, feeling warm embarrassment creeping over his face as he braved himself to go on. "I-I thought maybe just for tonight you and Rain would… nah, it's nothing. Just… um… don't wanna be alone…"

But Bara had already taken off her armor and weapons and put them neatly on Lin's desk, though she kept one of her twin daggers below Lin's bunk before she climbed up there. "Scooch", she said. Complying, Lin moved deeper into his bed to allow the woman some space on his bed and in his blanket. Lying there comfortably, Bara turned to the boy and asked. "So, wanna talk about it?"

The locked eyes for the briefest of moment before a pair of those four ambers twitched and surrendered to the flooding tears. Bara let the boy dived into her embrace and rubbed his back gently as her soldier boy sobbed into her chest.

"*sniff* I'm scared, Bara…" she heard his muffled sob.

"That's okay, kid", she whispered, strong as she had always been. "I'm scared too."

* * *

"Ufffggghhh!" he woke up instantly as the heavy object landed unceremoniously on his stomach. Overcoming his pain in an instant, he joined in the merry giggle as he tickled the boy playfully.

"Kids! No earthbending inside!" he heard a woman shouted reprimandingly; it was met by an even merrier laughter of children that drifted away from the room as the healers herded the children away to another room where they would not be bothering sick people.

"Crazy kids", Chey muttered through his grin as he sat up on his bed, yawned and stretched. His wound still stung a little. Getting up, he scanned the room; the vast underground hall was still just like how it was when he first arrived, only minus the children who were currently playing in the next room and plus the jagged fissure on the floor where the children earthbended before.

Smacking his lips, Chey yawned again as he walked towards the refreshment table on the other side of the hall for a glass of water. But, when he walked pass one of the beds he would usually walk pass by whenever he went for water, he noticed something was amiss: one of them was empty, one that should not be empty! Scanning the room again, he cast quick glances on every occupied beds; maybe he was moved, he optimistically thought. But no… he was nowhere to be found.

Chey did not like this feeling on his gut. Limping, he made his way as fast as he could towards the exit. Opening the door, he found himself on a long hallway with numerous doors on both sides. With no specific destination on his mind, he let his feet carry him forward, looking around all the same despite his awareness that looking around an empty hallway would accomplish nothing. He had just finished that thought when he noticed blood stain on the door handle to his left. Gulping, he opened it. What he found inside… it made him miss a heartbeat…

"Cay… what have you done…?"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Long update as usual, sorry. Now, let's see... names:

1. Quinu, qiu is mandarin for 'ball', a reference for their earthbending style which enables them to seemingly bounce off the surface of the earth like a ball

Next is a four-parter 'Burning Down, Falling Out'. The first two are pretty much done, just need some polishing and double-checking here and there. But, I will finish all four before updating them. I want to make sure I do not make any mistakes in the storyline.

I wonder if anyone notice the kinds of trials and tribulations Lin is facing at this point: being exiled from his beloved motherland, but he was cool with it; unable to do what he really wanted to do at this moment, going to the North Pole, but he finally accepted that he could only wait for now; having to live a lie among people he began to come to care while having to remind himself every second of his time in the camp that he would be their betrayer one day and denying the fact that he does care about them at the same time; feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness. Not being in control, for a manipulative person like him, is a b***h; and of course, puberty.

And this is _not_ his 'downfall' yet!

Then, there's the visions… not to mention the many seemingly psychotic new characters cropping up here and there who would undoubtedly affect his life sooner or later.

Especially the fact that he is now powerless; in Fire Nation, he had… well, power: prodigious firebending skill, the fact that he was an heir to a prominent noble family plus all the privilege that comes with it, being an officer in the Army, wealth, influence, and all that. Now, his life is at the mercy of Fire Lord's whim and fate itself. Which is why the pranks and many other things he does on the camp, mostly on his own freewill, usually manifested in him manipulating things or events and then sitting around and watching things unfold. It gave him a sense of control; he is a bit of a control freak.

To hpswst101, hey it's good to hear (or read) from you again! I remember you once asked about Lin's weaknesses; I think there is some more showing up now, huh? Aside from being an incurably bad cook and his proneness to chronic seasickness (I have a very good reason for this one!), in his recent development Lin has been shown to be somewhat of a walking paradox. He truly believed in the Order of White Lotus philosophy of balance and harmony but at the same time still he strongly harbored the stereotypical Fire Nation chauvinism, albeit he never actually expressed it through real hateful words or actions. Also, despite him identifying the 44th as 'enemy' at some point, he had been shown to go beyond the call of his duty for the sake of the outfit, such as when he helped around with the wounded, cheering up the interns before their first hands-on surgery, when he gave away most of the gifts General How sent him or when he wore a bald cap and acted in a disastrous play, etc.

Also, to further accentuate his hypocritical nature was his outburst upon meeting Jeong Jeong and his last encounters with Iroh and Dai Li agents, despite the pride he had in his ability to think clearly and remain calm and collected in heated moments. I also put a little nudge on this particular character of his by making him somewhat of an atheist or anti-fatalist despite his exceptional spiritual gift. :)

Also, while we're on the subject of his mind, he was shown several times to be a bit vain, often praising himself for his brilliant mind like he did on Lu Ten's grave.

What else… well, there are some more on the way, I believe. Considering that he is undergoing teenage years, with puberty and stuffs, his character is not yet developed fully. But I hope you all can see how he had matured since Book 1, in which he had become more calculative, careful, and analytical. No longer was he the kid who ran through the storm to chase after his grandfather (Book 1, chapter 19) or foolishly committed pranks that could be easily traced back to him. He also had become more of a team player; unlike how he chose to lead the team himself in Western Shore battle, he had learnt to trust others around him with key roles in his plans like how he entrusted Taka with sniping down Uncle Kang to stop Fire Nation army's aggression on Tyro's village and, again, Taka on the most of the staking out for the Butcher.

Also, he _did_ somewhat embrace the teaching of Air Element philosophy by Piandao regarding 'freedom from constructs'; we can see this in him starting to warm up to various Earth Kingdom people, such as General How, Yumi and the Desert Chef from Ba Sing Se, the camp, and Rain (whom he risked his life for without even thinking) in which he saw them as '_people'_ not '_Earth Kingdom_ people' as a proud Fire Nation of his stature should. Although, being young and confused as he is at this point, this positive quality is actually doing more harm than good to him.

All this mental trials will contribute to his downfall later.

As for the Legend of Korra… WOW! Amazing musical score and love Tenzin; he must have spent too much time with Uncle Sokka in his youth. The only time he didn't crack me up was when he was fighting those robots with his awesome airbending. Btw, does his airbending make a sharper sound than Aang's does to you?

"_Don't bring my mother into this!"_

That was priceless!

Though I must say, they have really cheapened lightning generation… T_T

I wonder how Lin would fit in Legend of Korra. Hmm… that firebending master in the first episode _does_ have moustache like Jeong Jeong's and Jeong Jeong _is_ Lin's grandfather… hmm… XD

Nah, Lin would have already died before Legend of Korra; of that, I'm (somewhat) sure. After all, he is a few years older than the Gaang; he should be eighteen or nineteen by the end of the Avatar: the Legend of Aang.

And kudos for FF's new look!


	77. Chapter 76

**Chapter 76 – Burning Down, Falling Out, Part 1**

**-Burnt-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"Just a sprained ankle. Some rest and relaxation will be enough", was Trik's verdict as he bandaged the patient's purple ankle. "Just promise me you won't run off chasing our nurses."

"Pinky swear, doc", the patient joked back.

"I'd love too, but I promise my father I won't get into any commitment without checking with his lawyer first", grinned Trik. He got up, reached up for the patient's report on the clipboard hanging by the foot of the bed, and scribbled down something there. Around that time, the compatriot of the first whacky surgeon waltzed in, humming a song native to the Omashu red light district.

"Well, well, well! If this isn't our civilian patient", he beamed at the man with sprained ankle. Mimicking a serious face, he pulled out a wooden bell-shaped instrument strapped on his sash –his stethoscope- and pressed it on the patient's bandage foot. "I see. Sir, I'm afraid you have a flighty foot. Now, be honest: who is she and why are you chasing her?"

Chuckling, the patient replied. "Well, from the size and color of the dropping, I believe she was your average looking ferret-dove. I slipped on a fresh bird poop on a stair, doc."

"Wretched bird", cursed Trik jokingly. "Speaking of bird, have you seen what Rha-Mi is wearing today?" the last one was for Spear.

"Ah yes, our lovely corporal was spotted sporting an equally lovely fox hair coat, a matching pair of pearl leather high heels, and a hat with feather so big you can use it as an umbrella", laughed Spear. "Although what concerns me is what he's wearing underneath."

"Yeah? What's he wearing underneath?" asked Trik.

"Nothing", answered Spar casually to Trik's guffaw and the patient's raised brow. "Which is why it is very concerning, indeed. Buck-naked underneath a coat this close to winter? Imagine the horror we must face if he catches pneumonia. We're gonna have to be the one treating him."

"Corporal Rha-Mi is our camp corpsman who's bucking for a psycho discharge", explained Trik in between his laugh to the patient who was beginning to show a symptom of mild interest. "He tries to get out of the army by wearing dresses."

"And he believes it would work?" scoffed the patient. "I just came from General Woo's battalion and there were two cross-dressers over there. One of them is the general's aide."

* * *

It was dark, his sight had been robbed. He heard, he listened… trying to capture the sound, the noise. He was no stranger to this, not anymore. His former mentor had put him through similar training regimen before; one in which he would be handicapped, put into severe disadvantages, or thrown into an unfamiliar setting. And vision to a warrior, dear boys and girls, is like sunlight to a flower, like a wave to an ocean, like a bowl of rice to a plate of dish, like a sea-monkey to—

-WHACK-

"Ow!" Zuko exclaimed, rubbing his head. But then, another hit came to him. Then another landed on his forehead. And another, and another.

"Enough!" ever the impatient, the Fire Prince yelled; tiny flares shot out of his nostrils. He ripped his blindfold off only to see his current mentor standing in front of him with all the dignity of a sword master. However, Fat the Butler, valuing his master's order more than that of Zuko, kept tapping him on the head with his stick, causing the enraged royalty to snatch the innocent wooden training article away from the man and snap it in two with his flaming chop.

"That's against the rules", Piandao pointed out flatly. "It will cost you twenty push-ups and fifty hot-squats."

Though every fiber of his being honestly believed that a protest was in order, after spending time under the swordmaster tutelage these past few days, Zuko had learnt that there exist someone more stubborn than Lin and Uncle Iroh; and that someone was Piandao. A different kind of stubborn though; Lin was more of your average stubbornness, he would prod, tease, reprimand, bait, or threat with punishment or extra lessons while Iroh believed that every occasion his nephew rebelled against his wishes meant he should straighten Zuko up with proverbs, words of wisdom, confusing anecdotes that would bore Zuko into submission over a cup of tea. Piandao was more of a passive aggressive type with his stern yet calm gaze, nonchalant but firm tone, and direct no-nonsense instructions. Even if Zuko protested, Piandao would just point out how Zuko deserved the punishment and referred back to these useless training regimen and their purposes again.

And yes, Zuko understood why he must spent every mornings after breakfast practicing calligraphy by copying down books and journals, why for one hour before lunch he must train his basic stance, why Master Piandao would sometimes take him blindfolded to a remote spot somewhere and ask him to draw what he saw from memory, and even why Zuko must do something as stupid and pointless as writing essays and flower arranging.

It was to train his mind to be keen and creative, his senses to be sharp, his body and basic to be nimble and strong, his heart to be resilient… all of which virtues needed for a swordsman to achieve true mastery.

But what good is a swordsman if he is not even allowed to touch his own frigging swords!

Rebelliously holding down his heave and throwing the master a very sharp and impolite stare, Zuko finished the last of his hot-squats and indignantly stared into the serene hazel of his master's. His head still throbbed, his shoulder sore, and knees overheated but he would not show any of them; it would mean showing a sign of weakness and Fire Prince Zuko was not weak! He was only one year away from eligible age to join military and Fire Prince Zuko knew that he must never be weak. Never weak! He must be strong! Perhaps then, his father would…

Zuko stopped his thought midway; it brought nothing but a fresh wave of anger.

Piandao, calm as ever, stared back into the Prince's amber completely aware but ignorant of the young boy's growing hostility. Piandao really did not like dealing with royalties; they were always snobbish and believed that the whole world must obey them and they can also be very irritating sometimes. How can a master teach a student who deems the master as of inferior status? It was not until Piandao made Iroh made Zuko promise that Zuko would obey Piandao as the boy would his uncle did Piandao agree to take the Prince as his student. And even that does not seem to be enough.

"Your blindfold, Prince Zuko", Piandao calmly ordered. Zuko, however, set the black cloth he gripped tightly on fire.

"I don't want to do this anymore!" Zuko failed not to yell. "This training is stupid!"

"Is it, Zuko?" his tone was calm, but the swordmaster's jaw had visibly hardened. "I have trained more students than I can count using this very same method and some of them have even become swordmasters of their own rights. Why would you think this training stupid? Have you not promised me your total obedience?"

"That was when I thought that I came here to learn swordsmanship! Not this… circus trick!"

"I have explained to you the intent—"

"I DON'T CARE!" fire spewed from the Prince's nostrils and balled up fists. With that, the boy ran out of the courtyard, leaving Piandao and a deep sigh, and Fat, who had just come back with a new stick, with his frown.

"I hate dealing with royalties", lamented the swordmaster.

* * *

"**Attention, all personnel! The village of Jan Ga has been raided by the Fire Nation Army! Wounded civilians and soldiers are arriving via tanks and carriages! All surgical personnel, report to preparation room on the double!**"

Chaos in the compound! People running here, there, and everywhere, carriages and tanks skidding to stop flooding more and more wounded people by the second! Lin found himself and Father Shu, with whom he was having a Pai Sho match, carrying each end of the stretcher on which an unconscious man in a bloody nobleman garb was lying cringing. Inside the preparation room, Father Shu was called to assist by Haoqi, leaving Lin to go back out to the compound once more to offer a pair of helping hands. Evading Bob, who nearly dropped his load of bandages and towels when he clumsily ran into the lieutenant, and Corporal Rha-Mi and Sergeant Li, who nearly ran him over in their hurry to carry a struggling man with severely mauled limbs into the hospital, Lin survived the trip back to the compound.

Outside, Lin quickly went to assist a nearby wounded. That was when a very familiar voice called out to him. Lin turned to the direction of the voice and his heart leaped to his throat.

"Yoku!" dropping whatever it was he was doing, Lin quickly scrambled to the three people he had missed so much: Yoku, who was lying on an untended stretcher looking as pale as ghost and as messy as the other two, Zhong the Viper and Yuu.

"It _is_ you!" Yuu exclaimed, pulling his long-lost brother disciple into his tight embrace.

"What happened?" Lin asked, quickly went for the crossbow bolt lodged on Yoku's right thigh. Frantically, Lin called out loud for help, not caring of how uncharacteristically panicky he sounded. Because, he really was in panic, Yoku was unusually pale despite the absence of heavy bleeding. "Somebody help!"

So worried was Lin, he did not even felt the least bit annoyed or weirded out when help arrived in the form of Sai Haoren. "Well, well… it is not every day we are graced by the presence of an angel", the smiling surgeon commented; Yoku rolled her eyes despite her pain and slight blush. Lin, despite his irk, decided to let this slide.

"Seems superficial enough", Spear muttered in all seriousness but still in a calmingly cheery tone. He then reached out to the woman's face and inspected her pupils. "But, it seems like the arrowhead contains poison. You are in no immediate danger, though", he quickly added. "We've dealt with this kind of poison many times before. I will have our herbalist bring you an antidote but you will have to wait before we can properly treat you. That's what you get for not calling ahead, you know", back with the joke.

"No", Lin quickly said, completely aware that he was sweating, his blood escaping his face, and his voice trembling heavily. "Can you treat her now? Please…"

"I'd love to, kid", Spear replied sincerely. "But, we have more serious cases around—"

"Please!" Lin pleaded again. "Please, treat her now… she's my sister!"

A second open-mouthed pause to compose himself and recover from such shocking revelation, Spear nodded wordlessly and began to oversee Yoku's being carried into the operating room by Privates Jou and You himself; Lin, Zhong, and Yuu faithfully tagged along up to the preparation room where the three swordsmen were chased off by Haoqi for not being sterile enough to enter the germ-free operating room.

Finding himself outside once more, the news of Lin's 'sister' being among the wounded seemed to have spread across the compound, judging from the uncomfortable glances Yee Shoo and Seito gave Lin as the two interns helped around; Megumi who, despite being in a hurry to the hospital building, gave the boy a quick hug and run; Bob who squeaked a short 'it's gonna be okay', earning him an earful from his Professor Mor for lagging behind; and the whole fact that no one called him for assistance despite how swamped they all were. A part him knew that he should, that he _must_ keep helping around; but the other part, the part that was holding Yoku's Blackthorn close to his chest, simply could not care for all these strangers when someone he really cared about so much was lying in there, shot up and poisoned.

* * *

"More ferocity, Princess!" one of them ordered while the other went on with. "This form emphasizes the aggressive nature of Fire Element to a very high extent."

And together, Li and Lo added. "Like a raging dragon unleashing its wrath upon the wicked!"

The glance Azula threw to Iroh was rich with "_Uncle, they're doing it again!_" vibe.

Iroh, though understanding the pleading look, remained impassive as he purposefully closed his eyes when he sipped his cup, pretending to enjoy his tea. When he gulped down the spiced chrysanthemum and set the cup back down, Azula was already redoing her firebending routine. The Fire Princess throwing her blue fire so very close to Iroh's direction when opportunity allowed her to face his direction elicited only the faintest of amused smile on her old uncle's face.

_It __**is**__ beautiful_, pondered Iroh; his amber eyes tracing the blue hue of his niece's flame. If they were… what's the word… _normal_? _Normal_ family, _normal_ niece, _normal_ uncle… Iroh knew that he would be admiring the Princess' blue flame like any uncles of a blue-firebending ten years old would. If only…

Iroh loved the girl, of that he had no doubt. Despite what the young Dragon of the Deep Forest had insinuated before, General Iroh truly loved his niece, Fire Princess Azula. He really did, boys and girls. But sadly, his life was not _normal_. Never _normal_.

This was one of the times when the Dragon of the West's wall of ignorance would break down. For the matter of his helplessness regarding his niece's fate always brought him to the inevitable memory of his son, Lu Ten; of how Lu Ten could have been Azula's anchor in the pier of fake happiness, her lighthouse in the turbulent sea of intrigue and treachery, of how Lu Ten could have prevented Azula's descend to the dark path. Lu Ten loved Azula like a sister and Azula idolized Lu Ten and obeyed him more than she did anyone else. But, Lu Ten was no more and it saddened Iroh so much his defenses would always break.

"Very good", Li (or was it Lo) nodded slightly as the last of Azula's flame went off, while the other (whom we shall assume to be Li) continued. "We will take a five minutes break."

Azula relaxed a bit as the pair of old crones got up and exited the training room with highly synchronized movements. Uncle Iroh poured the Fire Princess a cup of tea but she cared only for the gesture not the drink. She just sat there, eyeing the old man, not wanting to be the one who said it first; she wanted approval, acknowledgement, or a simple praise regarding her firebending but she would not let anyone or anything made her say or ask for it.

So, she just sat there, waiting. And he just sat there, drinking.

* * *

The patient with a sprained ankle limped across the deserted compound, heading towards the latrine. When he got out, the door of the hospital building flew open; a group of slightly exhausted men and women walked out of it, some were still wearing their blood-stained white surgical gown. One of them, a man with dark brown hair tied into a typical Earth Kingdom bun, with part of his bang covering his left eye, and sported wide smile that melted for a fraction of second into a yawn, noticed him and walked towards him.

"Up and about, Mr. Li?" Captain Haoren greeted. "How about I buy you a cup of tea?"

Accepting the former's offer, Mr. Li, a handsome man of barely twenty, whose eyes were the greenest of grass and hair bun covered by a simple white cloth and a long piece of thin tasseled and braided silken ribbon, let the doctor helped him walk towards the largest tent in the whole camp. Inside, he sat with the doctor and chatted merrily of their shared hometown Omashu over cups of tea that never made it pass the second sips. They were soon joined by others in the form of a bald young man with a wispy voice, the other surgeon with a crooked smile, the camp's commanding officer who seemed to be exhausted beyond relief, and an absent looking intern with inattentive gaze that seemed to drift far away.

"So, your father was a doctor?" Mr. Li asked Shoto the intern.

"Yes", curt and effective was the intern's answer.

"That's why you want to be a doctor too, huh?"

"Yes."

"Got a girlfriend, kid?"

"No."

"Any pets?"

"No."

"What is the name of the first person who has ever killed a spirit?"

"Hei Wu the Black Raven."

"Kid's a genius", Li laughed along with the other while Shoto went back to his lunch/dinner.

"Ah, a man of few words", grinned Spear, patting his intern on the back. "But, when it comes to surgical skills, I must say Shoto far outshines the rest of them."

"Hey, Yee Shoo's not so bad himself", said Haoqi, advertising his own intern's worth. "You know, just yesterday, he showed me a new way to resect a person's thoracic region with minimum damage to the jugular muscle. Remember that kid, uh… Private Sung Lee?"

"Yeah, I remember", Trik lit up; saving this certain soldier's life had been quite a triumph for all of them. To the civilian patient, the captain explained. "Private Sung Lee showed up at our door with a poisoned dart lodged at the base of his throat. The poison rotted away part of his flesh and nearly got his windpipe."

"Haoqi here had the misfortune of having the case on his table", continued Spear while Father Shu added. "Yes, we had a chat after the surgery, he and I. Private Sung Lee was a very devout Dawn-Shadow worshipper. He insisted that I take a flock of his hair and hang it up on my window for three days and jab him with a toothpick 108 times every day before dinner."

"Anyway, I was about to give up", Haoqi reminisced as soon as the guys stopped laughing. "We got the projectile out okay but the rupture was too severe to be fixed. But, Yee Shoo stepped in and told me about this new procedure. That boy saved the private's life."

"Seito and Bob are pretty good too", Trik pointed out. "Remember the last batch? There was this civilian lady with this rare fever? We busted our repertoire and came up with nothing."

"But, one look at the symptoms, Bob recognized the disease and quickly concocted potions that healed the lady off the fever in a week", continued Spear. "And guess what _Professor_ Senshi did?"

"He put Bob on report for 'overstepping his bound as a surgical intern by doing an herbalist's job'", sneered Trik.

"I really don't understand this Mor", frowned Li.

"Welcome to the club", muttered Haoqi, raising his glass.

"Hey, it's night already", Spear looked up through the fly screen. "Who's up on active duty?"

"Mr. and Mrs. How", joked Haoqi, covertly eyeing Spear who narrowed his eyes at him.

"Is it about time we relieve them?" asked Spear again, this time directed at Haoqi.

"Nah, not in two hours."

While in the recovery room, 'Mrs. How' (Megumi) was making a round, checking in on the patients. Senshi was just outside and in the middle of reprimanding Corporal Rha-Mi's choice of clothing again. After making an entry at a sergeant who fortunately got to keep his wounded leg, Megumi moved to the most occupied space in the whole room.

Yoku was sleeping on her bed. The arrow had been extracted safely and her antidote made her drowsy and faint. Sitting on the floor on the right side of her bed was Zhong the Viper in a neat lotus position with his katana resting against his shoulder; asleep or meditating, hard to tell. On the other side, Lin and Yuu were positively sleeping; Lin was face-down on the bed while Yuu's head was sliding on Lin's shoulder. Both were also with weapons on them, only Lin was holding onto Blackthorn. His Nightshade was safely hung on the wall of his tent as usual; he rarely carried his sword around the camp.

Upon arriving at the bed, Megumi could not help but admired both the loyalty and love these boys had for Yoku and the latter's beauty despite the pale on her face; almost made the major jealous. Yoku, being a trained warrior, noticed the nurse's presence and instinctively roused up. She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Lin's ponytail on her left pointing up to the ceiling above. Then, her eyes noticed the smile the nurse gave her through the clipboard she was writing on.

"Three handsome young men guarding you while you sleep", Megumi teased. "You are very lucky."

Yoku gave a weak sniff and an equally faint smile. Turning back to her left, she caressed Lin's hair and lifted his bang off his sleeping face. "I couldn't believe myself when I saw him", she confessed weakly.

"He said that you were his sister", Megumi said, carefully sitting on the foot of the bed, even more carefully expressing her suspicion.

"He didn't lie, I am", said Yoku proudly. "In more ways than one."

Staring now deep into Megumi's green, Yoku said. "I am his sister disciple, we studied under the same master. He is like a little brother to me."

Megumi simply nodded and smiled. Her eyes followed the patient's black ones to the sleeping lieutenant. "Sometimes, I forgot how young he is."

To this, Yoku laughed little. "People do tend to do that around him. It's one of his gifts. He is special."

"That he is", Megumi concurred.

A wall away, inside the operating room, a certain doctor was overseeing a cleaning process by a group of men.

"Scrub that floor!" Senshi barked at Private Yau. "Pick that mess up!" aimed at Corporal Fei. "Stop fooling around!" startled Privates Yang and Ming into a salute and at Corporal Rha-Mi, who entered a second ago with a spear. "How many times do I have to tell you not to wear that stupid hat inside the operating room, Corporal!"

"But this is autumn, sir", reasoned Rha-Mi. But Senshi did not care.

"And the next time I see you, I want you out of that disgusting outfit!"

"Never on a first date, Major!"

"Watch your mouth, you pervert!" Senshi spat. "Or I will have you court-martialled!"

"Pervert!" Rha-Mi's voice rose several octaves. "In the tongue of my people, sir: _mya a camelu gvie brtih on yuor bnuk_. May a camule give birth on your bunk!"

* * *

And back at the commanding officer's office now, Haoqi entered with a towel draping on his shoulder. Yawning widely, he instinctively aimed for his cup on the table, his bottle of rice wine in his cabinet, and parked his butt on his chair. A loud squeak, however, made him jump, drop his cup, and splattered his booze all over his front.

"Rabbit!" he yelled out. "You hamster-piglet's sitting on my chair again!"

Our company clerk quickly entered the room, a bunch of papers held in his hands.

"Sorry, sir", muttered Rabbit, still inspecting his papers. The critter leaped off Haoqi's grip onto the table and climb up the corporal's shoulder. Finally got his paper in order, Rabbit interrupted Haoqi in the middle of his sipping his wine. "Sign this, sir."

"Again?" sighed Haoqi lethargically. "Now, what is this that I'm signing? At least let me read it first."

"But, sir, it might slow things down", was all Rabbit was willing to give him.

"Oh, why can't I read it?" protested Haoqi, though he signed it anyway, followed by a mumble. "You never let me read what I'm signing anymore."

"I know, sir", said Rabbit as he took the first paper and handed the next one. "And this one, sir."

"Yeah…"

"This one, and this one… and thumb print on this one, sir."

"Thumb print?" Haoqi shrugged, dipped his right thumb in the ink saucer and pressed it on the paper.

"And sign this next one, sir", Rabbit handed the last one. "This is to signify you thumb print the last one instead of signing."

"Good, is that all?" Haoqi asked lazily. "Boy, sometimes I think the Army put the wounded here just so that they have a reason to make me sign these papers."

"Well, war is crazy, sir", Rabbit grinned a little, double-checking his papers."

"If that is all, Rabbit", Haoqi yawned wider than before. "Go and tell Bullhorn to remind the officers about the meeting tomorrow morning and don't forget to tell Rha-Mi to keep Cammie inside the stable this time", around the same time Rabbit exited the office, muttering. "I'll just tell Bullhorn to remind the officers about the meeting tomorrow morning and tell Rha-Mi to keep Cammie inside the stable this time."

Upon the company clerk exiting the office, however, Spear and Trik entered.

"Here, Haoqi", Spear threw him a piece of paper while Trik made his way to the colonel's extra cups.

"What's this?" Haoqi did not even bother to open it.

"My resignation", Spear said, receiving a cup full of barley wine from Trik. "Thank you, honey."

"No problem, sweetheart", Trik shrugged back, then to Haoqi. "Also, we would like to protest your recent course of action on behalf of every male personnel of this camp."

"What did I do now?" asked Haoqi with no care to the two or Spear's paper at all, sipping his cup lazily.

"You fixed that hole on the nurse's shower", demanded Trik. "Why'd you do that for?"

"Yeah!" aided Spear. "We were perfectly happy with it!"

"I have to, guys", yawned Haoqi again. "Especially after Major Keh caught Rabbit selling tickets for the hole."

"Speaking of holes", Trik suddenly cut in. "Have you seen Senshi anywhere?"

"No, why?" asked Spear while Haoqi muttered. "Probably at the mess tent preaching about freedom and patriotism again."

"One of his patients developed an infection", said Trik, grim all of the sudden. "Apparently, he forgot to do resection before operating on the man's bowel. I have to cut the man open again to fix it. He barely made it out."

"It really is about time you start putting all this misconducts into his permanent records, you know", suggested Spear.

"Come on now, guys", Haoqi sighed. "I admit, the guy is all thumbs—"

"Now, now, Haoqi", Spear interjected sharply. "It is an insult to us who's all thumbs."

"He's a douche, plain and simple", Trik argued.

"Well, yeah, but if I start treating this place like a military camp, then what would we be? Where would _you two_ be?" Haoqi said matter-of-factly. Both captains had no comeback for this.

"Speaking of military, where's Lieutenant Lin?" asked Spear out of nowhere.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him all day", frowned Haoqi.

"By the way, how's his sister doing?" Trik asked Spear.

"She's doing fine; shallow wound, won't even leave a significant scar, simple poison", Spear gulped down his cup. Then, out of nowhere, his lips formed a smile while his eyes drafted away. "And speaking of Lieutenant Lin's sister… _woof_!"

"Agree", whistled Trik. "Kinda make me sorry I'm happily married."

"So, what do you say, guys?" inquired Spear, the only single unmarried man in the room. "Should I go for it, I mean, her?"

"Not before you find out who the other two are", sniggered Haoqi, referring to the other two swordsmen travelling with Yoku. "They seem pretty tough, at least as tough as Lin. One wrong move and you gonna have three dangerous swordsmen on your butt."

"Yeah, there is that…" pondered Spear aloud.

The door was pushed open by Rabbit who walked backward; the three officers inside were still too deep in their early drunken state to notice two other officers charging in in front of the company clerk.

"Um, sirs, Majors Mor and Keh are here to see you, sir", informed Rabbit, shivering.

"Tell them, I'm busy", Haoqi replied, still not noticing.

Only when Major Keh called a very acidic, "Colonel", did Haoqi and the duo captains realized the presence of the intruders.

"Would that be all, sir?" from Rabbit arrived the same time as Haoqi's. "That would be all, Rabbit". The corporal nearly flew in his hurry to leave the would-be combat zone while the two majors eyed around the crowd with extreme distaste visible in their belittling eyes, extra dose was applied on the two captains who just did not care.

"Colonel", Megumi started with all the authority of a major. "Major Mor has something he wants to say!"

"Oh, alright", Haoqi gave up; his lethargy came back full frontal. "What is it this time, Senshi?"

However, it was Megumi who spat out. "It's about Corporal Rha-Mi, sir! Among other things!"

"What is it about Rha-Mi, Senshi?" Haoqi continued to address Senshi, who continued to remain silent, while Megumi continued to rapid fire.

"Can you do something about him, Colonel?" the nurse flared. "Did you know that at this moment he is running around the camp wearing traditional priestess attire of the Northern Korkea Tribe?"

"So, the man's religious", Spear shrugged lightly while Trik added. "A man's religion is personal, Senshi."

"Shut up, you two!" Megumi shrieked. Then, turning her trembling angry finger, he attacked them with. "And you two, _Captains_! Colonel, did you know that these two… _vermin_ put muscle relaxant on Major Mor's coffee two days ago?"

"Is that why your voice is so particularly peachy this evening, Senshi?" asked Haoqi again, aimed at Senshi again.

"What are you gonna do about this, Colonel?" Megumi did not relent.

"What do you want me to do?" Haoqi sighed wearily.

"Make Corporal Rha-Mi stop! If the man really feels that strongly about the army, so strongly that he would go around the camp wearing an ostrich-horse skull headdress, coconut bra, and a skirt made of sorghum fiber then just give him the discharge! That is so much better than letting him make a mockery of the military of our great Kingdom that Major Mor and I so proudly serve!" yes, it was still Megumi. "As for these two—"

"We're not promising anything, Senshi", Spear shook his head at Megumi.

"Do something about them!" Megumi yelled again.

"Alright!" Haoqi yelled out louder, regretting it because it gave him headache. Turning to the pair captain, he assumed a very reluctant tone of authority. "Okay, Haoren, Sho! I order you to lay off the jokes on Senshi! And that's an order!"

Spear and Trik convened for a moment in whisper. Then, Spear, being the unofficial spokesperson of the two delivered a very short but definite: "No."

"Well, that's that, then", Haoqi went back to his cup, much to the couple Majors' chagrin.

"Is that it?" Megumi seethed. Drawing a deep anger-infused breath, she continued with a very sarcastic tone. "Well, once again you have demonstrated who's truly in charge of this unit", a sour nod at Spear and Trik who replied more graciously.

"That's a bit too far, Senshi", Haoqi warned, rising from his seat finally; he even put his cup down.

"Oh, really?" Megumi scoffed sarcastically. "Face it! You are nothing more than a weak-willed, booze-swilling imposter!"

"Senshi, I'm warning you; if you don't watch your language, I'm gonna have to punch _her_ in the mouth", Haoqi seethed; eyes at Senshi, finger at Megumi.

"Yeah", Spear jumped into Haoqi's defense. "And Haoqi's not an imposter. He's _genuinely_ weak-willed, booze-swilling."

"Thanks a lot, Haoren", Haoqi, however dismissed him.

"You stay out of this!" Megumi's reply was more hostile though.

"Don't you know that she's pretty when you're angry?" Spear asked Senshi. Megumi, however, was so angry she stomped her foot on the ground, speechless; a gesture mimicked by the two captains simply to annoy her more.

"Look, Senshi—"

"Yes, Colonel!" still Megumi.

"Look, Major!" Haoqi snapped at her. "Just for a moment, can you clamp up!"

"Wha— what did you—"

"Come on, Senshi", Haoqi nearly pleaded. "Any word… any sound! I just want to hear you say something."

Senshi turned to Megumi, as if asking for permission. Then, at Haoqi, he finally opened his trap. "My silence is only to show how completely appalled I am at the unmilitary condition of this camp. And I completely agree with everything _I_…" a polite nod at Megumi. "… just said. That Corporal Rha-Mi is an embarrassing specimen in our great Earth Kingdom Military and that these two ingrates…" hateful stare at Spear and Trik, who nodded graciously. "… are nothing better than that cross-dressing freak or that mousy bespectacled clerk of yours who like to spy on people— _have you heard enough, you creep!_" he suddenly yelled at the door.

Rabbit's muffled, "Yes, sir", was met by Megumi's hellish shouts that sent the corporal running.

"And you!" Senshi resumed, positively trembling now. "_You_… you, Colonel, with all due respect, are the most incompetent, inefficient, unmilitary commanding officer in the entire Kingdom! First, you get buddy-buddy with those enlisted men! Eating with them, getting drunk with them! And then these two… _these two_… You always take their sides! Do you know that just last week they stuffed my ear with minced meat while I was asleep and let a mutt enter my tent! Do you know how it feels like to be woken up by a wet nose?"

"Leave my marriage life out of this, Senshi!" Trik cut in.

"And _you_!" a solitary target now Senshi's finger locked in. "You! You stole my clean socks!"

"No, I did _not_!" denied Trik heatedly. Pointing at Spear, he said. "He took your socks. I took your dirty magazine."

A very high-pitched, "_What_?" escaped Megumi's lips.

"I don't have any dirty magazines!" now it was Senshi who shrieked. Turning to his fellow, but greatly aghast Major, he pleaded his innocence. "Believe me, Megumi. I don't! Honest! And besides, it wasn't _that_ dirty…"

"…_What_, Senshi?"

The captains' laughter accompanied the Major's panicky response. "It wasn't! Honest! And it wasn't mine! I confiscated it from one the enlisted men!"

"But, do you deny every subjecting your puritanical eyes on those dirty pages?" Spear nudged.

"Snitch! Snitch!" Senshi yelled.

"Mr. Snitch", Spear nodded at Trik, who nodded back a. "Mrs. Snitch."

"You—", defeated, he turned to Megumi for support. "Megumi, I—", but the woman stormed off.

"Wow, Senshi", Haoqi spoke again full with regret. "I never knew… Shouldn't have made you talk."

"This isn't over!" the major fumed. Spinning on his heels, he too stomped out accompanied by the laughter of the two captains.

* * *

It was terrible…

"Let me dieeee!"

His voice had been ragged and strained with his breath but his scream was filled with life. Ironic, considering that he was in the middle of ending that very life.

"Snap out of it, Cay!" Chey was so very tempted indeed to slap the other man awake; his still bloody bandaged being, his fresh blood gushing out of his slit wrist, his state sitting and wailing pathetically in the pool of his own blood made no appeal at Chey's conscience at all. And the fact sickened Chey even more.

"What are you doing? Stop!" the former solider quickly caught the wounded's hand when the latter tried another pass on the knife lying on the floor. Chey, realizing he had underestimated Cay's speed, quickly grabbed the knife and threw it out of the room. Such was his force, the knife hit the wall next door with a loud clank before dropping on the floor; bloody mark traced the points of contact with the wall and the door. Hopefully, someone would notice it, hoped Chey, all the while struggling with the other man.

"LET ME DIE!" Cay screamed again; mercilessly, he started to beat his own wounded chest, the spot where a person's heart ordinarily would be. "JUST LET ME DIE!"

"STOP IT!" Chey roared even louder. Pinning the man down, he launched his free hand to seize Cay's fist; his other hand was gripping Cay's slit wrist tightly to prevent further blood loss.

_Somebody, please hear us!_

"Stop, Cay!"

"I don't want to live anymore!"

"Stop it!"

It took a while for Chey to emerge from the struggle victoriously. Cay held his own quite good, unfortunately. But eventually, his wounds caught up to him. Physical pain set in; his wrist grew numb though he still felt Chey's sweaty palm stinging his ripped flesh, his heart beating hard and with every beat his chest wound throb, his whole body had begun to fall into a mixture of numbness and his head began to feel light. Chey, a man he hardly knew, was still holding him, arms slung around his back, trapping his hands on his chest, preventing him to trash around. Not that Cay had any energy left to move. It seemed like Chey realized this too, because his hold began to loosen though he did not let go.

"Why are you doing this, Cay?" the captor asked, though it sounded like a plead.

"Just let me die", Cay croaked in between his sobs and heave. "I want to die!"

"Oh, just shut up…" sighed Chey tiredly; his own wounds were starting to torment him and he was positive that the wet sensation he felt on his front was not caused by sweat. Even Cay was taken aback a little. A second passed and they cracked up a little laugh. It was cut short by Cay who suddenly coughed sharply and spat out trickle of blood.

"We have to get you some help, buddy."

* * *

"Are you alright, Major?"

It came out of nowhere and made Megumi jumped, not to mention yelp. However, Mr. Li's calm smile gave way to her breathing easily and even smiling to herself; a feat that she did not think possible at the moment. Not after the aggravation, after her throwing tantrum on her tent (her glowing crystal shattered against the tent door, as the result), and especially not after Major Lemur Face's pathetic attempt to defend his innocence, an attempt that got a little physical after a while, resulted in Senshi's bruised jaw and him scurrying away like a rodent he was before Megumi could give him additional thrashing. Yeah, many forgot that Megumi was the only child of a rather prolific Earth Kingdom Army fighting general, General Yan 'Killer' Keh.

"Mr. Li", Megumi managed to greet sweetly. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I can't sleep", shrugged the patient. Looking up to the sky, he had this peaceful smile on his face. "And besides, a night like this… a slow walk around the compound is in order, don't you think so?"

Laughing a little, Megumi took the arm the man offered. Soon, he found herself walking the limping man around the camp, walking so slowly with no hurry at all. It was a nice change for the major, especially since she lived in a condition where most things that happened in her life always carried a sense of rush; wounded patients, saving lives, the army…

"Now, tell me, Major", Mr. Li spoke with all the charm he could muster. "What is a charming woman like you doing in the army?"

Girlish laugh, blush, and a swelling she felt in her chest; Megumi started with her story of her family, of her father, of her fascination towards medicine and military, of how the moment Earth Kingdom Army opened its ranks in the medical regiment for people of the feminine gender, she was one of the first who jumped at the opportunity, of her stories and experiences living in the army. Mr. Li was an excellent listener; he was the kind who would just shut up and not try to weasel his way out of the conversation; he would occasionally mutter, grunt, laugh, ask questions, and the entire time make Megumi want to open up. Soon, she began to loosen up and started to berate her fellow officers who deserved to be berated by her in front of the man.

"You wouldn't believe those two!" she heaved, chest went up and down rapidly. "And to think that they are two of the most competent surgeons in the army! It is so… so infuriating!"

"I can understand that", nodded Mr. Li, ignoring how numb his arm felt under the woman's surprisingly strong grip that grew proportionally stronger with her tone.

"It's like… they're like a rash!" Megumi mercilessly compared. "Annoying,… _infuriating_! But you can't do anything about it! If you try to do something, you will just dignify them; like a rash spreading even more if you scratch them."

"Interesting metaphor", Mr. Li failed to suppress his chuckle.

It brought Megumi back to the compound. "Oh, Mother", the woman sounded apologetic. "I'm boring you, aren't I?"

"No, not at all", Mr. Li smiled encouragingly. "The burden of the mind is like gas: better out than in."

Megumi laughed at this; she felt so light now.

"You are a tough and brave woman, Megumi", yes, they were on the first name basis now. "I mean, look at you: a woman, respectfully said", Mr. Li added quickly. "An officer, a nurse. And you're holding your own against three dimwits and a bozo… or was it a dimwit and three bozos?"

Laughing, Megumi answered with. "Don't worry, they're interchangeable."

"Yes, my point is… look at you", Mr. Li gestured to the whole major. "Exactly how many women in the Earth Kingdom… no, in the whole Four Nations can do what you do? Believe me when I said that not many _men_ can do what you do. I certainly can't."

"That's one", Megumi counted, smirking.

"Yeah", Mr. Li laughed humbly. Then he continued more seriously though still with an admiring look. "You are an amazing woman, Megumi. Don't let yourself believe otherwise. You are better than them."

She went for a hug; he accepted. When they let go of each other, Mr. Li saw the major wiped a trail of tears on the corner of her eyes. Eyes locked on each other's, green with green, the taller one of the tow leaned down for a kiss; the shorter one did not relent. Although, two centimeters apart from each other's lips, Megumi suddenly cracked a laugh and punched the man on the arm. "Really?"

"Hey, it's no sin to try", Mr. Li shrugged, grinning.

As their laughter subsided, a slightly awkward moment fell upon them, filled with Megumi looking around the camp and Mr. Li occasionally throwing his sight on the sky above. Finally, Megumi cleared her throat. "Well, it's night", she said. "I think I should get to bed."

"Want me to…"

"I sleep with a knife under my pillow."

"Oh?"

"And I'm not afraid to use it."

"Man, I can't catch a break", sighed Mr. Li dejectedly.

"Goodnight, Mr. Civilian", Megumi smiled warmly.

"Goodnight, Miss. Army Major", Mr. Li smiled back.

Megumi tiptoed and landed a peck on the man's cheek before making her way to her tent, blushing like a teenage girl; Mr. Li accompanied the woman's departure with his warm gaze. A wonderful woman, indeed, he thought as Megumi waved and closed her tent flap behind her across the compound. Sighing to the night sky above, the man limped away towards the recovery room on his walking stick. As he entered, he was greeted by a scene so contradictory to the peaceful walk he had just had; it involved a hairy man in a tribal-looking outfit that leaves little to imagination (sadly) and an officer who reminded Mr. Li on a bald lemur.

"I said I want you out of that filthy outfit!" the bald lemur look alike screamed at the top of his lungs.

Instead of obeying, the other man, the hairy one clad in an extremely and unfortunately revealing outfit danced around and started singing/cursing rapidly in a language Mr. Li recognized as that native to the Si Wong Region to the south. Now, what would a Northern Korkean highlander do with the tongue of the Southern desert-dweller; Mr. Li found himself smirking.

The oddly dressed man stopped dancing and said something in the foreign language that Mr. Li and his little knowledge of the desert language concluded had something to do with the major's mother doing an activity that, though anatomically impossible, but should she be successful, would condemn her to a painful death by both suffocation and overexertion of her spinal column. The hairy man's translation of his earlier statement into the Common Tongue proved Mr. Li that his knowledge in desert language had not deteriorated and elicited an all-around gasp from everyone within earshot.

"You! What did you just say!" the lemur-like major fumed; eyes popping out, face red, voice high-pitched, and vein showing.

"You heard me!" the hairy man replied indignantly. "I just said what I said and I meant every word of it!"

"That's it! You're crazy!"

"_Thank you_!"

"You— you… enlisted psycho!" Senshi could not take it anymore. He made a grab on Rha-Mi's neck. Sadly for the major, being born and raised in the Si Wong region, where the people and crime rate are as dangerous as the desert and the murdering sun, Rha-Mi, like all boys born to the desert-dwellers, was a natural brawler. By reflex, the corporal shoved Senshi's hands away and slugged the major on the nose for a good measure. Rha-Mi never cared for sharp words. But when things got physical, he would not let anyone trample over him.

In the heat of the moment, Rha-Mi was so ready to jump at the major but several men grabbed him from behind and held him down. As soon as he regained himself, Major Senshi Mor wasted no time to yell back militarily-backed insult. "You're going on report for this, you sissy! I'm going to make sure personally that this will get you hanged! And then court-martialled!"

Still spitting insults, Rha-Mi was dragged by the men out. Senshi himself, still infuriated, stomped his way out through a different exit, scaring nurses and other kind of lower-ranking people on the way. On the last bed on his way, the patient slapping away a nurse's hand as she fed him his medicine halted him and his still steaming cauldron of rage inside.

"What do you think you're doing, soldier!" he spat, already making his way to the bed. "That medicine is not free, you know! Nurse, pick that up!"

"I don't want any medicine", the soldier, a young man of not even twenty cried. "I don't want to get well. I want to go home…"

"Home? Home!" Senshi spat. "You don't get to go home for something as simple at this, soldier! You will take your medicine, go back to Tay Kho for recuperation, then you will be shipped back out to the war to fight for our Kingdom. You hear me! That's an order!"

"I don't want to go back to the front", the soldier pleaded, struggling against the nurse who went back to her effort to get the pills in the man's mouth. "I don't want it! Please…"

"Give me that!" Senshi snatched the pills away from the nurse's hand. Then, with no shred of mercy at all, he grabbed the soldier's jaw, forced his lips to part, and shoved the pills down the man's throat. Alas, there was not much a soldier with broken limbs and wounded gut could do against such action. He let the man go, let him gag. Then at the greatly shocked nurse, the major reprimanded the woman's ineptitude. Weak, all of them! Weak! Weak! Weak!

Unable to stomach all those anymore, Senshi stormed out. Outside, the strong gust of wind only infuriate him more.

"What!" he barked at the owner of the hand that patted his shoulder from behind.

"Whoa, relax, Major", Mr. Li grinned in all friendliness. "It's just me."

"Wounded people should be in bed!" Senshi did not relent on his hostility.

"Some kid with burnt chest took my space", shrugged Mr. Li. "I was told that they set me up a bed in the mess tent."

"I don't care even if they set you up in the middle of the minefield", Senshi snarled. "It's past bedtime in this camp and everyone must be in bed."

"I know, I know", Mr. Li nodded. "But, say, Major… I could not help but witness the argument you have in the recovery room. Are you alright?"

"Mind your own business!" Senshi turned on him. "What does a civilian like you know about the army, huh!"

"Know enough to be employed as a strategist by General Woo", replied Mr. Li humbly but also proudly.

"…Show off", Senshi gulped down his curses. Mr. Li chuckled.

"You know, insubordination like that should not be left unpunished", Mr. Li resumed more professionally. "Making a mockery of our army uniform, not to mention two ancient and highly valued indigenous cultures, and, of course, the worst of all…" he gestured at Senshi's swollen nose. "… assaulting a fine officer of the army. That man should be court-martialled."

A kindred spirit! "That's what I've been telling them!" Senshi said, no hostility this time. "But do they listen? Noooo! They even encourage that… that _freak_! And then, there's that coward of a soldier too!"

"Oh, yes! That…"

"Hmph! They have the honor to fight for our great Kingdom what did they do about it? They get wounded and want to back out!"

"Right!"

"I mean, there's not much I can do here, you know. I'm only one person. I operate on them, stich them up, and have them sent back to the front. That's my job! Besides, I'm a doctor, you know; those cowards welfare is not my problem."

"Exactly!"

"You know, it really is nice to meet someone who understands what it's like to be a true patriot", Senshi nodded. Mr. Li bowed formally and he replied with one of his own.

"My pleasure, Major", Mr. Li smiled. "You know, you should really get to your commanding officer and give him that report."

"No… he won't lift a finger", Senshi said sourly. "The man's a coward. If the Fire Nation are here, he'll probably surrender at the first fire blast."

"Then, what about your fellow officers?"

"Well…" Senshi raked his brain, thinking. His fellow officers… Captains Haoren and Sho? Psch, yeah! Lieutenant Father Shu? An incurable pacifist; unfit to even be in the Army. Major Megumi Keh? …she was probably still angry at him. Lieutenant Lin? …

"Well?" Mr. Li goaded.

"Well, I suppose I could go to Lieutenant Lin, our Head Security", muttered Senshi. "I could ask him to put that cross-dressing freak under confinement and put some sentries to make sure that cowardly soldier doesn't slip out during the night."

"Yeah, do that", Mr. Li advised encouragingly.

Parting ways, Mr. Li smiled his way to the mess tent; through the fly screen he saw a figure sitting inside the dimly-lit large tent. The creaking of the door being pushed open made Father Shu turned his head to the limping man.

"Ah, Mr. Li, was it?" the priest took off his felt hat. Mr. Li noticed his long beads, the one he usually wore, on his hand.

"I'm not interrupting your prayer, I hope", Mr. Li bowed apologetically. Father Shu laughed it off, bowing back a little, monk style.

"It's quite alright, my son", Father Shu gestured the seat beside him. "I was just merely out for a little alone time with the Great Mother. People don't usually come in here at this hour."

"Oh", Mr. Li raised a brow. "Well, um… actually, this is where I am supposed to sleep."

He gestured to the bed nearly hidden in the shadow of the tent's corner.

"Oh! Oh, my", Father Shu laughed nervously then scrambled up. "I am truly sorry, my son. I didn't see that—"

"That's alright, Father", Mr. Li made his way towards the priest. "Stay a while."

Father Shu sat back down. He poured both of them a cup of tea and soon both were drowned in their cheery conversations. Both men, after all, hail from the same town in the Eastern Region. To the priest, Mr. Li recounted a short story of his life, of how he attended a school of strategy-planning and warfare and ended up being a freelance war strategist because his health did not permit him to formally join the army; Father Shu provided words of comfort and related to the young man his own history with the Sohei Sect of Warrior Monk where the young priest never seem to be able to fit in and how it affected his decision to join a more pacifistic sect of clergymen.

"It is all about fitting in, my son", Father Shu advised kindly. "Think of it like a jacket. If you are allergic to wool, will you force yourself wear a wool jacket every day?"

"Oh, that's good, Father", Mr. Li beamed.

"Yes, I thought of that a few days ago", confessed Father Shu sheepishly. "I've been meaning to use it in one of my sermons."

"By the way, Father, there is something I've been meaning to ask", Mr. Li started.

"Oh, ask away, my son", Father Shu beamed; he liked it when people sought him for answer.

"Well, you see", Mr. Li sounded little uncomfortable. "Here we have nurses and doctors, which is understandable since this is a hospital unit. We have soldiers, too. But, what exactly does a chaplain do in this place?"

"That is an excellent question", Father Shu cleared his throat. "Well, you see… um, well, as a chaplain, my main purpose is to provide spiritual related services, like Monday mass. I also provide confessional and baptism for those who follow such spiritual practices."

"And how many have sought your services, Father?" Mr. Li asked again.

"Well, not as many as I would hope, I'm afraid", Father Shu felt and sounded a little down. "The folks here are a little… well, uh, shall we say, _worldly_. Not that I'm blaming them or anything", the stuttering priest added quickly. "I mean… all the things that we have to deal with here. I am actually surprised that I myself have not crossed over to the side of atheism yet. Although, I must admit that I do have to abandon my oath of vegetarianism. But, it's the food here, you see", he got a little defensive here. "I mean, this is probably the only place in the whole Kingdom where eating meat is healthier than eating veggies. Besides, ever since my first week here, I can never touch tomatoes anymore. And, I probably will never be able to look at cabbages the same way again."

"I am not judging, Father", Mr. Li could not help but smile. "But, uh… forgive me to say but… the things you do here, don't they seem a little superficial? No offense, of course."

"None taken, my son", Father Shu sighed through his forced smile. "I'm afraid I must agree. Here, in this field hospital saving people's soul comes second to saving their body."

"But, an act of saving nonetheless", Mr. Li nodded respectfully. He did notice, however, the strain in the good Father's smile. "You should be proud, Father."

"Well, uh… yes, thank you", Father Shu muttered through his still strained smile. "That is very kind of you."

"You're welcome, Father", Mr. Li tapped the man's shoulder encouragingly. Suddenly, a high-pitched yet masculine but slightly feminine scream graced the ears of the whole compound. Major Senshi Mor just scrammed out of Lieutenant Lin's tent across the camp.

"Ah, he runs like a lemur-bat too", Mr. Li snickered. "Going to sleep already, Father?" he asked when Father Shu rose up from his seat.

"Hmm? Yes", Father Shu muttered absent-mindedly. "I should let you get some sleep."

"Let me walk you to your tent", Mr. Li kindly offered, also rising up from the chair. "I left something in the recovery room."

So, they both walked towards the chaplain's tent, parted ways, and Mr. Li disentangled himself from the dark depressing aura the young priest was oozing all the way and made his way back to the recovery room. Inside, he made his way with no hesitation towards the soldier Major Mor had scolded earlier for a show of cowardice. The poor jabbering wreck of a man was lying down sideways with pillow folded over his head.

Mr. Li took a peek on the bed's notepad, learning the soldier's name from it. Gently, he reached down to the soldier's shoulder and tapped. The latter gasped and shivered as he turned back. "Private Fushang?" Mr. Li greeted with a friendly nod. "My name is Li. I noticed that we came from the same town", he nudged at the notepad.

"Yes, sir?" Private Fushang sniffed and cleaned his tear-stricken eyes. Returning the handshake, the private sat up, helped by the visitor. "You from Huxin Province too, sir?"

"Oh, yes", Mr. Li beamed. "From the town of Xing, the place where the stars shine the brightest."

Private Fushang chuckled a little, still teary through his warming-up smile. "I'm from Honra Village myself, sir."

"Oh, really?" Mr. Li slapped his thigh in excitement. "My, we're practically neighbors! Well, neighbors-once-removed."

At this, Fushang laughed a little. "You not in the Army, sir?"

"Me? Nah…" Mr. Li waved it off. "Weak body, unfit for service", he added with a humble and somewhat saddened tone; his right hand absentmindedly traced itself to his chest.

"Good for you, sir", said the Private through his quivering lips; Mr. Li sensed anger though he knew it was not directed at him

Deciding to dig deeper, Mr. Li arched a brow and asked. "How so?"

"It's terrible in the Army, sir", Private Fushang sniffed hard to quell his sob; but he was unsuccessful at holding down his tears. "It's terrible, sir."

"I know, Private, I know", Mr. Li patted the man's shoulder sympathetically. "I make a living as a freelance war strategist. I may not be in the Army, but I've been to the war. I know what you mean."

"What're you in here for, sir?" asked Private Fushang. "You don't look sick."

"I slipped", Mr. Li cursed his luck, raising his bandaged foot. "Imagine that, with fire blasts, arrows, bolts, catapult shots, all those glorious ways to get wounded and I have to be a victim of a rather slippery bird dropping."

Private Fushang chuckled but it was abruptly interrupted by a painful groan caused by his wound.

"That's better", Mr. Li comforted him; the soldier was still grinning though his grimace. A good sign, though Mr. Li. "It is good to laugh", he continued. "Especially since this war is nothing but a big joke."

"It is, sir", the private concurred furiously.

"I understand if you want to go home, soldier", Mr. Li sighed. Turning to the soldier, however, his eyes was somewhat radiating a friendly warning feel. "Just… try not to do anything stupid, okay. I know you are angry, but anger is something a soldier cannot afford to use. Just… I can't believe I'm saying this but, just try to obey."

With a final grip on Fushang's shoulder, Mr. Li rose from his seat. Exiting the recovery room, he made his way back to the mess tent. Upon reaching the door, he looked up to the sky, to the starry sky above. A thick grey cloud moved in, engulfing the Great Northern Boarilla constellation. To this, he smiled.

* * *

Senshi was still unsure; he was terrified of Lieutenant Lin. But, Mr. Li was very persuasive. Five minutes later, he found himself outside Lin's tent. Still felling the jeebies like one would when approaching a lair of a rabid platypus-bear, Senshi gulped once loudly before knocking on the door. No answer.

Senshi knew not what gave him the bravery, although one of those things, he recognized as curiosity. He pushed the door open. The boy might be too snippy for Senshi's taste but he must admit, he liked how neat the tent was. It was a very nice change from his daily sight of his own tent. Not that he was sloppy, spirits forbid! His tent was the military version of a goat-pig sty thanks to those pair of degenerates.

Stepping in deeper into the lieutenant's lair, all the while felling relief that the aforementioned was not in, Senshi took the opportunity to look around. A black sword hanging inside a black sheath-pouch on the wall. Hmm… black? Emo much? He snickered. When making his way towards the blade, however, something else caught his sight: a large and locked tome-like book perching on the table.

A diary, perhaps, he pondered. But then again, the lieutenant was from the 1st Vanguard. Not just any Vanguard, mind you, the _First_ Vanguard! One of the two Vanguard Units directly under the command of General How, the High General of Earth Kingdom Army. Might be military secrets, he thought coyly. He came here wanting to enlist Lieutenant Lin's help in putting that creepy sandbender in a formal arrest, mostly because, well, Lin, as the Head Security, was one of the two people who had such authority. The other one was Haoqi as the Commanding Officer. But, in that militaristic mind of his, Major Senshi Mor wholeheartedly believed that he had better chances with the lieutenant whose bad side had been trespassed by him rather than that meek weak-willed booze-drinking unmilitary lieutenant colonel. But, he pondered again, why not learn something in the meantime?

He reached out to the book, hand barely touching the lock when a very sharp. "What are you doing?" made him jumped and screamed.

"I-I-I…. um, I came here looking for you, Lieutenant", he stuttered under the boy's obvious glare. Those two standing behind the lieutenant, each carrying a sword, did little to bolster Senshi's courage. "I want to t-talk to you—"

Lin raised his hand, halting the major's sweaty stutter. Turning to Zhong and Yuu, he jerked his head, wordlessly asking them to step aside from the way out; a subtle wink he added. Yuu, understanding the meaning, put on his 'scary bandit face', a facial expression he learnt during his short tenure as a member of a bandit gang in the Fire Nation. Zhong noticed the wink but being somewhat socially awkward, he knew not what his brother disciple meant by that so he just stood there with his usual straight face. However, having naturally sharp black eyes and a natural face of a coldhearted warrior, he was scary enough as he was.

"Get out", Lin hissed dangerously at the major.

Bowing awkwardly, Senshi scrambled out as politely as he could, accompanied by Yuu's stare and a poke on his back by Petal. The physical contact made Senshi dashed like lightning but screamed like a little girl. Closing the door, Yuu turned back to the two, snickering; Zhong already made his way on top of one of the two empty bunks while Lin looked around his part of the tent for any signs of disturbance.

They had just been kicked out of the recovery room. As the night went on, and the number of the more seriously wounded increased, some of the lesser cases in the recovery room had to be relocated into the personnel's tents. Yoku, being one of the lesser wounded, had to give up her bed for an Earth Kingdom civilian woman who would be lucky if she could make it through the night. Luckily, Major Megumi had volunteered part of her tent for her.

"Who was that?" asked Yuu before diving in face first to the last empty bunk.

"Just a moron", replied Lin through his gritted teeth. Well, everything was there, none seemed to have been disturbed. He made a mental note to install a padlock on his door. "So, what are you guys doing here?"

"Well, after you were gone", Yuu started the story, sitting up on the bed and stretched. "The Fire Lord branded me, Zhong, and Yoku traitors."

"What?" Lin gasped. This sounded wrong! This should not have happened! But, he could not tell it to them; they were not privy to the assassin business.

"The guards we fought recognized us", Zhong pointed out matter-of-factly. "I'm a wandering warrior who has defeated masters from various schools of swordsmanship across the Nation", he said with no hint of smug. Jerking his chin at Yuu, he continued. "Yuu is still wanted for many crimes he had committed in the past, and for draft evasion", ignoring Yuu's offended look, the Viper continued. "And Yoku used to be a noblewoman. The three of us are pretty recognizable."

"Yeah", Yuu concurred, lazily taking off his boots. Oh, how Lin envied the curve on tips of those boots. Fire Nation boots…

"We got away fine from Fire Nation", Yuu massaged his tired feet. "We've been on the run ever since. We took shelter here and there. Luckily, Zhong has friends here in the Earth Kingdom."

Understandable, since Zhong was a colonial.

"So, how come Yoku got shot?" Lin inquired further.

"For the past few months, we were being chased by a unit led by Commander Zhao", continued Yuu. "They caught up with us in a village called Jan Ga, west of here. After we set up a rather nice quicksand trap on him, courtesy to Zhong's earthbender friends."

Yuu grinned at Zhong who gave him a ghost of a smirk. "Anyway", Yuu cleared his throat. "We pissed him quite a lot with it. At Jan Ga, he raided the whole village just to get to us. We fought back but we were heavily outnumbered."

"Luckily, the Earth Kingdom Army arrived. Apparently, they have this thing about Fire Nation Army attacking their citizens; drives them crazy", Zhong continued jokingly; but with that flat tone of his, you'd never know. "We tried to escape but Yoku got shot in the leg. We made it as far as the forest outskirt when we found out that the bolt was poisoned. So, we stayed and blended in with the civilians. Luckily, Commander Zhao's force had not fully recovered from the hell of a time we've given them. They lost the battle and retreated back."

"I'm glad you guys are okay", Lin sighed in relief. Then, to both of them, he smiled; Yuu and, even Zhong, smiled back. "It's nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you again, Lin", Yuu smiled before leaping to Lin's side of the room, trapping the smaller boy in a headlock, and both threw themselves at Zhong's bunk despite the Viper's silent protest; both laughing while Zhong sighed loudly at their childishness.

"Oh yeah", Lin emerged from Yuu's headlock. "What about Master Piandao? How is he doing?"

As soon as Piandao's name was mentioned, he noticed Yuu's smile melting and Zhong's sour face getting darker.

"Oh, my God", Lin suddenly felt this sinking feeling on the pit of his stomach that had nothing to do with the dripping lamb chop he had for dinner. Flashes of Master Piandao teaching him the way of the sword, the calm hazel eyes of the man when he attacked him in a spar, the kindness in those same hazel when the master comforted him when Lin was homesick but was too proud to show it, the light of wisdom they shone as he imparted Lin the wisdom of the Elements, the smile he never successfully hid completely when Lin fooled around while sparring with Fat or one of the senior students, his words, his voice… the memory of his master. "W-what happened to Master Piandao?"

"Oh, he's okay", Yuu shrugged lightly, not noticing Lin's devastation. "General Iroh stepped in from what I've heard. He was forced to close down his school though."

"Oh, thank the spirits", Lin breathed out in relief, then he stopped, feeling awkward, and muttered apologetically. "Um, I mean, I'm… sorry…?"

Both Yuu and Zhong merely shrugged.

"Wait", Lin frowned. "What about the others? The students?"

"We got news that your father, General Jiang, as a gesture of apology bought them an island", Zhong stated plainly as if saying that Jiang merely bought them an umbrella or something.

"…Wait, an _island_?" Lin gawked.

"Yeah, remember the Mansion Island, south of Shu Jing?" Yuu grinned. "You know, that small island that nobody lives in, it has a large fortress on it."

"Wait, isn't that place haunted?" Lin asked again.

During clear days, one could see a small island south of Shu Jing from Piandao's tall towering estate, only ten minutes of ferry ride away: The Island of Dang Yan, better known as the Mansion Island. In the days of yore, when noblemen were fierce and mighty warriors, not flabby meek of snobs like now, and the Four Nations faced the common threat of piracy, a noble warrior of Fire Nation was tasked with the fortification of the eastern sea of Fire Nation. This nobleman built a mighty mansion on the small island near Shu Jing. During that era, architectural characteristics of a mansion were not much different than those of a military fort, albeit a mansion was bound to have more comfortable bedrooms and carpeted floor.

This unnamed nobleman proved himself to be quite a fearsome pirate hunter until one mysterious incident ended the lives of him and his entire family. If the rumors were to be believed, the nobleman, his wife, and two young children were all found dead inside the locked master bedroom. His army fell apart soon after and the fort-mansion that once stood as the beacon of hope for those of oppressed by piracy fell into shambles. Rumor has it, the restless and vengeful spirit of the nobleman and his family walked the halls of the mansion still, trying to find anyone to whom they could tell how and why they died.

At least that was what the twins Yung and Rei told Lin…

…during one of their night camping out…

…while they were telling scary stories over the campfire…

Man, Lin felt so stupid….

"Never mind", Lin sighed. "So, why an island?"

"Because Fire Lord Ozai sent an Imperial Decree ordering Master Piandao to close down his school but…" Yuu grinned slyly. "The decree didn't say anything about Master Piandao being prohibited to ever teach again."

"Oh, so he reopened a new school on the Mansion Island?" Lin laughed. Hey, that was clever.

"No, Shin did."

"…eh?"

"Before he closed down his school, Master Piandao declared all senior students master", Yuu smiled awkwardly, somewhat apologetically. Zhong added to Lin a flat. "Except for you."

Lin narrowed his eyes at the Viper. But, he understood. Lin had only been learning for a few months from Piandao while the Yuu, Zhong, and the others had spent years under Piandao's tutelage.

"So now, Master Piandao stays in Shu Jing, still making swords and taking in occasional student who wished to learn but most of them only get to stay for a short period of time", Yuu explained. "Shin leads the new school as the master instructor, the twins followed him there. Ren couldn't leave his field so he stays in Shu Jing but he shows up from time to time to help out."

"Fat stays with Master Piandao", Zhong added; it was met by nonchalant shrug from both Lin and Yuu.

"Whoa, an island…" Lin shook his head in disbelief. "And Shin's the master of the school."

"With the twins as fulltime instructors", Yuu added.

"Yeah…", then Lin's mouth opened wide. "_What_?"

"I know, I know", Yuu too had never gotten over his initial shock of this particular piece of information. "But, Shin can't really handle a hundred students on his own, right?"

"Yeah, but _the twins_? _Fulltime_ instructors?" Lin gawked. "Oh, man… I have doomed our school…"

"They're not so bad!" ever the kindhearted one, Yuu defended the twins. However, withering stares from the other two broke his initially feeble attempt.

"Yeah, well… but, from what I've heard they're doing fine", Yuu continued with a lighter mood.

"Yeah… but the twins? _Fulltime_?" Lin shook his head in disbelief. "What's next? You've been made an honorary member of some Earth Kingdom indigenous tribe!" he pointed a frantic finger at Yuu and to Zhong. "And you're some sort of Earth Kingdom noble or something."

To his incredulous bewilderment, Yuu and Zhong exchanged an awkward glance.

####

—Spring, Si Wong Desert, months ago—

"_For your courage and honor, Master Yuu of Fire Nation", the sandbender elder spoke to the crowd with Yuu clad in desert tribal clothing at his side; on the latter's forehead had been drawn traditional patterns of the tribe. "You are now a member of the Hummi Tribe!"_

—Summer, the thriving town of Nish Ta, Garsai Region of Fire Nation Colony—

_In front of the mansion that, under normal circumstances should be called a palace (it even had a moat!), countless of maids, manservants, and guards stood along the two sides of the lavish green-marbled walkway leading to the palace; all the guards, maids, and manservants were wearing their best uniforms, spic and span, even the blade of the guards' halberds sparkled under the bright summer sun. They bowed uniformly and echoed their greetings: "Welcome home, Young Master Zhong."_

_On the end of the walkway stood Zhong the Viper, deadpan as always, with Yoku and Yuu, whose mouths were opened wide._

####

Having exhausted his cognitive strength, Lin could simply stare blankly at the pair.

"I saved the chief's daughter from buzzard-wasps", grinned Yuu guiltily while Zhong gave an ever nonchalant. "Mom's a Bei Fong."

* * *

It was night and he was hungry. But, Zuko did not care. He was still angry at… everyone! Zuko was angry at Master Piandao for his nonsensical— well, maybe not nonsensical, thought Zuko fairly, just _annoying_ method of teaching. Even more, Zuko was angry at Master Jian Wu, the Imperial Sword Instructor he had been practicing his swordsmanship with; Master Jian Wu decided to take a leave out of the blue, leaving Zuko stranded with no one else to train his sword with. Zuko was also angry at Uncle Iroh who recommended Piandao to Zuko, saying that since Piandao had been Jian Wu's pupil at some point, it would be just the same if Zuko trained with Piandao. Well, reality was not that kind. With Master Jian Wu, it was all about the forms and the endless repetition of them which Zuko actually enjoyed. Training with Piandao? The first thing the swordmaster did was confiscating Zuko's broadsword.

His stomach growled again, but Zuko was persistent. He was a Fire Prince, dang it! He had honor to retain. He would not be the one who threw the first towel. He simply would not! He would rather lie there, hungry and cold, but burning with anger.

On the other side of the building, Piandao was meditating. He was calm, he was no one, he was one, he was none, he was—

_Oh, for the love of…_

The event earlier that day still irked him so much though he managed to hide it. The two pieces of the snapped stick he put on the floor in front of him did nothing to calm his temper. Piandao had long abandoned the aggressive manifestation of anger, yes, but it did not mean he felt no anger anymore. He was, after all, still a human being. And emotions to us mortals are like red pepper sprinkle to fireflakes: simply inseparable.

Never before any of his students reacted so poorly to his methods. Well, yeah, sure, his methods were not as direct as the ones employed by the myriad of swordmasters out there. But, was it so wrong to want to make sure his students strengthen their basics first before allowing them training with real blades. I mean, real blades are dangerous! So, the pompous prince had been training with Master Jian Wu; big whoop! He had never trained with Piandao before and was it so wrong if Piandao wanted to use his own methods? Piandao was a bona fide swordmaster himself. He had his own methods, ones that had been tried and tested over hundreds of students.

Taking a deep sigh, Piandao closed his eyes once more. He hates dealing with royalties and the only thing worse than a royalty is a royalty who is a scion of a sovereign; they are snobbish, too proud for their own good, and treat people like dirt (though, he made an exception for Iroh). Just look at Fire Prince Zuko; testy, impatient, no self-control whatsoever, unable to just sit and listen.

Back to his meditation, Piandao tried to ignore the burning anger that had started to consume him from the inside.

Those in the Earth Kingdom were not doing so hot either. Although, comparatively speaking, Megumi was not in that category. Because, despite the lateness of night she was still awake, lying there on her bed with fluttery heart. Her temporary tent mate, Yoku, was sleeping soundly across the tent. Megumi smiled at her direction, but not at her. The nurse was simply having a hard time keeping the fire that was burning inside her down. But, she did not mind; it made her smile happily.

Corporal Rha-Mi, having given up his coconut bra for a more cold-breeze-repellant thick fur coat, though he still wore his headdress, walked across the compound with stomps harder than he needed. A spear held in his hand, low curses flowed freely. Clearly, he was having a hard time keeping the flame of rage in him in check.

Father Shu was kneeling in his tent, his long beads held in his hands. He did not remember how long he had prayed but he had no intention to stop. His fingers sore, his knees in pain, his legs numb up to his waist; but stop, he would not. He prayed and prayed, prayed for absolution, for strength, for opportunities, for chances… for use. Our young priest felt useless; and he prayed for his flame that had begun to stop burning.

Unlike the Father, Major Senshi Mor was engulfed in his flame; burning with anger of such intensity he had never felt before as he sat on his desk in the recovery room. Sneaking words onto the parchment on his desk, pausing only when a nurse walked pass by, he composed a very passionate complaint about the camp. It started as a simple complain on the misconduct of a certain cross-dressing corporal, the letter grew longer and longer until it involved each and every member of the 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital; inefficient commanding officer, insubordinate officers, meek ineffective chaplain, under qualified interns, unmilitary personnel, and his request for a strong action to be taken by the higher-ups. Finishing up with his letter, he smirked, satisfied of what this burning feeling had driven him to do. Time for retribution was at hand.

Lieutenant Colonel Haoqi Gun lied unconscious on his bed; mixture of exhaustion and drunken stupor sent him into a self-induced state of comatose. His sweet dream, in which he was having a picnic with his wife and daughters in a vast field of jade lilac was rudely interrupted by his company clerk who barged in without announcing himself and shook him awake without his permission. As if the hangover and the cold air were not torture enough, the urgent message his company clerk gave him completed his misery. Lieutenant Colonel Haoqi Gun hated the war and at the point he could do nothing but let the fire burn him from the inside.

Morning came too quick for Lin. He opened his tired eyes, cursing a series of repetitive 'dreams' that kept him waking up at night; a war in which he clashed swords with unusual looking warriors wielding strange weapons, a dark swamp where sunlight did not exist, flashes of pearl white fire, deep smell of moss in a swamp he tried to navigate through, a tall tower where all hope was lost, a swamp where he took a blast of fire on his chest, and back again to the tower where he was ready to embrace their deaths in one desperate step over the railing.

Lin took a deep breath and placed a hand on his chest; it was heavy there and his eyes were wet. Shaking his head, he got down from his bed and stretched. Making his way out as silently as possible, not wanting to wake his sleeping bunkmates, he exited the tent and was greeted by a cold breeze of wind and sounds of the men whistling and laughing lecherously at the bulletin board. Somebody probably stole some nurse's undergarment and nailed it up there again. Yawning and deciding to do his duty as Head Security, he paced his way there to break the small crowd. As he got there and got a glimpse of what caused the gathering of such group, however, his eyes grew wide and he was burnt.

* * *

**Author's note:**

1. Jan Ga, from 'janga', Swahili for 'disaster'

2. Fushang, from Mandarin 'fushang' (負傷) which means wounded

3. Xing, a Mandarin word which means 'star'.

4. Honra, a Portuguese word that means 'honor'

5. Nishta, a Hindi for 'loyalty'

Mr. Li (not his real name) is the same strategist responsible for the decimation of General Hocho's battalion when the Rough Rhinos hired him. Being freelance, he could work for anyone who can afford him. Notice how he sucked up to various people, pretending that they came from the same hometown or home region. I kind of based his youth and tendency towards astronomy on Zhuge Liang, a historical war strategist in ancient China. It is said that Zhuge Liang was quite an astronomer himself, among his many talents, and had used this particular skill at least twice in his career to predict a fog and a strong gust of shifting wind that he used to his advantage.

I will write a chapter in the sister fic about Shin and the twins adventure in rebuilding their school in the haunted Mansion Island, but I don't think I will start anytime soon. I have the story in mind, I have the start and I know how to finish it. It's the stuff in between that is still pretty much a huge blank. It will have some thrill and mystery in it. Let's see how it'll turn out. Pray for me… :)

I have pretty much finished the last chapters for this Book. Still need more polishing, and double and triple checking. More about Azula and Iroh in the coming chapters.

What else about this chapter…? That's it, I guess.

To TwistedGem. Yes, I'm late, sorry. :) You can blame Skyrim and Assassin's Creed. XD

I think I'll wait some more before I write about Korra; I read somewhere that there might be a second season. I'm thinking maybe Granpapa Lin may still have a thing or two to teach the young whippersnapper if he is not dead by then. But, who knows. It depends on how Azula turns out on the canon storyline. The third part of _'the Promise'_ should hold some light. I should really get my claws on those comics…

Uh-oh… more characters coming… *looks away guiltily*

Nah, think of it as a… er, brain work-out. I think. :)

Thanks for the review, and happy reading!

Have a nice life, everyone!


	78. Chapter 77

**Chapter 77 – Burning Down, Falling Out, Part 2**

**-Downed-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

_She moved in his arms, he looked down and smiled at her: his angel, fallen and broken. He stood up as softly as he could. He did not want to wake her for every moment of peace, including the ones found in sleep, was a blessing for her. Standing up, with her cradled softly in his arms, he closed his eyes and breathed slowly. _

_They were alone… in all possible meaning._

_Nobody could help them. Those who could wouldn't. The Royal Family was willing but there was not much they could do; especially when the world was breathing down their necks, demanding them to round up and properly punished war criminals and others who had been Ozai's closest supporters; heck, the therapist would not even let them see her, or her to see them, since any interaction might trigger unpleasant reactions. _

_His own family had long disowned him, cutting all ties with him; they would not be able to help either. The Avatar was reluctant but being a naturally kindhearted person that he was, there would come time when he would find it in his heart to forgive; but even then, there was nothing he could do. The Northern Water Tribe knew not of him and the things that he had done for them, hence they felt no obligation to help; not even Pakku could persuade them, especially since she belonged to the Nation and faction that had harmed their patron spirits so. As for Katara, none held a grudge like her. _

_Nobody could help her and there was only so much he could do. He would calm her down when she was having a fit, provide comfort when she could not find any, stay with her always for she deserved loneliness no more. Above all, he loved her the best he could. _

_But, that was not helping much; that was not enough…_

_He needed their help, she needed their help…_

_He opened his eyes and looked up to the full moon above the clear autumn sky. He smiled at it, sadly. Had he not done enough for the world? Had he not sacrificed enough? Had he not endured enough? Bled enough? Been hurt enough? Stained his hands enough? Was it all not enough? Was it not enough that the whole world would so readily abandon him and deny him this one selfless request? He had stood up for the world, he had endured the brunt of the forces that would do the world harm; was it not enough…? Had it all amount to so little… had it all been for nothing?_

_The wind blew fiercely on top of the tower they were on. She grunted lowly, whimpered even. He held her tighter; he pressed his lips on the top of her head resting on his chest. By the spirits, she shall not suffer any more! Not when he was with her! _

_But, there was so little he could do, so little he could give. He gave peace, he gave comfort, he gave love… but he could not give salvation. He could not help her fight her demons, though he would so readily face them all for her by himself and perish in the process if he had to._

_On the rampart of the tall tower he stood, fierce wind battering his face. He looked down to his sleeping angel and shed a single bitter tear. He cursed his powerlessness, he cursed the ungrateful and cruel world… the world he had bled for, he had hurt for, he had been hurt, he had lost so much for… _

_He had always loved the wind; it calmed him and the gentle caress of the air always made him smile. And so it did that night, the wind calmed him that night… and he smiled to the night sky._

_That night of full moon where he stood on the rampart of the tall tower, holding his broken angel in his arms; that night he looked down to her, smiled, and took one step over the railing… _

"_I love you…"_

* * *

Lin shot up with a loud gasp. He felt an intense pressure on his chest. The first breath he took was so painful he nearly choked. He let himself calm down and, gradually, sensations returned to his body. That was when he felt the wet on his face; it was tear…

Another weird 'dream', he sighed, wiping his face. They had become more and more cryptic and annoyingly depressing lately. _Why can't it be about those two?_ He silently demanded. Those two, Hothead and Snowflake… Still cryptic and nonsensical, but at least dreaming about them had been more entertaining. As Lin stretched and yawned himself into his usual garb, however, he realized how silly he sounded.

Smiling sourly at himself, he took his jade flute, put it on its usual place, tucked on his sash behind his back, and he tiptoed his way out of his tent. Yuu and Zhong were still sound asleep. The morning sun hit his face on the first step he took outside, the first sunny morning in this ever cloudy Earth Kingdom autumn; it did not make him feel better. He let go of a short sharp gasp, feeling his chest weighting him down like lead for he shared the man's pain; so much was his pain, his knees gave up and he had to support himself on the tent door to keep himself from toppling over. Agni, he thought, how could anyone endure such pain?

Alone, abandoned, unappreciated… and helpless…

Everywhere the man turned, he saw no way out. And he was not trying to save his own skin, too; he was trying to bring the one he loved salvation. It was a selfless act of love and mercy. And, for reason unknown to him, Lin knew that the man had pleaded and begged everywhere for help. Lin certainly did not envy the man. He knew little of his dreams still and a part of him, a more logical one, still clung to the notion that all of those had been the products of his own helplessness and somewhat active imagination on top of his insomnia. However, Lin still looked up the sun above and offered a silent prayer for the man. May he find peace for her, he closed his eyes and prayed.

_And may the man himself find peace he deserves_…

Feeling only a tinge bit lighter, still feeling the pain, he made his ritualistic morning pilgrimage to the latrine. The only things that distracted him were Bullhorn waving good morning at him from his watchtower and the loud communal giggling and laughing from the direction of the bulletin board.

Judging from the several selected words of lecherous nature Lin caught (which shall not be repeated here), our young lieutenant surmised that it had something to do with female personnel's anatomy. Probably just Spear and Trik playing nasty tricks on the nurses again, like the time when they nailed Nurse Xiao Li's undies on the board. The nurses, knowing full well the hazard of being a part of the army of this patriarchal society, had grown themselves numb to these sorts of joke. But Lin, born and raised a gentleman, decided to take the moral high ground. Making his way towards the crowd, he dispersed them and was about to take down whatever it was the men were drooling over when, preceded by the miss of a heartbeat, the pain he shared with the man from his dream was replaced by shock which transformed into feral rage in a split second.

Aligned on top of the dirtiest drawing of a female body was the portrait of Lian, his mother.

"Hey, someone you know, Lieutenant?" Private Ming, the stable boy, grinned, completely oblivious to the rage in the young lieutenant's amber orbs. "Pretty face. Your sister or something? Why don't you intro—"

The rest of the dirty minded soldier's sentence was lost as his face collided with the younger lieutenant's fist.

"She's my _mother_, you freak!" Lin screamed. Had it not for the rest of the men moving in to hold him in place, he would have jumped onto the downed private and clobbered the very life out of him.

The men's attempt to calm the young man down was soon swept away by panic; Private Ming failed to respond to Corporal Rha-Mi's attempt to rouse him up.

* * *

Though she was a royalty, and painfully aware of the fact, Fire Princess Azula yawned like a proud peasant would. She felt the tingling caused by Uncle Iroh's disapproving look but she did not care. It was quite early in the morning for a royalty and a ten-years-old like her, and she felt that simply by being awake at such hour had earned her the right to yawn loud and wide.

"What? Nobody can see us", she protested against Iroh's undelivered admonition. "Besides, I'm tired", she argued with eyes half-opened. Without further ado, she slumped to her side, leaning towards her uncle's soft and squishy shoulder; she took a deep relaxing breath as she welcomed the blood flow into her folded legs, sitting in a now leaning seiza, and the warm welcoming embrace of slumber. The royal palanquin they were in was rocking up and down softly, making it easier for her to fall asleep.

"You have gotten taller", Iroh unexpectedly commented, extending a hand to embrace his niece's shoulder and was painfully aware of how Azula's pointy headpiece was threatening to poke his cheek. "Up until last winter, I could sit you up on my lap."

"I can still sit on your lap", Azula yawned, eyes half-closed; inside, she felt that she was smiling.

"Yes", Iroh sighed; even Azula felt the loneliness akin to a father's letting go of his kid in the atmosphere. "But, then again, I wasn't talking about weight. It is— ow, ow, ouch! _Sorry, sorry_!"

"I'm not fat!"

"I never said you were! Ouw! Okay, sorry! Sorry!"

Huffing, Azula let go of the old man's fleshy thigh. Going back once more to her resting post, this time she slung her around Iroh's waist, gripping her fingers on the man's garb. She took a mischievous smile as she felt the top of her top-knot pushing against what she realized as her uncle's cheek every time the palanquin rocked.

Iroh himself was chuckling softly. Peaceful moment with one's family is to be enjoyed; such is the truth of the world. Wrapping his arm around the Princess' shoulder once more, with his free hand he took the girl's right hand that was griping his robe chest and grasped it. "You should do something about your nails", he braved another comment. "They're long."

"The maids did that", Azula whispered in her half-sleep, not minding her uncle inspecting her now talon-like nails. "They said I'm old enough to have my fingernails done."

It is a common practice in the Fire Nation among the noblewomen to have long, pointed, and well-manicured fingernails. According to popular beliefs, it was for self-defense purposes.

"I will never understand women", lamented Iroh, much to Azula's giggling delight. "They are like the silver clouds; shifting, ever-changing… deep mystery wrapped inside the fine layers of beauty."

"…_Now_, I'm asleep", Azula mumbled again, another chuckle from Iroh.

They spent the next several minutes in silence; a niece napping on her uncle's shoulder, an uncle holding his niece in his arm and holding her hand. It was hard for Iroh to believe that this little girl would grow up to be—

No, no! Iroh quickly shook the thought off. This is Azula! He practically screamed at himself. This is Azula! This is your niece, Azula! He inadvertently gripped the girl's hand tighter. He loved Azula, he knew that much. He loved his niece. But would it be enough for days to come? Would he love her as the Young Dragon did; would Iroh love Azula enough to be willing to lie down his life for her just like Lin had when he put that sword on his own neck? That is a mystery even to one such as him.

"Princess?" Iroh whispered; Azula shifted a little and grunted. "Princess, I love you. You know that, right?"

"I know that, Uncle", half-awake, Azula snuggled closer; she did not let go of her uncle's hand. An _'I love you, too'_ nearly escaped her mouth. Even in the half-asleep state she was, she could not help being vigilant against such _weak_ emotion. Terrifying indeed the reign her father had taken in her life; even more terrifying was the fact that she barely noticed those words trying to form and be heard, and that she felt no guilt for not reciprocating Iroh's words appropriately like she would so readily do when she was younger. Iroh seemed to be oblivious of the now miniscule conflict in the young girl's heart.

"That's good to hear", dodging the princess' hair ornament, he landed a peck on the top of Azula's head.

The future is a mystery, even to one such as him. At that moment, Iroh decided to put his stock on the mystery side of life.

* * *

Sunlight barely shone through the muddy grey sky. Around this time, especially after spirits-knows-how-many hours of surgery the previous night, Haoqi Gun would usually be found snoring the light away. News from his company clerk, who was pale as paper as he frantically shook the officer awake, had jolted life into him instantly. A miracle, in his opinion, but not something he would want to make a habit of.

After all, how would Haoqi explain to his superiors that an incident occurred where his Head Security nearly killed an enlisted man with one punch? Starting from when and why the incident happen, all the way to how in the name of Great Mother Earth a fourteen years old boy could shatter a grown-up man's cranium with a single punch.

Entering the hospital building with half-sprint and Rabbit on his tail, he quickly made his way to the scrub room and prepared himself to enter the sterile operating room. Putting his surgical gown and mask, he strode inside. A single table was occupied by Private Ming being worked on by a sweaty and frantic pair of surgeons. Spear and Trik had never been so focused on a case; Nurses Wen Li and Jen were barely able to keep up. Sergeant Chim, the anesthetist was not doing better himself.

"Dear Mother of Earth", Haoqi muttered as he got close and peeked on the damage the private had sustained. "Looks like someone clobbered his skull with a sledgehammer."

"A simple plain punch, Colonel", Sergeant Chim, who was among the crowd at the bulletin board, explained. He went on to describe the incident that had occurred only a short fifteen minutes ago, which caused Private Ming to grace the room they were in with his wound and Lieutenant Lin to confine himself in his tent.

While the three surgeons and their team stood their ground against Death, Lieutenant Lin finally realized why the hand-to-hand combat style practiced by the Fire Nation Secret Squad of Espionage and Assassination was called 'Death's Touch'. One more thing that he discovered, or rediscovered, was that anger, boys and girls, anger… fury, _rage_ is one of the most overwhelming emotions a man can experience. Rage clouded his better judgment and filled his head with only one thought: Senshi was in his tent last night.

A fresh wave of anger fueled his rampage through the camp.

* * *

Magnanimity is a trait of a true Fire Prince. Fire Prince Zuko was proud of his heritage, of his bloodline, of his status. He might be a mere twelve years old but he was a proud Fire Prince. Uncle Iroh often told him of what a great teacher Piandao was. Zuko had decided to give the crazy old man a second chance; Piandao, that is.

So, putting on his obedient student, repentant disciple mask, he had apologized to Piandao early in the morning and now was in the middle of resuming his usual morning exercise of calligraphy. He copied down the intricate strokes of the '_Book of Changes'_ expertly, displaying his superior command of literature befitting those of a Fire Prince. Piandao threw him short glances every now and then, making sure the prince did what he was told with the right attitude, all the while trying to sort his own mixed feeling about having the boy as a disciple.

It is not to be said that Piandao did not appreciate Zuko's gesture of humility. To apologize for something you know is not wrong is not an easy thing to do. A student throwing temper tantrum over his training regimen would not be a first for Piandao. Those students would always believe that the reason they failed was because Piandao stinks and would never attribute their failure to their own inability to cope with the training. That was one of the reasons why Piandao always tried to avoid cryptic words and confusing advices, and 'grope in the dark' kind of training. He would never fail to explain meanings and purposes of his training before putting anyone through them.

But, Piandao was wise. Not that it was awfully hard to notice the hostile silent hanging around Zuko. The boy was still upset. Now, should Piandao continued with his methods, knowing full well that it would precipitate yet another negative reaction from Zuko? Really, he hated dealing with royalty. Just being a royalty would make a student so much harder to handle. It was the era where students' respect towards their master is expected by social norms; but, so does the respect one such as Piandao must show to the member of the nobilities. Two societal sense of respect colliding, none were willing to back down. None were willing to admit that they were having issues. Yes, Piandao was wise. But, even one such as him has pride; the pride of a swordmaster, of a teacher, of a Fire Nation.

Deciding to deliver the first probe, hiding behind his intention to check up on his disciple's progress, Piandao took his eyes off his book and cleared his throat, startling Zuko and causing the boy to add an unnecessarily long stoke on his no longer perfect calligraphy. "How are you doing?"

Zuko shot him a glare the likes which no student should show his master, let alone a respectable Fire Prince to an honorable swordmaster. "I'm doing fine", Zuko managed to reply through his gritting teeth.

"Which chapter are you on?" asked Piandao again. In his own struggle to keep his temper in check, for he still had not forgotten nor forgiven Zuko's rather violent outburst the day before, Piandao failed to notice Zuko's rather unfavorable response.

"I'm on the last pages of the second chapter", Zuko replied as calmly as possible, feeling a very rough lump in his throat as he added. "Master."

"Very good", Piandao nodded, managing a smile that, in his somewhat pissed off state, Zuko caught as a smug insulting smirk. "When you are done", Piandao continued. "We will try a new form of training."

"Really?" a wave of hopeful anticipation swept Zuko into grinning up. "Are we going to practice sword fighting now?"

"No", Piandao said flatly. Zuko's grin melted into a scowl.

Grumbling a bit, the boy continued with his calligraphy with even less spirit than before. Now, _this_ Piandao noticed. Shaking his head in disbelief, Piandao returned to his book. Not even the philosophically comical '_Discourse of a Spiritualist and an Intellectualist'_, the book he was reading, could cheer him up.

* * *

It was huge relief when the palanquin stopped. The one-sided extra weight Azula added on his folded legs the whole fifteen minutes ride from the palace to the pier was quite something for a man of his size and age. The first step he took, he could not remember if his lower extremities had ever felt this numb before. Sighing, he welcomed the grinning princess as the girl leaped down the other side of the vehicle and circled around to his side; Iroh could not help but laugh as Azula practically skidded next to him.

"Come", he said. Such a funny feeling; the last time they were walking side by side like this, Iroh would put his hand on her back, caressing the back of her head with almost no extra movement at all. Now, slinging his hand around the girl, he would reach her shoulder easily with no more need to stoop down. Just like Zuko and his sudden growth spurt, kids sure grew up fast nowadays.

Walking towards the Royal Escort ship, Azula unexpectedly glommed onto her uncle; she even welcomed the old man's embrace as they walked in each other's arm, giggling. Yes, our princess was happy. Finally, she was free (momentarily) from the twin crones of firebending teachers! No annoyingly creepy finishing each other's sentences, no perfectly and almost telepathically, overtly naturally synchronized walking and movements, no infuriating instructions that came with no visual demonstration in any way. What's more; Zuko was in Shu Jing to learn from Master Piandao for an indefinite amount of time, which means that at least for the duration of her break from Li and Lo, she would have Uncle Iroh all to herself. Maybe now, she would finally be able to surprise him with her newly perfected, almost autodidactic fire finger jabs technique. She knew that if she played her cards right, she could persuade Uncle Iroh to teach her some higher level techniques. That would show those old crones the next time they train!

"My, how pretty", Uncle Iroh halted, eyes widened in delight as he caught the sight of colorful merchandise on a nearby souvenir kiosk. "Maybe we should get something for your brother."

"How about this?" Azula impishly suggested, picking up a large rubber pinchy-tarantula. Iroh was grinning inside when he playfully slapped the girl's hand.

"This is more like it", said Iroh, picking up a blue oni mask. He recognized the likeness of the enigmatic 'Blue Spirit' from children stories. "You know, for the next time he plays soldier", he chuckled at this, reminding himself of the time he caught Zuko attacking a horde of invisible enemies with his saber in his room. Turning to Azula, the old man asked. "What are you getting him?"

Azula, with a most serious impassive deadpan look, picked up a doll wearing the latest Fire Nation fashion for girls; the doll had its hair done in buns similar to Mai's. Answering Iroh's narrowed eyes, Azula argued with. "What? Zuzu's a prince; he needs a damsel to distress."

"Something else", Iroh suggested, but when Azula did not budge, he lightly added/threatened. "Or I'll buy that doll for _you_."

"Here, this, take this!" she quickly picked up another gift; a pack of ginger ball candy. Catching her uncle's twitching right eye, she swiftly replaced it with a handsome armlet made of engraved deep-brown plates of hardwood. Hugging the old man's arms, she delivered a sweet smile she knew would melt him into a bowl honey ginger pudding. Sure enough, Iroh flicked her forehead lightly, laughing a little before he traded the two items with several pieces of silver. Not before he decided to annoy the girl a little by buying her a new hair ornament, though; ruby rhinestone with the shape of three-pronged Fire Nation emblem. "If you're old enough for long fingernails, you should be old enough for this."

Azula was still using her tiny old red two-pronged ornament. Fire Nation culture has a rather complicated rules regarding hair ornaments for girls in regards to their level of maturity and social status. Noble daughters such as Azula wear small feminine two-pronged ornament in their childhood and graduate into three-pronged as they get older until the day of their marriage. A year after wedlock they would be expected to wear a larger two-pronged ornament.

Azula did not know why she blushed when Uncle Iroh took off her ornament and put on the new one. It was a mixed feeling inside her that she was not familiar with; it felt… _good_… light, free, like she was floating in the air or sprinting downhill against the wind. It was almost enough to overwhelm the mean voice calling her '_weak!'_; but topped with Uncle's warm kiss on her forehead, it was definitely enough to make her at least ignore the voice.

"Ah, my little princess is growing up", Azula heard the crack in her uncle's voice as she tiptoed and hugged his neck.

* * *

Father Shu was in his tent, sitting and reading the bible as he would this early in the morning. Each morning, right after he washed and before heading out for breakfast, he had the habit of reading the Holy Scripture. Once, Trik asked him about that and the young priest said that he would like to eat with a thankful heart. Sadly, in this windy cloudy autumn morning, Father Shu was not so thankful.

The comforting words of the scripture brought no comfort, his green eyes darted to a rather large prayer beads hanging on his wall, right above the head of his bed. The most striking difference from the one he was wearing around his neck was the size of the beads; the one on the wall had beads easily the size of a very small apple or a very large grape, unlike the standardized size of around a regular macadamia nut. Beads of such large size are the kind worn by the warrior monks of the Eastern Region, which, should the need arise, could also be utilize as a last resort weapon of self-defense. That bead and a monk's spade he had wrapped and hidden under his bed were the only memento he had of his earlier allegiance to the Sohei Sect of Warrior Monks.

He sighed at the memory. He thought that he could better serve the spirits by abandoning the way of warrior monks that he could never truly embrace. He thought that by enlisting in the army, he would be able to bring comfort and guidance to those who truly needed them. But the fact had not been that kind. He had served the army for a good three years and thinking back to all those who had come to him for help, those to whom he brought the Great Mother's love and guidance; just how many had he truly saved?

Father Shu sighed deeply, giving up on finding solace in the good book. Putting the book down, he moved to his bed, took off his long beads and held it in his hands, and was about to kneel down when a ruckus tinged with a high-pitch scream broke his contemplation. Quickly, our priest ran out. He made it out just in time to stop the young lieutenant from killing the major.

* * *

Ozai sat on his Fire Throne, in his empty Throne Room. Closing his eyes, he gathered his thoughts of the many important issues regarding Fire Nation's interest, _his_ Nation's interests. General Jiang's suspension following his failure, General Zong's demotion due to his incompetence (and Iroh's hand in the man being made a general in the first place), Colonel Shinu's call of distress regarding shortage of supply in Pohuai Stronghold, Colonel Shimazu's desertion and the many ways Ozai would make him pay, Admiral Chen's idiotic suggestion of bringing his whole Eastern Fleet to circle around to the Southern Region of Earth Kingdom which resulted in half of his armada lost in the storm, and, of course, Commander Zhao's ever-increasing effort to capture the three traitors of the Nation and how he kept failing spectacularly.

"Yes?" without opening his eyes, Ozai growled. A dark-clad figure kneeling in front of him replied ever so smoothly.

"She is still in Omashu, My Lord", the figure behind the white oni mask replied with a whisper that echoed in the vast empty room. "We have our agents tracking her every moves. Will there be any change to this, My Lord?"

"No", Ozai decided coldly. "Continue observation."

"Yes, My Lord", the Byakko nodded slightly. "As for the matter of Lin, the twenty sixth; he has integrated safely with the 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital as Head Security. Our spy reported that he is doing quite a good job avoiding suspicion."

The spy caught nothing but the Fire Lord's grunt; with the flame casting deep shadow on the man's upper body it was hard to tell if he was pissed or amused.

"Continue observation", Ozai repeated his earlier order.

"Yes, My Lord", the Byakko replied. "As for General Iroh and Princess Azula; it appears that General Iroh requested Ladies Li and Lo's permission to take Princess Azula on a short break to Shu Jing. We have reports that Prince Zuko is currently there, learning under Piandao."

Ozai arched a brow at this; Zuko's absence would explain why the mood around the palace had been quite favorable for him the last few days. But, Iroh bringing Azula on a vacation to Shu Jing where Zuko currently was; Ozai was intrigued by this. Iroh still had not given up on his intention to make a happy out of this family, it seemed.

"Continue observation", he repeated again. But this time, even the Byakko sensed the glee in the monarch's tone.

"Yes, My Lord", the Byakko said again, calm as ever. "That is all I have to report, My Lord."

"Go", Ozai dismissed him.

Closing his eyes again, Ozai added the new information into his contemplation. Keeping tabs on Omashu had been for something akin to a mild curiosity, much like why he kept such close tabs on the brat Lin when the brat was now Wuxin's responsibility. So, Ozai ignored them for now. The one about Iroh and Azula, however… Strangely, Ozai was brought back to the memory of his childhood when his pet wolf-husky that had been loyal to him and only him suddenly switched allegiance to his big brother Iroh after Iroh spent a few days taking care of it while Ozai came down with a cold. Would the same thing happen to Azula?

Smirking, Ozai dismissed the foolishly absurd notion. Azula might, oh, what's the word, _like_ Iroh but the girl _loved_ Ozai, _adored_ Ozai, _worshipped_ Ozai. There shall be no way Iroh could take Ozai's place in Azula's life, let alone turn her against Ozai completely. If the formerly ever-present Ursa could not do so, how in the name of Agni the mostly-absent Iroh could accomplish such feat? The battle, if ever it can be called such, had already been won by Ozai.

* * *

Senshi spent most of his night on the supply tent, rereading and editing his long letters all night. When he was finally sure the words had formed sentences respectable enough to do justice of the gravity of the matters he wanted to complain about, and also reflecting his (un)intelligence and (highly doubtable) superior command of literature, with all the appropriate military jargons and whatnot thrown in, he emerged from the supply tent where he had been hiding after his shift in the recovery room had ended. He found it surprising that the sun had risen.

Striding fast towards the clerk office, not forgetting to bark at a group of men who idled around in group, he was just walking past the bulletin board right outside the main building clerk office exit when he was involuntarily being shoved against the board as Corporal Rha-Mi, whom Senshi was ready to reprimand for the creep's was not wearing uniform while on duty, and Corporal Tong nearly rammed into him; the two lower rankings were carrying a large cauldron filled with pickled radish with their spears. Inappropriate use of military equipment, on top of all!

Senshi was about to open his mouth when something flew past his head, grazed his cheek, and embedded itself with a loud sharp thud on the board behind him. The major turned around and caught the glimpse of a thin small projectile type weapon on the board. Next, someone pushed him violently to the board, pinning him against it, making him scream. Then he heard the most improper words being spat at him by a very angry sounding Lieutenant Lin; even in the bewildered state that he was in, a tiny part of Senshi admired how eloquently Lin insulted three generations of his family tree with but a handful carefully selected and furiously utilized words.

"I'm going to kill you for what you did, you son of a _*something unprintable*_", Lin shouted with his expression twisted by blind rage. Even Rha-Mi and Tong, who dropped their load and using their spears trapped Lin's arms behind his back, were having a great deal of trouble keeping the young lieutenant in place. "I'm going to KILL YOU!"

"Why? What did I do?" Senshi screamed like a little girl as he cringed into a ball and assumed a rare variant of upright armadillo position to protect himself.

Still burning, Lin roared like a wounded dragon; with pure raw strength no one his age should have, he snapped the two pole arms that were trapping his arms. Rha-Mi and Tong, thank be the Great Mother, were quick in catching Lin's raised arm. Turning to the pair corporals, Lin pushed them aside; he was completely unaware of how much his rage made him stronger. Senshi took the opportunity to run away. Lin gave chase and, taking delight at the sight of Senshi slipping in a small puddle of mud, he leaped forward with a pair of throwing daggers clenched between the fingers of his right hand. His dash was impeded by an earthen wall appearing from nowhere. Showcasing his superior athleticism, the young lieutenant leaped over the six feet tall wall and landed with a smooth roll without slowing down his dash. Behind the wall, Father Shu stood calmly despite his terrified pale face, shielding Senshi behind his back.

"Calm down, my son", Father Shu tried to make himself sound as calm as possible; he was trembling. "Please! Violence is not the answer."

"Get away, Father", Lin hissed; clenching his weapons tighter.

"No, my son", Father Shu's usual wispy voice was trembling with fear but, at the same time, it radiated with confidence. "Please, stop this. Stop before you do something you might regret."

"That filth does not deserve to live!" Lin leaped forward. A random male personnel in the form of Private Lung tackled him, knocking off Lin's knives in the collision. By instinct, Lin used the private's force to spin around and slam the man to the ground. Back to his target, Lin raised his first, focusing his chi in it; when he punched, however, Father Shu bended a boulder with a stomp. The priest caught the rock and held it against the trajectory of Lin's incoming fist; amazingly enough, Lin's right jab proved of superior strength. The boulder shattered at the impact. Shoving the priest aside, Lin once again was ready to pounce on the cowardly underhanded excuse of a major; Senshi was too petrified to even move.

The second after he roared and, with his bloody fist ready to claim a life, he dashed only to fall lifelessly as his face met the earth. He fell down face first as all sensation abandoned his limbs; on his back were several hair-thin needles sticking out. Standing few feet behind the young lieutenant, with hands outstretch for she was the one who had thrown the needles, was Rain.

Around that time, the commanding officer Haoqi Gun emerged from his tent, half-inebriated, half-asleep, and fully annoyed by the noise. He yelled out, "What's going on in here!", which none of those present could answer.

* * *

"I'm bored", Fire Princess Azula proudly declared to the world, sitting on the deck against the railing. Narrowed were her amber eyes when she realized her Uncle Iroh took a sip of his cup only to hide his amused smirk.

Picking herself off the floor, she walked ever so regally towards her uncle. Circling casually around the old man and his Pai Sho opponent on the deck, our princess stopped her pace right behind the old Dragon; her bright amber shone with a mischievous glint. Draping down upon her uncle back, she smirked as she broke Uncle Iroh's move and concentration. The retired high general sighed and grasped the girl's shoulder with his free hand; the other one still holding his rose tile and his old face still had his smile, but his focus had gone kaput.

Now, let's see… recounting his earlier steps, Iroh got his head back in the game: his White Lotus opener had met severe resistance from the captain of the Royal Procession's Sweeping Wave gambit. Iroh's subsequent Hazy Moon and Crimson Sky held strong against the captain's Grey Wolf and Southern Fang, though he was mildly surprised by the captain's unexpected move of transforming the two first degree gambits into a massive Lord Wang-Ti gambit in just two moves. The captain was a worthy opponent; bet he was pretty grey himself under his masked helmet, pondered Iroh. Now, taking the advantage of his shaky defense, Iroh could bait the captain with a rose tile in the middle region of the board, making it look like as if the general opted to transform his Crimson Sky into a Red Phoenix. Then, in the next move, Iroh could turn the table around by using his Hazy Moon to launch a small but effective Celestial Pearl Gate gambit to wreak havoc behind the captain's flank, and claim the victory with a Jade Arrow gambit. Ah, yes… High General Iroh had been known for his almost signatory aggressive stance in the battlefield; retired General Iroh still held on to it in the field of Pai Sho.

Now, if only that little swallow-monkey would stop blowing in his ear…

"Princess…" Iroh sighed in a light reprimanding tone, gripping the girl's arm around his neck.

"I'm bored", Azula whined, then protested. "Why can't we take a steam-powered ship? This ship is slow."

With a sharp irksome spirit, she glared at the main mast at her right. From the balcony of the second floor deck they were on, she glared at the deep-crimson sails waving gloriously under the strong autumn wind.

"A little time at sea is good for the soul", Iroh pointed out serenely; taking the advantage of the situation to put down his tile strategically. "Sea breeze (another tile), ocean air (another tile), the view of the waves and the ocean (thinking a counter move), the sky (another tile), and all that. A change from the usual routine is good; it gives one a fresh perspective… or a little time to sit back and relax."

"I wanna go home", Azula pouted, squeezing tighter. To this, Iroh gasped and jerked his head to the girl.

"Home? You want to go home?" Iroh could not believe his ears. "Do you have any idea what I have to go through to get you this break? Your teachers are not the kind souls they appear to be, you know."

Azula giggled and squeezed tighter; no, she did not know and did not want to know. All she did know was that Uncle Iroh suddenly dropped in on her training session yesterday and after it was over informed her that Zuko had been spending the last few weeks in Shu Jing, which explained why her mood had been good lately, and that Uncle Iroh had miraculously acquired Li and Lo's (or was it Lo and Li…) permission to take Azula on a vacation there for either two weeks or the remainder of autumn, depending on whether or not Iroh could find a way to drag the privilege on later.

"I'm still bored", Azula went back to her whining and blowing into Iroh's ear whenever he picked up a tile.

"Here, read this", Iroh pulled a small book from his sleeve; he had developed a habit of bringing a small book with him whenever he took Azula on an outing. Unbeknownst to him, Lu Ten and Lin had had the same habit but with cookies and candies respectively.

"Uncle", Azula pointed out after reading the fine prints on the back. "It says '16+'."

"What?" Iroh swiftly snatched it and checked for himself; well, the front cover said _'The Tales of the Red Flower Sword'_, which by the by was a rather popular and bloody horror novel but Iroh mistook it as of the action genre. "Oh my, I've been duped!"

* * *

Rabbit banged his fist on Haoqi's table three times. Clearing his throat, he announced. "We hereby begin the monthly morning officers meeting which was scheduled for this morning but had to be postponed until after this morning!"

"Good, sit down", Haoqi ordered sourly. The moment what looked like Senshi's lips parted, our colonel quickly snapped. "What the hell were you doing, you moron!"

"Wha— I resent _that_!" ever the (self-)righteous, Senshi went on the defensive. "Need I remind you that I was—"

"Shut up!" never before Haoqi displayed such rage; even Spear and Trik were flabbergasted. "I've had enough of you! You talk about military courtesy, respect for the commission! What so military or respectful about fooling around with the picture of somebody's mother, huh!"

"I never—"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

All officers present, plus Rabbit, were stunned. Haoqi was crimson red with anger unlike which had ever been seen in the 44th before. Panting himself to a more neutral state of mind with nobody else dare made a sound, Haoqi slumped back to his chair and rubbed his temple to calm himself. As soon as he was sure he would not throw anything solid at the jerk of a major, he addressed the whole room again.

"Private Ming suffered a severe head trauma", he practically growled at Senshi. "I just think you should know that", he addressed Lin directly. "He will be shipped back to Tay Kho where some experts can take a look at him. The man could have died and, to be frank, he still holds that one-way ticket to the spirit world."

Lin fixed his eyes on the corner of Haoqi's table, his idle hand rubbed his bandaged right knuckle absentmindedly. No response from him, Haoqi continued; still growly and glowering but Lin detected a certain kind of understanding in his tone. "This is serious. I'm going to report you to General Chang Ye although, if I know anything at all about the Army, it won't do any good. You are still a Vanguard and, by that status, fall under the responsibility of General How directly."

Lin still did not answer nor established eye contact.

"I am disappointed in you, kid", he truly did sound like he was. But, as we all expected, Senshi blabbered again.

"Disappointed?" he screamed. "Disappointed! He tried to kill me! With knives!"

"Sharp knives", Spear added.

"Sharp knives!" Senshi repeated.

"Yeah?" Haoqi back to his hostile self. "So, tell me: is it like a new hobby for you to defile the picture of somebody's mother the way you did?"

"I didn't do it!" Senshi shrieked like he always did whenever he in denial. "I didn't", he pleaded his case to the others present, mostly Megumi.

"Really?" Spear argued; though he fully understood the gravity of the matter and resent the senseless destruction that had been wrought upon an innocent private whose sin was a most simple form of lust, our captain sounded a little light as he presented his evidence. "Recognize this?"

Senshi squinted at the headless picture of, erm… body of the female of human species which made Father Shu avert his eyes and begin chanting the sutra in low hushed voice, made Megumi close her eyes in absolute disgust, made Rabbit blush as he busied himself with his pad, and gave Lin a good enough reason to keep his eyes fixed on the dent on Haoqi's desk.

"Oh, hey… that's the girl from page—"

Whoopsie….

"I've never seen that before!" a little too late. Father Shu, the always benevolent, shook his head in disbelief, Spear and Trik burst out into full-fledged guffaw, Haoqi looked like he was about to explode, Rabbit simply looked uncomfortable, and Megumi smite Senshi with a jaw-crunching punch.

"Megu— Major, wait!" Megumi had stormed off and Senshi, after picking what was left of him off the floor, was about to give chase. But, alas, a perfectly aimed throwing knife missed his head and lodged itself on the wooden door near his head threateningly.

"Whoa, Lieutenant!" Trik exclaimed. "Put that down!"

"You move one inch, I swear I'm not gonna miss", Lin hissed demonically at Senshi, twirling another knife threateningly.

The major let out a whimper as he staggered his way back to his chair.

"Lieutenant Lin has testified that you (a sharp point of finger at Senshi) were snooping around his tent last night. He even has two eyewitnesses!" Haoqi added the last part quickly to quell Senshi's opened mouth. "I will also report you to General Chang Ye, Senshi! And what happened to Private Ming is on you!"

"What? Me!" Senshi protested again. "I didn't do anything! I wasn't the one who knock down that enlisted buffoon!"

"None of this would have happened if you hadn't decided to play that dirty joke!" Haoqi spat. Spear added to the colonel's statement just as heatedly. "Knocked down, you say! Private Ming's skull is completely shattered, you nimrod! He could die any minute!"

"I know you're rotten, Senshi", Trik had also lost his appetite for joking around. "But, I would never have thought you would do something like this."

"I didn't do any of this!" Senshi did not relent.

"Look, everybody knows that you've got a bone with Lieutenant Lin" Haoqi interjected, still angry. "He's pretty much the only lower ranking here that you can't boss around. But, _really_!"

"If you can't settle your problem man-to-man, doesn't mean you have to bring his mother into this", Spear attacked again. "Just so you know, Senshi, if it wasn't for Father Shu's presence here, _excuse me, Father_, I wouldn't mind sticking a scalpel into your throat!

"Coward!" Trik bellowed, finally lost control. Spear had to hold him down.

"But, I didn't do any of this!" Senshi screamed desperately, now pale beyond relief, or is it beyond belief? Oh, heck, same difference. "I didn't do any of this! Why won't any of you believe me?"

"Why do we have to believe you?" Haoqi was engulfed in a new kind of heat. "From day one, you have been condescending, uncooperative, stuck-up, rotten son of a bi—", a nervous look at Father Shu who shot him a subtle warning look. "Oh, you know what I mean!" he glared at Senshi.

"All evidence point at you, Major", Father Shu sighed, choosing a more neutral stance. "I'm afraid, you have been found guilty in this affair. Now, if I may, I must confess that I myself feel persuaded to slug you across the face with a boulder and grind what's left of it into fine powder. The poor boy's_ mother_! How could you!"

"B-but, I—" Senshi stammered, turning around for support only to find anger, accusation, and, well, general hostility cast upon him. Even Father Shu and Rabbit cast him a very stabbing glare; Father Shu because never before he witnessed such dirty joke and he was still shaken from his scuffle with Lin earlier to save Senshi, which, to his religiously spiritual heart's chagrin, he regretted; and Rabbit because, like Private Ming, he was also of the enlisted persuasion and enlisted men stick together.

"This is final", Haoqi let out a deep heave. "Both of you are on report; you (another pointed finger at Senshi) are in deep trouble. I never thought I will ever have to say this but, Major, I'm recommending your demotion and even a court-martial."

"What!" oh, nothing but the good old anger to return color to one's face, or is it one's face to color? Meh… Anyway, steaming now he rose up to the sky, no, sorry, to his feet; he rose up to his feet and declared. "I'm not going down that easy! Just wait until the inquisitor gets here! I'll show you that I am innocent!"

"What inquisitor, Senshi?" Spear drawled.

"Inquisitor! From the High Inquisitorial Team!"

"As the name would suggest", Trik shrugged.

"Just you wait, Sho!" he redirected his shouts at Trik. "I wrote a letter of complaint to the Superintendent of High Inquisitorial Team and he's going to send someone over! Now, the Army is going to see how undisciplined and unmilitary this place really is! You are all going to be hanged! And then court-martialled!"

After that outburst, Senshi scrammed; of course, Trik getting up ready to throw a jar of human liver at him had something to do with the flight response.

* * *

Azula danced the kata flawlessly. She had to replace the usual punches and palm thrusts with finger jabs to tone down the size of her fire, which, knowing the nature of fire finger jabs, made the performance increasingly difficult. Uncle Iroh was deep in admiration of her firebending performance, something that the Old Dragon had not been doing as of late. Ever since Iroh learnt of Azula's firebending training under Ozai years ago, even more so when he witnessed the Princess' prodigal prowess reaching its peak with the manifestation of the blue flame, the bigger part of him had been viewing it like one would a majestic swords of the most renowned creation aimed at one's eyeball: with wary anticipation.

But, that day and hopefully from there on out, Iroh could allow himself to be what he was truly dying to be: proud. Ladies and gentlemen, here we have the proud uncle of a ten-years-old firebender girl who was performing a master level kata flawlessly with blue fire no less. What to feel but pride? Beaming at the smug smirking girl as she finished, Iroh patted the seat next to him; Azula ran up to him and, ignoring the cup of tea Iroh poured her, began asking the man to teach her some new moves. But first, Iroh, being a fussy uncle, did a little checking on the girl's fingers.

Marvelous indeed; no signs of bruise, wound, stress, blister, or any kind of unsavory reaction on her fingers. And to think that Zuko, even with Iroh supervising him always and was not yet at the stage where he could use fire finger jabs in a complicated kata, suffered from angry looking blisters even after the last time they trained the technique and Iroh deemed his mastery as 'passable'. Topped with the fact that Azula learnt most of what she knew about her finger jabs from that one occasion hiding behind a bush; it was truly terrifying the gap of their talent.

But, no, no, no… there he goes again. _Good uncle, good uncle_!

"It was perfect, Princess", Iroh praised; Azula was growing smugger. "Absolute perfection!"

"Thank you, Uncle", Azula managed to sweetly reply. "Now, new move?"

"Not yet", Iroh stifled his smile at the childish pout his niece gave him. "There is something I should probably address about your firebending."

"But, you said it was perfect", Azula frowned childishly.

"Oh, it was and I stick by it", Iroh nodded seriously. Summoning a small flame on his palm, he brought it closer to the girl. "Now, try to do this."

Azula did the exact same thing, producing a completely different flame; the stark differences were in the color, obviously, and size, about four times bigger.

"Tone it down", Iroh said. Azula breathed and concentrated at her blue flame. The flame reduced in size but as soon as it reached the size of Iroh's flame, her blue fire gave up to the blowing breeze. Frowning, Azula tried again… and again, and again. She let out a frustrated growl and was about to give it another try when Uncle Iroh distinguished his own flame and took a rather long sip of his cup.

"Restraint and control, Princess", the old man began his lecture. "Understanding these two is imperative for a firebender. You need to apply both disciplines in this particular exercise."

He summoned again the small flame and went on.

"We apply restraint, resulting in the size of the fire being harmlessly small", Iroh nodded at the flame; Azula let herself be captivated by the flickering warmth. "At the same time, we apply control, providing a stable and sufficient flow of chi to give the fire enough force to hold against the wind. Remember", Iroh emphasized, Azula took her eyes off the flame to her uncle's serious expression. "Restraint _and_ control", Iroh repeated. "With no restraint, your fire will go like this."

From his other palm, a pillar of orange flame suddenly erupted, causing Azula to gasp.

"And restraint without proper control of steady chi", Iroh shrugged as his first flame died out.

He took his sweet time with another sip of his tea; he was testing Azula's patience, of course. Patience is crucial to those blessed with the Gift of Agni. Fire, even those wielded with the best of intention, can easily destroy; a patient and calm mind is an essential element to counter-balance the natural destructiveness of fire. So much prouder Iroh was when Azula did not budge.

"Remember", Iroh pinched her cheek briefly; she giggled which Iroh took as a sign that she was not daydreaming. "The ability to bend small harmless flame is as important as the ability to produce raging inferno."

"Hey, Lin said the same thing", Azula blurted out before she could hold herself. Suddenly, she blushed, scowled, and averted her eyes; a combination of reactions that Iroh found amusing.

"I see", Iroh hid his smirk behind his cup in a manner one would not consider subtle. The Princess' jab on his side made him choke on his tea.

* * *

"This is stupid!"

Again, his famous temper took control. Rock gardening was not for Fire Prince Zuko; Piandao learnt that the hard way. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Piandao let the royal pain shove the horror-stricken Fat as the boy stampeded his way back to the mansion. We could probably discuss the state of Piandao's rock gardening spot after Zuko fiery outburst but… let's just say that an angry firebender is a bad firebender, and leave it at that.

"Zuko, stop!" it was so uncharacteristically sharp and loud that, even in his angered state, Zuko felt the obligation to stop. Piandao might still wear his usual neutral face but his hazel eyes lit up with cold fire. "This is the last time you destroy anything in this school and the last time I see you using your bending. Do you understand?"

"Yes, _Master_", Zuko growled; oh, if only poisonous words could wound.

"Go to your room and meditate", Piandao ordered. "I hope you will realize that it will be easier if you would just try to follow the methods we use in this school."

"This is _not_ a school", Zuko whispered hatefully; a cheap shot that sent a pang to Piandao's heart. Turning on his heels, Zuko stomped away to his room without even offering a bow a student normally would. Left in the yard with Fat, who was about to have a heart attack, was Piandao who cast a solemn gaze to the sky above.

* * *

It was lunch time but Lin did not care. He stomped his way across the compound, wanting to go to his usual spot on top of the hill. So furious was he, he did not even register Bullhorn waving at him. He hated this place, hated these people, hated this… _everything_. And he hated that slab of earth standing on his way. He knew that Father Shu used to be a warrior monk but he did not know that the priest was a bender; apparently, he did not realize that some earthbenders wear shoes.

Smooth earth with no jags or cracks on the surface; Lin might not know much about earthbending outside what he had read in books but he took this as the testament of the quality of the priest's skills. If only this slab of earth had not gotten in his way. New wave of fury took control as Lin, letting his raging chi flow into his arm, shattered the wall with a punch. A yelp was heard from behind the rubble.

* * *

Private Fushang woke up from his sleep drowsy. The first sight he caught made him wish he was asleep. That major who looked like some sort of mutant bat-lemur was on the foot of his bed, barking orders and/or threats to a pair of unsuspecting nurses. "I don't care", Fushang heard the man shouted as he closed his eyes and faked a sleep. "This man must have his routine check-up and I don't care if he's asleep. I'm a doctor, you know! My job is to save lives, not to care about them!"

Next, the private felt rudely shaken by the major. Grunting and turning his back, the shakes developed into jabs on his back. "Wake up!" very unnecessarily loud and it sent a jolt into the wounded man's system.

"What're you doing?" Fushang shouted as the pair of hand ripped his buttons loose and pushed a stethoscope on his chest. "Quit that!"

"You shut up!" the doctor spat so much more fiercely. "You just shut up and get better! I don't have time for you here! You get well and go back to the front! Your Kingdom needs you whether you like it or not!"

Spitting out a series of venomous words, the doctor, if he could be called that, stomped his way out. The private he just crushed eyed him with hate like you would not believe.

* * *

"I'm sorry again about that", Lin muttered. Remorse was there, but so was his earlier bitter fury.

"That's okay, Lieutenant", Bob croaked back. The intern was meek by nature and, since Lin belonged to the warrior caste and held commission, it was understandable if he found the boy who was not that much older intimidating.

Lin himself had never given much thought of the interns. Most of the time, he would be too busy keeping himself sane. Yee Shoo and Seito sometimes helped him with some pranks on Senshi, especially after every time the major unjustifiably chewed Bob out. Shoto liked to walk around with a thick book in his hands while Bob locked himself in his tent most of his waking hours; so those two had never interacted much with Lin.

Only that day, with the threat of flu epidemic brought by the civilian wounded the previous night, Bob, whose skill in herbal healing had been commended by the camp's herbalist Tua Huo, had been enlisted to be the herbalist's temporary assistant aside from his usual internship duty. The boy was walking across the compound towards the supply tent to get some herbs for Tua Huo when he noticed the bended wall. He was just admiring the might of the art he did not possess when the very same wall exploded on his face.

A very apologetic Lieutenant Lin then offered his help in Bob's chore. It was autumn when the wind is strong and yet Bob could feel a certain kind of heat emanating from the Head Security. "You should have it looked at", Bob squeaked barely audibly, prompting Lin to shoot him an inquiring look and the intern repeated. "You should have your hand checked."

Lin raised his bandaged right fist and inspected it a little. The white cotton fabric was now dirty but his hand was fine safe for some bruise and cuts. Bara and the others might have put him through hell but deep down, a part of him was grateful for it: it made him strong.

Inside the tent, Lin found himself assuming the role of a shopping basket as Bob shoved myriad of strong smelling boxes and packages onto his arms; the top package said 'shredded ginger' but it smelt like moist weed to Lin.

"You smell like baby powder", Lin commented upon the slightly shorter boy had to push past him in the effort to make it to the other side of the very cramped supply tent.

"I have a rash", Bob shot him an offended look. Done with the chore, Bob took half of the load and together they made their way out.

Upon pushing the supply tent door open, Private Ling ran towards them. Treating Lin as if he was part of the olive drab of the tent by ignoring Lin completely after a stare that could punch a hole on a metal wall, the private promptly relayed a message from Herbalist Tua Huo to Bob regarding some wild rooted vegetables that Bob must harvest personally from the nearby field and that Private Ling had been asked to guard the intern during the process. Having no interest whatsoever to lift up his crumbling respect among the enlisted men, Lin reciprocated Private Ling's ignorance of each other's existence and assured Bob that he would deliver the stuffs to Herbalist Tua Huo for him.

The pair private and intern had just taken a few steps away when Bob halted his steps and, turning to Lin, cringed apologetically at the officer. "Oh, _saffron root_! Lieutenant, I, uh… forgot to get some saffron root", the intern chuckled nervously at Lin's sigh.

Shooing them, Lin dropped his load on the ground and entered the tent once more. Next thing he knew, his world collapsed.

* * *

Senshi Mor stomped his way through the compound.

"What are you waving at!" he snapped at Bullhorn's friendly gesture. "You do that again, I'll have you on report! For being too friendly on warzone!"

Immune to Bullhorn's quivering lips, Senshi snapped at several other military misconducts around him. I think I should specify that one of the misconducts involved Nurse Mei Ling playing with a mutt, so…

In the middle of assuring the sobbing nurse and whining mutt that he would report this 'unnecessary show of affection towards an unauthorized animal', for the second time that day, somebody tried to kill him. Screaming as the boulder his him square on the shoulder and sent him flying, he quickly rose to his feet and scrammed like a rabbit-vole. The sorry state of the camp male personnel's martial prowess was further accentuated by none of them succeeding to hold against Private Fushang's fierce earthbending attack, injured the latter might be.

"What's wrong, Major?" Private Fushang sneered in anger. "You want me to fight, right? Like a soldier should? Then come on!"

Privates Lu and Thoo fell victims to a sweeping earth wave from Fushang, causing the angered wounded to grimace as his gut started bleeding again, the rest of the camp to finally come to their senses and realized that Major 'Sh**head' Senshi was not that worth dying for, and Senshi to run screaming like a little girl. Fushang sent another boulder shot that hit the running major square on the back. Senshi lost all sensation on his legs as fear gripped him tight. He tried to worm away but Fushang, limping and heaving as he was, was too quick for him. The next thing, he was being picked off the ground by the collar by the pale but angry private.

"Now, you gonna get it, doc", Fushang heaved; a trail of blood leaking out of his wound.

"W-wait! Wait just a… um, _help_!"

Fushang shoved him down. Casting a glare a demon of hell would a goody-two-shoes, Fushang stomped his foot down to summon a boulder but the earth failed to sever itself and only managed a jagged column of two feet tall. Panting and bleeding more previously, Fushang pulled something from his robe. Before he could do anything about it though, he jerked and gasped. Next, he crumbled down face first and a shocked looking Mr. Li was behind him with his walking stick raised.

"Are you alright, sir?" Mr. Li asked, panting. Senshi was about to try to answer but when a round dark green ball-shaped thing rolled to his face from Private Fushang's lifeless hand and he caught a distinct hissing sound coming from it. With all his might he yelled out.

"GRENADE!"

That did the trick; the rest of the camp still lingering around ran into the nearest shelter they could find, all the while screaming in panic. Senshi, in a fit of panic, picked it up with a pair trembling hand and floated it to Mr. Li. Mr. Li, who was still pretty affectionate about his life, yelped and threw it back to Senshi, who threw it back to him and assumed an armadillo position on the ground. Throwing a fearful glance around, Mr. Li threw it to the nearest non-human target he could find: a tent.

* * *

Spear and Trik emerged from the mess tent after enjoying a pretty decent lunch. Some grateful relatives of the civilians they saved came to visit that morning bringing with them some token of their gratitude in the forms of fresh vegetable and other food supply. Spear was nibbling on a healthily red apple while Trik rubbed his belly in content. Stopping Father Shu who went the other way, they each took the bewildered priest's hand and offered a prayer.

"Dear Mother, our tongues thank you from the bottom of our bellies", Spear started and Trik finished with. "Amen."

"That good, huh?" Father Shu gave a gleeful grin. "Well, I better get my share before they run out."

Resuming their pace, they made a stop at a pile of rubble in the middle of the compound.

"Hey, what happened to the monument?" Spear frowned in between his chewing, kicking a piece of what had been Father Shu's earthen wall. Crouching down, he picked up a rather big piece of it and inspected it rather interestedly.

"I never knew a swordsman can be that good in hand-to-hand combat", Trik pondered rather seriously.

"Or with throwing knives", Spear added, eyes still fixed on the piece of rock.

A sudden and familiar scream distracted them. On the other side of the camp, they caught the sight of Senshi running away from Private Fushang; the latter made a quick work of several male personnel.

"Boy, Senshi sure is popular lately", Trik sighed.

"This looks serious. I think we should help", Spear suggested. Trik nodded his agreement and, at the same time, they both broke into a very intentional slow-motion run.

"Waaaa-iiii-tttt!" Spear's mouth stretched open.

"Weee aaaree coooommm-mmmingg fooor yooo-uu", Trik reassured. Both doctors certainly did not notice Bob and Private Ling on their way to herb gathering throwing the pair jokers a weird look.

Both captains managed two more steps when Mr. Li succeeded to knock the rabid private down.

"Oh, well, that's it then", shrugged Spear, back to his apple. But, when Senshi's 'GRENADE!' reverberated through the realm, they both hit the deck; from the corner of his eyes, Spear noticed Bob screaming as Private Ling pushed him down to the ground.

"Guys, get behind me!" Trik rose up. In wave of panic, Spear, Bob, and Private Ling did what Trik said. Jumping down and stomping hard on the ground, Trik flexed his arm muscle as he stretched his arms to the side, then he pushed up with double violent thrusts.

Nothing happened…

"This is lousy timing to be a lousy earthbender!" Spear berated him as Trik tried and failed again to summon fortification. When the explosion occurred, they just used the sad excuse of an earthbender as a meat shield.

"Oh, no!" Bob cried out as his brown eyes widened at the tent that took the hit. "Lieutenant Lin is in there!"

* * *

"I never like fish", Azula confessed ruefully, lifting the ten centimeters grilled dish with her chopsticks. "So difficult to eat with chopsticks, with those many small bones and thorns and rubbery skin—"

"Here you go", Iroh sighed, pushing his plate of cleanly picked fish meat to the princess' side of the table. "You should really learn to be more independent. After all, you are no longer a child."

"Oh", Azula smirked as they traded fish; a sly glint akin to that in a raccoon-cat's eyes was apparent in those amber of hers. "So, does that mean I'm old enough for higher level moves?"

"I'm beginning to wonder if you know the meaning of the word 'vacation'", Iroh shook his head tiredly. It was hard trying to keep up with children's energy when you are his age. "Take a little time off firebending. There is nothing wrong with taking things slow from time to time."

"But, I don't want to take things slow", Azula argued, swallowing her bite. "I want to finish my training as soon as I can."

"Why?" Iroh arched a brow.

"I want to join the Army, remember?" Azula reminded him.

"You're still on about it, huh?" Iroh sighed a little as he reached out and picked a single grain of rice on the girl's cheek. "May I persuade you to perhaps choose a less violent path? You know, you being a princess and all."

"No", said Azula blandly with her eyes narrowed.

"I do need help with my works, you know", Iroh droned on, tapping his chin with the base of his chopsticks. "I could use a secretary."

"No", Azula said again.

"I do have a secretary", Iroh went on. "But, I must admit Mr. Lee is a little lacking in organizational skills."

"Uncle!" Azula stomped. "I don't want to be a penbrush pusher!"

"There is nothing wrong with that", Iroh defended his idea. "Peaceful life and peaceful occupation are not such a bad thing, even for a firebender."

"No", Azula huffed and quickly added as Iroh's mouth opened. "And that's final."

"I'll pay you double", Iroh tempted.

"No."

"Triple?"

"No."

"Five work hours a day?"

"No."

"Three days weekends?"

"No."

"Dental plan?"

"Uncle, I'm a princess."

"So? Princesses have teeth too."

"Uncle!"

"Alright, alright", Iroh gave up. Picking a vegetable into his rice bowl, he cast a rather distant look on Azula who scooped more rice into her mouth. "This reminds me of the time I tried to talk Lu Ten out of joining the army."

Azula's chopsticks stopped midair. The feeling she had in her chest was familiar but one that she had not felt for a longest of time. She swallowed but her throat felt unusually dry and when she inhaled, her nose felt runny. Next, it was warm on her cheek; Iroh reached out to her and lifted her face up.

"I miss him too, you know", he said quietly, wiping tears Azula did not know were there.

* * *

"I'm fine", Lin slurred as a pair of captains picked him up. Ponytail messy, clothes stained with dirt and some liquid, woozy and hurting all over.

"Don't worry, kid", Spear heaved. "We'll get you patched up in no time."

"My leg feels funny", Lin groaned.

"That's because… uh, there's something sticking out of it", Trik informed him.

The next thing Lin knew, he was lying on his bed in his tent. His left foot felt tight; from feeling it with his other foot, he felt bandages wrapped around it. Sitting by his side were Bob and Shoto; Bob looked at him pale-faced, Shoto slouched back on a chair burying his nose on a book.

"I assume I'm not dead", Lin croaked then swallowed and proceeded to a cough.

"No, you're fine", Bob smiled weakly as he fed the lieutenant water. "Your foot is wounded by debris, but you are otherwise unharmed."

"What happened?" Lin asked as the two interns helped him sit. "The last thing I remember, there was a loud noise and the tent collapsed on me."

"Grenade", Shoto answered. And when he failed to register the puzzled look on Lin's face, Bob recounted the heroic tale of Senshi being assaulted by an angry soldier.

"That creep", Lin cursed hatefully. "I knew I should have killed him."

* * *

Zuko folded his pants with more vigor than he should; the clothing article ripped with a nice crunchy sound. Growling, the Fire Prince threw it to the floor; the moment the fabric broke contact with his hand, it combusted spontaneously. Reaching out for more clothes, he shoved them inside his bag with no care for tidiness. He had had it with this, for the want of a better word, _school_.

This is not even a school, he thought furiously. Bet this school got closed down had nothing to do with Lin at all. It was just because this place stinks! Still fuming, he lifted his bag off his bed and dragged it to his wardrobe and, to add firewood to the bonfire that was his rotten mood, the strapping broke. Positively yelling, he kicked the defective excuse of a container and regretted packing his thick books in there. Rolling on the floor, screaming in pain, he was in no position to preserve his dignity as Piandao cleared his throat to make himself known.

"I do not remember teaching that sort of mediation", the master said calmly. Zuko clambered up and shot the swordmaster an indignant look as if challenging him to forbid him from leaving. Piandao, calm as ever, scanned the room briefly and, with no comment about the mess and misplaced clothes whatsoever, resumed.

"Go have your lunch with Fat", he said. "And take the rest of the day to cool off."

"Yes, Master", Zuko said through his clenched jaw. "Anything else?"

"No, not at the moment", said Piandao somewhat flatly. "Oh, before I forget, your uncle and sister are coming tomorrow. They are on a vacation here and will stay with us."

"Yes, Master", said Zuko again, still suppressing his anger. Great, now Uncle Iroh and Azula were going to see how miserable he was doing here; Uncle Iroh would say something about character building and take Piandao's side, and Azula's presence would just turn this whole misery into a living hell.

Piandao was tempted to do something about the ever-growing negativity oozing out of the snobbish prince but knowing full well the danger of poking a campfire with dry wood, he decided to just walk away.

Piandao really hated dealing with royalty…

* * *

"But, it wasn't my fault!" Senshi almost cried, pleading his innocence to all present in the mess tent.

"I don't want to hear anything from you!" Haoqi barked.

"Yeah, shut up, Senshi", Trik jumped in.

"You shut up!" Haoqi turned on him too.

"What are you yelling at me for? I wasn't the one who blew up Lieutenant Lin", Trik said defensively.

"Now, now, officers", Father Shu tried to mediate. "Let us all act like adults here."

"Agree", Megumi concurred but Spear teased. "Teacher's pet."

"SHUT UP!" Haoqi finally lost it.

"Alright, alright", Trik snubbed a finger into his ear. "You don't have to yell."

"And besides, he's the one in trouble", Spear causally pointed a finger at Senshi.

"Fink! Fink!" Senshi screamed.

"I said shut up", Haoqi slammed his fist on the table, cracking the surface and quite possibly his hand. Holding his pain to the best of his ability, he sat back down and grimaced.

"That's alright, folks", Spear addressed the rest of the mess tent. "Just a little demonstration of what would happen to a certain major who shall be nameless."

"Pending court-martial", Trik added. Senshi was about to say something back but one look from Haoqi's fiery green snubbed the major's will to speak.

"First, you do that nasty thing to Lieutenant Lin that nearly cost Private Ming his life, then you provoked a wounded soldier into attacking you, and then you blew up our supply tent with Lieutenant Lin in it!" Haoqi laid down his charges rapidly. "In just one day, three lives are nearly lost because of you, Senshi!"

"Two of them are still very possibly lost", Spear added grimly. "Private Fushang ruptured his intestines due to severe physical exertion. The boy has one foot in the spirit world."

"The other on a banana peel", Trik added bitterly.

"It wasn't my fault—", Senshi tried to say but, as we live and breathe, he was interjected by Major Megumi.

"Like hell it isn't!" the whole tent let out a startled gasp at the Head Nurse's angry voice. "Some of my nurses told me that last night you violently forced medicine down the poor private's throat and earlier today you forcefully did a check-up on him. You even woke him up rudely while he was asleep!"

"Does the word 'compassion' mean anything to you?" Trik asked the accused crossly. Spear kept his question along the line of. "How exactly did you become a doctor?"

"Oh, and I think I might need to tell you all", Father Shu spoke with nervous trembling voice. "The two gentlemen travelling with Lieutenant Lin's sister and the two mercenaries we hired are demanding we give Major Mor to them so that they can, and I quote, 'skin him alive, chopped him to pieces, feed him to a platypus bear, and dump what's left down the latrine'."

"Great, just what we need", Haoqi griped, ready to bang his head on the table.

"I managed to talk them out of hunting Major Mor themselves but…" Father Shu fidgeted as he shot Haoqi an uncomfortable look. "Well, I may have given the impression that Major Mor will be handed to them on the proverbial silver platter once you are done with him."

"What?" Senshi exclaimed. "What kind of priest are you?"

To this, Father Shu took offense. "The kind who don't give a damn anymore!"

He rose from his seat and stomped off furiously. Before he exited the emergency meeting, however, he turned back and said heatedly. "I thought that I could buy you some time, but seeing how much you appreciate it, may the Great Mother forgive me, I regretted it! _Boys, he's in here_!"

Father Shu must be really pissed because he even held the door open to let Zhong, Yuu, and Bara waltzed inside with weapons ready. Well, Bara had her dagger, Yuu brandished Petal, and, although Viper was safely kept in the scabbard, Zhong was wearing his scary face. Upon seeing the three dangerous martial artists, Senshi screamed and tried to run but Trik tripped him and, along with Spear, held him down while Haoqi moved out to prevent the incoming murder. Megumi was too nonchalant to do anything and Rabbit was hiding behind her during the whole ordeal

"Stand aside, Colonel", Yuu, who, by the way, had slipped a little into the scary version of his personality, coldly hissed. "We just want him."

"Not all of him", Bara interjected and Zhong added. "Just bits and pieces."

"I'll start with the ear", Yuu growled and Bara whispered dangerously. "Dibs on the left one."

"Well, uh…" Spear tried to break the ice with a nervous laugh; it did not do squat. "Well, listen… us doctors are funny creatures: we hate sufferings. Which is funny because we make livings out of them. But, you see…"

…

"I'm drawing blank. Nice knowing you, Senshi."

"No!"

"Okay, stop!" Haoqi somehow managed to hold the three assailants on his own.

"We won't make a mess", Yuu promised, trying to push past the twice bigger colonel. "We are all pretty good with blades."

"Yeah", Bara grunted, losing footing and being pushed back. "A little stab, a wee bit slash, and it's over."

"Enough, I said!" Haoqi roared and, with strength nobody thought he could ever generate, he pushed the three angry armed warriors away to the other side of the tent. They were about to bypass Haoqi's barricade again but Megumi decided to help out. By standing behind the commanding officer and provided comforting words.

"Please!" the nurse threw her hands to the air. "Has it not been enough violence already? Please, stop!"

Little by little, the three returned to their less violent version. Although, as they sat down, Zhong still have the cruel expression of Yahata the Spirit of War, Yuu still bared his fangs, and Bara stabbed his dagger on the table like a mafia.

"I understand your concern", Haoqi started calmly. "But, rest assured that Lieutenant Lin is in no danger and proper disciplinary action will be taken on Major Mor."

"Just let us have him", Zhong said quietly.

"Our ways are quicker than your disciplinary action", Yuu added matter-of-factly.

"It's not just that, Colonel", Bara addressed Haoqi though her ambers were burning holes on Senshi's mug. "First, he insulted Lin's dead mother, then he blew Lin up with a grenade. And Rain! Do you know that at the moment she is shivering like a puppy in her tent because she is afraid that Lin might be angry at her too because she knocked him out to save this… this…"

"Turd?" suggested Yuu. "Trash", Zhong finished her sentence. "Moron", Megumi helped. "Nincompoop", Trik shrugged while Spear proposed. "Dweeb."

"Yeah, all of that", Bara shouted heatedly.

Senshi was about to voice his objection again but the stares from the three very accomplished killers who were conveniently seated in front of him robbed him of the ability to speak.

"I'll take care of this, okay", Haoqi's tone was in tuned with the other three. "This is my camp and I'll deal with this."

"So, what're you gonna do?" Spear asked.

"I'm thinking", oooh, bad choice of words. The three angry guests promptly rose and tried to kill Senshi again. And that was when a ferret-dove flew in and rammed into Haoqi's head. The colonel would have ducked but he was too busy trying to prevent the murder.

"Oh, damn!" Haoqi cursed as he read the message. Turning to his staffs, he explained gloomily. "We've got news from the aid station up front last night", he begun, receiving the piece of paper that woke him up the previous night from Rabbit. "They got hit bad. Something about retaliatory action by Fire Nation forces since we retaliated their action of raiding Jang Ga in the first place."

"Oh, great", Trik commented dryly. Spear asked just as grimly. "How many do we expect?"

"It's not the wounded we have to be on the look-out for", Haoqi sounded exceptionally dark here. "They will reroute their wounded to the 63rd; some patrols spotted a group of Fire Nation soldiers lurking around the highway leading here. The aid station requests volunteers."

"Volunteers?" Megumi frowned.

"Yes", Haoqi referred to the new message and read out. "One of their doctors was killed in in a shelling. They need a replacement surgeon, also a nurse and a corpsman. So, any volunteer?"

A blanket of silence and awkward glances descended upon the table.

"Sure got quiet all of the sudden", Haoqi spoke dryly. "Well, I suppose this is the time when leadership is put to the test", he scanned around; Spear and Trik stared deeply into their tea, Senshi bit his nails like a nervous child during a school exam, Megumi's jaws hardened, and Rabbit was shivering a little. Bara, Yuu, and Zhong still fixed their eyes on Senshi. "As a leader, I suppose I should be the one who makes all the tough decision around. This sure is the time for the adage 'it's lonely on the top' or whatnot."

Still no sound.

"Oh, come one, guys", Haoqi pleaded now. "Anything you guys decide is fine with me."

"I'll go", Megumi raised her hand, full of determination.

"What? You sure, Major?" Haoqi gawked. "I-I mean, you are the Head Nurse—"

"All the more reason I should go", Megumi almost shouted in an attempt to brace herself. "I have the responsibility to keep my nurses safe and I'll be damned if I send any of them to the front instead of going there myself!"

"Since you put it that way", Haoqi nodded respectfully. "Rabbit, make note that Major Megumi Keh is volunteering herself for this duty", the same time Rabbit scribbled down his notepad muttering. "Major Megumi Keh volunteers to go to the front; done, sir."

"And then, a corpsman", Haoqi pondered. "Rabbit, do you have the list of enlisted men with you?"

"Uh…" the corporal scuffled around some papers on his notepad. "Yes, sir."

"Good, now I supposed we should either pick one from the list or ask them if they want to volunteer themselves", Haoqi muttered.

"Got it, sir", Rabbit scribbled.

"Thank you, Rabbit. I know I can always count on you", Haoqi patted the corporal's shoulder, completely misunderstanding Rabbit's response. It took a few seconds for the corporal to realize that he had been volunteered against his will, but by the time understanding dawned upon the corporal's face, the doctors were already throwing coins to decide who among them would go. Haoqi being the commanding officer was excluded from the poll.

"Um, sir?" Rabbit timidly nudged the colonel's shoulder as Spear lamented his rotten luck. "I think you may have volunteered me too quick there."

* * *

Against the strong wind of autumn sky they held their flame. Blue and orange trailed slow and steady through the air, alive and flickering despite their size of a tiny candlelight, each obeying their respective masters' command to prevail. Hands brought apart, stances grew wide, palm thrusts gentle and slow. If not for the flickering flame on their palms, one might mistake the form as those of slow and steady waterbending art.

Abruptly, slow became quick, weak became sharp. Azula mimicked her uncle's kata. Matching the man's agility and strength perfectly. Blue trailing orange, both benders and elements deep in perfect harmony. Finishing up with a palm thrust, Iroh jumped forward while Azula leaped backward. Facing each other now, they battled.

It was a sparring commonly known as 'power sparring' among firebenders. Unlike free sparring where the rules are a bit more flexible as long as the combatants carried themselves with honor and integrity, power sparring had the purpose of pitting the strengths of each other's bending prowess. Combatants will take turn attacking each other, no hits must be evaded or avoided, opponent's attack must be defended against with firebending.

Azula's blue flame engulfed Iroh's fire ball easily. Sending one of her own, she witnessed her blue ball of flame failed against Uncle Iroh's sweeping flaming fist. A pair of consecutive strike from Iroh, Azula broke with double spin-kicks. A double palm thrust sent a stream of fire; Uncle Iroh caught it and redirected the blue as orange back to Azula. The Princess fell into a wide stance and parted the flame with a wide sideways palm sweep. Leaping forward, she delivered a blast with her front kick, and upon landing, sent two more with spinning kicks. Iroh punched the consecutive blasts with his bare hands. Falling into a stance, panting, he saw Azula doing the same, also panting.

Easing his stance, Iroh bowed; Azula followed suit. Smiling at first, the old man broke into a boisterous laugh. Azula, beaming smugly, ran towards the old man's opened arms, accompanied by applause and cheers by nearby ship crews.

"Perfect", Iroh exclaimed, showing the sleeves of his robe. "Not a single mark. I am truly impressed, Princess."

"Can I learn a new one now?" the Princess wasted no time with her request. Iroh simply laughed.

"Tomorrow", he said, pinching the pouting girl's nose.

* * *

"Whoa, crowded in here", Yee Shoo and Seito commented from the door. Inside the tent, Lin was on his sickbed suffering a fussy fit by Bara and Yoku while being tended to by Bob. Shoto, Yuu, Zhong, and Rain were also there.

"For the last time: I. Am. Fine", Lin said through his perfectly clenched jaws, snatching his pillow that was being fluffed by Bara and blanket that Yoku considered not thick enough. "Can I sleep now?"

"What now?" Lin whined as the pair newcomers unveiled the bottom part of his blanket and began changing the dressing on his left foot.

"We're cleaning your wound", Seito explained far too cheerfully.

"Doctor Spear has to go to the aid station in the front", Yee Shoo added casually, mixing some weird smelling powder with some clear liquid exhuming foul odor.

"Don't come near me with that stuff!" Lin warned, eyes fixed dead on the bowl on Yee Shoo's hand. Silent concession were reached among those other present in the tent, resulting in Bara, Zhong, and Yuu holding the sick down, Bob and Seito forced down Lin's flailing healthy leg, Rain moved in to aid those aforementioned by paralyzing the Lieutenant with her needles, thus allowing Yee Shoo to apply the tincture on the groaning Head Security's wound.

"Hey, I think he's trying to say something", Bob frowned at Lin's urgent sounding slur or gurgle; it would seem that Rain had also knocked off the boy's speech function.

"Bwah!" Lin gasped as Rain removed a very specific needle. "What did you say about Spear?"

"Oh, he's being sent to the front", Seito repeated. Of all in the room, only Bara knew the reason behind the grim on Lin's face.

* * *

Iroh balanced the tray of tea and soup with great care; quite a feat when done in a rocking sailing ship. Walking down the lower deck, a pair of crews carrying a set of drums dispersed to give him way. Ah, music night will be quite something tonight, Iroh hoped. Now, just to tug the little princess in for the night and then sang the night away. He arrived at her cabin, pushed the door open, and for a moment, he suffered a feeling of wariness caused by the deep blue hue on each and every lit candles inside. Shaking his head, Iroh quickly dismissed the thought of the Fire Nation Throne Room engulfed in the same blue flame.

"Princess?" Iroh called. Azula was lying on her bed with her back on facing the door. She shifted a little but did not turn back. Iroh caught the movement as her hand touching her eyes.

The old man moved to the nightstand and placed the tray gently. Parking down on the side of the bed, he reached down to the girl's shoulder; she raised her arms to shield her upper face. When Iroh turned her over though, she did not resist. Iroh took it as a good sign.

"Princess", he called again, softer. He pulled down the girl's arms from her eyes, his suspicion was true, her eyes were red and puffy: she was crying. He let the princess leap into his embrace, patting her as the girl sobbed into his chest. "It's lonely, isn't it?"

After all, she is just ten years old, Iroh sighed. How he wished Ursa, Lu Ten, and Lin were still around. More and more, Azula was losing her battle and by the day her defenders fall one after another. And yet the great villain was yet to be vanquished. Iroh kept his silent, patting Azula's back until she stopped sobbing. With a warm smile and warmer heart, he lifted the Princess' face and wiped her tears. Perfection truly is a lonely existence….

"Come", he smiled warmly. "We're having music night up on the deck."

Azula simply dived back into her uncle's arm.

"Our family has a strong musical gift, you know; Lu Ten was a god among flutists, Zuko is a wonder with a tsungi horn, and you have a beautiful voice", Iroh tried to persuade but Azula's pounding his belly was a definite 'no'.

"Alright", Iroh coughed. "Well, maybe just show up and enjoy some music?"

"No", Azula sobbed dryly. She let Uncle Iroh tug her in. With the old man half lying on her side with his back on the bed frame, she hugged onto his wide belly. A part of her was petrified: _what if Father finds out_? What if Ozai found out that she was displaying such _weakness_? Sweet Agni, would she not be in deep pickle.

_Don't worry_…

Her eyes widened. She loved that voice…

"Uncle?" Azula called, wiping her eyes with her hand. Iroh noticed a bracelet of black and white beads on her wrist and felt a mixture of feelings, all of them ominous.

"Yes, Princess?" he whispered, tapping the girl's shoulder lightly.

Azula choked up; so many questions, so much she could ask, so much she wanted to ask… so much would make her sound _weak_?

_Go on, Azula_…

"H-how did Lu Ten die?" fresh wave of sobs claimed her.

Iroh was speechless. This was a hard issue for him too; a great failure, a painful bitter memory.

"He died…" Iroh started with a deep cracked voice. "… with honor."

"W-when I join the Army", Azula wiped her eyes, though her lips were still trembling she stuttered. "Will you still love me?"

Now, that is a tough one… well, not really. For _General_ Iroh, maybe, or _Grand Lotus_ Iroh, or Iroh, _the Dragon of the West_; but not for _Uncle_ Iroh.

"Of course, I will", he whispered, squeezing the girl, making her simper. "I will always love you."

Ah, music night must carry on without the smoky gravelly sweet-sounding voice of General Iroh…

"You know", Iroh cleared his throat, shifting for a more comfortable position; Azula looked up with snotty nose. "One time, in Gaipan, we were asked by the governor to drive off some bandits. It was the first time Lu Ten fight a real battle."

"Really?" she sniffed. Iroh took a handkerchief and cleaned the girl's nose.

"Yes. And his first real victim? My left sideburn!" he laughed along with her gleeful giggle. "That dummy was so scared, he blasted everything that moved…"

Neither of them noticed, but the flame on each candles slowly turned orange.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

The book Piandao read, '_Discourse of a Spiritualist and an Intellectualist'_, is actually something I have in mind for the side stories. In the story, there will be two old men, a spiritualist and an intellectualist, a priest and a scientist, if you will. They will discuss events in the main series, commenting and arguing with each other, each with their own standings of the issue. But, I don't think I'm going to write it anytime soon. :)

Mr. Li's tactics is taking effect; the camp has begun to fall apart.

Yes, Azula is already a little evil at this point. She already believed how Iroh was a failure for calling off Ba Sing Se, but she respected Iroh's skill at the same time; topped with Lin's teaching of how they should do whatever it takes to 'win' which Azula interpreted somewhat liberally, of course, and Ozai's influence, she was willing to learn even from someone she deemed a failure. But, she is still young and Iroh is still a good influence on her. The good in her is still there but it is tightly repressed. We'll see it all turns out the next chapters.

What else…? That's it, I think.

To OwlFeather13, thank you again for pointing out 'restraint'. I still can't believe I missed that one.:)

Happy reading, everyone!


	79. Chapter 78

**Chapter 78 – Burning Down, Falling Out, Part 3**

**-Fallen-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

The mornings of the last month of autumn were never easy. The occasional heavy rain would only be elevated by an even stronger storm or a hail that bring about what to come in the next season. The temperature had plummeted lower than Senshi Mor's IQ and spirits know why anyone would want to fight the war in such weather. But, that's life. Spear Haoren was already awake at such ungodly dark hour of five in the morning. Packing several items of his, included in his knapsack were some changes of clothes, some magazines to fight back the boredom, and lying on his bed was his medicine bag to be last to packed.

"Who goes there?" Trik Sho shot up groggily, a loud clank woke him up. The earthbender (?) put on a fighting stance, ready to strike down the intruder with his bending (?).

"Just me, your friendly suicide corps", Spear greeted with a wide amused smile. "And what're you gonna do? A five year old with a handful of sand could put up more of a fight than your, for the lack of better word, _bending_."

"Would you two keep it down there!" a mass of human being emerged from the other occupied bunk; Senshi yelled hellfire at the pair of surgeons who engaged in a pillow fight to the death.

Shrugging their agreement, Spear and Trik began redirecting their attacks on the major. When they were out of soft projectile and began throwing stuff like Trik's encyclopedia and Spear's muddy boot, Senshi broke off and stormed out, firing curses from that mouth of his.

"When are you going?" asked Trik, already busy fixing himself with a drink from their still.

"Soon", Spear muttered, inspecting his medicine box. "Haoqi said we should head out while it's dark out."

"I wonder how Rha-Mi feels", pondered Trik in the middle of adding real wine to the one they made themselves. "The guy wants out of the Army and look where they put him."

"Well, you know, crazy people, crazy war", Spear shrugged, inspecting his spare socks.

Trik sounded a little more serious. "How long have you been fighting this war?"

"Well, let's see", Spear frowned in the middle of stuffing cotton packs and bandages into his bag. "I've been fighting this war for at least five years. But, of course, it's nothing. Take that Sairen guy, for example. The dude's been fighting for twice longer than I have."

Snickering, Trik handed Spear his glass. "What's that?" he asked, nudging his chin at the jade pendant Spear was inspecting.

"My mother gave this for me", Spear reminisced. In his palm was a circular jade pendant the shape of Earth Kingdom insignia but engraved with two badger-moles hugging the circle on the two sides. "I remember she was always wearing this. When I was a kid, I like to play with it."

"That's sweet, Spear", Trik smiled, mixing a drink for himself now.

"Sometimes while she was wearing it", Spear shrugged lightly at Trik's guffaw. "She didn't like it when I do that; said something about cutting her air circulation."

"How old were you?" Trik panted in between his laugh.

"Oh, well… I was about this big", Spear guessed, holding a hand about the height of his nightstand.

"Well, to your mother", Trik raised his glass.

"No, mama. I call her mama", Spear corrected, standing up with his own glass. "My mama. Try saying it; it's fun."

"To your mama!"

"And everybody else's mama!"

"May their sons never get drafted!"

"And their necks never get choked!"

They drank.

"Hey, Spear", Trik called again. Spear was already wearing his knapsack and his helmet. "Good luck out there."

"Under my bed, glued on to my bunk", Spear said solemnly.

"The rumored '_*something dirty*_ _Paradise'_ monthly issues that you've been hoarding?" Trik gasped full with anticipation.

"My will", Spear said with his earlier tone; Trik suddenly lost his joking mood.

"Yeah."

"I donate all my worldly possession to Spear Haoren Memorial Brothel", he declared, earning him a chuckle and a pillow on his face.

* * *

Iroh staggered out to the deck. People his age should not sleep sitting up against solid metal bedframe. Groaning, he climbed the staircase with so much struggle, and also back pain; one hand was holding his spine the whole time as if the whole contraption would fall apart if he let go. But, it was worth it, he convinced himself. What Azula needed was guidance. Lu Ten… even in death, he still looked after his baby cousin.

"Oh, my back", Iroh griped, being helped to a seat on the deck by the captain of Royal Procession.

"Is your bed not comfortable enough, General?" a concerned muffled voice came from behind the mask. "I can speak with the ship captain to make arrangements."

"There is no need for that, Captain", Iroh groaned; the captain was behind him setting his spine. "Ugh! Oh, hey that's good."

"You missed Music Night", the Captain informed, rubbing the older man's shoulder with his elbow.

"For a good reason, I assure you", Iroh smiled contently. Azula, much like Zuko, was a notorious light sleeper; Iroh knew that much from his earlier experience babysitting the two for Ursa when the siblings were much younger. Azula had fallen asleep on his stomach and he had not the heart to wake her up. After all, that is the point of this whole vacation: relaxing!

"Where did you learn to do this?" asked Iroh, intrigued by the captain's expertise at massaging.

"When one gets to our age, General", the captain chuckled, gripping Iroh's shoulder muscle while his other hand was pressing and grinding several spots on the royalty's back. "One tends to accumulate many skills and knowledge."

"True", concurred Iroh. Why, just the previous night he learnt how to hope.

* * *

Zuko woke up with a mood as rotten as a piece of moldy bread he found under Lin's bed. You know all that morning symptoms we usually have the moment we wake up from a night sleep: lightheadedness, stiff neck and back, slow cognitive process, sometimes even slight numbness. So rotten was Zuko's mood, none of those he experienced as he got up and strode to the washroom.

Back again to his room, ready to start the day, our Fire Prince stood facing his opened window. Slowly falling into his basic stance, his hands brought into a lotus form under his navel, he began his morning stance meditation. Before leaving, Lin made Zuko promise that he would keep doing his extra trainings; cotton plant jumping, free-running across and over buildings and rooftops, meditation and basic stances, and others.

Fire Prince Zuko honored his promise.

Strange, really, Zuko pondered. Zuko had been asking Lin for extra training -the only mistake Zuko regretted was not to specify that he wanted _firebending_ training before Lin conned him into total obedience- and Lin had been teaching him nothing at all about firebending. A part of Zuko that he was trying to repress fully understood that Piandao was doing the exact same thing. Just like Lin putting Zuko through those physical exercises to strengthen Zuko's physical performance with firebending, deep down Zuko knew that Piandao wanted to prepare Zuko for the real sword combat training with his preliminary mental training regimens.

However, while Zuko could easily make connection between free-running and cotton jumping with the development of superior aerial awareness and agility, and stances and meditation with strong chi circulation, or stealth and sneak attack training with miscellaneous combat skills that might come in handy when engaging in a bending battle, there is no way Zuko could see the virtues in calligraphy as mental preparation for the stroke of real blade ("…_because one cannot take back the stroke of one's sword."_), or rock gardening with the manipulation of environment (_"… which will be crucial against superior number or strength."_), or snap landscaping to train his mind to (_"…process information at higher speed."_).

Well to be fair, Zuko _understood_ those. But, why could it not be something more physical! Lin never asked Zuko to just sit down and meditate when Zuko was whining for physical training. But, of course, on such occasions the he did and Zuko whined, Lin would take Zuko on a spar in which Lin would beat Zuko so bad, Zuko would be begging to go back to meditation; after several incidents, Zuko learnt no to whine anymore.

But, come on! At least, Lin kept a well-balanced regimen: there is physical, and there is non-physical; Yin and Yang, positive negative jings, and all that. Piandao's training was 90% Yin and 10% Yang, in Zuko's opinion. Unbalanced!

Growling, Zuko broke off his focus, completely aware of the flame that spewed out of his nostrils. Great, now he was mad! How was he going to meditate like this? Plopping down to his bed, he rested his head on his arms, staring furiously at the ceiling. Piandao's annoyingly calm face appeared; he shook his head to chase it away and Azula's and Uncle's appeared! Just as bad; he closed his eyes and winced hard. Now, Lin's! For some reason, he got pissed at Lin too.

Zuko was angry at the whole world.

* * *

Cammie the camule ran smoothly, dragging the wooden roofless carriage behind her. Sitting on her humped back was the unfortunate Corporal Rha-Mi, the sandbender. The previous night's re-picking of volunteers among the enlisted resulted in him picking the short straw. He sat there with his helmet and a saber strung on his back, and he was wearing something he wished he would never ever ever wear again: his army uniform!

Light green garb, grass-green studded armband and shin cloth, yellow hemp belt, and a circular wide hat; he looked silly in those.

On the cart behind him were the two higher-rankings. Major Megumi was trying to be brave through her terrified green eyes. Also wearing helmets, but round like the one worn by Spear, she gripped in her hands a map that fluttered too much for her to study effectively in the speeding carriage. Spear Haoren, the ever more relaxed breed of officers, was slouching lazily singing _'I'm Seeing More of You'_ like he had no care in the world.

"And the more I see you…." He serenaded; Megumi ignored him. "… baby."

"The more of you I'll see…" Rha-Mi joined in. "…still."

"Would you two shut up!" Megumi screamed; she sounded more scared than angry.

"Relax, Major", Spear said flippantly. "You'll get constipated."

"You—", for a fraction of second Megumi turned to him, the map escaped from her grip and flew backward.

"Great, now we're lost", Spear teased again, mimicking an accusing stare. "Oh well, we gave it our best. Driver! Let's go back!"

—BOOM—

"On second thought…" Spear managed while he pushed Megumi down for cover.

Rha-Mi spurred the vehicle faster. Accompanied by barrages of flaming rock and large fire blasts that came from spirits-know-where, they drove deeper along the highway until they reached an encampment so unlike theirs: smaller, more beat-up, and more under fire.

Jumping down as soon as they stopped, they scrambled up into the main building of the camp: a wooden building with many holes and cracks they had to obviously use earthbending to keep it from crumbling down. Slamming the door on their way in, they found themselves mildly surprised by how spacious the room looked inside. And how bloody and disarrayed it was; the whole building was an operating room.

"Sir", Spear halted a frantic looking thin middle-aged man. "Captain Haoren, Major Keh, Corporal Rha-Mi. We're from the 44th."

"Welcome to hell", the man sourly welcomed. An explosion occurred close to the building shook them and rained down dust and pieces of wood and earth from the ceiling. "Come on!"

The three bewildered reinforcement let themselves be dragged by the officer to the other corner of the room. There, they found basins filled with clear liquid of pure alcohol. The officer went on explaining to them how the Fire Nation's barrage had grown fiercer since the previous night.

"We don't have enough people here", he said, frowning deeply. A young man of mid-twenty was at his side and, judging from his appearance, he and the officer were the only two surgeons still active there.

"Just go and grab the first bleeder you see", the officer shouted over an explosion, dipping his hands on one of the basins. "Get the bleeding to stop and send them out. No time for heroics here."

In no time at all, Spear found himself trembling over a badly burnt soldier on a table, Megumi was going back and forth the room and the camp to regulate traffic, and Rha-Mi was dodging fire balls as he wet himself out there helping the medics. After the third men the sandbender dragged back from the front, he suddenly realized that he had not reported their arrival yet. Excusing himself, he jumped into the nearest foxhole; earth shaking and bursting all around him, dirt and pebbles rained down upon his cringing state, earthbenders defending the camp with their art and tanks coming and going with loud rumbling. Taking out his small penbrush and ink-powder tube, he balled up again as a blast occurred so close to him, part of the earth he was leaning on cracked.

Waving his hands at the loose earth and gravels around him, he made a circular motion; the loosen form of the element obeyed him and formed a dome above his head. Breathing more easily, though his heart still pounding wildly, he enjoyed a brief moment of disorientation. Shaking his head hard, he forced his cognition to work. Alright, right hand, penbrush; left hand, ink! First, he spat a mouthful into the ink-powder tube and stirred the dissolving content with the base end of his pen. Readying a small piece of paper, he put his fingers into his mouth and whistled hard. A small ferret-dove that belonged to the camp flew in and perched on his shoulder.

Ready now, he dipped his penbrush in the ink tube and wrote a very shaky: _"Big Bear-rat to Little Bear-rat, reporting in."_

Grabbing a handful of dirt, he put the crumpled paper in it and squeezed hard; the dirt balled up into a brittle lump. It was to further confirm his identity; who knows, the camp might think that the three had been captured by the Fire Nation and were forced to write the letter. Shoving it inside the tube strapped on the little bird's back, our corporal set the avian free. Grumbling in his native tongue, with his shivering hands he pulled out a smoked sausage from his chest pocket and started nibbling it; he had to skip breakfast on account of him oversleeping a little. About fifteen seconds and four series of barrages later, the same bird flew towards him and landed on his knee. From it, he took out a hastily written message from Rabbit.

"_Little Bear-rab to Big Bear-rab_", Rha-Mi welcomed the swelling warm feeling from reading the typo. "_Is that you, Rha-Mi?_"

Next was the following interchanging of message.

"_No, it's General How's chariot driver. Of course, it's Rha-Mi!"_

"_Oh hey, how are doing there, Rha-Mi? Is there a lobe of fire out there?"_

"_Well, not sure about lobe of fire, but we do get hit a lot."_

"_How's everything there?"_

"_Peachy! They rolled down a welcome mat made of bleeding patients."_

"_Are you guys still there?"_

"_Yeah, and from the looks of thing, we're going to be here until tomorrow."_

"_Understood. I'll tell Colonel Haoqi abort it."_

"_Great, see ya at home, kid."_

Back in the 44th, Rabbit released the bird bearing his last message, the one that he whispered as he watched the bird flew to the horizon: "Good luck, Big Bear-rat."

* * *

Mr. Li walked across the camp; morning exercise, he had said to Senshi, whom he nearly rammed into few moments ago. Limping with the aid of his walking stick, he cast a cheerful look to the sky above; the crimson-orange hue pushing the bluish dark to the west. Caught in-between the battle of time, Mr. Li noticed, was a Southern Wall constellation.

The portent of tragic loss…

Mr. Li sighed at the thought. He stood up straighter, straightened his robe, closed his eyes, and offered a moment of silence.

Reassuming his smiling face, he continued his walk. Greeting an intern, the meek looking one who wore bandana, and a couple of nurses, he found himself walking back to the mess tent. Rubbing his growling stomach, he pushed the door open and entered. The server was there, standing and inspecting his nails, the tables were mostly empty. A few nurses huddled together over cups of tea on one corner of the room, the heating stove in the middle was occupied by a group of shivering cold men, and on one table was a familiar face. Father Shu was sitting, zoning off. The priest barely noticed the newcomer sitting down in front of him with a tray of food.

"We have to stop meeting like this, Father", Mr. Li opened with a lighthearted joke.

"Better still than not meeting at all", Father Shu replied poetically. "How are you today, my son?"

"Better, Father", Mr. Li said with a winning smile. "So much better! My foot doesn't hurt so much anymore."

"Oh, that is good news, indeed", Father Shu exclaimed excitedly. But, Mr. Li could see him faking the jubilee.

"By the way", Mr. Li gulped down his bite. "I heard the sound of carriages earlier this morning. Did we have more wounded, Father?"

"Oh, no", Father Shu looked up from his tea cup. "That was probably Captain Haoren going to the aid station."

"Aid station?" Mr. Li arched a brow. "That's the first place people bring their wounded, right? Up in the front?"

"Yes", Father Shu nodded grimly. "Sort of a preliminary treatment before the real fixing up here."

"And then, from here, patients go back to the front?" asked Mr. Li with the utmost interest.

"Depends", Father Shu was back to his usual cheerful self; he liked it when people were asking him questions and he could provide the answer. "If they are fit enough, they will be sent back to the front. Otherwise, they will go to Tay Kho War Hospital where they will get more appropriate treatment or some recovery time."

"Sounds like a neat system", Mr. Li decided to give up on his bread. "So, Captain Haoren went with the Head Security, I believe?"

"Oh, no", Father Shu shook his head. "Our Head Security, Lieutenant Lin, is, uh… indisposed at the moment. Major Mor tried to blow him up."

Mr. Li might look befuddled but deep inside, he was wary. He did not expect this at all.

* * *

Lin squirmed in his dream_. He smelt moss and mud; tasted sour air in his mouth. He was tangled by swamp vines, his weapons were useless to him. He needed to get away, to get free. He needed to get to him. He needed to—_

"_Stay away from my grandnephew!"_

When consciousness unexpectedly returned to him, he chose not to move. Eyes closed still, he tried to recall as much as he could from his dream. However, the warmth tracing his hand distracted him so much. He opened his eyes and was about to tell Yoku or Bara, whom he believed to be the responsible party, to go away, but the moment his amber eyes fell upon the old woman, they grew as wide as his screaming mouth.

"Y-y-y-y-you!"

"Why, hello there, young man", the old woman greeted cheerfully. Caught in her death grip was Lin's hand.

"You're that crazy fortuneteller woman!" Lin accused. He tried to pull his hand free but the woman's grip was strong.

"Watch it, shorty", the crazy fortuneteller woman smacked Lin's head with a book she randomly picked up.

"Don't call me shorty!"

"Show respect to your elder!"

"Give me my hand back!"

"In a moment", she smacked her lips impatiently. "Stop struggling! I'm getting to a good part!"

"Stop reading my future!" Lin protested angrily.

"Oooh! Romance!" she exclaimed excitedly. "_Stop pulling_! Lookie here… shadow lurking in the darkness. My, you are quite a mysterious character, aren't you?"

"Baraaa! Heeeelp!"

"Flame that gives no light… most fascinating", the woman ignored Lin completely; then she gasped and made a face like she was witnessing the death of a cute puppy. "Such painful loss, little one. Almost made me cry— _give that hand back_!"

Too late. Lin had already stormed out limping away the best he could. Sadly, the crazy fortuneteller lady caught up with him and matched her pace to his limp with but a slightly fast stride. Suffice to say, Lin was not going awfully fast.

"You know, little boy", the crazy fortuneteller lady started matter-of-factly. "It will be easier for the both of us if you would just obey."

"I don't wanna", Lin snapped at her. "Go away, shoo!"

Narrowing her eyes, the crazy fortuneteller lady warned him with. "You know, I can also read people by the way they walk. Look at you; slow, limpy, uneven, unbalanced, uncoordinated. You must be a very hasty but careless person and suffering from constipation."

"My foot is hurt!" Lin barked at her.

"…Oh", she said, casting an uncaring look at Lin's bandaged foot. "Aha! You are not wearing any footwear. You are an earthbender."

"Earthbender, my green booger!" Lin spat, not forgetting to reply Bullhorn's cheery wave with a hasty one. "I had no time to put on my shoes escaping you, madam!"

"Aunt", she said.

"Where?" Lin growled, looking around for the said 'ant' for he wanted to kill something.

"Aunt", the woman repeated. "Aunt Wu, that's what people call me."

"Well, nice to meet you, Aunt Wu", Lin bowed sarcastically.

"Fortuneteller by trade", Aunt Wu spoke with such nuance. "I can tell you about your future, anything your heart desire. Ask me anything."

"Well, there is something I've been meaning to ask you", Lin stopped abruptly and turned to her.

"Ask away, boy", Aunt Wu smiled motherly; but to Lin she looked like a sly skunk-rat. The two large streaks of whiteish-gray on either side of her whole-bun hairdo enforced that imagery.

"I want to ask you… _to leave me alone_", Lin said scornfully.

"Don't you want to know about your future?" Aunt Wu sounded almost heartbroken. She had never met anyone so disinterested in his own future.

"No", Lin smiled sweetly to grease his venomous rejection.

"I don't understand", Aunt Wu sighed dejectedly, still following the limping lieutenant. "You have a most colorful life. Full of struggle, anguish, and loss; but also rich with love, life, and hope, not to mention a healthy amount of comedy and lots of action."

"Yipee", Lin rolled his eyes. He entered the latrine, walked towards an empty stall, and was about to loosen his sash when he noticed the crazy woman had followed him inside.

"Well, go on then", Aunt Wu said casually under Lin's frown. "Nothing I've never seen before."

"… No, thanks. I'm good."

Back to the compound, battling a losing battle against the cold wet wind, Lin was positively trembling in his thin sleeping robe; also, he really needed to pee and the cold wind was not helping.

"Stop", Aunt Wu suddenly said, gripping Lin's shoulder with strength that nearly toppled the latter. Annoyed, Lin was about to open his mouth when a ball dropped at his feet and bounced lightly to stop. Aunt Wu kicked it back to the group of men playing their earthbending ball game.

"You saw that ball coming", Lin answered flatly at Aunt Wu's _'see!'_ smug.

"Finally! I told you before, I _see_ stuff", Aunt Wu said triumphantly, her lazy looking eyes actually widened at this.

"No, not that kind of 'see'", Lin corrected scathingly. "I meant 'see' as in see, you know. See… see…!"

"Yes, '_see'_", Aunt Wu winked.

"No, see! Seeee… se— oh, forget it!" Lin gave up. He wanted to go to the mess tent but he did not like eating before brushing his teeth. So, heading back to his tent, he limped as fast as he could despite knowing full well his full speed was nothing he could be proud of; the crazy lady would still be able to catch up.

He was walking close to the tents, using them for support. As the result, upon walking past one of them, a door flew open and slammed itself on his face.

"Oh! Hi, Lin", Seito greeted far too cheerfully for someone who might have just broken Lin's nose. "Who's your friend?"

"Aunt Wu, Seito. Seito, Aunt Wu", Lin mediated the introduction half-heartedly.

"Welcome, Aunt Wu", Seito bowed graciously. "And may I say your nephew Lin is an invaluable member to our camp here. A big brother to us interns."

"Nephew? Eww…" Lin grimaced, earning him a sharp look from Aunt Wu.

"Oh, my", Aunt Wu gasped a little, deep brown eyes narrowed at a certain intern who just emerged from a newly built supply tent carrying a bundle of dried persimmon root. Tugging Lin's sleeve enthusiastically she chippered out happily. "Your path is deeply entwined with that one. There will be a bond unlike any other between the two of you."

"Who, me and Bob?" Lin questioned like a heretic would a devout priest. "Yeah, right."

"What about me?" Seito grinned like a kid who was promised a candy.

Aunt Wu looked at him, then at Lin, then at him again. Then, she delivered her verdict. "Your friendship will end before the cycle of the next four seasons ends."

Both boys exchanged skeptical look.

"But, hmm…" Aunt Wu closed her eyes and muttered. Lin would get away if he could but Aunt Wu had once again trapped him in her grip. "You, you're an earthbender, aren't you?"

"Me?" Seito pointed at himself. "Well, yeah. But, I'm not that good."

"Can you bend me a rock, about this big?" Aunt Wu positioned her hands together as if gripping an invisible cantaloupe.

"This big?" Seito stomped the earth and a rock the size of Aunt Wu's desire shot out to the boy's clutch.

"Yes, that will be enough", Aunt Wu sounded satisfied as she took the piece of earth from Seito. Turning to Lin, she smiled reassuringly as she said. "This is for your own good."

—THUD—

"ARRHHHGGGHHHH! MY FOOOOTTT!"

* * *

While the citizens of Shu Jing cooed over the adorable show of affection the old man and his daughter shared, Iroh lamented the fact that his niece was not a morning person and Azula was perfectly fine with being half-carried half-embraced through the street of Shu Jing while she fell half-asleep leaning on her uncle's shoulder. Not that she had anything to worry about; they were wearing simple enough clothes to be mistaken as regular noble people, and the small platoon of Royal Procession had changed into their undercover civilian outfit and was keeping a watchful eye on them from among the crowd. She could display this spoiled niece routine as much as she wanted to.

Besides, the nice voice encouraged it.

"Why don't we stop by for some tea and breakfast?" suggested Iroh. He practically had to drag Azula into the modest teashop along the roadside; Azula had stiffened up upon hearing the word 'tea' and nailed her feet on the ground.

Sitting down on their table, waiting for their order, Iroh began to chat about the local landmarks and customs, making a gentle nudge that Azula should not really be banging her head on the table.

"Uncle, I don't need help getting…" she paused for a yawn. "…sleepy."

"Uh-ah, head's off the table", Uncle Iroh poked her forehead lightly with a finger. "Courtesy, Princess."

Azula blew a tiny raspberry; Iroh nearly choked on his tea. The ensuing laughter was enough to wake her up.

"I don't see why you like to come here so much", Azula commented, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "This place is boring."

Iroh did have this annual spring break thing with Lu Ten to Shu Jing. Zuko and Azula would not have been able to come along; Zuko would be too busy with either his study or training, and Azula had been too young to go anywhere without her parents. Besides, Shu Jing had been Iroh and Lu Ten's father-son trip.

"This place has much to offer, Princess", said Iroh sagely. "People here are nice and friendly. Being around them offers you a kind of tranquility quite unlike the one you get from lonesome meditation."

"Is it better?" asked Azula with little to no interest.

"Not necessarily", Iroh smiled a little. "Just different. And sometimes, different is good. Like the many different shapes of clouds; one shape does not determine whether a cloud is better or worse than others of different shape."

"…"

"My word! You have mastered the elusive art of sleeping with your eyes open!"

"I'm not sleeping", Azula said flatly, as flat as her bored expression. "Just barely hanging in there."

* * *

Spear Haoren did not realize that it was noon already. The numerous holes of various sizes on the ceiling let threads of sunlight enter but the noise of war outside dwarfed their significance. It was not the first time Sairen had to work in such condition; one time, he had operated on a wounded colonel with a dull scalpel and no anesthesia in a foxhole right in the middle of a battlefield. Sai Haoren had experienced working conditions such as this, but never quite like this. He had been sent on volunteer duty such as this but never this close to the front. He was convinced that if he focused his hearing hard enough, he might just catch insults coming from Fire Nation mouths directed at his Kingdom.

—BOOM—

He instinctively leaned forwards, shielding his patient's opened stomach from a shower of dirt and dust from the ceiling. Dear Mother! No surgeons should work like this! Sairen How had been too preoccupied with developing ways to provide better care for their fighting soldiers, the idiot had completely forgotten about improving the wellbeing of the army medical staffs.

He scoffed bitterly at this.

Ah, to be back in time when things had been more… _more what_? Defined? Clearer?

"Done", he proclaimed.

Taking off his gloves, he was ready for the next patient. The commanding officer, however, ordered him on standby and to take a breather. Spear did not even try to argue. Walking to the corner of the room where Rha-Mi was napping despite the noise, hugging his saber and covering his face with his wide helmet, he was soon joined by Megumi who looked just as beat as Spear was.

"Megumi, can I ask you something?" Spear asked; his serious tone baffled Megumi for a second.

"Y-yes, sure", she stuttered a little. Over the years she had known Spear Haoren, she had never heard him assumed a tone this serious without a dying man lying on a table between them.

"How long have you been fighting this war? How long have you been in the Army?" Spear plopped down on the ground near Rha-Mi with Megumi.

"I don't know, I've never really thought about this", Megumi seem to be lost in thought, hugging her knees. "It's been years, five or six years."

"How long have this war been going on?" asked Spear again. There was this fragile candor in his voice that somehow made Megumi worry.

"Ninety four, ninety five years?" she shrugged, unsure. "Why do you ask?"

Spear did not answer immediately. He took out his jade pendant form his pocket and stared at it blankly for a moment. "My mother said that the Avatar will return one day and end this war. Did your mom ever tell you anything like that?"

"My Ma did", Rha-Mi's muffled voice emerged from under his helmet. Taking it off, he rose a bit and leaned on his elbow, telling the story with a bitter glee in his voice. "My Ma said the Avatar will one day return and end the war. I asked her where he went off to and she would always change the subject when the question is up."

"My mother never cared much about children stories", Megumi reminisced lowly. "She's a school teacher. The only books I was allowed to read must always be something they teach at school."

"That's terrible", Rha-Mi commented sympathetically. "But, hey, at least you've got books! In the Desert, the closest thing we have to books is a bended slab of hardened sand we carved with our fingers or a twig, if we could find a twig. It's not so bad. When they give homework, you can just drop it and honestly say that you lost your homework."

Their laughter was cut short by a very close shot. Spear promptly dragged Megumi down and shielded her with his arms; Rha-Mi too quickly dropped down holding his helmet over his head.

—BOOM—

A much closer one dropped just outside their window, raining down rocks and dirt onto them. Another one took down the part of the wall close to them. Without further ado, they scrambled away to the other side of the building

—BOOM—

Megumi screamed. Spear looked up to see that the commanding office and his doctor both leaned over a soldier they were working on; sweaty and pale as the blood on their hands dripping and red. He turned to Megumi; the woman was shivering under him and hid her face under her arms. Rha-Mi was scanning around the room like an eager beaveroo, but fear was in his eyes.

"Spirits", Spear lamented, gripping his pendant hard. "When will this war end?"

* * *

Lin was ready to go. He had just received news that Sai had really gone off to the front. He had never heard about aid station requesting help, of course. He was too busy recovering from being blown up at the time, hence he missed that officer meeting. When he got wind of Spear's early departure, it was when Seito, Bob, and Yee Shoo were fixing his foot after that crazy fortuneteller lady dropped that rock at his injured foot. But, he did not think that Spear would go so early.

Lin limped across the camp towards the stable the fastest he could. He was somewhat ready for the battle ahead; he was wearing his armor but his breastplate was titled and his shoulder pads were untied, bracers and boots with loose laces, Nightshade still in its pouch and dragged along, not to mention his pale and groggy face.

"Lin, stop!" the interns, minus Shoto, dashed across to him. "You can't go, you're still injured."

"Oh hey, guys!" Lin greeted with such cheerful manner that fit neither his character nor the situation at hand.

"Uh-oh", Bob started, the other two caught on in a second. They noticed something wrong with how unfocused and glazed over Lin's eyes were, not to mention his overall mannerism that resembles a drunkard. "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'll go check", Seito volunteered. The boy ran back to the main building where the three had been tending to Lin's aggravated wound; Haoqi was resting, though he had been notified about it, Trik had to do a round in the treatment room where he ran into them but okayed them to work on the lieutenant themselves, and as for Senshi, he had been issued what could possibly be the first ever restraining order in the history of Four Nations by Haoqi since he had been found guilty of trying to harm their Head Security on several occasions.

Lin found himself incapable of fighting back as Yee Shoo and Bob dragged him back to his tent, supporting him at his right and left. Did they not know that he was responsible for Sai's safety? Well… no, they did not; it was top secret. But still, to think that Haoqi would send Sai without notifying Lin; it made his blood boil. Strangely enough, the feeling Lin was experiencing was one he would label as euphoria. Oh, the color, the light, the sound, the smell, everything… it was all so… _good_. Feels like flying, like riding Birdie across the vast plain of Fire Nation Mainland… like falling in love…Oh, love…

"Azula…"

"Hmm?" Bob arched an inquisitive brow at him.

"Nothing, nothing", Lin laughed strangely cheerfully, a part of his consciousness was begging, screaming at him to stop the coming sentence that was forming in his mouth. _No, no, no, no, this is bad, this is bad!_ "Have I ever told you guys that I have a fiancé?"

"No, you haven't", Yee Shoo did not even try to hide his glee; Bob cleared his throat uncomfortably, looking away with pink cheeks.

"It's true", Lin said as convincingly as his delirium could allow; Yee Shoo was stifling a smile while Bob shot the other intern a stern look. "It was an arranged marriage, granted. But, boy! It. Is. Complicated!"

"How so?" Yee Shoo asked, earning him a slap on the arm by Bob.

Lin, crying inside, resumed with a hushed tone. _Stop, please! Stop! _"She doesn't know that she's engaged to me…"

"How intriguing", Yee Shoo was barely able to hold his laughter.

"Hurry, Seito", Bob begged under his breath, unable to stomach these confessions anymore. Lin was horrified inside and part of him pretty much committed suicide after the last statement.

"So, what's your fiancé's name?" asked Yee Shoo in all friendliness; Bob would have slugged him again if they were not struggling to open Lin's tent door.

"I'm not telling", Lin cackled like a maniac. _Phew, thank Agni…_. The other two entered and tugged him to bed.

"She pretty?" Yee Shoo asked again, a slap across the head was worth it.

"Like… a _princess_", Lin sighed longingly, then he laughed again like a maniac; the barely conscious part of him just did not care anymore as it sobbed quietly in the corner of the dark room that was his consciousness. "Hahaha! It's really funny if you guys know who she is. She's pretty like a princess! Hahahahaha!"

Across the continent, Fire Princess Azula sneezed a mouthful of noodle soup on her uncle's face.

"Of course, she is", Yee Sho shrugged lightly, helping Lin taking off his gear.

"Why do I get the feeling that you two are not convinced?" Lin asked groggily. _Oh, please Agni, just kill me now… Smite me with the cold-blooded fire of yours!_

"Kids", Haoqi's sudden appearance elicited yelps from the two interns; Seito was in tow, grinning guiltily. "Would any of you explain to me why I caught your little friend here in the supply tent perusing through boxes of anesthetic that your guys are not allowed to touch?"

"Uh…" Bob fidgeted, sweating profusely.

"He smells like baby powder!" Lin exclaimed, pointing at Bob who shot him a furious look.

Haoqi took one look at Lin's delirium, then at the guilt ridden mugs of the interns, then back at Lin who laughed like a crazy psycho. He drew a professional conclusion. "Oh, no… tell me you guys didn't!"

"This is what we gave him", Seito defended their innocence, handing over a small porcelain bottle to the full-fledged officer.

Haoqi took it and inspected the label. "Doesn't seem wrong. This kind shouldn't affect brain function."

But then, when he pulled the cap and took a whiff of the liquid inside. "Oh, dear Mother in Heaven! This is distillated boiled cactus juice! This thing is for adults only!"

"They mislabeled the bottle?" Bob frowned deeper, struggling against Lin who tugged on his bandana.

"Happens all the time", Haoqi explained darkly. "The Army has this regulation that enforces price cut when they are ordering supplies from privately owned manufacturers. As the result, those disgruntled entrepreneurs never really care about quality control. That is why we have supply officer duty to check our supply shipment and to make sure each bottle contains what they say they do."

"The label said this one came with the last shipment", Seito squinted at the small piece of paper glued to the bottom.

"Who's supply officer at that time?" Haoqi asked around. "Yee Shoo, go ask Rabbit to pull the record from the last—"

"A-actually, sir", Bob stuttered, raising a shaky hand. "It was Major Mor. I was helping him at the time."

"Who?" Haoqi gawked. Turning crimson with anger, he stormed off the tent.

"SENSHIIIII!"

"Your professor's screwed", Lin nodded at Bob as sagely as his droopy eyes could permit. "You still smell like baby powder!"

* * *

He pictured the sky, vast and limitless. Seemingly beyond the reach, the layer of blue, deep yet shallow, far but feels so near. He pictured clouds, massive and small, still—

"Fwooosshhh…."

… still yet ever-moving. Like foam under the waterfall, slow despite the force that brings it into being. The mind must stay still and immobile, yet at the same time al—

"Fwoooosshhh…."

Trembling with irksome mood, Fire Prince Zuko opened his eyes and leered with such intensity to the same kind of amber behind the blue mask. Azula, finally gaining her brother's attention, or breaking his concentration, whichever sounds nicer, smirked impishly as she blew through the mouth slit of the mask. Zuko decided to ignore her. Meditation was more important to him.

The mind must stay still and immobile, yet at the same time alive and ever-evolving. Like the changing of time, the revolving of the Earth; perfectly steady and never stopping. As a fire koi fish never swims against the tide, so should the mind be opened to—

"Fwoooosshhh…."

*sigh*… be opened to accept changes, yet retain its consistency. Timing! Such is the key of creative changing, transformation only when good will be achieved. Will a snake-weasel shed off its skin if it needs not such hassle; will a rock hermit crab abandon its shell when the shell serves him a purpose still? The wis—

"Fwoooosshhh…"

Grr… the wisdom of changes shall re—

"Fwooosshhh…"

…shall reach its pot—

"Fwoooossshhhhh…."

…reach—

"FWOOOSSHHH…."

"…"

"Zuuuuuzuuuuu…."

"Rawr!"

"UNCLE!"

Azula successfully stole a head start by throwing the mask on her brother's forehead. Running across the empty hall, she took several turns and twists, and finally reached the sanctuary of Iroh's opened arms in the courtyard.

Zuko arrived seconds after.

"Uncle, Zuzu is bullying me…." our Fire Princess gave a convincing, not to mention conniving, sad sniff.

"Zuko…" Iroh shot the fuming Fire Prince a reprimanding stare, patting the Fire Princess he held in his arms on the back.

"But, I–", Zuko stammered. "I didn't— I wasn't— She was— ARRGGH! You guys are crazy!"

Smirking triumphantly, Azula was about to follow her brother's stampede out of the courtyard. But, wise as always, Uncle Iroh caught the flighty girl's wrist and sat her by his side. The Royal Family had done this school quite a lot of harm; having the royal siblings burn the place down over petty bickering would be an overkill, not to mention bad for publication.

"Your move", Iroh smiled politely, and a little apologetically, at his host, all the while trying to hold down Azula's mischief episode in which she tried to distract Iroh's clutch by moving his Pai Sho tiles.

"Difficult", Piandao pondered, stroking his beard, thinking hard.

"… Please, hurry", Iroh practically begged, fighting a losing struggle against Azula's superior agility and youth.

"Hmm…" Piandao did not seem to notice.

"Alright, you win", Iroh finally let the smug princess go. Jumping up, Azula offered a polite bow to Piandao before running back to where Zuko was. "No firebending!" Iroh quickly added as the red flash of the girl's garb vanished on the corner of the hallway.

"It's winter soon", Piandao opened a small talk, still concentrating on the game.

"You sound unhappy", Iroh drove straight to the point. "Has Zuko done anything wrong?"

"Any—", it was one of the rare occasion Piandao lost control of his calmness; after all, he was a Fire Nation with hotheadedness programmed into his genetic makeup. Taking a deep breath, he delivered words that clashed severely with his renewed calm face. "He is an immature, undisciplined, rude, disrespectful, pompous, spoiled, insensitive, ungrateful brat… _he broke my stick_!"

"Zuko broke your what?"

"My stick! I use that stick to hit— I mean, to _train_ all of my senior students. And he broke it!"

"Surely, you have a spare", Iroh tried not to laugh.

"Yes, but the one he broke has sentimental value", Piandao calmed down a little. "Yuu made it for me after he broke my old one."

"Did he get angry at you, too?" Iroh asked as he recalled Yuu as the servant/student who used to live with Piandao, the one who was responsible for Piandao being an anti-drinking out.

"No, he broke it with his head; I was training him with it and I underestimated the strength of his cranium", Piandao sighed. "That boy has the strongest skull I have ever encountered."

Back in Earth Kingdom, a powerful sneeze forced Zhong to perform a Heimlich to save Yuu who choked on his meat bun.

"I hope you can open yourself for a second chance", Iroh said sagely, taking a sip from his cup.

"I have given him many second chances", Piandao retorted, fighting a very natural urge to grit his teeth.

"I meant for yourself", Iroh's eyes shone with light that a patient father has. "Give yourself a second chance to understand him."

"You want me to adapt to his antics?" Piandao asked incredulously, convinced he was that senility had finally claimed his mentor's mind. "General, this is usually a two-way street."

"I know, I know", Iroh waved it down. "I will talk to Zuko."

In the meantime, Azula, having just arrived at his brother's door, took a peek from the door frame. The moment the tip of her top-knot poked through her cover, a very sharp. "Go away, Azula!" stopped her straight. She showed herself in anyway.

Leaning against the door frame, crossing her arms, she cast a rather sharp impish look at her brother who was trying to get back to the tranquility of his mediation. Interesting, she thought. Never before she thought meditation could make someone's nostrils flare so much.

"You left without telling me", Azula started, inspecting her nails lazily. She ignored a part of her that felt a little pricked.

Zuko shot her a glare. Next, he snapped. "None of your business."

Azula narrowed her eyes at him, hostility began to grow. She decided to reciprocate with an offensive sneer. "Why are you here? Have uncle realized what a failure you are at firebending?"

It was the way she said it that made those words unnecessarily more hurtful. Zuko swallowed his urge to throw a fistful of fire at her; he would have done it, really! It was just that… there was something in Azula's eyes as soon as those words rolled out of her tongue… astonishment. It helped ease Zuko's impatience. Unexpectedly, Azula threw her gaze off, jaws hardened; it was a faint trace of regret that Zuko did not understood and Azula had forgotten how to react to.

Clearing her throat to ease her awkwardness, Azula entered the room, hands grasped behind her back. Too naturally, she went to a hooded red robe hanging on the wall and inspected it with forced interest and healthy dash of stubborn pride.

"This looks familiar", she said, taking it off the hook and stretched the fabric so they could see the red lotus embroidery on it.

"It's Lin's", Zuko grumbled, still sounded furious. The next sentence, however, was delivered with a rather sad tone. "Mom made it for him, remember?"

Yes, as expected, the mention of Ursa stunned Azula. Zuko felt a strange rush of guilt that did not succeed in quelling his earlier anger. Rather than trying to console his sister or something along that line, he averted his glance away. A shift he felt, he registered as Azula sitting down by his side.

"Why are there Lin's stuffs here?" Azula asked softly; even Zuko with his leftover annoyance could detect a certain kind of sadness in his sister's voice. Azula herself was beginning to recognize that boot on top of the pile of untended laundry, that pile of books about war treatise and historical battles on the floor near the wardrobe, and that cheap looking ninjato hanging on the wall as Lin's belongings.

"This used to be his room", Zuko said, not knowing why the sadness of his tone matched that of Azula's. "I asked Master Piandao if I could use Lin's room."

He looked up to his sister who had slung the robe over her shoulder, burying the lower half of her face in the fabric. Their eyes met and, after few seconds, matching smiles dawned upon their faces. Without further ado, the royal sibling commenced their room raid.

"Books, books, more books" Zuko dug through a large chest people usually use to store their clothing with a big grin. "I know he's a bit of a nerd but, man! He has a library in his footlocker."

"And look what he has in his library", Azula had the same grin when she raided a nearby bookrack, still wearing the oversized robe, she picked up a pile of scrolls. She opened one and the drawing of Fat the Butler picking his nose made her burst out laughing.

"Hey, look, Azula", Zuko gasped, picking out a small rectangular wooden box he assumed to contain some sort of treasure. Azula arrived just in time to peek over Zuko's shoulder as the latter lifted the lid. "Throwing knives?"

"What's in those bottles?" Azula picked one of the many long thin sealed tubes containing clear frizzy liquid from inside the box. Curiously, she shook it; their eyes widened as the liquid rapidly changed color and began to hiss. Quickly she put it back to the box; Zuko put the lid back on just as quickly. He threw it back to the chest and together with his sister shoved as much stuff in it as possible. Next, they slammed the chest closed and sat on it full with anticipation.

Both panting from the thrill, they waited for an explosion or something but nothing happened. At the same time, they turned to each other, their eyes met, and, after few seconds passed, they burst out laughing.

* * *

"Good luck on your journey, Master Kisa", Old Wojin, Shimazu, Zan Wa, and Takkuro bowed at the bard. Already in his travelling getup, Kisa bowed back. As Wojin embraced the bard, he whispered. "My men will shadow you until you reach the Abbey."

"Thank you for everything, masters", Kisa addressed them all. To Shimazu, he apologized for the one-eyed veteran not being able to go with him and his orphans. Shimazu gave him an awkward smile.

The masters stayed and watched Kisa's departure with his orphans, each with their thoughts. Zan Wa and Takkuro looked solemn, Wojin looked tired, and Shimazu was slightly at loss. The news of him being declared a deserter was a tough pill to swallow; he had been a soldier all his life. Wojin would still host the wounded and the refugees. Afterwards, they would either be sent back to where they belong, or if they wanted to, they would be welcomed to stay. Wojin certainly wanted to have that man, Yuan Cay.

The said man was currently slumping against the wall in the underground hallway. His body was only hurting but his soul had completely shattered. It was quite a feat slipping away from the watchful eyes of his caretakers but there he was; he was ready to end it all.

"Cay!" he heard someone called. He did not need to turn back to know that it was Chey. "Cay, wait! Where are you going?"

"Go away, Chey!" Cay exclaimed. It took a moment for Chey to overcome his surprise; it was the first time he heard the former's clear voice; so far, Chey had only heard him speak when Cay was wheezing through his chest wound or crying bitterly in the pool of his own blood. Yuan Cay had a deep powerful voice.

"You're not going to do anything foolish again, are you?" Chey asked suspiciously, arriving in time to catch Cay as the man doubled over gripping his wound.

Yuan Cay, weakened as he was, could only let the man guide him back to the recovery room, they had to stop though; after few steps, Cay's wound hurt him so badly and he could not move an inch. Slowly sitting him down on the floor, Chey followed suit, sitting with back against the wall. He was, after all, also wounded.

"Where're you from?" Chey started a small talk, suppressing his heave the best he could.

Yuan Cay did not answer immediately; he was having trouble talking on top of his physical pain and mental numbness. He did not care anymore… so, why did this stranger cared so much?

They sat for a few moments more, both trying to catch their breath. Finally, sitting up straighter, Cay said. "I'm from Tianshui."

"Oh, nice", Chey smiled weakly. "Good place?"

"Not bad."

* * *

The sky had been muddy all day; sunlight barely shone through the barricade of ominously dark cloud. In the aid station, the break from the shooting was a welcomed occurrence. The flow of wounded spiked up, though. Reinforcement from General Do's earthbender battalion turned the tide almost immediately. Fire Nation's siege machines and tanks were pushed back further away to the west.

"How many more out there?" Sai turned to Rha-Mi who, with another corpsman brought in a new wounded soldier.

"This is the last one, praised be the Desert Wind", Rha-Mi grinned weakly.

"Wipe", Spear panted, allowing Megumi, his attending nurse, to wipe off the beads of sweat on his forehead. "I miss my bed."

"Me, too", Megumi mistook the longing in the surgeon's voice as that of lethargy. "When I get back, the first thing I'd do: slam my bag as hard as I can to the ground and jump onto my bed and _sleep_. I won't even bother changing."

"No, I meant my bed at home. Omashu", Spear rebutted, eyes fixed on the man's gut. "_Clamp_. Omashu, the land of sliding delivery system. It's a good place to live; if you're okay with the constant shortage of cabbages, that is."

"Cabbages?" Megumi frowned.

"Yeah", Spear frowned a little. "Our beloved King Bumi has a very high standard for imported cabbages. Only few carts make it through our wall every month."

"Huh…? Our chief has the same thing for scorpion-crabs", Rha-Mi commented, covering his mouth with a handkerchief and taking a peek over Megumi's shoulder at patient's wound.

"I miss that city", Spear sighed longingly. "_Retraction_. The streets, the boys playing earthbending ball, the food… oh-ho! Omashu Porky Pork Bun! As a kid, I spent every cooper of my allowance buying that stuff."

"Oh, is it that good?" Megumi was grateful for her mask that hid her smile; she was imagining chubby little Haoren eating a mountain of Porky Pork Buns.

"Good? Good! Blasphemy!" Spear said in a faked offended tone. "_Sponge_. No word has yet been invented to describe the—", Spear stopped short to recompose himself. "Fellow Earth Kingdom denizens, if you have never experienced Omashu Porky Pork Bun, you, my good sir and ma'am, have done your palate a great disservice."

Megumi and Rha-Mi, standing in the other side of the table, had the front row seat for the next performance. Spear was having a hard time keeping that dreamy glint in his dark brown eyes.

"Let's start with the wrapping, dear man and woman. _Clamp_", he recited his poetry. "Banana leaves, clean and lush green; it keeps the heat in and, at the same time, the heat gives rise to a certain fragrance only banana leaves can give. And the bun… oh, white, round, soft, not too sticky, not too loose; when you sink your teeth into it slowly, you can actually feel the particles of it separating, giving way to such oral pleasure."

"We're still talking about food, right?" Rha-Mi asked jokingly; Megumi elbowed him hard.

"And that's only the texture of the bun", Spear continued. "_Retraction_. The taste? Plain with just a hint of sweet; not sugar sweet, flour sweet."

"_Flower_ sweet?" Rha-Mi raised a brow.

"No, flour, flour; tapioca, wheat, corn kind of flour", Spear corrected. "_Scalpel_. And the filling… oh, my dear Megumi, the filling! Minced pork, steamed with soy sauce, lard, and secret herbs, blends so well with the bun like… like… oh, I am at loss! It is excellence, nay, masterpiece!"

"Haoren, I'll take the last one", the middle age officer called from the other table.

"Yes, sir", Spear replied. Back to his compatriots, he sounded very sad when he said. "I miss Omashu. _Suture_. I miss my home, my room. My dad…"

Spear grew silent for the next few minutes he closed the patient's wound. "I miss my dad."

He was, of course, referring not to General How, but to his maternal uncle Mr. Haoren. After Sairen was brought by his mother to Omashu, his uncle took them in and formally adopted Sairen as his godson; he even rechristened the boy with his surname. To the world, Mr. Haoren was Sai's father.

"I really miss my dad", Spear said woefully.

Finished with his last patient, he went to their corner of the room and slumped down on a pile of sandbag with Megumi. Rha-Mi had to help with evacuating the said patient and joined them later. They stayed in silence, broken by occasional 'what time is it?'s. They had skipped lunchtime but none were too eager for food. Megumi tried to escape the awkwardness by packing and repacking her bag, Rha-Mi chose to try and fail to sleep, Spear just sat there in silent holding his pendant in his hand. During the last barrage, he seemed to have clutched it too tight; the circular jade pendant had cracked severely and the two uneven pieces dangled threateningly.

Spear did not know what went into him when he, with no shred of emotion at all, snapped the pendant in two. War destroys things… why should this pendant be an exception?

* * *

He stood there, he moved his mouth.

But, no sound came out…

He was frantic, he looked afraid, he felt afraid. He shouted.

But, no sound was heard…

Lin saw his lips parted, his hands trying to reach out.

But, nothing was heard…

_No, wait…_ Lin begged. He had stopped reaching out to Lin but Lin would not give up that easily. He smiled sadly, wordlessly saying goodbye, but Lin refused to let him go. He drifted farther and farther away, Lin tried to give chase, trying to call his name.

But, he simply smiled…

_No, wait! Don't go! _

He kept drifting away…

"LU TEN!"

—THUD—

"Ow, my ear!" Seito fell down and rolled on the floor in pain. Lin suddenly shooting up while he was trying to listen to what the latter was whispering in his sleep resulted in Lin's head ramming into his left ear.

"Wh—what happened?" Lin scanned the room frantically.

"Do you remember anything?" it was Trik who delivered the question. The surgeon wasted no time to check the boy's pupil and pulse.

"What do you mean?" Lin rubbed his head, the room was spinning. He barely registered Rain coming to his side and checking his temperature and pulse. Bara, the four interns, and Yoku were also there.

"You don't remember anything?" Trik asked in all seriousness. "How are you feeling? Faint? Dizzy? Want to vomit?"

"Well…" Lin breathed fast and could not stop, he felt a rush of anxiety that he found to be very strange. "No, crappy, yes, yes, and, oh hell, _yes_."

"Bucket", Trik called a la operating room. Taking a bucket from Shoto, he shoved it to Lin.

"…_yucky bucket…"_

Lin shut his eyes hard and looked away; yucky bucket… that was what Lu Ten used to call it.

"You're quite something, kid", Trik flashed his crooked grin. "It usually takes a grown man a whole day to shake off cactus juice. You got sober in just a few hours."

"What? I never touched any cactus juice!" Lin did not know why he felt so afraid, or cold, or so accused.

"The anesthetic they used on you", Trik explained. "They mistakenly used the cactus juice kind. When they dabbed it on your wound, it entered your blood stream."

"I don't know what you're talking about", Lin breathed more quickly than he would like to. He tried to get up but Rain and Trik held him down.

"Okay, guys! Out!" Trik ordered the others. "Give him some space."

"Rain will stay with him", said Bara to Trik before she herded the rest of the visitors out. "Just in case."

"No, wait! Bara, don't go! Don't leave me!" Lin did not know why his voice was so high-pitched and he sounded so much like a frightened child. "Stay, please! Please!"

Bara and Trik exchanged a meaningful look. Shrugging, Trik got up and left, leaving the three of them in the tent.

"Lin, are you okay?" Bara asked softly. As soon as she sat down, Lin pulled himself into her bewildered embrace. Lin did not know why he broke down crying.

"Lu Ten…" he sobbed, eyes blurry. "Lu Ten… he died."

"Lu Ten? Fire Prince Lu Ten?" Bara muttered, puzzled. He rubbed the boy's back, trying to pacify him. She was a little confused when Lin suddenly broke off but luckily Rain caught drift of the coming vomit and shoved the bucket to Lin in time.

"Why does this happen?" Bara asked no one in particular, patting the bot's back to ease his retching. She looked up to Rain who looked back with sympathy.

* * *

Mr. Li stood there, swaying side to side like a blade of grass. How he loved the autumn wind; there is gentleness in the forceful flow of the air. The young man looked up to the sky and smiled at the thick cloud above. He preferred stars; they were like tiny diamond on the black velvet that is the night sky. But, how could he be mad at the sky at all? It had kept him company ever since he was but a babe; a wide-eyed child fascinated by the tiny diamonds on the black velvet that is the night sky.

Night would not fall for the next few hours. The chimney on the mess tent below the hill where he was standing, swaying with the air, was smoking. The camp was having dinner, but Mr. Li was not in the mood for food. He knew that he must be here. There would be something interesting here.

"Quite chilly, don't you think?" an old female voice greeted.

_Ah, something interesting…_

"It's winter soon", Mr. Li replied, closing his eyes to enjoy more of the wind on his skin.

"I know what you have been doing", Aunt Wu went straight to the point.

"Do you now?" Mr. Li's gentle smile gradually transformed into a sly smirk.

Could this old lady possibly know that Mr. Li had manipulated that weak-minded egomaniac of a major to enter the tent of their Head Security so the major would take the fall for the theft of a portrait Mr. Li had committed before when they were busy with their wounded? Or that it was Mr. Li who broke into the doctor s' tent and ripped a page of the magazine he found in the major's footlocker? Or that it was intentional when Mr. Li crushed the spirit of their camp chaplain; just for extra insurance? Or that Mr. Li had gotten to the good side of that head nurse just to sell his innocence if thing went south? Or that Mr. Li slipped a grenade that he stole from the camp weapons tent under Private Fushang's pillow where he knew the private would find it easily?

"Your face is not that hard to read, astronomer?" Aunt Wu sounded both cold and condescending.

"Strategist", Mr. Li corrected, turning a bit to the old lady.

"Same difference", Aunt Wu did not care. "You have failed."

"Just a little, madam", Mr. Li went back to the sky.

"Aunt Wu", the old lady corrected.

"Same difference", Mr. Li reveled in the small measure of revenge.

"There have been injuries, yes", Aunt Wu could not repress her admiration. "I am truthfully impressed at how you avoided deaths."

"Death would bring them together", Mr. Li whispered gravely.

"Injuries would tear them apart", Aunt Wu continued. "Impressive."

"But, he got away", Mr. Li abruptly sounded stern as his green eyes caught the sight of a certain youth with a ponytail walked out of the mess tent accompanied by two female mercenaries in black. "Thanks to you, apparently."

Aunt Wu did not reply; she simply smiled triumphantly.

"If you hadn't thrown that rock on his wound, he would have rushed out to the front", Mr. Li explained it to her. "Him being here will be just another layer of defense to bring down."

"Let me offer you a friendly warning, as a fellow reveler of the sky, astronomer", Aunt Wu ignored the man's look of annoyance. "Do not underestimate that boy. He is more powerful than any of us."

"Power is overrated, _madam_", Mr. Li emphasized the last word.

"Not this one", Aunt Wu said sternly. "This one is a strong destiny. You cannot destroy him."

Mr. Li offered the fortuneteller a polite nod; Aunt Wu returned it just as graciously. "Then let me give you one in return", Mr. Li said calmly. "Go, leave while you can. The Fire Nation will arrive soon."

"Thank you, astronomer", Aunt Wu bowed a polite Earth Kingdom bow. "May our paths never cross again."

"Best wishes to you, madam", Mr. Li returned her bow.

* * *

Dinner of stale dusty bread and moldy jerky had been served and survived from. Finally, after spending all day trying to sleep, Rha-Mi had successfully escaped the reality of war and found a short moment of solace in his sleep. It was not even nightfall yet but to the three of them at least a full week had passed.

"He did great today", Major Megumi commented kindly as she pulled the corporal's blanket over his shoulder.

Spear was lying on the floor with only his thin robe beneath. Megumi arrived by his side and lied down with a tired sigh. "You did great, too", Megumi said wholeheartedly. This kind of compliment had never been directed to Spear from Megumi; it was understandable that his brown eyes widened in awe.

"Megumi, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you really mean it", he gaped.

"I mean it", Megumi gave him a warm smile. "You did a terrific job."

"Megumi, I'm flattered… Touched… _Aroused_…"

—Whack—

"Must you ruin every moment!" Megumi cursed her foolishness of hitting the grinning idiot on the head while he was wearing his helmet. Huffing and rubbing her sore hand, she plopped down with her back turned at Spear. To her surprise, she could not bring herself to pull away when Spear snuggled closer and covered her with half of his blanket, adding more protection against the cold autumn.

"For the record, chivalry _is_ dead", Spear yawned, using his folded arm as a pillow. "I'm just too tired to be rotten."

Megumi did not reply; she did not even realize that she was smiling a little.

"And when people ask, you came on to me first."

She elbowed him right on the rib.

* * *

"You don't want to go anymore?" Bara asked, holding his elbow to prevent him from falling over.

"I can't seem to care anymore", Lin said, struggling to even loose the words. His chest still felt so hollow and part of him made him feel like he was floating, in a bad way. "And besides…" he looked around to make sure the both of them and Rain were alone. "If something did happen…"

"I don't know about you White Tigers", Bara muttered just as lowly. "But, I'm pretty sure it won't do you any good if somebody gets to your target before you."

"Why?" Lin frowned a little.

"You're a _spy_", Bara hissed sternly. "You are _one of them_. Blend in, stay undercover, don't get caught. As long as you haven't received the order to kill, you must keep your cover. And, right now, your cover is…"

"I knew I should have joined Genbu", Lin lamented his choice. "You guys are more…"

"Direct", Bara finished his sentence.

As they walked towards the Head Security's tent, a certain lieutenant colonel was fending off a cretin of a major unsuccessfully as he strode toward his office.

"I don't want to hear it!" Haoqi shouted. "How many times do I have to tell you to check the box content before clearing them!"

"Colonel, do you know how much time it will take?" Senshi half-whined, half-protested. "And besides, it's not that bad. It's not like cactus juice is habit forming."

"What!" that does it! Haoqi made a grab for Senshi's collar and lifted the terrified jerk up several inches. "Do you know how much damage you have done this day alone! Do you! I'm writing a report about you right now!"

"Yes, sir?" Rabbit materialized out of nowhere.

"Rabbit— *gasp* _don't do that_!" Haoqi reprimanded him. Shoving Senshi aside, he turned to the clerk and began. "Get the bird ready for a correspondence with General Chang Ye", but Rabbit said at the same time. "Sir, the headquarters have closed down all communication on account of the coming storm, sir."

"Rats!" Haoqi cursed. Rabbit continued. "I'll keep tabs on the communication line, sir."

"That's all, Rabbit. Just go and keep tabs on the communication line", Haoqi ordered. Rabbit went his way and Haoqi turned to Senshi and was about to lash out again. But, he could not seem to care anymore. Throwing one last glare, he followed Rabbit's footstep into the main building, leaving Senshi and mixed feeling of negativity.

Unappreciated, misunderstood, disrespected… Senshi really could not hold it anymore. Huffing, hatred claimed his heart. Stomping off from the spot, he walked to Megumi's camp before realizing that she was not there. Even angrier now, he made his way back to his tent. The sight of Akugi Sho slouching lazily in his bed with a cup of their home-brewed wine made Senshi sick.

Depravation, degeneration, undisciplined… what had become of this proud Army?

Upon seeing Senshi staring at him weirdly, Trik warily put down his cup and magazine, pulled out his helmet and Spear's pouch that contained his spear, put on his helmet and held the pouch like a scared kid would. "Please, don't blow me up, mister…"

"Not funny!" Senshi snapped. Redirecting his anger at puffing his pillow and pulling his blanket over his head with more vigor, he wished with all his heart for the Inquisitor to get here.

"Private Fushang died two hours ago", Trik's voice was distant.

"I don't know who you're talking about", Senshi snarled. "It's not my job to concern myself with every—"

He never got to finish his sentence. The next thing he knew, he tasted dirt in his mouth as Trik pulled him up by his collar and threw him over the tent canvas. On his attempt to scurry up, fighting fear that had claimed him once more, he did not register the cracking sound Trik made when the latter broke a beam of their tent with his bare foot. Senshi had barely got up when a series of blows fell upon him.

"You! Bastard!" Trik accompanied each word with a blow from his piece of wood. "How! Dare! You!"

"Stop! Sho, have you gone mad!" Senshi shrieked, shivering despite his bravado.

"Mad?" Trik laughed bitterly. Dropping his wood, he grabbed the major by his collar and lifted the jabbering wreck up. "No, Senshi, I have not gone mad. I should have done this a long time ago!"

"Help! Help!" Senshi screamed. Trik's large fist was inches away from his face when it stopped right on its track.

"Stop, Captain", Father Shu's surprising strength held the enraged captain by the elbow. "This is not the way of honor."

"This otte-rat has no honor!" Trik seethed, green eyes shone with murder. "I've had enough of him!"

"Captain, please", Father Shu persuaded calmly. "Go to my tent and wait there. I will be with you in a moment."

Still seething with anger, it took Trik great effort to peel his eyes off the pathetic state Senshi was in; greater still was his effort to drag his bare feet to Father Shu's tent. Father Shu watched the captain's departure calmly, wanting to make sure the angry man get inside his tent. Senshi got up, dusted off his clothes, and cleared his throat.

"Well, Father… seeing that you are a witness to this incident, I will count on your cooperation when I reported this to the Inquisitor", he said, nodding profusely as if to assure himself that he was doing the right thing. Father Shu shot him a look that no monk should have; the major truly had tested his patience.

Speechless, though many unsavory words of Common Tongue vocabulary were forming in his throat, Father Shu threw a last look of disappointment before he left. Father Shu left for the deserted mess tent, not his own. He could not care. How could priest guide the lost when he himself was lost?

* * *

Morning was a blessing for them. They laughed, joked around, sang, and had a great time on their way home. No artillery barrage, no rushing, no danger; even Cammie sounded happier when she bleated. They stopped at tall cliff the highway went through. Below there, only ten miles away was the beloved and most loathed 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital. Ah, the boring green canvas, the dirt, the putrid aroma. Hell, it might be, but home it had to be.

"Major", Spear started, turning to the grinning woman sitting by his side, silently admiring the sight of her with gentle sunlight veiling her face. "If you repeat this, I'll deny it: you are my favorite army officer."

He leaned and kissed her on the check.

"Me, too, Major", Rha-Mi declared from on top of Cammie.

"Thank you, you two", Megumi smiled back sheepishly.

"Oh, hey guys! Look!" Rha-Mi suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the camp below. From their spot, they could easily notice the mess tent, the largest tent in the camp with a large Earth Kingdom medical insignia on top: they could see it collapsed and the many tiny figures of men in green folding it roughly and dragging it away.

"They're bugging out!" Rha-Mi shouted, accelerating the cart.

* * *

Azula woke up with the sun. A single ray of gentle sunlight escaped through the crack on the window caressed her gently on her face. Yawning, she kicked the red robe away as she stretched; since Azula got the bed, Zuko slept on the floor and had the right to the thick comfortable quilt, and Azula was using Lin's red robe as a blanket. Exhaling deeply, she heated the cold air around her with her bending. Finally cozy, she went back to assume a comfy fetal position. Sadly, Zuko's snoring permitted no more sleeping. Grumpily, she peeked down the edge of her bed where Zuko had taken refuge on the floor. That was when Zuko, mumbling something about roaches and fireflakes, swung his hand and hit Azula right on the forehead.

Offended as she was hurt, Fire Princess Azula rolled around on the bed, quietly cursing Zuko with words she picked up from some Shu Jing dock workers. Growling, she sat up with a blue fireball flickering dangerously on her palm.

No, wait… she breathed in a calming air. A Fire Princess must always carry herself with honor and dignity… even when dealing with her idiotic brother.

Extinguishing her flame, she jumped down her bed, fighting off the urge to land on Zuko's gut. Digging through her bag for her toothbrush and change of clothes, making no effort to keep the noise down, she proceeded to the washroom where she prepared herself for the day. When she got back to the room, Zuko was still snoring his lungs off. A brief mischievous glint was apparent in those bright amber eyes of hers when she pulled her brother's blanket up his feet. Taste the cold air of autumn, Zuzu!

Giggling quietly, she made her way the small mirror attached to the wall where she fashioned her long ponytail into her usual knot. Tied and secured, she took her new three-pronged hair ornament and secured it around her knot. Throwing a last glance at Big Brother Zuzu, who had begun to curl up into a shivering ball, she smirked her way to the main courtyard.

As expected, Uncle Iroh was there with Master Piandao.

"Uncle", she called, arriving by the old man's side and ignoring the cup of tea he offered her. "When do we start training a new move?"

Iroh sighed deeply, putting the cup back; Piandao threw the old man smirk from behind his cup. "Good morning, Princess Azula", the swordmaster greeted, nodding a little. "I trust you have a good night sleep?"

Azula bowed down politely and thanked him. Then, back to Uncle Iroh, she bugged him with firebending training.

"Vacation… one simple word!" Iroh sighed, getting up and stretched his back. "For your next birthday, I'm getting you a dictionary."

"But, I'll still get to learn a new move, right?" Azula asked sweetly.

"Yes, you still get to learn a new move", Iroh said, defeated. But, the uncle-niece duo had barely taken one step when Piandao cleared his throat rather loudly and cast Iroh a meaningful look.

"Oh, right", Iroh abruptly said. "Is your brother awake yet?"

"Nope", Azula reply was short.

"I better go and wake him", Iroh said. "There is something important that I have to talk to him about."

"But, what about my training?" Azula pouted.

"We'll train another time", Iroh promised. "But now, I need to be with your brother."

"But, you've promised", she whined; a reluctant memory of Ursa rejecting to help her with her homework because Zuko needed help with his study flooded her mind. "You said I can learn a new move after I got that one about restraint and control."

"I know, I know", Iroh knelt down to his niece's level and smiled at her patiently. "But, we'll get to that later, okay? Right now, I need to be with your brother."

"Okay", Azula grumbled, refusing to look the old man in the eye. Even his hug and kiss on her forehead did not quell her… what was it? _Anger_…? No, it was something else… something that brought back the image of her mother to her mind… something that made her cry the winter morning she woke up to a rose and a black and white beaded bracelet lying on her bed… she did not know what to call it. Not anymore…

An awkward silence hung around the courtyard the moment Iroh disappeared on the corner of the hallway. Standing up, Piandao cleared his throat, snapping Azula off her daydream of a certain ponytailed boy whom she intended to brutally murder the next time she met him. She faked a little yawn, rubbing the swelling up tears on her eyes.

"So", Piandao started cheerfully. "How about a tour of the school?"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

No new names, I think. Two more until the end of the Book. I have started to write the next Book. For now, it will be called 'Fallacy' but the name is still a subject to change. The first five chapters of the new book will be connected and overlapped in a similar time setting, so expect long updates. :)

To OwlFeather13. Yeah, even Yuu needs a break. Haha

No, it is not random that Senshi has the bad luck. I have plans for (almost) every seemingly random event in this fic. Maybe… :)

Enjoy, happy reading, have a good life, drink lots of water!


	80. Chapter 79

**Chapter 79 – Burning Down, Falling Out, Part 4**

**-Out-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

Lin skipped across the busy compound quite fast; his best Vanguard armor was put on, Nightshade strapped across his back, and he was tying the lace of his left bracer when Haoqi rammed into him. The colonel was talking rapidly in tandem with Rabbit and was not paying attention.

"Oh, Lieutenant", Haoqi muttered, scanning the battle ready boy up and down. "How are you feeling?"

"Better", Lin stated curtly. "Have you evacuated the patients?"

"Yes, the more serious cases have been transported away with our tanks and carriages", Haoqi reported; it took him awhile for him to realize that he sounded like a lower ranking reporting to higher ranking. Clearing his throat, he tried and succeeded only a little to sound more dignified. "As the result, we have a shortage of transportation."

Well, of course, delivering bad news did not help him sounding dignified.

"How long until the Fire Nation arrive?" Lin asked Rabbit directly. The clerk dug through his clipboard and said. "An hour or so. They are converging on the Nan Yi forest to the west, sir."

"How many transports are still left?" Lin asked again.

"Four caterpillar tanks and three carts", Rabbit replied.

"Pass the order around", Lin dictated to Haoqi, pulling a rolled up map from his chest pocket. "Tell the men to lend the civilians their spare uniform. Make them blend in. Send the nurses and some civilians, able-bodied ones, to the spot here", he stabbed his finger on a plain northwest of the city of Tay Kho east of their location. "The road is tricky, so send them with three tanks and ask them to carry as much of our supplies as they can. The rest of you must travel light; bring the more seriously wounded to this spot here", he pointed on the map the spot where the Nan Shan River ends, south of the destination of the first group. "Go with Bara and Rain", he added. "Yuu, Zhong, and Yoku will go with the nurses group; they can help protecting them."

Shoving the map back to his pocket, he made his way towards the men who were evacuating the weapons tent; Haoqi and Rabbit followed him, Haoqi was dictating Lin's earlier order to rabbit while Rabbit was muttering it as he wrote.

"Don't carry them in bundle like that", Lin halted the men. "Distribute them among the men! Share some with the nurses. Don't worry about who get what; hopefully we don't need them at all."

They nodded. They began to put down the weapons and called the nearby soldiers to take the weapons. Lin gave them an additional order not to touch the explosives crate and their projectile weapons.

"We've never got around practicing how to use these", the lieutenant said, taking a belt full of hand grenades and slung it on his shoulder. "You can end up injuring yourself. Oh, and give me a spear and a sword."

Taking the pole arm and the sword Private Liu handed him, Lin started his march to the stable.

"Wait, Lieutenant", Haoqi suddenly called. "Where are you going?"

"I'll go on ahead to meet the Fire Nation soldiers", Lin retorted curtly. "I'll hold the enemy as long as I can."

"Wait! Alone?" Haoqi gawked. "You're crazy! You can't go alone!"

"I'm the Head Security, Colonel", Lin stated matter-of-factly. "It's my job."

"Bring some men with you", Haoqi said again with haste.

"And condemn myself to a slow and painful death by the hands of Fire Nation soldiers? No, thank you", Lin replied sourly.

"We'll go with you", Bara, Rain, Yuu, and Zhong arrived.

"No", Lin said curtly. He quickly added when Bara was about to protest. "Your mercenary contract specifically said 'defensive action' only. As for you two", he turned to his brothers disciple. "I need you to help me keep the nurses safe."

"Why don't we evacuate as one big group?" suggested Zhong. "That way, Bara and Rain can go with them and Yuu and I can stay and fight with you."

"Big group will slow you down", Lin explained plainly. "The Fire Nation will most likely target the nurses group because they have more tanks. But they will be fine; they will have a head start and the means to navigate the mountainous terrain, and they will have you guys with them."

And it will be easier for Zhong, Yuu, and Yoku to slip away; Zhong's hardened stare told Lin that he understood this arrangement. Zhong closed his eyes, thinking hard for a retort, but he came up empty. Sighing, he moved up and pulled Lin into a quick embrace. Yuu went next and whispered Lin a good luck. From over Rain's shoulder, as the mercenary encased Lin in an awkward but crushing hug, Lin caught the look in Bara's eyes.

"I'll be fine", he reassured her. Bara's jaws hardened.

"After what's been happening to you the last couple of days, I'm not sure if you're up to this", Bara voiced her concern.

"I'm stronger than I look", Lin's lips curved into a smile. "Besides, you know me. A patrol group won't be a match for this awesome self."

Of course, Bara did not know that Lin had lost his inner fire. With his bending, Bara was sure that Lin would be a formidable force and she surmised that Lin's adamancy to go against the incoming enemies without his subordinates was that so he could firebend without being seen, not counting the fact that his men would be more a burden than actual help.

"Come back safely", Bara whispered with Lin held in her warm embrace. "You hear me? Come back safely."

"I will. Don't worry", Lin reassured her again.

Nodding at Haoqi and Rabbit's good luck wishes, our lieutenant made his way to the stable. He tried to borrow an ostrich-horse, but Private Yang, the other stable boy alongside Private Ming, the one Lin nearly killed, was hardnosed on his rejection, saying that they need all the transport they could get. Lin was about to resort to pulling ranks when, with a loud neigh, a single ostrich-horse broke through a stall. The rider, the usually meek intern wearing a bandana, rode past the bickering soldiers and pulled one of them up the saddle. Lin was still struggling to keep his adrenaline rush in check when he registered Bob's 'I'll bring the ostrich-horse back!' aimed at the stable boy.

"Whoa, _Bob_! I never would have thought", Lin could not help but grin as the steed carried the both of them up the highway to the west.

"I am so dead when I get back", Bob shouted over the noise of fluttering wind.

"Tell Haoqi that you did it for me, you'll be fine", Lin shouted back, laughing. "But, seriously… what's with the baby powder?"

"I HAVE A RASH!"

* * *

Kisa dozed off for a moment on the rein as they rode. An acorn hitting his cheek woke him up. Turning his olive green eyes to the direction of the acorn, he noticed a dark-clad masked warrior crouching low on the branch of the large tree to his side, hidden among the foliage. The said warrior rolled his eyes at the huge toothy grin and the cheery wave the clueless bard gave him.

Kisa yawned wide and free, then he threw a smile at the sun peeking through a mass of cloud. The day seemed to promise a small storm. Luckily, they would be arriving in Oya Abbey pretty soon; Kisa had gone through this trail many times before and he recognized the surrounding. Turning back, he was showered by a grin of a child peeking through the window of the cart.

"Why, hello there, little one", Kisa greeted with an equally wide smile. "How's your sleep?"

"Not bad", Duke— er, I mean _the_ Duke replied. "Kinda hard to sleep with the rocking and bumping."

"Ah, yes. I do apologize", Kisa nodded once deeply, still with his friendly smile, though. "It's the rain. They make potholes."

The child did not answer. The Duke scanned Kisa up and down; hard to imagine how a person could wear so many colors, although, being as young as he was, the Duke found Kisa's outfit pleasing.

"I believe this time for breakfast, don't you think?" Kisa asked the child again.

Reaching out to a large rope attached to the carriage, dangling on the side of the driver's seat, also with colorful ribbons and stones attached to it, Kisa tugged it several times, causing the bell inside the cart, to which the rope was attached to, rang. It was a system he had in his cart. Ringing it would mean that some of the older kids in the group, to whom Kisa had entrusted their bag of supply, would have to distribute some food and water to the other kids on each mealtime.

"Here", the Duke pushed his tiny hands passed the bars of the window; held in his clutch was half of his bread.

"Why, thank you", Kisa smiled sweetly as he took the bread and took a bite. "Mmm-mm! Terrible!"

The Duke laughed at this.

"But don't worry, little one", it was amazing how long Kisa could hold a smile. "The Mother Superior of Oya Abbey is renowned for her hot potato soup. One spoonful and you will be converted! True story."

The Duke laughed again. "Mr. Kisa?"

"Yes, little friend?" Kisa smiled encouragingly.

"Are you an orphan, too?" the boy asked earnestly.

Deep inside, Kisa's smile melted but thankfully, his lips did not answer to his emotion. "Well", he started, hiding his discomfort. "I have a father. He is old."

"How old?"

"Dinosaur old", Kisa said seriously but childishly. The Duke laughed again.

"Why are you not with him?" the Duke asked after he finished laughing.

"Hmm… it's a little… uh, complicated", Kisa replied but then he changed the topic. "Well, come on, then! Eat, drink! We'll stop for potty break in fifteen minutes."

As the boy went back to the carriage; Kisa looked up to the patch of sunlight among the thick cloud above. Smiling sadly, he took another bite of his bread and went back to the road ahead. He cared not to think about his father.

* * *

Zuko bit his bread like a lion-goat would its prey. Iroh was perusing through Lin's old homework with quite an interest. They had been sitting in silence for quite a while; Zuko because he knew what his uncle wanted to talk to him about and Zuko did not want to hear it, and Iroh because he appreciated how volatile Zuko was at the moment.

"The young Dragon is quite an artist, don't you think?" Iroh opened with a small talk, examining the scroll containing the picture of Fat picking his nose. Zuko simply grumbled. Iroh continued. "It is his attention to details; look at these cresses on the robe he added. Marvelous."

Zuko had begun to give the old man artic cold stare, so Iroh decided to hold his silence for now. Iroh looked through more scrolls, reading some essays Lin had written during his stay; he was intrigued at the recount of the Siege of Ba Sing Se in which the young Dragon had managed to write down the entire event on five full pages without once mentioning any names, not Iroh's and not Lu Ten's. Iroh was not sure how to feel about this. Piandao had given it an A-.

Suddenly, the door was opened and slammed rudely. Azula was leaning against the door, sweating and panting like a criminal escaping the law, drawing herself a puzzled look from her uncle and brother.

"Oh, no", Iroh drew a conclusion. "What have you done to Master Piandao?"

"Why did you leave me with him?" Azula shot an accusing stare. "I have to have breakfast alone with him! Do you know how weird that was?"

"…Oh", Iroh stifled his smile the best he could. "Right, I forgot."

"And then he dragged me along for a tour", Azula continued, still upset. "I mean, we've had a tour last winter; it's not like the place could change so much in a year!"

"Sorry, Princess", Iroh patted the spot on the bed where he was sitting, mentioning the girl to sit there. "Where is Mater Piandao now?"

"When he was showing me around his workshop, I locked him there and ran away", Azula huffed, crossing her arms.

"Princess", Iroh chided; face serious but inside he felt a certain kind of glee. "That's not nice."

"He talks about swords all the time", said Azula flatly as if it was reason enough to lock any respectable swordmaster in his own workshop.

Before Iroh could retort, a messenger hawk flew in. Azula, bored to death and still upset, was more than willing to trouble herself with whatever it was the bird was carrying; Iroh was somewhat wary that Ozai had not yet responded to him taking off with Azula so he was expecting the letter to bring admonition from the father. They both made their way to the bird but Zuko, being seated right next to the window where the bird was perching, seized the bird, extracted the message, and shoved the scroll into his garb with lightning quick movements before the other two could peel their keister off the bed. Our Fire Prince went back to his tea without caring to explain or even establishing eye contact with his bewildered uncle and intrigued sister, all the while ignoring the heat arising from his neck up.

"What is that?" came out from Iroh while Azula voiced a. "Who is that?"

"Nothing, no one", Zuko muttered, sipping his tea with too natural an act.

Iroh was simply confused but Azula's lips curled up into a mischievous smile as she voiced her opinion. "You don't go to school, you don't mingle with people; so the only friends you have are mine."

Her smirk grew wider as she witnessed Zuko choked a little on his tea. Time for the kill: "It's from _Mai_, isn't it?"

Next, the tea splattered all over Lin's desk. Azula threw herself on the bed, unable to contain herself anymore, she laughed so hard her side hurt. Zuko glowered at her, face crimson as his garb while Iroh wished he was invisible, this is young people affair.

"Aw…" wiping her teary eyes, Azula cooed. Glomming onto her uncle's shoulder, she addressed the fuming Zuko with a saccharine tone. "Little Zuzu and Mai… isn't that adorable? I'm so happy for the both of you."

"No firebending~", Iroh chanted awkwardly, half shielding the girl by his side from Zuko who was about to explode.

"So", Azula continued, grinning even wider; the last time they were here, Azula had made the Zuko and Mai (and Lin) promised her to come to the unveiling in Fire Fountain City. Azula ended up not showing up, neither did Lin; as for the other two... "What happened at Fire Fountain City?"

"Alright, kids", Iroh quickly stood up, nearly toppling over Azula who was still latching on his shoulder. "Zuko", Iroh said as sternly as his amused heart could. "Go and wait for me at the courtyard. We need to have a serious talk."

"Which courtyard?" Zuko said through his gritted teeth.

"The big one", Iroh said incredulously. Exactly how many courtyards were there in this mansion?

He waited until Zuko slammed the door with a loud bang, then he turned just in time to catch the scruff of Azula's collar as the girl dashed out sneakily to tease her brother some more. "Just a minute", he pulled the grumbling girl back. Leaning down a little, he stared the girl dead in the eyes, still kindly though. "Your brother is going through some rough time. I need you to lay off the jokes on him for a while, okay?"

"Then I get to learn some new moves?" Azula wasted no time to deliver her conditions.

Iroh sighed. "_Vacation_…" he rubbed his throbbing temple. "Alright, I'll teach you the higher tier of fire needle", he gave up. "But, no more jokes."

"Promise?" Azula narrowed her eyes, not sounding too content. She might be winning!

"Don't you trust me?" Iroh frowned. Yeah, she won!

"In the meantime", Iroh shoved a thick dictionary he picked up from the desk to Azula's hands. "Look up the meaning of the word 'vacation'."

After successfully dodging the tome being thrown at him, Iroh found himself walking towards the hallway leading to the main courtyard where he suspected Zuko would be throwing fire around. To his surprise, the Fire Prince was exhuming only the barest hint of hot air which Iroh suspected not the product of firebending.

"Zuko", Iroh put his hand on his nephew shoulder. "I was told that you were having trouble adjusting to this place."

"You got that right", Zuko snapped. "I hate it here! I want to go home!"

"Why would you want that?" Iroh asked patiently. The next few minutes, he endured Zuko barraging him as the boy let all his frustration out; something about Piandao stinks, Piandao a bad teacher, Piandao slow and stupid, Piandao took his sabers away, Piandao wouldn't teach him any sword fighting. Iroh just got bits and pieces, and ignored most of them. The point is Zuko venting out.

"Master Piandao", Iroh started after Zuko was finished. "Is a great swordmaster. I have known him for the longest of time. He has so much to teach you, Zuko."

"That's the thing", Zuko sneered. "He won't teach me!"

"Absurd", Iroh waved it off dismissively. "Zuko, Master Piandao has taught many students in his career; nearly all of them went on to become great swordsmen of their own."

"I know that!" Zuko interrupted impatiently. "But, like I said, he won't teach me."

"Really?" Iroh said with a slight smirk. "From what he told me, you are the one who refused to learn."

"What? Not true!" Zuko protested.

"Zuko, why do we meditate in firebending training?" Iroh diverted the topic.

"I know where you're going with this!" Zuko snarled. "Bur, this is different! I mean— _rock gardening_?"

"I understand, Zuko", Iroh replied patiently. "But, look at this", Iroh flicked a tiny fire that ignited a single dry leaves lying on their feet. Then, he did the same at a dried up tree, causing the flame to ignite for a brief moment on the tree bark. "Fire can burn more than one thing, Zuko", Iroh advised wisely. "What they burn may be different, but the flame they sustain will be the same. Master Piandao's ways may be different, but just like Master Jian Wu's, they can bring a great swordsman out of you. Open your mind, Zuko; give a second chance."

"Rock. Gardening!" the boy seethed.

"Open mind", Iroh said the last time, smiling mysteriously. Then he sauntered away to the kitchen; he had not had breakfast yet.

Back in Lin's old room, our lovely Fire Princess had finally let her curiosity get the best of her. Rummaging through her brother's belongings, she was determined to find any evidence of earlier correspondence between Zuzu and Mai. But, nada! She was tempted to go through the pile of Zuko's dirty laundry even, but thankfully her royal upbringing prevented her from such perversion. Who knows what kind of unsavory things she might uncover about her brother there.

Decided that things would (better!) unfold themselves one day, she gave up on her search and absentmindedly picked up the red robe with a large red lotus on it, and slung it over her shoulder. She sat on the floor hugging her feet, facing the window and let a patch of sunlight fall upon her. Amber eyes distant as they watched the cloud above, lower face buried in the soft silken fabric.

All the glee and laughter from before barely left a trace in her.

She did not know why he left. Was it something she did? But, she thought furiously, why would she care!

But, that's just it: she cared…

They say the great mystery of life is about things and concepts like time, like the Elements, like life and death, life after death, the spirits, and all that philosophic, metaphysic, or spiritual subjects. Let me tell you this; all that takes second place to human emotion. There is so much more to emotions that some electrical impulses in the organ called brain, or the effect of hormonal activities in human system. Human emotion is a great mystery; one that might never be solved.

Fire Princess Azula was a prime example of this. She had all the reason to be mad, to be angry, to feel hurt; and she was, she did. She felt all that. She felt hurt, betrayed. Not only had Lin reneged on his promise to show up in Fire Fountain City, he had even left without so much as a note, an explanation. But, there was something else locked deep inside Azula, one emotion that she had been trained to ignore to the best of her ability, for the aforementioned emotion is the sign of weakness, and _a Fire Princess must not be weak_!

She felt an inexplicable longing for her former firebending teacher…

As soon as she let the dam break, all the other longings came flooding in: Ty Lee… Mom… Lu Ten…

She let her tear fall down, dripping onto the red robe she buried half her face in. How she hated this, to be weak, to be a crybaby. She hated having attached emotionally to people who had the streak of leaving her. Lu Ten died, Mom was gone, Ty Lee ran away, and Lin… what did he do? Disappear?

Azula was furious, angry, hurt, disappointed. But, she also missed them. Isn't human emotion mysterious?

Well, who cares, she told herself, picking herself off the floor. Taking off the robe, she held it in front of her. At least, she still had Daddy! And Uncle, and Zuzu, and Mai. Why care for those who had gone away? Finally, she could bring herself to throw the robe on the bed. Cleaning her face from any traces of tears -of _weakness_!- she sauntered out of the room. Time for firebending training.

* * *

"Stop bugging me about baby powder!" Bob nearly cried. "I told you: I HAVE A RASH!"

"Okay, sheesh", Lin tried not to smile too much; it had been awhile since he teased someone like this. "Whoa, watch out!"

Their ostrich-horse nearly rammed into the camule-drawn cart that appeared out of thin air. Fortunately, Rha-Mi turned at the last second, and Lin managed to seize the rein from the yelping Bob and spur their steed to leap away. Sliding down, landing on his healthy foot, Lin quickly went over to the cart.

"We're bugging out!" he informed quickly. Taking his map out, he quickly explained their escape plan to the three still bewildered campmates. "It's the Fire Nation patrol groups from before. Go back with Bob. I'll stay and hold them."

"You're crazier than I am!" Rha-Mi protested. Jumping down, he fixed his helmet and readied his blade. "I'm staying with you. I'm a bender, I should be of some help."

"Really, a bender?" Lin countered sardonically. "Then, try moving that rock!"

"… Cheap shot", Rha-Mi, a sandbender who could turn a pile of dust into a work of art but was utterly useless when facing a hunk of solid rock, grumbled flat-faced.

"I'll stay", Megumi too jumped down. "I'm a bender too."

"Major…" Lin started but Megumi interrupted curtly and forcefully.

"Don't major me!" she snapped, already starting to take off her shoes. "I can fight! I grew up in my father's barrack. I know just as much about breaking people's faces!"

"No", Lin adamantly refused. "I need you to go to where the nurses are. They have no one to lead them there."

Not really; Yoku and the others were there but Lin had intentionally forgotten to tell them that. Megumi opened her mouth again to protest but she could come up with nothing, caught up between solidarity to the lieutenant and her call of duty to the nurses.

"Go", Lin smiled warmly and gave her a quick hug. "Go with Bob. Ostrich horse will get you there faster and easier, considering the terrain."

Spear Haoren did not say a word the whole time; so, it was understandable that Rha-Mi, Megumi, and even Bob threw him a sharp glance.

"Alright, alright!" the captain gave up. "I'll stay."

"Good thing I brought this", smirking, Lin threw him the spear.

"Mine's longer", he griped, inspecting the army issued weapon. "A lot better, too. But, this will do."

"There is something you can do, Corporal", Lin grabbed Rha-Mi's arm as the latter was about to climb up his camule. Lin shoved him his grenade belt, but not before taking two of the explosives and gave one to Spear. "Dig a hole, about one foot deep. Bury all the grenades in it. Got it?"

"Yeah", Rha-Mi said but his frown indicated that he was puzzled. Spear, confused at first, but as he looked at the grenade in his hand, his face dawned with understanding. "Ah", Spear nodded understandingly. "This way, we each have a shot."

"After you cover the whole, take a tree branch", Lin continued his instruction; he picked up a random tree branch and stabbed upright it on the ground. "And make a mark on it like this. Got it?"

"Oka— _oooh_, a trap!" Rha-Mi finally got it. "Yes, sir. You can count on me."

"Good man", Lin slapped his shoulder encouragingly. Turning to Bob and Megumi, who were already on their ostrich-horse, he smiled. "You guys better go."

"Good luck, Lieutenant, Captain", Megumi wished with all sincerity.

"Oh, hey, Bob", Lin took his jade flute from his back. He cast a long look at it, a mixture of feeling washed over him. With one sweep, he took off the red handkerchief and the sooty bloody ragged white armband he tied around it. Putting into his chest pocket the two pieces of fabric that carried meanings more than the world itself, he handed the flute to Bob. "This is a family heirloom. I want you to hold on to it for me. You know, until I get back."

Bob received it reluctantly. "You know, people do this in dramatic plays; heroes giving a friend a token, saying that they would return to get it back: they never do…"

"But, I will", Lin chuckled at the boy's worried face.

"Okay", Bob gulped. "But, no more heroes-going-to-die cliché!"

"Deal… Love you, man."

"If you don't come back, I swear I'll pawn this!"

"Remember to go where Haoqi is", Lin reminded Rha-Mi. Bob and Megumi had spurred their steed back. "Tell him about Megumi and us."

With one last good luck, Rha-Mi did what he was told; little thing it might be but if it could help even if just a little, by the Desert Wind, he would do it with pride. Lin and Spear moved deeper to the highway. On the way, Lin explained to Spear the terrain feature that they could take to their advantage, which was not that many. It will be one highway; the others were crawling with Earth Kingdom patrols and/or had been washed up by the rain. For the main highway they would be defending, Lieutenant Lin had proposed small skirmishes, followed by strategic retreats after each skirmish. Hopefully, they would buy enough time for the rest of the camp to get away, or even better, for the Earth Kingdom patrol to notice them. With the communication breakdown, they had no means to contact any of them.

"So, we beat one group at a time, then retreat", Spear asked, rephrasing Lin's plan.

"Yep", Lin nodded, not slowing down his pace. "Hopefully, we won't have to go back all the way to where the bomb-trap is."

"But, won't the rest of the Fire Nation patrol groups head to this highway if they got word that one of their groups is attacked here?" Spear inquired further.

"They might", Lin concurred. "And we're counting on that. If they swarm up, they might attract our patrol's attention. With little groups, they can navigate through the woods and will be hard to detect. And they can bypass our barricade."

"Why are you bringing two swords?" Spear asked a rather unrelated question, brown eyes darting between Nightshade strapped on Lin's back and an army issue straight jian clutched on Lin's hand.

"Because, I have this medical condition; murder makes me sick", Lin replied bluntly. "Hopefully, I won't have to use my own sword."

To answer Spear's blank expression, Lin confessed. "When the weapons I requisitioned arrived, I have Rocky and Taka dulled the edges of all the blades. You know, considering how sucky our men are, I believe it was for the best."

"Good call", Spear concurred. But then, it hit him. "Wait, does it mean this spear is dull?"

"…No", said very unconvincingly.

"Oh, hell", Spear, after testing the edge of the spearhead with his fingers at first, then with his hand and even by rubbing it on his jugular, all occurrences drew no blood, cursed a little. "Oh, well. Believe it or not, I'm allergic to murder too."

"Arrgh", Lin suddenly groaned, nearly toppling over.

"Your foot still hurt?" Spear moved in to support the boy. "Can you still fight?"

"Guess so", Lin heaved, not particularly inspiring. "Crap! We're moving too slow."

"Well, what can we do?" Spear sighed. He moved as fast as he could but with the boy limping by his side, they were pretty slow.

"The more ground we can cover, the better", Lin explained. Then, with a deep sigh of resignation he said. "There is something I can think of, you know, to go faster. But, I don't think you'd like it."

"Must be the same thing I have in mind", Spear said darkly. "Because I don't like what I have in my mind, either."

* * *

Their cart skidded to stop at the steps of the tall stairway. The stone steps lead to a large building with green marble pillars and yellowish brown dome shaped roof. The entrance was a pair of grand oak, carved with two figures of women with kind face, sitting on the lap of a giant badger-mole. Lining up on top of the steps were women in white robe worn under tan garb, each was wearing prayer beads on their necks and hoods of white cotton. The Mother Superior wore her hood with a deep green bandana underneath.

"Welcome, Master Kisa", the woman of mid-forty greeted, bowing deeply with hands clasped on her chest. "I trust you have a pleasant journey."

Kisa bowed back and wished for the Mother Superior's good health. Soon, they busied themselves with bringing the children in. Kisa and Moku led the children into their quarters, along with the nuns. After making sure that the children would be taken care of, the Mother Superior invited the bard to have tea in her office. Understanding Kisa's wink, Moku stayed and distracted the children with a song.

Walking away from the merry '_Little Boy March_', Kisa followed the Mother Superior down the hallway into a room with a door with similar carving on the main entrance. Gesturing the man to sit down on the comfortable yet humble green couch, the Mother Superior went to her small but well-maintained traditional indoor stone stove on the other corner of the room. Kisa could still remember the first time this woman made tea for him; he literally screamed when the old woman shot a small fire bolt from her fingers. But, years had passed and the sight of the Mother Superior firebending her stove to life did not bother him anymore.

"You still like lychee, I believe", the woman asked out loud.

"With no intention to stop, Mother Ma", replied Kisa, laughing.

Soon, the woman returned, carrying the hot ceramic teapot with her bare hand and a small tray bearing their cups and a plate of assorted pickled fruit.

"It has been awhile, Master", Kisa got up and bowed an Earth Kingdom bow; the woman returned it with similar grace, also in Earth Kingdom style.

"You stayed with Old Wojin for a while, you say?" Mother Ma let Kisa pour her a tea. "How is he?"

"Still smoking", Kisa picked up a slice of mango. "Master Wojin and the others said hi."

"I thought Shimazu is to come with you", Mother Ma asked with a frown, raising her cup to her mouth.

"There has been come complication", said Kisa; his smile melt as he explained to the nun about Shimazu's 'desertion'. "So", Kisa concluded. "Colonel Shimazu will stay with Master Wojin until things quieted down."

"Wojin will think of a way", Mother Ma said reassuringly. "Now, about the children…"

Kisa's olive green eyes widened a little; Mother Ma's emerald showed a hint of guilt. "We can't keep them all here", she said apologetically.

"Mother…" Kisa started but the woman held up a hand.

"Come now, Kisa", she spoke somewhat snappishly. "You can't possibly be thinking that it was my decision."

"Well, I—", now it was Kisa who was wrecked with guilt.

"You have known me all your life, boy", Mother Ma assumed a slightly offended tone. "I was there when the midwife spanked your fanny!"

"Aw, Mother…" Kisa rose and made his way to the spot behind the Mother Superior, and began rubbing her shoulder as penance.

"I will have to send the Fire Nation and mixed orphans away", Mother Ma began again with heavy heart. "A little to the left", she instructed. She pulled a folded paper bearing the Kingdom insignia from her sleeve pocket and handed it to Kisa. "I received this note about a week ago. It's from the Governor of Huxin; he's coming for an inspection."

Oya Abbey was located just on the outskirt of Huxin Province. Governors often performed inspections to temples and orphanages like this one, usually because they have some political agenda or because they wanted to recruit young eligible-aged orphans into their military camps. It was understandable why Mother Ma wished for the Fire Nation and mixed-ancestry orphans to be sent away to other places that openly accepted such children. Earth Kingdom people were quite traditionalist; Fire Nation orphans were just as good as Fire Nation soldiers in their eyes, and children of mixed ancestry were nothing short of an abomination.

"Where are you sending those children, Mother?" asked Kisa solemnly.

"Oh, here and there", replied Mother Ma tiredly. "I have sent words to some colonial temples and orphanages. They will come in a few days to collect the children. I will also try to send away some of our older children; I will not have them fight in the war, not if I can help it."

"Will I be of some help?" Kisa offered kindly.

"No, you will not", Mother Ma said sternly. "We cannot afford to get you into the authority's bad side. You can lose your permit to enter military bases and warzones."

"I still think that I should help", Kisa insisted subtly.

"No, boy", Mother Ma waved him off. She took a bite off a pickled plum before added somewhat glumly. "Go home, Kisa."

"Home?" Kisa arched a brow.

"Yes, home", Mother Ma repeated. "Your father has been asking for you."

"Mother, surely you jest", Kisa smiled sourly.

"Well, maybe he didn't ask with words… or gestures", Mother Ma sighed deeply. "But, he cares for you. In his own way."

To this, Kisa did not have a retort. Enmity, resentment, disdain, a little anger, and pure hatred even had colored the relationship he had with his father, but being an all-around good-natured person that he was, Kisa found himself agreeing with Mother Ma.

"I still won't be going home", Kisa decided; Mother Ma could barely hold her laughter at how childish Kisa sounded. "It's winter soon", Kisa defended his decision. "Winter will be harsh for children and refugee who are still out there."

"Excuses, excuses", Mother Ma shook her head a little. "You sound a lot like your father."

"Meanie!"

* * *

Day and night, after spending days, or was it weeks, in the underground hall, meant little to Chey nowadays. They have about a team of four healers tending to them 24/7, so Chey had taken to measuring time with meals. Not that it made his effort easier; it would appear that he had stumbled upon an Earth Kingdom culture in which they served similar kinds of meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner: a bowl of rice or porridge, a bowl of soup, a cup of tea, and two plates of dish, at least for those who were able to eat. Yuan Cay received but a bowl of watery gruel with thick flavor on account of his wounds.

"You should eat some more", said Chey, insensitively picking his tooth in front of the more heavily injured.

"It's hard to swallow", Cay pushed his bowl away.

"Come one, it can't be that bad", Chey grinned. He took the bowl and scoop a spoonful to his mouth; it was quite fascinating the speed he turned green. "Ahem… *cough* Well, I believe the extra strong flavor is meant to be nutritious."

"Mr. Yuan", a woman with shrilly voice came over to check on them. "Mr. Chey is not bothering you, I hope?"

Chey faked a gasp. "Bite your tongue, Miss Healer!" Chey said with a playful offended tone. "I was merely trying to persuade Cay to- meh, what am I saying? Yes, yes, I'll leave."

"Hold your ostrich-horses", the woman laughed, nudging her chin at the bowl Chey tried to smuggle out.

"Sorry, buddy", Chey patted Cay's shoulder with all sincerity. "I tried."

Snickering, he ignored Cay's pleading look as the latter resigned to his fate of being spoon-fed by the chirpy healer. "You kids have fun!" Chey added at the last minute, earning him a pillow on his face. Grinning, he made his way out to the hallway. So many doors, he thought. He felt like exploring a little but he could not dismiss the feeling that he was intruding upon something whenever he brought his hand upon a doorknob. Well, maybe just a little walking around, Chey thought. His twisted ankle had gotten better, his arrow wounds were still sore and had not mended completely, but at least he could walk well again. Maybe he could just walk around and stumble upon an opened door or something. Before he could finish his thought, a door to his side opened and walking out tugging the waist of his pants was the Old Master Wojin.

"Oh", the old man looked a little surprised. "Erm… Yuan Cay, was it?"

"No, sir", Chey frowned. "I'm Chey. Cay is the one who looks more like a mummy."

"Oh, yes", Wojin scratched his chin. "Chest wound, hand wound, among others. Heart on the right side."

"Yes, sir", Chey nodded.

"You a soldier, boy?" Wojin said; it was hard to tell if it was a statement or a question.

"Wh-what was that, sir?" Chey stuttered. Oh, crap! How should he deal with this…?

"In all your sentences, you call me 'sir'", Wojin gave him a friendly non-hostile smile. "It's the way you sayin' it. Only soldiers do that."

"Sorry…" Chey gulped his 'sir', and replaced with. "…Master Wojin."

Old Wojin let out a dry laugh. Taking out his pipe, he lit it with his spark rock.

"Well", Wojin gestured with his hand. "Let's go somewhere. There are better places to have conversations other than the men's bathroom."

"This is a bathroom?" Chey was taken aback, gawking at the door Wojin just came out from.

"Yeah", said Wojin like it was a common knowledge.

"How can you tell?" Chey pointed at the door that looked like the exact copies of all the other doors. No special signs, no different marks, no nothing!

"Beats me", Wojin shrugged. Leading the way, Chey followed the old man through the way he had only gone through once before.

"Um, sir", Chey called, halting all of the sudden. "Are you sure?"

Wojin frowned deeply at the man. "What do you mean?"

"Well", Chey twiddled his thumbs. "I thought this door lead to the… you know, _outside_."

"Yeah", Wojin drawled, clenching his pipe between his teeth. "Somethin' wrong about it?"

"W-well, it's just that, um… I didn't know that we were allowed to go, you know… _outside_", he whispered the last word.

"What are we, an underground prison?" Old Wojin let out a hearty guffaw. "Everybody can go outside if they want."

Scratching his head nervously, Chey could not help but feeling rather foolish as Old Wojin pushed the door open and led him through it. Behind the door was a set of earthen staircase that led to a majestic hall. About as wide as the Fire Nation Imperial Palace courtyard, with ceiling so tall Chey could barely make out of it inside the shadow cast upon it by the numerous glowing green crystals, the hall was a marvel to behold. The walls and the beams were green marble, the floor were tiled with moss-colored ceramic, artistic engraving riddled the beams and walls, and on the far side of the room was a padded throne made of jade, carved into a shape of Korkea Mountain.

Luckily, Chey was too distracted by his awe of the room, which he did not get to admire much the first time he came through here on account of his hurting wound; it allowed Shimazu, Zan Wa, and Takkuro, three of the many characters who should be showing their faces around, to dive into cover. Zan Wa was slender enough to hide behind a beam while Takkuro and Shimazu, whose frames were quite muscularly large, reluctantly shared the spot behind the throne.

Oh, the effort it took Wojin not to laugh out loud.

Walking down more hallways, pushing open more doors, finally Chey breathed the first fresh air since… wow, he forgot how many meals ago it had been.

"We don't really have rules that forbids people to go out, Mr. Chey", Wojin began, walking down the path towards the tea shop, nodding gently at the villagers who greeted them along the way. "It's just that it's a maze down there. So, should you want to go out for a little fresh air or sunlight, I must advise that you get one of the healers to guide you out."

"Thank you, sir", Chey grinned. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Right, now", they sat down to a pot of tea and plates of small eats. "Wait", Old Wojin halted Chey who was about to devour an almond cookie. "You on solid food yet?'

"Since always", Chey grinned, swallowing his cookie whole.

"You play Pai Sho, son", Old Wojin gestured to the carved grids on their table while Chey helped himself to a second piece of cookie.

"No, sir", Chey shook his head, unknowingly reverted back to his 'sir's. "My father is a bit of a stickler against, I quote, 'mindless games'."

Old Wojin laughed/coughed puffs of smoke. "Clearly your old man knows little about Pai Sho."

"He knows little, period", Chey commented flatly.

"Ah, well. Old men", Wojin distributed the tiles. "Would you like to learn?"

* * *

Fire met fire; flames raging, dancing with grace of flowing wave. Iroh jabbed the fire blast away, experiencing force that he had not with his niece's blue flame. Lack of restraint, topped with poor control; he assessed, sending several blasts of his own. Zuko formed a shield that shattered upon contact with the first flame. Staggered, he back-flipped and evaded the rest. He spun into a leg sweep, sending low fire arc that Iroh leaped over.

Two more fire jabs from Iroh, Zuko spin-kicked away; using his momentum, he twirled and kicked a fire stream. Iroh ripped it apart and kicked a blast of his own. Zuko evaded this one and punched another stream. Iroh extended his arm and Zuko's fire was halted before it could touch him. Zuko was too caught up in awe to react when Iroh lowered his arm slowly and the flame dissipated with a most peaceful manner.

"Control, Zuko", Iroh said. "Again!"

A pair of amber peeked from the corner of the hallway. They were narrowed and cold, distant and had begun to drifted back to the shadow they had not been experiencing the past few days. There was a tinge of sad, with dash of mild anger, couple of hurt and disappointment, added with dejection, exasperated with rejection, and with jealousy on top. For the umpteenth times in this short life of hers, Fire Princess Azula tried and failed to rebut her incredulous belief that Uncle Iroh loved Zuko more than her.

_Like Mom_…

* * *

Captain Jee of Commander Zhao's squadron had been given the honor of leading the hunting party. A company of one hundred soldiers under his command, he had divided into several groups spread across the many highways and forest paths leading east. Not exactly necessary, but since Commander Zhao was hard to pleased, not to mention still sore body and ego after he pulled the man from that sandpit, Captain Jee thought that it would be more prudent if he proposed something more flashy than simply marching the group down the only accessible highway and blasted their way down the 44th Earth Kingdom Army hospital; Hongmen Convention be damned!

The good captain had proposed that they would set a small rendezvous point at Nan Yi Forest, the teams would scour the woods and, well, that was it. Commander Zhao did not know that rain and storm had washed out many of the paths and the Earth Kingdom Army, in their infinite wisdom had posted guards around them. Something about wanting to prevent their own people from wandering into the blocked pathways, according to a ferret-dove Captain Jee had intercepted. The result? The main highway was mostly unguarded. Captain Jee could regroup his men and march down the road, but how was he going to explain that to Commander Zhao?

Sitting in his tent, he pinched the part between his eyes. Oh, what to do, what to do? Keeping with his plan, they best his men could do was searching the woods for those he knew would not be there. He could maybe, order an assault at the Earth Kingdom patrols. Sounds about right, he though optimistically. At least, he would have accomplished something.

And then he could march down the highway. Yeah, why not, he smirked.

"Lieutenant", he called out; a young man wearing uniform and masked helmet entered. "Get the orders out: send the squads patrolling the highways to attack any Earth Kingdom soldiers they could find."

"Yes, sir", the man saluted.

"Also, send a recon team ahead to the main highway", Captain Jee added. "Prepare the rest of the men for a march to the 44th Earth Kingdom Army Hospital."

The soldier saluted again and exited the tent. Preparing his helmet, Captain Jee was sure of his victory.

* * *

Ozai stood straight, breathing slowly but his power was felt by those attending to him. Spreading his arms, he let the servants slung the light robe around his arms and wrapped him with it; another one was kneeling in front of him with a sash ready. One more similar action with a heavier outer robe this time, it was then followed by his shoulder spikes and his Fire Crown. Finally ready to start his day, Fire Lord Ozai walked out of his chamber.

Outside, two lines of servants bowed all the way out of his personal quarter. He walked slow even pace, reveling in his superiority of physique and status. Reaching the gate to the main courtyard, the guards pushed the gate open to give way to him. There, a palanquin was ready to take him to his throne, his Fire Throne. Travelling alongside him by foot were a platoon of Royal Procession and his adjutant.

"What will it be for today?" his snarly voice graced the man's ear.

"Currently, none, Your Highness", the adjutant reported.

"No war meetings?" Fire Lord Ozai asked again, sounded either angry or disappointed; it was a little unclear.

"No, My Lord", the adjutant said. "Thanks to the light of your benevolent wisdom, the more pressing issues of the military have been discussed in the meeting two days ago. Currently, we have none."

"I see", now, Ozai either sounded bored or he was simple growling.

"Is there anything you would like to be done, My Lord?" the adjutant asked this time.

"Yes", Ozai's reply was pretty quick. "Prepare an urgent message to my daughter in Shu Jing."

"Of course, My Lord."

Not even the adjutant could possibly know what Fire Lord Ozai had in mind.

* * *

"Well, children", Kisa exclaimed, throwing his hands wide. "May you all find happiness and have a good life."

As response, they moved and swarmed the bard in a large group hug. It was time for goodbye. Kisa the Bard must once again head to the west, to where the war was raging like hell on earth. More souls to be saved, more lives needing salvation. Mother Ma led the nuns in their bow; Kisa and Moku returned it with grace. With more parting words, Kisa and Moku finally hit the road.

Spurring his large colorful cart forwards, Kisa's mind floated to the advice Mother Ma gave him; to visit his father. Mother Ma had known Kisa ever since Kisa was but an idea between his mother and father; little Kisa even learnt how to read and write from the woman as tiny child. The bamboo flute he treasured, it was a gift from her. The wisdom, the knowledge, the membership of the White Lotus; Mother Ma trusted him with the privilege. Of all people still living today, Kisa would listen to no one but her. And according to her, Kisa should visit his father.

Maybe he should, mused Kisa. _It __**has**__ been a while_.

"Moku", Kisa called aloud over the grinding of earth below their wheels. "We're going to Tianshui."

* * *

Lieutenant Li had the honor of leading the advanced recon team. Nothing much to it, of course; he simply had to lead his group of ten down the road to the east, making sure there were no enemies of the likes. Not that he was hoping for any. The main highway, according to report, would be expected to be relatively free of Earth Kingdom soldiers. Also, he was only told to go about halfway. The other teams would neutralize the Earth Kingdom patrols along the other routes and, after receiving further order, Captain Jee would lead the sweeping assault to the east. All this trouble for three fugitives.

Lieutenant Li raised his hand, halting their march. A silhouette of a large man inside the thin fog ahead of them was quite unnerving. Readying his firebending stance, his men followed his gesture. They waited for the figure to reveal himself. Though, as the figure got closer and emerged from the mist, Lieutenant Li realized that _he_ was _them_, or maybe a weird mutant siamese twin.

"Your knife is poking my back!" Spear whined, nearly throwing Lin off his back.

"It's not my knife! It's my grenade!" Lin protested such rude treatment.

"Oh, dear lord…"

"What, it really is my grenade", Lin pulled the explosive out if his chest pocket; the innocence in him made Spear suspect something.

"Kid", Spear started uncomfortably. "No one has ever had _the talk_ with you, huh?"

"What talk?"

"Exactly", Spear pinched the bridge of his nose. Throwing a glance of the Fire Nation soldiers, he flashed an awkward smile at them before returning to Lieutenant Lin with all seriousness he could muster. "Okay, so your father is still alive, right?"

"Yeah", Lin nodded, clearing his throat. "Let us swear upon our fathers' lives."

"That no soul shall know about the piggyback ride", Spear continued; mimicking Lin's raised hand.

"Let Heaven, Earth, the Spirits, and these Fire Nation gentlemen bear witness", Lin concluded the oath.

—WHACK, POW, THUD—

"Not bad for a doctor", Lin dusted his shoulder.

"You're doing quite well yourself, for a cripple", Spear stretched his back. "Well, there goes our first battle. So, now we retreat?"

"Sure."

* * *

Iroh stood on the edge of the hill on Piandao's backyard. Laundry poles and clotheslines were lining up the spot, none were occupied. Such a sad reminder of the glory days a year ago. Iroh remembered the young Dragon doing his chores on this very spot last winter. A gentle breeze flew by caressing his old face; Iroh closed his eyes and contemplated.

"Uncle", her voice nearly made Iroh sighed out loud.

"Princess", Iroh turned and smiled. "Where have you been all morning?"

"Nowhere", Azula said, arriving at the old man's aide. "Firebending training now?"

"Not now, Princess", Iroh smiled weakly. "I am a little tired after having to deal with your brother."

"But, you've promised", Azula protested, crossing her arms. "I haven't done anything to Zuzu all morning. You have no idea how much it has drained my willpower."

"Perhaps later, Princess", Iroh laughed, squeezing her shoulder. _Hmm… no hugs_? Iroh quickly threw his gaze back to the sky before his Uncle Iroh mask falter. He felt wary again.

Huffing, Azula broke off and ran out. But, she was far from giving up up.

—Lunch—

"Training?"

"Later, Princess."

—Evening tea—

"New move?"

"Not now."

—Outside the door labeled 'Boy's Toilet'—

"Now?"

"Princess!"

"Hmph!" with nose pointing up, she walked away to her room, grumbling something under her breath. Literally kicking the door open, she slammed it close with pretty much the same amount of force. The satisfying feelings lasted for no more than two seconds each. Throwing herself face first to her pillow, she screamed. To her surprise, the shiver and heat arising from her chest up to her face gave way to a fresh stream of tears. Uncle loves me, she convinced herself.

But the mean voice said otherwise…

_Uh-huh…_

"_Uncle loves me…"_

_Of course, he does… *snicker*_

"_He really does…"_

_If you say so._

"…_shut up…"_

_Aw… but we're finally at the good part… Come now, admit it!_

"_No… shut up…"_

_Admit the fact, Azula…_

"_Shut up…"_

_Zuzu… and then there's still Lu Ten…_

"…_not true…"_

_Even to the dead failure Lu Ten, you take second place…_

"_Shut… up…"_

_Second place… Imperfection…_

"SHUT UP!" it finally escaped her lips.

Big Brother Zuzu did not know what he had done or said to deserve such outburst.

* * *

Lin sidestepped the incoming thrust of the Fire Nation three-pronged spear. Swaying gently like a leaf drifting in the wind, he threw himself forwards and delivered an unmercifully fast slash on the soldier's waist. Groaning, the dispatched man fell down gripping his cracked pelvis. A fire blast flew his way; Lin lifted his sword and defended with his blade. Two more from the same soldier, he defended the same way. The barrage stopped as Spear, propelling himself with his pole arm, delivered a flying frontal kick that was aimed at the firebender's chest.

"Oy, I am not in shape", Spear heaved, doubling over and leaning against his weapons as Lin sent the last soldier running away with the display of his mastery over throwing weapons. "So, that's the fifth group."

"Ack, crapster!" Lin had to be parted from his sword; defending against firebending had melted the blade beyond effective use. Unsheathing Nightshade, he told Spear to retreat back the next few hundred meters.

"There!" somebody shouted before Lin and Spear could take more than five steps.

"They're getting frequent", Spear pointed out glumly.

"At the very least, we know that they won't sneak away through the other roads", Lin tried to cheer themselves up.

A fire blast met an untimely end at the whistling slash of Nightshade; two perfectly aimed throwing knives nested themselves at two different shoulders at Captain Jee's right and left. Two men down in one strike; our slightly angered captain realized that it was a mistake to divide his force the way he did.

"Signal the other teams!" he yelled out to his lieutenant. "Tell them all to come here at once!

The lower ranking saluted and raced back to their camp. Captain Jee, gritting his teeth, was ready to strike down those two marvelous— I mean, those two savage Earth Kingdom soldiers. Not even earthbenders! And yet, one by one his soldiers, benders and non-benders alike fell upon their blades. Ye gods! If he too should fall, Commander Zhao would do things of such unspeakable nature to him, Captain Jee would have to be buried in a matchbox. He had to save face somehow. Forget honor!

"You!" he barked at a random sergeant. "You're in charge!"

Ordering around twenty of them to follow him, he retreated back to his camp. Lin and Spear were, of course, too busy to notice the departure of the Fire Nation officer. Defending against multitude of fire blasts, Spear twirled his, erm, spear, like a windmill, numerous fire blasts lost their will to live; pointing the pointy (_what's wrong with me!_) end of his weapon forwards, he thrust and prodded wildly at the three firebenders, stabbing them at the unprotected part of their ribs.

One bladesman leaped at Spear, he skipped backward, evaded the slash, spun in the air, and delivered a sweeping blow with the shaft of his weapon. A firebender shot a large stream at Lin, he ducked, focused his strength on his healthy foot, and lunged forward to deliver lightning fast slash that severed the firebender's Achilles tendon. Throwing glances at each other, Spear threw his weapon at Lin while Lin let loose his last throwing knife; the blunt spear collided with a loud clank on the soldier's masked helmet behind Lin and the knife burrowed into the hand of a raised sword that was dangerously close behind Spear.

"Is that all?" Spear looked around; Lin threw him back his weapon. "Man, I'm beat. We've been fighting all day."

"Retreat", Lin barely able to breathe out, pressing against his bleeding temple; somebody grazed him with a saber there.

"You're pale", Spear pointed out though he had not the heart to tell Lin that he was stamping out bloody footprint from his injured foot. "No more retreat. Let's make our last stand here."

Lin did not answer, not that he could. His pace had gone on auto-pilot; he was half conscious as he dragged his feet further. Spear, also dead tired, decided to follow him anyway. The walked for what seemed to be hours, though it had only been ten minutes at most. They arrived at the intersection where a single tree branch stood tall and proud in the middle of the road.

"Point origin", said Spear, recognizing it as their bomb trap. Lin nodding at the spot where the branch was, wordlessly telling Spear to memorize the spot; Spear responded with a weak grin and by pulling the branch out.

"Now, _this_ is our last stand", Lin declared breathlessly. "See that stream below?" he pointed at the tiny creek below the hill, leading to the Nan Shan. "That's our escape route."

"You think of everything, do you?" Spear muttered, slumping down a nearby rock. His hand absentmindedly took his broken pendant from his pocket.

"Somebody has to", Lin chuckled weakly, wiping his brow. "Although, in retrospect, I should have brought my water pouch. I'm parched."

"I shouldn't have left mine with the cart", Spear added quietly, a distant gaze set on his mother's memento.

"Oh, by the way, if we think of this predicament objectively, you're a little at fault here", Lin commented. This particular quip distracted him from his pendant. "You created this hospital unit to provide better care for the fighting soldiers. But, you have completely forgotten about the care for those working in the hospital unit."

Spear could not argue with him.

"You know, you can leave", Lin suggested firmly. "I can handle the rest."

Spear threw him a sharp stare, not saying a word. He looked back to his broken jade, then to Lin who was struggling to control his breath, and back at the two pieces of green. "Hey, kid", Spear called, throwing a random piece of his broken pendant at Lin who caught it. "For good luck."

"Oh, spirits… now I know how Bob feels", Lin's lament contrasted with his weak grin.

"Karma", Spear joked, putting his piece back to his pocket. Another wave had arrived. "We owe Father Shu an apology. EEEAAAARRRGHHH!"

Wild and savage were they defense. Lin danced with Nightshade, slashing and stabbing the opponents' limbs, incapacitating them; Spear's weapon clobbered as much as it stabbed, cracking and bruising many enemies. A group of firebenders assumed a classical line formation; going through identical motions, they shot missiles of flame at our two heroes. Spear assumed the defensive by spinning his weapon like a propeller; Lin opted a more aggressive stance, slashing gracefully to defend against the fire, he dashed forward and wreaked havoc at the formation, scattering the men, and, applying his skill at Death's Touch, delivered a deathly blow at the Fire Nation officer's chest, causing the man to fall backward with a deep dent on his metal armor, coughing blood. Slightly unnerved but not intimidated them, the Fire Nation resumed their attack; fierce and unforgiving but Lin and Spear held their own somehow.

"How're you doing over there?" Spear asked, heaving and panting heavily; numerous soldiers lay unconscious on his feet. They had been battling this wave of Fire Nation soldiers for almost an hour now; even if they were two of the best combatants in the area, there was no way they could go on much longer.

"Not bad", Lin replied, also struggling with breathing. He, much like his comrade-in-arm, were sweating river and struggling even to keep standing; much easier for Spear since his pole arm offered much more support than Lin's Nightshade.

"Here comes another one", Spear groaned, readying his weapon. Another wave of Fire Nation soldiers emerged from the forest nearby, marching towards them. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Lin did the same thing, not that the boy had any other choice. They had to barricade the highway or the Fire Nation soldiers would be able to catch up to the others and all would be lost; just the two of them stood between their friends and utter destruction.

"You should go", Lin heaved, griping his sword tighter, praying to the spirits that his blade wouldn't slip off his sweaty palms when the fight came. "If something were to happen to you—"

"Kid", Spear interrupted. "Shut up!"

"But—"

"We'll be fine", Spear reassured, but the sight of the stampeding soldiers offered no comfort. "Maybe…"

"Oh, hell!" Lin groaned, there was no use trying to convince the stubborn guy to leave. "Just buy me a drink once we finish dealing with this rabble."

"Yeah, sure. Milk, right?" Sai chuckled; gotta admire his enormous sense of humor. "But, just in case we die; see you in the next life, kid."

"Sure thing", Lin grinned back, ignoring his bleeding temple where he had received a blow. Spear himself had a nasty cut on his left arm.

"And if in the next life I ever need a bodyguard again—" Spear continued; the Fire Nation soldiers were only fifty feet away, they could already hear their scream for blood.

"Heh, don't look at me", Lin scoffed, right before he and Spear lunged towards the incoming wave, weapons ready at hand.

They clashed once more…

There was no way Lin could fulfill his duty as Spear's protector in this state; when fifty armed Fire Nation soldiers came rushing with the intent to kill, it's every man for himself. Lin skillfully parried a spear thrust with his sword, letting Nightshade slide along the smooth wooden handle as he pressed forward and closing his distance with his enemy, and landed a perfect blow on his opponent's neck with the base hilt of his sword, knocking the said soldier unconscious. He couldn't believe how exhausting that simple move was; it would seem that when you're tired, you're actually spending more energy on movements than you usually would do.

Though his vision blurred, his breath heavy and hard, he didn't have any chance to blink, let alone to check on Spear who was engaging a weapon deadlock with two other spearmen. Another spear flew to his face, Lin barely managed to jerk his head sideways. He gripped the spear, just a few inches below the head, and, with his armed hand, he swung his sword downward, letting his sharp blade sever the spear in two. The soldier, still gripping what's left of his weapon, jumped away in shock; two other soldiers took his place. Lin threw the other half of the spear like a dart on one of them, vaguely watching it lodged itself on the soldier's shoulder, before Lin was forced to offer his undivided attention to a sword that came clashing with his own. He pushed the blade away easily, thanks to Nightshade's long handle which offered more stability, and spin-kicked the swordsman right on his jaw. Bad idea…

The spin kick worked, the Fire Nation soldier was thrown to the ground; but, performing a full-body attack like a spin kick when you're dead tired, it is never a wise thing to do. The spin kick took a heavy toll on his already drained stamina and dealt quite a blow on his waning consciousness. The next thing he saw… was a spearhead, sharp and deadly, flying to his face.

Funny, it was slow, so very slow, like the slow motion move when someone's practicing a martial art kata… and yet, he couldn't move his muscle fast enough to respond…

* * *

"Hold on, buddy", Chey egged on, half-carrying the other man. "Just one more flight of stairs."

"That's what you said last time", Cay was pale and hurting.

"Never trust anyone you just met, Cay", Chey snickered. After the said last flight of stairs was conquered, they welcomed the fresh air that hit their faces outside. Dirty grey sky, with a tinge of orange dripping in the horizon.

"Not bad, huh?" Chey asked, taking delight in the look of longing awe in his friend's face. Cay somehow managed to return Chey's grin with something akin to a grimace.

"Let's go to the tea shop", Chey suggested. "It's an open air and a lot of seats."

Chey supported the latter along the road, he felt a certain kind of happiness as he noticed Cay's heightened spirit as the latter's limped along his side. Arriving at the establishment, Chey found themselves a spot on the corner where there was a wall to lean on. Helping Cay to his seat first, he took his seat with heave of gratitude. They sat for a moment in silence, each catching their breath.

"Chey", Yuan Cay called, coughing dryly. "Could you get me some tea, please?"

"Sure", said Chey. Standing up, he walked towards the counter with a somewhat relaxed pace, breathing deeply to take in as many fresh autumn air as he could. Ah, the smell of moist earth, the aroma of wet grass, the odor of soggy wood; Chey had never known a human being could find those sensations this pleasing. Returning after a while with a pot of tea, Chey's happy smile and cheerful heart faded as quickly as the pot hit the ground when he dropped it. Their table was empty.

"Oh, no…"

* * *

Zuko walked down the hallway with a scowl that was as ugly as the mask Uncle Iroh got him. Master Piandao was impossible! Snap-landscaping in this weather? Oh, pneumonia, take this first of thy victim before winter even arrived. Gulping, trying not to think how dry his throat felt, Zuko pushed his door open with an iron-like grip on the doorknob; Zuko did not notice a boot mark on the front side of the door that would fit his sister's right boot measurement perfectly.

The first thing that caught Zuko's eyes was Azula lying face down on the bed. Sleeping at this hour, he thought furiously. _Prodigies sure have it easy_.

"…_Have uncle realized what a failure you are at firebending?"_

Sweet Agni, that hurt! Zuko eyed the back of the girl's head with… what? What was that feeling that always ate him alive from within whenever the subjects of Azula's superior talent were brought up? Annoyance? Simple Irk? Irritation, maybe?

_Envy_…

Azula got everything, Azula got away with everything.

Azula's so smart, Azula's so talented, Azula's so great, Azula's a firebending prodigy, Azula this, Azula that.

Azula lies, Azula cheats, Azula hurts, Azula annoys, Azula breaks promises; and nobody could do anything about it.

Dad favors Azula, Dad thinks Azula's perfect, Dad says Azula was born lucky.

Everybody likes Azula, everybody loves Azula, everybody adores Azula, everybody admires Azula, everybody worships Azula.

And there she was, Daddy's little prodigy; sleeping at such hour like a lazy bum. She did not even take off her boots.

"SHUT UP!"

That's it! Zuko would not let her get away with anything anymore!

"What was that about!" he shouted back, shocked by how angry he could sound.

Azula looked up to him with tears and fire in those bright amber eyes of hers; it scared Zuko how the pitiful sight incited nothing but more anger in him.

"What's the matter with you?" Zuko snapped angrily; it scared Zuko that he felt no guilt for lashing out on his crying little sister like that.

Azula shot a hateful glare at Zuko; Zuko clenched his fist to hold down his own rage.

…_Right now, I need to be with your brother…_

"I said shut up", Azula whispered like an angry snake-weasel hisses.

"What's that about, Azula?" Zuko seethed; a part of him that was always screaming, begging him to stop whenever he lost control, made no appearance at all. And it scared him…

… _But now, I need to be with your brother…_

"I… said… shut… up…" she trembled with anger and in pain, hands clutching the sides of her head, trying to quell the voices but she succeeded at nothing but running her hair, her _perfect_ hair.

"What do you want now, Azula!" no, Zuko did not know what it was that made him yell out that loud and harsh; but, it scared him.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" a heartrending cry escaped her mouth. Azula gave in to her fist that raised a blue flame; her _perfect_ blue flame.

She scared Zuko…

Years of training resulted in Zuko's reflexively raised his arms to deflect the straight blow. Catching Azula's wrist, Zuko yanked her to his direction without thinking, and still bewildered as to what exactly was going on, Zuko spun and pushed her towards the door. The royal siblings, one was standing a victor, the other was down on the floor, shared an identical look of utter astonishment. They had never been this way before; never had Zuko stood as a victor and Azula was down on the floor.

He was a failure… she was perfect…

He was scared… she hated him…

Screaming, Azula leaped up and was about to launch another deadly fire assault. However, a superior strength caught the scruff of her collar and pulled her backward to the hallway; she was thrown to the ground but a pair of strong arm broke her fall. Her body was unharmed but her pride had shattered to pieces. Wailing and screaming wildly, she punched and kicked like never before, crying streams of bitter tears and heartbreaking shrieks. Iroh pinned her flailing arms to the floor and stayed clear of her kicking feet.

"What is wrong with you!" Zuko screamed at his sister; he did not know why he too was crying but it scared him so much…

…_what is wrong with that child…?_

By the will of the spirits Azula's screams transcended into an even higher pitch, became bitterer and, by Agni, will the spirits not shed a tear for her had they heard her…?

"Zuko, go!" Iroh ordered sternly, struggling to hold down Azula's trashing. "Go to Master Piandao, now!"

"What—"

"NOW!"

Zuko ran out as fast as his feet could manage. It was horrible, terrible, and, by Agni, he cried for his sister. But, he could think of her as nothing but a monster. And it scared him… she scared him.

"Princess!" Iroh tried to make himself heard; one of Azula's hands escaped his clutch and it began pounding him with a force he never knew a skeletal and muscular system of a girl her age could generate. Hoisting the girl up to his tight embrace, he braved through more screaming and wailing, she trembled and thrashed even more wildly but the Dragon's embrace held fast. "Calm down…" his lips had actually pursed for the word 'Princess', but his heart could not bring it out. "…Azula."

The name alone had become foreign to his mouth.

"Calm down, please", he heaved, Azula was struggling even harder, crying louder. "Calm down. It will be alright now. We're…"

Azula let out one loud cry; Iroh held her tighter still.

"We're going home."

It took ten minutes of crying, screaming, and thrashing for Azula to finally give in and pass out. Iroh promptly carried her out of the mansion, running out like he had never run before; fear was all over his pale old face. He ran all the way to the pier where, as per Fire Lord's Ozai missive to Fire Princess Azula, a fast Royal Class barge had been prepared to take her home immediately; Iroh's return was optional.

At the very least, Ozai could be useful at times like this, thought Iroh bitterly. He had not the strength to deal with Azula in the one day voyage home in his old sail ship; not had he the heart to let heart suffer that long.

* * *

The mysterious bluish-white object whistled through the air and hit the incoming spear with a loud clank; finally, his knee gave up, Lin slumped down but his eyes drifted along with the object that curved in the air and flew back to the direction from whence it came: the hand of the warrior in blue garb.

Shouting a battle cry, the warrior jumped into the fray. With his cudgel he dispatched the Fire Nation spearman that nearly skewered Lin. Exhausted beyond belief, Lin could do nothing but watch as the blue warrior went wild on a group of five firebenders; a cudgel on one hand, a machete on the other.

_She screamed and thrashed around…_

Lin gasped; petrified instantly! _Azula_!

"You boys okay?" Bato called out, already done with his share. His voice snapped Lin back to reality, though Lin noticed his own tears mixing with his sweat on his face.

"I'm… not…!" Spear grunted, locking weapons with three halberds, one sword, and two sabers. Bato laughed boisterously as he took out his boomerang and hit all of Spear's opponents in the heads with one perfectly aimed throw.

"That was close", Spear panted with the unconscious soldiers at his feet. "Oh, man! And _now_ it rains!"

Bato however was gleeful in his laughter. Opening his mouth wide, his even gulped down some rain water, and then shaking his head hard, sending beads of water everywhere, he howled to the darkened sky above. Spear looked exhausted and cold but Lin stayed aground, his chest hurt and the heavy rain masked his tears. He did not realize that his hand made way to his head and he grasped hard.

_It hurt…!_

"HAHA!" Bato shouted like a wild beast. "Here they come again! Fight a Water Tribe warrior under heavy rain? Hah! Brave!"

"There's too many…" Lin tried to warn but it came out as nothing but whisper. _She screamed, she cried, she flailed around to no avail; her pain would not go away…_

"No, we have to retreat", Spear held Bato's shoulder to stop the Water Tribe from advancing. "Boy, you're all muscle! Err… anyway, we should retreat!"

"We can handle them" Bato laughed. "Come on!"

"No, we have prepared a trap!" Spear shouted over the rain, taking out his grenade. "Bomb trap!"

"Go…" still Lin was barely a whisper; he shut his eyes hard, clutched his head harder. He tried to quell the pain and, at the same time, he refused to do so; he needed to know. _She cried hard; it was bitter…_

"Where's the fun in that?" Bato laughed even harder.

"GO!" Bato and Spear jumped a little at Lin's unexpected and forceful shout. Lin hoisted himself up; the pain of his foot was nothing to him anymore, nothing compared to her pain.

"Kid—", Spear started but Lin held you his hand.

"Go", Lin said again firmly. "I'll handle this."

There was something about Lin at the time that discouraged Spear from arguing. Nodding his good luck, Spear dragged the mysterious Water Tribe warrior to the edge of the cliff. Answering the Water Tribe's unasked question, Spear explained their escape plan. "The stream below! We're gonna have to—"

Thunder rumbled loudly above them.

"Whaaaat?" Bato shouted over the noise of the rain.

"We're gonna have to—"

—RUMBLE—

"Huuuuuh?"

"We'll jump—"

—RUMBLE—

"Come agaiiiin?"

"You're an idiot!" Spear tried his luck; bad luck. "Oh, of course!" he cursed the sky. _"Now,_ you don't interrupt!"

—RUMBLE—

"THANKS A LOT!"

Bato laughed heartily. "Jump, boy!" he shoved Spear down first before jumping down after the shrieking surgeon.

Lin took a step forward, one hand gripping Nightshade, the other rummaged his chest pocket for his grenade; the enemy had come in a greater number. It would not work, he thought, looking at his explosive, the rain would not permit the fuse to burn.

_She cried, she was hurting bad…_

"_Shut up! I order you to shut up!" _Lin heard her screamed.

Lin threw the grenade anyway to the spot ten feet away from him, the spot where Rha-Mi had buried the rest of the explosives. Lin closed his eyes, breathing in to calm his mind; an easier task than calming his heart.

_She screamed, clawing her head, pulling her hair._

"_SHUT UP!"_

Lin opened his eyes; it was a Dragon that stared at the incoming soldiers. He heard her scream, felt her pain; Lin himself screamed loudly, trying to overwhelm her scream in his head with the one he let out. Through his clenched fist, he let their pain out; he punched a powerful bolt of fire onto the trap, so powerful his flame vaporized the drizzles of rain it passed through. The ensuing explosion scattered the nearby enemies. As soon as they got their bearing, the young Earth Kingdom lieutenant was nowhere to be found.

* * *

"Boy, it's really pouring, huh, Rabbit?" Haoqi shivered, putting his hands closer to the campfire.

They had found refuge in a nearby cave to escape the rain. Not exactly part of the plan, but some of the wounded were fresh from operation and rainwater might cause an unnecessary complication to their wound. Therefore, as the commanding officer, Haoqi had decided to find a temporary shelter. Besides, they had been on the run since the morning and had run into nothing more dangerous than a wild boar-q-pine that the firebender lady, Bara, scared away easily with her flame.

"How long do you think it will rain, sir?" Rabbit asked, breathing hot breath into his cupped hands.

"Who knows?" Haoqi shrugged. "It hasn't rained for the past few days. This one should take quite a while. Hey, Sho!"

"Yeah, Haoqi", Trik came to them, wearing thick coat and hugging himself for heat.

"Any news from the nurses group?" Haoqi asked.

"Not since Rha-Mi returned", said Trik. "And that only tell us that Bob and Megumi were coming their way."

"Heh, Bob", Haoqi snickered. "That kid sure got guts."

"Uh-oh, sirs", Rabbit suddenly gasped, ears wiggling. "There's someone out there."

"Oh, hopefully that's the rescue party for Tay Kho", Haoqi beamed. "Come on!"

Excitedly, he led the other two out; drawing eyes from the others. At mouth of the cave, they could not see too far in the dark pouring evening. Logically, they moved out deeper into the rain to meet the group of dark silhouettes in front of them.

Imagine their surprise when one the dark silhouettes lit a flickering fire on his bare palm.

* * *

"Cay! Stop!" Chey's frantic voice roared over the pouring rain. "Stop!"

"Stay back!" Yuan Cay screamed, eyes wild and his feet were dangerously close to the edge of the tall cliff.

"Don't be reckless, Cay!" Chey tried to calm him.

"Just let me die, Chey", Cay said desperately. "I have no reason… no one to live for."

It hurt him to say that, to admit that; saying it means finalizing the fact.

"Don't be absurd!" Chey shouted again. He dared one single step but Cay's "Stand back!" froze him in place.

"Do you know what it's been like!" Cay screamed at him. "My…" Cay gasped, unable to even say it. But he must, he must make them understand! "My wife is dead! My kids… my beautiful kids… They are all dead!"

"Bandits?" Chey asked sympathetically. Yuan Cay's mellowed eyes concurred.

"They took everything from me, Chey", the man cried now. "Everything… "

"Not everything!" Chey shouted over the pouring rain. "You are still alive! Don't you _get it_?"

"You're the one who doesn't get it!" Cay screamed angrily. "How could you! You don't know!"

"That's right", Chey agreed with him sadly. "I don't"

* * *

Zuko did not know why he was upset, he did not know why he was shivering despite the raging heat he associated with anger, he did not know why the chill down his spine would not go away, he did not know why he was so afraid. Staring through the window of Piandao's study, he gazed to Shu Jing pier. Uncle Iroh and Azula had gone home hours ago with the Royal Barge; they should have arrived back at the palace at least two hours ago. Casting a distant look at the ship Uncle Iroh came with, Zuko tried but failed to chase away the chill. He hung his head down, he could not bear to think about Uncle Iroh or… Azula.

Unable to bear it anymore, Zuko climbed up the windowsill and jumped down to the rooftops below. Breaking his fall with a roll, he broke into a dash along the roof. He did not stop or slow down in his free-running exercise, immersing himself deeply with the thrill, the adrenaline rush.

So he would not think about the monster…

Running, jumping, leaping the high places, Zuko did not realize a pair of wise hazel eyes watching him with interest.

"Open mind, huh…?" Piandao commented to himself.

* * *

Captain Jee was terrified…

Two women! One moved with an unmatched speed, twin daggers flashing like a pair of silver talons of death; the other, while surrounded by soldiers, danced with grace unlike which Jee had ever seen, her opponents were dropping like flamey-flies without even experiencing her physical touch. This hospital camp is filled with monsters!

It was terrifying…

"Sir!" a soldier with broken armor approached him, carrying a wounded comrade with him. "Sir! Our assault has failed! The Earth Kingdom patrols, they… *pant* they got reinforcement from a band of Water Tribe warriors."

"What!" that was the final blow to his will to fight. Honor be dammed! "Fall back!"

* * *

Warm belly, warm bed, warm blanket… things that nearly made the Duke forget his mission. Jet had entrusted him with the crucial part of their plan; not Longshot, not Smellerbee. Him, the Duke!

Tiptoeing his way through the empty dark hallway, the little boy snuck his way towards the main gate of the Abbey. The Mother Superior was kind, yes, and the nuns were great, of course, and the hot potato soup was every bit delish as Kisa had described. Maybe he could persuade Jet to stay! But, no, no… the last time he did that, it had not gone so well. Jet got so mad at him.

Reaching the large gate, the Duke lit a stick incense he stole from the prayer room with a pair of spark rock he had been hiding in his sash. Sticking the burning stick out through the gap below the door, he waved it side by side so the tiny light could be seen by Jet. Surely enough, a series of three light knocks signaled Jet's arrival. It took quite an effort for two young boys to push the heavy door open. Once inside, dripping wet though he was, Jet let the Duke lead him to the room where the orphans sleep.

* * *

Zuko braved through the wind, running ever faster. Suddenly, his instinct kicked in; he leaped sideways just in time to avoid the assailant's slash. Slipping down the slope of the roof, he caught the edge just before his body slid past the roof completely, and swung himself to the safety of the ground. Master Piandao landed a second after him.

"Interesting", Piandao commented, throwing Zuko a wooden sword. To his bewilderment, Piandao took a blindfold and put in on himself; Zuko noticed a similar fabric tied around the hilt of the sword Piandao gave him. "Five strikes. I go first."

Understanding dawning in his face, with grin matching that of his master's, Zuko pocketed his blindfold and attacked.

* * *

Lives were changed that night…

Yuan Cay and Chey's certainly were.

"I don't know pain like yours", Chey admitted bravely. "My dad's a loser, my ma's a wench. I never have a girl, never have a kid. I have a cousin who is probably dead now. I don't know your pain."

Yuan Cay looked at him with pain in his eyes. Chey continued.

"But, guess what, Cay", Chey pushed his hair from his eyes for he was not ashamed of his tears that was mixed with the rain. "I am alive!" he screamed that last part to the world and laughed. "I am alive, Cay. So are you", he said, looking Yuan Cay dead in the eyes. Peaceful were the steps he took forward; Yuan Cay felt no threat in his advance. "And I am not alone, Cay. I have my friends, I have Master Jeong Jeong."

Chey was closed enough to catch Yuan Cay when he collapsed, losing his battle against his aggravated wound and the cold rain and storm. "You are alive, Cay. And you don't have to be alone anymore. You have me, you buddy Chey."

Grinning, Chey reached out to his own bandaged right shoulder that had started to bleed again. He smeared left palm with his blood. "If really don't have anyone else, then I'll be your brother."

Cay looked astonished for a moment. But then, he sat up straight and smeared his right palm with his own blood from his chest. They grasp hands and, with the rain and storm bearing witness, they became sworn brothers.

The new bond of two gave one a reason to live…

####

They rode all day, had their meal on their seats, had potty breaks faster than couriers chasing deadline. Kisa and Moku arrived at the highland road overlooking a vibrant ancient city of Tianshui. From their height and distance, Kisa could even see the encampments of Fire Nation soldiers taking several points miles away from the city surrounding the mighty wall of Tianshui. He could not help but think back to his childhood, to the high hopes his father had had for him.

"Moku", Kisa called, smiling sadly. "I've changed my mind. Let's go back to the west."

"Yes, Kisa", Moku nodded.

That day, a bard realized that there is worth in living the present at the expense of the past.

####

Mother Ma rushed towards the crowded hallway; dark with the only light coming from the split between the doors in front of which half of his nuns were gathering, trying and failing to gain entry.

"What is going on here?" she demanded. Speechless, the nuns simple gave her way to the door. All Mother Ma could do was peek through the slit; a child she had never seen before was standing tall and proud on the table.

"Listen to me, Earth Kingdom brothers and sisters!" Jet rallied, his tiger hook sword pointed high. "We all have suffered greatly under the oppression of Fire Nation! It is time we take the fight to them! Fight with me! Join my cause! Join the Freedom Fighters!"

"Oh, dear Mother…" Mother Ma gasped. Turning to the nuns she stuttered. "Somebody, quickly and get the key!"

"Join me!" Jet's voice was loud enough to be heard outside. "Join me and avenge your pain, your family, your Kingdom!"

The other children's cheer was a huge blow for the Mother Superior.

"Wait! What about them?" a random kid pointed at a group of children cringing at the corner of the room; the group of terrified Fire Nation children.

"They're Fire Nation", Jet stared at them coldly. "They are bad news. Lock them in the closet!"

"Oh, no", Mother Ma gasped, turning pale at rapid speed.

"Mother Superior", a nun spoke. "Maybe we can use bending to open the door."

"No, don't!" Mother Ma quickly halted them. "Some children are barring the door. You could hurt them by mistake!"

"So, what should we do?" the nun from before asked desperately.

"I—", Mother Ma had no answer to give. She could simply pound the door with the other nun, begging for the children inside to stop.

When the key finally arrived, the children had gone through the window. Jet was already leading them through the wood and the rain, to one of their caves where they would find temporary shelter.

A boy's grudge gave life to a resistance…

"_Mother Superior_! Quick, Somebody call a healer! Mother Superior has collapsed!"

####

Lin could not shake the pain away; worse still was his worry. _Azula… what has happened to you_.

"Hakoda!" two of the Water Tribe scouts arrived. "The Earth Kingdom hospital camp has taken refuge in a cave nearby."

Not according to plan, but Lin could not care. _Azula_… he absentmindedly traced his hand to his pocket, to the softer of the two fabric in there, to his red handkerchief.

"Lead us there", Hakoda ordered.

The whole group, Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom patrols, followed the scouts through the woods and arrived at a cave with numerous Fire Nations soldiers lying lifelessly around it. It made each and every one in their group tense, but Lin could not care.

_Azula, what's going on…?_

"By the Moon", Bato scanned around with machete ready. "What is going on here?"

—CLANK—

"You're not Fire Nation", Bara frowned at Bato's feature through their locked weapons.

"You're… a _Fire Nation_?" Bato took notice of Bara's dangerous looking amber eyes, her pale skin, and the symbol of Fire Element on the hand guard of her daggers.

"Mercenary, employed by Earth Kingdom", Bara raised her arms in a surrender manner under the numerous Water Tribe bone spears and machetes that had begun to back Bato up.

"Stand down!" Spear quickly ran up to them. "She's with us."

"Lin!" Bara ignored Spear's spread arms that were trying to extort a cuddling. Lin could barely register Bara hugging him tightly, much like how he barely noticed Rain, also ignoring Spear, joined in their hug.

Bato grinned as he playfully elbowed the pouting Spear, Hakoda looked amused. Their relatively happy reunion slowly faded away as Bara, who was suddenly speechless darted her eyes between Lin and Spear, and Rain who hung her head guiltily, led them to the cave where cries of bitter sadness were heard.

That night, one of good lives was lost…

####

Zuko ran up the roofs; oh, the thrill of the chase! He missed this. Piandao suddenly turned back and slashed at him; Zuko used the momentum of his run to leap over Piandao's head. Mischievously, he tugged a little at his master's top-knot with the tips of his fingers as he soared past the man. As he landed, however, Piandao's horizontal slash nicked Zuko's ponytail; a payback!

Eyes narrowed, Zuko deflected the man's thrust. A spinning diagonal slash, Zuko evaded, a fast horizontal slash, Zuko deflected. There, five strikes!

Now, it was Zuko's turn to run. He ran up to the wall of the narrow roof ahead, climbing even higher. Not! Upon reaching the ledge of the higher level, Zuko did a backflip and landed behind Piandao. Swiftly, he delivered a fast three combo; to his surprise, Piandao evaded all three with his sword kept behind his back. Roaring, Zuko delivered a stab, that Piandao sidestepped effortlessly, and another slash, that Piandao avoided by leaping forward. Leaning down with faces inches apart, Piandao tutted mockingly at Zuko's sword that had punched a hole on the roof. Zuko would have been annoyed if not for the realization that it was Piandao's turn to attack.

The master did not even give Zuko a chance to run. Leaping forward, Zuko barely avoided his strike by rolling forward through the space between Piandao's legs. Quickly standing up, Zuko tried to run but, alas, he stepped on a fragment of the roof tile that he broke and slipped. Master Piandao was surprisingly agile when he caught Zuko's wrist just in time, sparring him the fall of five meters high.

Panting, their eyes met. And they burst out laughing.

That night, two lives had learnt to open their minds.

####

"Lu Ten…" Iroh lamented, kneeling in front of the boy's headstone. "How I need you now, son."

Iroh let out a deep breath. What had he done wrong? Was it truly not possible for him to be an uncle for Azula? Why, Agni? Was his love for the girl not strong enough? If only Lu Ten were here…

"Uncle", a ragged whisper called out to him. Iroh turned to find Azula there. It broke his heart to see her in the state she was in; her usual _perfectly_ done top-knot had been reduce to a messy ponytail, her eyes that should shine with childish glee was dimmed and empty, her face that would either be grinning happily or smirking smugly was hollow and plagued with pallor.

_Ha ha… ~Lu Ten got you beat~_

"Uncle", Azula called again; it broke Iroh's heart to see how she tried to look brave and strong, and to be _perfect_. "Lu Ten is dead! Zuzu is weak!"

It broke Iroh's heart to hear the cold hatred in her ragged voice; that he could not say anything in return, it killed a part of him.

"Why, Uncle? Why did we go to Shu Jing? Why are you here now? Why are you not with me…?" Azula sobbed as tears rolled down her face. "Why can't you love me more?"

_~Haha… ~Nobody loves you~_

"Azula, I—", _I…_ _what_..? Iroh swallowed hard, words simply could not come out. "Azula, you are not well. You sh—"

"_Don't!_" the Princess' hiss was that of malice, of the utmost disgust. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare tell me what I am or am not! You… You _failure_!"

…_yes, he is… he is a failure…_

Still Iroh could not say anything.

"Father was right all along", the enmity in the Princess' voice both contrasted and reinforced the fresh stream of tears flooding her face. "You are weak! Like Zuko, like Lu Ten… But, I'm _not_!"

…_no, you're not… you are not weak…_

"Azula, please—", Iroh began.

"I said shut up!" Azula screamed at… _them_. The conical burning incense Iroh had lit for Lu Ten exploded with a spectacular blue flame. "You are just like them! Like all of them! Like mom, like Zuko, like Lu Ten!"

"Azula", Iroh got up and tried to embrace the girl but the blue bolt of fire flew past him.

The sound of the stone exploding upon contact with the blue flame, her _perfect_ blue flame, destroyed what was left of Iroh completely.

—SLAP—

"_What's the big deal, anyway?" Azula saw her mother as she held her hard in the no longer gentle clutch of hers. "Zuzu is a failure. A failure deserves to die!"_

"You ingrate!" Iroh lost all control. No more pity he had left for the girl he had just sent flying.

"I HATE YOU!" Azula screamed from the ground she was on, clutching her cheek; she screamed at him, she screamed at _them_.

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Iroh roared, sending trail of flame from his sweeping fist.

Azula screamed her battle cry as she lunged ahead, wielding her blue flame, her _perfect_ blue flame; Iroh pushed his hands down, a fire wall erupted and collided with the girl's flaming fists. The explosion sent the girl flying back and sparks of the colliding flames lit patches of fire on the dry leaves and grass on the ground.

"I said get out of my sight!" the Dragon of the West roared.

Azula finally felt the horror that she was facing. Iroh stomped her way imposingly; remnants of the colliding flames around them burst into pillars of fire. But, a fire blast at the Dragon's feet stopped Iroh from advancing further. Ozai jumped in front of Azula and released a barrage of flames that Iroh countered just as masterfully. The blows their flames exchanged; they were on such level like none Azula had ever witnessed before.

Letting up with their offenses, Ozai and Iroh stood with stances still on; Ozai was the first to lower his hands. Calmly he paced to his downed daughter and knelt to her. Such pitiful creature, he thought, placing his hand gently on the girl's chin and tilted her head up just as gently to inspect her bruised cheek. Unable to hold anymore, Azula dived into her father's chest and sobbed uncontrollably. Ozai patted her back to pacify her, throwing a glare at Iroh who returned the courtesy. Still refusing to be the one who broke contact, Ozai cradled Azula and picked her up with angry amber set dead on his failure of a brother. The firebending fight between the two siblings ended with a draw. But, the fight over the poor girl…

"I win", Ozai hissed hatefully. It was the one blow that truly hit Iroh.

That night, an Old Dragon learnt that there were things in life that even love cannot conquer…

####

Mr. Li had slipped away shortly after he was sent to join the escape. The doctors had been too preoccupied with the seriously wounded, they did not notice his vanishing act. A good thing too; otherwise, he would have been stuck inside a cave when there was a perfectly good rain out here. He stood on a tall hill, overlooking the cave below; he could see them clearly, the sea of green and blue, but he knew that to them, he was just another dark of the night sky.

"I wish you will one day forgive me", he offered a solemn bow. Looking up to the sky, he was reminded of the night he was offered the job, it was raining like this.

Mongke had been wary of him; he knew why. He was spinning, dancing even under the rain just like this, just like what he was doing now. He had his eyes closed, spread his arms, and swayed with the wind, the wind that had blown that vellum letter open, the vellum letter that contained the words written in red ink: _44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital _below the name _Haoqi Gun_.

Mr. Li learnt that life is nothing but an elaborate puppet show; and he knew just which string to cut.

* * *

"**Attention, all personnel**!" Bullhorn roared through his device. "**Ple**—"

They all understood why Bullhorn paused; they too could not bear themselves to hear his announcement, let alone put themselves in his shoes, to actually announce it. They did not want it to be true.

"**Please gather in the compound**…" they heard him sniffing into a handkerchief. "… **after lunch time to say our final and reluctant goodbye to Lieutenant Colonel Haoqi Gun**."

* * *

Ozai walked with no hurry at all. War meeting in fifteen minutes, high court in five, followed by an audience with generals, none of that mattered to him; not that morning. He walked slow and tall, like a Fire Lord he was; servants, guards, maids bowed like pawns they were as he passed, like properties they were. He arrived at her door; he let the maids open the door. He entered, paced calmly to her bed; experiencing the mere stare of the monarch, maids excused themselves hurriedly.

Azula was lying on her bed, apparently sleeping. But, no matter; the mere touch of Fire Lord Ozai on her cheek, Fire Princess Azula opened her eyes and turned. She looked terribly pale, her eyes were terribly red and puffy, and she did not say a word.

"How are you doing this morning, Azula?" Ozai caressed the bruise on her cheek softly, the only color on her face; he knew it hurt her but she braved through the pain. _Good girl_…

"I am doing fine, Father", Azula croaked but held down her cough; Ozai was proud to see her trying to suppress her weakness. _A Fire Princess must never be weak!_

"Starting tomorrow", Ozai started, pushing a strand of his daughter's hair off the girl's face. "You will accompany me in every meeting, every audience, and every administrative duty. I will teach you everything you need to know about politics, and you will learn military art and war strategy from me personally. Would you like that, Azula?"

"Yes, Father", there was a change in her, in her eyes. Ozai found the flame that lit up in them pleasing.

"Good", Ozai smirked, not smiled. "Rest now, my dearest daughter. Tomorrow, you shall be remade."

* * *

**Author's Note**:

The last of Azula's defender has fallen. Before you judge Iroh, think how you would feel if that happened to you. You lost your son, and someone blasted his headstone. It always baffle me how Iroh could not be civil with Azula in the series, but he was willing to actually help a stranger who mugged him. What Azula had done to him must have been really really hurtful. Maybe this is why.

Azula's mini breakdown was triggered of course by Zuko, whom she considered a failure, actually defended against her blow successfully just seconds after the mean voice condemned her to a 'second place' and as an 'imperfection'. Iroh's constant rejection, although not mean-spirited, brought her back to the many times Ursa rejected to be with her; they are the catalyst and the scuffle with Zuko the spark that ignites it.

Ozai's moves were patient. He slowly poisoned Azula's mind; setting the bar high for her ever since she was young. It resulted in Azula having a high standard for everyone around her, so high none of them could be expected to meet it. All Ozai has to do is sit back and watch as Ursa, Zuko, and Iroh fail one after another to satisfy Azula's need, to meet her standard, and ended up disappointing her. And after they were done, he would play the hero in shining goatee, pick up what was left of Azula, and remake her in his own image.

To OwlFeather13. Thanks for the reviews on this fic and for the other fic! What fascinates me about language, verbal language that is, is that any given language is essentially a series of sound me make. To master a language, in theory, one should simply familiarize oneself with the rules, the sound, and the meanings each given sound has been assigned to. But, then again, with all other underlying factors such as culture and, well, other stuff, simple knowledge of the rules won't be enough. I think in the future sociology will be taught side by side with language. :D

Ah, well…

Anyway, one last chapter until the end of the Book. The first four chapter of the next Book are pretty much done, still need some finishing touches. I'm starting a new course next week, so the little voice in my head is telling me that I will not be able to update as regularly after the next four or five weeks. But, we'll see.:)

Btw, I wonder if anyone noticed the hand of Karma working on Lin and his misfortune in the last chapter. I did not mean for that to happen; I didn't even realize it until yesterday. Haha

I'll try to keep updating weekly. There are still five chapters in my arsenal.

Enjoy the reading, have a good life, and don't skip breakfast!


	81. Chapter 80

**Chapter 80 – Goodbye, Haoqi**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

Life went on as if nothing particularly big happened; wind still blew constantly, rain still fell frequently, food was still lousy, wounded people still came, their blood was still red, their deaths would still be numbers on a sheet of paper somewhere. Just like Haoqi's…

"I have never thought much of Haoqi", pondered Megumi who was sitting by Spear's side in their lunch table. "I mean", Megumi started uncomfortably. "He was a good man; of that, I have no doubt. But, you know… I was raised in a military barracks! Discipline to me is like a rock for an earthbender. I need it. And Haoqi was just… not man enough to present it to my liking."

Spear looked up to her, trying to hold down his amused smile.

"Don't give me that! Don't make this dirty!" Megumi snapped furiously. "You know perfectly well what I mean."

"I do", Spear settled for a little more neutral smile. "Haoqi should have never been drafted in the first place. A man like him has no business being in the army."

"I can say the same for you", Megumi added quietly.

"You can say the same for all of us", Spear commented just as solemnly.

"Not true", Megumi frowned her disagreement. "I can never imagine myself without the Army. The Army is my life."

"I'm sorry to hear that", said Spear sincerely but Megumi took a little offense.

"Just because you hate the Army, it doesn't mean everybody feels the same way", she put down her cup with more force that needed. Getting up, she scoffed. "Believe it or not, _Captain_", extra drop of acid on the military word. "The world does not revolve around you and your opinion."

With that she left. But Spear calling her name as she pushed the door open, make her turn back and not realize that the door she pushed nearly broke Trik Sho's nose who was about to enter.

"I miss him, too. And I am also sorry that I have never gotten the chance to apologize to him for all the hard time I've given him, or to tell him that, somewhere deep down, I respect and love him", Spear admitted earnestly. He saw Megumi's green eyes went glassy before the woman turned and left.

"What's that all about?" Trik arrived at the spot Megumi occupied, nursing his nose.

"Nothing", Spear went back to his fried noodle; but one look at it, his survival instinct kicked in. "So, Senshi's still on your case?"

"What case?" Trik asked back, picking a piece of shrimp from Spear's plate.

"The case about you assaulting him?" Spear really did not see the need to clarify but decided to humor him anyway.

"Guess so", Trik shrugged, chewing. "Communication is still down and the men are still not through making Senshi's life miserable, so…"

He shrugged again.

Shortly after the incident with Private Ming, Lin had endured the brunt of cold treatments from his fellow campmates of the enlisted persuasion; after all, Lin did nearly kill one of their own. It wasn't until the truth was leaked by one brave enlisted clerk who was privy to at least two officers meetings that detailed the incident, in which Senshi Mor was found to be the real guilty party of such tragedy, among others, that all the cold treatments had blown into pranks, jokes, or subtle show of insubordination directed towards the newly appointed acting commanding officer. When it was Lin who got the heat, the men had opted for a more passive method as a show of respect for the fear and terror the lieutenant's martial prowess inspired in them; remember, Lin had proven his worth as a warrior by singlehandedly seizing a victory over a murderous viper-wombat the week he arrived.

"The charge for assaulting a higher-ranking officer and insubordination can amount to fifty years in the slammer", Spear nudged gently.

"Uh-huh?" Trik made it sound like Spear had just told him that the weight of a baby cow-hippo is the approximate of the weight of a pregnant platypus-bear.

"As soon as the communication line's back on, I'll send words to Ba Sing Se", said Spear; it was not an offer, neither was it a promise. It was delivered as something akin to an order.

"Thanks, Spear", Trik muttered, finding it hard to look Spear in the eye. He knew how Spear hated dealing with his father. "And, just in case thing don't get through, my family…"

"I'll work something", Spear assured him but he sounded less sure than before. They sat for a few more minutes, discussing patients that came through. Afterwards, Spear was the first one who got up.

"Hey, Spear", Trik called as Spear pushed the door open. "Whatever you're going to do next, I'm with you."

"I'm going to the latrine next", Spear fidgeted uncomfortably.

"You know what I mean", for the first time since the fateful day a week ago, Trik flashed his genuinely trademarked crooked grin.

"I really don't know what you mean", Spear shook his head seriously, but Trik did not elaborate further, so Spear just got out.

Walking towards the compound, he nodded listlessly at some men and nurses who greeted him. He stopped though as Bullhorn roared through his device.

"**Attention all earthbender personnel! By order of acting commanding officer Major Senshi Mor, all earthbender personnel will be required to attend daily evening earthbending combat practice two hours before dinnertime unless the instructors Major Senshi Mor selected from among the enlisted men failed to show up again, in which event it means that the daily compulsory earthbending combat practice today will be canceled!" **

Snickering sourly, Spear resumed his march to… huh, nowhere. Oddly enough, considering that it was the last days of autumn. Usually, Fire Nation would capitalize on the last days of the season when earthbenders are at their weakest, causing the 44th and other hospital units to have influx of patients arriving with too much muscle and not enough footwear.

"This way!" Seito came rushing, yelling at Private Lee who earthbent the ball to him. Seito received it and send it to another of his teammates.

"I though Senshi forbids earthbending ball", Spear laughed at Seito who clumsily slipped on a puddle of mud as he ran towards the game.

"Meh", Seito shrugged, grinning with mud on his face.

Snickering with a lighter heart this time, Spear resumed his pace to… let's see, the recovery room seemed like a good destination. Pushing the door open, he came face to face with a soldier he had never seen before. The man seemed surprised and he bowed his salute clumsily; Spear dismissed him lazily.

"Well, how are things here, Nurse?" he asked with no interest whatsoever. They only had two patients in there; one of them was Rabbit who suffered from some tummy ache.

"Private Ping is stable", Nurse Xiao Li shouted from the other side of the room, she was writing her daily report. "By the way, Rha-Mi was here looking for you. You have a package from home and he left it here. Here catch!"

"No, wait—", the package the size of a regular cinderblock soared through the air and hit him straight in the face instead of his receiving hands. "Thank you", Spear added sardonically to the nurse with the lousiest of aim who grinned guiltily.

Sitting on a vacant bed, he read the sender address on the top side of the package; it was Mr. Yu Haoren but with a Kingdom emblem drawn on the side of the name. That was the mark that told Spear that the package was from General How who sent it through Mr. Haoren to keep up the appearance. "I thought the communication is still down", Spear asked Nurse Xiao Li.

"That's from last month's mail", Nurse Xiao Li explained.

"Finally found it, huh?" Spear scoffed, ripping the package open. It was a Ba Sing Se University medical journal. What an unusual gift from General How.

"Hey, Spear", Nurse Xiao Li called as Spear was about to exit. "I know I'm not much but… I'm with you, you know. So are the other nurses."

"Me too, sir", a weak voice emerged from Rabbit who Spear had thought was sleeping.

"I really don't know what you guys mean", Spear was not sure why he even smiled. "And you, get some rest."

"Yes, sir", Rabbit groaned.

Again Spear made his way through the compound. He was really at lost at what he should do next. And, no, he had no intention to read the journal; he planned to save it for when he really need it. Without paying attention to where he was going at all, he let his feet carry him away. Before he knew it, the men's shower tent door was flung open and nearly flattened his face.

"Oh", Bob muttered with brown eyes widened in awkward fear. "S-sorry, sir."

"Don't call me, sir", Spear rubbed his forehead, sniffing baby powder in the air. "Still have the rash, Bob?"

"Um, y-yes", Bob stuttered, wishing that the earth would swallow him whole.

"I'm not much of a dermatologist, but come by the treatment room. I'll take a look at it", Spear offered purely out of boredom.

"N-no, sir!" Bob exclaimed unexpectedly but then his voice grew timid. "I-I mean, um…"

"What?" Spear frowned at him. "Oh, well. If you don't want to…"

"Um, okay", Bob gulped nervously before he wiggled his way out.

"Strange kid", Spear watched the boy's departure. He was about to walk again but for some reason, he turned to the tent and decided… eh, why not! He entered the empty shower tent and took a shower with his clothes on.

It felt weird. But, who cares…?

He stayed long under the shower, he even opened his journal and entertained himself with an article about a new method of using modern machineries to produce electricity for shock treatment in treating some cases of psychotic nature; the study did not end well but simply because the machine was still experimental. Only when Private Liu and Jou's merry chatters stopped dead at the odd sight of him did Spear take it that he had had long enough a shower.

Exiting the tent, accompanied by the weird stares for the aforementioned two, Spear walked back to the compound, oblivious of how numb he was; he did not even feel the cold of his drenched state walking in the middle of autumn wind.

"Hey, kids", Spear's destination this time was Yee Shoo and Shoto playing Pai Sho on a bench the interns had set up months ago in front of their tent.

"Oh, hi, Doctor Haoren", Yee Shoo greeted happily despite him being slaughtered by Shoto. "Shoto's teaching me how to play Pai Sho."

"Good boy", Spear patted his intern's head.

"You're dripping", his absence of socials skill allowed Shoto to point out this obvious fact without sounding sarcastic.

"I just took a shower", Spear explained as if it was the most obvious thing.

"Fully clothed?" Shoto pressed on.

"Well, it's cold in there", Spear shrugged and walked away from the two slightly confused interns.

Oh, where next… where to go next…?

"Spear!" the sweet melodious voice Nurse Jen called out to him.

"Why, hello there, beautiful", Spear grinned, offering his arm to the gorgeous kind of a nurse who arrived at his side.

"Why are you wet?" Nurse Jen asked incredulously as they walked.

"Why do people keep asking me that?" Spear stopped, trying to sound upset but playful.

"Aren't you cold?" Nurse Jen asked.

"With you by my side?" Spear wiggled his brows, sporting the silly grin; Nurse Jen tried to pull her arm away but, of course, Spear would not have it.

"Come on, stop joking!" she chided though her own grin said the opposite. "We're really concerned about you, you know. How are you doing?"

"Me, I'm doing fine", Spear replied still with his silly grin. "But, with you, I can be excellent. I can be marvelous, amazing! With little more effort, I can even be _good_."

"Spear…" Nurse Jen shook her head wearily.

"**Attention all personnel! Incoming wounded! It seems like the Fire Nation did not get our memo!"**

"Saved by the bullhorn", Spear muttered. She and Nurse Jen promptly ran towards the incoming convoy of three caterpillar tanks. "Well, at least I don't have to scrub."

It went on just like any other day. They assessed, they scrubbed, they cut, they sewed, they saved. Just like any other day.

"This one can be tricky", explained Spear to Shoto, sinking nearly his whole forearm deep into part of human body no human arm should sink into. "The shrapnel from catapult sometimes enjoy being carried by blood and get lodged in places like behind the liver or between the folds of the colonic region. Just looking around is not enough, you have to _feel_ around. You have to be thorough."

"Yes, sir", the boy replied as he followed his mentor's example.

"Don't call me 'sir'", Spear yawned behind his mask. "Can you finish this alone?"

"Yes", Shoto replied with his usual monotone.

"I'll be in the next table. If you need me, just holler", Spear gave a last encouraging nod. "And call me before you close; I'd like to check your work."

"Interns should not be allowed to work on a patient alone!" Senshi snapped from the next table. "And you!" he barked at Nurse Wen Li. "I didn't ask for clamp!"

"But, you did, sir", Nurse Wen Li argued.

"Give him what he need, not what he asked for", Spear sneered.

"You shut up, _Captain_!" Senshi shouted angrily.

"Cheap shot", Spear feigned an offended tone.

Just like any other day. Even after they finished and Spear was walking towards the mess tent for some drink.

"Haoren. Haoren!"

"Why can't people just leave me alone?" Spear cursed under his breath, stopped his pace. Turning around, he faced the incoming major with no such respect or interest one of his status should show the major. "What is it now, Senshi?"

"What you did in there was the most unbecoming of an officer!" the major started. "And allowing an intern to work on his own? Where is your pride as a full-fledged surgeon?"

"Look, Senshi", Spear yawned lazily. "I don't care if you doubt me 'becoming of an officer'", he air-quoted; Trik had walked up to them to join him. "But, if you question my skill as a surgeon again, I may have to challenge you to a duel."

"With sword or crossbow?" asked Trik, grinning.

"I was thinking specimen bottles at twenty paces", Spear replied. Then, without any such as a salute, they walked away to the mess tent.

"I don't see why interns shouldn't be allowed to work on their own", Trik mused aloud. "Isn't that the whole idea of the program; to bait young budding surgeons into the war so the Army can exploit them for their skills? For free? I mean, we're not paying them; they pay the Army for the opportunity."

"Don't ask me", Spear replied glumly. "Sairen didn't come up with it."

"Too bad, huh?" Trik said again after they sat on their table with their cups of coffee. "Haoqi never got to send his complaint to HQ. We came _this_ close to getting rid of Senshi for good", he showed his fingers that were only half a centimeter a part.

"There'll be another chance", Spear took a sip of his coffee; the coffee fought back. "Yuck! Let's just hope Lieutenant Lin will be more prepared when the time comes."

"It's not a thing a fourteen year old should go through", muttered Trik grimly. "Getting blown up, and all."

"A fourteen year old has no business being here in the first place", corrected Spear. "That being said, neither do we, twenty pluses. Do you know the quickest way to end this war?"

"Drug Senshi and mail him to the Fire Nation?" Trik shrugged, going through a bowl of corn cookies. "He can drive them crazy for us. Imagine that, the Fire Lord will lose at least a battalion to insanity after one week of Senshi. Or Senshi will be brutally immolated alive. Either way, we win."

"Nah, I have a quicker way. We send everybody home", Spear voiced his logic. "Without people to fight, the war is just a ninety years old stare down between two Nations. And face it, staring doesn't kill", Spear's eyes trailed to the female form of Nurse Xiao Ling who just entered the tent. "Otherwise, I'd be wanted for multiple accounts of murder already."

"Hey, Spear. Be honest with me", Trik snapped Spear off his leering. "How was it up there, fighting firebenders and all?"

"Scary", Spear shrugged lightly but he sounded sincere. "The last time I picked up a weapon before that was when I tried to stop Lin from killing a Dai Li agent –I'll tell you later-", he added quickly at Trik's tiny choke on his drink. "Before that, well… I can't even remember. Might have been the last time I practiced with my master. And that was before that Sairen joined the Army and came up with this stupid idea of making hospital units, hence condemning us to this war."

"Wretched guy!" Trik cursed.

"I mean, I still got the skill. It's the physique that I don't have much of anymore", Spear snickered, throwing a cookie into his mouth.

"What kind of physique did you have back then?"

"Well, eh… suffice to say, the only thing I need to woo a girl is taking off my shirt. Now, when I take off my shirt, they laugh at me and won't stop… even after I cry."

"We are way past our prime time, Spear", Trik lamented their lost youth (?).

"Imagine how rotten we'd feel when we finally reach thirty", Spear laughed.

"But… I'm thirty…"

Spear halted his cookie midair. "Oh", he said with heart full of sympathy. "Well, gramps. Good luck living the next ten years of your life."

Surviving the rain of cookies that pelted him all the way out, Spear once again found his way in the compound. It was a little before dinner. On one side of the square, a group of men and nurses had gathered around; most of them did not wear shoes. The earthbenders, surmised Spear. He saw Seito among the group. Tch! Interns were not allowed to perform surgery on their own but had to undergo earthbending training. It really baffled Spear how Senshi could even walk on two and can survive on food other than banana.

Walking to the other side of the camp, he ran into a pretty but armed lady in black armor.

"Why, hello there", Spear turned on his charm.

Rain simply blinked at him uncomfortably, a little childishly even.

"What you got over there?" Spear took the kitten the woman had in her arms. "Uh-huh… I'm no vet, but I think there's something lodged on his front paw. Oh, you know that this is a _he_, right?" he asked the mercenary whose emerald eyes were a little widened. "It's a bit… er, hard to see at this stage but… well, if you squint hard enough— But, let's drop that. Here hold him like this… and I'll… okay, hold. I'll pull the… _got it_."

Rain gave him a rather awkward smile as she took the kitten back.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Spear scratched the kitten's head.

"Oh, there you are", the other mercenary showed up. Bara was carrying her medic kit. "Oh, Captain", she greeted curtly though it only was to hide her own discomfort. After all, some camp member (Senshi) had heatedly berated the two mercenaries for failing to protect their employer.

"For the cat?" Spear nudged his chin at the kit. "Already taken care of."

"Oh", she looked at the kitten and Rain who had assumed her usual position, half-hidden behind Bara whenever there were strangers around. "Oh, well… thank you, Captain."

"Well, that's what a good neighbor for", Spear laughed a little and resumed his walk.

"Hey, Captain", Bara called again. This time, she had a very determined look in her eyes. "Lin is our benefactor; we owe him more than just our lives", Bara ignored Spear's confused frown as she continued. "We go where he goes, should he choose to go with you. And we are more than willing to die for him."

"Um… okay", Spear shrugged awkwardly. The two mercenaries left; Spear went back to his stroll. What is it with people today, he mulled.

"Whoa! A crack on the left! Rha-Mi, bent! Bent!" Spear heard Yee Shoo shouted. Turning to the commotion, he saw the boy, Bob, Shoto, Lin and Rha-Mi lurking around what appeared to be some sort of small furnace they built with bending.

"Hey, kids", Spear greeted as he arrived. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, hi, Captain", Rha-Mi sounded cheerful enough; Yee Shoo grinned awkwardly, Bob looked somewhat guilty, and Shoto was blank as usual. Lin was too focused in his attempt to pour a bowl of red hot molten metal on a cast Rha-Mi had bent on a piece of rock without spilling any.

"We're helping Lieutenant Lin making some addition to his helmet", explained Rha-Mi. He took the model Lin had folded out from newspaper and put it on. "Not bad, huh?"

"You added a mouth protector", Spear commented on the model. "Whatever for?"

"I'm bored", Lin shrugged, wiping his sweaty face as they waited the metal to cool. "You doing okay?"

The question drew a series of concerned look from the other three, including Shoto.

"Yeah, I'm fine", Spear frowned again. "Why do people keep asking that?"

To that, they did not have an answer. Except for Shoto, that is; but Bob and Yee Shoo quickly shoved him aside and placed their hands on his mouth. Rha-Mi and Lin moved to cover them to no avail from Spear's narrowed brown eyes.

"Well, if you'll excuse me", Spear shook his head; he felt tired for some reason.

"Hey, Spear", Lin called out. Spear turned back to him and he saw the same kind of determination he had encountered in Bara's eyes.

"Yes?"

"Whenever you're ready", Lin nodded firmly. "I'll stand by you with my sword. You can count on that."

"I reaaaaly don't know what you guys are talking about", Spear scoffed and walked away. "What is it with people today?" but then he stopped and extorted a small revenge by pointing out a teensy weensy fact about the recent development of Lieutenant Lin. "By the way, did you notice that your voice has started to change two days ago?"

"What?" Lin was taken aback; turning to his suddenly uncomfortably fidgeting helpers, he demanded. "What change? There's nothing wrong with my voice, right? Guys? _Look at me_!"

What a strange day, he thought, paving away to… hmm, recovery room. It would just be equally boring but where else could he go? He retraced his steps, waving back to Bullhorn, and upon him opening the door, Rabbit's, "Oh, hey, Kitty", greeted his ear. The woman sitting on the clerk's bedside had her back on Spear so Spear could not see her face. Although, judging from the green scarf on her waist and her hairstyle, it should be Rain, another soul who should not be involved in the war. But, wait! Rabbit was flirting with Rain…? Now this, Spear had to see.

"Oh, hey there", as it turned out, it was the kitten from before. Rain put the fragile little creature on Rabbit's bed. "Hey, are you still hurting?"

The cat did not answer, of course.

"Well, that's good", Rabbit smiled warmly. "Thank you, Rain."

Spear saw the woman's head titled briefly.

"I'm sorry if it troubles you", Rabbit continued. "I mean, we're not even allowed to have pets, you know, on account of this place being in the army and the army being in the war. But, Colonel Haoqi let me keep some. It's nothing much though; I mostly just take in some strays."

Rain shrugged.

"Yeah. I was about to ask one of the doctors to take a look at her but then I thought, since pets are not allowed, then it won't be too military to ask them to look after a kitten", Rabbit said but then, one look at Rain, he added quickly. "No, no. I'm pretty sure Captain Haoren and Sho wouldn't mind but, um, you know, I don't want to trouble them for this. I mean, Captain Sho is in a pickle, what's with him assaulting Major Senshi and then beat him up like he did. And Captain Haoren seems a little, you know…"

Rain nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I miss Colonel Haoqi too. He's like a father to me. He taught me a lot of stuff, you know… about women and stuff. Can't wait to go home and try them out", admitted Rabbit sheepishly.

Spear smiled as he saw Rain's shoulder shuddered as she giggled.

"And I know the guys miss him too", Rabbit caressed the kitten behind the ear. "I know that sometimes he can be a stickler but he didn't really mean it. He was only like that when Major Mor and Keh are on his case."

Rabbit paused a little and looked at Rain, his mouth opened into a silent gasp. "Y-yeah, I guess they are. But, I promised Father Shu I won't use those words anymore. But, they're not that bad! Well, I mean Major Megumi, that's Major Keh's first name, she's not that bad. Rha-Mi told me that she was great when they were sent to the front the other day. You know, when the… uh…"

Rain fidgeted a little.

"Anyway, Rha-Mi said they got along pretty well", Rabbit continued with his defense. "I guess that have to do with being shelled with bombs and firebender tanks, huh?"

Rain shrugged.

"Really?" Rabbit frowned deeply. "You've never been to the war? I mean, since you're a mercenary, I thought you've been to plenty of wars already. Or is it plenty of battles? I never can get it straight. To me, they're all the same."

Rain titled her head sideways a little.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Oh hey, Rha-Mi told me that Captain Haoren told them about this story his mother used to tell him", Rabbit started another topic. Spear felt his ears tingled. "He said something about the Avatar. He said that one day the Avatar will return and end this war for us. Wouldn't that be great? I mean, we can go home!"

Spear could not discern Rain's reaction from just her back this time. But he assumed it was a good kind since Rabbit's beaming face held on.

"Hey, maybe if the Avatar returns and the war is really over, maybe I can go and visit your hometown, huh?" Rabbit's grin melted gradually into a rather sympathetic frown. "Oh, sorry… I didn't know. But, that's okay. Maybe you can visit mine! Well, my home is in the Eastern Region and there is this civil war or something. But, don't worry. They don't bother us common regular people."

Again, Spear was oblivious as to how Rain reacted to this.

"It'd be great. My hometown… we have hills and plains, and grass everywhere! On spring, me and my cousins would go to our Uncle Lee's ranch. Yeah, Uncle Lee breeds ostrich-horses, you see, and he lets us ride them too. He's real nice. When you visit, I'll make sure to introduce you to him."

Rain nodded this time.

"Um… Hey, Rain? Do you ever… miss your hometown?"

Rain alternated between shrugging and shaking her head.

"Must be hard, huh?" Rabbit muttered quietly. "But, hey, that's okay! At least you have the mercenaries, right? They must be like family to you."

Spear felt himself smile at Rain's excited nods.

"Hey, that's great", Rabbit beamed.

Deciding that he should leave them with their privacy, Spear decided to walk out of the room and headed out for Father Shu's tent instead. At least, the priest was bound to be more rational than all these people; priests don't lie, after all. On the way to the chaplain's tent though he ran into Senshi overseeing a group of five men with shovels digging foxholes around the main building.

"We never know when the Fire Nation will attack again", Senshi lectured on like a war general. "In order to effectively defend ourselves against the next of their savage attack, I want this hole done before dinnertime. The width and the depth must be perfectly measured according to the rules handed out by the Military Council. I want you to dig me a hole an Earth Kingdom man can throw himself into with pride. And no bending!"

When he spun on his heel and was about to leave, somebody muttered. "Bending envy much?"

"Who said that!" the major barked. Private Liu pointed at Private Lee, who pointed at Corporal Meng-Lu, who pointed at Private Jou, who pointed at Sergeant Chim, who pointed at Private Liu. Could anyone blame Senshi when he threatened them with latrine duty before storming off?

Now, that is what happens when a power hungry maniac is put on a position of power; like a violent kid being given a knife for a toy. It was sad. Spear let out a deep sigh before he returned to his pace. As he was about to enter, Father Shu pushed his tent door open.

"Oh, Captain", Father Shu greeted. "Is something the matter? Uh, how are you doing?"

"You, too?" Spear grimaced.

"Come in. We'll talk inside", once inside, Father Shu poured them a glass of barley wine. "Now, maybe you would like to answer my question: how are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine", Spear involuntarily raised his voice. "Why do people keep asking that?"

"Captain, touch your eyes", Father Shu ordered quietly.

"Touch my what?" Spear asked incredulously.

"Your eyes", Father Shu pointed at his own eyes. "Go on."

Obeying the priest's order, Spear raised his hand and touched the part below his eye socket: he was crying and he didn't know it.

"So, let me ask you again: how are you doing?"

"Me…?" Spear sniffed, he didn't realize that his nose was so clogged up. "I'm doing… fine…"

"How about Sairen?" Father Shu asked again.

"Sairen…" Spear's, or rather, Sairen's defense could only hold for a few second before it broke. Sairen sobbed bitterly; he slid down his chair, kneeling as if apologizing. Father Shu leaned forward and embraced him.

"I-I am so sorry, Father", Sairen sobbed; Father Shu patted his trembling back. "I am so sorry!"

"This is not your fault, my son", Father Shu patted his back calmly. "If you want to blame yourself for Haoqi's death, I'm afraid you'd have to stand in line. Lieutenant Lin blamed himself for letting some soldiers get pass through his barricade, Bara and Rain clearly took the blame for themselves for not being able to protect Haoqi at the cave, Rabbit cried to me the other day saying that he shouldn't have told Haoqi about those men approaching them, Rha-Mi thought he shouldn't have taken a nap that time and he could have saved Haoqi somehow, Megumi felt guilty for giving Haoqi such a hard time that might have made Haoqi unable to think clearly that day. Even I find myself a blame for Haoqi's death; I was there yet I could not do anything."

"But, it is my fault, Father. It is! Don't you get it?" Sairen sobbed harder. "It was me who came up with the hospital units, it was me who came up with the idea of recruiting doctors from the civilians!"

"You did not come up with the idea of drafting them, my son."

"But, I came up with the hospital! Don't you get it! It's my fault! It's all my fault! Because of me, people like Haoqi are taken away from their families! They are taken away just so they can be here, in the war!"

"You were only trying to help, my son. This is not your fault", Father Shu repeated.

"It is", Sairen sniffed. "It's my fault Haoqi ever got here at all. It's my fault any of you ever got here at all."

"Capt— _Sairen_, my son", Father Shu sighed patiently. "You cannot bear all this by yourself. You did not kill Haoqi, nor are you responsible in any way of his death."

"How do you know that?" for the first time since Sairen entered the tent, he looked up and looked the priest, or anybody else that day, in the eye. "How could you possibly know that?"

"There is something I want to show you", Father Shu pulled the man up. "Come."

It took Father Shu a lot of his repertoire of persuasive art and a mean vice-grip on the man's arm before he could even make Sairen go through his door; harder still was his struggle to drag the man to the main building. He pushed the still reluctant man into one of the doors that lead to the preparation room.

"Tell me", Father Shu said with an authoritative but very kind tone. "What is this place?"

"It's the preparation room. The scrub room, if you will", muttered Sairen.

"Very well", Father Shu clutched the other man's arm again. "Now, through this door."

"This is the operating room", Sairen pointed out flatly once inside. "This is where we operate on people. I don't see the point of this."

"Well, maybe the next one will be much clearer", Father Shu smiled mysteriously. He led Sairen to the next door, to the little hallway where they dumped their bloody gowns and clothes after surgery, making no attempts on this place, then to the next door leading to the recovery room. "Well, what about this room?"

"The recovery room", Spear shrugged. "Where people recover as the name suggests."

"How many beds are in here, Sairen?" asked Father Shu; they were standing deep enough in the corner for anyone to hear him calling Sairen by his real name.

"Twenty", Spear did not even need to count.

"And how many were occupied?" asked Father Shu again.

"I don't know", Sairen grew impatient as he counted quickly. "Seven?"

"How many have occupied these beds and left this place alive?"

"Couple hundreds?"

"Try thousands", Father Shu smiled. "Or maybe tens of thousands in the past ten years. And _that_ is only in this unit alone. How many field hospital units does the Army have, Sairen?"

"I don't know, ten maybe", at least the ones Sairen actually built had been ten. Over the years, they might or might not have built more.

"Hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved", Father Shu concluded solemnly. "In the old times when we have no hospital units, what are the odds of someone who was blasted on the chest by firebending would survive? What would people do if their friend was shot in the neck with an arrow?"

Sairen could not bring himself to answer this; the memory brought bile to his throat. He had experienced the old days a little and he would rather not answer it. Ten years ago, when someone was shot in the neck by an arrow, their buddies might drive a knife through his heart so that he would not have to suffer long.

"The death of Haoqi Gun was terrible, Sairen", Father Shu squeezed the latter's shoulder calmly. "But, you must never blame yourself for it. Lives are lost because of this war; that is the fact, Sairen, and believe me, accepting it will not make you feel any better."

Father Shu guided him out of the corner, so they had better look at the room. "But, this", the priest continued. "This is your doing. Because of you, hundreds of thousands of men have survived the war and hundreds of thousands more have better chances to survive the war. You, my son, refuse to stand down to the cruelty of war. You took a stand, you took action against Death itself. Death recently took one point from you, but you have and can, and _will_, take hundreds of thousands more points from it."

In Sairen's eyes, Father Shu noticed a spark of hope.

"You did not approve of the drafting system but there was nothing you could do; that was why Sairen How left the Army. That was also why Sai Haoren chose to stay. Haoqi Gun was very proud of you; of that, I am sure."

Sairen lifted his face up and managed a weak but sincere smile. "Thank You, Father."

"Anytime, my son", Father Shu looked at the man standing in front of him with the pride of a true father. "And may I say, _Sairen_", he whispered the name with a rather mischievous smile. "I am proud of you and what you have done."

The priest then pulled the man to his embrace; he felt the heavy burden lifted from the captain.

"Oh, hey, Father", Rabbit waved at him; on his bed was his kitten and sitting on the bedside was Rain who waved timidly.

"Oh, hello there, Rabbit", Father Shu greeted and walked towards them; Spear followed him. "Ah, and Rain. May I say you look lovely this evening", he said kindly to Rain who smiled sheepishly. "Oh, and who is this?"

"This is Kitty, Father", Rabbit introduced the kitten that was currently enjoying being tickled on the gut by the priest. "Oh, Rain told me that Captain Haoren helped her when her paw's hurt."

Rain interjected the corporal. Tugging his writs, she shook her head quickly, gesturing to the kitten, to her chest, she shook her head quickly again. Then, she gestures to the cat, then to Rabbit.

"Wha—? What do you mean my Kitty's a _he_?"

* * *

Sairen How went to sleep with a peaceful heart; Sai Haoren woke up the following morning with full determination. He got up, stretched, and reached out to his long pouch he kept hanging above the head of his bed. He pulled from it the two pieces of his portable spear and assembled the weapon quickly. Getting out, he greeted the rare autumn morning sunlight. Ah, what a refreshing morning. He took a mighty sniff of the air, let it go, then inhaled deeper than he had ever had before. Spear Haoren shouted at the top of his lungs.

"GOOOODDD MOOORNIIING!"

"Shut up over there", a disembodied voice yelled out.

"Go back to sleep!" another one came.

"Be quiet", a nurse this time. Also there was someone who blew him a raspberry.

"**Morning, sir!"** Bullhorn said quickly but he too received the same unfavorable treatment.

"Ah, time for some work out", Spear decided. Stretching his back and legs, then his neck and shoulder, he held his spear up high with both hands and sprinted. After about five meters, he gave up. "*wheeze* Need… air…."

"You're hopeless", the cold belittling voice of Lieutenant Lin stabbed him in the back.

"Oh, you are very welcome, Lieutenant. It has been a great pleasure to fight alongside you last week during which I endured an onslaught of, oh, about a gazillion firebenders to save your behind from having to fight them all alone", Spear smiled sourly with a rather thick vein on his forehead.

"Think fast!"

It was by pure instinct Spear leaped away from the boy's quick iai draw. He could not even breathe a gasp when the boy lunged like a wolf next with his sideway slash ready. Spear's weapon was nearly knocked away by the force of the boy's strike; Lin's third strike did exactly that. It took only two seconds, two seconds and three strikes for Lin to get his blade on Spear's throat as the latter raised his arms in a surrender manner.

"Your form is decent at best", Lin assessed fairly, lowering his blade. "Your stance is messy, your strength is about as much as a bowl of jelly has."

"Ouch", Spear narrowed his eyes, picking up his weapon.

"You have a nice weapon", Lin eyed the engraved green spear. "It has a menacing look. It should provide some psychological advantage over your opponent."

"But, not you?"

"I've see you run", Lin remarked dryly.

They spent the morning sparring. Although Lin won each bout, there was something that Spear felt inside. Something that had not shown itself for… wow, a little more than ten years: it was his soul, his pride, as a warrior.

"Good", commented Lin as Spear defended against his last blow. Lin sheathed his sword, Spear eased his stance.

—CLANK—

"Not bad for a doctor", Lin grinned as Spear parried his sneak iai.

"Not bad for a kid", Spear grinned back as he pushed the lieutenant aside.

"What are you going to do next?" Lin asked meaningfully.

"Get some justice", Spear said with no hint of hesitation.

"I believe it is more commonly known as 'revenge'", Lin said quietly, sheathing Nightshade smoothly. The lieutenant flashed the captain a smirk as he offered. "Need help?"

* * *

"Where is _Private_ Jee?" Commander Zhao, our favorite jerk, growled at his aide, purposefully adding extra emphasis on the word 'Private'.

"He has been sent back to the ships, Commander", the other man replied.

"Oh", Zhao did distinctly remember ordering such thing. After that failure of a captain failed to retrieve the three traitors, Zhao had made his displeasure known. For a few days, Jee's scream had been a constant reminder of how his subordinate should try to avoid disappointing him. Relieving the man of his commission had been an extra, a tribute, if you will, to the Fire Throne. The glorious Fire Nation needed not fools like Jee and it was up to Zhao to prune the parasitic weed should he encounter any.

"How is our reinforcement status?" Zhao asked again.

"The storm has rendered air communication helpless, sir", his aide replied with a well-trained calmness. "The courier we sent to the nearest Fire Nation post still has not returned."

Zhao swallowed his anger. Whoever knows a platoon of fifty could be held back by two Earth Kingdom soldiers for more than half a day; of course, their utter destruction was handed down by the rogue band of Water Tribe savages. And then, Cap— I mean, _Private_ Jee's account on how two women defeated the rest of the men who managed to get pass the two Earth Kingdom barbarians and their Water Tribe goons. Agni! His men were useless!

"How many men do we have with us?" Zhao snarled as pleasantly as he could; he could feel, he could see the sneer of his rivals in the military if this blunder were to make public.

"Around one hundred, sir", the aide checked some scrolls. "You have requested for more men from a nearby fleet; a full company of 200—"

"I know what I asked for, Lieutenant!" Zhao barked. "Unless you want to suffer the way Jee did, you better watch your tongue and only give me the information I ask for."

"Yes, sir", the aide fell into a quick salute, accidentally knocking Zhao's tea cup off.

Zhao threw him a glare so heated and burning hot with anger, the aide sweat despite the wind that blew past the tent's flab.

"Get. Me. More. Tea", Zhao hissed.

* * *

Before he knew it, it was morning again. Spear Haoren woke up, doing his usual ritual, and with his spear ready, walked out of his tent.

"GOOOODDD MOORRRN—"

A pillow fell from heaven and landed on his face.

"Thank you!" he shouted to his invisible assailant, whoever he might be. Now, for the morning jog.

Ten seconds and six meters later…

"*wheeze* Need… water…"

"How did you _ever_ survive that fight", the sound of Bara, the meaner of the two mercenaries, kicked his manly pride to the curb.

"Hello", Spear coughed up a heave. "You know, in this light, you're actually kinda pretty."

Bara gave him a look that, had Bara been able to bend fire with her mind, would blow Spear to unrecognizable smithereens.

"Come with me", Bara said through her gritted teeth.

"Oh, my", Spear the camp's pervert had his hope up.

"You're training with me today", Bara added with a grin of a she-devil from the depths of burning hell; her dagger she held in a way only she could made no attempt against the imagery.

"Oh, my", Spear the camp's meekest athlete sniffed.

Lin had overslept a little that day; he was dreaming about being with a prettiest girl in a tea shop and how sweet her kiss tasted, so you will understand why he had made no attempt to wake up and had even tried to sleep back in when the cruel cruel world (and Spear's shouting) woke him up. When he rushed to the plain behind the mess tent where he would spar with Spear (with the subconscious intent to kill!), still with sash unfixed, Rain ran up to him and stopped his march. "What is it, Rain?"

The woman shook her head furiously, mouthing 'no' rapidly.

"What's wrong?"

"ARRGGH, MY SPLEEN!"

"… Bara?" Lin's premonition came true as Rain nodded gravely. He took the girl's hands and they prayed solemnly. "Dear, Mr. Spirits-Up-There. We love Bara. Please don't let her kill anyone. Loving her will be so much more difficult if she is behind bars. Amen."

* * *

Rabbit knocked his fist on the mess tent table three times, drawing attention from Spear, Trik, Father Shu, Corporal Rha-Mi, Corporal Meng-Lu on the left, and Major Megumi, Nurses Huang Mei and Jen, and Rain and Bara on the right. Lin took the head seat.

"We hereby commence the war meeting at this afternoon—"

"What the hell is going on here!" Senshi just had to come and try to ruin things. The guys, led by, surprise, surprise, _Megumi_, promptly bagged him with a burlap bag they had prepared beforehand and tossed him out like a garbage he had become in their eyes; Bara and Rain kept their eyes on Lin cautiously because Bara knew that Lin still held grudge against the moronic major and Rain had heard stories from Bara about how Lin held grudge like no other. Rain even had a couple of her needles ready in her hand just in case.

"Now, let us begin", Lin started. But, then he retraced his words as he turned to Father Shu. "But, before that, Father Shu. Maybe a little prayer before we begin?"

"Very well", they all joined hands. "Dear Mother Earth, we come to you humble yet proud, as your Element is the mighty earth. We have gathered here to discuss an idea that you might find, er… not as agreeable. But, we pray that you might bless us anyway so we could kick our nemesis' as—(Private Liu tripped and dropped his tray with a loud clank)—s so hard they'd hope they were never born. And as for our dearly departed Colonel Haoqi Gun, if you are listening, we do this for you. Oh, and Mother, regarding what we talked about last night… I just want to say that I'm still a little nippy down here. Um… anything any of you would like to add? No? Well… amen."

They threw the innocent priest a second or two of weird look before Lin cleared his throat loudly, unrolling a map on the table.

"Oh, one more thing", Father Shu suddenly exclaimed; sheepishly, he gestured the table to all rejoin hands. He resumed his prayer with a more jovial tone. "Dear Mother, I almost forgot. We would also like to thank you for the blessing you have granted our very own Lieutenant Lin recently. May the change of his vocal cord give way to more and more developments that will properly usher him into proper manho— err, _adult_hood. Amen."

"There's nothing wrong with my voice!" Lin screamed at them the second they were done praying.

"Irritability, another symptom", Bara whispered to Rain. "I remember when Taka was in puberty", she whistled lowly. "Not easy."

"The Fire Nation patrol groups from before were from their navy", Lin declared loudly, drowning their… their… _prejudice_, drawing inquisitive glances from them. "I'm from Senlin; I probably know more about their army than ours. I recognized their uniform and, from the report of our scout team", an acknowledging nod at Corporal Rha-Mi, lovely as always in brown hanbok dress, complete with a headscarf with flowery pattern. "There is a Fire Nation naval squadron mooring on a river down here."

Lin stabbed a finger on a point along Nan Shan.

"Their commander has set up a camp here", Lin traced his finger on a forest clearing northwest of the first point. "Before that, communication!"

"Yes, sir", Rabbit stood up in a hurry, stepping on Lin's toes as he did, and his salute, which is a bow in Earth Kingdom Army, rammed into Lin's shoulder blade.

The whole table grimaced, sympathizing with the soldier boy as the brave brave soldier boy power through the pain with the straightest face he could muster. "Have— *cough* Have we been able to reach Hakoda?"

"Yes, sir", Rabbit bowed again; Lin was ready this time. "Hakoda will arrive sometime today after nightfall."

"Good", Lin turned to him and gave the clerk an appreciative smile.

"Thank you, sir", now this one bow was unexpected; it hit Lin on his solar plexus.

"Listen, Rabbit", Lin whispered breathlessly; he was hurting much. "I'm gonna pull rank on you: if you dare bow to me again while this war is on, I'll cut out your tongue with a blunt knife. Understood?"

"Y-yes, sir", Rabbit squeaked weakly; Lin did not notice Rain's disapproving frown directed at his direction.

"Hakoda can help even the odds; no offence, guys!" Lin shouted the last part to the rest of the tent who promptly booed him. "Our plan will be to lure the camp back to the beach", he dragged his finger from the second point to the first one. "It will confuse them, I hope. Hakoda will lead the lot of you in baiting them. But, of course, if what I have in mind work, Hakoda will simply be an extra precaution. Haoqi is… _was_ one of us. As much as possible, I want us to be the leading force here."

"We won't let you down, sir", Rha-Mi reassured him. "As the saying in the desert goes: nveer slahl yuo fial yuor bthorer…"

"Never shall you fail your brother", Meng-Lu, the other sandbender translated.

"Lset yuor camelu sotp gvinig brtih!"

"Lest your camule stop giving birth!"

"…Okay, I-I guess", Lin was not sure how to react, although he appreciated the sentiment. "Our plan hinges heavily on your furry hand, Rha-Mi. You will have the honor of bringing down the hammer of justice upon those wicked soldiers."

"Why do you want them to group up?" Spear asked seriously as Rha-Mi offered his elaborate bow at Lin. "Won't it make them harder to fight?"

"We will prepare surprises along the way, also we will herd them here, there, everywhere to wear them out", Lin explained. "That way, when the first group did arrive to meet the second group on the beach, they will cause some sort of panic and be more a burden than a real help. Their morale will be low. From there, we draw them to this beach point here", Lin dragged his finger east along the banks of Nan Shan. "This is where we will bag them."

"One more thing", Lin added before Rabbit rose to close the meeting. "The commander will most likely be a powerful firebender. Fire Nation commanders are no snobs like Earth Kingdom's. They fight for their ranks from scratch. I will handle him personally with Bara and Rain."

"What kind of surprises are we gonna give the first group?" asked Spear again.

"Well, let's see…" Lin's grin was that of a celestial trickster.

* * *

_("Strategy planning is much like cooking, you see."_

"_But, you're a terrible cook."_

"_Shut up!"_

"_Yes, shut up, Haoren!"_

"_Thank you, Major. Now, the first step is choosing the right ingredients.")_

Zhao's aide was pacing around the front of commander's tent impatiently. It had been days since he sent for the reinforcement and yet no words had arrived regarding the fifth courier he sent out yet. This was bad for him; imagine the horror of serving Commander Zhao another daily bad news. The last time had been terrifying enough. Commander Zhao…Commander Zhao_ hit him_! The aide might not be so lucky next time.

A single arrow sang through the air and bit the top of his helmet, yanking it off his head, and pinned it on the tent beam behind him. Flabbergasted, he threw a glance at the arrow, or was it a small javelin: nearly forty centimeters long with armor piercing arrowhead by the looks of it, since the projectile punched a hole on one of the prongs of his metal helmet, and it had green feather fletching. As the soldiers around him rose to arm, the aide scurried into Commander Zhao's tent with not as much as a warning, making the commander choke on his noodle soup.

"WHAT!" Zhao spat noodle everywhere.

"Uh…" the aide gulped. "You might not want to hear this…"

"Then get out!" Zhao kicked a fire blast at the yelping aide who quickly ran out. A second latter, the aide's head popped in and muttered quickly. "We'reunderattack!" before running out to escape the commander's wrath.

"What!" Zhao jumped out, catching the aide by his collar, and barked to his face. "Why didn't you say so!"

"B-b-but, you said 'get out'", the aide whimpered, could not decide which was more frightening; Zhao's anger or the garlic in his breath.

####

"Hey, I know him", Lin, sitting on a tree branch, said to Bara, who was perching by his side, and Rain who was on his other side with the unique two-chambered crossbow of hers: the upper chamber worked like normal crossbow, but with lever-operated-mechanism that allows rapid shots and a magazine compartment on top that allows auto-reloading function; the lower chamber housed a larger bow and was responsible for the long-ranged armor piercing giant of a bolt earlier.

"Who? That angry looking guy with sideburns?" Bara squinted through her spyglass on the Fire Nation camp that was being raided by Hakoda and his men. "I've seen him before, I think."

"That's Zhao", Lin put down his spyglass. "He's a navy captain or something. My dad hit him once."

"Can you take him?" Bara turned to Lin.

"With you two by my side?" they jumped down gracefully from the tree, making no sound at all. "I can take on the world."

####

"Idiot", Zhao growled, throwing the idiotic aide to the ground. "MEN! Get them all!"

Hakoda, leading his men in the quick raid, grinned at Bato. "Fall back!"

The Water Tribe warriors in their light armor ran like a pack of ice wolves; the Fire Nation soldiers in their heavy armor were no match for their speed. Zhao, gritting his teeth, quickly ordered the rest of his men out. He was about to enter the camp when a fire blast missed him by an inch and hit his innocent tent. Turning back, he saw three figures in black hooded robe; a boy with a sword strapped on his back and one on his waist, a woman with a stance whom he believed to be responsible for the early demise of his tent, and another woman carrying the most peculiar crossbow Zhao had ever seen. His remaining man, led by his aide, quickly formed a line between the commander and the assailants.

Rain threw his crossbow at Lin, who caught it, and with a slight smirk launched herself forward; half of the line dashed towards her too, encircling her. Before the Fire Nation could even go through the second identical move of their firebending routine, Rain's ducked forward, right hand stretched out, left leg shot out; the two firebenders on the direction of her two limbs fell down mysteriously. She used her positioning to perform a horizontal twirl, evading the numerous fire blasts; upon landing, she made a couple of gestures of throwing something but none could see what; two more fell without knowing what hit them. She danced, jumped, seemingly kicked and struck the empty air; soldiers fell one by one like flies, none of whom tasted her physical touch. Even Zhao could not help but find this feat impressive if not intriguing.

"She's a witch!" the soldier at the aide's right side stammered. "She's a monster!" that was the one of the left. "She's cute…" can anyone blame Zhao for kicking the aide on the behind?

"Go! Kill her!" Zhao barked. His remaining three soldiers looked at him as if he was crazy. Who could blame the three for dropping their weapons and running away?

"Cowards…" Zhao seethed. Falling into a deep stance, he punched a powerful blast at the accursed woman; the other woman leaped to her defense with the speed of a raven-lynx, raising a shield of fire that was barely able to hold up. The first woman threw something at him; Zhao witnessed three hair-like thin needles bounced off harmlessly from his metal breastplate. Magic, huh? Hah! Parlor trick!

Zhao punched two more fierce blasts; both attack staggered the two women. His third blast that should have finished them off was sliced off, literally, by the boy who came to their defense. Even with the hood on, Zhao could see the mocking smirk the brat had on his face. Slowly sliding the hood off, Lin threw the bewildered commander a mocking grin.

"_You_!"

_("Next is, of course, the cleaning and preparation process."_

"_When do we get to the cooking?"_

"_Later, Corporal. Imagine meat; do we not clean meat after we buy it from the market? Do we not beat it mercilessly with a tenderizer afterwards?")_

"Over there!" the Fire Nation soldiers at the lead shouted. The Water Tribe savage turned back for a second and grinned, then he howled. The blue clad savages promptly dispersed through the four corners of the wind, leaving the Fire Nation confused as to where they should go next, which group to chase after.

"This way", the officer decided to follow the main road. It led them to a ravine. "Back to the intersection!" and they took the one to the right, which led them to a sandpit trap. Taking the one to the left, their way was blocked by a man: he was small but he was no less than imposing, green garb of the Eastern Earth Kingdom warrior-monk, large beads that he had to wear twice over his torso, a monk's spade held to his side, a wide bamboo hat that hid his face in entirety.

"W-wait!" a random soldier stammered, pointing a shaky finger at the man who stood ten meters in front of them. "Is- isn't that one of them warrior monks?"

"Really?" another soldier asked nervously.

"Yeah", yet another soldier interjected. "Look at his weapon, look at his beads."

"They say one warrior monk can beat a hundred soldiers alone", the first soldier stammered.

"Nonsense!" their sergeant spat, throwing a fistful of fire at the cowardly bunch. "He's just one man! Charge!"

They took barely five steps forward when the monk moved. The monk raised his leg high and brought it down with such force into a horse stance; a large wide fissure cracked the whole body of the road from the point of his stomping foot all the way to the marching soldiers. The terrifying display of earthbending was enough to send the Fire Nation soldiers packing for the last road in the intersection that would lead them directly to their ships.

Sighing a breath of relief, Father Shu's knees gave up as he slumped down with a pale terrified face, although he still managed to smile at the many earthbending men and women of the camp who emerged from the woods at the left and right side of the road. Needless to say, the impressive earthbending display was a team effort.

_("And, after we tenderized meat, do we not sprinkle a dash of red pepper, a pinch of fire salt, and a… a…"_

"_A smidge?"_

"…_of chili sauce to add to the flavor before we simmer it down on a hot frying pan? Thank you, Bara.")_

"You!" Zhao pointed a sharp finger at Lin.

"Hey, it's rude to point at a noble born, you lowly peasant", Lin had a very mocking insulted look.

"You traitor!"

"You're a jerk!"

"You're a traitor like your grandfather!"

"And you're a jerk like your… what's the word…? You were hatched, I believe? What do we call the male parent of animals that are hatched?" Lin asked Rain who shrugged casually. "Oh, and also, _peasant_, my grandfather is a deserter. If you want to insult me with him, at least do it right, huh? Plus, I'm a _fugitive_, not a traitor. There's a big difference. "

"I will kill you!" Zhao was ready to lunge forward but Lin's loud cackle surprised him somewhat.

"Yeah? You and what army, Zhao?" Lin sneered.

"I don't need an army!" Zhao laughed at the idea. "I can take you on, alone!"

"And _that_ will be your downfall, Zhao", Lin spoke now with deep whisper, looking the firebender sharply in the eyes.

"I am not afraid of a traitor!" it only made Zhao angrier. "I challenge you to an Agni Kai!"

Lin blinked once before he laughed derisively; even Bara and Rain gave Zhao a snicker. "Agni Kai? You? Please…" Lin chuckled for a moment before his stare grew fierce. "I am still the Dragon of the Deep Forest, Zhao. You have not earned the right to taste my fire yet", Lin raised his blunt sword and taunted. "A blunt sword is generous enough for you."

That did it!

Zhao, roaring with a thick vein on his neck, leaped forward with both fists engulfed in flames; Lin, Bara, and Rain reciprocated with their weapons ready.

_("Now, after the meat has turned crispy green—"_

"_Oh, dear Mother… you really _can't _cook…"_

"_What's that, Major?"_

"_Green?"_

"_What is?"_

"_The meat!"_

"_What meat? Forget that! Next, just for a little surprise, we add a secret ingredient…"_

"_What's the secret ingredient?"_

"_I don't know, Rabbit. No one ever told me. It's a secret.")_

The sight of their ships gave the sergeant a measure of relief. He had led what was left of his men through a gauntlet of pit traps, bear traps, rope traps, ink-ball traps, stink-ball traps, a trap that shoot pouches filled white itchy powder, and Agni knows how many other traps. He greeted the look of surprise on his fellow sergeant who was put in charge of the ship with such relief.

"What's going on?" the second sergeant, the one in charge for the ship, caught the first sergeant, the one covered in mud, ink, and some suspicious slime as the latter toppled over.

"We-we… I-I… m-monk... pits… traps…!"

"What?" the second sergeant gaped. Next, a group of Earth Kingdom arrived at their makeshift mooring spot and laughed their mockeries and insults at them; some even bent pebbles at them that clank sharply on their metal helmets.

Trembling with anger, the sergeant led every Fire Nation in the vicinity, muddy and beat up or not, to give chase. The Earth Kingdom people ran faster in their light cotton garb, as expected, along the shoreline. The chase ended on a vast sandy beach where a single lady in a yellow flowing sundress and a wide hemp hat with green grapes aligned around it was waiting; the Earth Kingdom people amassed themselves behind the protection of the woman.

"Hey…" the second sergeant, skidding to stop at a prudent distance away, squinted at the lady in yellow dress. "Hey! You're no lady!"

"So?" Rha-Mi shrugged as the other camp members laughed. "You're hardly a gentleman yourself."

With no further ado, Rha-Mi, the sandbender, and Corporal Meng-Lu, the other sandbender, jumped forwards a few paces. They moved their arms in a similar flowing sweeping movement and finished with a sharper two handed sweep down; the sand below the Fire Nation soldiers' feet caved in and buried them neck down, some were even up to their mouth.

Complementing the sandbending, the Earth Kingdom people from before moved in; some others emerged from the shallow water to the side. They performed a similar powerful stomp, extended their hands in a claw shape and brought it down on the sandy ground. They grasped the ground hard. The sergeant watched with horror as the sand seemingly transformed into solid rock, spreading like frozen water from the fingers of the earthbenders and swept across to their direction. They were trapped.

"I am so proud of us", sniffed Spear as he and the other non-benders and their Water Tribe comrade-in-arms joined the benders.

"So, why are you crying?" Trik, who was technically a bender but had been unanimously inducted into the non-bender group by the camp's benders and non-benders alike, asked curiously.

"I trained for nothing", Spear broke into a sob on Trik's shoulder.

_("Enjoy your dinner.")_

* * *

Fighting them was… infuriating! Infuriating as it was exhausting. Zhao would strike, he would duck and run; she would come as Zhao prepared his next attack, distracting his fire; and as Zhao rained down his wrath on her, the other woman would strike. It was similar to fighting three headed cobra-gator; you strike one head, the other two strike you.

Zhao struck at the sneering brat, he ducked and dashed toward him with his sword. Zhao swept his flame, parrying his sword. Raising a fist to deliver a blow, he had to switch to defensive action as the firebender woman barrage him with numerous fire blasts; it was impressive how quick she switched from firebending to a fast forward slash with her dagger. Zhao leaped backward and was nearly skewered on the back by the needle-throwing woman who had chosen to attack with her ninjato.

Growling, Zhao looked around to break through their encirclement. He was being toyed with. Roaring, he swept his leg, a ring of expanding fire was launched on their feet. They jumped back and Zhao made a run for the opening. Panting, he finally had the three of them in one spot. They would be easier to deal with that way. Zhao punched a fire stream; Bara stepped ahead and intercepted it. Zhao punched and kicked several large streams; Bara somehow managed to defend against these too. Both panting, Zhao grinned cruelly at the firebender woman. He knew that the toll it took was more on her side. He was about to deliver his finishing blow when he realized that Lin was not among them.

The next thing he knew, he screamed in pain as a sharp blow got him on the side of his knee, cracking his kneecap. Another blow bit him on the back, and another on his shoulder. Screaming in pain, he cursed the sneak attack.

"Why do I have to fight fairly against the likes of you, Zhao?" Lin scoffed cruelly at the downed commander's protest. "You have lost. In the name of Earth Kingdom Army, you are under arrest for the violation of Hongmen Convention."

"The Fire Lord will hear about this!" Zhao spat. Panting, he sneered slyly next. "So, will the Earth Kingdom Army…"

"How dare you?" Lin whispered dangerously. Slashing his blunt sword at the man's arm like three times, he elicited another scream from the man before he dragged him up by his collar. "How dare you insult Fire Lord Ozai so!"

"Wh-what?" Zhao indignantly stared back.

"Do you really think that Fire Lord Ozai, with his magnificent wisdom, does not know that _I_ am here, that _I_ am with the Earth Kingdom Army?" Lin hissed dangerously. He threw the man down roughly and laughed sarcastically a little. "Think, Zhao. _Think_!"

"You mean… you…?" Zhao felt a chill that had nothing to do with the weather.

"Tell the Fire Lord, tell the Earth Kingdom. I _dare_ you", Lin grinned evilly as he landed another bone-crushing blow on the Commander's knee once again, just because hitting Zhao was fun; a group of Earth Kingdom patrol had arrived.

It was a complete victory.

* * *

Which, of course, evolved into an all-out party that night!

General Chang Ye even showed up the next day bearing his admonition that bore little to no effect due to the huge grin of his the whole time he was berating the rebellious camp for overstepping their boundaries as a hospital unit. After a short speech, condemning the 44th for such unlawful action, he improvised one to commend the bravery of those courageous sons and daughters of the Earth Kingdom and to thank their Water Tribe comrades deeply for their assistance. It did not take long for him to order his escorts to bring forth the content of the two carriages that arrived with him: prime quality food and drink. A feast!

Down below the hill where the Dragon perched, Lin saw the good general dancing to the melody of the camp's unofficial band (Trik's pipa, Spear on the vocal, Rha-Mi with a samisen, Father Shu with his shakuhachi flute) with none other than Major Megumi; Major Senshi was sulking in the corner, throwing jealous glances one the pair every now and then. The interns were grouped together with Rabbit and Corporal Meng-Lu who recounted their battle to the other five; Rabbit and the interns were not allowed to go for being sick and too young respectively. Bato was teaching Nurse Jen a Water Tribe dance, Hakoda glanced at him for help to no avail as he smiled politely at Nurse Xiao Li who was clearly smitten by him.

"We're done", Bara's voice made Lin jump a little. Turning to the smirking mercenary, Lin accused.

"You've been training your stealth behind my back, haven't you?"

"We've swiped some of Zhao's ships, as you ordered", Bara ignored Lin's remark, ruffling his ponytail. "I've sent words to our company; they will come and haul them back to our fort."

"Good", Lin said, smiling a little. "That takes care of transport, should we find a chance to go to the North Pole."

"What do you think will happen to Zhao?" asked Bara quietly.

"Meh, Fire Lord Ozai will probably send some agents to bust him out", Lin shrugged lightly. "Not our problem."

"Wanna join the party?" Bara suggested out of nowhere.

"You're hungry, huh?" Lin guessed.

"Rain is", Bara pointed at Rain who frowned. Realizing that she was being teased, she chased the two laughing Fire Nation all the way down.

"You know", as they went to join the celebration, Lin squeezed the two as he walked. "My life sucks. But, I'm glad guys are in it."

_**End of Book 4 - Soldier**_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Finally! After… I don't remember how long, this Book is finished!

Anyway, well… bad news, sort of. Remember when I said I will need to write the first five chapters of the next Book before updating them? Apparently, I have once again fallen victim to the delusion that I can somehow predict the future. Five has grown into eight…

There will be two four-parters. The good news is I've done about six. And, look at the bright side: three extra chapters. Yay... I think?

Now, another bad news; after tasting the first week of the new term, I am somewhat positive that I may only be able to write on weekends. I think…

Again, the delusion… T_T

Anyway, enjoy the new chapter, I'll see what I can do. Wish me luck!

To OwlFeather13, thanks for pointing out 'a rash'. Huh… the tiny voice in my head was right; I chose to ignore it when it told me to add the 'a'. :)

Oh, yeah, most European languages should have similar grammatical rules. I remember a lecture in college about many European languages tried to emulate the grammatical rules of Latin at some point in history. They considered Latin as the perfect flawless language at the time.

And Tyro… ah, he was young; sort of. :)

Well, enjoy the reading!


	82. Chapter 81

_**Book 4 - Fallacy**_

**Chapter 81 – Homecoming, Part 1**

**-Fire Princess Azula-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

It was the 20th day of the second month of winter. Fire Princess Azula was slouching on her chair in her simple robe, arms stretched and rested on the armrests. Two maids tended to her long raven hair behind, one was holding the silky smooth strand, stretching it out gently, and the other brushed it with an exquisite golden engraved comb. Two other tended to her long nails, one for each hand. Two other stood behind, carrying with them trays bearing her formal dress.

A kneeling palace eunuch was almost hidden behind a long scroll he held in front of the Princess, stretching it for her to read. A longwinded report from Military Inquisitors regarding several events that happened to various military missions on the Earth Kingdom in the last few months; what a thing to assess in the middle of winter. General Jiang, whose suspension had been lifted, and how he had redeemed himself by conquering the Earth Kingdom City of Khe Pa and, along with it, its rich vein of gold. Admiral Chan continuous failure to redeem his blunder in the disastrous plan to circle down to the Southern Earth Kingdom; the admiral lost another fleet of warships. Admiral Liang reporting back from escort duty; nothing interesting in particular. The search for Colonel Shimazu that was still ongoing. And… _how interesting_… Commander Zhao.

_Commander Zhao's 35__th__ Naval Squadron was tasked with a manhunt for three individual convicted for the crime of treason. The said individuals are identified as: Zhong, the Viper; Yoku of the House of Shu; and Yuu. The criminals were reported to have escaped to the Earth Kingdom. Commander Zhao spent the good part of the year tracking them down across the Earth Kingdom. Commander Zhao first encountered the fugitives in Earth Kingdom, Garsai Region, Fire Nation Colony, City of Nish Ta. The fugitives escaped to the Earth Kingdom City of Tianshui, however due to the siege laid on the city by General Zong, the fugitives was soon chased away from Tianshui and escaped to Southern Earth Kingdom, Si Wong Region. After a few months of searching, Commander Zhao received information from Imperial Agents regarding the sighting of the fugitives in Western Earth Kingdom. Commander Zhao arrived at the Earth Kingdom Town of Pojiu, better known as Seedy Merchant Pier, and caught up with them in Wu Lin Highway of Earth Kingdom, Zhong Tu Region. _

_In the effort to apprehend the fugitives, Commander Zhao raided the Earth Kingdom Village of Jan Ga and the 44__th__ Earth Kingdom Field Army Hospital. While Commander Zhao failed to capture the fugitives, the months spent in the manhunt has taken an insurmountable toll on moral and resources, and an unexpectedly ferocious defense put up by the 44__th__ Earth Kingdom Field Army Hospital, and an enemy reinforcement from a rogue Water Tribe band, forced Commander Zhao to set up a camp in Nan Yi Forest, in conjunction to a mooring camp along Nan Shan River to wait for reinforcement. Commander Zhao had also reported in the raid of the 44__th__ Earth Kingdom Field Army Hospital, they were successful in killing one Lieutenant Colonel Haoqi Gun, commanding officer of the said Army Hospital Unit. The assassination is marked classified and has been sanctioned by Fire Lord Ozai._

_In retaliation to this assault, the 44__th__ Earth Kingdom Field Army Hospital, aided by the aforementioned rogue band of Water Tribe warriors, attacked Commander Zhao and succeeded in capturing Commander Zhao and the rest of his squadron. Commander Zhao was arrested by the Earth Kingdom Army for the crime against humanity and violation of Hongmen Convention. According to the latest report, Commander Zhao is held as a prisoner of war in the Earth Kingdom City of Tay Kho. _

Interesting, indeed. The corner of the Fire Princess' lips would have curved into a smirk if the maid was not applying thin layer of lipstick on her lips. A field hospital unit defeating a Fire Nation Naval Commander? Interesting. She composed her speech in her mind, waiting for her maids.

"First of all", she addressed a team of scribe standing behind the eunuch with a tone between boredom and condescendence. "It's 'Earth Kingdom _Army_ Field Hospital'; if you insist on writing such a boring account, at the very least have the courtesy of using the proper term."

Azula paused a little, allowing the scribe to write it down. Next, standing behind a wall of tall engraved redwood folding screen bearing the black and red Fire Nation emblem on each panel, she spoke as she the maids dressed her with her formal robe. "Second of all, I want a detailed report regarding the retaliatory action taken by the 44th Earth Kingdom _Army_ _Field_ Hospital", she drawled slowly at the two words. "I am curious how someone like Commander Zhao could be defeated so easily by a bunch of medics and a horde of Water Tribe barbarians. I believe that the Fire Nation Military Inquisitor, with its generous funding and special military privileges, has compiled quite a detailed report that they somehow failed to deliver to me in time", she stepped out fully dressed, accompanied by the bows of the maids standing at her right and left. "If such request proves to be too much to handle, obviously the funding and privileges the Inquisitor is currently enjoying has become a burden; I will be too happy to suggest to the Fire Lord that such entitlement be reduced… or taken off completely."

Azula peered through the corner of her eyes; standing there while the maids prepare her books and scrolls. "Do you get all that?" she asked the scribe team.

"Yes, Princess", the head scribe bowed deeply.

"Good", Azula said, inspecting her nails. "Send it to the Inquisitor. Tell them I want the document I requested on my desk by noon."

"Yes, Princess", the head scribe bowed again.

"You are dismissed", the Princess said, stepping out into the outside; the maids carrying her load in tow. "The fog has not subsided, I see."

The maids dared not answer; there was a tone of complaint in the girl's voice, as if she was blaming them for the unnatural phenomenon. Fire Nation Imperial City is located in the westernmost part of the Nation, where the climate is warmer than the rest of the Nation. Fog during winter is uncommon of this far to the west. Also, there had been talk that the fog had not touched any part of the city, only the Imperial Palace and its surrounding vicinity.

"How long has it been like this?" Azula asked her maids as she walked.

"It has been like this since the beginning of winter, Princess", the maid carrying her bag somehow managed to retain her calm. "Almost two months, I believe."

"Two months", Azula muttered, peering through the mist to the patch of sunlight above the thick cloud. "How annoying."

She walked still, hands clasped behind her back, she mulled over things about the other issues aside from the one concerning Zhao; pretty straightforward, really. General Jiang deserved no reward for making up for a mistake, but maybe a little incentive to remind him that success means rewards; Colonel Shimazu, much like Admiral Jeong Jeong before him might incite a new trend of deserting among soldiers and officers alike, he must be taken care of quickly; Admiral Chan would receive a stern warning and a punishment, suspension would be too good for him, demotion might be too discouraging… Father would know what to do; Admiral Liang deserved a little break before he was sent on another mission.

She arrived at a large dining room; inside was a long rectangular table of oak, lavishly covered by a deepest of red silk velvet table cloth, housing wares of pure gold, silver, and crystal. The beams and walls of the room were equally exquisite; engraved with circling dragons and fire, typical of Fire Nation artistic style, built-in torches strategically lined along the walls were engraved with dragons with tiny flames coming out of the opening mouth. Sitting on the head of the table was Fire Lord Ozai, in front of a large ornate fireplace bearing the shape of dragon's head.

"Father", Azula entered and bowed a Fire Nation formal bow.

"Azula", Ozai nodded, there was a rare hint of glee in that smirk of his. "I trust you had a good evening. I do wish I have not given you too much work to do."

"I can handle it, Father", Azula replied smoothly, still standing. Ozai laughed.

"That's my daughter", he praised, taking delight from the girl's smile. "You may be seated."

"Thank you, Father", Azula bowed briefly, plain with no hand sign. A pair of palace attendants promptly moved and pulled a chair for her. She was seated on her father's left side, the traditional place for females.

"So, tell me", Ozai started, eyes set lazily on the cup of tea a maid poured him. "How is your study going?"

"It is going well, Father", said Azula, hands on her lap; only when Ozai reached to his bowl and chopsticks did Azula go for hers.

"And your firebending training?" Ozai asked again.

"Also well, according to my trainers", Azula replied just as smoothly. It delighted her to see her father laughed.

"Very good, Azula", Ozai smirked. "Now, tell me. About the reports you received last night."

"I have studied them thoroughly", reported Azula proudly; she even put down her bowl and chopsticks, and set her hands back to her lap to give her father her undivided attention. "Would you like to hear my recommendations?"

It pleased Ozai to see her radiant confidence. "Always."

"I believe General Jiang should be allowed ten percent share of the gold mines of Khe Pa; after all he won the city after it was taken from us fifty years ago by the Earth Kingdom", Azula spoke with such confidence, it pleased Ozai just to hear her speak. "Admiral Chan must reimburse the loss of his fleet and be hold responsible for conscriptions and recruitment expenses to rebuild his troops. Admiral Liang has not done an awfully difficult mission; a simple optional leave will do him justice. Colonel Shimazu must be found and dealt with quickly. I…" she drawled a little; she just got an idea. "… think, maybe Commander Zhao. Hmm… the Inquisitors have sadly forgotten to send me adequate information regarding his fate. Should the Earth Kingdom agree to a ransom or prisoner exchange, and we get Commander Zhao back, at a fair price, of course, and that assuming that he deserves to be saved, we should send him on another manhunt for Shimazu. If Zhao fails again, then off with his head."

"I must admit, I am somewhat fond of Commander Zhao", Ozai's tone portrayed no such emotion, though. "Do you know how exactly Zhao humiliated himself so?"

"No, Father", she had done nothing wrong, but Azula felt a chill down her spine in spite of the warm room heating; she had come to dislike saying the word 'no' in the presence of her father. "Only that Zhao violated the Hongmen Convention, among other things."

"He raided a village", Ozai said with an inexplicable glee in his voice. "And he attacked a hospital unit."

"What I find hard to understand is _how…_" Azula put the necessary emphasis on the word. "…someone like Zhao can be captured by a bunch of medics and Water Tribe rogues."

"Water Tribe?" inquired Ozai, frowning a little.

"Yes, Father; Water Tribe", it took Azula an enormous willpower to suppress her joy: she knew something _her father_ did not, _she_ would be telling her father something that would enlighten _him_, she would be _useful_ to her father! "The hospital unit was aided by a band of Water Tribe barbarians. It is the same group that was reported to have aided the Earth Kingdom Army to seize Colonel Shimazu's battlement last summer. I have the report from the Rough Rhinos somewhere", she glanced at the stack of scrolls and books the maids had set on a table on the corner of the room.

"Later, Azula", Ozai decided, smirking, satisfied with her report. She deserved a reward. "Let us eat for now. I believe scarlet bird soup is one of your favorites, hmm?"

Azula looked down to a new bowl the maids set down for them with a feeling of content. "You even have it shaped into a flower", she commented on the pieces of possum-chicken meat aligned in circular manner resembling a lotus. "Thank you, Father."

Ozai gave a little grin as his reply; it was enough for her. They ate several bites in silence; nothing was heard but the flickering fire from the fireplace. In the middle of his tenth spoonful of his soup, the sight of the chicken meat reminded Ozai of something. "Ah, yes. Azula, your brother Zuko will arrive later this afternoon."

"Oh?" Azula narrowed her eyes somewhat. "Has Master Piandao realized what a lost cause our little Zuzu is?"

Ah, it the acerbic sly sense of humor that Ozai loved so much; he gave himself the pleasure of a good laugh. "No, Azula. _Not yet_", and it pleased Ozai to see Azula understanding his own wit. "Master Jian Wu has invited Master Piandao over for little training; you know how swordsmen are. Naturally, Zuko will be coming along."

"Will Master Piandao stay in the Palace with us?" asked Azula with a hint of mild curiosity; Master Jian Wu, being an Imperial Sword Instructor occupied a chamber in the North Wing of the Imperial Palace, a portion of the establishment reserved to be the dwelling of Imperial Instructors and Tutors.

"Master Jian Wu has not mentioned it to me", Ozai said, taking a sip of his tea; Azula knew that he did not particularly like the tangy spicy fire tomatoes that was used to make the soup so red, but she appreciated him eating it anyway for his dearest daughter. "Perhaps Master Piandao will stay somewhere in the city. Also, as I recall, Master Jian Wu owns a cottage in the northern part of the island. Perhaps Master Piandao will stay there. What do you think Azula; should we invite Master Piandao to stay here in the Palace instead?"

It meant the world for Azula that her father thought of her opinion so highly. "I don't see why not", Azula smiled. "After all, after what happened with Lin—", she coughed a little, masking the clog she felt in her throat. "We have done him quite harm, forcing Master Piandao to close down his school. The least we could do is to accommodate his stay. How long will he be staying, Father?"

"A few days", Ozai sounded a little pissed for some reason. "If I have deciphered your brother's poor handwriting correctly, that is."

So, that's why…

"I agree with you", Ozai picked up a piece of meat from his soup into Azula's rice bowl. "Master Piandao will be welcomed to stay with us."

"Thank you, Father", her joy was doubled by the gestures. "Shall I prepare a room for our guest?"

"Yes, that would be great, Azula", initiative… a sure way to make her father happy.

They ate again, not muttering a word. This has gone well, thought Azula, silently praising herself. At least she had learnt to refrain from talking with her mouth full, a childhood habit that she had conquered, and no single grain of rice leaped out of her bowl or flicked off her chopsticks into the table or her face. Her father also seemed pleased of the way she carried herself this morning.

But the stare he gave, prideful it might be, for some reason, Azula found it a little unnerving.

"Is everything alright, Father?" Azula asked full of concern. "You have stopped eating."

Ozai chuckled. He set down his bowl and chopsticks, dabbed his mouth clean with a napkin, and empty his cup in several long gulp. "I have lost my appetite", he declared lightly. "The subject of failure brother tends to do that to me."

"But, you have to eat", Azula was a little proud in how calm she still sounded; she was disappointed that her father had risen from his seat. "You need your strength if you are to govern our Nation towards greatness."

Ozai laughed; oh, how he loved his daughter. His _perfect_ daughter…

"There is not much to do today, Azula", Ozai rubbed the cresses of his robe. "Stay and enjoy your breakfast. Oh, and will you welcome Master Piandao on my behalf ?"

"Yes, Father", Azula was doubly proud of herself for not sounding down. Emotions are for the weak; even if she still felt it, she must never _sound_ it!

It pleased Ozai the way Azula carried herself today; she deserved a reward. Ozai stepped towards the girl; leaning down, she kissed her warmly on her forehead. "I am proud of you, Azula."

"Thank you, Father", the radiant look engulfing Azula's face, it pleased Ozai.

As Ozai walked the hallway leading to his Fire Throne, he realized that he was the most fortunate father in the whole Four Nations.

Now, if only someone could do something about this fog… Ozai scowled at the white mist that had been engulfing the Imperial Palace, _his_ Imperial Palace.

It was quite disappointing for Azula. But, considering how much worse it could actually get had… well, the _other two_ been here, things had gone pretty well. Good talk, good food, lousy weather but who cares. And besides, Azula could not help but smirk, her Daddy was proud of her.

She finished her breakfast with a much happier thought in mind.

When she stepped back out of the dining room, having finished her meal, she noticed the fog had gotten thicker. She could not see the wall on the other side of the courtyard. Annoying, indeed. She walked towards the exit of the Main Royal Quarter, thinking of the task her father had given her. Where should she prepare a room for Master Piandao?

Royal guests would usually be prepared a room in the East Wing. But, if Piandao was here to see Jian Wu, who, despite having returned from a four months sabbatical in the Earth Kingdom colonies just two days earlier, was nowhere to be found, then, should Azula arrange an accommodation for Piandao in the North Wing as well? It would allow an easier communication between the two; who knows, swordmasters are such peculiar kind. They might feel the sudden need to discuss something about tempering steel alloy or… beheading people or something. Hmm… North Wing it is.

"Take me to the North Wing", ordered Azula at the palanquin bearer.

Now, in order to please their employers, palace workers have this system of information sharing, you see; it might have been called 'gossiping' in the past but, as I understand it, they prefer the term 'sharing news'. One of the maids attending to the breakfast had overheard the conversation between Fire Lord Ozai and Fire Princess Azula, of course, and a little hushed whisper here, a little loud hiss there, the palanquin bearers had gotten the news of Master Piandao's arrival and how the swordmaster would be welcomed in the palace; just as had the maids, manservants, and guards all the way to the East Wing. Such 'news sharing' had alerted the maids and manservants to promptly clean the courtyards and hallways that Fire Princess Azula would be passing by, giving them enough time to make sure their exalted Princess would not have to sully her sight with an unsavory speck of dust or a piece of litter, and to make sure everybody else would have the mind to look alert and not laze around.

With such neat system in effect, it was understandable if the palanquin bearer was perplexed as he asked for a clarification, unable to trust his ears. "The… North Wing, Princess?"

"Did I stutter?" Azula asked back, clearly unsatisfied with such unnecessary delay.

"N-no, Princess", the palanquin bearer certainly did this time. Bowing deeply, he took a few steps back, pulling the curtain of the vehicle, allowing the Fire Princess to climb up.

Sitting in a _perfect_ seiza on the vehicle, Azula pondered upon how she should proceed in this particular task. What does an old man need in winter time?

Tea! It had become an automatic response for Azula whenever the words 'old man' and 'need' or 'want' appeared together in a sentence of the interrogative form. A sudden image of Iroh advancing at her like an angry dragon made her furious. And… afraid…

The slight shiver that overwhelmed her was involuntary, so was the sweat on her palm. _Stupid Uncle_… she cursed in her mind. Her hand absentmindedly traced itself to her left cheek. A teeny tiny feeling of guilt and sadness was no match for the overwhelming anger and enmity she was experiencing. Dragon of the West…? What a disgrace, hitting a little girl like that.

Dragon…

It was also involuntary that another Dragon occupied her mind the rest of her palanquin ride; she subconsciously ran her fingers to her left wrist before she realized that her winter garb included wristbands that hugged her otherwise wide sleeves tightly to her forearm, hence there was no way she could wear her bracelet without anyone noticing. It was equally baffling that she found herself standing upon his door. She pushed it open, letting the weakened sunlight entered the chamber.

"Leave me", she ordered her maids; they had the sanity not to question her order the way the palanquin bearer did.

Azula scanned the dark room for a moment; the curtains were down, the candles and torches were off, the bed directly in front of her was neatly made. The servants had been cleaning regularly, it seemed, she thought, leaning sideways on the doorframe with her arms crossed. Sighing, Azula took her first step in; the mere anger she still felt for her former firebending instructor was enough to make the candles and torches in the room burst to life with her blue flame. She scanned the room briefly; a large bed with wooden frame and dark red velvet curtain, brighter shade red was the silken bed cover and pillowcases. A pile of books stacked neatly on the small nightstand, the other nightstand on the other side of the bed held a pitcher and a pair of overturned metal goblets.

She walked towards the bed, hand tracing the soft fabric of the bed cover. A thick quilt was folded neatly on the foot of the bed; Azula sat down on the bed with her eyes set on the spot on the wall where the repainting and plastering job had failed miserably in covering a small crater that was formed, courtesy to one of Azula's fire blasts. She remembered how she used to corner him here and asked him to teach him something, something from his family art.

The first month he started teaching, Azula and Zuko had wasted no time to extort education in the first five basic of the Celestial Dragon style. After all, the royal siblings' high expectation when they acquired the news that the heir of the Lin Family would be appointed as their firebending instructor had shattered almost instantly during their first training session. Five basic forms were better than nothing.

Not for Azula, of course. She had guilt-attacked the boy into teaching her more, saying something about how Zuko had been dragging her down with his slow improvement and the boy's stubborn refusal to teach Azula anything Zuko was not ready to learn in order to preserve the Fire Prince's dignity had only served to hurt her pride and development; plus, her puppy dog eyes had been a much more potent force then. Azula had been taught quite a deal in the advanced form of Celestial Dragon style; she had even mastered a couple.

The moment Azula realized she was sitting on his bed, hugging his pillow, and had half her face buried in it, she got flustered as fast as her cheeks grew warm and she proceeded to slam the innocent bedding equipment to the ground. What am I doing, she mentally drummed her head.

_At least close the door first_…

She had actually stood up and walked towards the door with intention to close it; that was when a glint from the other side of the room caught her eyes. On the opposite wall of the bed, at the right side of the door after a large ornamental vase, were a glass display case and a vertical scroll hanging on the wall above it; the scroll bore the calligraphy of '深林太龍' (The Dragon of the Deep Forest). The cushion on the surface of the display case housed two objects; a placard and an emblem, both solid gold and, like the scroll, had the title of honor engraved masterfully on them.

Azula lifted the lid and picked up the emblem; small but surprisingly heavy. Two dragons circling the edge of the circular object and, between their open mouths, was a Fire Nation insignia. She remembered one other like this; it belonged to Uncle Iroh. One of her earliest childhood memory was—

_Stop…_

—Lu Ten cradling her as her tiny hands reached down to a display case—

_Stop!_

—just like this in Uncle Iroh's room. She remembered how her tiny fingers could not even—

_I said stop!_

It stopped…

"_Azula", Lu Ten called, scanning around the yard for his baby cousin. "Azula, come out!"_

_He looked around, frowning. Now, Lu Ten was really convinced that kids coming in small size was truly an evolutionary thing; it allows them to hide from wild beasts more easily. "Azulaaaa!"_

_Still no response._

"_Azula, come on", Lu Ten called louder. "I have cookies."_

_STOP IT!_ Azula shut her eyes hard, shaking her heads furiously; it did not help, Lu Ten's face just got even clearer in her mind. She opened her amber eyes again, the emblem was there.

But, they were not…

"I hate you, Lu Ten", she whispered coldly at the emblem. Throwing the object hard across the room, she let her rage claim her mind; candles blew into torches and torches turned into pillars of flame, showering the whole room with a deep but dark shade of blue. The emblem hit the wall with a loud thud, fell on the floor, and rolled off under the bed.

She was panting from anger; the flames on the torches and candles synchronized themselves with her breath. But, she knew a Fire Princess must carry herself with dignity; anger is not dignified. Useful, yes, from time to time, but not dignified. She calmed herself, calmed her breath; the flames steadily went down as her wall of ignorance went up. When she got out of the room, closing the door with grace befitting that of a Fire Princess such as her, Azula walked calmly across the hallway. Without order, the group of maids she sent away earlier, who had been waiting faithfully around the corner, followed her.

She let her feet lead her way to Master Jian Wu's room. It was unmistakable; head instructors had a signboard bearing their names and positions hung above their door and the one Jian Wu had was an award from Fire Lord Azulon for some achievement that he had accomplished before Azula was born. Naturally, she did not care. Also, they lived in a separate block where their chambers were designed to look like blocks of three small but lavish huts from outside that shared one small but cozy front yard. Master Jian Wu's hut was in the same block with the Imperial Spear and Imperial Archery Instructors.

Azula knocked on the door; no answer. Hmm… very well. She paced back to the dorms for the royal instructors, not that she was fond of making double trips, mind you, especially in this mist. She did not know how to distinguish them really, how to tell which room was empty and which was not. So, stopping a random instructor in the form of Tutor Ma Kun, she found herself a guide to show her to a vacant room the closest to Master Jian Wu's place.

Bowing politely as he excused himself, Tutor Ma Kun went about his business while Azula entered the empty room with her maids. Pretty much like Lin's old room, minus any signs that this room had ever been lived in; Fire Princess Azula quickly ordered the room to be cleaned thoroughly. A streak of dust she collected from running her finger on the nightstand simply would not do.

"Also, I want you to keep this room supplied with water", she pointed at the jug on the nightstand she knew was empty. "And a bowl of fresh fruit", she pointed at a medium sized round table on one side of the room. "Hmm", she pondered at the empty bookrack beside the desk near the window. "Fill that rack with books; books about swords and war treatise will do. Include a copy of '_Discourse of a Spiritualist and an Intellectualist' _and make sure you put it on top of the desk over there; old people love that book. And don't forget to replenish the study with fresh supply of paper and ink. Master Piandao loves to draw."

"Yes, Princess", the head maid bowed. "Will that be all?"

"Assign a servant for Master Piandao", Azula added, scrutinizing the rest of the room. "This room does not have an indoor stove, so I want you to set up a small burning pot and a low desk over there, away from the paper, just in case Master Piandao wants to prepare his own tea. Don't forget to get him complete set tea ceremony equipment and supply."

"Of course, Princess", the head maid bowed again; she found herself thoroughly impressed by the way the girl think of such details.

"One more thing", Azula pointed at the foot of bed. "Put a table here and have a sword mount set up on it. I am sure Master Piandao would appreciate his sword being put on a proper place when he was not carrying it around."

"Yes, Princess", more impressed the head maid was. "Would that be all, Princess?"

"Hmm…" Azula scanned the room, mentally imagining all the addition and attrition she had ordered there. What more could Master Piandao need? "Pai Sho…" she muttered to herself.

"Princess?" the head maid drawled questioningly.

"Get a Pai Sho board", Azula said, not knowing why she was smirking a little. "Set it over there by the tea ceremony desk."

"Yes, Princess", the head maid smiled.

"Remember to get everything done before noon", Azula added. "I want everything ready before Master Piandao arrived, do I make myself clear?"

"Of course, Princess."

"That would be all", Azula dismissed her. With her remaining maids, she walked out of the room. Casting another glance at the misty courtyard that told the world she was upset, she made her way to her palanquin.

Sitting once more inside the rocking vehicle, she lazily played with one of her bangs, quietly sorting her thoughts. Nothing much left she could do for Master Piandao; she was sure the room would be prepared well by the servants and they would not disgrace her, or her father for that matter.

"_Is that an offer?"_ she remembered his grin, his all too familiar mischievous glint in his amber eyes. _"Or a challenge?" _

_Stupid Lin!_ She finally cursed; finally, she said his name out loud. In her mind at least. Crossing her arms, closing her eyes, she imagined sharp daggers puncturing that _stupid_ grinning face. "Stop", she called out suddenly. Azula pulled the curtain and addressed one of the bearers. "I wish to walk on my own."

"But, Princess—"

"Put the palanquin down", she interjected the man's stutter, closing the curtain. She felt the vehicle being gently put on the ground, hear the low thud the wooden frame made. She waited for the bearers to part the curtain for her before she jumped down from the palanquin; with princess-like manner of jumping of course.

"I will call for you, when I need you. You are dismissed", Azula instructed the representative of the palanquin bearer, who looked none too happy; Fire Lord Ozai might think they were lazing around if he knew they let his daughter unnecessary walk on her own feet. The consequence could be dire.

"But, Princess—"

"Did I not make myself clear?" Azula asked, tone set on dangerous low.

"Y-you did, Princess", the bearer gulped; bowing deeply he dared not look the Fire Princess in the eye. "As you wish, Princess."

"Good. You are dismissed", Azula repeated. "And do not test my patience in the future. I have little to spare nowadays."

"Y-yes, Princess", the bearer bowed even deeper, if such thing was possible.

Sparing no second glance at the man, Princess Azula started her march back to the Royal Wing. She walked with pace that exhibited grace and, at the same time, calmness associated with proper princesses everywhere. The way she walked contrasted heavily with the raging turmoil of thought she was experiencing in her mind.

It was fortunate a distraction arrived in the form of War Minister Qin who caught a glance of the Princess and her maid entourage as he was just about to turn in the corner ahead. Standing aside with his personal guards, he waited patiently for the Fire Princess to arrive.

"Princess Azula", something akin to a sly smirk, but was in actuality a most sincere of smile he could manage, graced the middle-aged face of the thin tall man. "I wish you a good morning. If I may, you look radiant today."

"A good morning with this ungodly mist hanging around the palace, War Minister", Azula did not even bother to reciprocate the man's bow; she was a Fire Princess, it was allowed. "Surely, you jest."

The man laughed a little. It took Azula an enormous willpower to ignore the… pfft! The, um, the goatee that actually make the man look like a goat-donkey, and… ahem, and his somewhat large ears hanging in such angle on the sides of his head that reinforce the image; enormous willpower indeed it taxed Azula to respectfully kept her eyes on the man's face but not burst out laughing.

"_I mean, look", Lu Ten nearly choked himself to death in his effort to hold down his guffaw; Azula crumpling up against him in the hiding place of theirs, trembling heavily in her losing battle against her own laughter, was of no help at all. "Shh, Azu—pfft! Look, goat!"_

Azula cleared her throat and swallowed a little. Looking up, she addressed the minister with the grace of a true Fire Princess. "Are you going to see my father, Minister?"

"Why, yes, Princess", War Minister Qin nodded a little. "If you are also going to the Throne Room, may I have the honor of walking you there?"

"You may", Azula said curtly. Without waiting, she started walking a step or two in front.

"So, Minister", Azula granted the man a little turned head. "Have you come to present another design of your war machines? As I recall, your previous design for firebending canon has been rejected by the council."

"Yes, Princess", War Minister Qin replied as politely as before. Good, he _should_ be polite.

Azula smirked as she continued with a perfectly feigned interest. "As I understand it, you were trying to imitate Fire Compression, were you not?"

"Yes, Princess", War Minister Qin hid his surprise well, eyes widened at the back of the little Princess. He may have insinuated the theory of fire compression working through his series of tightly packed and toughly welded metal tubes, which were the core of his canon design, but he had never said explicitly about the effect being similar to Fire Compression technique.

"It is a wonder that an expert mechanist such as yourself, with your team experienced engineers and generous funding from my father, could make such spectacular blunder. You do realize that Fire Compression technique was created by a ten year old boy in a span of few minutes with nothing but firebending skill alone, right? In the heat of battle, no less" Azula tilted her head to the side, leering sharply at the old man who gulped audibly.

"Of course, Princess", War Minister Qin felt his face losing color; Azula might stood more than a head or two shorter but War Minister Qin sensed a certain strength from the girl, one that made him very uncomfortable, indeed. His silk tongue was his only salvation. "Your grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon, was most wise in his decision of conferring the title of a Dragon to Lin, the—"

"Oh, I'm sure", Azula's voice was between a sigh and a yawn as she waved her hand lightly and dismissively. "So, may I ask what design you have for my father today?"

"This time, I have another design for a massive drill machine that I hope Fire Lord Ozai will find interesting."

"I hope for your sake, he does", Azula turned her head back forward, hiding her amused smirk. "My father was most…" she paused, letting out an almost sympathetic sigh. "… _displeased_ when your canons exploded so close to the podium he was sitting on. Especially after your longwinded speech about how… oh, what was that word you used again?"

Rhetorical; War Minister Qin felt an uncomfortable chill down his spine that had nothing to do with the misty winter morning.

"Effective? _Safe_…your prototype was?" Azula guessed, not even bothering to look at the man. She waited for a response that she knew would not come; then, she turned to him a little. "For your sake, War Minister Qin, I hope your new drill design will prove more successful than your previous ideas."

"Of course, Princess", War Minister Qin could not help but gulp. Desperately, he steered the topic into a more cheery subject. "Oh, by the way, I have a nephew around your age. Perhaps, you know of him. His name is—"

"I know of him, War Minister", Azula openly rolled her eyes; War Minister Qin, being a few steps behind her obviously could not see it. So, naturally, he droned on, advertising his nephew.

"I see", Azula spoke finally as the War Minister finished telling her of how his twelve years old nephew had just begun his training in firebending and how he excelled at it, of how the boy had recently won an academic award in his school, of how the boy had shown quite a promise as a cavalry rider. "Hmm… How should I break this to you delicately…?"

"Princess?" drawled War Minister Qin, frowning deeply.

"Your nephew, he is quite famous among the students in the Royal Fire Academy for Girls", Azula started casually.

"Is he?" War Minister Qin sounded surprised, in a good way.

"Yes", Azula replied, scoffing. "As a snobbish failure of no equal", it shocked War Minister Qin so much, he halted a step; but Azula continued anyway with her walk and talk. "He is a firebending fool; most girls in the Academy start their firebending combat training when they are more or less half his current age. His command of literature is poor for a nobleman standard; our poetry teacher once made a reference of him in our class, she even singled him out by name. And riding skill? How is it that a twelve years old _boy_", Azula drawled on the last word, a necessary emphasis. "… still rides a zebra-deer? Most girls started learning how to ride a larger and faster more dangerous mongoose-dragon by the time they finish their first year of riding lesson; most of them are nine years old."

Azula spared the open-mouthed pale-faced War Minister a few seconds to come up with something; he could not. So, of course, Azula delivered her final blow. "Bear in mind, War Minister, that I am not interested in courtship at the moment and, more importantly, I have no time to spare for failures. And, consider this a friendly reminder", Azula stopped and spun to face the old man directly. "Neither does my father."

"Of course, Princess", War Minister Qin managed through his dry throat. Azula gave him a second of glance and pitying smile before she turned forward and led the rest of their journey in silence.

They had reached the Royal Gallery, the hallway of tapestries; long wide arching hallway showered with the yellow-golden light emanating from candles, reflected by the golden plating on the walls and on the series of large pillars running in the middle of the hall. On the inner side of the arching hallway, lining up one after another, from the very first Fire Lord, all the way to the current Fire Lord Ozai, were the portraits of the rulers of Fire Nation, each standing a proud ten meters tall and four meters wide.

Currently admiring the portrait of Fire Lord Hizen was a tall slightly-widely built man around War Minister Qin's age. He was wearing a tall hat of bright red that hugged his head tightly, with long pointy top, and what appeared to be a three-pronged spike on the very top; Azula learnt from one of her classes that the Fire Sages' hats are meant to resemble volcanoes. The man was wearing a humble darker red garb underneath a shoulder mantel on the same brighter shade of his hat; a large diamond-shaped ruby button held the mantle in place. The man's garb was sleeveless, his pants underneath his robe were short, and he was wearing a simple pair of sandals. The man's calm peaceful face that bore no facial hair saved for his well-trimmed goatee showed no adverse reaction to the cold winter.

"Fire Sage Shyu", to this man, Azula bowed politely. "It has been awhile."

"_Look", Lu Ten was beginning to show symptoms of mild cardiac arrest due to holding his laughter for too long. "A lobster… pfft! With goatee. A lobster-goat!"_

"Princess Azula", Fire Sage Shyu bowed back, smiling warmly. "You have grown much since the last time we met."

"Thank you, Fire Sage", Azula smiled sweetly. "Are you here to see my father?"

"Yes, Fire Lord Ozai has summoned me", Shyu informed.

"Shall we?" Azula let him take the first step. When they walk, she allowed the man to walk alongside her, War Minister Qin still walked a few steps behind. "How are things in Crescent Island Temple? I'm afraid I haven't been visiting as often as I should."

"You have not missed much, Princess", laughed Shyu briefly. "Apparently, there is much more going on here in the palace."

"Ah, yes", Azula concurred gingerly. "This abominable fog."

"Indeed", Shy nodded, eyes still scanning the various Fire Lords they were walking pass by. "I do hope this fog has not caused your health any harm, Princess."

"My mood has taken a plunge", Azula smiled bitterly. "I don't like winter as it is; impaired vision range is unwanted to say the least."

Shyu smiled at this.

"Evidently, my father has considered a spiritual cause for such unnatural phenomenon", Azula concluded. "That is why you're here, isn't it?"

Shyu smiled but did not answer, simply because they had arrived at the grand entrance of the Throne Room. Azula and Fire Sage Shyu exchanged a pleasant bow with each other; War Minister Qin was forgotten in the background. The guards pushed the doors open and parted the heavy dark red curtain with gold Nation insignia for the Princess. Shyu and Qin, obeying the proper decorum, waited outside. Azula walked ever so gracefully through the myriad of pillars on the right and left towards the Fire Throne; Ozai was positively beaming in there.

"Father", Azula fell to a kneeling bow.

"Rise, Azula", Ozai ordered with a not-at-all subtle pride in his voice. "Have you arranged a proper accommodation for Master Piandao?"

"Yes, Father", Azula sat in a formal seiza. "I ordered a room to be prepared in the North Wing, a short walk away from Master Jian Wu's chamber."

"Ah, good thinking, Azula", Ozai praised openly.

"Thank you, Father", Azula might remain calm but inside, she was jumping up and down. "Is there anything else you would have me do? I am still waiting for the Inquisitor's report myself."

"No, Azula", it pleased Ozai how his daughter craved to be of use to him. "Go about your business for today."

"As you wish, Father", Azula bowed deeply.

Azula got up, turned and walked out, oblivious to a satisfied smirk her father showered her all the way out. Once again finding herself outside, away from the warmth the provided by the presence of her father and his Fire Throne, Azula bid a pleasant goodbye to Fire Sage Shyu; War minister Qin only received the curtest of passing nod.

Still opting to travel by foot, Azula retraced her steps out, walking across the tapestries hallway with her maids rejoining her. Azula did not even care to cast a glance at the portraits of her ancestors; they were nothing in her eyes.

"Shall I call the palanquin, Princess?" one of her maids meekly asked.

"No", Azula replied. "I feel like walking today", turning to the rest of them, she gave further orders. "Bring those scrolls back to my study. And you are all dismissed."

"Yes, Princess", the maid bowed.

As they exited the door leading out to the courtyard, they parted ways. Azula made her way to the training room. The fog truly bothered her; she did not like it for some reason. The winter was cold enough. Clasping her fingers behind her back for warmth, she breathed out warm air; slow walk broke into stride. She was walking past a courtyard with a pond in the middle, and was walking towards the bridge that stood over an indoor decorative moat when he noticed the man standing in the middle of the bridge, hands held behind his back and his eyes were closed.

The man was tall with sunburnt skin, long black hair tied into a partial ponytail and held together by a long cord with a small emblem of Fire Nation insignia on a hairpin that hugged the base of his tail in place. His hair looked soft and smooth, a stark contrast with his toughly chiseled and humorless face; thick brows, straight and strong looking-nose, lips that seemed like they could not curve up, and jawline that seemed to have been made of rock. He was clean-shaven and had no sideburns, unlike most Fire Nation adult men. The moment Azula's foot made the first step on the surface of the wooden bridge, the deep amber eyes of his opened slowly.

"Princess Azula", Master Jian Wu bowed a formal Fire Nation bow.

"Master Jian Wu", Azula bowed back just as respectfully; the towering height of Jian Wu, to which Azula's top-knot could barely reach his abdomen, inspired such respect.

"I hope you have a pleasant morning", Jian Wu said.

"You, as well", Azula smiled a little. "My father told me that Master Piandao of Shu Jing will be coming to visit you?"

"Yes, he will", Jian Wu nodded.

"I was looking for you in your quarter", Azula informed. "I have ordered for a room to be prepared."

"I do not wish to impose on the Fire Lord, Princess", Jian Wu, to Azula's mild astonishment, smiled. "Master Piandao can stay at my humble cottage outside the palace."

"It will be no trouble. I insist", Azula smiled back. "I have prepared a room in the North Wing, close to your quarter for your convenience. It will be the one with a servant waiting on it. Also, I would like to invite you and Master Piandao to join us for lunch today."

"As you wish, Princess", Jian Wu bowed again. "Thank you."

Azula reciprocated his bow and excused herself. Resuming her march, she entered yet another hallway, and a series of smaller indoor courtyard. Finally, she reached her training room; enclosed space with windows that were all closed to ward off the chill and the fog, indoor torches all lit, offering warm light that the sun could not provide that day, the room boasted cracks and tears on the walls and the stone floor that had been the product of many firebenders of the royal bloodline who had trained there for thousands of years. Rumor has it, the large crack on the raised podium on the far side of the wall, running diagonally down, thin and smooth as if made by a sharp steel, was the testament of Fire Prince Shang Jiang skills in fire whip technique; just like the how large hole on the west wall that still left its mark despite an excellent renovation job was believed to be the work of Fire Princess Izumi's first lightning when the legendary Dragon Princess was but a mere eight years old girl.

As expected, her twin teachers were there, sitting on the podium on the innermost wall. Li and Lo sat calmly on a pair of identical cushion, hunched and each with a cup of tea in their hands. They nodded their silent greeting, Azula did not reply as she made her way to the changing room. Emerging from the room after a short couple of minutes, ready in her training garb, Azula made her way to the middle of the hall. Breathing in deeply, she wasted no time to demonstrate the technique they were working on during the last session.

Azula dazzled them with her dance, with the ferocity and the beauty of her blue flame; the thing she did best with firebending. She did not take a break for one hour straight; dancing, punching, kicking. Her teacher made no comment. At the end of their session, Azula bowed down a la Agni Kai, Li and Lo gave her a curt approving nod; it was as close to a praise as they could manage. Dismissing the girl, they made their way out with an oddly but perfectly synchronized movement while Azula made her way to the changing room and changed back to her garb.

Firebending improved her mood. She stretched a little, stepping back out to the foggy outside. Her maids did not show up but Azula know they were just around the corner, ready to be called. She did not feel like being pampered, so she made her journey solitary to the bathhouse.

Though as she entered the establishment, her maids quickly showed up without being called. Fire Princess Azula should not be allowed to prepare her bathwater on her own; sacrilegious! Azula ignored them as she walked past the large bath, fashioned to look like natural hot spring, into a changing room on the other side. Four of her maids quickly scurried themselves to the four corner of the pool and, with firebending, shot a continuous stream of fire into a hole on each sides of the floor. Their flames traveled through a series of metal pipes into an ever-present pile of charcoal underneath the pool.

When Azula emerged from the changing room, wearing a crimson bathrobe, the water on the pool was already steaming and the maids had scattered petals of roses on the surface of the pool. She planned to spend an extended time there, enjoying a well-deserved hot water bath. Firebending training for the day had ended but she could not help thinking about her progress.

"That's enough", she said without taking her eyes off her extended right index and middle fingers she was inspecting; her maids stopped sending fire and took a few steps back to the wall on their back to allow the Fire Princess privacy.

Azula took a dip, submerging herself whole. She got back up after a few seconds, pushing her wet hair off her face. She went back to inspecting her fingers for signs of burn or blister. The new technique her father taught her a few days ago was unlike which she had ever experienced before. She had been successful, of course; her father was elated. But her fingers had hurt so much she could barely write for two days; school had been quite a pain. Her fingers were still sore a little, but nothing she could not handle.

When she finally finished bathing, coming out of the bathhouse with fresh cloth and make-up, her mood took another dip thanks to the fog outside. A patch of sunlight broke through the thick cloud above but this fog made it so hard to enjoy such rare winter treat. Azula was in the middle of deciding whether or not she should give in to the temptation of shooting some of her blue flame just for the heck of it when a royal eunuch approached her, bearing news of Zuko and Piandao's arrival.

"Has Master Jian Wu been informed?" Azula asked.

"Yes, Princess", the man replied.

Wordlessly dismissing him, Azula send a maid to fetch her palanquin. When they arrived at the main gate, Jian Wu was already there with Piandao and Zuko. Approaching them regally, Azula gave the guest a respectful bow, Piandao returned the bow with much grace.

"Master Piandao", Azula greeted. "I hope you had a pleasant journey."

"Yes, thank you, Princess", Piandao smiled warmly. "I hope you are doing better."

The last time Piandao saw Azula, the princess was unconscious and being carried out of her mansion by her frantic uncle.

"Thank you for your concern", Azula smiled sweetly. Turning to her brother, she gave a subtle smirk. "Zuko."

"Azula", Zuko replied through his clenched jaw.

"I have prepared a room for you", Azula turned back to Master Piandao just as Zuko was about to say something. "I'll have someone bring your luggage there."

Two servants approached without being ordered and lifted Piandao and Zuko's bags. Ushering them in, Azula lead their march to the North Wing on foot; Master Piandao had politely refused a palanquin as he preferred to travel by foot and Fire Princess Azula was too courteous not to accompany him in similar manner despite his insistence that the Princess should take the vehicle. The two swordmasters and Azula exchanged pleasant words; Zuko naturally felt somewhat alienated, Azula knew this and she did not care.

When they arrived at Piandao's room, Azula excused herself, leaving him and Zuko under Jian Wu's care. After reminding them about lunch, the princess made her way back to her chamber. She spent about an hour poring over her documents; the one that was sent there in her absence intrigued him. Lieutenant… _Lin_…

_Following an interrogation of three surviving members of Commander Zhao's squadron, we have learnt that the 44__th__ Earth Kingdom Field Army _(Azula rolled her eyes at this)_ Hospital, in their retaliatory action, was led by one Lieutenant Lin. There has been no prior information regarding Lieutenant Lin, which suggests that he is a new member of the hospital unit and/or has never taken an active part in the war. Additionally, according to the aforementioned three survivors, Lieutenant Lin engaged Commander Zhao in a fight aided by two female warriors. One of the warriors, if the words of the survivors are to be taken literally, is a witch. They have sworn that this particular female brought down nearly twenty soldiers on her own without even touching them._

Dear Agni, there is someone even more airheaded than Ty Lee, Azula shook her head lightly.

_Blah, blah, blah… yada, yada, yada…_ the rest was garbage.

Lieutenant Lin… and he was carrying two swords.

Azula looked around for her scribe; they were not there. Shrugging, she prepared herself a sheet of paper and a saucer of ink; her maids were about to move in to help but she wanted to do this herself and, noticing the thickened atmosphere of awkwardness, they knew it. Dipping her penbrush, she wrote.

_Dear Head Inquisitor,_

_First of all, it is Earth Kingdom __Army Field__ Hospital. A small mistake, yes, but small mistake in the field of information gathering, can mean the difference between life and death. It is my…_

She pondered for a minute.

… _sincerest wish that you rectify this mistake. Bear in mind that there are other candidates for the position of Head Inquisitor with much better eyesight and higher level of intelligence. I would hate it if I have to recommend some of them to the Fire Lord._

_Second, I do not appreciate your tardiness. See to it that no document is withheld from me in the future, intentionally or not._

_Third, in regards to the earlier subject of your intelligence, I believe the 'witch' you mentioned in your report employs hidden weapons or poison. Please refrain from making such ridiculous conjecture in an official report or I will have you charged for perpetrating malicious rumors. I imagine our soldiers will not be too eager if they somehow manage to fool themselves into believing that the Earth Kingdom Army is employing dark magic in their arsenal. _

_Additionally, I wish to learn more about this Lieutenant Lin of Earth Kingdom Army. Do whatever it takes to acquire the information I need. Coordinate with the Imperial Agents if you have to. This letter will bear my seal and it should be enough to get you the clearance you need. I shall be expecting result in two days. Do try to meet the deadline this time._

_Sincerely,_

_Fire Princess Azula_

Blowing the wet ink simply out of habit, she put the letter away. A maid stepped in, picked the letter up, with hot air she produced from her palm, warmed the letter with to make the ink dry quicker. Azula herself was busy preparing a saucer of red ink. Done with the saucer, she picked up a heavily ornate redwood box with golden finish she had placed on a small desk to her side. The square box was secured with firebending locking mechanism. She pointed her index finger at the key hole and sent a tiny needle of blue flame; the lock turned and twisted with distinct sound mechanical whirl and grind. The lid popped open and Azula lifted it; sat inside the padded interior was a small rectangular seal of the Royal Family: crimson blood-jade with the golden carving of a dragon encircling the square body of the seal, the upper body of the dragon sat on top with its wings spread and its mouth open as it roared to the heaven.

"Have you forgotten how to knock, Zuzu?" Azula causally remarked, receiving the dry letter back from the maid; she noticed a round of gasp and caught from the corner of her eyes the hasty bow the maids gave out on account of Zuko.

"Don't call me that!" Zuko seethed. He was standing behind her but Azula knew that his eyes were fixed on her Royal Seal. True enough, as Azula dipped the seal on the red ink and stamped her letter with it, Zuko asked with a hint of curiosity betraying his otherwise calm tone. "Where did you get that?"

"Dad gave it to me", Azula half-informed half-gloated; if the Royal Armor was worn only by the member of the royal family who has proven their worth in the field of battle, the Royal Seal was a privilege to those who has proven their skills as valuable administrator and advisor to the Fire Lord. Turning to the maid, Azula issued her order. "Get a courier to send this to the Military Inquisitor."

"Yes, Princess", the maid bowed. Offering an equally respectful bow to Zuko, the maid got out to do as she was told.

"So", Azula gave her seal to the maid to clean; turning to her brother, she scrutinized him from head to toes. "What do you want?"

Zuko did not answer immediately; Azula saw his jaw hardened and it made her smirk, and, in his eyes that was scanning her, she noticed a certain feeling of curiosity. "You look different", Zuko said.

"It's called 'cosmetics'", Azula said with a condescending tone. "Why? Would you like some?"

It made Azula smirk and Zuko scowl when one of her attending maids failed to suppress her scoff.

"Come now, Brother", Azula rose from her seat. "Wipe that ugly scowl of yours; you're scaring my maid. There is no sin in appreciating a good joke. And besides, you could use some time for a royal combing. You have dandruff", she smirked as Zuko furiously dusted off the white flakes on the shoulder of his scarlet garb.

"Where's Uncle?" Zuko's attempt to steer the topic away was marred by his obvious growl.

"Have you checked the kitchen?" Azula suggested casually.

"Lunch is served", Zuko's scowled did not subside. "I was about to get Uncle."

"Aw, and you decided to come to you dearest sister first", Azula faked a gasp. "I am touched."

There was a sense of delight in her watching her brother stomped away angrily. Scoffing, Azula followed his steps out. She gave the sight of her brother's back stomping off angrily the barest hint of glee before she made her way to the opposite direction. Zuzu, always so easy…

She reached the dining hall on foot. Masters Piandao and Jian Wu were already there, sitting on the far side of the large table, as tradition dictates. Azula offered them a pleasant greeting before making her way to her usual seat. They spent close to fifteen full minutes engaging in a conversation before Zuko arrived alone, announcing that he could not find Iroh anywhere.

"What's with this fog, anyway?" Zuko grumbled from his seat across from Azula. "It's actually thicker deeper into the palace."

"Is it now?" Azula arched a brow.

"Where's Dad?" Zuko grumbled again.

"Have you checked the Throne Room?" Azula suggested with her earlier patronizing tone. Saving her from Zuko's retort, however, was a courier entering the room. The man spoke only after receiving a nod from Azula.

"Fire Lord Ozai bids our honored guest welcome", the man bowed exclusively to Piandao, then he addressed the whole table again. "Fire Lord Ozai would also like express his regret for not being able to entertain our guest for lunch as there are sudden matters that need his attention. Fire Lord Ozai hopes that you will all enjoy the feast he has prepared."

The courier made a sweeping gesture to the entrance; servants entered one after another carrying trays of food, pots of tea, bowls of soup, and bottles of fragrant wine. Plates bearing grilled tuna-bass simmered in fire tomato sauce and red ginger; dishes of crispy brown roast duck set in the middle of artistically aligned circle of shrimps; pots of steaming yellow curry exhuming nose-tickling aroma; plates of various kind of simmered, stir-fried, and pickled vegetable; and sitting in the middle of the table was a large whole goat-deer roasted to perfection.

"Masters", Azula addressed the two adults, halting the servants from setting their bowls of rice and plates of side dishes. "Please, sit closer to us. I find it tedious having to yell across the room."

Expressing their gratitude for such honor, Jian Wu and Piandao moved closer but only after further polite pestering from the Fire Princess did they move to the seats next to Azula and Zuko respectively. The courier waited for the servants to finish their chore before he spoke again.

"And lastly, to Princess Azula", the courier bowed to the girl. "Fire Lord Ozai expresses his concern for your health. He has noticed how the cold weather may have caused discomfort for you. Therefore, Fire Lord Ozai especially ordered for a volcano ginseng soup to be prepared for you."

Azula smiled as a servant brought a tray bearing a single porcelain lidded bowl and set it on Azula's side; she noticed Zuko's scowl. Turning to the courier, Azula issued her own order.

"My father did not have much to eat this morning", she said. "I want you to go to the kitchen and have the cooks fix him a lunch. Make sure they include a bowl of curry and a plate of kimchi; they're his favorites. Send it to him with my best wishes. Oh, and don't forget a plate of komodo sausage and mustard dipping sauce."

"Absolutely, Princess", the courier beamed, excusing himself.

"Dad hates mustard", Zuko said, growled almost.

"Not when it's from me", Azula narrowed her eyes sharply at him.

The adults waited for the royal siblings to reach for their chopsticks before they reached for their own. Strategically seated in front of her brother, Azula literally had the front row seat of Zuko venting out on a piece of duck; she tried, _oh, so hard_, to stifle her snicker at Zuko impaling an innocent piece of duck breast with his chopsticks. They ate in silence for a few bites. Azula was the first to break the silence.

"So, Master Piandao", Azula turned to the man. "How is my brother faring in his training? I do sincerely hope our little Zuzu has not been troubling you."

Sitting next to Piandao, Azula knew Zuko heard the swordmaster low snicker.

"Not at all", Piandao smiled; Azula knew he was trying not to smile too wide. "Prince Zuko is… an interesting student. There have been some difficulties at first, but Prince Zuko", Piandao gave Zuko an appreciative smile; one that Zuko returned. "…is doing quite well. His skill with dual broadsword is improving by the day."

Dual broadsword… this caught Azula's full attention.

"But, of course", Piandao nodded respectfully at Jian Wu. "I have Master Jian Wu to thank for that."

"Dual broadsword?" Azula asked with real interest as Jian Wu replied Piandao's nod. "I thought you only teaches sword."

"Hmm… I suppose", Piandao furrowed his brow a little. "But, there come times when students feel better suited for blades other than straight jian. I used to have two senior students; one uses a katana and the other a large saber. I even had a student who is curiously proficient with a whip-blade."

"Whip-blade", Azula chuckled lightly. She asked again. "What about double jian sword? Have you any students who use such style?"

"So far, no", Piandao answered casually. "I must say, Prince Zuko is the first student I have ever trained who uses a dual wielding form."

"What about Lin?" Azula asked directly. Her question astonished even Jian Wu, whose chopstick stopped midair and his vegetable slipped to the table.

"Lin? Lin, the twenty sixth, Princess?" Piandao drawled cautiously.

"_And_, the Dragon of the Deep Forest; don't forget that one", Azula added with just enough mirth to break the tense atmosphere but not too much because she really wanted her question taken seriously.

"Lin", Master Piandao muttered, sounding uncomfortable.

"Master Piandao", Azula put her bowl and chopsticks and spoke with an air of authority. "My father only ordered the closing down of your school because the noble houses pressured him into doing so; it is his belief that the noble houses were doing that out of jealousy of the wealth and power the Lin Family has. I assure you, the Royal Family has no quarrel with you personally; you simply had the misfortune of being caught up in the middle of this."

"I understand", Piandao bowed a little. Easing up, Piandao spoke now with a less tense manner. "Lin specializes in swift close quarter combat. His weapon of choice happens to be a straight jian."

"Wouldn't a katana or shorter single-bladed weapon be more effective for close quarter combat?" Azula arched a brow.

"Ah, I was not aware that you have some knowledge in the art of sword combat, Princess", Piandao beamed. "Yes, Lin once told me that he had been trained to an extent in the use of ninjato, short straight katana. When the time came for Lin to forge his own sword, like many of my senior students, I myself thought that Lin would forge a single-bladed short sword; we even have a little bet going on among us. Imagine my surprise when the sword he made was a straight jian. I lost ten silver pieces."

"How amusing", Azula faked a perfectly convincing chuckle. "So, Lin does not have any skill in dual wielding then?"

"Not that I know of", Piandao thought aloud. "His sword, Nightshade as he called it, has an unusually long hilt, more or less a quarter of the total length of his sword", Piandao put down his bowl and put his two palms apart to show the approximate length of Nightshade's handle. "It offers better stability for two-handed grip, excellent for defensive purposes. Wielding a sword with such long handle _one-handed_ will be difficult."

"I see", Azula bit her lower lip a little, thinking. "There is something that I find a little intriguing. If you use a straight jian style, how is it that some of your students use different styles?"

"The way of the sword lies with the swordsman, not the sword or the style itself, Princess", Piandao explained sagely. "The sword, without a swordsman, is not much different from any piece of sharp metal; much like this, really", Piandao lifted the knife the servants use to carve the goat-deer. "I do not force my style upon my students; rather, I urge them to find their own ways, their own styles. As a master, I simply provide guidance. I learn this from Master Jian Wu."

Jian Wu flashed a wispy hint of a smile; addressing Azula's raised brow, the Imperial Instructor explained. "Swordsmen believe that the sword is the extension of one's hand."

"And no one can tell you how you should shape or feel about your own hand, part of your own body", Azula finished the explanation under the man's approving nod. "I understand."

They went back to eating. Azula noticed how Piandao and Jian Wu exchanged glances every now and then; it seemed like they were too courteous to talk between themselves. Zuko was awfully quiet, therefore, it fell upon Azula to strike conversation. She was charming, witty, and clever. Both swordmasters found her a charming host. Even after lunch was over and they retreated to a small but comfortable garden pavilion for tea, Azula could still charm them with her wit and intelligence. Even without any real experience in swordsmanship, she could follow the flow of Piandao and Jian Wu's conversation perfectly without stumbling, often by referencing back to firebending.

"Well, Lin's style is… swift", Piandao reminisced with an obvious hint of fondness, answering Azula's question. "It suits his built and sword perfectly."

"Would you demonstrate?" Azula requested politely.

"Of course", Piandao put his cup down. "I will show you one technique that Lin is particularly proficient at. Zuko, come."

Stepping out of the pavilion, Piandao picked up two dry braches from the ground and gave Zuko one; Jian Wu and Azula stood on the sideline.

"Lin's sword has a long hilt", Piandao explained; he lifted his branch and gripped it with both hands, the upper hand held the branch at the quarter length. "Now, Zuko, one strike."

Zuko leaped and brought his branch down with a diagonal slash; Piandao raised his branch and defended against it lightly, holding it diagonally against under Zuko's vertical slash. They paused as Piandao turned to the spectators and gave further explanation. "Now, the long handle allows him to shove the opponent's weapon much more easily, like this."

Piandao's upper hand pushed while his lower hand pulled; his branch parried Zuko's easily with no need for excessive use of energy. His branch now was on top of Zuko's.

"Interesting", Azula heard Jian Wu, standing by her side, muttered to himself.

"And it also opens the opponent's defense and allows a counter attack", Piandao with one hand caught and held Zuko's hand and, with his other hand that was still gripping his branch, made a slashing movement towards Zuko's exposed neck. "Like a wolf waiting before lunging at a prey."

"I see", Azula rubbed her chin. "The technique looks… lethal. Precise."

"Indeed", Piandao and Zuko eased up their stance.

"Almost like the kind use by… assassins", Azula's voice was casual; her mind was not. She noticed the look of mild surprise on Piandao's face and caught from the corner of her eyes Jian Wu casting her a glance.

"I agree", Azula did not expect this from Piandao but it was what he said.

"It is interesting that Lin would prefer such technique, is it not, Master Jian Wu?" Azula directed her question to Jian Wu this time. She tried not to smile at Jian Wu's gape; she was just messing around. "Well, thank you for your insight, Master Piandao."

"Anytime, Princess", Piandao replied the girl's bow.

"I think I will retire to my room now", Azula declared. "I should also let you rest; you must be exhausted after such long journey. I'll see later, Master Piandao, Master Jian Wu", and with a slight and subtle acid in her tone, she added. "_Brother_."

Walking back to her chamber with her contingent of maids, Azula's thought were filled with what she had learnt from Piandao. Lin's favored style, dual wielding, his sword. It got her thinking; just because this 'Lieutenant Lin' was seen carrying two swords, it did not necessarily mean that he fought with dual wielding style; one of the swords might be a spare. Also, Piandao himself had said that he was liberal in his teaching of combat style; who knows, Lin might have learnt dual wielding somewhere after, she thought furiously, _leaving_ Fire Nation. So deep was she in her thought, she did not realize that she was already standing in front of her door had the maid not pushed it open for her.

"You are all dismissed", Azula turned to them. "I will be in my room all day. I still have things I should study."

"Yes, Princess", they bowed and left. Azula locked the door behind them.

Sighing deeply, she dragged her feet back to her study; the sun barely had changed from the morning. She closed her window too; the weather was depressing. She was deep in her study of battle plans and reports when a loud thud graced her door. Frowning, Azula skidded there and opened it.

"Why did you lock your door?" asked Mai with a less than subtle hint of irritation in her tone; she was rubbing her sore forehead. "You _never_ lock your door."

"Zuko's home, by the way", Azula grinned impishly.

"I'm out of here", Mai spun on her heel and left but Azula grabbed her.

"No, stay!"

"Okay. Let go of my hair", Mai sighed. Azula let go of her left bun.

"You're really going at it, huh?" Mai made her comment, throwing a casual look as she enter the room at Azula's mount of paper on her desk.

"Yup", Azula made her way there and tidy it up.

"You know", Mai commented again, sitting in front of Azula's vanity mirror to fix her bun. "The girls at school have been talking about you."

"Have they now?" Azula made no attempt to sound interested from her study desk.

"They know that you have been counseling the Fire Lord regarding punishments for officers who failed their mission."

"And?" Azula picked up a crumpled piece of paper she did not remember crumpling.

"Like Colonel Zi's niece, for example", while she was at it, Mai decided to redo her whole hair.

"Which one?" Azula muttered, inspecting the paper with mild interest.

"Either his third or fifth niece", Mai shrugged, brushing her surprisingly long hair. "Open the window; it's stuffy in here."

"What did she say?" Azula pushed her window open, still reading her crumpled paper.

"She said you advised the Fire Lord to demote her uncle; and the Fire Lord did.", Mai picked up Azula's lipstick, examined at it, and shuddered. "Urrgh! How can you wear this stuff?"

"My dad told me to", Azula shrugged; deciding the paper deserved to be crumpled, she… well, re-crumpled it and threw it outside her window. "He said I'm old enough."

"How does _he_ know?" Mai frowned in the middle of tying her hair back.

"He knows stuff", Azula huffed; from the mirror, Mai could see Azula crossed her arms defensively at her.

"Oh, well", Mai sighed, back to her hair. "Anyway, the girls at our school have come to fear you."

"Oh", Azula drawled, inspecting her nails.

"They are afraid that –ouch-", her ribbon snapped. "Hey, can I take one your ribbons?"

"Knock yourself out", Azula sat down on her chair, watching Mai struggled with her hair; between the two, Mai was the more maid-dependent.

"They're afraid that if they piss you off, you will make their relatives pay", Mai snapped another ribbon. "Can you help me, please?"

"Oh, asking a princess to fix your hair", Azula smirked, but she got up and helped the goth anyway. "Are you not afraid of me?"

"Do you want me to be?" Mai sighed back, sounding and looking more bored than wary. Azula simply grinned at this. Mai did not provide answer, Azula did not pester her for one; but, subconsciously, they both knew the answer.

"Are you going to see Zuko anytime soon?" Azula asked mischievously, tying the red rubber ribbon around the bun Mai held down.

"No. Why?" it was impressive how bored Mai sounded.

"Nothing", Azula smirked, done with the other girl's hair. "Just curious."

"Do you still have much to do?" Mai asked, still perfectly bored as Azula made her way back to her desk.

"Yes, but it can wait", Azula was about to sit down but the sight she caught outside her window made her pause. "Mai?"

"What?" out of boredom, Mai had taken out one of her knives and was in the middle of cutting her defective ribbons into tiny little pieces. "If it's another picture of burnt Earth Kingdom soldier in a report about new weapon testing, I am not looking at it. You should know better that I don't know how human liver looks like."

"Mai! Come here!"

"What?" Mai frowned, rising from her chair slowly.

"Get over here now!"

Sighing, Mai dragged her feet towards the Princess. Tracing her eyes towards the other girl's pointing finger, on the other side of the palace, two floors down their level she saw…

"Look! Ty Lee!" Azula exclaimed. "And there's more than one! Six Ty Lees!"

"…They're her sisters."

"Wow", Azula mouthed, grinning. "Ty Lee wasn't kidding. Are you sure they're not— um, what's that word you taught me the other day?"

"Septuplets", Mai said dryly. "And, no, they're not septuplets. See that one over there, the one with the longest braid?"

"With a four-winged butterfly hair ornament?" Azula asked, eyes fixed at the wonders she was witnessing.

"Now, that's the eldest 'Ty Lee', she's twenty something and due to be married next summer", Mai pointed out. "The one with… I think it's a ladybug hair ornament."

"Yellow or red?"

"Purple."

"_Purple_? Which one— oh, that one", Azula finally noticed her. "What about her?"

"She just enrolled at our school last summer", Mai informed. "She's the youngest."

"Youngest? What about Ty Lee? Which number is she?" Azula frowned at Mai.

"I don't know", Mai shrugged. "And I don't think Ty Lee knows herself."

"Whoa, duck!" Azula suddenly exclaimed. Mai did not enjoy being pushed down so roughly.

"What is it now?" she grumbled irritatedly.

"They almost see us" Azula hissed gravely.

"Why are you whispering? They can't hear us", Mai felt the need to point out this obvious fact. Ignoring Azula's narrowed eyes, she resumed. "And so what if they see us. This part of the palace is forbidden for visitors, remember?"

"Then how did you get here?" Azula asked incredulously.

"I snuck in", Mai shrugged nonchalantly. For the first time in the cold foggy winter of that year, Azula experienced a real happy laugh from someone other than her father; even Mai let out her rare snicker.

"Aw, I'm proud of you, Mai", Azula pulled Mai into a hug, ignoring the goth's groan of protest. "Finally, you've crossed to the dark side."

"I hope the dark side pays well. I need money to get me new knives", Mai patted the other girl's head begrudgingly. "The ones you gave me for my birthday, my mom found them."

They spent quite a deal of time sneaking glances over the window, making fun of the Ty Family children from the sanctuary of Azula's room. However, a loud thud similar to the one Mai had made distracted their fun.

"You locked your door again?" Mai asked Azula who shrugged nonchalantly. "When did you do that?"

Azula trotted to the door and opened it to a maid with a red forehead.

"Princess", the maid said with watery eyes and a still charming smile. "Fire Lord Ozai would like to inform you that he will not be joining you for dinner."

"…Oh", Azula's face fell.

"However", the maid looked happy for some reason. "He also wishes to tell you that he appreciated the lunch you prepared for him. He enjoyed every bit of it."

"He did?" Azula beamed.

"Yes, Princess", the maid repeated, smiling wider. "He promises you that he will do whatever it takes to have breakfast with you tomorrow."

"He does?" Azula was positively grinning now. Squealing happily, she ran to Mai and hugged the confused girl tight. Her maid looked perplexed and exchanged a puzzled shrug with Mai before going back to her post, smiling warmly.

"Winter is bad for your brain", Mai commented flatly. "You're crushing me."

"Don't worry", Azula giggled, gripping even tighter. "We have excellent physicians."

"I'm sure", Mai poked a specific part of Azula's side that generate a massive jolt of tickle and send the Princess crumpling to the floor; Ty Lee hold the credit for the discovery of that spot. "Come on", she half-dragged the princess out. "Fresh air, good for the soul, respiratory system, chi circulation, aura. All that junk."

"It's suspicious how you like winter", Azula smirked slyly. "The fog out there depresses me."

"Now that you mention it", Mai frowned, walking by Azula's side on the hallway; the maids had enough common sense not to disturb their privacy. "The fog really is thicker here in the palace. It's not this bad in my place."

"I think my dad is considering some spiritual causes", Azula commented.

"Yeah", Mai sounded skeptical. "Spooky."

Azula's next retort was engulfed, along with Mai's skepticism, by the washing wave of clarity that swept the fog away. Inch by inch, the thick mist that had been hanging around the palace cleared away. They exchanged wide-eyed glance of amazement; servants and guards around them murmured their own astonishment.

"Please tell me you're here for a sleepover", Azula looked around uncomfortably.

"Sadly, I'm not. I could use your and your blue flame's company tonight", Mai too felt shiver down her spine.

It was a reluctant goodbye of the two ten-years-olds who, like all other ten-years-olds out there, were not too fond of experiencing any spirits-related events such as this. But alas, as they reached the main courtyard where Mai's parents, who were visiting the palace that day for official purposes, found the girls and, after a rather stern chiding at Mai before excusing themselves to return home, the two girls must say their adieu.

As she reached the sanctuary of her room though, Azula praised herself for not calling the maids to accompany her on the way back. Before closing the door behind her, Azula summoned some maids and ordered them to bring her light dinner to her room and extend her regret to Masters Piandao and Jian Wu for not being able to make it to dinner later. She had prudently decided to sleep early while there was light out there.

Even after that thought, her documents won her over. When she finally remembered the pot of soup the maids had brought in, her dinner was already cold and the sky had gone completely dark; she did not even notice that somebody had lit her room candles and torches. Sighing, Azula went over to her bowl of cold soup, heated it up with her bending, and took a sip of her timgeung, a traditional Fire Nation sweet and spicy drink of winter season, made of pure ginger juice mixed with variety of spices such as cloves, anise, cinnamon, coriander, lemongrass, and boiled with a generous amount of palm sugar.

She broke her bread and dipped it in her scarlet bird soup; dinner was over quick. She got up and decided that she should brush her teeth and take a quick bath in her personal bathroom before turning in. She was still wary about her work but she was in no mood for it right now, she had too much in her mind. Much in her mind indeed, some of them were not work-related. As she took her nightgown from her wardrobe and changed behind her folding screen, she pondered upon the trivial things that occupy her mind.

The maids, the guards, the servants… they thought nobody could hear them. Azula could…

"_Fire Princess Azula is growing up into a very fine young lady."_

"_The Fire Lord has decided that she is old enough for cosmetic and long nails. Oh, soon there will be courtships. How exciting!"_

"_I heard the Fire Lord has granted Princess Azula a Royal Seal. Such honor!"_

"_Did you hear? Princess Azula was called to counsel the Fire Lord again this morning."_

"_Fire Lord Ozai had to miss lunch again. But, Princess Azula ordered the cook to fix him a meal. What a filial child!" _

"_Did you hear? General Zi was demoted; he's a colonel now. Princess Azula was responsible for it."_

"_The palanquin bearers had it again. They were scolded by Princess Azula simply for asking why she did not take her palanquin to school."_

"_They say Fire Lord Ozai commissioned the Royal Engineers to build a Royal Class barge for Princess Azula! Don't tell anyone though. It's supposed to be Princess Azula's surprise birthday gift." _

"_It's true! Princess Azula's fire really is blue. The maid said her fire was beautiful." _

"_It was scary there sometimes, said the head maid the other day. Princess Azula can be difficult to deal with. She is moody and likes randomly change her routine."_

"_Princess Azula won a best scholar award. A firebending prodigy and an academic genius; Fire Lord Ozai is such a lucky father."_

Having change into a simple nightgown, Azula went to her mirror, sat on her chair and undid her knot. She brushed her hair, straightening the bent, and tied it back to a ponytail. Her neck felt stiff; she took the perfect moment to close her eyes and crank her neck up to ease the tension to miss the sight that she would have noticed from the reflection on her mirror of a ponytailed boy climbing her window, stumbled upon her neatly stack papers and books, and crash-landed on the floor.

"Ow!" Lin slid face first into the very solid floor of Princess Azula's room; the carpet did little to break his fall and the pile of papers and books avalanching on him was an unnecessary extra. "Crapster! Since when there's a mountain of—", his words were cut short by Azula's look of surprise. "Oh, uh… Hi…?"

The maids, servants, and guards were right; Fire Princess Azula's blue flame truly was beautiful.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Names:

1. Khe Pa, from Hebrew word 'ke'pā', which means 'boulder'

2. Pojiu (破舊), a Mandarin word that means 'seedy'

3. Timgeung, from Cantonese words 'tim' (甜) which means 'sweet', and 'geung' (姜) which means 'ginger'

Azula was finicky about Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital but she made an itsy bitsy mistake of mentioning that Lin was ten when he invented Fire Compression. I wonder why…. :)

Anyway, as the title suggest, this four-parter will be about the members of the Royal Family. Next up, Zuko!

I don't know why but as I wrote this chapter, the song 'Tranquilizer' by Dolores O'Riordan was playing in my head. Kinda fits Azula, it you think about it. Especially the part of the lyric: '_I'd rather hide'._

Lin's sudden and seemingly random appearance will be covered in the second four-parter.

To OwlFeather13, thanks for the review! More about what have become of the 44th will be in the next four-parter. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Oh, and hey, this one has a song that goes with it. The one for Ozai will also have one. :D

Oh, and chilly-o Snowman! (?)

To the Dark Door (cool name, by the way). Thanks again for the review! And thank you again for the pointers. Yes, the in/on thing is quite something. And it does not help that the buttons for 'i' and 'o' are next to each other. When I wrote the chapter with Zhong the Viper in it, I always mistyped his name as 'Zhing'. Strangely enough, I've never had the problem with other names like Zhao or Ozai. :D

I'm not sure when the next update will be. This chapter has less connection with the other three than they are with each other, so I feel quite confident to update this one. Also, school assignments are lurking in the corner… staring at me with red glowing eyes.

Hope you all enjoy the chapter!


	83. Chapter 82

**Chapter 82 – Homecoming, Part 2**

**-Fire Prince Zuko-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

It was the 20th day of the second month of winter. Fire Prince Zuko shot up from his sleep screaming! Stupid cow-rooster! He cursed at the loud sound the morning animal made. It was still dark out there, he angrily reasoned, throwing a glance at the crack in his window, through which he caught the sight of the dark sky out there.

Grumbling, he slammed himself onto his bed and groaned as a sharp lump under it hit him on the back. Growling, he dug through his bed cover and found a… ball. In his somewhat grumpy state, caused by, of course, morning and the pain, he gripped it hard as if trying to crush the round apple-sized brown somewhat solid looking ball; it was not that solid. The casing was brittle, made of hardened wax or some crusty leather pouch. As the first crack appear, it exploded into a puff white powder.

"*Cough*" Zuko quickly scrambled out of his room, covered with thin white powder from head to toe. "Stupid Lin!"

It was the third time since he arrived in Piandao's mansion that he unearthed some contraption or prank bomb from numerous unimaginable crooks and crannies in the room of his former firebending instructor; all of which had gone off at him. After Fire Prince Zuko regained his bearing and breath, he dared himself to open the door, that still bore the mark of his sister's boot, by the way, and the sight inside was… well, uh… messy, to say the least. More cleaning, Zuko face-palmed. He dusted the chalk powder (he hoped it was chalk powder…) off his being and was about to enter the room when a series of footsteps echoed down the hall and caught his ears. Ever so quickly, he slammed the door closed behind his back, just in time as Piandao made an appearance out of the corner in the end of the hallway.

"Morning, Master. How are you, Master? Good, I hope, Master", Zuko accompanied each utterance with a quick bow. Naturally, Piandao was suspicious.

"You make a mess of your room, I assume", Piandao guessed, hands behind his back.

"Um… Yes, Master", Zuko hung his head down. He did hear his master sighed deeply, though.

"Prince Zuko", Piandao sounded a little uncomfortable, which was not usual of him so Zuko had to raise his head up to see his master to make sure. "It just that this is five in the morning and… you obviously just woke up; I am not accusing, it's just that all evidence— well… I just want you to know that it is not something to be ashamed of. We'll keep this between us."

Zuko frowned at his master's words. Only after Piandao turned and left did it hit Zuko what Piandao thought the 'mess' was.

"I DID NOT WET MY BED!"

"I'm gonna kill Lin. I'm gonna kill Lin. I'm gonna kill Lin. I'm gonna kill Lin", our Fire Prince chanted as he made his way to the washroom after extracting his change of clothes from the room he had to clean after. In about a few minutes, he doubled back chanting. "Forgot my toothbrush. Forgot my toothbrush. Forgot my toothbrush", as he re-entered his room and came back out with a metal mug bearing his toothbrush, and as he walked back to the washroom. "Gonna kill Lin. Gonna kill Lin. Gonna kill Lin."

Morning bath was quite long; he had to wash his hair too because the chalk (he hoped) powder on the surface of his scalp itched. When he got out to the cold winter morning with soggy hair and rocking shiver, his resolve to brutally murder his former firebending instructor only got stronger. He _could_ maybe use his bending to warm up the air around him, or to dry his hair, but Fire Prince Zuko had promised Master Piandao to abstain from firebending for the duration of his stay and a Fire Prince honors his promise.

"ACHOO", he sneezed loudly, pushing his untied saggy and soggy hair out of his face. Shivering, he went back to dusting off the fine snow white powder from every surface of the room onto the hair. Throwing his peacock-rooster duster on his bed, he picked up a broom and dutifully swept the white dust under his bed. Now, before we judge, let us remind ourselves that, being a royalty, this was probably the first time Fire Prince Zuko had _ever_ swept a floor. Just the fact that he knew how to use the implement properly is commendable.

Still cold, Zuko made his way to a mirror hanging on the wall. He brushed his saggy hair into obedience and tied up his tidy ponytail swiftly. It was a simple enough job, thought Zuko as he savored the fact that Lin, unlike him, was seemingly incapable of tying a proper ponytail without leaving flocks of hair on his forehead.

Ready for the day, Fire Prince Zuko picked up his wooden twin broadsword from his desk and raced through the mansion. By the time Zuko reached the main courtyard where Piandao was practicing his swordplay, the dark sky had given in to a deep blue hue above the muddy cloud. Bowing his apology for his tardiness, Zuko proceeded to doing his stretching and warming up while Piandao, helped by Fat moved a series of old furniture into the courtyard.

"Ready, Zuko?" Piandao tapped his wooden sword on his hand.

"I'm ready", Zuko gave his back one last stretch. Then he put on his blindfold and turned around. He just stood there against cold winter wind while the sound of wood grinding the stone floor gated his ears. When the sound subsided, he felt his master's hand on his shoulder turning him around.

"Okay", Piandao cued. Zuko lifted his blindfold a little, trying to memorized the random positioning of the whole furniture as much and fast as he could; broken three-legged chair over there by the cracked lawn table right behind a beat-up dresser in between a large wardrobe with no door and a chest with no— Zuko's vision was abruptly obstructed by the palm of his master's hand. Understanding it, the Prince pulled his blindfold back on. "Go."

Zuko took his first five steps confidently. Precognition and memory kicked in; he felt something obstructed his way. "Feel one", he muttered, earning a 'go' from Master Piandao; it meant he was allowed to feel ahead with his limbs as he navigated through the series of obstacles. The goal here was, of course, to make it past the furniture without running into them. If Zuko felt he was detecting one nearby, he must make it known because only with Piandao's express permission could he feel around with his hand or toes.

Zuko pushed an inch with his toe; it bumped the surface of the wooden article lightly. Grinning, he made a three and a half steps left turn. "Feel", he requested again, getting an 'okay' from Piandao. Again his toe touched something. Now, this should be the headless wooden statue of a lion turtle; hmm… to the right this time. Three steps… one… tw—

—THUD—

"Son of—"

"Language", there was a hint of glee in Piandao's voice that Zuko caught. Grumbling, Zuko evaded whatever it was that hit his head (yes, _it_ hit _him,_ Zuko thought defensively; _he_ did not hit _it_) and concentrated hard on his surroundings.

Zuko stopped dead in his steps; there was something in front of him. He was about to call out 'feel' when he sensed a drift in the air; he ducked and, at the moment of impact, he felt pain that was familiar but saw flashes of colors he had not yet experienced before.

"Not fair!" he ripped off his blindfold and threw the desk that was too friendly with his forehead and then his master furious glare. "You said no sneak attack!"

"Nobody was sneak-attacking you, Zuko", said Piandao without taking his eyes off the letter he was reading; a messenger hawk, which caused the air drift as it flew pass Zuko, by the way, was perching on Piandao's shoulder. "Zuko, how long does it take to get to the Imperial City by steam-powered ship?"

"A couple of hours", Zuko grumbled, nursing the bump on his head. "Why?"

"I've been invited by Master Jian Wu for a training at the palace", Piandao informed. "He has sent a steam-powered ship for us. It's waiting by the dock, ready to take us anytime."

"Master Jian Wu has returned from the colonies?" Zuko asked interestedly.

"Yes", Piandao rolled his letter and put it in his sleeve pocket. "Couple of hours. Well, I suppose we can train until nine or ten; that will give us a couple of hours to pack."

"Um, _us_, Master?" Zuko raised his brows.

"Yes, us", Piandao replied lightly. "Unless you want to stay here with Fat."

"Understood, Master", Zuko shuddered a little; alone with the stickler Fat the Butt-tight. Yikes!

"Good", Piandao smiled. "Now, I will send this bird to your room later. Make sure you write the Fire Lord a letter to tell him of your return. We can send it with my reply for Master Jian Wu."

"There is no need to write my father, Master", Zuko said though clenched jaws; he looked away so that his master would not see the fire in his eyes.

"Courtesy, Zuko", Piandao lightly chided. "Now, do a hundred hot-squats, then go back to your room and write that letter. I'll send the bird to you later."

"Wait, hot-squats?" Zuko frowned.

"For swearing", Piandao reminded.

"I did not swear", Zuko protested. "I just… almost swore."

"Half the punishment then; fifty hot-squats", Piandao decided with not much thought. "Now", he added quickly as Zuko opened his mouth again. "Oh, and you might want to—"

—THUD—

"—move away from there before…Oh, well. See Fat if you need some ointment for your bump later", Piandao walked off calmly, trying not to smile too much.

"Ow! Stupid junk!" Zuko kicked the desk that had hurt him twice hard. But, enough, enough; he would deal with it one day, Zuko vowed. When his firebending ban was lifted, the desk gonna get it!

Zuko proceeded to finishing up with his hot-squats; Master Piandao trusted him enough not to supervise him and Zuko intended not to disappoint him. When he was done, Zuko walked back to his room and, just as he was preparing a parchment and a saucer of ink, the messenger hawk from before flew in and perched on top of a pile of book on his desk. The bird staring at him was in no way helping him in composing his letter; not to discredit the inherent difficulty of writing a letter to a father who thinks you are a disgraceful failure, mind you. Not to mention that Zuko had not said anything about him coming to Shu Jing to his father; he thought Uncle Iroh would take care of it although he did have his initial doubt. And don't forget this is the same father who, according to his little sister, was, at some point, considering killing him.

"What are you looking at?" Zuko seethed at the haughty looking bird that looked at him with such prideful eyes. In an attempt to send the bird to some other part of the room, Zuko picked up some random bread crumb on his desk and threw it across the room; the bird look at him with a stare as if saying '_you've got to be joking_.'

Yeah, it's a palace hawk, alright, Zuko grumbled to himself. Now, back to the letter.

_Dear…_

Zuko involuntarily shuddered at this word. He had half a mind to send the letter to his sister instead; his Uncle Iroh had not been replying his series of letters ever since the old man had to carry Azula out of the mansion all of the sudden. Ironically, most of Zuko's letters had concerned his sister Azula.

It had been the most terrifying thing…

The looks in her eyes… there was hate unlike any Zuko had ever seen. Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to chase away the image of his sister's… what to call it? _Outburst_? He could only draw comfort in the conjecture that his Uncle Iroh had been unable to reply any of his letters because he had been busy taking care of Azula. But, the feeling was still there… _guilt_; Zuko had been having quite a great time learning under Piandao, well, after that fateful night. And Azula, his sister…

There was no real hate, was there? Zuko had lost count of how many times he asked himself that question. Did really he hate Azula? For all the pranks, the mockery, the torture, mental and physical? She was his little sister; what little sisters are not insufferable? And, did Azula really hate him? Azula was better at practically everything; what reason did she have to hate Zuko?

The hawk cawed once, snapping Zuko off his contemplation. Zuko threw a sharp glance at it. The bird was right, Zuko had to write something.

_Dear Father_…

Zuko found it funny how easy it was; the words flowed on their own, there was no emotion at all. When he was done, he rolled it and reached out to the messenger hawk's tube strapped behind its back. Master Piandao's letter was already in it; the sight of it made Zuko felt like he was intruding on something. Quickly, he shoved his letter in while avoiding any physical contact with Piandao's letter. After he was done, he set the bird free and made his way back to the dining hall.

The once great crowded hall that could house more than a hundred students at any given time had been reduced to a long dining table of dark brown mahogany bearing dark red table clothes with gold and scarlet trim. A large golden vase in the middle housed a bush of snow lilac, three sets of eating wares had been set. Master Piandao occupied the head seat, Fat was making trips back and forth between the dining table and a long table on the wall that housed their meal.

Receiving a gesture from Piandao, Zuko sat on his right side; Fat came around and put a teapot on the table. Zuko, conforming to the tradition, poured his master a cup. Just for show of respect, he, against his better judgment, poured himself a cup as well.

"Have you heard from your uncle?" Piandao started as Fat served their rice.

"No, Master", Zuko moved to his chopstick once Piandao got his. "He hasn't replied any of my letters."

"Master Jian Wu told me that he has not seen General Iroh since his return from Shu Jing with your sister", Piandao informed. The subject of Azula sent another rush of guilt across Zuko's chest. There he was, having his favorite sour and spicy tuna-bass while Azula… who knows what kind of hell she was going through now.

"I hope your sister is doing better", Piandao voiced Zuko's concern for him.

"Me, too", Zuko said quietly.

"Come, eat", Piandao ordered softly. "You need your strength for our training today."

"Yes, Master", Zuko said.

But, every consequent bite was thorn through Zuko's throat. Even his favorite honey ginger pudding desert tasted like bland jelly in his mouth. He finished his meal in silence and before Piandao or Fat was done with theirs. Excusing himself, he stated something about cleaning his room before leaving the dining hall. He did go to his room, to pick up his training sabers and, just to ease his conscience, picked up the bread crumb he threw earlier and shoved it under his bed. There, cleaning done! He told himself. He did not lie to Master Piandao.

Zuko sat back on his bed and lied down with his hands behind his head, trying not to think too much about Azula. It had been frightening indeed. He had not been using his pillow since that night; the night he made it back to his room, he had found traces of his sister's tears on the pillow. It burnt him in many different ways.

He felt guilty.

His sister had been in pain. She scared him…

That night, Azula had been in pain; Zuko had found a place where he belonged. That night, Zuko found happiness, in a sort, and Azula… she turned into a… monster.

His guilt gave way to fear, to hatred. He did not know what to think; Agni knows he did not what to feel. Did he really hate Azula?

_Take care of your sister,_ Lin had said to Zuko. But, how could he? How could Zuko take care of Azula when… when he was afraid of her? Agni in heaven! Zuko truly did not know what to think, let alone what to feel. Or what to do…

Zuko took his pillow and lifted it up above his face. The mark had gone but they had been burnt onto his soul. The way Azula had looked at him that night… it scared him. _She's a monster_… it scared Zuko that his guilt over such thought was waning by the day. Maybe it was him who was turning into a monster…

He shut his eyes hard, throwing his pillow to his side. The pillow bounced off the wall and hit the floor; it hit him in his heart too. He picked it up and felt a prick like no other. He cast a last painful look at it before setting it on his bed neatly. Zuko lied back down, crossing his arms against his eyes hard; he did not want to think about it.

But, he did…

Zuko needed distraction. He leaped to his feet, grabbed his sabers from his desk, and jumped out of his window of fifth floor. He landed on a lower roof of the fourth floor and dashed alongside it. His steps were slippery due to morning dew; but, it added more to the thrill, to the fun! He jumped down one more level; he slipped but broke his fall with a weightless back roll. He landed soundlessly and painlessly on a sprint starting position, and he was proud of this particular accomplishment as he dashed forward full speed.

_This is life_! Zuko exclaimed in the inside as he took flight off the edge of the roof. He grabbed the edge of the roof on the lower level but his hands slipped; the terror he felt mixed perfectly well with thrill excitement. He skidded loudly on the wall with his feet and, when he felt that he was beginning to lose attachment to the surface, he kicked with his feet with all his might and spun to meet the solid earth below. The moment his feet touched the grassy patch of Piandao's laundry backyard, he broke into a neutralizing front roll to break his fall. Panting, Zuko grinned widely to the direction of the Imperial City in front of him. Zuko was alive!

He rose with pride he had never felt before. He was Fire Prince Zuko, son of Ozai and Ursa.

He was not a failure.

Zuko pulled his saber free from its sheath he had strapped on his back. He began training his saber form. It was… wow. He jumped, flipped, twirled in the air with his weapons; every time he broke contact with the earth below, he was in another dimension that, though lasted for mere seconds, made him felt so very alive. He waved his blades fiercely, for sabers are the Generals of Weapons, lectured Master Jian Wu at one time; sabers are fierce, aggressive, like a fire storm or raging blizzard. Zuko finished with a double sideways slash; his wooden blade whistled through the air sharply. Music to his ears. His grin was content as he returned his sabers back to its scabbard.

"I am not a failure, Father", he whispered through his proud smile. "I'll show you."

With honor and pride, Fire Prince Zuko made his way back to Master Piandao in one of his training halls. The hall was like any other; spacious, dirt grey stone-floored, walls painted in brownish red with black trim, and on the far side of the wall, a sitting platform with mat and a low table was set where the master would sit and inspect. Piandao sat there and nodded lightly at Zuko's polite Fire Nation bow. He wordlessly gestured Zuko to change into his training gear; leather breastplate, shoulder pads, bracers, shin protectors, and cap over his undershirt. Fat, Zuko's usual sparring partner had already worn his training gear and was in the middle of lowering numerous clay jars and bottles tied to a rope and attached to a numerous small pulleys attached to the ceiling.

"Zuko", Piandao got down from his seat and paced to Zuko who turned to him. "The purpose of this training is to teach you of the severity of your blade."

Zuko's eyes widened as Piandao pulled a small knife from his sleeve pocket and handed it to Zuko. Piandao was fast; Zuko did not have time to react in any way as the master, upon releasing the blade to his disciple, grabbed the blade of the knife and grasped it hard. Dark red liquid was born of the contact.

"Master!" Zuko exclaimed and was about to release the handle of the knife but Piandao's free hand was as quick as the other one. He grasped Zuko's grip hard, preventing the boy to let go.

"Once your blade strike, Zuko", Piandao started, ignoring the nervous sweat of his student. "You cannot take it back."

"Master, your hand!" Zuko protested, struggling to free himself from his master's grip.

"Do you understand, Zuko?" Piandao asked ever so calmly; hazel eyes fixed on the amber of the boy's.

"Y-yes, Master", Zuko stuttered.

"Explain, then", Piandao ordered.

"I-I…" Zuko gulped loudly. "M-my sword… it's a dangerous weapon! A wound it inflicts cannot be taken back. I have to be careful whenever I— whenever I brandish my sword. Killing or hurting opponent with it must always be a last resort."

"Very good", Piandao smiled and let go of Zuko's hand; he took the knife with him. Fat arrived with a basin of water and Piandao dipped his injured hand in it. Zuko was trembling as the red from his master's hand tainted the purity of the water. The pale on his face, however, gave way to a gape as he noticed that Piandao took his perfectly cleaned hand off the water and dry it with a towel Fat handed him calmly, there was no single mark on the man's hand!

"You like it?" Piandao showed his bloody knife to the gawking Zuko. "Your friend Lin made it for me for my birthday. It's a trick knife; it contains cherry syrup inside", Piandao dabbed his finger on the red liquid still dripping off the blade and licked it to show his point.

"Zuko, temper", Piandao reminded lightly as the Fire Prince, growling like an angry tiger-hawk, snatched the trick knife with the intention of slamming it to the ground and grinding it to pieces under his heel.

Zuko took a deep breath, gripping the knife hard; it squirted more syrup as if to mock him, making him trying to calm down harder. Finally regaining some measure of self-control, Zuko gave the knife back to Piandao, muttering a quick. "Sorry, Master."

Piandao chuckled a little as he took his knife back and returned their attention to the numerous small clay bottles and jars hanging from the ceiling. "You will spar with Fat", Piandao explained. "Think of these bottles as innocent bystanders that you must not hurt. You and Fat will fight in the middle of the hall and you must not break any of the bottles. Understood, Zuko?"

"Yes, Master", Zuko bowed curtly, still a little annoyed. But, he obeyed anyway.

In the middle of the hall, standing amongst many clay jars and bottles, he assumed his dual wielding form with Fat assuming his own one sword style. They shifted a little, each trying to locate weaknesses and weak spots on each other's weaknesses. When Fat lunged to claim the first strike, Zuko too lunged with a counter. Our Fire Prince deflected Fat's slash with both sabers. Zuko slid forward, ready with his double windmill slash, aimed at Fat's—

"Zuko", Piandao called suddenly.

"Wha—"

—WHACK—

"If you want to, you can just use one saber", Piandao said calmly, taking a sip of his spiced chrysanthemum.

"That's okay, Master", Zuko seethed with steam coming out of his nostrils and a throb on his skull.

"You're not upset, are you?" Piandao asked nonchalantly.

"_No_, master", Zuko failed to stop the fresh wave of steam.

"Good", Piandao was positively smiling. "Then, smile for your master."

It was understandable that Zuko could only manage something akin to a snarl.

Back to the training, Zuko caught the sight of Fat trying to sneak a strike; he quickly shifted behind a hanging jar, Fat stopped his strike successfully. Zuko crouched down and delivered a leg sweep that brought the butler down on his back; he capitalized with a double spinning vertical slash aimed at the Butt-tight's gut that Zuko—

"Zuko."

"What!"

—WHACK—

"Do remember to focus", Piandao smirked behind his cup.

"Yes… Master", Zuko practically hissed the two words, but… uh, still with a pleasant snarl.

"Get on with your training then", Piandao sipped from his cup and smacked his lips annoyingly.

Growling, Zuko had all the intention to vent all this anger at Fat… Fat was wearing protector, so… mwahaha!

"Eargh!" Zuko leaped with a double slash crashing down on—

—CRACK—

"Hey, not fair!" he protested at Fat, but the butler swung more and more jars and bottled his way. "Master! Fat is cheating!"

"No, he is not", Piandao replied, enjoying the sight of his student yelping as the boy dodged the combination of jars and Fat's sword strikes aimed mercilessly at him. "By the way, I forgot to mention; each broken jar will cost you ten push-ups."

"WHAT!"

Oh, so many things Zuko would say, so many unsavory things indeed. But, he had to be content with ducking from a swinging jar. He lunged forward with a slash at Fat's leg; the butler lifted his leg up and slashed vertically aimed at Zuko's head. Zuko rolled sideways and, as he got up, his head hit the base of a random dangling jar. It distracted him enough to let Fat rammed into him with a shoulder tackle. Zuko lost his footing for a moment; Fat rushed in with a strike. Zuko fell into a split and leaned down; Fat's strike struck an innocent jar. Grinning smugly, Zuko fell to his back, spun, and kicked himself up to his feet. Fat struck again but Zuko defended against his blow. Pushing the man's blade aside, Zuko delivered a series of strong strikes of his own; Fat swatted them easily.

Zuko needed more than just skill… and a jar swinging in front of his face gave him an idea. Smirking, Zuko caught the jar and swung it hard towards Fat's direction. Fat effortlessly evaded it with but a tiny jerk of the head; Zuko's subsequent flurry of attacks registered as a more of a threat than the pathetic—

—CRACK—

Zuko laughed triumphantly at the sight of Fat groaning on the floor as the jar Zuko flung at him swung back and hit the butler at the back of his head. Still grinning, Zuko waited for Fat to get back on his feet and resumed his stance. However, before they could get back to exchanging blows, Piandao clapped his hands hard, signaling them to stop.

"You did quite well, Zuko", Piandao praised kindly. "You have conducted yourself with honor. You have learnt to manipulate your surroundings to your advantage. However…"

"… It's because I used that jar, isn't it?" Zuko guessed glumly.

"Yes", Piandao set his cup down. "There are prices that we must never pay, Zuko. Even if doing so ensures victory."

"Yes, Master", Zuko bowed.

"Now, let's see", Piandao did a quick calculation. "Fifty push-ups. And an additional ten for the one you threw."

"Yes, Master", Zuko did not protest. He recognized the truth in his master's words.

After they took off their protectors, while Fat cleaned the room and Piandao retired to his study, Zuko was undergoing his punishment. He did not mind at all. Honor and integrity; Uncle Iroh was right, as always. Piandao personified those values and Zuko had been too stubborn to see it. Zuko finished his push-ups in no time at all. Having done, he went to the washroom to clean up; it was time for packing.

When he got to his room, the sight of his pillow sent another crumbling blow to his renewed but still fragile wall of conscience. Azula… what the hell was wrong with her? Zuko draped his damp towel on a drying pole beside wardrobe. It took enormous metal strength to avert his eyes from the pillow. Father would call it weakness, thought Zuko ruefully. Zuko was being weak for caring for such matter; Azula had been weak for crying the way she did. Zuko knew his father would probably blast him across the Nation for doing such thing, while Azula… meh, daddy's little girl; a crushing hug would be the worst she would get.

It was cold fury that accompanied Zuko as the Fire Prince stuffed his small travelling bag with a cloak and two sets of winter garb. Little sisters… they are complicated, pondered Zuko as he excavated a pile of clothes on his wardrobe in search for his socks. He extracted a well-deserved measure of venting out from shoving his clothes into his knapsack forcefully and punched the bulges into submission mercilessly.

Done with packing, if such violent act conducted upon innocent clothing articles could be called packing, Fire Prince Zuko tromped his way back to the main courtyard with his bag and his training sabers. He was early, Master Piandao had not finished packing yet. Sitting on the steps of the main gate, Zuko sat inspecting his sabers. Built to resemble his detachable dual dao, from the outside the sheathed saber looked just like his old one. The blade part was completely wooden. Zuko pulled his sabers free to inspect the dark brown wooden blade. There were bumps and scratches on the blade. Marks of his hard work, Zuko thought.

He got up and practiced his form a little; swinging swiftly at the falling leaves that had not realized that autumn had been over for two months. Zuko spun and swung lightly with both weapons, two as one, as Master Jian Wu once put it. Piandao had not been teaching Zuko new forms; Piandao had said something about once having been a disciple of Master Jian Wu himself and him teaching his style to Zuko would be an unforgiveable breach of the tradition of martial art courtesy as it would be a show of arrogance Piandao had no intention to do. What Piandao had done so far was, to quote his word, help Zuko strengthen his basic, his understanding, and his wisdom of the art.

"_If you are a seedling of a mighty tree, Prince Zuko"_, Piandao had said. _"Master Jian Wu's teachings are your roots; my teaching will simply be a nurturing sunlight that helps you grow."_

The first few days had been rough for the both of them. Piandao had been stubborn in his methods of using fine arts to teach the young Prince the more subtle virtues of the art of sword combat. Calligraphy, painting, landscaping, rock gardening; the most physical thing he had to do was evading blow to his head blindfolded which would be so bad if Zuko was allowed to strike back.

His skill had grown, he knew that much. Ever since Piandao switched his approach in training Zuko, his improvement had been tremendous. Zuko had told Piandao about Lin's training him in free-running and stealth; Piandao had decided to incorporate those training into his own for Zuko. Training with Piandao was much like Lin's extra training now, only more combat oriented; it was with joy Zuko reminded himself that he had not been forced to do calligraphy, or even touch a penbrush for training in two months.

Piandao had given Zuko his training sabers; his real dual dao saber was still confiscated. Lin's swallow-monkey tag had been conducted across the mansion rooftops with training swords and sabers where Piandao and Zuko would try to chase each other across the rooftops and try to score a hit in five strikes. Lin's sneak-attack training had been reintegrated in Piandao's new method in which he would throw pebbles at Zuko who had to evade the attack blindfolded; it also gave inspiration to the blindly navigating through a courtyard filled with useless furniture to replace snap-landscaping.

The result had been good, thought Zuko somewhat proudly. His mind had become keen, his physique had become strong, his joints and muscle had become nimble, his balance and aerial awareness had improved much. He was growing into a fine swordsman, of that he was sure.

"_Have uncle realized what a failure you are at firebending?"_

Dammit, Azula! Zuko slashed a falling leave with more ferocity that needed. She made it so hard to care for her. Who cares about Azula! Zuko shook the thought off. _Uncle's with her… she has Dad_. A falling leave flew past Zuko's face to the back; Zuko promptly spun and delivered a blow that produced a dull clank against Piandao's sheathed sword.

"Don't get all sweaty, Zuko", Piandao lightly reprimanded. "We are leaving now."

Grinning guiltily, Zuko returned his saber to its sheath and picked up his bag.

"Is that all you are bringing?" Piandao's asked, frowning at the small bag.

"Yes, Master", Zuko replied. "I still have clothes in the palace."

I mean, duh! Zuko's a prince.

"Yes, but since Master Jian Wu has returned from his sabbatical", Piandao explained. "I thought you would want to return to training with him in the palace."

"Oh…" _right_… Zuko rubbed the back of his neck to ease his awkwardness, unable to look the man in the eyes. "Well, Master Piandao… um, I've been thinking about that… If you don't mind, I mean… maybe I can keep learning from you…?"

Zuko's very timid, "Please", was barely audible but Piandao heard it nonetheless.

"You will have to ask for Master Jian Wu's permission for that", Piandao placed an encouraging hand on the boy's shoulder. "Should you want to come back, my door is always opened for you."

Zuko's frown turned into a hopeful beam as he gave Piandao a deep bow. Led by the master, Zuko and Fat made their way to the pier; Fat was carrying Piandao's bag. The road of Shu Jing was a friendly one, pondered Zuko as he walked through the crowded marketplace. It was amazing how much respect they have for Piandao despite his origin. Master Piandao was an orphan, a deserter, a non-bender. Zuko was a Fire Prince, a firebender. And yet, walking by his master side, witnessing the respectful bows and friendly greetings the citizens of Shu Jing offered the swordmaster, Zuko could not help but feel humbled and small.

This is a man unlike Azula, unlike Lu Ten or Lin, thought Zuko as he cast a look of awe at his master who was speaking in a friendly manner with a fruit stand owner. Piandao was not a prodigy born with a silver spoon in his mouth and yet, look at him. Uncle was right to send Zuko to learn from this man, thought Zuko again. He owed Uncle Iroh an apology.

"Perhaps you should get something for your sister", Piandao unexpectedly suggested as they resumed their pace. "You haven't seen her in months."

Zuko did not know how to respond to this; the lump in his throat from the morning breakfast was back and it did not help in this predicament.

"What does she like?" asked Piandao simply out of curiosity. "I noticed how General Iroh often baits her with sweets and books. It is a most perplexing combination."

"She's annoying", Zuko grumbled.

"Be that as it may", Piandao stifled an amused smile. "Get her some gifts. Siblings should get along."

Grumbling, Zuko bowed and head back to the market alone; Piandao and Fat would wait in the ship. Zuko walked through the many stalls and kiosks, nothing caught his eyes. He was sure Azula would not appreciate… say, those bags local dried tea leaves and giving her a bundle of broccoli would result in it being thrown at ballistic speed to his face. Shu Jing should really expand their market, thought Zuko. Hmm… the fruit stall did have a large basket filled with succulent red cherries. Much like their mother, Azula could wolf down a large bowl of cherries in matter of seconds. Zuko decided about half a kilo Shu Jing ruby cherry as back-up plan as he moved deeper into the marketplace.

He arrived at the end of stalls and entered a series of roadside stores. The weapon store at his right screamed at him to stay away; giving Azula sharp objects would be as prudent as feeding a catty of red pepper to a grumpy fire breathing dragon with a bad tooth: pure foolishness and suicide in an epic proportion. The store at his left, the female clothes store; yeah, like Fire Prince Zuko be caught dead inside it. Moving deeper, Zuko found a store that sells oil and firewood and one that sells what appeared to be smoked meat product; next! Although, Zuko was a little concerned that the oil and firewood store was adjacent to the clothing store.

The next one caught his eyes; a souvenir store. A humble one floor store with a warm red paint job and two aisles bearing various wares. Zuko entered, nodded his reply at the humble bow a young male store clerk gave him. Zuko's eyes widened at the ponytailed boy as he got a clear look of his face. If his hair were jet black instead of dark brown, and his iris of brighter hue of amber, Zuko would have mistaken him for his former firebending sifu.

"Nise!"

"Shhh!" Nise, Lin's cousin and lookalike, shushed the prince nervously, casting an awkward glance at the store's proprietor. "Quiet down!"

"What are you doing here?" Zuko hissed furiously although he could not help but grin a little; it was hard imagining someone who looked so much like his former firebending master acting and looking so formal and awkward around him. Lu Ten and Zuko had known Lin since before any of them knew anything about social courtesy and, as the result, Zuko had never experienced Lin being all formal or courteous at him.

"Uncle Jiang volunteered some of us here", Nise whispered lowly in the guise of helping Zuko browsing through the store fine selection of embroidered money pouches. "He said General Iroh had to recall all undercover Royal Procession he sent to keep an eye for you, Your Highness."

"Don't call me that", Zuko spoke with little to no lips movement as he faked an interest on a small slab of oak with the map of Fire Nation engraved on it. "And my uncle did _what_? What's this about Royal Procession being here?"

"You're the Fire Lord's heir, Prince Zuko", Nise explained lowly; Zuko rolled his eyes at the way he was addressed. It gave Zuko the shiver hearing someone with Lin's face calling him 'Prince'. "I don't know the details myself but I heard that Fire Lord Ozai recalled all Royal Procession back for intense winter battle drill."

"My uncle sent bodyguards for me?" Zuko gripped a metal ball shaped jewelry box hard with a tinge of flaring temper. "Doesn't he trust me?"

"I'm sure he does", Nise shrugged lightly but the glare Zuko gave him forced him to added a nervous. "Sir."

Huffing, Zuko went back to his gift choosing. No idea came to mind.

"Hey, Nise", he muttered. "What do you think an annoying, pompous, conceited, spoiled, and mean Fire Princess would like?"

"Uh… perhaps, a new… doll?" Nise held up a stuffed wolf-husky.

It did make Zuko realize something… Azula never had any toys growing up and Zuko had just realized it now. _Oh, dear Agni_, Zuko thought. _My own baby sister is a complete stranger to me._

"She incinerated the last doll somebody gave her. I think it was from some noble boy in her birthday party."

"How about this… eh, cosmetic kit?"

"She doesn't even wear skirts!"

"She'll get along with my sister Biao. This letter opener, maybe? Made of the finest silver alloy."

"What part of 'annoying, pompous, conceited, spoiled, and mean Fire Princess' you don't get? I don't want to wake up one morning to find out that a servant is stabbed to death by a sharp object I gave her."

"…Okay. Oh, this is nice. It's a glowing crystal like the one Earth Kingdom people use. But, our scientists found a way to make it glow red. You know, because green is unpatriotic."

"Ng… I'm not sure…"

"Might as well. There are some rumors about this stuff causing severe headache and nausea. They said it's something about the… uh, chemical composition?"

"You want to get arrested for attempted murder on a royalty, Nise?"

"…No, Your Highness."

"What's this? It looks like… it's soft and puffy."

"Um, Y-your Highness… uh, it's, um, it's women's stuff."

"Arrgh! What the hell is it doing there!"

"Our storeowner has a unique organizational skill."

"When I'm Fire Lord", Zuko swore, trying to rub off the germ from touching women's stuff on the rim of his garb. "I'm gonna burn this place down."

"This place's not so bad", Nise commented casually but the glowering Zuko gave him made him gulp involuntarily. "Sir."

Still glowering, Zuko went to the next aisle with Nise on tow; more colorful but otherwise useless junks.

"What does Princess Azula like?" Nise asked the obvious question; one that Zuko could not really answer. "Maybe she has a hobby, she collects something, or something like that?"

Zuko spent a great deal of seconds pondering upon such simple question. "Got any arson related items here?"

"We have some firecrackers and some comic books about a crazy firebending warrior or something", Nise suggested.

"Exactly _what_ does this store sell?" it was also a simple obvious question coming from Zuko.

"Lots of various stuff", Nise shrugged again. "It's a new concept. The owner said it will catch on in about ten years or so."

"How long since he built this store?" Zuko asked full with skepticism.

"Twenty years next spring."

"Uh-huh", Zuko said flatly. Big Brother Zuzu randomly picked up an item of porcelain make with dark enamel. It was small enough to fit on an adult's palm; the shape was that of a tall pagoda of about ten centimeters with a dragon encircling it all the way up. The dragon's mouth was wide opened to the sky above and it was hollow inside.

"It's some sort of indoor oil lighting device", Nise explained. "We pour oil in it and put a long wick inside, and we light it. It can also be used for burning incense container."

"How much?" Zuko could not help but ask; a dragon overwhelming a tower, so very Azula.

"Ten silver pieces", Nise said.

Zuko put his hand in his pocket and felt about twelve pieces of silver in there. It somehow reminded him that Mai's birthday was two months ago; he had missed it. "What 'bout this?" Zuko gestured to a rose brooch, the most normal thing he had encountered in the shop so far.

"Five silver", Nise said.

Mai or Azula… now, that's tough.

"I'll take this", Zuko handed the dragon-pagoda oil-lighting/incense-burner to Nise. He defended his decision by hiding behind Piandao's instruction (_suggestion_, really; but, _instruction_ carries more weight) to get Azula a gift against a swelling surge of gooey brotherly affection he was sure he did not feel any more for his annoying, pompous, conceited, spoiled, and mean Fire Princess of a sister.

"By the way", Nise asked with a hushed tone as he attended to Zuko's purchase behind the counter; the owner, a plump pot-bellied old man was humming serenely as he read a newspaper sitting only a few feet away. "Do you need help delivering this gift, Your Highness?"

"No, I'm going back to the palace today", Zuko muttered lowly as he handed the silver he owed.

"What?" Nise frowned deeply. "Good thing we ran into each other, then. I need to tell Uncle Li Wang. He's leading your security detail here."

"Whatever", Zuko grumbled. He did not like this at all; it made him feel like Uncle Iroh did not trust him to handle Shu Jing on his own.

"We might be following you on a different ship", Nise whispered with an uncomfortable leer at the store owner. "We will see to it that you reach the palace safely."

"I don't need any bodyguards", Zuko hissed furiously, snatching the pack Nise handed him with too much force. "I can take care of myself."

"Sorry, Prince Zuko", Nise bowed and ushered the royalty out. "But, we have our orders."

The way to the pier was much less enjoyable for Zuko; especially since he had begun to recognize at least five Lin clansmen among the crowd, including Captain Shi from General Jiang's 212th Battalion leering at him from a random teashop and Lin's Cousin Biao who was selling smoked turtle-herring.

"You look unhappy", Piandao pointed out casually as Zuko ascended upon the deck of their ship.

"Do you know about a battalion of Lin Family firebenders who has been babysitting me this whole time?" Zuko asked furiously.

"No, but I do know about ten of them sent by General Iroh to keep an eye on you", Piandao replied as calmly as ever. "Why does it bother you?"

"It doesn't", although, his growl said otherwise.

"Go to your cabin and put your bag away", said Piandao with his usual serene smile. "I will be on the main deck, if you need me."

Bowing, Zuko stomped his way through a myriad of Fire Nation navy manning the ship, ignoring the salute they gave him. Reaching his cabin, he entered and slammed the door hard. Damn it all! Maybe Azula was right, Zuko thought angrily, maybe Uncle Iroh did think that he was a lost cause in firebending. In his angered state of mind, Fire Prince Zuko inadvertently connected several selected facts with this notion; Azula's cruel words, Iroh's decision to send him here to learn swordsmanship from Piandao, Iroh never replying any of his letters. Zuko quickly and calmly placed Azula's gift on his bed before he gave in to the temptation to hurl it across the cabin; his bag, however, did suffer such indignity. The muffle thud it made against the metal wall only served to agitate his anger. Roaring, Zuko punched flaming fist on the surface of the nearby wall; it hurt his knuckle but he did not care.

Feeling only a little relieved, Zuko carefully undid the knot of his saber strap on his chest and put the weapon on his desk. He made his way to the simple small bed with red drape and lay down, staring at the ceiling. Absentmindedly, he reached to the pack lying beside him and took undid the top part of it. The dragon head on the tip of the pagoda seemed to mock him.

"_Have uncle realized what a failure you are at firebending?"_

Zuko shut his eyes hard, trying to shake the painful words away. The words brought back the memory of Azula's… what was that, really…? _Outburst_…? It scared him so. All those years with Azula, he had never seen her lost control. When Azula was much younger, she was timid, shy, a bit of a crybaby; already annoying with those pranks, yes, but whenever Zuko retaliated, she would use tears as her primary weapon against him. But now, Azula would always throw the first punch and would always fight back. She was strong; even Zuko had to admit that.

Zuko missed his timid, shy, and a bit of a crybaby sister; even if it meant he would wear bull-ant invested pants every day or had ink ball dropped upon his head on regular basis. It would be a price he would gladly pay to get his sister back. Zuko wanted his timid, shy, and a bit of a crybaby sister back.

Before he knew it, there were tears swelling up in his eyelids.

Zuko wiped it away with a mixture of sorrow unlike any other and hatred for many things that had made him and her so. He did not want to think about any of them; he did not want to think about Lu Ten's death, the death of the only person Azula listened to the most; he did not want to think about his mother, the only person who had made this whole ordeal bearable; he did not want to think about Lin, the one who was like a brother to them, whose abrupt departure Zuko knew had hurt Azula deeply; he did not want to think about their father, their father whose decision to teach Azula's firebending had started the whole transformation of his timid, shy, a bit of a crybaby little sister into a…

…_monster_.

And Zuko did not want to think about _that_ word and what that word had started to associate itself with.

…_Monster_…

Zuko got up, sniffed back his tears and walked towards his bag on the floor. He picked it up and shoved Azula's gift in it, safely tugging it between his pants and cloak. Tying the bag closed, Zuko walked towards a hook on the wall and hung the bag there. He looked out of the window and let himself be mesmerized by the sight of the ocean. It took only a few seconds for him to decide that he disliked the smell of oil and coal inside the cabin and walked up to the main deck.

Master Piandao was there, standing towards the sea on the bow of the ship; he had his hands in knot behind his back as usual. Zuko walked up to him and joined him in his silent contemplation. Piandao noticed his presence, Zuko knew, but the man said nothing; his hazel eyes were closed.

"Are you feeling better, Zuko?" asked Piandao out of nowhere; his tone was kind and understanding.

"I don't know, Master", Zuko sounded unsure.

"I am not you uncle", Piandao sighed. "But, if you want to talk about it, I'm all ears."

Zuko looked up to the man; Piandao was smiling at him encouragingly.

"I-I…"Zuko was suddenly lost at words. "Master, I… I'm…"

His tears came back.

"I'm ashamed, Master", Zuko's wall of defense broke with his sob.

"What have you to be ashamed about?" Piandao asked patiently.

"I-I… Master", Zuko sobbed uncontrollably. "Master… I _hate_ my sister!"

"Why, Zuko?" Piandao asked still calmly as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I myself find her a charming intelligent young lady."

"Everybody does", Zuko sniffed, wiping his tears now with fury. "She is perfect, she is a prodigy. My father favors her over me. And I…"

"Zuko", Piandao felt he should take a more active approach. "Do you love your sister?"

"I don't know", Zuko admitted, unable to bring his teary amber to meet his master's hazel. "How can I love someone I hate?"

"Zuko, love and hate each occupies its own dimension; love is not the opposite of hate, as many has been led to believe", Piandao said calmly. "Which is why they can coexist, Zuko. Search within yourself; despite the hatred, do you love Azula, your sister?"

"I don't know", Zuko sobbed; his memory replayed the memory of the _monster_ despite his mind's protest. "I'm— I'm afraid of her. And I _hate_ her!" the last part was said with such force it shocked even Zuko. "And I am ashamed of it. How could I hate my own sister? I'm supposed to be her big brother…"

Piandao was no Iroh, alright; at the moment, the swordmaster lamented that fact. "Listen, Zuko", Piandao turned to give the young lost boy his full attention. "Do you know why I have never supervised you when you are doing your punishment?"

Zuko shook his head slowly, wiping his tears.

"Because in you, I see honor", Piandao spoke with pride. "Honor befits a true Fire Prince I know you are, Zuko, and I know that I can trust you. To you, I am stranger whom you might not even recall ten years from now", Piandao let out a light chuckle. "But, your sister? Between the two of you, surely there is a bond unlike any other. You feel hatred and fear towards her; the combination which oftentimes result in conflict and enmity. But, not for _you_, Zuko; you feel shame."

Zuko's eyes widened at Piandao's words.

"The Yin and Yang, the Positive and Negative of all things; even shame has a positive side, Zuko", Piandao beamed even prouder. "I see it in you. The shame you are feeling, there is no doubt in my mind that it is born of love you feel for your sister. That love, Zuko, is keeping you from giving way to enmity. You choose to suffer yourself then to let her suffer for your sake. It is honorable."

Zuko was speechless, still with tears falling down his cheeks.

"If even a stranger like me can see the light of your honor and integrity, Prince Zuko", Piandao continued. "I believe your sister will see it too. You love your sister; do not doubt that", Piandao added that last sentence somewhat sternly. "Then, perhaps one day, Azula can see it too."

Zuko felt a surge of pride in him; he loved his sister. He feared her, he hated her, yes, but he also loved her. His love stopped his tears from falling. Wiping his eyes dry, Zuko stepped back and offered his master a deep bow, one that Piandao returned. They spent the rest of their journey talking merrily; Piandao had ways with words as he regaled the Fire Prince with the stories of his youth, of his adventure across the world in his journey of learning. The two hours voyage went through unnoticed.

As they descended through the ship plank to the pier, a clean shaven well-muscled man of mid thirty, with brown hair tied into Fire Nation traditional top-knot, and a gush of ugly scar running through his left cheek all the way down through his mouth to his chin that did not diminish the friendliness of his wide grin, and the man laughed boisterously as he welcomed Piandao and Zuko.

"Master Piandao", he bowed graciously at the swordmaster and bowed a more formal kind at Zuko. "My cousin Li Wang sent me a letter. He said that they were busted", he addressed Piandao but grinned gleefully at Zuko specifically.

"Captain Li Wang is never made for stealth", Piandao let the man lead them to a large komodo-rhino drawn carriage bearing the mark of the Lin Family; dark-red color with pagoda like roof and the clan emblem on the door. "Surely General Jiang knows this, Major Fu."

"My eldest brother trusts him enough to do the job", Fu, Jiang's youngest brother laughed. "You still hold grudge against him for that incident during Garsai Uprising, I see?"

"Oh, yes, I do", Piandao climbed up the steps of the carriage; Fu, as the host, allowed the both of the guest to go first and Zuko, as Piandao's student, made it a show of filial respect to allow his master to ascend before him. "He never apologized for knocking that jar off the table. Our effort to infiltrate the Earth Kingdom prison was for naught."

"In his own proud way", Fu chuckled as he entered last and closed the carriage door behind him. "Cousin Li Wang is sorry for what happened."

"Yes", Piandao smiled sourly. "In his own _proud_ way."

Fu flashed another peaceful smile before he addressed Zuko. "Prince Zuko, on behalf of my brother, I apologize for keeping our presence in Shu Jing a secret from you", he bowed a little. "We have clear instruction from General Iroh to keep you in the dark. General Iroh does not wish for our presence to distract you from your training."

"I understand", Zuko said flatly; in reality, he did not.

"Now", Fu rubbed his hands together; Zuko noticed his clan bracelet proudly dangled on his left wrist. "Would any of you like to visit our estate? My brother is away on a mission but I'm sure some of our family members will be thrilled to finally meet you, Master. After all, you have been gracious to us the past year. My sister-in-law Bing has expressed a desire to visit you personally in Shu Jing but she could not on account of her health."

"Perhaps, another time, Major", Piandao nodded apologetically. "I must see my master first. I will make sure to visit the Lin Estate before I return to Shu Jing."

"Ah, yes! That reminds me", Fu clapped his hands. "Fire Lord Ozai has invited you to stay in the Imperial Palace, Master Piandao."

"He has?" Piandao arched a brow. "My, what an honor."

Fire Prince Zuko, being the only passenger who was not privy to the matter of Fire Nation Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination, could not detect the wariness in Piandao's tone. Fu smiled meaningfully as he said to Piandao. "Well, Master, should you wish to visit us, know that the Lin Estate opens its gate to you anytime."

"I thank you", Piandao nodded knowingly. "Have you heard from General Iroh lately?"

"Now that you mention it", Fu frowned, scratching his chin, to Zuko's horror, so close to his battle scar. "We haven't heard from him since winter. Usually, it was eldest brother who keeps in contact with General Iroh; him being the head of the family and all. But, eldest brother Jiang was sent on a mission to the Earth Kingdom; naturally, second brother Kang and third brother Masa went with him. Fourth brother Jung went on a holiday to the Fire Nation colony of Yu Dao. That leaves me in charge while they're gone. I can honestly say that I have not heard from General Iroh at all."

"That is strange", Piandao stroke his beard. "Prince Zuko has not been able to reach him as well."

"Really?" Fu raised his brows. "Strange, indeed."

"I saw Captain Shi in Shu Jing", Zuko could not hold his curiosity anymore. "I thought he was part of General Jiang's battalion."

"Captain Shi was injured during a firebending training", Fu informed, chuckling a little. "Also, we have family tradition to train young children firebending for the first time during winter. Mostly, we include younger senior practitioners to help around. I must say, Shi is quite popular among the younger children; they find his dark aloof mysterious personality charming."

Fu allowed himself a boisterous laugh before he continued. "I must say, Prince Zuko", he nodded acknowledgingly at the boy. "You have a sharp mind; a trait of a true warrior. I am thoroughly impressed, Prince Zuko."

Zuko smiled back sheepishly.

"How is General Jiang doing in the warfront?" Piandao asked courteously.

"Eldest brother sent words a few weeks ago", Fu informed, bowing his thanks for such concern. "They encountered heavy resistance from the Earth Kingdom City of Khe Pa. But, they prevailed and took the city after a month siege."

"Khe Pa; it is a tough opponent", Piandao muttered, stroking his beard. "General Iroh once tried to capture that city. It was his first defeat."

"Eldest brother told me that they have a peculiar earthbending style", Fu said. "They bent rock into tiny gravels and launched like pellets, like the style many Tianshui soldiers use. Apparently, it hurt a lot."

Zuko felt distanced from such talk. He feigned interest but he found himself falling out of the flow of the conversation. Part of Zuko regretted not taking his academic study more seriously. He recognized bits and pieces of the battle the adults were recounting; like how Uncle Iroh employed the earlier version of mobile trebuchet, how Master Jian Wu, serving as Iroh's officer at the time, made a name for himself. At that time, Zuko made a vow to work harder on his academic study; one that he would not fulfill.

"We have arrived", Fu informed after spirits-know how many hours (for Zuko). The man opened the door, got down, and held it open for the two passengers.

"Thank you for the ride, Major Fu", Piandao nodded at the Lin clansman who laughed boisterously.

They waited for the guards on the door, saluting at them, to open the gate for them. One of the guards signaled the tall metal gate bearing impressive gold and crimson flame pattern to slide open. Fu bowed as he excused himself and politely reminded Piandao to visit the Lin Estate before he climbed back out to the carriage and doubled back to the city.

As they walked through the gate, Zuko was half expecting a parade of guards lining up the two sides of the walkway towards the palace; after all, the Crown Prince was returning. He should know better.

There was only one man welcoming them there.

"Master Jian Wu", Piandao bowed with the same amount of respect to the man as Zuko did.

"Piandao, Prince Zuko", Jian Wu bowed at them. "Welcome", he said to Piandao, and to Zuko. "Welcome back."

"You were right about the fog, Master", Piandao commented, looking around. Zuko frowned at first; he was so deep in his own thought, he did not notice the thick chalk colored mist hanging around the vicinity.

"It's thicker deeper in the palace", Jian Wu gestured them to follow him. However, he barely turned around completely when a royal palanquin emerged from inside the palace. Naturally, the three of them waited for the vehicle to arrive completely.

The figure that got down from the palanquin; she sent a jolt of strange mixed feeling into Zuko's throat. Fire Princess Azula smiled as she approached and bowed to Piandao regally.

"Master Piandao", it made Zuko wary how cool, calm, and collected his sister's greeting sounded. "I hope you had a pleasant journey."

"Yes, thank you, Princess", Piandao smiled back warmly. "I hope you are doing better."

"Thank you for your concern", Azula smiled sweetly; a sweet smile that turned into a sly smirk as she turned to Zuko and greeted him curtly. "Zuko."

"Azula", Zuko replied through his clenched jaw; he was painfully aware of how dry his throat suddenly became. There was something different in the way she looked; Zuko could not put a finger on it. However, Big Brother Zuzu thought that he should say something, ask how she was doing at least; Zuko barely opened his mouth when Azula spoke again, cutting him before he even began.

"I have prepared a room for you", Azula turned back to the visiting swordmaster; Zuko was having a great deal of difficulty to hold down his scowl. "I'll have someone bring your luggage there."

Two servants approached without being ordered and lifted Piandao and Zuko's bags. Azula offered a palanquin for Piandao but, being a humble man that he was, Piandao refused and insisted Azula to take it instead; with grace and politeness Zuko had never witnessed before, Azula too refused it for it would be rude for her not to accompany Master Piandao in similar manner.

As the Princess led the two swordmasters to the North Wing, where a room had been prepared for Piandao, Azula immersed herself flawlessly into a pleasant conversation with Piandao and Jian Wu. Zuko naturally felt somewhat alienated; a part of him suspected that Azula knew this and she just did not care to include him in the conversation. Finally, as they arrived in an instructor room in the North Wing, one that had been thoroughly refurnished for Piandao, Azula excused herself after reminding them about lunch. Zuko found it a little irksome that she did not even show signs of acknowledging his presence.

Zuko did not realize that he was glaring at the back of the girl as she made her way back with a group of maids. It was only when Piandao called him did Zuko had his thought back to reality.

"Zuko, you should get some rest", Piandao advised, putting his sword down on the pedestal that had been prepared on the foot of his bed.

"I'm fine, Master", Zuko mumbled. "I think I'll look for Uncle Iroh."

Zuko bowed rather hastily to both Jian Wu and Piandao, and made his way back to his own room. He walked half the hallway outside before he broke into a slight sprint. The dark shadow he caught on the corner of his eyes as he circled around the main courtyard made him stop. Zuko turned around; he noticed the draft in the mist for split second it was there. He was intrigued by it but dismissed it as a servant in hurry or something. Deciding to ignore it completely, Zuko resumed his march to his room.

As he arrived, he did not even bother to reply the bows his attending servants gave or let them open his door for him. Like a rampaging rhino, Zuko entered his room, threw his sword gently on his bed, and extracted his gift from his bag that he let crumple on the floor afterwards. Putting the pack on his nightstand, on a plain sight so he would not forget, Zuko stepped back out and walked through the mist to his uncle's room.

When he arrived, he stopped his track in front of the door. It used to be Lu Ten's room. Zuko took a deep breath before he pushed the door open with anticipation. Deep in his anticipation of meeting Uncle Iroh after two months, he did not realize how empty this part of the palace was, how deserted it was. The room was empty.

Zuko took a step inside; he could have sworn his footstep echoed louder than it should. He scanned around the room. It was smaller like Zuko's old room, somewhat ironic since Zuko now occupied Iroh's Crown Prince Chamber. Iroh's bed looked tended but not slept in for weeks. An indoor stove on the corner of the room was obviously dusty and on a table where Iroh's tea ceremony set were sitting on was dust and the teapot handle was collecting spider web. Zuko found this unsettling.

"Uncle", Zuko called to the empty room in spite of his knowing well the futility of his action. "Uncle, I'm home."

Zuko stepped deeper into the dark room. The air was stuffy and damp; he moved towards the window and opened it, the wind draft was a welcomed sensation on his face. The fog was not. Only now did the fog bother him. He did not encounter any of it in the pier or in the city. This was troublesome indeed, thought Zuko. He needed to find Uncle Iroh. Uncle Iroh would know what was wrong.

Where would uncle be, pondered Zuko as he stepped back out. The wet winter of Fire Nation finally got to him. It sent shiver down his spine and the fog did little to help. He mulled over his next move, where should he go next? He could try the palace library where Iroh could usually be found at his waking hours, pouring over documents or old tomes of... of what?

Oh, Agni, Zuko sighed. Even his own uncle was quite a stranger to him. Tea, Pai Sho, roast duck, music… those were all the things he could associate with Uncle Iroh. Suffering quite a significant feeling of remorse, he made his way to the library. It was a spacious room with the usual color of red, gold, and black filled with tall wide bookracks lined up in at least eight aisles and three stories. Head Librarian Nazak, a tall willowy old lady with humorless face sporting a monocle, informed him of how she had not seen Iroh in months when Zuko asked her about Iroh.

Zuko bowed politely to the woman. Outside the library, he was completely blank. Where else should he go? He had an option, of course. But, somehow, a little voice in his head told him not to. He chose to ignore the voice. Walking back to the Royal Female Living Quarter, he headed reluctantly towards his sister's room. On the hallway there, a servant walked up and bowed to him.

"Prince Zuko", the servant bowed. "Lunch is ready, Your Highness."

"Thank you", Zuko nodded, turning quick glance towards the hallway leading straight to Azula's room. "Have my sister been notified?"

"No, Your Highness", the servant replied. "I will go to the Princess' chamber next."

"No need for that", Zuko said. "I'll tell her myself. You go the North Wing and tell Master Piandao and Master Jian Wu. Have you seen my uncle?"

"No, Your Highness", the servant bowed deeply. "I have not seen General Iroh for quite a while now."

"Why is it that none of you can seem to keep track on one large old man!" Zuko snapped, shocking both the servant and himself.

"I apologize, Prince Zuko", the servant got down on his knees and offered an unexpected kowtow. "Please, forgive my incompetence."

"Get up!" Zuko snapped again. The servant did not. Zuko threw him a glare before making his way to Azula's room.

In front of the slab of golden framed bright red oak that separated him and his sister, Zuko hesitated. There was something different about Azula, he thought to himself. She looked different. Shaking the thought off, he pushed the door opened. The maids in there were too preoccupied fawning over the girl sitting on her desk writing whatever it was she was writing to even notice Zuko's arrival. Not that Zuko minded, a few extra seconds before the fated—

_Is that…?_ Zuko's amber eyes widened at the content of the firebending chest that Azula opened with her blue flame. A Royal Seal… his father had one when the man had been a Fire Prince. How did Azula…

"Have you forgotten how to knock, Zuzu?" Azula casual remark surprised not only Zuko but also her maids who let out a round of gasp and hasty bow as they finally noticed their Fire Prince.

"Don't call me that!" Zuko seethed; his eyes were fixed on her Royal Seal. He watched with a mixed feeling as Azula dipped the seal on the red ink and stamped her letter with it, Zuko asked with a hint of curiosity betraying his otherwise calm tone. "Where did you get that?"

"Dad gave it to me", Zuko could sense gloating in his sister's casual tone. His father gave Azula a Royal Seal? The Fire Lord might as well give her his Fire Crown. With the Royal Seal, Azula would have the second highest authority in the government.

Turning to the maid, Azula issued her order. "Get a courier to send this to the Military Inquisitor."

"Yes, Princess", the maid bowed. Offering an equally respectful bow to Zuko, the maid got out to do as she was told.

"So", Azula gave her seal to the maid to clean; turning to her brother, she scrutinized him from head to toes. "What do you want?"

Zuko could not answer immediately; his jaw hardened and Zuko knew it caused the girl to smirk. Zuko scrutinized this strange girl who wore his sister's face with more than obvious hint of curiosity. "You look different."

"It's called 'cosmetics'", Azula said with a condescending tone. "Why? Would you like some?"

Azula's smirk was not as hurtful as one of her attending maids who failed to suppress her scoff; Zuko promptly awarded the insolent fool an angry glare.

"Come now, Brother", Azula rose from her seat. "Wipe that ugly scowl of yours; you're scaring my maid. There is no sin in appreciating a good joke. And besides, you could use some time for a royal combing. You have dandruff", she smirked as Zuko furiously dusted off some residual chalk (maybe) powder on the shoulder of his scarlet garb.

"Where's Uncle?" Zuko's attempt to steer the topic away was marred by his obvious growl.

"Have you checked the kitchen?" Azula suggested coyly.

"Lunch is served", Zuko's scowl did not subside. "I was about to get Uncle."

"Aw, and you decided to come to you dearest sister first", Azula faked a gasp. "I am touched."

He simply could not take it anymore. Zuko clenched his fist hard, wanting nothing more but to strike her hard. However, he chose to walk away. He could feel the… the little _monster's_ smirk on his back all the way out.

Royal Seal!

Zuko badly needed his uncle. Uncle Iroh would be able to explain all this. Now, if only this thick fog would let up just a little. It was so…! Zuko felt such relief when the fire blast escaped his fist. It was like addictive sweet wine; before he knew it, an innocent cherry blossom tree whose fault was hibernating in the courtyard that lay on the trajectory of Zuko's blast was engulfed completely in flame. The sight only made Zuko want to scream at it. He did.

"What are you looking at!" Zuko shouted angrily at a group of cringing maids in the corner who failed to hide themselves well enough from the enraged royalty. They quickly got on their knees and bowed deeply. The pathetic sight only made Zuko angrier. He quickly ran away from the spot. His conscience could not handle it. His conscience could not handle the thought that he himself was turning into a… _monster_.

He found his way back to his room, a pair of servants who attended to his room always tried to open his door for him but Zuko shoved them aside. Inside, he slammed the door hard. Inside the sanctuary of his chamber, panting from anger, he found none of the solace he needed. He screamed flame from his mouth; it did not make him feel any better. He snatched Azula's gift from his nightstand and hurled it against his wall, shattering it into million pieces, still he found no peace.

He slumped down on the floor, heaving with anger, eyes burning at the sight of the porcelain shard across the room. What was wrong with her, he asked himself. What the hell was wrong with her sister? Would it be impossible to even be a good brother for her?

Did she even need a brother anymore?

It was loneliness and jealousy, really. Two very difficult and tricky human emotions that do not play well with our capability of admittance and acceptance. Fire Prince Zuko felt that but he certainly could not bring himself to admit or accept it. His sister, his _little_ sister, had once again steps ahead of him. Academic, firebending, and now _this_!

"Uncle", Zuko muttered desperately as eh raced through the many random hallways and courtyards. "Where are you?"

Zuko did not know how long he had spent, how far he had travelled, when he finally gave up. He made his way to the main dining hall, the most lavish one where he knew his father and Azula had hosted Piandao and Jian Wu. When he arrived at dining hall, merry laughter and chatter sent another blow to his already crumbling mood, especially the one that bore the voice of his little sister.

"I can't find Uncle Iroh anywhere", Zuko declared as he took his appointed seat in front of his sister. Zuko was half-expecting a snide retort but what came from Azula was very courteous reply.

"I haven't seen him in months myself", Azula's smile was sympathetic but the glint in her eyes was condescending.

"What's with this fog, anyway?" Zuko grumbled from his seat across from Azula, trying to strike another conversation. "It's actually thicker deeper into the palace."

"Is it now?" Azula's arched brow was so… _annoying_ to Zuko.

"Where's Dad?" Zuko grumbled again.

"Have you checked the Throne Room?" Azula suggested with her earlier patronizing tone; another jab on Zuko's account since the bearer of Royal Seal would be allowed unrestricted access to the Throne Room. Saving her from Zuko's retort, however, was a courier entering the room. The man spoke only after receiving a nod from Azula.

"Fire Lord Ozai bids our honored guest welcome", the man bowed exclusively to Piandao, then he addressed the whole table again. "Fire Lord Ozai would also like express his regret for not being able to entertain our guest for lunch as there are sudden matters that need his attention. Fire Lord Ozai hopes that you will all enjoy the feast he has prepared."

The courier made a sweeping gesture to the entrance; servants entered one after another carrying trays of food, pots of tea, bowls of soup, and bottles of fragrant wine. Plates bearing grilled tuna-bass simmered in fire tomato sauce and red ginger; dishes of crispy brown roast duck set in the middle of artistically aligned shrimps; pots of steaming yellow curry exhuming nose-tickling aroma; plates of various kind of simmered, stir-fried, and even pickled vegetable; and sitting in the middle of the table was a large whole goat-deer roasted to perfection.

"Masters", Azula's tone as she addressed the two adults, halting the servants from setting their bowls of rice and plates of side dishes, carried respect that Zuko had never experienced from her. "Please, sit closer to us. I find it tedious having to yell across the room."

Expressing their gratitude for such honor, Jian Wu and Piandao moved closer but only after further polite pestering from the Fire Princess did they move to the seats next to Azula and Zuko respectively. The courier waited for the servants to finish their chore before he spoke again.

"And lastly, to Princess Azula", the courier bowed to the Fire Princess. "Fire Lord Ozai expresses his concern for your health. He has noticed how the cold weather may have caused discomfort for you. Therefore, Fire Lord Ozai especially ordered for a volcano ginseng soup to be prepared for you."

Azula smiled as a servant brought a tray bearing a single porcelain lidded bowl and set it on Azula's side. Zuko could only scowl for many a reason he would rather not admit. _What about me? Doesn't Dad care about my health?_

Zuko tried not to look at her. Setting his sight fixed on his rice bowl, trying to entertain himself with steam rising from the white grain, he noticed from the corner of his eyes Azula turning to the courier and issued his order.

"My father did not have much to eat this morning", Zuko heard her said. "I want you to go to the kitchen and have the cooks fix him a lunch. Make sure they include a bowl of curry and a plate of kimchi; they're his favorites. Send it to him with my best wishes. Oh, and don't forget a plate of komodo sausage and mustard dipping sauce."

_I could have done that!_ Zuko furiously snapped in his mind.

"Absolutely, Princess", the courier beamed, excusing himself.

"Dad hates mustard", Zuko said, trying to hide his ire the best he could.

"Not when it's from me", Azula narrowed her eyes sharply at him.

The adults waited for the royal siblings to reach for their chopsticks before they reached for their own. Without even waiting for his little sister, Zuko reserved the right of being the older sibling to reach out to the food first. Petty, but who cares! They ate in silence for a few bites before, as expected, the silence was broken by Azula.

"So, Master Piandao", Azula turned to the man sitting at Zuko's right. "How is my brother faring in his training? I do sincerely hope our little Zuzu has not been troubling you."

To add insult to his bulging vein, Zuko heard a low snicker coming from his master.

"Not at all", Piandao sounded too gleeful to Zuko. "Prince Zuko is… an interesting student. There have been some difficulties at first, but Prince Zuko", Zuko looked up and turned to his master a little. Piandao gave Zuko a genuine appreciative smile that he returned. "…is doing quite well. His skill with dual broadsword is improving by the day."

_Yeah, I'm not a failure!_

"But, of course", Piandao nodded respectfully at Jian Wu. "I have Master Jian Wu to thank for that."

"Dual broadsword?" Azula asked with real interest as Jian Wu replied Piandao's nod. "I thought you only teaches sword."

"Hmm… I suppose", Piandao furrowed his brow a little. "But, there come times when students feel better suited for blades other than straight jian. I used to have two senior students; one uses a katana and the other a large saber. I even had a student who is curiously proficient with a whip-blade."

"Whip-blade", Azula chuckled lightly. She asked again. "What about double jian sword? Have you any students who use such style?"

"So far, no", Piandao answered casually. "I must say, Prince Zuko is the first student I have ever trained who uses a dual wielding form."

_Another point for Zuko!_

"What about Lin?" it was unexpected; Zuko noticed even the always-calm Master Jian Wu stopped his chopstick midair and let his vegetable slide to the table.

"Lin? Lin, the twenty sixth, Princess?" Piandao drawled cautiously.

"_And_, the Dragon of the Deep Forest; don't forget that one", Zuko sensed mirth in Azula's tone but at the same time there was a significant seriousness in it.

"Lin", Master Piandao muttered, sounding uncomfortable.

"Master Piandao", Azula put her bowl and chopsticks and spoke with an air of authority; Zuko could have sworn he saw their mother Ursa chiding them on the dining table in his little sister's mannerism. "My father only ordered the closing down of your school because the noble houses pressured him into doing so; it is his belief that the noble houses were doing that out of jealousy of the wealth and power the Lin Family has. I assure you, the Royal Family has no quarrel with you personally; you simply had the misfortune of being caught up in the middle of this."

Now, Zuko saw their father in her. Daddy's little girl, alright…

"I understand", Piandao bowed a little. Easing up, Piandao spoke now with a less tense manner. "Lin specializes in swift close quarter combat. His weapon of choice happens to be a straight jian."

"Wouldn't a katana or shorter single-bladed weapon be more effective for close quarter combat?" Azula frowned with such interest in her face. Zuko found this unsettling. But, then again, the cosmetic alone had done quite a good job encouraging such feeling.

"Ah, I was not aware that you have some knowledge in the art of sword combat, Princess", Piandao beamed. _Way to go, Master! Boost the egomaniac's ego! _"Yes, Lin once told me that he had been trained to an extent in the use of ninjato, short straight katana. When the time came for Lin to forge his own sword, like many of my senior students, I myself thought that Lin would forge a single-bladed short sword; we even have a little bet going on among us. Imagine my surprise when the sword he made was a straight jian. I lost ten silver pieces."

"How amusing", Azula faked a sickeningly sweet chuckle; Zuko barfed a little in his mouth. "So, Lin does not have any skill in dual wielding then?"

"Not that I know of", Piandao thought aloud. "His sword, Nightshade as he calls it, has an unusually long hilt, more or less a quarter of the total length of his sword", Piandao put down his bowl and put his two palms apart to show the approximate length of Nightshade's handle. "It offers better stability for two-handed grip, excellent for defensive purposes. Wielding a sword with such long handle _one-handed_ will be difficult."

"I see", Zuko heard his sister thinking aloud; he decided a piece of fish carried more priority now. "There is something that I find a little intriguing. If you use a straight jian style, how is it that some of your students use different styles?"

"The way of the sword lays with the swordsman, not the sword or the style itself, Princess", Piandao explained sagely. "The sword, without a swordsman, is not much different from a piece of sharp metal; much like this, really", Piandao lifted the knife the servants use to carve the goat-deer. "I do not force my style upon my students; rather, I urge them to find their own ways, their own styles. As a master, I simply provide guidance. I learn this from Master Jian Wu."

Jian Wu flashed a wispy hint of a smile; addressing Azula's raised brow, the Imperial Instructor explained. "Swordsmen believe that the sword is the extension of one's hand."

"And no one can tell you how you should shape or feel about your own hand, part of your own body", Azula finished the explanation under the man's approving nod. "I understand."

_Elementary, nothing's impressive_. Not that Zuko was listening anymore.

They went back to eating. At this point, Zuko simply could not care of how invisible he had become. Why would he need to do or say anything? That was why we had Azula, right? True enough, Azula started another conversation; she was charming, witty, and clever. Zuko could feel that both masters found her a charming little princess. Even after lunch was over and they retreated to a small but comfortable garden pavilion for tea, Azula could still charm them with her wit and intelligence. Even without any real experience in swordsmanship, she could follow the flow of Piandao and Jian Wu's conversation perfectly without stumbling, often by referencing back to firebending. _Of course, gloat like she always does._

"Well, Lin's style is… swift", Piandao reminisced with an obvious hint of fondness, answering Azula's question; Zuko looked up from his seat in the pavilion, playing with his half-empty teacup. "It suits his built and sword perfectly."

"Would you demonstrate?" Azula requested politely.

"Of course", Piandao put his cup down. "I will show you one technique that Lin is particularly proficient at. Zuko, come."

Zuko could obviously think of hundreds of better thing to do; hurling his cup at his sister's smug face ranked quite highly on his list. But, his master's order… he followed Piandao out of the pavilion and received a tree branch his master threw him. Jian Wu and Azula watched them on the sideline.

"Lin's sword has a long hilt", Piandao explained; he lifted his branch and gripped it with both hands, the upper hand held the branch at the quarter length. "Now, Zuko, one strike."

Zuko leaped and brought his branch down with a lazy diagonal slash; Piandao raised his branch and defended against it lightly. They paused as Piandao turned to the spectators and gave further explanation. "Now, the long handle allows him to shove the opponent's weapon much more easily, like this."

Piandao's upper hand pushed while his lower hand pulled. Such simple effortless movement pushed Zuko's branch down; Piandao's branch was now on top of Zuko's. Zuko could feel a counter strike coming to his neck.

"Interesting", Zuko did not expect Jian Wu to make a comment, but the imperial swordmaster did.

"And it also opens the opponent's defense and allow a counter attack", Zuko's branch gripping hand was trapped under his master's grasp; as the prince predicted, Piandao's branch made a move on his exposed neck. "Like a wolf waiting before lunging at a prey."

"I see", Azula rubbed her chin. "The technique looks… lethal. Precise."

"Indeed", Piandao and Zuko eased up their stance.

"Almost like the kind use by… assassins", it was unusually casual the way she threw that comment out. Zuko felt the air around them tense up.

"I agree", Piandao said just as calmly.

"It is interesting that Lin would prefer such technique, is it not, Master Jian Wu?" Azula directed her question to Jian Wu this time. Zuko knew that she was trying not to smile at Jian Wu's gape; Zuko knew she was just messing around. "Well, thank you for your insight, Master Piandao."

"Anytime, Princess", Piandao replied the girl's bow.

"I think I will retire to my room now", Azula declared. "I should also let you rest; you must be exhausted after such long journey. I'll see later, Master Piandao, Master Jian Wu", and with a slight and subtle acid in her tone, she added. "_Brother_."

Zuko would not give her the satisfaction. He simply nodded wordlessly, glaring at his sister as she walked back to her room with her contingent of maids

"Zuko", Piandao's hand on his shoulder made him jump a little. "You should get some rest."

"I'm not tired, Master", Zuko took pride in how well he concealed his anger, even if it did make him sound weary.

"I have discussed this with Master Jian Wu", Piandao afforded a smile at the man. "We will take a break for two days. The day after tomorrow, Master Jian Wu will train with us."

"Yes, Master", Zuko bowed at them. "Is there anything you need before I go to my room?"

"No, not at all", Piandao smiled, throwing his branch away. "I think I will spend the rest of the day in Master Jian Wu's workshop. I feel terribly bad for not bringing any gift for Princess Azula after such hospitality she has shown me."

"Yes, Master", Zuko bowed again, throwing away his own branch that he did not realize he was still gripping. "I hope you have a pleasant day."

Zuko absentmindedly traced his way back to his room. The servants who opened his door cringed as he passed. Zuko glowered at them, was tempted to throw a fistful of fire at them, but had to be content with slamming his door as hard as he could. He leaped face first onto his bed, completely oblivious that the servants had come in and clean the mess from the porcelain gift he threw across the room and put his bag on his desk.

Why would he care anyway? They thought nobody could hear their whisper. Zuko could.

"_Fire Prince Zuko is returning from Shu Jing today. I heard he has been learning swordsmanship there. Heh…" _

"_Prince Zuko is not a boy anymore. Next summer, he will be old enough to join the military."_

"_Oh, man! There goes the cherry blossom in the Royal Wing courtyard. Phew… Pouty Prince got temper alright."_

"_It baffles me sometimes the gap between their skills. I mean, Prince Zuko is trained by General Iroh himself. But, his little sister outdoes him in firebending every time."_

"_During lunch, Prince Zuko barely said a single word. Princess Azula had to pick up the slack to entertain the guest."_

"_Princess Azula has been helping the Fire Lord run the Nation for two months now. And what does Prince Zuko do? Fooling around in Shu Jing."_

"_The servant found shards of porcelain in Prince Zuko's room. The attending servants also heard him shouting and throwing stuff. Why can't he be as graceful as Princess Azula?"_

Zuko did not think he could sleep at all, not when he was this angry. Zuko was gravely mistaken. When he woke up, it was already noon of the next day, the 21st. Unflinchingly realizing that he had slept for almost twenty four hours, Zuko did his morning ritual halfheartedly in his personal bathroom in his chamber. No servants dared entered; but, then again, his locked door played quite a significant role in preventing any unwanted entry.

His rejuvenated state of being clashed heavily on his still foul mood. At least the fog had cleared up, thought Zuko, looking out of his window as he donned on his outer robe. Maybe now his effort to locate Iroh would be easier. By some unknown reason, he found himself on the tapestry hallway leading to the Throne Room; not that he would be allowed in, of course. Audience with the Fire Lord is by invite only, even if he was the Crown Prince.

Footsteps from behind him and the cold voice of his sister drove him to hide behind one the humongous beams. He peeked from the corner his sister striding fast with her maids trying hard to even their pace with the flighty girl; their long skirt robe proved a disadvantage against Azula's trousers.

Zuko took a small guilty pleasure of watching his sister getting all flustered and upset by whatever it was that got to her this time of the day. The sight of the girl being allowed unchallenged entry through the bright red curtain bearing a gold insignia to the Throne Room at the end of the hall, however, was a point for Azula.

Deciding that his priority should be his uncle, Zuko resumed his scouring the palace for the old man. Still a daunting task considering how many spots in the grand Fire Nation Imperial Palace that he would have to cover. Logically, after failing to locate the old man in five different places, he tried his uncle's room next. Again…

Imagine his surprise when he found the old man inside, ragged, pale and sickly on his bed. At his bedside was the odd assortment of people: Master Jian Wu, Head Firebending Instructor Kaji, a middle-aged Fire Sage, and an old woman Zuko recognized as the Palace Head Physician.

"U-uncle?" Zuko gaped at the man; his usually tidy hair was ragged and dirty, his beard was longer and untended, he was pale beyond belief. "Uncle!"

"Prince Zuko", Jian Wu halted Zuko halfway into the room. "Your uncle needs some rest. He is unwell. Pleas—"

"No, Uncle!" Zuko struggled but the man was strong. Iroh's low grunt however, made Jian Wu soften his grip and Zuko to dash towards his bedside.

"Uncle!" Zuko felt a sickening jolt on his stomach as he witnessed the weakened state of his indestructible uncle. "Uncle, what happened?"

"I didn't know you were coming home", Iroh started casually; his weak smile and his voice of a barest of whisper gave Zuko no comfort. "I am fine, Zuko."

"Uncle", Zuko grasped the man's hand, trying not to notice how thin and cold it was. "Uncle, what's going on?"

"Prince Zuko", the Palace Physician lady called out softly. "Please, you must let your uncle rest."

Zuko did not want to leave.

"I will be fine", Iroh chuckled weakly. "I just need some sleep."

It took more persuasion but finally Zuko relent. Ushered out by the Palace Physician, Zuko waited until the door was shut closed before he walked away with heavy steps. Once he was sure he fooled them, he crouched down and snuck himself back to the front door. They were talking inside. Zuko pressed his ear on the door, trying to catch any words.

"—foolish, General", a strange male voice he did recognize sounded both stern and sympathetic; Zuko guessed it was the Fire Sage's. "This is not a matter we should trifle with lightly. You, of all people, should know."

Zuko heard a tiniest trace of his uncle's ragged voice but he could not make any word out of it.

"We understand", it was Kaji's snappish voice this time; he did not sound happy, but then again, he was never happy. "But, what you did is still reckless. If it's not for the young Dra—"

Kaji abruptly stopped talking. Zuko frowned at this and was about to press his ear harder when Jian Wu called out. "Prince Zuko?"

Zuko never ran so fast in his life before. Once again in the sanctuary of his room, Zuko was panting hard from the exercise. He could not think, he did not want to think. What happened to his uncle? And why did he send him away? Did he not trust Zuko?

It brought back so many things he would rather not think about.

_Perhaps, Azula was right all along… just like Father, Uncle thinks little of me…_

Zuko locked himself in his room, he did not come out the whole day. He spent his hours sitting on the floor, looking out the window. Before he knew it, his vision blurred away and he fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already dark and he had a sharp headache. He felt tired and he could not bring himself to believe that he had actually fallen asleep. He got up, suffered quite a pleasant head rush that nearly tumbled him.

Great, he slept for a whole day like a pig-hen! While Azula had probably saved seven villages from famine with that Royal Seal of hers before dinner. Speaking of dinner…

Zuko got up and stretched; he felt heavy from sleeping too much. He still could not believe he had been sleeping the whole day. His first instinct was to exercise; swordsmanship, free running, anything that could help ease the stress. He decided to get a little something to eat first. He pushed the door open; his servants had retired for the night and there were absolutely no one out there.

Being a Crown Prince, his quarter was one of the closest to the Fire Lord quarter, and due to the vicinity, whenever the Fire Lord wanted to travel around the Royal Wing, he would most definitely had to walk pass the Crown Prince chamber. Zuko nearly fell over when he rammed into the sturdy frame of Fire Lord Ozai.

"Father?" Zuko called, still groggy from lightheadedness.

"I see you have indeed returned", Ozai said coldly.

"Is that… a flower?" Zuko winced at the snow white flower his father had in his hand.

"Yes", Ozai did not even attempt to hide it. "This is for your sister."

"Azula likes flower?" Zuko frowned.

"Of course she does", Ozai scoffed. "She is a proper Fire Princess."

"What?" Zuko gawked. _A girl who doesn't even wear skirts likes flowers? Proper Fire Princess? Since When!_

"And she does not let her stomach growl", Ozai jabbed at the unsavory sound of Zuko's gut roaring. "Go get something to eat before you embarrass yourself further."

Ozai left without even letting Zuko bow at him; Zuko felt a hurt that accompanied the envious rage he felt for his sister. If only he was not so hungry and angry and confused, he would feel even foul. Infuriated, Zuko reached out for his training saber hanging on the wall. He pulled out the conjoined dual blades somewhat too furiously, he dropped one of it. When he bent down to pick the blade up, that was when he noticed the shadow of a hooded figure standing behind him.

Zuko's instinct kicked in as he swung his one saber to the figure. The figure leaped back weightlessly; Zuko slashed ahead relentlessly. A vertical slash, the hooded figure sidestepped to Zuko's right. Quickly, he caught Zuko's saber holding right hand with his left and secured it in a powerful grip. With efficient waist twist, the figure's free right hand grabbed Zuko's neck with a claw form that did not even touch the Prince intentionally. Zuko recognized the move as his mind replayed the demonstration Piandao and himself had given Azula and Master Jian Wu the day before.

"Lin?"

* * *

**Author's Note**:

Names:

1. Nazak, from Persian 'nask' which means 'book'

Fire Lord Ozai walking around holding a flower? Can anyone imagine that? :D

I'm not sure if have described Lin's sword style well enough. His style is unlike Piandao's or Sokka's wushu swordsmanship. Lin's is more Japanese; with less flourish graceful movement and more up close and personal like ninjutsu swordsmanship. Bara, Rain, and Taka fought like him too since Lin and Rain were trained by them.

Oh, and that reminds me. In chapter 80 Lin performed an iai with Nightshade. I'm not sure if iai could work with a straight jian. The length of the blade would present no problem; Nightshade's blade is about 70 centimeters and I can do an iai with a 90 centimeters sword. It's the lack of curve that concerns me. Most iaijutsu practitioners like to tilt their sheathed sword a little in their waist so the curve will point diagonal or all the way to the side when they are drawing to smoothen the draw; most people often subconsciously 'slash' when they should 'pull' and it might break their scabbard or even snap their sword if they put too much force to it. I know little iaijutsu and I prefer the more conventional 'leave it be' grip where we leave the curve pointing up; a tad slower since you divide the iai strike into 'pull' _then_ 'slash', but it feels more natural. Theoretically, it should work with a straight sword since, without tilting, you will be pulling the sword forward in a straight trajectory before slashing. And, my God, I'm a martial art nerd… T_T

To OwlFeather13. About Ozai, you might find the next chapter interesting. :)

As for the Fire Lord/Lady title; yeah, I've thinking about that too. That was why Ursa is referred to as Lady Ursa in this fic, not even Princess Ursa. I mean, if she got to marry a Prince, she must be a noblewoman herself, right? A Lady, her original title. Meh, I'll just wait and see how Mai turn out. :)

By the way, Ursula…?

To the Dark Door. Thank you for the grease/graze tip, and the cookies. :)

That explains why I always picture a cow and a meadow when I read the word graze.

Yes, human mind is more resilient and enduring than most people think. I don't think someone can just 'snap' when experiencing one mental blow; I would have snapped for the hundredth time last July. It has to be built up over a period of time. Like layers of rust on an iron wall, slowly corroding and weakening the metal.

And school assignments have done a number on me, people. I am currently scared. T_T _(help…)_

The last of the next four-parter is about done. All the connections have been made (I think). I'll try to update the next chapter next weekend, but no promise. It will be about Ozai and, quite strangely, my personal favorite of the four. Iroh's chapter will be the last part.

And now, my pillow… let me rest. Zzzz….

Have a pleasant day, play nice, do your homework!


	84. Chapter 83

**Chapter 83 – Homecoming, Part 3**

**-Fire Lord Ozai-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

It was the evening of the 19th day of the second month of winter. Fire Lord Ozai walked even steady steps; he was tall, menacing, proud, and regal. A true epitome of magnificence; excellence personified. He arrived at the bright red wooden door with artistic golden inlaid. The attending maids bowed deeply and was about to push the door open for him when Ozai stopped them with mere stare alone. He should not be doing this; a Fire Lord opening his door when there were perfectly capable servants to do the job. But, just this once…

Ozai put his hand on the door leaf and pushed it open gently. The pride of his life, the crown jewel of his achievement, was in there sitting on her desk dictating a letter to a team of scribe. It did Ozai's heart proud to see his little girl turning into such _perfection_. Ozai paced towards the girl as silently as possible. He stood quite a distance behind them; behind his little girl, busy dictating words to her scribe, and her maids and attendants, busy holding on to the Princess' scrolls and books and making sure she did not run out of ink as she herself was occupied with a letter she was writing.

Ozai waited until they were done. The girl went back to a scroll on her desk, studying it. Her team of scribe, having finished her dictation and received her order to deliver the letter, bowed to the girl and turned only to see a higher ranking monarch standing there glaring them into silence. They hastily bowed and scurried themselves out. Azula's maids seemed to have noticed Ozai's presence too but, caught between their duty to show respect to the Lord and Ozai's earlier nonverbal admonition to the scribes, they dared not show any sign of acknowledgement while praying to Agni they would not get punished for that.

Good, clever maids, Ozai thought. Worthy to serve his dearest daughter.

Ozai walked towards the back of his daughter's chair; Azula was too preoccupied with her scroll she did not notice her father until Ozai put his hand on the girl's shoulder. She jumped a little and jerked back swiftly. Ozai was doubly proud to see her hands forming finger jabs form instinctively, one that she had truly made her own. Putting on what, to Ozai's standard, constituted as a warm fatherly smile, he welcomed a sweet smile from the girl. Ozai pressed the sitting Princess onto him; one hand was on her shoulder, the other caressing her cheek. Azula hugged back, one of her hands tugged onto Ozai's garb.

Ozai took that hand gently and grasped lightly; he heard Azula gasped a little and felt her shoulder tensed up. He surmised that her fingers were still hurting from firebending training. Pulling the hand up a little, he wordlessly motioned the girl to rise. Chuckling slightly, he guided the girl in front of him. She had gotten taller. It seemed that it was just yesterday when the girl, his _perfect_ little girl, could barely reach his abdomen and he could cradle her easily with one arm. Now, the girl stood to height of his chest and more and more each day Ozai saw himself in her. Ursa was no more.

"How are you doing this evening, Azula?" he asked, grasping the girl's both hands.

"I'm doing fine, Father", Azula replied smoothly. "I hope you are the same."

Ozai chuckled warmly. He pulled the girl to the foot of the bed where they sat. Ozai inspected his daughter's index and middle fingers. No visible sign but he could notice her cringing subtly every time he pressed her fingers just a bit harder.

"Now, have you finished the report for General Zhu Ren's mission to quell the earthbender rebellion in Hu Xin Provinces?" Ozai asked, grasping the left hand of the girl who was sitting on his right softly. He noticed how cold it was so, using his bending, he warmed his daughter's hand with his chi.

"Yes, I have, Father", Azula replied smoothly, somewhat smugly but Ozai tolerated that; it was a sign a confidence. "I sent it to your study just seconds ago."

"Very good, Azula", Ozai laughed a little; Azula's smile went wider. "Now, about your fingers…"

"They're getting better", Azula replied quickly. "They should heal completely in a few days."

"All the same", Ozai stared at her right in the eyes to show the gravity of his decision. "I want you to keep training with Li and Lo for the time being. Do you understand, Azula?"

"Yes, Father. I understand", it pleased Ozai how down-cast she looked and sounded; Azula craved Ozai's presence and Ozai was pleased by it.

Sighing like a good father would, Ozai pulled the girl into his chest. He took the hand he grasped to his lips, kissed it gently, and pressed it to his heart. "I only want what's best for you, Azula. I will not have you permanently injured over something like this."

"Yes, Father", there was rekindled hope in her voice that Ozai was aiming for.

"Good", Ozai pecked her on the forehead. "Now, I wonder if you are ready for a new task."

"I am!" Azula exclaimed excitedly, rising swiftly from his chest; Ozai allowed himself a hearty laugh at this.

"Good", he pulled from his sleeve pocket as scroll. "This is a report from the Military Inquisitor regarding various military operations and missions in the Earth Kingdom."

"Father?" Azula drawled, frowning inquisitively. Ozai's smirked wider.

"So far, you have been doing nothing but compiling reports", Ozai continued. "You have done so magnificently", he smiled along with his daughter. "But, now I want you to study these reports and recommend the course of action for them."

"Like what I do in the hearing?" Azula's eyes widened.

"Yes, Azula", Ozai nodded slightly. "Like what you do in the hearing. This is a conclusional report, the rest are with the Inquisitors and you have clearance to request more. I do value your counsel, my dear daughter. It is time I put more worth in your wisdom. I trust that you will not fail me, hmm?"

"I will not fail you, Father", Azula said confidently, taking the scroll and handed it to a maid. "I'll make you proud."

Ozai smirked, lifted the girl's chin up and whispered. "I already am proud", he kissed her on the forehead. When he rose, he noticed the girl's face beaming.

"You missed dinner again today", Ozai said with a light reprimanding tone. "This will not do, Azula."

"I ate dinner", Azula crossed her arms, sulking a little.

"A bowl of cherry is a _snack_", Ozai rebutted. Turning to the door, he wordlessly summoned the group of servants who had followed him here. "Just because I cannot have dinner with you, Azula, it doesn't mean you can skip a meal."

Ozai chuckled slightly at the huffing girl who refused to look at him. The servants brought with them a portable desk they set in front of the Princess and a light dinner meal they set on it; a bowl of steaming rice, a dish of spicy komodo sausage with red paper mustard dipping sauce, a plate of steamed vegetable, a bowl of hot miso soup, and a cup of hot beverage.

"Come on", Ozai sat back down by his daughter's side. He picked up the chopsticks and placed it to the girl's hand himself. "Eat."

"That is not tea, is it?" Azula had her wary amber set on the lidded porcelain cup.

"Azula", Ozai laughed again. "Would I do that to you?" he reached for the lid and fanned some of the sweet gingery aroma of the caramel brown beverage into their noses. "This is your favorite timgeung."

Azula beamed at the sight of the cup. She picked it up and took a tiny sip. Like all loving father up there, Ozai dabbed a droplet of the drink off the corner of his daughter's mouth, with his own sleeve no less. "Eat up", he repeated. "I won't leave until you finish every last bite."

Azula grinned wider as she took her first bite of the sausage. Ozai drank in the sight of his perfect daughter with her dinner. She was truly Ozai's masterpiece. Firebending prodigy, academic genius, and she was growing more and more each day into a fierce warrior and a capable advisor. With her by Ozai's side, the world would stand no chance. Ozai tickled the back of her neck with his finger, Azula turned and shot him a childish annoyed look that made Ozai chuckle.

To the maids, they seemed like the perfect father and daughter. Perhaps, they were, thought Ozai deep down. Had Azula not done anything he had expected of her, to be a daughter Ozai wanted her to be? Surely, Ozai should even the score; surely, Ozai should be the father Azula craved for, even if just a little.

Azula turned to her father, holding a piece of sausage dipped in a yellow sauce with flakes of red mixed in it. Ozai smiled as he let the girl feed him the slice of the sausage. "Urgh! I hate mustard", Ozai groaned but ate anyway. Azula giggled mischievously, prompting Ozai to tickle her again.

"How is your school?" Ozai asked, stealing a sip off Azula's timgeung.

"Good", Azula swallowed her vegetable. "We will be having the end of the year break soon."

"Oh?" Ozai raised a brow.

"Yeah, in two weeks", Azula tilted her head a little. "We'll start school again in spring, as usual."

"I seem to have been paying too little attention to your academic education", Ozai said calmly; Azula turned to him with a mild puzzled look. If she did not know any better, she would think that her father was displaying regret. Ozai tugged one of the girl's bangs behind her ear. "I do hope it has not affected your progress, Azula?"

Ozai knew she was calculating her next move. Agreeing, she might persuade Ozai into a commitment of paying more attention to her; disagreeing would allow her to show Ozai how she appreciated the gesture alone, which by itself was a good thing for her that warranted an immediate favorable response from Ozai. Ozai was elated when Azula said. "No, Father. I'm doing fine regardless."

Ozai was proud, not to mention happy.

"But, still", Azula continued quietly, staring deep into her rice. "It would be nice…"

_Hah! Daddy's little girl…_

Ozai let himself laugh hard. She was truly a masterpiece. There was a sly glint in her perfectly acted out sad eyes. Ozai was pleased by this. He patted the girl's head and pulled it to his chest, still laughing. "Now, I know I made the right decision to grant you the Royal Seal", he said. "Despite the whole council who believes that you are too young for such power. Standing up to them, risking my own reputation…" Azula groaned and tried to peel herself away but Ozai did not let her. "… it was well worth the risk."

Azula sulked a little in her father's embrace, Ozai chuckled and whispered to her. "You're a hundred years too early to play guilt against me, Azula."

Grumbling, Azula went back to her dinner. She extracted revenge though by utilizing another heavily mustard-dipped slice of sausage; Ozai retaliated with a rather large gulp from her cup despite Azula's protest. The maids were smiling behind their hands at the sight of them; the father and daughter could not seem to mind.

"I'm full", Azula declared finally.

"You left a piece", Ozai pointed bluntly at the single leftover sausage on the tray.

"But, I'm full", Azula whined.

"Azula", Ozai light scolding was betrayed by his somewhat amused smirk. He picked up the chopsticks Azula dropped and pinched the food to her mouth. "Come on. Open wide."

Still grumbling, Azula ate it simply because of the fact that her father was feeding her. A random maid failed to hold her giggle; Azula turned and scowled at them collectively.

"You are no longer a child", Ozai chided softly, dabbing the girl's mouth clean with his sleeve. "You are old enough for long nails and cosmetic."

Azula frowned at her father; she did not like where this is going.

"Soon, sons the noble houses will be lining up to court you", Ozai sighed deeply. He was half expecting Azula to choke on her drink.

"Father", Azula narrowed her eyes at him; Ozai could not help but smirk.

"And you will get married in six years, probably leave the palace to live with your future husband's family", Ozai continued with a perfectly sad nuance.

"Father!" Azula huffed. "I don't want to get married!"

"Oh?" Ozai faked an intrigued frown.

"I want to stay with you", Azula put her cup down and dived into the man's embrace. "I want to help you run our Nation."

"Do you, now?" Ozai asked, patting the girl's head.

"Yes", Azula whispered sadly, grasping the chest of her father's robe tightly. Ozai somehow, for the lack of better word, _regretted_ what he had said. Maybe he took the joke too far.

"So", Ozai tried to sound casual. "You… don't have any, say, boyfriend…?"

Her pounding his chest was definitely a no.

"No secret crush on anyone…?"

Another strike; a harder one, Ozai noticed.

"Hmm", Ozai drawled, smiling as he lifted the girl's face up. "Still, one day suitors might come. After all, you are a princess; a beautiful one at that."

"Let them come", Azula hissed, lighting a jet of blue flame on the tip of her index finger.

Ozai laughed at this; none like his dearest daughter who could make him laugh so much in just one day. Ozai swept his hand gently over Azula's finger, extinguishing her flame effortlessly. Things seemed to be on favorable wind, so Ozai decided to probe further. "Hmm, it is unfortunate that the Lin Family heir has become a traitor", Azula's smile faded; Ozai took note of this as he continued. "As I understand it, the two of you were quite close."

Azula looked away furiously; in the winter air, Ozai could feel a faint trace of heat arising from her. Azula took a tiny sip of his cup that had transformed from lukewarm liquid to a steaming cup of spiced and sweetened ginger juice once more, before she said calmly. "Only because it fulfilled my needs."

Now, it was not exactly what any father would want to hear from their daughter when the subject is about a boy. Ozai, believe it or not, was one of those fathers. He cleared the lump in his throat before he commanded somewhat too calmly. "Explain, Azula."

"Lin is slow", Azula said huffily. "He never taught me anything new until Zuko caught up. So", Azula shrugged. "I… _asked_ him to teach me his family style", Azula finished with a sly smirk that was still directed to her cup.

"I see", Ozai mentally wiped his proverbial sweaty brow. "How much did you learn?"

"Quite a few", Azula smirked at him now.

Ozai returned her smirk. Then, he feigned a tone of a little sad. "He has potential to be a great man one day, with his talents and status. I would not mind giving you away to someone like him if only his loyalty wasn't an issue."

"He's a traitor", Azula muttered furiously, setting her cup down rather loudly. "I hate him."

So, the brat had not told Azula anything about the engagement, Ozai pondered. Well, good luck, Lin, the twenty sixth! When the worst came to pass, you shall be remembered fondly… for at least a week.

"Azula", Ozai decided to play it safe; he took Azula's half-empty cup from the table and signaled the maids to take away the rest. "Why do you think Lin left?"

"Because he kidnapped Ty Lee?" Azula growled. She was also playing it safe.

Ozai wordlessly ordered the maids to leave the room. As the door was closed behind their leave, Ozai put the cup on his daughter's hand and asked for a more honest response. Azula evaded his piercing eyes altogether. "Azula…"

"He left", Azula said quietly, still refusing to look her father in the eyes. "He didn't even come to say goodbye to me."

Ozai waited for more.

"He said goodbye to Zuko", Azula stared furiously at her cup.

_So, that's it… just like Ursa…_

"I'm still here", Ozai lifted her chin and tugged her face to his direction. "I will never leave you."

"I know, Father", Azula leaned towards his shoulder; her father encased her in a warm hug.

"Now", Ozai gently peeled her away. "I should let you get back to work."

"Yes, Father", Azula gulped down the last of her drink. She looked around for a maid to hand her empty cup over but to her surprise Ozai took it instead. "Father! A maid should do that!"

Ozai laughed. "Only for my dearest", he leaned down and pecked her on the forehead. "Don't stay up too late, Azula."

"Yes, Father", she gave the man one last squeeze.

Smiling warmly, or the best he could manage, Ozai turned and left. Even after all his years, he was still convinced that the palace workers had talent in telepathy. The moment he was three steps away from the door, it was opened by the maids outside. He walked out, waited until he heard the door soft thud, and he just let the cup he was still holding slip from his grasp; the nearest maid had the sense to dive for it.

_Very good_, Ozai thought as he smirked his way out of the Royal Female Living Quarters. The maids and servants he had handpicked for his precious daughter had not disappointed him. Ozai would hate it if they disappointed him. He had tested them relentlessly every chance he got; so far, none had failed. In fact, Ozai was wholeheartedly convinced that Azula's servants were much better than his. He did not mind this. Only the best for his dearest daughter.

His Royal Palanquin awaited him; one that was larger and more ornate with a gold phoenix on top of it. Like the Majestic Phoenix rising from the ashes of its past self, so had Azula transformed from her former self into a _perfection_ Ozai wanted her to be. She would still soar higher, though. Time for everything. Azula had gone through too painful a trial at the hands of Iroh; this was the time for Ozai to be a father not a master. Time for Azula to heal a little.

But, after she grew her wings strong enough to take flight…? She would be a _true_ perfection!

Ozai smirked as he sat in his palanquin ride. He raised his palm and summoned a small flame. Iroh was done for! He still felt the rush from his short duel with the Dragon of the West. He could not try to best his elder brother in term of skill at the time, not in front of Azula, but he had crushed his spirit. Oh, the urge to break down laughing! If not for the sake of his face in front of his servants; we cannot get the servants spread rumor that their Fire Lord was going crazy now, can we?

Ozai was undoubtedly one of the most powerful firebenders in the whole world; he knew it, he liked it. Finding someone who could match his skill was practically impossible. The duel with Iroh, it had been a rare treat. And, on top of it all, Ozai won.

Perhaps, Azula. Ozai thought, extinguishing his flame. Azula was young but she had begun his final education in the Raging Phoenix style of firebending. Ozai and Iroh had been twice older when they had reached the level Azula was currently on. Yes, perhaps Azula. Ozai would make sure that she grows stronger. Strong enough to stand by his side. Then, they would spar every day, just for the fun of it.

The mental image of his daughter's happy face as the two of them threw fireballs at each other sent something akin to a jolt of guilt into his stomach; an inexplicable presence of Ursa and Zuko sitting on the sideline cheering them on was of no help at all. It seemed so long ago when it had been his son's happy face with whom he was exchanging fireballs and his daughter's cheering voice that blended so perfectly well with Ursa's.

Ozai realized that he was being weak.

They had been happy, had they not?

Why did everything chang—

Ozai quickly shook the thought off. Mercifully, the palanquin stopped at his quarter. As the servants parted his palanquin curtain, he stepped out of it.

"I will retire for the night", he growled at the nearest servant. "Do not disturb me."

"Of course, Your Highness", the man bowed.

Ozai walked towards his chamber; his servants opened his door for him. Clearly they had misinterpreted his sharp stare that was intended to chase them away. No matter, he would let it slide this time. Stepping inside, the two attending servants from before entered after him, ready to help him change into his sleeping robe. Again, they misread his '_go away, you lowlife'_ stare. Pale as ghosts, the pair quickly scurried towards Ozai wardrobe and one to his personal bathroom. Ozai stood in the middle of his room, scowling as they appeared bearing his folded night robe and a basin of hot water.

"Leave!" he snapped. The two hopeless vermin quickly obeyed him.

He waited until the door was closed behind him. Ozai moved to his bed, where the servant had put his night robe, and he began taking off his elaborate Fire Lord garb. His sash, his heavy shoulder spikes, shoulder mantle, outer robe, several layers of robes beneath it, and finally his undershirt; he let them all slide down on the floor.

Happy days… when Ursa would fuss over how sloppy he was, letting all his clothes on the floor like that. Happy days, when Ursa would pick up his slack herself, fussing all around, like a wife of a simple peasant. Life had been so much simpler back then. Fire Lord Azulon had been ruling, Crown Prince Iroh had been leading the war, Fire Prince Lu Ten would have been busy fending off his cousins' effort to extort sneak peeks on higher level of firebending techniques, leaving Fire Prince Ozai with his then beloved wife, Lady Ursa.

Fire Lord Azulon was no more, Iroh was a failure, Lu Ten was dead, Ursa was already gone, Ozai had changed. _No_, Ozai decided as he slipped into the soft and warm silk of his night robe and sat on the bed taking off his boots. No, he would never regret this change, this transformation. Fire Prince Ozai needed to be a Fire Lord; he had his reasons.

"_Daaaad! Azula's picking on meee!"_

Ozai failed to defend his lordly persona against a surge of fond fatherly chuckle. Oh, Agni, how painful it was for him to let himself be weak for just that one second. Perfection is such a lonely existence.

"_Daaddyy! I'm a firebender like Zuzu!"_

Ozai threw a long gaze at the portrait of the happy days he had on his nightstand. He was there, Ursa was there, and so were their children. He sat on his chair, Ursa sat on another chair; their son sat at his feet and their daughter at hers. Ozai's hand was on their son's shoulder; their daughter had stubbornly refused Ursa's initial idea of showing the same kind of physical contact. On that day, Ursa had had to punish their daughter for putting a dead scorpion-spider on their son's room which would not have been so bad had their daughter known that scorpion-spider are masters of playing possum.

Ursa had had to scold their daughter rather severely while openly expressed her praise for their son's vanquishing the very much alive venomous insect the size of a saucer with his then beginner level of firebending. Ozai knew it had hurt Ursa deeply when their daughter refused to even speak to her for a few days before they commissioned the family portrait, which explained why, in the picture, only he and his son were smiling. Ozai had been proud of his son, his son had been elated by his own prowess and his mother's praises. Ursa had been hurting as much as their daughter.

Ozai did not know why he still had the portrait, reaching out to flip it down; as soon as he asked himself that, an automatic cognitive response kicked in: he imagined the Fire Nation emblem and his people. Of course, as the leader of his Nation, as the head of the Royal Family, Ozai must present his family as harmonious and… happy. Happiness would not win the war, but even one such as he was subject to certain factors in life, in politic. Maintaining face and pretenses was one of those factors.

He retracted his hand. Just to distract himself, he dipped his feet to the lukewarm water in the basin. He saw a pool of blood…

_He was afraid, panting and sweating profusely. The pair of Royal Procession were struggling to keep the man down in front of him on the other side of the arena; the man was wild and strong, two other Royal Procession had to join in and assist._

"_Do it, Prince Ozai!" Azulon roared from his pedestal._

_Ozai was tearing up. He shot a pleading look to his older brother Iroh, sitting ever so faithfully by their father's right hand side. Please, please, say anything! Ozai pleaded with his eyes. Please, make him stop! This is not something you'd ask a child to do! His brother Iroh evading his eyes, it was the one blow that killed part of Ozai. It was the first time Iroh had ever disappointed him._

"_Do it!" Azulon roared angrily; the flame around his Fire Throne burst into life._

Ozai's clenched fist cracked and trembled, the water on his feet vaporized. The steam rose and hit his face.

"_Whoa! Are you alright?" the ponytailed girl with grey eyes asked, eyeing the white powder that marred the black of Ozai's hair with an awkward grimace. "Not my doing. Not— put that flame out! You big jerk! I'm telling Ursaaaa!"_

Ozai took off his five-pronged headpiece, his Fire Crown, and put in on his nightstand. He undid his knot and let his hair fell. Lying down slowly, he netted his fingers on the back of his head and stared into the upper panel of his four poster bed.

"_For a Fire Prince and master firebender, you're a coward!" the ponytailed girl with grey eyes scolded. "How hard is it to just go and talk to— no, you get back here!"_

"_Let go of my hair", Ozai growled back._

"_If you don't talk to her, I'll spread a rumor that you sleep with a stuffed turtle-duck", she threatened with a finger pointed at his nose. When Ozai did not move a muscle, she promptly cupped her hands around her mouth and declared to the whole wide world. "Attention, people of Fire Nation! Fire Princ— mmmpphh!"_

Ozai scoffed at the memory. _Women_, he cursed under his breath. He did not know why, but half an hour later, he found himself standing alone in the private cemetery of the Lin Family. Ozai stood upon her headstone. He closed his eyes and offered her a moment of silence; not a prayer, Ozai had sworn to never pray again. He pulled from his long sleeve a single snow peony, her favorite flower.

"You were right", Ozai whispered coldly, grasping the stem of the flower tightly. "I am a coward."

The cold wind blew on, oblivious of him and her.

"Your son", Ozai started again. "I will not guarantee his… _safety_. He is too unpredictable. Much like how you were."

Ozai could not even predict how Lian would react to this.

"For what it's worth", Ozai crouched down and put the flower gently on her grave. "You were a good friend; I owe much to you. And, I _was…_ laughing the wrong way when you died; even months after that. You were… irreplaceable."

He caressed the headstone gently, the part that bore her name.

"I don't think I will ever return here, little prick", Ozai said, getting up and straightening his robe. When he spoke again, he spoke with the air of formal authority. "I will honor the engagement between our children. But, I think you should know: Fire Lord Azulon was not a fool. He appointed your son to be Azula's teacher to help them grow closer. At the same time, he recruited your son into the royal assassin as an extra precaution should he feel the need to call off the engagement."

Ozai scoffed sourly before continuing. "Fire Lord Azulon could just send him on a dangerous task to get him killed or even send him away deep into the enemy territory on a long-term mission", Ozai sighed grimly. "My father was many things; he was a failure and a bastard. But he was also a cunning man and a good judge of character."

He picked up a single brown leaf lying on her mound and threw it away.

"He was right", Ozai sounded bitter. "Ursa was right; your son is quite something. At least, with your son, Azula's life will be interesting", Ozai smirked. "Much like mine was with you. But, I won't promise anything."

Ozai spun and left without another word. She was part of his old life, the happy days of the long lost life. She was to be forgotten, like the rest of the happy days.

The next morning, early of the morning of the 20th, Ozai was already awake from a restful sleep. Already washed, he stood tall in his chamber, being dressed by a platoon of servants; Fire Lord's attire was elaborate. He stood, spread his arms while keeping his sharp amber eyes on the foggy outside. Ozai had consulted with scientists and ecologists regarding this phenomenon; fog that only affected the Imperial Palace. None could come up with satisfactory explanation, much less an applicable solution.

"My Lord", Ozai's adjutant entered and fell into a formal kneeling bow. "Fire Sage Shyu is here as per your request."

"Good", Ozai said without looking at him. "Entertain him. I will see him later."

"Yes, My Lord", the adjutant said. "Also, the Royal Engineers have come to propose the designs that you requested, sir."

"Send them to the dining room", Ozai ordered as the servants were finishing up with his sash and Fire Crown. "I will look at them as I wait for my daughter."

"Yes, My Lord", the man said again.

"Have you located my brother?" Ozai asked this time with a slight thorn in his voice.

"No, My Lord", the adjutant gulped subtly; replying Fire Lord Ozai with a 'no' was a strict no-no among the lower caste.

"No one saw him leaving the palace", Ozai growled. "He must be here somewhere! A man of his size should not be too hard to find."

"We will find him, My Lord", the adjutant bowed deeply.

"Do not fail me", Ozai warned. Fully dressed, he turned and enveloped the kneeling man with the full potency of his towering height. "You are all dismissed."

The adjutant, followed by the servants, quickly bowed and got out before their Fire Lord changed his mood. The servants were about to close the door when they got out but Ozai managed to dissuade them with his scowl. Good, Ozai thought at the apologetic bow the servants gave him as they scurried away like the skunk-rats they were. They were learning.

"What have you to report, Wuxin?" Ozai growled lowly at the figure that had stepped out from the shadowy corner of his room.

"My Lord", the figure behind the White Tiger mask knelt down. "My Lord, I have listed a number of uninitiated operatives who are ready for their first test. Would you like to revise them?"

"I only have interest in one name", Ozai shot him a leer.

"He is on the list, My Lord", Wuxin reported. "The order will be sent to him next week at the latest."

"Good", Ozai tugged his hands into his sleeves and walked out.

Outside, he shot the mist that had been hanging around his palace a furious scowl. He walked towards the gate of his quarters, mentally rolling his eyes at his servants who thought he needed to be accompanied on his march towards the gate. Ozai should do something about them. His palanquin was waiting there. The bearers bowed and parted the curtain for him. Ozai entered and pondered upon the day's planned activity as the palanquin rocked ahead.

Nothing important in particular; a short meeting with the engineers, Fire Sage Shyu answering Ozai's summon to the Fire Sage Temple, War Minister Qin requesting an audience, and some miscellaneous affairs in the evening. This would be a slow day. The palanquin stopped right in front of the dining hall. Ozai stepped out silently, quite a feat for someone his size. He swatted away the hands of the servants who moved to straighten his robe. He cared for appearance but not futility. He was going to sit down soon anyway.

He entered the grand dining hall and took his appointed seat at head of the long rectangular table. Servants promptly moved and filled his cup with tea. Standing on the sideline, at the other end of the room, were three men wearing similar uniform of red baggy robe, deeper shade of crimson sash, red headband bearing black Fire Nation insignia, and rectangular hat of woolen material. The one who stood in the middle wore an extra accessory in the form of a shoulder sash worn over his left shoulder; this and the fact he was the oldest signified him as the leader of the group.

"My Lord", the old man bowed and started his sycophantic routine. "I pray for your—"

"Show me your designs", Ozai glowered at him, making the man gasp slightly.

Plastering the patronizing smile back on his face, the old man gestured the two other to follow him closer. They stopped few feet away at Ozai's right and bowed, Ozai mentally rolled his eyes, and the old man took from one of his assistants a scroll that he unrolled in front of Ozai. The scroll bore the picture of a ship underneath a detailed schematic of it.

"This is a destroyer class—"

"I did not commission a destroyer", Ozai snapped.

"Wh—oh, of course, My Lord", the old man stammered as he quickly put the design away. With trembling hands, he perused his scrolls and finally took one. "This, My Lord, is a rather popular design for a Royal Barge."

Ozai lazily scanned the picture of a black ship with a pagoda-style conning tower and a large sail.

"Show me a design for a mechanized version", Ozai ordered coldly. "Unless you think my daughter should be a subject to the whims of wind."

"N-no, My Lord", the old man fumbled, sweating profusely despite the cold weather. He quickly pulled from the pile another scroll. It was a majestic grey metal ship like the previous one with tower but instead of sails on the main deck, it sported an exhaust chimney at the back. The bow was highly ornate with a dragon head.

"Show me another", ordered Ozai, glowering at the dragon's head. The head engineer showed another scroll with a sleeker design and an ornate lance on the bow that made the ship look like some sort of metal swordfish; Ozai's withering stare made the engineer cringe. The old man took another scroll and displayed a design of large bulky ship with a flat bow, one that was intended to be ramming ship. Ozai let out an exasperated angry sigh that turned the air around them to steam. Stabbing the man with a glare unlike any he had ever given, Ozai snarled. "I am commissioning a ship for my _daughter_! Do not try my patience!"

"Y-yes, My Lord", the old man gulped loudly, tumbling with his remaining scrolls. "P-perhaps, Princess Azula likes ponies? I have a design with a winged horse orname—"

He never got to finish his sentence as Ozai grabbed his neck and choked him hard.

"Again, do not try my patience", Ozai hissed at the old man's face. Throwing the man against the wall, he shouted. "I have given you two months to come up with a new design! What have you been doing all those time, you fool!"

"M-my Lord, I-I-I have more designs to show", the old man kowtowed low, trembling like a puppy. "P-please, allow me to show you the rest."

"Be quick about it", Ozai sat back down. The engineer quickly picked himself up and showed scroll after scroll. Ozai shot them all down, even set on fire one that bore what was supposed to be a fully operational drill head on the bow. The fourth design the helpless engineer showed, it caught Ozai's interest.

"This looks promising", Ozai muttered at the design of a sleek grey ship with a four-tier red pagoda with golden trim, two exhaust chimneys on the back, and a three pronged black and gold bow ornament. "I like the bow ornament. It resembles the Royal Armor to a certain extent. It will serve as a remainder to my daughter that there is more glory to be achieved."

"Excellent choice, My Lord", the engineer breathed easier.

"What about the ship's weaponries?" Ozai snarled; he cared not for bootlicking if the licker was such an incompetent twerp.

"We have", the engineer prudently produced the ship's blueprint in matter of seconds. "Trebuchet and catapults; standard for Royal-class ships."

"They're slow and unreliable", said Ozai. "I want you to install ballistae on the sides. Explosive tip, chained tip, all of it. Just in case, put the newest design of long-ranged trebuchet in the middle space. Put better plating and the most advanced engine we have in our arsenal. My daughter's ship will be the best this Nation has ever built. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, My Lord", the engineer bowed deeply.

"It shall be safe, fast, strong, and durable", Ozai ordered again.

"Of course, My Lord", the engineer bowed again.

"It will be ready for my daughter's thirteenth birthday", Ozai glared at the old man. "And not one word to my daughter."

"Absolutely, My Lord", the engineer gulped under the Fire Lord's sharp stare.

"Spare no expense", Ozai waved his hand dismissively. "I want my daughter to have only the best."

"Of course, My Lord", the old man bowed as he and his assistants stepped back.

"I do not need to remind you to coordinate with War Minister Qin", Ozai's growl stopped them at their track.

"O-of course, My Lord", the engineer nodded profusely. "T-the firebending cannon. Should the design be perfected in the near future, rest assured that I will make sure to replace the ballistae with the cannons."

"Good", Ozai scoffed demeaningly. "You have a brain, after all."

Nodding and bowing, the three engineers hastily scurried out like scared siamang-rats. Ozai went back to his now lukewarm tea; he noticed from the corner of his eyes a servant attending to his tea fidgeting uncomfortably, caught between wanting to pour the Fire Lord a fresh cup of tea and his survival instinct telling him to stay outside the reach of Ozai's neck-grabbing claw. The servant was lucky that Ozai found his indecisiveness entertaining.

Ozai breathed out a calming air and sent chi through his cup holding hand to make steam rise from the beverage. He was about to take a sip of his ginger-pepper ginseng tea when a messenger hawk defiled the sanctity of his table by perching down there. A commotion ensued as his servants, shouting and screaming, quickly scrambled into life and tried to catch the bird while bowing down to display their loyalty and attachment to life at the same time; two activities that when done individually not easy, together impossible.

"Leave it be!" Ozai swung his hand, trails of flame erupted from his fingers. His inept servants promptly got down on all four and begged for his mercy. Glaring, Ozai reached out to the bird, who had remained calm during the whole ordeal, and extracted from it two separate letters. He unrolled the first one and saw a masterful piece of calligraphy intended for Jian Wu, the Imperial Sword Instructor. The second letter, he recognized the handwriting immediately and it bore his name as the recipient. "Send this to Jian Wu."

The nearest servant actually looked relief as he took the letter Ozai shoved to him and he nearly flew in his hurry to get out; Ozai doubted he would see that servant for the rest of the day. Bracing himself against the eye cancer inducing chicken-scratch his failure son considered an acceptable form of handwriting, Ozai read the letter. _Dear Father… _blah, blah, blah… _I'm coming home. Master Jian Wu invited Master Piandao_… garbage, trash… _I'm_ _coming along_… some sort of foreign hieroglyphic symbols of a long lost ancient language… _arrived by noon._

"Oh, son", Ozai sighed, giving up finally. Rubbing his eyes, he handed the letter over to a nearby servant. "Throw this to the fireplace."

Back to his tea, Ozai waited somewhat impatiently for his daughter to arrive; the sight of the foggy air outside did little to help although his tea provided quite an amount of comfort. He sat straight, rested his back against the padded rest of his chair, mulling over the state of his Nation out of boredom. In winter, they would be fighting a retreat campaign, as usual; nothing that could lift his spirit up. He thought back instead of his daughter, of the dinner he made her have the previous night. It had been a fragment of their happy days, one that he should not really be promoting and encouraging. Azula must be strong like him.

"_Urgh! I hate mustard."_

His instinct to smile had long been dead. He was grateful for it. It made him weak.

"_Father! I don't want to get married! I want to stay with you. I want to help you run our Nation."_

_Hear that, little prick_, Ozai sighed into his cup. _Your son is screwed_.

As he set down his cup, the door was pushed open and stepped in was the first cause of his smile. Azula stepped in and bowed to him politely.

"Father", Azula greeted as she bowed.

"Azula", Ozai nodded, he could not, _would_ not hide a rare hint of glee in that smirk of his. "I trust you had a good evening. I do wish I have not given you too much work to do."

"I can handle it, Father", Azula replied smoothly, still standing. Ozai laughed.

"That's my daughter", he praised, taking delight from the girl's smile. "You may be seated."

"Thank you, Father", Azula bowed briefly, plain with no hand sign. A pair of palace attendants promptly moved and pulled a chair for her. She was seated on her father's left side, the traditional place for females.

"So, tell me", Ozai started, eyes set lazily on the cup of tea a maid refilled for him. "How is your study going?"

"It is going well, Father", said Azula, hands on her lap; Ozai reached to his bowl and chopsticks first before Azula went for hers as tradition dictates.

"And your firebending training?" Ozai asked again.

"Also well, according to my trainers", Azula replied just as smoothly. Ozai laughed; his daughter had mastered the art of civilized mundane conversation so well.

"Very good, Azula", Ozai smirked. "Now, tell me. About the reports you received last night."

"I have studied them thoroughly", reported Azula proudly; she even put down her bowl and chopsticks, and set her hands back to her lap to give her father her undivided attention. It made Ozai proud. "Would you like to hear my recommendations?"

It pleased Ozai to see her radiant confidence. "Always."

"I believe General Jiang should be allowed ten percent share of the gold mines of Khe Pa; after all, he won the city after it was taken from us fifty years ago by the Earth Kingdom", Azula spoke with such confidence, it pleased Ozai just to hear her speak. "Admiral Chan must reimburse the loss of his fleet and be hold responsible for conscriptions and recruitment expenses to rebuild his troops. Admiral Liang has not done an awfully difficult mission; a simple optional leave will do him justice. Colonel Shimazu must be found and dealt with quickly. I…" she drawled a little; it looked like she just got an idea. "… think, maybe Commander Zhao. Hmm… the Inquisitors have sadly forgotten to send me adequate information regarding his fate. Should the Earth Kingdom agree to a ransom or prisoner exchange, and we get Commander Zhao back, at a fair price, of course, and that assuming that he deserves to be saved, we should send him on another manhunt for Shimazu. If Zhao fails again, then off with his head."

"I must admit, I am somewhat fond of Commander Zhao", Ozai's tried and failed to project such emotion; he was just wary that Zhao knew some of his dark secrets, like the affair with Admiral Jeong Jeong. "Do you know how exactly Zhao humiliated himself so?"

"No, Father", Ozai could actually see a flash of fear dancing in his daughter's eyes for a brief moment; deep deep down, he did not like that but he accepted it as a tolerated byproduct of him educating his daughter. "Only that Zhao violated the Hongmen Convention, among other things."

"He raided a village", Ozai said with an inexplicable glee in his voice. "And he attacked a hospital unit."

"What I find hard to understand is _how…_" Azula put the necessary emphasis on the word. "…someone like Zhao can be captured by a bunch of medics and Water Tribe rogues."

"Water Tribe?" inquired Ozai with piqued interest.

"Yes, Father; Water Tribe", Ozai's conscience, if he had one, was eased by the glint of excitement in his daughter's eyes. "The hospital unit was aided by a band of Water Tribe barbarians. It is the same group that was reported to have aided the Earth Kingdom Army to seize Colonel Shimazu's battlement last summer. I have the report from the Rough Rhinos somewhere", she glanced at the stack of scrolls and books the maids had set on a table on the corner of the room.

"Later, Azula", Ozai decided, smirking, satisfied with her report. She deserved a reward. "Let us eat for now. I believe scarlet bird soup is one of your favorites, hmm?"

Azula looked down to a new bowl the maids set down for them with a feeling of content. "You even have it shaped into a flower", she commented on the pieces of possum-chicken meat aligned in circular manner resembling a lotus. "Thank you, Father."

Ozai gave a little grin as his reply; it was enough for her. They ate several bites in silence; nothing was heard but the flickering fire from the fireplace. In the middle of his tenth spoonful of his soup, the sight of the chicken meat reminded Ozai of something. "Ah, yes. Azula, your brother Zuko will arrive later this afternoon."

"Oh?" Azula narrowed her eyes somewhat. "Has Master Piandao realized what a lost cause our little Zuzu is?"

Ah, it the acerbic sly sense of humor that Ozai loved so much; he gave himself the pleasure of a good laugh. "No, Azula. _Not yet_", and it pleased Ozai to see Azula understanding his own wit. "Master Jian Wu has invited Master Piandao over for little training; you know how swordsmen are. Naturally, Zuko will be coming along."

"Will Master Piandao stay in the Palace with us?" asked Azula with a hint of mild curiosity; Master Jian Wu, being an Imperial Sword Instructor occupied a chamber in the North Wing of the Imperial Palace, a portion of the establishment reserved to be the dwelling of Imperial Instructors and Tutors.

"Master Jian Wu has not mentioned it to me", Ozai said, taking a sip of his tea; he did not particularly like the tangy spicy fire tomatoes that was used to make the soup so red, but anything for his dearest daughter. "Perhaps Master Piandao will stay somewhere in the city. Also, as I recall, Master Jian Wu owns a cottage in the northern part of the island. Perhaps Master Piandao will stay there. What do you think Azula; should we invite Master Piandao to stay here in the Palace instead?"

Ozai knew that it meant the world for Azula that he thought of her opinion so highly. "I don't see why not", Azula smiled. "After all, after what happened with Lin—", she coughed a little; must be the spice, Ozai thought. "We have done him quite harm, forcing Master Piandao to close down his school. The least we could do is to accommodate his stay. How long will he be staying, Father?"

"A few days", Ozai felt a little pissed for some reason. "If I have deciphered your brother's poor handwriting correctly, that is."

Azula arched an acknowledging brow.

"I agree with you", Ozai picked up a piece of meat from his soup into Azula's rice bowl; he chose only the leanest, the best for his dearest daughter. "Master Piandao will be welcomed to stay with us."

"Thank you, Father", her joy was doubled by the gestures. "Shall I prepare a room for our guest?"

"Yes, that would be great, Azula", initiative… Ozai liked it.

They ate again, not muttering a word. She has grown, thought Ozai. No longer did she eat messily, no longer she spoke with her mouth full, no longer was she flawed. In just a little more than two months, Azula had risen from the ashes of her former self and grown into this… this _perfection_! Ozai was pleased.

Unknowingly, Ozai stopped eating while he drank in the pride he felt for his daughter, smirking at her.

"Is everything alright, Father?" Azula asked full of concern. "You have stopped eating."

Ozai chuckled. He set down his bowl and chopsticks, dabbed his mouth clean with a napkin, and emptied his cup in several long gulp. "I have lost my appetite", he declared lightly. "The subject of your failure brother tends to do that to me."

"But, you have to eat", Azula sounded calm but there was a disappointment that she could not hide as Ozai rose from his seat. "You need your strength if you are to govern our Nation towards greatness."

Ozai laughed; oh, how he loved his daughter. His _perfect_ daughter…

"There is not much to do today, Azula", Ozai rubbed the cresses of his robe. "Stay and enjoy your breakfast. Oh, and will you welcome Master Piandao on my behalf ?"

"Yes, Father", Azula still sounded calm and Ozai felt prouder. Emotions are for the weak; even if she still felt it, she must never _sound_ it!

It pleased Ozai the way Azula carried herself today; she deserved a reward. Ozai stepped towards the girl; leaning down, she kissed her warmly on her forehead. "I am proud of you, Azula."

"Thank you, Father", that radiant look engulfing Azula's face, it pleased Ozai.

As Ozai walked the hallway leading to his Fire Throne, he realized that he was the most fortunate father in the whole Four Nations.

Now, if only someone could do something about this fog… Ozai scowled at the white mist that had been hanging around the Royal Palace, _his_ Royal Palace. He walked towards his palanquin that carried him to his Throne Room. His mood had lightened; being with his dearest daughter had that effect on him. But, of course, Zuko would arrive today. He felt somewhat guilty for already coming up with plans to weasel away from having to have family lunch. He would miss a meal with his daughter only to avoid his son and the guest. Why could his son not be more like his dearest perfect daughter?

No matter, Ozai thought as he descended from his palanquin. He would find a way to deal with his son's weakness sooner or later. Once Azula was complete, Zuko would have his turn. Then, maybe, just maybe, their family would be whole again. As whole as it could be. Ursa would still be gone, Lu Ten would still be dead, Iroh would still be an unwanted failure. But, Ozai's children would be strong; one of them already was.

Sitting now on his Fire Throne, Ozai took a deep breath and exhaled; the flame of his throne sparked into life. He waited for something to happen. Nothing… one of the downside of being a Fire Lord is the tradition of morning office duty where he simply must show up in his Throne Room and sat there until the sun reaches its peak. Luckily, Ozai was quite fond of meditation and he also usually used this time to communicate with his assassins.

The curtain in front of him was parted open and his adjutant entered. The man crept closer and bowed. "My Lord, may I go over your schedule for today?"

Ozai knew he had a reason to keep this non-bending subordinate around. "You may."

"For morning session, you have ordered for as little activity as possible."

Have I now? Thought Ozai. Better stick with it, he could not have people thinking that he was wishy-washy.

"For afternoon session, you have set aside some time for an audience with Fire Sage Shyu and War Minister Qin."

"Separately, I believe?" Ozai tried.

"Of course, My Lord."

Hmm, boring… he was expecting the man to fumble like everybody else. His adjutant's smooth reply might display his high social skill that came with the job requirement but it did not do squat to relief Ozai of boredom.

"Afterwards, you will have the evening free for miscellaneous hearings and audiences, My Lord."

"How many do I expect?" Ozai asked.

"None so far, My Lord", the adjutant answered.

"Good", Ozai said. "Anything else?"

"No, My Lord", the adjutant replied. "That is all."

Ozai pondered for a minute; traces of the happy days in his mind screamed at him to attend lunch with his dearest daughter but it was not doing well. "I will miss my lunch", Ozai decided. "Tell my daughter about it when the time comes."

"As you wish, My Lord."

"There will be a guest coming, send him my regards", Ozai drawled lazily. "My daughter will welcome the guest in my behalf. Prepare a feast for them."

"Yes, My Lord", the adjutant bowed. "Would you like to decide the menu?"

"No", Ozai decided. "Any winter lunch menu the cook can think of will be fine."

"Absolutely, My Lord."

"One more thing", Ozai interjected. "Order the cook to prepare a volcano ginseng soup for my daughter. Winter has gotten to her lately. She has little appetite. I will not have her get sick."

"Of course, My Lord", the adjutant sounded somewhat jovial; Ozai took this as the sign that their 'happy harmonious royal family' shtick taking effect.

"You are dismissed", Ozai sent the man away. The adjutant bowed one last time and went out, leaving Ozai in his solitary Throne Room. Now, back to being bored.

"Wuxin", Ozai whispered after fifteen seconds had passed. A dark figure of the Grandmaster of Byakko appeared in front of him, kneeling in revelry. "I will see that list now."

"Of course, My Lord", the figure bowed. Wuxin pulled from under his armor a rolled up scroll that he threw to Ozai as respectfully as possible. Considering the wall of flame that graced the surrounding Fire Throne, that was the only method possible.

Ozai took the scroll as it landed in front of him, much to Wuxin's relief; oh, the horror if he pelted the Fire Lord with a scroll, accidentally or not. Unrolling the parchment, Ozai read the list of names and stations. Naturally, the fifth on the list of twenty three caught his attention: _Lin, the twenty sixth – 44__th__ Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital, Zhong Thu Region, Earth Kingdom_.

"Remind me, Wuxin", Ozai drawled, not taking his eyes off the list. "What is Lin, the twenty sixth, doing in a hospital unit?"

"He was sent on an initiation mission, sir", Wuxin replied. "His target is Sairen How, son of General How and a combat surgeon assigned to the said hospital unit."

"Commander Zhao was captured by a hospital unit, the 44th", Ozai shot the spymaster a sharp look. "Is that not the same unit Lin is in?"

"Present evidences suggest so, My Lord", Wuxin replied still calmly. "We have not yet received any confirmation from Commander Zhao himself."

"Zhao was held as a prisoner in Tay Kho", Ozai said. "Do you have any agents there?"

"No, My Lord", even when delivering bad news, Wuxin sounded calm. "Tay Kho has always been difficult for our spies to infiltrate."

"Can your spies slip through the defenses?" Ozai inquired.

"We can try", Wuxin said. "But, I have more confidence in the stealth skills of our Genbu brethren."

"Work with them", Ozai ordered. "I want a confirmation as soon as possible."

"My Lord, if I may be so bold", though he still sounded calm and slippery, Wuxin dared not look up. "Perhaps, it will be more efficient to organize a prisoners exchange for Commander Zhao."

"Zhao has failed and disgraced me", Ozai said cruelly. "He will suffer a little longer in the Earth Kingdom prison."

"Yes, My Lord", Wuxin bowed. "And the candidates, My Lord? Will there be any change to the list?"

"No, this is fine", Ozai threw the list back to Wuxin. "You are dismissed."

The kneeling man disappeared from the spot. Alone again in his Throne Room, Ozai closed his eyes and tried to meditate. He spent quite a deal of time rearranging his thoughts, pushing away memories he would rather not associate with his Fire Throne, the memory when he was a very different man.

He breathed in cold winter air and breathed out vapor. He repeated the exercise times and times again. Many did not realize this but he and Iroh were similar in ways more than just their fondness of tea and mutual dislike towards each other. Much like Iroh, Ozai was also a strong advocate of meditative exercises. He could actually hold his meditation for hours at the time, longer than Iroh could.

By the time he heard the rustle of the curtain being parted, Azula walked in. She walked ever so regally, like a true Fire Princess she was. Ozai beamed at her, his masterpiece.

"Father", Azula fell to a kneeling bow.

"Rise, Azula", Ozai ordered with a not-at-all subtle pride in his voice. "Have you arranged a proper accommodation for Master Piandao?"

"Yes, Father", Azula sat in a formal seiza. "I ordered a room to be prepared in the North Wing, a short walk away from Master Jian Wu's chamber."

"Ah, good thinking, Azula", Ozai praised openly. He liked his daughter's initiative; she was not a mindless drone.

"Thank you, Father", Azula might remain calm but Ozai knew she was jumping up and down inside. "Is there anything else you would have me do? I am still waiting for the Inquisitor's report myself."

"No, Azula", it pleased Ozai how his daughter craved to be of use to him. "Go about your business for today."

"As you wish, Father", Azula bowed deeply.

Azula got up, turned and walked out; Ozai showered her with a well-earned satisfied smirk. Nothing like a conversation with his dearest daughter to lighten his mood. Ozai waited until the girl got out before he summoned a servant. Ozai ordered the man to usher in Fire Sage Shyu whom he knew was ready for his audience. Seconds passed and the said Fire Sage entered alone.

"We pray for your wisdom and longevity", Fire Sage Shyu prostrated himself before his lord.

"I assume you know why you are here", Ozai went straight to business.

"This fog, Your Highness", Shyu said still on the ground.

"What do you think, Fire Sage?" Ozai asked. "Can you do anything about it?"

"I shall do my best, My Lord", Shyu assured the man.

"You will have unrestricted access within the palace grounds", Ozai declared. "Within limits, of course."

"Understood, My Lord", Shyu bowed. "May our glorious Fire Nation prosper under her wise ruler."

"Indeed", Ozai concurred flatly. Fire Sages and their poetic ways.

Fire Sage Shyu went out and in come War Minister Qin. His spirit looked crushed, so Ozai forgave him for entering without his express permission. For all the man's incompetence, there had been some moments when the old donkey-goat truly shone through; like the time when he came up with the design for a tundra tank, his greatest achievement so far, and the new version of marine ballistae that had the capability of shooting a hook chain twice the range of the older version. War Minister Qin's proposal for the firebending cannon was bold and revolutionary, and most importantly it had caught Ozai's interest. Ozai was taken by the idea of compressing fire blast with a durable enough steel pipes to produce compressed fire with added accuracy and power. Too bad, the Minister's prototype had failed so miserably.

"Fire Lord Ozai", the goat man's slick voice graced Ozai's ears. "I hope you are doing well."

"You asked for an audience, War Minister", Ozai drawled.

"Yes, My Lord", War Minister Qin looked somewhat pleased. "It is with great pleasure I present to you, a new design for a massive drill machine", he unrolled a large parchment on the floor in front of him. Two of Ozai's servants had the sense the War Minister lacked and approached the kneeling man and his paper. They each took one side of the unfolded paper and double-back to the side walkway that bypassed the flame around the Fire Throne to present the Fire Lord the blueprint more appropriately. During the whole hassle, Ozai gave the clueless Minister the stare although he knew that the shadow his Throne cast upon his face made it impossible for the stare to take its full effect.

As the servants, each kneeling by his side, spread the long parchment for him to see, the impressive nature of the project made Ozai feel a little better. Although, there was something that irked him. "Do you take me for a fool, War Minister?"

"M-my Lord?" Qin gulped loudly. He clearly did not know what he had done wrong.

"First of all, this parchment is of Earth Kingdom make", Ozai snapped. "I am not blind."

"Y-yes, My Lord. You have a very keen eye", a politician through and through, even the moment when his life was hanging by a thread amounted to an attempt at butt-kissing.

"This machine will be difficult to make", Ozai scoffed. "How will you make a prototype to do this drill justice?"

"I-I believe…" Qin started but halted for a gasp; Ozai secretly wished the fool was having a heart attack. "I believe that no prototype is necessary, My Lord. The calibration and calculation for this design is flawless. We can build it right away", under Ozai's flickering flame around his throne, War Minister Qin added quickly and timidly. "W-with your permission, of course."

"Who came up with this plan?" Ozai hissed dangerously. "Do not lie."

"A-a… an Earth Kingdom machinist, My Lord", Qin kowtowed deeply and dared not raised his head. "H-he works for me."

"A traitor among the enemy?" Ozai sneered. "We cannot trust those who betray their own kind."

"He has worked for us for years, My Lord", Qin gulped loudly. "I assure you, he can be trusted."

"What guarantees his loyalty?" Ozai asked dangerously, his flame burnt hotter and he made it doubly sure the War Minister could feel it.

"W-we have leverage, My Lord", Qin still dared not look up, sweating profusely. "We have his and his family's lives in our hands."

"For your sake, War Minister, you better be right", Ozai snarled. "Contact the Royal Engineers. I want them to recalculate this design and estimate the cost and building time, and the probability of complete success. I'll have the report by the end of the week."

"Yes, My Lord", War Minister Qin looked up briefly with relief written all over his face before he bowed again.

"Get out of my sight", Ozai snapped. War Minister Qin scurried away without even remembering to get his design back; Ozai's servants had to chase him down all the way out.

At the very least, applying fear is fun. A bell rang from the depths of the palace, signifying the midday. Time sure flies when you are doing little, Ozai thought sardonically as he got up and stepped down from his Fire Throne; he did not even bother extinguishing his flame. He was the Fire Lord; he feared no flame, least of all his own. By the will of Agni, the wall of flame parted upon contact with Fire Lord Ozai.

Ozai stepped out with even calm pace, as a true Fire Lord would. His servants parted the curtains for him; he stepped out into the mercifully cooler tapestry hallway. Or, as Ozai had taken to quaintly refer to, the 'Gallery of Losers'. It was hard to believe that his magnificent self was descended from these people.

"_Do not defy me, Prince Ozai!"_

He glared at Azulon's portrait. The most colossal loser of all. Ozai scoffed bitterly at his father and resumed his walk. His platoon of servants appeared but he shooed them away. Ozai made his way to the spot of the palace he had not set his foot in since two years ago. The apple tree near the fountain with a stone statue of a wingless dragon in the middle of the walkway that passed the middle of the courtyard, with small patch of white flower that bloomed only in winter by the fountain side; a special place for him and Ursa.

"_Where is she?"_ their weakling of a son had once asked him here, only hours after Ursa was gone.

Ozai hated winter; it made him melancholic and sentimental. Winter made him weak.

"What?" without even looking back, he growled at whoever it was that walked up to him.

"My Lord", the man, a servant he guessed from his silky smooth tone, bowed. "Prince Zuko, Princess Azula, Master Jian Wu, and Master Piandao are having lunch. They have been told that you will not be joining them."

"So?" Ozai drawled, eyes set on the glistening surface of the fountain.

"Princess Azula expresses her concern for your wellbeing. She had said that you did not eat much during breakfast", the servant said.

"Did she now?" Ozai's lips curved up a little.

"Yes, My Lord", the servant said with a slight hint of relish in his voice. "Princess Azula has ordered the cook to prepare a lunch for you, My Lord."

Ozai chuckled. Daddy's little girl.

"Set it here", Ozai said.

"H-here, My Lord?" the servant asked incredulously; they were standing in one of the courtyards near the main entrance of the Imperial Palace. Agni knows the scandal it would cause if a visitor saw the Fire Lord ate his lunch here, of all places! In the open air! In winter!

"Did I stutter?" Ozai titled his head a little, hissing dangerously.

"N-no, My Lord", the servant stammered. "As you wish, My Lord. I will get the table and chair ready."

Ozai stood there, waiting with his hands tugged in his sleeves. Suddenly, the fog and the memory of the fountain did not bother him so much anymore.

"_Get out there", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl tried to push him out of his cover behind the apple tree. When the futility of pushing the man twice her size dawned upon her, she lit a tiny flame that scorched his royal behind._

"_Ouch!" Ozai promptly jumped out. "You said you can't firebend!"_

"_I lied", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl grinned and gave him thumbs up from behind the tree._

"_Hello?" Ursa turned and called from the fountain. "Prince… Ozai? Who are you talking to?"_

"_We-well—", Ozai threw a furious and pleading glare at the— where did that little ponytailed and grey-eyed prick disappear to?_

"_Um…" Ursa smiled confusedly at him. Agni, it melted him…_

"_H-hi…" Ozai prayed to the spirits above for Ursa to never notice the scorched hole on the back of his pants._

Ozai scoffed slightly at the memory as the servant pulled his chair for him. He sat down in front of the wooden lawn table the servants had set. More servants arrived with hot meal; a bowl of rice, a plate of kimchi, that made him smile, a bowl of curry, that warmed his belly just by the smell of it, and a plate of komodo sausage accompanied by a saucer of yellow mustard, that made him burst out laughing.

No one but his dearest daughter could make him laugh so much in one day.

"Go to the kitchen and get me spicy bean dipping sauce", he ordered the servant still laughing.

"Yes, My Lord", the servant bowed.

"And, if my daughter asks, tell her I ate my sausage with the mustard she sent", Ozai added a little gleefully.

"Of course, My Lord", the servant chuckled. Fire Lord Ozai rarely showed such favorable mood.

"_Are you trying to poison me?" he growled dangerously from under his quilt at the ponytailed grey-eyed lady who sat on a chair right beside a small stool table and looked offended at his accusation._

"_What? It's nutritious. Don't make that face! It's good", the ponytailed grey-eyed lady defended her cracking a raw egg into the bowl of gruel she brought the sick drippy-nosed prince. "Clean your nose."_

"_I have servants who do this for me", Ozai blew his nose on the handkerchief she threw to his face._

"_What are you, five?" the ponytailed grey-eyed lady scoffed. "Ew, keep it!" she slapped that soiled handkerchief holding hand away. Handing the bowl with yellow egg yolk and transparent mucous like substance around it, she said. "Heat it up. The egg will get cooked slowly."_

"_Heat it up yourself, prick", Ozai stared at her witheringly. She promptly sighed and coughed so very weakly twice into her sleeve. "I hate it when you do that", Ozai growled, wrecked with guilt. He begrudgingly stuck his palm on the bottom of the bowl the lady held for him with both her hands; a flame briefly burst to life with her hands still on the bowl and all._

"_Ouch! Hot!" the ponytailed grey-eyed lady screamed and swiftly put the bowl back to the stool table; the same stool table she held on to for balance as she delivered a front kick to the grinning royalty side. "Jerk!"_

"_You're embarrassing firebenders everywhere", Ozai sneered, earning him a searing shot spoonful through his laughing mouth. "Gah! What kind of peasant food is this!"_

"_Hey! My mom used to make it like this", the ponytailed gray-eyed lady snapped, shoving more gruel into the man's mouth. "I don't know what Ursa sees in a pompous spoiled jerk like you."_

_Ozai swallowed before he sneered again. "Ursa has taste."_

"_Yeah, she also has a pimple; doesn't make her a skin doctor", the ponytailed grey-eyed lady sneered back, feeding more gruel. "Her birthday's next week. Wanna come to the party?"_

"_I'll be busy with work", Ozai evaded, begrudgingly ate more gruel._

"_Coward. So, want seconds?" the ponytailed grey-eyed lady asked; when Ozai did not answer, she added tiredly. "I won't tell anyone."_

"… _yes."_

"_Say 'please'."_

"… _please."_

Ozai ate his lunch heartily, already making promises to make it up to his dearest daughter for missing lunch with her. _I really am a coward, aren't I?_ Ozai scoffed at himself, casting a glance at the apple tree behind which he once had hidden. _Little prick? _

"_For every evil act, there must be a reason, one that can convince even the meanest of spirits", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl said sagely with a perfectly imitated sound of an old lady._

What is my reason that could convince even the meanest of spirits? Ozai asked himself as he swallowed his sausage.

"_You are weak, Prince Ozai", Azulon spat from his throne at his kneeling teary eyed second born. "You disgrace me!"_

Have I now, Father? Ozai smirked. He pinched some kimchi to his mouth and devoured it, savoring the sour and spicy taste of the pickled cabbage. Have I disappointed you, Father? The Fire Nation is steps closer towards winning the war. My son is alive and healthy, my daughter is growing stronger by the day. I may have disappointed you, but you have disappointed me long before that.

But, I have never disgraced you… _you_ disgraced _me_.

"My Lord", a nearby servant gasped as Ozai's chopsticks snapped in the monarch's hand. "My Lord, let me get you new chopsticks."

Ozai sniffled. He sipped his tea calmly as the servants raced back to the nearest kitchen to get him a new pair of chopsticks.

"_Get it yourself, big jerk!" the ponytailed grey eyed lady huffed. _

"_I'm a prince and you're a… whatever you are", Ozai sneered._

"_Hey!"_

"_It is beneath me to do this… menial task."_

"_I don't know what Ursa sees in a jerk like you."_

"_Prick!'_

"_Jerk!"_

Ozai laughed unexpectedly. The servants around him exchanged awkward glances; this had never happened before. Clearing his throat, Ozai said casually. "I have the best daughter in the whole world."

They smiled at him; he smiled too. Believe it or not, a sincere one.

"_Stop poking my belly!" the seven-month pregnant ponytailed grey-eyed lady slapped his hand away. _

"_Lian", Ursa chided. Tuning to Ozai, Ursa said kindly. "It's her hormone. You know, pregnancy."_

"_My son will kick your butt one day, jerk!"_

As Ozai finished the last of his lunch, he sipped his tea slowly with his eyes set on the fountain. When he set his cup down and got up, letting his servants clean up his mess and put away the table and chair, Ozai walked to the edge of the fountain, to the patch of white flower that only bloomed during winter. He knelt down, ignoring gasps of the nearby servants for a Fire Lord does not kneel, and plucked two of the snow peonies; one with a stem, the other had the stem severed by tiny fire blade. He sniffed the stemless one deeply, his eyes closed as he let himself being immersed in the rare feeling of sadness. He touched it gently and covertly to his lips and set the flower adrift on the fountain.

_I am a coward, after all, little prick. _

"Take this to my chamber", Ozai ordered a servant, handing the other flower. "Trim it and put it on a vase. Make sure it stays fresh; I plan to give it to my daughter later."

"Yes, of course, My Lord", the servant beamed.

Ozai scoffed lightly at the patch of snow peonies as he turned and walked back to his chamber; yes, he allowed himself a walk, taking a long scenic route. Suddenly, the fog did not bother him too much anymore. He was being weak, he knew that; winter did that to him, making him weak and knowing it. But, he pondered, even a man needs to be weak sometimes. Was a majestic phoenix not a weak helpless chick from time to time?

As Ozai re-entered his chamber, his lightened mood disappear; the presence of Wuxin or any of the other three leaders of the royal assassins had that effect on him. As a Fire Lord, he must be strong, strong enough to instill loyalty and submissiveness of hundreds of highly trained royal assassins.

"I will be in my chamber for the time being", Ozai said to his servant. "Notify me if my presence is needed elsewhere."

"Yes, My Lord", the servant bowed and closed the door at his leave.

"What is it now?" Ozai hissed. Wuxin stepped out of the shadow and knelt.

"My Lord", the spymaster rasped urgently through his mask. "Lin, the twenty sixth, is here in Fire Nation."

"What?" Ozai snapped, turning to the man. "I thought you have not sent the instruction."

"I have not, My Lord", Wuxin said. "He came back of his own volition."

Ozai suppressed the urge to sigh. _Agni in Heaven! That brat is unpredictability personified_!

"What will you decide, My Lord?" Wuxin asked.

"He is your responsibility", Ozai said coldly.

"_You're mean!" the ponytailed grey-eyed girl screamed. "No wonder Ursa hates you!"_

"However, he has shown great promise", Ozai added firmly, flashing a grin so evilly manipulative only a monarch like him could do. "Be fair when you judge him."

"Yes, My Lord", Wuxin bowed. "Will that be all?"

"I want to see him once you are done with him", Ozai said. "Arrange that. Tomorrow."

"Yes, My Lord", Wuxin bowed again. "Shall I check with your schedule?"

_Damn spy!_ "Morning will do", Ozai grinned; he liked this man, this man did not fear power. "I shall be in my Throne Room. Make sure he reached me safely and uninterruptedly."

"Very well, My Lord", the spymaster bowed before he assimilated with the shadow.

After making sure he was alone, Ozai made a move to his bathroom. Yes, boys and girls, even the exalted Fire Lord needs to tinkle sometimes. For good measure, he washed his face on the sink of his red marble sink. He looked up to his mirror and realized how far he had gone. Happy days were long gone. They would never return.

He breathed out steam; droplets of water on his face vaporized. Getting out slightly more rejuvenated, Fire Lord Ozai stepped out and, opening his door, he addressed one of the servants. "Tell my daughter that I will not be joining her for dinner tonight", he said. "And that I appreciated the lunch she had prepared for me and I enjoyed every bit of it."

"Absolutely, My Lord", the servant bowed.

"Additionally, tell her that I will do whatever it takes to have breakfast with her tomorrow", Ozai added.

"Yes, My Lord", the servant bowed again.

"Remember", Ozai drawled slowly. "_Whatever it takes_."

"Yes, My Lord", the servant gave one last bow before he was dismissed.

"As for you", Ozai addressed the other servant. "Go to my adjutant and tell him that I wish to cancel all my appointment for the day and tomorrow morning."

"Yes, My Lord", he too was dismissed.

Ozai went back to his room. He spent the next few hours meditating. He had allowed himself the luxury of weakness, but one such as him must apply restraint at all times. Too much is too much; he needed to gather his thought together.

He did not know how long he meditated on his bed; the noise the servants made outside disrupted his concentration. Furiously, he stomped out and slammed his door open. The servants and guards' gasp matched the incredulity of his frown at the clear weather outside; the fog had vanished.

"My Lord", a servant walked up to him. "The fog is gone."

"Do you think I'm blind?" Ozai drawled dangerously at the servant who promptly prostrated himself on his feet and begged for his mercy. "Get up!"

The servant did and Ozai went back to his room. He was still feeling snarky when his sight fell upon the white flower on a vase the servant had put on his nightstand.

"_You scowl too much", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl scrutinized him from top to bottom. "Ursa is a sucker for muscles but… feh, it's the face mainly. And the goatee— Arrgh! What did I tell you about lighting your future adopted sister-in-law on fire, big jerk!"_

Ozai tried to peel his eyes off the flower and go back to his meditation. He could not…

Standing up from his bed, he headed for his bathroom and prepared his bathtub himself. This went against everything he had taught Azula, doing the chores himself instead of ordering the servants to do it for him. But, what Azula did not know…

He sighed a relief as he submerged himself completely in his large bathtub, which coincidentally was the size of a communal bath; such is a privilege that comes with being a Fire Lord. He got up and exhaled deeply. He got to thinking about the happy days again. Agni knows how Ozai hated winter.

Before he could let himself be lulled into unnecessary recollection, Ozai quickly got up, firebent himself dry, and got dressed. He had stayed longer than he had intended; it was already dark. Fully dressed again, by himself, he decided to check on Azula. Azula, his dearest daughter, would make him laugh. He hesitated a little but he decided to pluck the flower off the vase. He did not summon the palanquin as he walked to the Royal Female Living Quarters. Unseemly and not lordly but again, what Azula did not know…

As Ozai entered the hallway that led to the red door with golden inlay, wariness gripped his senses. There was no one around. There should be guards patrolling, maids attending 24/7 by the door. Something was amiss. He quickly strode to Azula's door; halfway there, a bone chilling scream of a girlish kind he knew coming from Azula made him missed a heartbeat. Stride broke into a full run.

"Stop that!"

A boy's voice! Full run evolved into a stampede!

With his hand on the door knob, ready to push the door open, he halted when his dearest daughter's voice graced his ears again. She... did not sound scared or injured; she sounded angry, furious, upset even. Frowning, Ozai decided to, um… eavesdrop a little. Azula sounded angry, indeed. B-b-but, it is unseemly for a Fire Lord to eavesdrop!

_At least send those people away first…_

Ozai looked around, making sure no one was around. Just to be safe, he summoned a nearby assassin he had stationed there and instructed her to clear the area of absolutely anyone, doing so in a hushed tone. After making sure the female quarter was completely devoid of prying eyes, Ozai lifted his long robe and tiptoed toward the door of his daughter's room again like cat burglar. Crouching low, he pressed his ear on the wooden door; a high-pitched scream of the girl nearly threw him off his knees.

_Hang on, Azula! Daddy's coming! With LIGHTNING!_

Believe it or not, Ozai had actually begun the process of separating the Yin and Yang of his chi when the voice of the boy, which he recognized with horror as Lin, the twenty sixth's, indicated that he was being assaulted by his dearest daughter. Now, hang on… this could be interesting. Ozai was many things but he was not the kind of a father who would begrudge his dearest daughter a chance to beat up a boy.

"Ow, stop yelling in my ear!" he heard a boy's muffled protest through the door before Azula yelled out angry words at him.

Just what the hell is going on in there! Ozai went back to eavesdropping. He could not get much; he heard muffled words about… '_stupid'_ and '_traitor' _coming from Azula, and there were a lot of thuds, like someone (Lin) was being beaten. And then, it got quiet…

He could still hear hushed muffled voices but he could not make a word of it; their voices were too small to be made out. He waited for, believe it or not, full ten minutes. Nothing seemed to be happening. Then, out of nowhere, Azula's angry scream aired again.

"I said you can't sleep down there! Get back on the bed or I'll zap you again!"

_Sleep! BED!_

Ozai's heart missed ten consecutive beats as his knees went weak and he began hyperventilating. He unknowingly gripped his flower so hard, he bent the stem. At that moment, Ozai did the one thing he had never done for the past few years; he prayed. He prayed to Agni for Ursa to have had _the talk_ with Azula already, although the chance of that was practically nonexistent.

Fighting an urge to kick the door open and barge in, or faint on the spot, whichever get to him first, Ozai pressed his ear to the door again, trying so very hard to eavesdrop on their conversation; there was no other suspicious sound so Ozai allowed himself a tiny shred of relief. Ozai could catch nothing but more hushed and muffled voices, and occasional angry shouts from his dearest daughter. But, there was definitely a boy in there! And that boy was beyond any doubt Lin, the twenty sixth!

It was truly an itsy bitsy flaw in his master plan, one small mistake that might prove disastrous: separating Azula from her mother too quickly. Why could he not wait until Azula was old enough for _the talk_? Ozai mentally drummed his head.

Sighing, he cheered himself up with the fact that those two crazy kids were betrothed to one another anyway. Whatever happens, will happen; not that anything would happen! Also, Azula seemed to be in control of the situation. From the sound of it, she did most of the yelling and hitting and hurting. And besides! '_Stupid', 'traitor'_, series of thuds of someone (Lin) being beaten.

"I hate you!" aha! That one, Azula's scream! And she was angry. That too!

None of that suggested that anything (Ozai shuddered inwardly) romantic was happening there; nothing to worry about. And besides, they were kids; the most romantic thing they could possibly be aware of amounted to holding hands for more or less ten seconds without giggling, Ozai convinced himself. But still… gah! This is wrong! Wrong! Wrong, I tell you! Ozai wanted nothing more but to kick the door down and shoot lightning at anything male in there, or break down crying and suffer a pleasant heart attack and vomit foam from his mouth, whichever got to him first.

No, no, there he goes again. He had trusted Azula's judgment so far; Azula had never failed him. As for Lin; well, Lian's son and all. Lin was not stupid. Any infringement would result in Ozai making each and every member of the brat's vast family pay. But, then again… Lin, much like Lian, was highly unpredictable.

—Knock, knock—

There were rustle, someone yelping, a dull thud, more rustle, two consecutive thuds, and hurried footsteps coming closer. The door was pulled open by Azula in her red nightgown and hair in ponytail (not a good sign; Daddy Lord Ozai nearly suffered a cardiac arrest on the spot when Azula's hand moved to tidy her slightly messy hair swiftly). "Father", Azula, flipped her ponytail, greeted as if nothing had happened and all was fire gummies and sundisk cookies in Ozailand.

"Azula", Ozai emulated his dearest daughter's calm expression. He charged past Azula's arm barring the entrance; an easy victory for someone his size against a girl whose top of the head could barely reach past his solar plexus. And besides, he had knowledge of that ticklish spot on Azula's waist and had no reservation from exploiting it.

Having gained (forced) entry to the room, while Azula recovered from the jolt on the floor, Ozai quickly scanned the room while his left hand inside his long sleeve crackled with lightning; well, metaphorically, but Ozai was known for his mastery over Lightning Generation of such high extent that he could generate the cold-blooded fire much faster than any lightningbenders in history. Rumor even has it that his lightning was so coldblooded, sometimes it bore the white color of ice.

"Father, it is late", Azula, as she regained her bearing, closed her door and hugged herself for warmth. She had not perfected the subtlety of her lying craft yet; Ozai could see the rosy tint on her cheeks under the dim torchlight. "Is there anything you need?"

Ozai, ignoring the girl, scanned the room with murderous amber glare. The only odd thing he found was the mess on Azula's desk; Azula was never a slob. The usually neat piles of paper and scrolls were scattered all over the desk and… dear Agni, some of the papers were burnt.

"Azula!" Ozai had no intention to shout but, for some reason, he did; Azula jumped a little at the outburst. "What is going on here?" he pointed sternly at the pile of burnt paper.

"I was practicing a firebending form earlier, Father", Azula cringed innocently and lied smoothly. "It was a Lin Family form called 'Flaming Wheel of Ne Zha'. I once saw Lin practicing it and thought I could emulate it from memory. Evidently, I was mistaken."

Ozai narrowed his eyes somewhat, trying to detect any obvious signs of lie. He could not and, as the result, he was caught between his pride for his dearest daughter's prowess in the art of deception and his fatherly concern because he knew that the girl was **FREAKING LYING** through her teeth! But, to bust her now might turn her against him and he could not afford that.

Deciding to play it safe, he disguised his sudden visit as one intended to check up on the girl which was his initial intention anyway. Setting the vase that now housed a single slightly bent snow peony on the nightstand straight, Ozai sat down by his daughter's side as the girl watched her father with a perfectly acted out innocent poker face on her bedside. Ozai would not even mention the absence of all guards and maids.

Yet…

"You burnt quite a great deal of paper", Ozai pointed out as their eyes traced to the desk by the window.

"I'm sorry, Father", Azula whispered sadly, looking down at her dangling feet, her two bangs hanging down, biting her lower lip and swaying back and forth a little. Oh, sweet Agni, Ozai thought, how could he resist _that_! Such adorable display should be considered cheating! "I will be careful next time", Azula promised quietly, titling her head a little, looking at Ozai a little through her bang with the adorable eyes of a baby angel. That's another point for her.

"*sniff*" the Princess added as she returned her sad gaze to her feet.

Azula 3 - 0 Ozai

"So, _firebending_", Ozai asked slowly, tugging her bang behind her ear.

"Yes, Father", Azula kept her gaze at her feet, wiping her eyes and nose a little. "Firebending."

"_Lin Family_ style, you say", Ozai prodded further.

"Yes", Azula said without looking up. "Lin Family Style."

"I see", Ozai cleared his throat. He made a gesture of wanting to embrace the girl's shoulder but halted his hand awkwardly; he had to mask it as a clumsy stretch.

"Father, are you alright?" Azula asked with flawlessly acted genuine concern, tilting her head to her father slightly. "You seem a little tired."

"Firebending?" Ozai ignored her and asked again; he knew Azula had begun her move to shoo him away.

"Yes, firebending", Azula nodded again.

"Lin Family style?"

"Lin Family style."

"I thought your fingers are still hurting", Ozai switched to offensive.

"I wasn't using my fingers", Azula shrugged slightly. Ozai taught her too well…

"Are you… _hurt_ anywhere?" Ozai drawled.

"No, Father", Azula replied slowly, looking puzzled. She gasped a little as her father turned to her suddenly, grasped her shoulders tight and made her look into that burning amber of his. "Um… F-father?"

"Azula, answer truthfully!" Ozai shot her a warning look; she looked nervous. "You were… practicing firebending?"

"Y-yes?" Azula grimaced nervously; eyes widened in fear.

"Lin Family style?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Are you— are you hurt anywhere?"

"Um… no?"

"Are you sure?" Ozai growled sternly.

"Yes?" Azula squirmed subtly.

"You are not hurt? Really? You are not lying?" Ozai asked again; Azula shook her head rapidly. It gave way to a massive wave of relief. "Oh, embrace me."

"Father", Azula groaned in between her being crushed in her father's hug. "You're acting unusually strange."

"I am worried", Ozai sighed in relief. "But, as I can see, you are not hurt. While practicing firebending. Lin Family style."

"Father, maybe you are tired", Azula successfully broke off from the hug; an impressive feat because papa bear's hug is, as we all know, one of the most powerful forces in the universe after God's miracle and Fire Pie Fridays. "You need to get some rest."

"Yes, but", Ozai scanned around for a reason to stay. "Your nightgown is too thin! Wear something thicker (_like a metal Royal Procession armor_, Ozai nearly said this); this is winter!"

"Of course, Father", Azula said quickly, standing up and tugging Ozai's hand. "If you leave, I'll change into something else."

"The flower—", Ozai pointed at the vase.

"Yes, it is beautiful, Father. I love it", Azula smiled sweetly as she pulled the man up; to further disorient him, Azula caught the man's neck and kissed him tenderly on the cheek before he rose to full height. "Thank you, Father."

"Yes, yes", Ozai was still looking around, nailing his feet on the floor as his dearest daughter pushed him towards the door. "Your papers—"

"Don't worry", Azula heaved; against all odds, she had the man a reach away from the door. "I will rewrite them. And I will not stay up too late", she added quickly as Ozai opened his mouth.

"About lunch today—", Ozai pushed back but Azula put up quite a fight.

"That's alright, you're welcome, hope you enjoyed the mustard". Azula's sweet smile clashed heavily with her grunting and pushing the man out.

"The fog—", Ozai won a step inside.

"Yes, gone suddenly. Creepy", Azula hissed breathlessly as she struggled against the man twice her size five times her weight; but, she managed the three steps it took to push him across the threshold of her door. "Goodnight, Father."

"Yes, goodnight", was what Ozai said but upon the door being slammed closed with him standing outside, his arm held it open. "Maybe I should get you a glass of warm milk while you work?"

"Father! I'm not a child!" Azula huffed.

"That's what I'm afraid of", Ozai lamented under his breath.

"What?" Azula crossed her arms, clearly annoyed.

"Nothing", Ozai said quickly, also evasively. He was about to open his mouth again when his dearest daughter sighed loudly and stepped into his chest, although her arms were still crossed. He squeezed her anyway.

"Goodnight, Father", Azula looked up, still caught in her father's arms, still with her arms crossed, refusing to hug back. She returned to her father's chest as she added sympathetically. "Sleep well. I know how winter gets you down."

"I do hate winter", Ozai mused aloud.

"Me too", Azula looked up from her father's chest and smiled understandingly.

"Remember what I taught you about firebending?" Ozai asked, resting his chin on the top of his dearest daughter's head.

"Don't be afraid to use it", Azula's muffled reply made him breathe easier.

"And about fighting?"

"No mercy."

"That's my girl", Ozai smiled as he hugged and kissed his little girl's head repeatedly. About fifteen times.

"Father", Azula giggled a little; she uncrossed her arms and hugged back. "I'm not hopeless."

"I know, Azula", Ozai squeezed tighter.

"… Father, let go."

"Of course, Azula", he did not.

"… My spine is starting to hurt. Let go, Father."

Ozai did but reluctantly, and begrudgingly, and unwillingly, also half-heartedly. "Just remember to be careful. Understand, Azula?" he accepted the girl's smile and turned away; but, before he could take a step, he turned around and added. "Especially when you're practicing firebending", he said sternly, turned back, and turned around again. "Lin Family style is dangerous."

"Goodnight, Father", Azula smiled one last time.

"Goodni—"

—SLAM—

It was Ozai's first experience of the so-called 'having a door slammed to one's face' and, quite frankly, he was not sure how he should rea—.

—CLICK—

Slamming the door was one thing; locking the door was uncalled for! And rude! Ozai did not leave, of course. He went back to his earlier crouching position, with his ear stuck to the surface of the door. He heard more muffled conversations; he still could not catch any words. Suddenly, the brat's voice was heard.

"Wait! You'll ruin your nails!"

_WHAT! _Daddy LordOzai was furious; nay, livid! What was that bastard doing to his dearest daughter's nails!

"Azu— Azula, you'll ruin me!"

_YEAH! That's my girl! KILL HIM! NO MERCY!_

It got somewhat quiet all of the sudden. Whatever happened to ruining that brat! Ozai jumped a little as a series of thudding ensued, followed by Azula's vehement declaration of her hatred. Well, that was not bad… but, where's the rest of the violence? The brat deserved to be burnt alive slowly and repeatedly until he died at least twenty six times; doesn't really make sense but the sentiment's there.

Winter must have really gotten to him because Ozai actually stayed until no more sound came from the room and it was one hour later. He did not know how to feel about it, but… nah, he had taught Azula well. Azula could be trusted; that Lin brat, however… for now, Ozai would trust him. Besides, he would see him tomorrow.

Yawning and feeling not at all good, Ozai begrudgingly made his way back to his chamber; not before he re-stationed his assassins, of course. He took a wary mental note of this. None of them showed any sign that they had noticed Lin enteri— no, _infiltrating_ Azula's chamber. He knew that Genbu assassins were the best in stealth; if Lin could have actually passed through the platoon of shadow warriors Ozai had handpicked personally to keep his dearest daughter safe, then Ozai must never underestimated Lin. Ozai did not mention anything about Lin to them, of course. Who knew what complications it might give rise to?

"Fire Lord Ozai!" a ragtag group of servants, guards, and maids ran up to him and knelt down quickly as Ozai stepped out of the Royal Female Living Quarter. "Fire Lord Ozai, we— we beg your forgiveness. Princess Azula ordered us to leave her quarter. We heard shouting and we didn't know what to do. We have been looking for you—"

Fire Lord Ozai's throwing a fistful of fire on the ground near them shut them up like magic. "If my daughter has given you an order, I expect you to carry it out!" he spat and left angrily. "She was practicing firebending in her room."

Quickly, Ozai walked back to his room, so hurriedly indeed; he did not want to give in to the temptation of striking one of those useless servants down. Good servants were hard to come by. Arriving inside his chamber, he sat on his bed, still a little shaken.

"_I wanna play with Mommy", his little two year old Princess sulked._

"_Mommy is busy helping your brother study", he reached down wanting to pick the little girl up but she crouched down and refused. "Come on", he rose back up and cast an amused smile at her stubbornness. "Play with Daddy today."_

"_No", she stood and scowled, crossing her arms like she usually would when she was upset._

_Chuckling, he crouched down. "Daddy will buy you candy."_

"_I don't want any candy", she huffed, turning her face in an offended manner._

"_A new doll?" he bargained._

"_No!" she said, looking more offended._

"_Hmm", he stroked his beard, scanning the little girl's waist; now, according to Ursa, it should be…_

"_Eeek!" she yelped as her father poked the ticklish spot on her waist, groaned and laughed as the man scooped her up, threw her high and caught her safely before warmly setting her on the pedestal of his arms. "That's no fair!" she scowled childishly as soon as her laughter subside._

"_Yes, it is", he denied, laughing boisterously as her tiny hand peevishly yanked his long beard._

Ozai rested his back on his headboard, stroking his long beard. Why do daughters have to grow up…?

Fire Lord Ozai did not sleep well that night.

When he had his breakfast with his dearest daughter, just the two of them, both barely spoke a single word aside from their regular courteous exchanges. Ozai was so sleep-deprived and worry-stricken, he did not even notice how Azula covertly yawned every now and then. As usual, it was he who left first; he did not notice Azula not raising to protest like she usually would. Ozai had more important thing in his mind. Finding himself where he usually would this time in the morning a couple of hours later, he sat on his throne for a few minutes that felt like hours. After the unappreciated wait, the curtain parted and stepped in a teenage boy in a black hooded robe.

"My Lord", Lin threw his hood off and fell to his knees. "You have summoned me."

Ozai took a deep breath, letting his flame around his throne flared to life. "Leave!" he ordered. Several black-clad figured leaped down from the ceiling, bowed, and disappeared. "LEAVE!" he roared now. At least a dozen more figures jumped down and, like the first wave, bowed and skedaddled away.

"Now", Ozai hissed at the boy kneeling in front of him, now that they were alone. "We need to talk."

It actually went more pleasantly and smoothly and less bloodily than Ozai had predicted. But, of course, their surprisingly civil conversation had to be cut short by Azula who unexpectedly showed up in the middle of their talk. Lin had detected Azula's presence and dived behind a large beam before Ozai could notice anything and Azula got within three feet radius from the curtain. Ozai took another mental note of this. What a waste for such talent in stealth to be in Byakko, a cadre of snooping spy. This brat belongs in Genbu, the group of shadow warriors.

Ozai managed to plaster on his serious Fire Lord's face despite having the full view of Lin crouching behind a beam only a few meters from his dearest daughter; Azula had less success in sounding professional since she seemed to be in dire need of sleep and sounded a little impatient as she proposed her recommendations for General Mak's next mission and the proper response for Colonel Bujing's request for assistance.

"Azula", Ozai interrupted her in the middle of her fiery rebuttal that somehow includes beheading and burning at the stake, which was strange because they were talking about a mercy mission in Garsai Region. "Azula, you look exhausted."

"I am fine, Father", Azula replied calmly but Ozai could see that she was not.

"Azula, take the rest of the day off", Ozai's suggestion came out as an order.

"But, Father—"

"It is an order, Azula", Ozai scolded her. "I will not have you fall ill from exhaustion."

"Yes, Father", Azula averted her upset glance away. "Thank you for your concern."

The bow she gave was indignant; the way she stormed out proved of no challenge to the first notion. Suppressing the urge to sigh, Ozai waited for Lin to return to his bow, taking the spot that Azula left. "I do not know how Wuxin will judge you", he said coldly. "But, I believe you have passed your first test."

"Thank you, My Lord", Lin bowed humbly.

"You will return to your cover and resume your duty", Ozai declared.

"I understand, My Lord", Lin bowed again. "About Commander Zhao…"

"I will send an agent to shut his mouth", Ozai growled. "Get out of here."

Lin bowed once more before he got up and turned around.

"One moment", there was a weakness in Ozai's tone; at least that was how Ozai perceived it to be. He decided to indulge himself this one time. "Our Nation prides ourselves in civility and propriety. Go visit your family grave before you leave the Nation. It's new year soon."

"I will, My Lord", Lin bowed a standing formal Fire Nation bow. "Thank you."

"I will issue a temporary permit for you", Ozai added again. "It will allow you unrestricted access to Caldera; you can use it to get in and out. I will send it to you later today."

Lin bowed deeper.

"Now, get out", Fire Lord Ozai growled this time.

The boy turned and left; Ozai watched him leave. A little tribute to the happy days, Ozai had decided. But, no more from now on!

There was a reason why Fire Lord Ozai set the flame of his Fire Throne in such a way, especially in winter, that it would cast shadow to his face: so no one could see his face, his expression, his emotions. For emotions are for the weak!

His day went on as usual; law to assess, regulation to pass, reports to study, permit to write. He attended both lunch and dinner in the dining hall that day. None of his children joined him. He could not care less about his son at the moment but his daughter, according to the servants he had interrogated, had once again ordered everyone to vacate her quarter while she locked herself in her room.

Sighing, Ozai exited his chamber that night with a snow peony in hand. The route out from the Fire Lord Quarter would inevitably bring him past the Crown Prince chamber. That was when his son, exiting his door, rammed into him. Ozai scowled at this weakling of a son; the boy actually stumbled when he was the one who rammed into Ozai! Poor balance and coordination. Ozai would really have to work extra hard on this one.

"Father?" his son called; the boy looked sluggish.

"I see you have indeed returned", Ozai said coldly; he did not need much to tell that the boy had been slacking around.

"Is that… a flower?" Zuko winced at the snow white flower his father had in his hand.

"Yes", Ozai did not even attempt to hide it; why should he? "This is for your sister."

"Azula likes flower?" Zuko frowned like an idiot.

"Of course she does", Ozai scoffed. "She is a proper Fire Princess."

"What?" Zuko gawked.

"And she does not let her stomach growl", Ozai jabbed at the unsavory sound of Zuko's gut roaring. "Go get something to eat before you embarrass yourself further."

Ozai left without even letting his son bow to him; he had too much in his mind right now to let his son cluttered around his consciousness. He walked slow even pace; he avoided the main hallways and opted for the less known crooks and crannies of the palace. He knew them quite well; Fire Lords of the past had built them for emergency use and, well, just because a palace is not a palace without hidden hallways and secret doors and exits. It took him thirty minutes, like the previous night, to reach her grave.

He stood there, looking down on the mound of earth and slab of stone that proved that she had once existed. In the past fourteen years, Ozai had never even spoken about her; Ursa had been courteous enough not to bring her up. After all, it had been quite a blow for her as well. Ozai stood there, looking down at the mound of earth and slab of stone that proved that she had once existed. He could hear the servants, maids and guards talking too, you know…

"_You should see Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Azula together. They're adorable!"_

"_Wow… Fire Lord Ozai really lost it with the Royal Engineer. All that for his daughter's birthday."_

"_Don't say anything but… some guards saw Fire Lord Ozai sneaking out last night. Nobody knows where he went off to."_

"_Fire Lord Ozai always seems down when winter comes. Maybe it's because he is a firebender?"_

"_Do you know the dragon fountain near the main gate? Fire Lord Ozai sometimes spent his time there. He would just stare at that patch of snow peony for hours."_

"_Prince Zuko seems angry ever since he returned. Maybe Fire Lord Ozai ought to spend more time with him too, like how he does with Princess Azula."_

"_I don't mean to gossip but… you know, some senior maids said that Lady Lian, you know, General Jiang's deceased wife, she was the one who planted those snow peonies near the fountain. They said Fire Lord Ozai used to be close to her, you know, before either of them got married. _

"_Hey, about those flowers, do you know that after Lady Lian's death Fire Lord Ozai and Lady Ursa used to tend the flowers themselves? They wouldn't even let servants do the chore. But, then… well, Fire Lord Ozai just stopped doing it and Lady Ursa..."_

"_Of course Fire Lord Ozai is a family man! He still keeps his family portrait next to his bed. Even after Lady Ursa… w-well, we're not really supposed to be talking about her."_

"_Fire Lord Ozai brought dinner for Princess Azula himself when Princess Azula had to skip dinner. He even ordered for a volcano ginseng soup to be cooked for her the next day. I wonder why Prince Zuko has never been treated that nicely. But, nah… Prince Zuko's a boy."_

"_Aww… you should see Princess Azula! She said she didn't want to get married because she wanted to stay with Fire Lord Ozai forever."_

Ozai looked down at the mound of earth and slab of stone that proved that she had once existed. He knelt down and placed the snow peony gently in the mound. "I suppose I did say that I would not return", he scoffed weakly. "I guess I am a coward _and_ a liar", he said solemnly, and then he grew brusque as he added. "But, I'm not weak!"

No, Fire Lord Ozai was never weak.

"_You know that if Fire Lord Azulon finds out, you will get into a big trouble?" Ozai told the ponytailed grey-eyed girl as she knelt down by the pond and planted the many white flowers she had brought with her._

"_He won't find out", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl said. It hurt Ozai how weak she sounded._

"_He must walk through this courtyard if he ever wants to go out", Ozai pointed out flatly._

"_And how long has it been since the last time Fire Lord Azulon even got out of the Royal Wing?" the ponytailed grey-eyed girl asked coyly. Ozai let out a deep defeated sigh._

"_Oh, my", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl smiled amusedly as the man crouched down. "A Fire Prince doing a menial task of a peasant."_

"_If you tell anyone", Ozai growled as he dug the earth with his bare fingers._

"_I won't tell", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl tried not to smile too broadly. They worked in silence until the last of the flowers was planted. They got up and admired their work._

"_They're pretty, aren't they?" the ponytailed grey-eyed girl sighed lovingly before she collapsed. Ozai quickly grabbed her. Ozai sat down slowly and carefully, holding the ponytailed grey-eyed girl tightly on his lap and in his embrace._

"_Why are you doing this?" he asked. It hurt him how thin she had become, how light she weighted._

"_So I will have something to look forward to whenever I come to visit the palace", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl whispered faintly. _

"_They only bloom in winter", Ozai said, staring at the flower with her in his arms._

"_I'm much closer to death in winter", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl sniffled. "I like the irony; the flowers enjoy life when I'm at Death's doorstep. It's like they're taking care of living for me."_

"_Don't say that!" Ozai snapped._

"_Superstitious jerk", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl playfully mocked._

"_Superficial prick", Ozai retorted but he shared none of the girl's glee._

"_Look at the bright side", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl shrugged; it hurt Ozai that she could barely move her shoulder. "They sleep in three seasons and live in one. I live in three."_

"_I don't see the bright side", Ozai said bluntly._

"_Competitively speaking, I'm winning", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl tried and failed to laugh._

"_ARRGGHH! UNCLE OZAI AND AUNTIE LIAN ARE HUGGING!"_

"_No, Lu Ten—"_

"_Wait, Lu Ten!"_

"_Somebody's gotta straight things out with him", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl sighed at the little two-year-old boy's flight._

"_What are you looking at me for?" Ozai scowled at the girl in his arm._

"_He's your nephew", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl said matter-of-factly._

"_He's Iroh's son", Ozai said just as bluntly._

_They locked eyes, grey versus amber, none were willing to back down. Only when the ponytailed grey-eyed girl coughed weakly did Ozai realized the battle had been lost._

"_I hate it when you do that", he said quietly._

"_Part of my charm", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl tried to smile triumphantly. It hurt Ozai to see only the weak ghost of her usual smile appeared. "You always say things that you hate about me. What about my good qualities?"_

"_You don't have any", Ozai sniffled, throwing his glance to the fountain guiltily for he did not mean what he said._

"_You will regret saying that when I die", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl said._

"_You will be fine", he said reassuringly._

_The ponytailed grey-eyed girl failed not to break down crying. "I'm cold", she sobbed. Ozai held her tighter._

"_Don't fall asleep", Ozai said sternly as the ponytailed grey-eyed girl's head fell limply on his chest. He reached out to her face and touched her cold cheek, using his chi to raise his body temperature, to provide warmth for the ponytailed grey-eyed girl._

"_I won't", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl promised but Ozai was not convinced._

"_Fire Lord Azulon has given me permission to ask for Ursa's hand in marriage", Ozai said in an attempt to keep the ponytailed grey-eyed girl from falling asleep._

"_Yay… we're going to be a family", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl cheered weakly. By Agni, it hurt Ozai to see her like this. "You're going to be my adopted brother-in-law."_

"_That's right", Ozai squeezed her tighter. "So, you cannot die. I need those snide remarks of yours to keep me straight until the wedding day. You hear me? I still have use of you. Don't you dare die on me!"_

"_You certainly know how to make a girl feel wanted, huh, bro-in-law?" the ponytailed grey-eyed girl's scoff was a bare hint of whisper and, God, it hurt Ozai._

"_Part of my charm", Ozai returned the remark. "What about you and General Jiang? When will you two tie the knot? You two have been dating for years."_

"_I don't know", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl whispered ever so weakly. "His parents… his…"_

"_Don't fall asleep!" Ozai shook her and patted her cheek rapidly._

"_I'm…" the ponytailed grey-eyed girl stirred; she tried to be strong and with each ragged breath she took Ozai took a knife to his heart. "His… parents are on… onboard… but…"_

"_But?" Ozai goaded desperately. "But what?"_

"_But… the… the famly… fam… family… elders…"_

"_Family elders? Family elders what? Come on, prick!" Ozai held her even tighter; Agni's mercy, it hurt him so much. "Come on, spill it!"_

"_Family elders… don't want… sick girl…" the ponytailed teary grey-eyed girl whispered so very weakly. "No… heir…"_

"_Lin Family is ancient", Ozai rested his chin on the ponytailed grey-eyed girl's head, pressing it on his warm chest. "The must allow polygamous tradition. You two can wed and General Jiang can have an heir with a concubine."_

"_Before… or after…" the ponytailed grey-eyed girl bravely looked up to Ozai with the weakest of smile and the most heartrending tears on her pale face. "I… sti… stick…"_

"_Stick what?"_

"_A kni… knife…"_

"_A knife?"_

"_Up…up… his… ass…"_

_Ozai's chuckle knocked down his feeble guard against his own teary eyes. "You do have a good quality, prick", Ozai sobbed quietly as he pulled the ponytailed grey-eyed girl back to the warm sanctuary of his embrace. "Your gift for language."_

"_Part of… my… charm", the ponytailed grey-eyed girl tried to hit him on the chest; she could not and it hurt Ozai even more._

"_Don't die", Ozai trembled in his sob._

"_Will… will you… cry… if…"_

"_No! I won't cry! I won't cry because you will not die!" Ozai could only hug her tighter and it hurt him._

"_You're crying… now…" the ponytailed grey-eyed lady sniffed with the faintest trace of a smile that hurt Ozai deeply._

"_I'm not crying!" Ozai denied tersely, looking away to hide his blurry eyes. "I'm laughing the wrong way."_

"I am not weak, little prick", Ozai rose to the full extent of his height. Without another word, he turned and walked away. Happy days were long gone.

It was the last winter that would ever get to Fire Lord Ozai.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Ozai is being nice…? APOCALYPSE! IT"S GONNA RAIN FLAMING CABBAGES! SAVE YOUR PETS!

Well, if emotion affects firebending and vice versa, and winter affects firebending, why can't winter affect emotions too, right? Now, onto real world basis of justification. There was a rather disastrous experiment in the field of psychology done by a team of researchers from Stanford in the 70's, I think, regarding prison behavior. They divided a team of students into two groups for some sort of role-play; one team played prison guards, the other inmates. At first, nothing in particular happened but after a few days the 'guards' began taking things too far to the point of abuse, the 'inmates' began internalizing guilt and camaraderie with the other 'inmates'. After two weeks, I think, they had to call off the experiment.

That could happen to Ozai. He was, after all, at some point a good father. The 'happy days' was haunting him still.

To the Dark Door, thanks for review and cookies and best wishes! Ah, cliffy is good. Cliffy is my way of saying a la Teminator: I'll be back…

To OwlFeather13, thanks for the review and cookies, snowman! Yeah, this is my first time writing with a PoV... at least consciously. It has been rather interesting. Next up, Iroh! You might find it interesting. :D

And sorry about the late update. Real life caught me and gave me a beating… and left me lying on the ground writhing...

Ozai and Lian might be a little random but it was not. I've always wanted Good Ozai and Lian to be close friends to contrast Ursa and Jiang who seemed to be antagonistic towards each other. And while Good Ozai and Lian were casual towards each other, Ursa and Jiang were formal and stiff.

And song for the chapter: 'Elgar Cello Concerto', Yo-Yo Ma's version. I listened to the song on YouTube the whole time I wrote this chapter mostly because I couldn't seem to remember that song. The song kind of inspired the last sad part.

I think that's all.

Enjoy the chapter and stay away from strangers with a large axe!


	85. Chapter 84

**Chapter 84 – Homecoming, Part 4**

**-General Iroh-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

He staggered like a madman. He stumbled and caught a vine to keep his balance; the vine snapped and he fell face first to the bog that caught his foot. He cared not for the mud, the swamp, the filth that stained his being. He needed to find him; he needed to make sure he was alright.

Deeper into the swamp where no mortals dare to tread, Iroh, the Dragon of the West, son of Azulon and Ilah, and, most importantly, father of Lu Ten, walked.

Iroh knew that he should not be doing this. This went against everything he had stood up for. This goes against the Law of Natural Balance. But, he could not care. This was too important to him; he would break the Law. Just this once… he convinced himself. Ah, if only he knew: 'just this once'… few are more dangerous than the notion 'just this once'.

"Iroh…" a sneering ethereal voice echoed. Iroh ignored it as he picked himself up from the bog; Iroh did not even bother to clean himself off the mud and swamp water. The voice did not appreciate being ignored by a mere mortal. "Iroh!"

Iroh ignored it still.

"Have you not learnt your lesson!" the voice was stern and furious. "Leave, mortal!"

Iroh walked deeper still into the swamp where the sun did not shine.

"IROOOHH!"

Vines came to life! Iroh found himself trapped; his wrists and ankles were caught by the coils of slimy green vegetation. He could not fight back as the vines lifted him up fast to the creature; a face that appeared on the surface of the moss covered ancient swamp tree, the face of old, old man, with eyes of pure white light.

"Leave, Iroh", the face said. "You will not find what you are looking for here."

"I… I have to… do this", Iroh panted; his throat felt dry, his body faint. He had not been eating or drinking since Agni knows when. "My… son…"

"Iroooohh!" the face howled; the world trembled as if afraid of the destructing the old face might unleash. The vines snapped violently as they slammed Iroh down to the bog.

Hurting, Iroh picked himself up. The face appeared on the reflection of the bog water that abruptly transformed from greenish algae infested muddy liquid into pure water of silvery hue. "Leave, Iroh! This is no place for a mortal!"

"I… I can't…" Iroh stubbornly tried to get up. The face screamed as the water came to life and swallowed the old general whole. Iroh gasped for air as the strange water of silvery hue suffocated him; he kicked and flailed, he touched nothing. The bog of a foot deep had transformed into a bottomless ocean. When he could not fight anymore, he felt himself went limp. Iroh saw his hand and feet floated in front of him as he slowly descended into the cold embrace of the element.

-0-0-0-0-0-

_The young man of nineteen ran quickly across the street. His first day of active military duty and he was going to be late! No time for palanquin, no time for contingents of servants and a platoon of guards stumbling and dragging him down as the young man of nineteen dashed across the ever-crowded Imperial City Lower District. In fact, not even time for shoes! The young man of nineteen was owing and ouching as his bare feet planted themselves on the scorching hot cobblestone of the lovely and late summer morning; his shoes, like his bulgy bag of clothes, his breastplate and helmet, and, of course, his month supply of sweet ginger-finger cookies were tugged under his arms. Oh, Sweet Agni in heaven, no time for dillydallying!_

_But, certainly, there was time for…_

"_Why, hello there, young lady. Shopping for apples, I see?" he stopped and greeted with charmed cranked up to the max. The young lady of noble attire and persona giggled behind her sleeve, and gave him a curt Fire Nation bow before walking away sheepishly. "Really?" the young man called out dejectedly. "Nothing? No name? Address? How 'bout this!" the young man picked up a single apple from the vendor and, with silliest grin, said. "You're an apple in my eye!"_

_The lady from before smiled courteously but walked away nonetheless. _

"_Get it! Apple!" the young man called but the lady ignored him now, still with a ghost of a smirk in her face though. But, yeah… he was rejected. Sighing, the young man grumbled and bit the apple, ignoring the communal giggling the populace was enjoying at his expense._

"_Five cooper an apple", the vendor said with crossed arms._

"_Right", the young man bit the apple in his mouth, set his luggage on the ground, and began excavating the messy bag for his money pouch. The grumpy vendor tapped his foot impatiently as he watched the young man of nineteen grumbling as he dug through pairs of boxers and undershirts to find his money._

"_I'll take care of it", oh, a sweet voice of celestial chime that made the young man's ear twitch. The young man turned around, took one look at the face of the young lady who picked up his bill, and, as the apple fell off his gaping mouth, they young man rediscovered his faith in destiny. _

"_Hi", he said breathlessly as he got up. "Wow… I mean, uh…" he sheepishly looked away, scratching his head; the young lady with brown eyes, prim nose, soft jaw, softer skin, and even softer lips. My Dear Agni… angels do exist…_

"_Thank you… for the… uh…" when one was grinning goofily and admiring such fine creation of Agni, one should hold one's tongue inside one's mouth lest one made a fool of oneself; the young man of nineteen learnt the lesson that day. _

"_You are welcomed, sir", the young lady made the Fire Nation hand gesture and bowed a little._

"_Y-yeah… um…" the young man of nineteen quickly returned the bow far too deeply. The crunchy sound of his skull ramming the vendor's stand rivaled those that emerged from the smithy few blocks away where the master blacksmith was working on armor for the Shu Family guards._

"_Oh, my!" the young lady gasped. "Are you alright?"_

_No painkiller could top the touch of an angel on one's hurting forehead. The moment her fingers touched the bump of his head, the young man's knees turned to pudding._

"_Ouch!" he caught her wrist. Their eyes met and the young man discovered more about himself: he liked ladies with brown eyes. "Uh, name's Ir—"_

_A loud marine whistle screeched form the direction of the pier, dragging the young man of nineteen back to earth. _

"_Aw, maaaan!" he quickly repacked his load and began his march to the ships. "Thank you, name's Iroh, gonna pay you back, see you again, write me!... please…"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

Iroh coughed, bubbles of air came out. He summoned every ounce of his strength and began his retaliation. Eyes set on the bright light above, he swam hard! He would not give up! After Agni knows how long, he emerged a victor. Coughing and panting, he gagged up bog water as he crawled on four in the swamp. He looked up to the face of an old man that plastered itself on a small greenish stone. The face showed no emotion; Iroh ignored it as he got up and began his march. The moment Iroh's foot reached the edge of the bog, the face disappeared.

Iroh was exhausted, hungry, thirsty, cold, and, above all, he was broken. Iroh walked through the forest like a mad man. The ground was moist and slippery, the surface of the large trees were covered by moss. Wisps of bright blue light came to accompany him as the man journeyed deeper into the strangest of swamp. Iroh knew they meant him no harm but he waved them away. Their light… it reminded him too much of the blue flame.

Iroh stumbled as his knees gave up. His vision blurred as he tried to reach the clearing of green grass ahead. A pillar of gently light shone through the veil of darkness there and he wanted to be there. He did not want to stay on the slippery moist earth he was lying on; he wanted that grass patch, the grass patch with a pillar of gentle light shining on it. He want—

-0-0-0-0-0-

_The young man of nineteen ran towards the pier oh, so very fast! Sadly, he had forgotten to properly secure his bag and an improperly secured bag is not a secured container of clothes. _

"_Aw, mother of sh—", the whistle blew out again. "— of every crap-fuc—", and again. "— all retards of Agni's pit in heaven!"_

"_You'd fit in the Navy swimmingly", said a young teenager of sixteen bluntly as the young man of nineteen raced back to reclaim his trace of clothes all the way back to the market and back again. "You can already swear like a true sailor."_

"_Shut up", the young man of nineteen grumbled with hands full of clothes as he stuffed them back to his bag. He walked up with his luggage towards the officer who was standing in front of a plank leading up to a black metal ship. "This is only temporary."_

"_Yes, of course", the teenager, younger but wearing the armor of an officer smirked. The young man stood up and bowed; the teenaged officer rolled his eyes._

"_Salute", he mumbled through his clenched teeth._

"_Oh, right", the young man of sixteen grinned guiltily as he repeated his earlier gesture but without bowing. "Private Li, reporting for duty, sir."_

"_Really? Li? That's the best you came up with?" the teenaged officer said blank-faced. "Try… uh, Yi Luo. Ooh, that's good. You get a last name. Private Luo."_

"_Not Private Yi?"_

"_Don't mock my ancestor."_

-0-0-0-0-0-

When Iroh came to, he saw the light hovering over his face. He closed his eyes again; he did not want to see it. He did not want to see anything blue. He turned to his side and pushed himself up to a sitting position. One single orb of blue light was still there, dancing in his face. Iroh knew it meant no harm but he could not help but feel like he was being mocked.

A rumble shook the very earth. The blue light flew away quickly. On the ground in front of him, vines grew out as it penetrated the ground. They coiled around each other and formed a five-foot tall leafless trunk of green slippery trunk of vines. The face appeared again.

"For every evil act, there must be a reason, one that can convince even the most evil of spirits" the old man's hissy rugged voice recited. "Convince me, Iroh."

"I cannot", Iroh said as he repositioned himself in a more dignified sitting position.

"Then, leave!" the old man shouted, his voice echoed. "This transgression will not be overlooked!"

"I can't", Iroh repeated, closing his eyes as he resigned himself to whatever fate he would suffer. "I must see my son."

"Insolent fool", the old man's fury faded but his coldness remained. There was another rumble and, when it stopped, Iroh opened his eyes. The vines had disappeared and the ground had mended as if it had never been disturbed.

Iroh got up, wobbled a little. He took a deep breath and resumed his march like he had been for the past… only Agni knows.

"You are still at it, old Dragon?" a voice called from the darkness, a different kind of voice; this one was the barest of whisper, the sharpest of hiss. "Give it up."

Iroh ignored it too. He walked past the clearing of green grass and into another fortification of vines and moss-covered trees. Iroh braved though his aching body and numb nerves. He had to go deeper.

"Iroh, give up", the hissing voice continued.

"Leave me alone", Iroh muttered as he planted another painful step forward.

"How rude", the hissing voice said with a hint of cruel evil glee in its voice. "You are a guest, I am a host. And you chase me away? How very… Fire Nation."

Iroh ignored the voice and walked forward still. His steps were getting heavier, each breath had become a heave, moving had become a struggle.

"You are old, Iroh", the hissing voice sneered cruelly. "You should spend the rest of your days, short they may be, sipping tea, playing Pai Sho… babysitting your grandchildren."

Iroh shut his eyes hard and gritted his teeth.

"Oh, that's right", the hissing voice cackled. "You don't have any grandchildren… you _can't_."

The cackling resumed. It took Iroh a massive amount of mental strength to shut it away.

"You can have grandnephews or –nieces", the voice continued mercilessly. "That foolish nephew of yours… his chances are low at the moment. But, your niece, the little perfect princess, the lovely Fire Princess Azula."

That name, Iroh could not ignore.

"She is set, isn't she?" the voice hissed, dragging the 's's with its voice of the barest of whisper and the sharpest of hiss to a great effect. "Six more years, Iroh. You just could not hold it, huh?"

The voice's laughter sent an enormous blow to Iroh.

"Six more years and you might just have the pleasure of being a granduncle. You can play happy family again", the voice sneered again. "For your foolishness, Iroh, you will die here."

Iroh gripped the front of his chest tightly. The words of that barest of whisper and sharpest of hiss cut him deeply. However, Iroh could not care anymore. He no longer had place for regret, for understanding, for love. He had to find his son. That was all that matter to him.

"Iroh", the hissing continued but it had a certain kind of tenderness in it. "Give up", it echoed away.

Iroh sighed his relief; Dawn-Shadow was never known for its kind nature and Iroh truly hated having to spend another second in its presence. The blue light returned. It flew past and bumped Iroh lightly on the side of his head. It meant no harm, truly; but, Iroh could stand its presence about as much as he had enjoyed the torments of Dawn-Shadow.

Iroh reached a large tree with roots that coiled up to the height of his knee. The old man decided to take a rest there. He sat down on the thick tall roots and rested his back on the trunk. He sighed tiredly; the blue light hovered over and landed softly on Iroh's lap.

"_I can still sit on your lap."_

"Leave me alone!" the old man rasped angrily, waving the blue light away.

_He moved to her; her anger and hatred cut him deep like a knife. Her blue flame flying past him shattering the headstone of the grave, it killed him. His hand swinging to her face, the sound it made when his hand collided with the skin of her face, it scared him. The fact that he had no regret… it made him sick to the stomach. _

Fury claimed him. Iroh shot up and tried to swat the blue light. He swung his arm too wildly for his waning constitution. He stumbled and fell down hard on his face. Groaning, he tried to get up. He could not…

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_You are late, you are unprepared, and I don't even want to know why you are not wearing your shoes!" the sixteen years old teenaged officer shouted at his face. Private Yi Luo covertly wiped away the officer's spittle off his face. "Pick your stuff up and—"_

"_Captain Lin, sir!" a random soldier appeared before the sixteen years old officer, saluting._

_The sixteen years old trembled with anger; Private Yi Luo mentally slapped his forehead, openly grimaced. Here we go…_

"_Excuse me", the officer smiled pleasantly, hissed venomously. Turning to the saluting soldier behind him, he grabbed the soldier's neck. "Do. Not. Call. Me. That!"_

"_Y-yes… *choke*… sir", the soldier was turning blue fast._

"_Repeat after me", the officer hissed to the soldier's face. "Jeong…"_

"_J-jeong…"_

"_Jeong."_

"_Jeo… *choke* … Jeong…"_

"_Good", Captain Jeong Jeong shoved the man away; the man fell on his butt on the pier walkway. "Now, what do you want?"_

_The soldier swallowed hard to ease his neck before he delivered his news. "The squadron is ordered to wait, sir. We are to wait for an additional medic unit."_

"_I didn't request any medic unit!" Captain Jeong Jeong spat._

"_I-I don't know what to say, sir", the soldier stammered as the Captain glared at him. "I-it's Admiral Kaigan's order, sir."_

"_Damn it", Captain Jeong Jeong cursed under his breath, the soldier quickly moved back into the ship before he had to suffer another second of the captain's fiery temper._

"_Trouble?" Private Yi Luo asked kindly; Captain Jeong Jeong glared at him demonically. "Whoa, chill, man. Here, have some ginger-finger. Must be low blood sugar."_

"_I did skip breakfast", Captain Jeong Jeong begrudgingly snatched the long crispy yellow cookie the private gave him. He took a bite, chewed, and then it hit him. "Wait! What am I doing! You, get on the ship, now!"_

"_Yes, sir", Private Yi Luo brushed cookie crumbs off his front before descending to the awaiting black metal ship._

"_Wait!" Captain Jeong Jeong halted him again. "I'm confiscating your cookies!"_

"_You're a bully", Private Yi Luo held on to his cookies like a mother would a child._

"_You want a permanent boot mark on your a—?" the ship horn blew loudly._

-0-0-0-0-0-

The loud blood-chilling screech woke Iroh up. He swallowed gulps of foul swamp air, trying to push himself up. It was a struggle to even sit up. He dragged himself to a nearby tree and leaned on it, resting his weary soul.

"Still here, Iroh?" a voice asked, a condescending lethargic voice, somewhat snobbish too. "You should be gone by now."

"You shouldn't be here yourself, Enma", Iroh greeted tiredly at the brown white-haired baboon in a monk robe and wearing a necklace of white flower who was sitting in a meditative form on top a tree. "Your meditation spot should be on the other side of the swamp."

"Oh, every winter solstice I like to roam around", the baboon said annoyingly and uncharacteristically casual.

"A little break from finding enlightenment", Iroh snickered rudely. "I thought you think us humans as a waste of time."

"Oh, I still do", the baboon practically yawned, sniffing the steaming cup of tea that he somehow had on his hand. "Cup of tea?"

Iroh eyed the steaming cup of fragrant jasmine that suddenly appeared on the ground in front of him with irk. "Mortals can't consume spirits food", he pointed out brusquely.

"The reverse is true", the baboon suddenly appeared in front of him, sitting calmly. "And yet you mortals keep insisting on offering food to us spirits."

"What do you want, Enma?" Iroh asked sternly.

"You, to leave", Enma said bluntly. "Now is winter solstice. The boundary between our two worlds will not be this lenient until the next summer if you miss this chance."

"I can't leave yet", Iroh said quietly.

"You are dying, Iroh", Enma said empathically. "You have been here for far too long. Go home. You are still needed."

"Why would you care?" Iroh asked fiercely. "Why would anyone care? Why would _I_ care?"

"Because you are Iroh", Enma said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, yeah? I am Iroh", Iroh spat. "So, I am Iroh, I am the Dragon of the West, the Grand Lotus. So what? I am not allowed to be human?"

"You are here because of a stupid human superstition", Enma shrugged lightly. "You don't get any more human than that."

"I need to see my son", Iroh repeated, mostly because he had no comeback.

"Then, you will die before the solstice ends", Enma pointed out plainly. "Go home, Iroh."

"No", Iroh got up and walked away. Before he could reach the end of the clearing, the baboon called to him.

"What about Zuko?" the monkey said coyly. "If you die, who will guide him?"

Iroh turned around and looked at the calm white-haired baboon hatefully. "I don't care", he hissed.

Iroh turned and left; the baboon and his tea were no more. With only one thought in mind, Iroh steeled himself as he walked into the swamp woods. He stumbled and fell but he got up every time. Iroh was tired, exhausted beyond belief. He had beginning to see the folly of his endeavor but… he had to do this. He had to make sure. Just one second… one glimpse. That was all he asked.

"Lu Ten…" Iroh breathed as his vision blurred again. "Son… I'm coming…"

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_This is really good, by the way", Captain Jeong Jeong helped himself to the fifth piece of cookie. _

"_My mom made those", Private Yi Luo whined. "Save me some."_

"_Just how long do we have to wait", Captain Jeong Jeong bit his cookie furiously, tapping his foot impatiently at the wooden pier bridge. "We have been waiting for hours."_

"_You sure I can't go to the market for just a few minutes?" Private Yi Luo asked hopefully._

"_Give it up, Iroh", Jeong Jeong said wryly. "You can't date just any girl. The Fire Lord will grill you alive and cut you to pieces. And then, he'd get nasty."_

"_Yeah, but, man!" Private Yi Lou, or Crown Prince Iroh, sighed longingly. "You should see her… I'm in love."_

"_You said the same thing about my sister", Jeong Jeong pointed out blandly._

"_Until I found out she was your sister", Iroh shuddered. "Yech!"_

"_Don't make me make you scrub the deck", Jeong Jeong threatened._

"_Captain Lin, sir!" a voice called from behind them._

"_Don't call me— *choke*"_

"_Whoa, dude— uh, I mean… oh, spirits! My captain, whatever happens to you?" Iroh gasped about as convincingly as an underpaid third-rate actor._

"_He's choking", the owner of the voice stepped up; a girl around Jeong Jeong's age, amber eyes, white skin, stern but attractive face, as attractive as she could get in a Fire Nation soldier armor and headband, that is, carrying a traveling bag on her back and a green flute on her sash. "You shouldn't do that when you're eating dry cookies."_

_She calmly placed a finger on a spot on the suffocating captain's chest, who had to be supported by Iroh lest he keeled over to the sea; Jeong Jeong was turning purple fast. Breathing in slightly, the girl's finger retracted into her fist and she jabbed fast in that spot on the captain's chest, prompting the latter to spit out his gooey lump of chewed up cookie that was clogging up his throat._

… _on her face._

"_Wow, you saved him!" Iroh laughed in relief. "Wait, I know you…"_

"_Thank yo—", Jeong Jeong began before the woman grabbed him by the neck and shoved him toward the edge of the bridge. _

"_So", the woman smiled sweetly, hissed oh, so venomously; she scooped the gooey goo off her face and inspected it. "Butter-batter?"_

"_*choke* ginger… finger…" Jeong Jeong choked up, the woman's surprising strength bent him backward towards the sea. "Help", he choked to Iroh._

"_Uh…. No, thank you…?" Iroh grinned guiltily, sweating profusely. "Th-th-this is… uh, Captain Umma, you know? The Tiger Hawk? The youngest to ever receive the Medal of Agni Flame? Scary chick? I've heard stories about her; they're not pretty", the girl, Umma, turned slowly to Iroh, or Private Yi Luo, and flashed him a sweetly dangerous smile, prompting the private to add quickly. "And I-I, uh, I admire them. Great stories, big fan! Love that part about you beating a platoon of elite earthbenders on your own with nothing but your bare hands. Can I have your autograph?"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

Iroh got up, his head hurt. He welcomed it as a change from the usual faint sensation. The blue light was hovering stubbornly on his face. His scowl at it could not hold long; it was a gentle light not even he, in this pit of hell his heart was in, could truly hate. But, Iroh did not want to see it. He did not want it near him. He did not want to see, hear, touch, or have anything to do with anything blue.

Iroh turned his gaze away from the hurtfully innocent light.

"_Why can't you love me more?" _

Iroh waved the light off furiously. "Go away!" he half-yelled, half-pleaded, fully sobbed, entirely engulfed in a heart-numbing hatred.

The light did not go away. It hovered around his head like a curious innocent child. Iroh, despite his exhaustion, pushed himself further into the woods. Anything to get away from the blue light. Anything to get away from the guilt. Anything to get away from his lack of regret. Anything to get away fro—

Iroh heard the splash he made as he fell into the patch of mud.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_We really shouldn't be here", Private Yi Luo hissed the obvious as the stubborn captain dragged him into the officer's cabin. "She's really scary, you know."_

"_Hush!" Jeong Jeong hissed back. They poked their heads through the door, scanning the empty cabin. The bed was unoccupied, the table was completely empty, and it sounded like the water was running in the bathroom._

"_She's taking a shower", Private Yi Luo whispered the obvious again, earning him a glare from his captain._

_Like a pair of otte-rats, our two heroes crept into the cabin. Jeong Jeong began to look around for the medic captain's belonging while Private Yi Luo stood there wishing he could be anywhere else._

"_Well, come on!" Jeong Jeong hissed urgently, "Get to work."_

"_You're just being paranoid", Private Yu Luo protested as he reluctantly checked the nightstand drawer. _

"_Admiral Kaigan won't send a medic team out of the blue, Iroh", Jeong Jeong grumbled lowly, kneeling down to check under the bed. "He might be a relic but he is not senile. He's planning something and I must know what."_

"_Maybe he's just concerned. He's pretty fond of you, you know; keep saying you will inherit his post one day", Private Yi Luo, or Iroh suggested, earning him another withering stare. He opened the cabin wardrobe and found the medic captain's bag. "Oh, hey! I found her bag!"_

"_Where?" Jeong Jeong promptly dropped the green jade flute he found tugged under her pillow and raced to Iroh's side._

"_Let's see", Iroh rummaged through the neatly packed bag and pulled a random piece of clothing that, under normal circumstances, could only be worn by women. "Yikes! The size—"_

"_Don't play around with—" Jeong Jeong angrily snatched the… you know. _

"_Hey, what's this?" Iroh pulled a folded piece of… "Paper?"_

"_Aha! I knew it", Jeong Jeong hissed triumphantly. "Must be a secret top-secret missive from Admiral Kaigan!"_

"_Secret top-secret…?" Iroh frowned at him as he unfolded the paper. "You seriously need to invest more time for literature study. It's a newspaper clipping. Huh… _'Fire Nation Crowns a New Hero: the Dragon of the Fifth River'_. Why would she have this?"_

"_Maybe it's the stuff on the other side", Jeong Jeong took the clipping and read the news of the other side. "_'Imperial City Braces Itself for Another Rise in the Price of Cabbage'_. Must be some sort of a code."_

"_This is not the news she keeps!" Iroh snatched it back. _

"_How would you know?" Jeong Jeong argued tersely._

"_Elementary, my dear captain", Iroh said condescendingly. "Look at the folds. The paper is folded inward on the 'New Dragon' news."_

"_Why would she keep a clipping about a new Dragon?" Jeong Jeong asked curiously._

"_I don't know", Iroh shrugged. "Maybe she's a fan."_

"_Really?" Jeong Jeong sneered as he snatched the paper back; Iroh returned to rummaging more clues from the girl's bag. "Big shock if she knows what kind of person he is", being the twenty fifth Lin and the Crown Prince, Jeong Jeong and Iroh had had the honor of attending the inauguration party for the Dragon of Fifth River. "I don't understand why anyone would want to be a Dragon."_

"_Yeah", Iroh sniggered as he pulled out some books, deemed them unimportant, and dropped them carelessly. "I mean, dragon hunting to prove your skill as a firebender. Puh!" he lit a flame on his palm as he continued with a grave whisper. "If anyone doubts my skill, I'll just go Agni Kai on their butt. Mwahahaha!"_

"_Shh!" Jeong Jeong hushed him. "You dark side is leaking out."_

"_What are you two doing?" an artic cold, razor sharp voice of a female kind from behind them petrified the two men instantly. Cranking their necks back slowly, they were greeted by the sight of the dripping Tiger Hawk wrapped in a towel. The vein of her temple suggested that she was not happy._

"_Um…"Iroh gulped; Jeong Jeong sweated._

"_What is that in your hand?" Umma glowered dangerously, growled coldly at Jeong Jeong._

"_Y-you mean this?" the captain held out the newspaper clipping._

"_Your other hand!" Umma's fist cracked dangerously._

"_This?" Jeong Jeong raised his other hand that was still holding on to the clothing article of… female anatomy. "Ooooh, Sweet Agni in Seventh Heaven… I'm gonna die a virgin."_

-0-0-0-0-0-

The pain in his wrist woke Iroh up. It took a few moments to overcome his disorientation; he was suspended high in the air by vines that cut him in his wrist and ankle. Iroh groaned as the face of an old man appeared on the trunk of a giant ancient tree that caught him.

"Nothing you say will make me change my mind", Iroh said quickly; the spirit did not appreciate being interjected.

"Do not overestimate the importance of your existence, Iroh", the old man snapped severely. "Even without you, the flow of fate will find a way to go to where it is supposed to go. You are but one drop of water in the sea of destiny."

"Kill me then", Iroh challenged back indignantly. A vine crept towards his neck and coiled it fast and hard, choking him.

"Do not test me, Iroh", the old man growled menacingly. "I can kill you whenever I want to."

"Help me find my son", Iroh demanded. "Or be done with it and kill me."

"How very Fire Nation", the old face said angrily. "Your journey is for naught. Go back to your world."

"No", Iroh retorted stubbornly.

"Very well", the old man let out an exasperated sigh.

Iroh found himself on the ground as if he had never left. Iroh gasped suddenly, grasping his chest. It was terrifying, a mortal in the spirit world is like a bug in a den of dragons: unwanted and in constant danger. Iroh, still overwhelmed by terror, quickly bolted away. While he had strength left, while he was alone, while he could.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_Charge!" Captain Jeong Jeong led his men on his steed, running down the hill towards the bandit encampment._

_Jeong Jeong and his cavalry unit of ten komodo-rhinos stampeded through the bandits' feeble wooden barricade, further disorienting their overwhelmed defense. Iroh, or Private Yi Luo, was on the second wave of infantries. With the komodo-rhinos unleashing destruction in the middle of the encampment, many bandits who wished not face those giant beasts, raced to the incoming infantries instead. _

_This is going to be fun! Iroh thought. Being cooped up in a ship in the middle of the ocean was not his cup of tea. Roaring, he jumped forward as the two wave clashed, landing with a spin kick that send a powerful fire arc towards the enemy. The fallen spearman still had that stunned look on his face. Iroh ignored that and went on bringing mayhem to the rest of the enemy._

_A mallet was swung towards him by a large man the size of Jeong Jeong's interceptor-class flagship; Iroh sidestepped gracefully, spun, and kicked high on the man's jawbone. The man shook his head violently, shaking off the itch Iroh's kick caused. Roaring, the man brought down his giant weapon yet again; Iroh backflip backward and sent punches of fire. The large man got hit by the flame but he toughed it up. Roaring again, the man rushed towards Iroh with his mallet set on kill; Iroh stood his ground ready to—_

"_Arrghhh!" the large man fell sideways as a medic captain blasted his side with a perfectly aimed fire bolt._

"_Hey, he's mine!" Crown Prince Iroh yelled angrily but then Private Yi Luo remembered that the scary girl outranked him by at least four promotions and one medal of the highest order; he added a very nervous. "M-ma'am."_

_Umma walked out to him, grinning; a swordsman tried to sneak attack her but Umma caught on and blasted him very severely without taking her grin off Iroh._

"_You're slow", Umma reprimanded lightly with a bandit's arm locked tightly and painfully. "Beat them quick and move to the next one. Don't waste too much time."_

_Iroh was not too fond of receiving fighting tips from a girl, a younger girl, even if the girl was _the_ Umma. But, Private Yi Luo was required by the law of military propriety to salute and said with the utmost respect. "Yes, Ma'am."_

_Umma kicked away the bandit she got locked. Turning to her medics, she shouted her order. "We're pushing them back! Set this spot as a retrieve spot! You two, stay here; the rest of you follow me!" _

_Umma led his medic into the encampment. Iroh was dazzled. He quickly shook his head and raced after the medic. Wow, medics leading the charge? That would be the first for Iroh. She was quite something alright, thought Iroh as he watched the lady leading the charge followed by her medics and the rest of the man. Wow, indeed._

_Iroh instinctively shuddered. Nah, he would let this one of the hook, his chauvinistic side snickered. Bros before hoes, and all that. He quickly picked up his pace and fell in with the charge. Iroh arrived at the encampment just in time to see Captain Jeong Jeong being unhorsed –or, is it unrhinoed- by a random bandit who threw a rope dart around his neck and yanked him down to the ground. Haha! Iroh gloated to himself as he raced to the Captain's aid. Oh, he is so gonna rub it in his face later._

_Iroh jumped, spun, landed a kick of fire arc that severed the rope in two; the bandit stumbled upon the rope being snapped. Jeong Jeong wasted no time to dispatch the downed bandit with a powerful fire stream. _

"_Overkill, man", Iroh grimaced at the blasted bandit. Jeong Jeong spat to the ground as he wrenched the abominable rope off his neck._

_Abruptly, Iroh crouched down and performed a flaming sweeping kick and Jeong Jeong jumped and kicked a fire blasts at each other's direction; the flame hit their intended sneak-attacking targets behind each other's back perfectly. Standing back to back, they punched and kicked fire; one after another, the bandits fell by the might of their element._

"_The leader's running away!" Jeong Jeong quickly and brashly rushed towards the bandit leader who had stolen somebody's (Jeong Jeong's) komodo-rhino and spurred away. _

"_Hey, Cap!" Iroh shouted and gave chase._

_Jeong Jeong blasted any who stood in his way; Iroh, struggling to keep behind him, picked off the stragglers. Jeong Jeong jumped onto a nearest armadillo-wolf and spurred the steed to give chase to the fast disappearing komodo-rhino. Iroh, shouting his frustration, skidded to stop. Jeong Jeong truly was not known for his patience._

"_Whoa!" Iroh instinctively sidestepped an incoming earth pillar. The earthbender, standing a distance away, stomped his foot hard and made a punching gesture, the earth from his foot cracked and shot up jagged fissure towards Iroh's direction. Our incognito Crown Prince leaped sideways and delivered a series of three consecutive fast fire spin kicks; the first one failed to break through the earthbender's wall, the second one shattered it, the third one hit the earthbender on the chest before he could react. Grinning, Iroh took a second or two to admire his work. That was when a Tiger Hawk flew towards him and yelled out. "Watch out!"_

_Umma, in the most literal sense, spin-kicked Iroh on the face, sending him to the ground. From the ground where he crashed, Iroh saw the slab of earth hitting the medic captain on her chest._

-0-0-0-0-0-

Iroh stumbled as he reached the end of the woods. It was a patch of green grass with a gentle ray of light shining on it. He knew this place; he had walked past here.

"Stop toying with me!" the old Dragon roared. He slumped down to his knees, sobbing bitterly. It had been so long… he was at his limit.

A voice of the barest of whisper, the sharpest of hiss cackled cruelly. The patch of green grass with a gentle ray of light shining on it melted away, revealing a shallow clear stream of five feet wide separating the path. Dawn-Shadow's cruel laughter echoed all around; wild birds quickly flew away, not wanting to bask in the presence of the Spirit of Physical Suffering.

"Oh, Iroh, you are no fun", Dawn-Shadow smacked his lips, if he had one, sounded like he did; or she… Dawn-Shadow is the manifestation of suffering itself; it has no gender, no boundary, no physical manifestation. "Just moments away from the… _end_", the spirit sighed the last word. "How about this, Iroh; you get back to your world, and I shall personally make sure that brother of yours spend the rest of his miserable life in such agony, he will… well, _die_."

The spirit cackled again before continuing.

"Then, you can have his throne", the spirit said bluntly, and added slyly. "And… his children."

Iroh rose to his feet, trying to walk away but he could not move.

"Don't you always want that boy as a son, Iroh?" the voice of the barest of whisper, the sharpest of hiss tempted. "As for the girl… Azula… well, if you don't want her, though I don't understand why, give her to me. I can always find use for her. She has a pretty mug; Koh will appreciate her greatly. What do you say?"

"Go away, spirit", Iroh hissed back menacingly. "Leave me alone!"

A loud powerful screech and a tremor ensued; the world was upside down, inside out, Iroh was tossed and turned around like a dice in a shaking cup. He screamed as terror claimed him, the screaming of thousands kind of suffering filled his ears, abysmal darkness clouded his vision, sharp claws rend his flesh, hot magma seared his skin, the heat of a thousand suns scalded his face. "Stop it!"

It stopped abruptly as Iroh cringed on the ground like a scared turtle-duck, sobbing.

"I like you, Iroh", Dawn-Shadow sighed almost longingly. "Should you want to, I can bring down the hammer of justice upon your treacherous brother and witch of a niece. Free of charge, no conditions, no catch. What do you say?"

"Leave me alone…" Iroh cried bitterly. "Just leave me…"

"You hate them, don't you?" the tone of the spirit's voice almost sounded like sympathy. "You hate your brother deep down. Why? Because your mother favored him, her little baby? Because he stole your crown?"

Iroh rammed his fists over his ears, he did not want to hear it anymore.

"Because… he had the children you longed for…?"

"Leave me alone!"

"And your niece, Azula…" again, the tone of pseudo-sympathy; it was… unbearable. "You always wanted a daughter, right? Because of your father Azulon, because of what he made you and Ozai do when you were kids? The… _test_?"

Iroh sobbed harder. His hands on over his ear did not do any good, but he could not just give in.

"Lu Ten got away because he had the sense of joining the military when he turned thirteen", the voice said solemnly. "The sense that you and Ozai did not have. Zuko's time is drawing near. But, Azula… she's a girl; she will be exempted from such barbaric tradition. Oh, and she's your brother's favorite child."

"Stop it!" Iroh screamed.

"I do wonder why you tried to talk Lu Ten out of joining the military. You had something planned to protect him, I take it", Dawn-Shadow went back to its sneering disposition. "It is a shame we won't get to see what the wise Grand Lotus Iroh had in mind to defy a thousand years old tradition of the Fire Nation Royal Family."

"I don't want to hear anything from you anymore", Iroh seethed hatefully through his tears of suffering.

"Go home, Iroh", Dawn-Shadow let go of all pretenses. "Zuko needs you. Without you, he will die. Fire Nation will die with him. The whole Four Nations will die with him."

"You're telling me the future now", Iroh, despite his dry sobs, went on the offensive.

"The future is not set on a slab of stone, Iroh", Dawn-Shadow spoke with the air of wisdom. "You should know this by now."

"I tried! I tried to… to…" Iroh heaved; he could not even bring himself to utter _that_ name.

"To guide Azula back into the light", Dawn-Shadow, very out of character, offered its help.

"I failed. She will be a great destroyer in the end. She is destined to!" Iroh shouted defiantly.

"Iroh… it saddens me to see you like this. Truly…" it did not sound like it did; as the matter of fact, its wily cunning colored the last word heavily. "Don't you know how the spirits of your ancestors smiled at you, how proud they were when you let Azula sleep on your shoulder on the palanquin ride? When you bought her the hair ornament? When you taught her the lesson of control and restraint? When you consoled her about Lu Ten? When you let her sleep in your arms? An uncle fighting for his niece" Dawn-Shadow sighed loudly before it continued. "You loved her, Iroh; like she was your own, the daughter you never have. What changed?"

Iroh's sob grew fierce; the old man heaved himself up, stood stubbornly proud and angry. Iroh declared to the world resentfully. "She has a _father_."

"It truly saddens me, Iroh", now… there was genuine sorrow in that voice of the barest of whisper and the sharpest of hiss. "But, I still like you; truly, I do. Let me at least do this for you."

Iroh felt a jolt to his stomach as his whole being was lurched forward by some kind of great invisible force. He could barely scream as he was being thrown across branches and hanging vines; they whipped his face so hard, Iroh felt his skin being cut. It happened so fast, barely two seconds, but he knew Dawn-Shadow had brought him through quite a distance. Then, it stopped. Just stopped. There was no inertia, not physics, no jolt, no catch, no fall. Iroh stood tall as he panted, gulping moist air. Behind him was a swamp, in front of him as sea of sand with odd blades of moss covered grass the size of a pagoda jotting out here and there.

"This is it, Iroh", Dawn-Shadow's voice graced his ears again. "Earth God won't bother you here. This realm belongs to the Spirits of Dawn and Twilight and they don't get along with him. I will say this: you _can_ make through this part but… Koh will be waiting for you on the other side. I will not be able to protect you, nor will I want to. Will you be alright with this, Iroh?"

"You never care about mortal's suffering; you take delight in it!" Iroh, not buying the generous act for a moment, defiantly spat. "Why start caring now?"

The air behind the old man actually got colder; it made Iroh shiver but he would not show it. He knew that, had Dawn-Shadow had a face, it would be grinning ear to ear.

"Well… I may have mentioned to Koh that the fabled Dragon of the West is going his way", Dawn-Shadow reverted back to its slippery voice of the barest of whisper, the sharpest of hiss. "He promised me great knowledge for your ugly mug. Hah!"

Iroh sniffled. Without another word, the old Dragon stepped past the boundary of the two realms.

"So long, Iroh", Dawn-Shadow sang as it faded away. "For what it's worth, I do like you. Truly…"

Iroh did not turn back. The endless sea of sand that swallowed him to his ankle with each step was better than another second with Dawn-Shadow. Each of the giant moss covered blade of grass Iroh walked past, the golden sky switched from the bright orange of Twilight to the crisp gold of Dawn. Like many thing in the spirit world, it was both beautiful and terrifying. Iroh walked a good deal of steps, sunk deep to his shin, and decided to stop to dig his legs up.

The hovering ball of blue light returned.

"Get lost, useless creature!" Iroh barked at it. The ball jerked back, as if shocked, then it began ramming its gentle self on Iroh's head repeatedly as if offended before flying up away. Iroh spared the light no second glance; its attack and ever-presence were nothing but a nuisance. As Iroh resumed his journey, the blue light followed him from a great height.

This sandy realm offered a different kind of torment. The swamp Iroh left behind was trying physically and mentally, what's with the hard to navigate soil and the spirits tempting him to give up on his quest. This realm, it tested his senses to the extreme. The heat and arid air shredded him alive, the smell of sand burnt his nose, and the ever changing sun kept him conscious through it all. But, Iroh would not give up. He had to see his son.

The sand, though so soft it sunk his feet, when Iroh fell on it, it was as hard as concrete.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_I mean, look at her!" Iroh said heatedly from the railing he and Jeong Jeong were leaning on, amber eyes glared hatefully at the medic captain who was performing a wild firebending dance with a random soldier on the middle of the deck with the rest of their little party surrounding them and cheering loudly._

"_Uh-huh", Jeong Jeong replied lazily, a glass of prune juice on one hand, the other hand absentmindedly traced itself along the two vertical scars along his right eye. "Ouch! Man, it stings."_

"_Look at her!" Iroh, of course ignored his compatriot; eyes fixed dead on the female who got a wee bit too close to her dancing partner. "That's indecent!"_

"_Sure", Jeong Jeong sipped his drink casually._

"_Oh, great!" Iroh sneered as her dancing partner swept Umma off her feet while flames spewed from around them, both were laughing along with the cheering crowd. "Next, there'll be kissing!"_

"_No, there won't" Jeong Jeong sighed lazily; his hand went back to feeling his scars. "Do you think it's going to leave a mark?"_

"_Focus here!" Iroh waved it off, amber eyes still squinted at the dance. "I mean… look at her!"_

"_I'm looking", Jeong Jeong deadpanned._

"_She's rude!"_

"_Yes, she is."_

"_She's mean!"_

"_Agree."_

"_And she scares the crap out of us!"_

"_No argument here."_

"_Look at her!" Iroh fumed at the dancing grew wilder and the cheering crowd grew louder._

"_I'm still looking."_

"_She's got big ju—", a crowd roared as her dance partner threw Umma to the air and caught her safely._

"…" _Jeong Jeong threw Iroh a deep concerned frown_

"_And yummy-looking a—", another loud cheer as Umma and her dancing partner exchanged flumes of fire._

"_Down, boy"_

"_Grrr", Iroh barred his fangs. "*bark*! *bark*!"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

The barking and licking woke Iroh up. Groaning, he rolled to his back; the mutt climbed up to his belly and lied there, looking at him with interest.

"Where do you come from?" Iroh asked raggedly, scratching the white-furred three-tailed goat-puppy behind the ear. The puppy whined, rolled to its back and began kicking it's hind paw while licking Iroh's fingers. Iroh chuckled at this. Oh, Dear Agni… he had forgotten how long it had been since he felt this lighthearted joy.

"_In the meantime", Iroh shoved a thick dictionary he picked up from the desk to Azula's hands. "Look up the meaning of the word 'vacation'."_

_He ducked just in time when the thick book was hurled towards him._

"Iroh… could that possibly be you?" a gleefully childish female voice echoed through the sand, engulfing the strong wind. The puppy, upon hearing the voice, quickly leaped back to its feet and scurried away.

"I know that voice", Iroh sat up slowly.

"Don't tell me you have forgotten me", a small whirlwind of sand converged in front of him and grew to a human-sized pillar of sandy air. The sand it caught condensed and formed a slender figure of a scantily-clad woman on honey-colored skin whose clothing seemed to be composed entirely of colorful desert-beads that left little to imagination. Her face bore a partially see-through gold-silken veil, her hair was dark as the night sky, falling freely and was decorated with the same desert beads of her cloths, her eyes were almond-shaped of no other color but pure bright yellow. Her long hair fluttered slightly, her many bangles, anklets, and armlets on her slender arms and legs jingled soothingly. "You have never called upon me after we last parted. That's cold, even for a Fire Nation."

The spirit spoke with a voice of a temptress; she raised her arms gently and gracefully. The sand below Iroh rose to life and formed a comfortable sand chair. The spirit sat back slowly as the sand below her did the same. Iroh gulped at the sight of her for many a reason. But, to Iroh's relief, the spirit smiled gently from behind her veil.

"You have grown old", she chuckled slightly, hiding her mouth behind her hand. "And… big."

Iroh managed to smile wearily. He stood up straight and bowed as plainly and as deeply as his weary body could permit. "You have not changed at all, Desert Wind."

"I see no reason to change", the woman laughed shrilly as Iroh sat back down. "I do miss you, dear Iroh. How have you been? Dawn-Shadow told me you hate that sweet niece of yours now."

Iroh forced himself to look her in the eye. The spirit's yellow eyes bore no other hue aside from grain of and that seemingly swam across the surface continuously.

"But, of course, Dawn-Shadow is not to be trusted", she said decisively, clearly showing that she was on Iroh's side. Then, she stared deeply into Iroh's amber and asked softly. "Do you hate Azula?"

Iroh shut his eyes and turned away. It was too much for him.

"You should go home, Iroh", the woman reached out and grasped the old man's hand tenderly. "Please…"

"I can't", Iroh started to sob again. "I'm… sorry… I have to make sure…"

"You are not a fool, Iroh", Desert Wind sympathized. "Great many people need you still. Please, reconsider."

"I have to go on", Iroh rasped. "I have come too far to back out!"

Desert Wind sighed at him. She clasped Iroh's hand in her two long-fingered frail-looking hands. She closed her eyes and when she opened it again, the sand in her yellow eyes fluttered violently; the sand ocean around them experienced the similarly violent storm that did not touch them. When Desert Wind closed her eyes again, the storm around them subsided; she opened her eyes, the sand in them had grown calm like before.

"You will not find your son, Iroh", she said sadly. "Nor will you find any peace here."

"No", Iroh shook his head furiously; he tried to wrench his hand away but the female spirit was as strong as she was gentle. "I don't believe you!"

"You are still as stubborn as when you were young", Desert Wind smiled sadly as she pleaded one last time. "Go home, Iroh. You don't have to suffer anymore."

"You must understand!" Iroh sobbed as he pleaded. "I have to go on!"

"You will die", she said as she too shed a tear. "It will sadden me deeply."

"I have to go on", Iroh stubbornly decided. "I don't care about anything anymore."

"That will be the reason why you will not find peace", Desert Wind, still clasping Iroh's hand, gently rose; Iroh's sand chair pushed him up to do the same before dissolving back into the desert. "I will not stop you, dear friend. But, at least, let me give you rest."

Starting from the magnificent fluttering black hair of hers, she transformed to a whirlwind of sand until at last her gentle hands too joined the dome of sandstorm that shielded Iroh from the elements outside. Iroh, weary as he was, could not help but be in awe at the might of the Sand Mistress. He did not know how but he when he closed his weary eyes, he was lying on a bed of sand and under a blanket of golden silk.

The blue orb of light flew down and landed itself by the weary man's side.

-0-0-0-0-0-

_Jeong Jeong crept along the earthen wall of the Earth Kingdom city silently; the cover of the night proved of advantageous nature to the cunning captain and his trusty sidekick as they infiltrated the walled city of Omashu. Captain Jeong Jeong, the twenty fifth Lin, had all the confidence in his four men team to succeed in this endeavor. Umma and one of her trusty sergeants were struggling the same effort on the other side of the city, which left Jeong Jeong accompanied by the crown jewel of Royal Family firebenders, the great Iroh, son of—_

"_Eeek!"_

"_You dumbass!"_

"_Don't let go", Iroh whimpered as he held on to dear life on Jeong Jeong's right leg while the latter had to support the combined weight of him and the slightly chubby royal moron with his fingers alone on the cracks and bulges of the wall. By the way, there were about fifty feet off the ground; and that's not counting the ravine that encircled the city._

"_Me don't let go? You don't let go!" Jeong Jeong barked._

"_Hey, you guys hear something?" a voice from the parapet above them forced our two firebenders to shut their traps. "Go check it out!"_

_Jeong Jeong gripped hard; his fingers were turning white and growing numb. "After this is all over", he groaned under his breath as they waited for the Earth Kingdom sentries to pass. "I'm gonna put you on a strict diet!"_

"_No!" Iroh hissed vehemently. "I-if you do that… then-then, I'm gonna tell your aunt that you swore!"_

"_WHAT!"_

"_SSSSSSSHHHHHH!"_

"_Over there!" hurried footsteps drummed past above them._

_They waited until the footsteps were gone completely before Jeong Jeong turned upon, or down, the prince again. "You'd sell me off to that witch!"_

"_You'd condemn me to starvation!" Iroh hissed back just as heatedly. "That's cruel!"_

"_Well, w-what you're about to do is treachery! Treachery's worse!"_

"_How is it worse than letting your best bud starve!"_

"_I won't let you starve! Much…"_

"_I swear there's some suspicious sound over there!" the Earth Kingdom sentries came again._

_They promptly put on their silent mode for the duration of the search, which was quite long this time. And when the sentries finally moved away._

"_You're spying on me, aren't you?" Jeong Jeong accused crossly. "How much is she paying you?"_

"_Well, it's not 'how much' as in 'what'", Iroh shrugged as he tried and failed to climb his friend's leg up._

"_What is it?" Jeong Jeong growled lowly._

"_Eh, white jade tea", Iroh said casually._

"_Of course", Jeong Jeong banged his head on the wall. "I swear, if I cut you open you're gonna bleed clear brown."_

"_There's nothing wrong with—urgh!" Iroh climbed up like a spider-monkey to Jeong Jeong's waist; needless to say the younger teenager was not too fond of being climbed like a cheap maple tree. "Keep still!"_

"_I am keeping still!"_

"_Shhh!"_

"_Grrr!"_

"_Over there! I swear I hear something!" the Earth Kingdom sentries came and went again._

"_Hey, by the way", Iroh heaved as he struggled up to Jeong Jeong's back. "What do you think about Umma? Whoa, hang on!"_

"_W-w-what!" Jeong Jeong turned around crossly while Iroh, slipping down from his shoulder to his leg whimpered like a scared puppy. "Where did that come from! This is hardly the time for this kind of talk!"_

"_Oh, come on", despite the terror of his flimsy hold, Iroh could not help but snigger. "I've see the way you look at her. Like the way I used to look at your sister before I knew that she was your sister. Again, yech!"_

"_I so want to punch you in the snot right now", Jeong Jeong said honestly._

"_We'll fall", Iroh pointed out, grabbing for dear life around the other's leg. "And it's not like I have anything against your sister; that one time when she slapped me across the face and dumped a glass of ginger juice on my head was pure misunderstanding. Even if she does scowl too much."_

"_Why do you think we call her flamey-prude", Jeong Jeong muttered._

"_It's just that the idea of our two families being united through marriage. Brr!"Iroh shuddered. Jeong Jeong silently agreed with him. They had to stay put again as the sentries ran past again in search of them. _

"_So", Iroh called again as he reached the captain's waist. "Umma?"_

"_She tried to scratch my eye out", Jeong Jeong pointed at the two vertical scars on his right eye, an action that nearly killed the both of them._

"_It was self-defense", Iroh cringed as Jeong Jeong replanted his fingers on the wall. "You tried to defile her virtue."_

"_FOR THE LAST TIME—"_

"_I swear, Captain", the sentries were back. "There are some noises here!"_

"_Oh, come on, hotman", Iroh teased again. "What do think of her?"_

"_I don't want to talk about this", Jeong Jeong growled, looking away to hide his blush. "And stop talking like Grandpapa Lin! You make my skin crawl!"_

"_Come on", Iroh baited as he climbed to Jeong Jeong's shoulder. "I know you want to~"_

"_Shut up."_

"_Someone's in looooooove."_

"…_Iroh?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_That better be your buckle poking me on the back…"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

Iroh woke up, feeling more rested that he had ever been for the past… Agni knows how long. He was lying on the sand, half buried from the chest down. He slumped his head back down and groaned lightly. Old man like him should not be doing this. When he opened his eyes, the blue light was there, fluttering around

The light meant no harm, really…

Iroh furiously waved it away. It seemed to have learnt its lesson a little as the light flew away without any further resistance. Grumbling as he watched the light's departure, Iroh pushed himself up. The moment he got to his feet, he felt faint and numb again; not so bad, though. Desert Wind was right, Iroh needed some rest. Resuming his march, Iroh walked through the seemingly endless sea of sand.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_You're a bully!"_

_Private Yi Luo looked at her with quivering lip._

"_You're violent!"_

_Private Yi Luo turned to him, cringing with fear._

"_You're a noble snob!"_

_Private Yi Luo looked back at her, droplets away from a full-fledge cry._

"_You're a rude peasant!"_

"_Mommy, daddy, don't fight!"_

"_SHUT UP!" the two higher rankings turned to the private._

"_I'm scared", Private Yi Luo cringed into the embrace of the other medic as their paren— oh, uh, commanding officers resumed their shouting fiesta in the dungeons they were locked in. "Make them stop."_

"_Shh! It's okay", the kind female medic pacified the private, stroking his hair. "It's gonna be over soon."_

"_Yi Luo! What the hell are you doing with that woman's girl! Get over here now!"_

"_Azaya! Stop fraternizing with that man's boy! Get over here now!"_

"_No, we don't wanna! You guys are… are…" Private Yi Luo stomped his foot down. But the stare, oh, the stare… one came from a Tiger Hawk, the other from a Lin. "Azaya, say something…"_

"_Me? You're kidding, right? Mine's scarier than yours", Azaya mumbled discreetly through her clenched teeth as she crawled to Umma's side. Losing his one and only siste— I mean, supporter, Private Yi Luo had to rejoin his fathe— er, captain._

_Umma stomped his foot angrily and pointed his finger at the direction of Jeong Jeong's nose. "You are the most selfish, condescending, rude, snobbish son of a bi—", Private Yi Luo quickly snubbed his fingers on his ears, singing loudly 'lalalalalala'. "—that I have ever met! And I've been around a lot of you snobs!"_

_Jeong Jeong, with huge vein on his neck, stomped and pointed back. "Yeah? Well, you are the most violent, ill-tempered, disrespectful, rotten-mouthed peasant slu—", Azaya quickly snubbed her fingers on her ears and screamed loudly. "—that I have ever encountered! And I know a lot of women like you!"_

"_Freaking noble snob!"_

"_Violent peasant scum!"_

"_Arrogant jerkface!"_

"_Insolent dunghead!"_

"_Marble brain!"_

"_Noodle head!"_

"_Simpleton!"_

"_Imbecile!"_

"_Bully!"_

"_Cranky!"_

"_Moron!"_

"_Nimrod!"_

"_Crud!"_

"_Rat!"_

"_TWERP!"_

"_TRASH!"_

"_I'm noticing a pattern here", Private Yi Luo assessed, Sergeant Azaya guessed. "Syllables or volume?"_

"_You… you…" Umma struggled to search for words. "Azaya! What's that word you learnt from that sailor boyfriend of yours!"_

"_Captain", Sergeant Azaya whined under the Tiger Hawk's stare and frowned guiltily at Jeong Jeong. "That's… don't bring his mother into this."_

"_Yi Luo!" Jeong Jeong turned to his private heatedly. "That word you use when you talk about those women you met in the red-light district! What was that again!"_

"_I'm not gonna say it in front of Azaya!" Private Yi Luo protested._

"_Traitor!" they both turned on their respective chil—er, subordinates._

"_You are a big jerk!" Umma screamed at Jeong Jeong, taking a menacing step closer._

"_You are a little prude!" Jeong Jeong too stepped ahead._

"_You're a colossal moron!" Umma took another step._

"_You're an epic fool!" Jeong Jeong did not relent._

"_Your hair looks nice!"_

"_Yours smells good!"_

_Private Yi Luo turned to Sergeant Azaya who shared his wide-eyed, open-mouthed confusion._

"_Your firebending's awesome!"_

"_Your medic skills are great!"_

"_Your jaws give you character!"_

"_Your lips look soft!"_

"_Uuuh, they're gonna make out!" Private Yi Luo said giddily; Sergeant Azaya frowned skeptically. "They're not gonna make out."_

"_Three", Iroh said._

"_Five", Azaya anted up._

"_Your arms are big!"_

"_Your figure is great!"_

"_Silver", Private Yi Luo bargained._

"_Deal", Sergeant Azaya shook his hand._

"_That scars make you look cool!"_

"_You look hot in soldier armor!"_

"_I hate you!"_

"_I loathe you!"_

"_I want to kiss you!"_

"_Not if I kiss you first!"_

_Umma jumped at him; Jeong Jeong received her without protest._

"_Eww! Mom, Dad! Keep your tongues to yourself!" Private Yi Luo cringed in disgust. Sergeant Azaya slapped him hard in the arm and said. "Don't give them ideas!"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

Agni be praised…

Just a few steps more before he reached the edge of the desert realm; a wall of auroral multicolor veil of light was within sight. Iroh braved through the hundred or so steps it took; the blue light were hovering behind him and flew away quickly every time Iroh turned around. The light irked Iroh so. He knew that it meant him no harm but Iroh could not bring himself to like anything blue.

"You're lucky bending arts don't work here", Iroh snarled at it.

Iroh continued his march, the light was mocking him; actually, it did not, Iroh just felt that it was. Hopefully, he would not run into any other hostile spirits. Iroh did not think he could survive another encounter with Dawn-Shadow or the likes. Iroh stopped as he was one step away the veil of light. He turned to the ball of light that fluttered away to his blind spot; his persistent sight, however, gave the light a confidence to fly back to his vision range.

"I don't know why you're following me", Iroh said coldly at it but he mellowed just a wee bit when he added. "Beyond this veil, Koh the Face Stealer is waiting. If he got to you, you will not be able to reincarnate. Go away."

The blue light fluttered slightly, as if shocked. It flew around in small circles, and then decided to land on Iroh's shoulder. A tiny part of Iroh felt was touched by the gesture; a bigger darker part of him brushed it away as if the light was an annoying bug. Glaring at it, Iroh turned around and touched the veil with no hesitation.

The desert, the great sand ocean, the warmth and the ever-changing disappeared. Iroh found himself standing in the middle of the strangest landmark. Giant columns of earth similar to the ones Iroh had encountered in Earth kingdom Wulong Forest, only with ghostly mist hanging low on the ground level and a giant ancient tree standing taller, prouder, and dead on the middle of the realm. The dim and bleak realm of Koh the Face Stealer; one of the most ancient and malevolent of all spirits.

Bracing himself despite the chill that had replaced the warmth of the desert, Iroh, with the blue ball of light hovering behind him, took a step forward.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_So, you're really going to do this?" Private Yi Luo had a hard time keeping pace with his flighty captain through the crowded colony night market. "Your aunt's gonna kill you."_

"_I don't care", Jeong Jeong dug through the front of his armor for his necklace._

"_Your uncle's gonna go through with the Agni Kai this time!" Iroh pleaded, holding down the younger teenager's hand. "Think about this!"_

"_I have!" Jeong Jeong wrenched his arm away. Pointing at the stand in the market that sold roses, he asked the prince. "Say, you think she likes flowers?"_

_Iroh opened his mouth, wanting to dissuade him further; he could not say anything. Sighing, pinching the bridge of his nose, he stared deeply into the other's amber. This was serious. "You really are going through with this?"_

"_Yes", Jeong Jeong nodded._

"_Because you want to spite your uncle and aunt? It won't be fair for Umma", Iroh said sternly._

"_Of course not! Who do you take me for?" Jeong Jeong took great offense. "I—"_

"_You're what?" Iroh baited._

"_I… I lo… Ilo'er."_

"_Don't mumble."_

"_I love her! There! Happy!"_

"_Not so hard, was it?" Iroh embraced the crimson-faced captain's shoulder as they walk back to their ship. "Ah… love. Soon, my best bud is going to marry a cranky she-devil, go on honeymoon, make…" like a magician he pulled a scroll from his chest pocket so fast and snapped it open. "…babies!"_

"_Must you bring your brother's picture everywhere?" Jeong Jeong asked dryly._

"_Oh, but he is so cyute", Iroh began tickling the belly of picture Ozai. "Who's the cyute wittle bwother? Coochie coohie coo."_

"_Something is seriously wrong with you", Jeong Jeong eyed the baby picture sharply. "That kid is demon; he peed on me!"_

"_So? That's what two years olds do to kill time. When you were two, you peed on me too", Iroh laughed as he stored the picture back safely. "By the way… I call best man!"_

"_Like I have any other choice", Jeong Jeong looked down to the necklace he had in his hand, the one that bore his mother's ring. "You're the only in the squadron who has authority to officiate marriage without the Fire Sage's permission."_

"_Oh, yeah… royalty rocks", Iroh puffed his chest. "So, when're you going to propose?" _

"_I don't know…" Jeong Jeong pondered quietly as he looked at the ring. Then, as Iroh had expected, he chickened out. "Maybe this is too soon! I mean, look! We've only known each other for a few months!"_

"_Yes, but in those few months, you and Umma have gone farther than most dating couples do in a few years", Iroh pointed out playfully. "You've seen each other naked."_

"_I've told you—", Jeong Jeong yelled angrily as the torches around them burst to pillars of flame._

"_And even when you two hated each other, you tried to deflow—"_

"_FOR THE LAST TIME! THERE WAS—"_

"_Arrgghhh! I don't want to hear the details, you sick freak!" Iroh swiftly snubbed his fingers into his ears and ducked as Jeong Jeong's fist flew towards him. Now, the, oh, so ominous 'plunk' they heard was caused by Jeong Jeong, in a fit of anger, sending his punch with his ring holding hand. The ring was somewhat slippery. And they were standing in a night market. On the Gaipan pier. The ring flew into the ocean._

"_Iroh, my hotman", Jeong Jeong hissed dangerously. "Can you swim?"_

"_Well, uh… yes, but—"_

—SPLASH—

-0-0-0-0-0-

Iroh gasped as the lake he was walking past burst to life. Emerged from it was a giant black centipede with an even blacker heart. Armor-like segment of dark and thick, like the body of a dragon it was rumored trying to be, strong and wicked looking legs on the sides of its upper segments, shorter legs on the lower, the head that bore sets of mandibles on the top and bottom of an eye-shaped slit that housed its faces. Koh the Face Stealer wore the one that resembled a noh opera mask of a noble lord; white with grey circles around the eyes, two dots marking the eyebrows, and crimson red lips.

"Iroh, the Dragon of the West", a voice of an old cunning man sneered. "What an honor."

The creature bowed its torso while keeping its face straight at Iroh's plain face; Iroh bowed to him in a Fire Nation style, a sign of defiance. "I have always wanted to meet you, Iroh. Dawn-Shadow has told me so much about you."

Iroh was about to open his mouth to reply but the creature lunged toward him from the lake, making a huge horrific splash with the face of a saber-tooth white tiger. Iroh managed to hide his emotion though his heart was beating wildly and he retracted a step. The tiger face laughed mockingly as the centipede body coiled around him without touching the man. Koh would never make it easy, he would always give his prey all the fair chance to defy, to fight back. Their defeat would be more… _fulfilling_ that way.

"Hmm… have you reconsidered Dawn-Shadow's offer?" Koh said in an almost formal tone; the slit blinked and a new face of blue humanoid creature with yellow fangs appeared. "I do want to add you face to my collection but…" Koh sighed as he changed again to a face of a beautiful woman with amber eyes and flowing hair. "… I would very much love to have the beautiful face of the future Conqueror of Ba Sing Se. Oh, _yes_, Iroh… Azula will succeed where you have failed; and hers is more pleasant to look at than your old wrinkled face."

"I need to see my son", Iroh said calmly; his fists balled up tightly inside his long sleeves. "Please, let me pass."

Koh coiled around the old man still like a predator it was, making horrible clicking sound as its legs touched the ground and its segments bumped into each other. The blue orb of light hovered around but kept its distance; Koh looked at the blue orb of light with the face of an intelligent old bald man and laughed mockingly. "Iroh, Iroh… you have grown old. Someone of your caliber? Hah! You will fail, Iroh."

"Will you let me pass?" Iroh asked again.

"Hmm… let's see", Koh's face of a young innocent boy sounded bored. "The entrance to the next realm, as I'm sure you are aware, is at the center of my cave. You can try but… Iroh, the solstice will end soon."

"I am aware", Iroh breathed in calmly; the moist smell of mud and retching odor of rotten flesh coming from the Face Stealer was overwhelming.

"If you miss this chance, you will be stuck here for all eternity. Your spirit will be destroyed, you will not reincarnate", Koh laughed cruelly. But, as he changed back into the amber-eyed woman, he voiced a certain kind of tenderness. "Go home, Iroh."

"I cannot", Iroh closed his eyes tightly; his chest was hurting with the memory of his son. "I have to make sure my son is alright."

The Face Stealer's golden dragon face roared; the realm shook with its fury! Iroh stood still, closing his eyes and keeping his face and his mind blank. The blue light zoomed into the old man's sleeve. When it was all over, Iroh opened his eyes to enjoy the view of the beautiful amber-eyed lady inches away from his own, her face contorted horribly with anger as she spoke with the voice of Koh and exhumed the foul smell of the centipede.

"You are a fool!" Koh spat. "You, a puny mortal, dare defy the Law of the Spirit World? What temerity, Irooooh!"

Koh rose to its height, screeching as the face of the dragon came back; Iroh closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate.

"Face Stealer!"

Iroh gasped; he was thankful for the man who jumped from the nearest tall rock pillar at Koh, distracting the Face Stealer from seeing Iroh's own shocked face. The bearded blue-eyed tanned skin man in bright blue fur anorak, wearing white polar bear pelt hood leaped at Koh; Koh lazily flicked him aside with its tail.

"Oh, it's you again", Koh sighed, sounding almost bored; the white noh face once again reigned.

"Mortal, go!" the blue-eyed bear man shouted at Iroh as he picked himself up from the pillar of earth Koh sent him flying to. "I will hold him here."

Iroh was flabbergasted, not knowing what to do.

"GO!" the blue-eyed bear man shouted again before he and the centipede clashed.

Iroh quickly ran towards the gigantic tree despite his already draining strength and the horrible sound the battle between Koh and the blue-eyed man caused. The blue orb of light fell off Iroh's sleeve as the old man ran and quickly and easily matched the old man's speed. It flew a few steps in the front, casting its faint and gentle blue light for Iroh as they navigated through the rocky fog-filled landmark.

Panting, Iroh leaped over the low rock and roots, running as fast as his blurry vision could allow. A pillar of stone nearest to him exploded; Iroh gasped as the beautiful amber-eyed woman emerged with a cruel grin of victory. It was all over for Iroh…

With a fierce battle cry, out of nowhere, the blue-eyed bear man jumped towards Koh's face mandible before it could reach Iroh. He secured firm grip at them and swung his body as he used the force of his movement to fling the giant centipede away from Iroh, hard against a rock pillar that crumbled upon the collision.

"You will pay for that!" Koh's white noh face screamed as it lunged itself at the blue-eyed man who, against all logic, stood his ground and wrestled the Face Stealer's head to the ground.

"What are you waiting for!" the blue-eyed man screamed at Iroh as he delivered a series of punches to the centipede's face; each blow caused Koh's face to change. "Get out of here!"

Iroh needed not to be told twice. He ran again quickly with the blue orb. He ran and ran until the screams of Koh and the blue-eyed man was no longer heard. He slowed himself to stop as they reach the base of the ancient dead tree; the Lair of Koh. The tree was as much earth as it was wood; a smooth walkway led up to the opening about a few meters up. A pillar of earth from afar exploding and falling down, and the blue orb ramming itself on the side of Iroh's head urged the old man to force his waning spirit to push on.

The smooth wooden walkway, about hallway up, ended and continued to one made of jagged earth. It somehow did not surprise Iroh that as he got into the pitch black interior of the tree, illuminated only by the faint and gentle light of the blue orb, the sets of stairs leading down were of earthen material.

Iroh descended as quickly as carefully as he could; his chest hurt and his head was killing him. He felt faint, very faint. The blue orb fluttered around in circles in front of him, as if egging him on. Iroh looked at it with both irk and gratitude. At least, the little nuisance could be useful to him.

Iroh stepped over steps after steps and he arrived at the base of the tree. It was like any other shiver-inducing cave but with tendrils of white light showering it; on the top of Koh's Lair was a bright light encased in the dead branches of the tree. Nobody knew what that light was. But, anyone who had survived Koh's Lair knew that the light was warm.

Iroh slipped as his body gave up, he fell face first; it was rough fall that nearly knocked him out. The blue orb quickly flew to his face, knocking itself gently on his face to prevent Iroh from passing out. Iroh waved it away as he found it more annoying than actually helpful. Iroh rose to his knees, holding onto a nearest stalagmite for support. The moment he heaved himself to his feet, the boy's scream echoed towards his ear, his fist soared to his face.

"You DUMBASSS!" Lin shouted angrily as he punched the man on the face, sending him flying at least three meters away. Lin had a shocked look on his face, looking down at his fist, then at Iroh who groaned weakly on the ground. "Huh, interesting…" Lin muttered, still looking at his fist while Iroh struggled to his feet.

"Wh… why…" Iroh panted, leaning weakly on the wall of the cave, not believing his eyes; the blue orb of light hovered in front of him and rammed lightly into Iroh's head, as if trying to check how he was doing after Lin's attack.

"Why am I here?" Lin seethed in obvious anger. "I'm trying to get you back to the physical world, of course. As for how—"

The rest of Lin's speech was cut short by an echo of cruel laughter; the clicking sound of its feet and segment preceded Koh's appearance as the centipede crawled on the ceiling of the cave out of the darkness into the area with pillars of light. The centipede dropped from the ceiling, barring the way out. The face of a blue-snot baboon cackled heartily.

"Two Dragons?" Koh laughed; Lin looked at Koh with an obvious disgusted look, the blue orb of light hovered around in front of Iroh in sharp trajectory as if trying to defend him. "This is my lucky day. You, Deep Forest, are truly unpredictable. I have enjoyed watching your adventure; too bad I will have to end it now."

Koh pounced at the boy; Lin stood his ground and delivered a punch on the face of the blue humanoid with fangs. Koh flew backward and cracked the cave wall with a crunchy sound. As it rose to its feet, the blue humanoid face gritted its teeth before cracking and crumbled apart like porcelain, revealing beneath it the face of a white noh mask.

"I think I know why bending doesn't work here", Lin grinned cruelly the centipede, flaunting his intellect and newfound knowledge. "Bending is a physical art; it needs a physical body to manifest itself. But, pure chi… chi flows with the soul, with the spirit. Come, worm! I'll show you Death's Touch!"

Koh roared; Lin braced his stance, Iroh gasped weakly, the blue orb dived into Iroh's sleeve. Before any of them could do anything, a sharp screeching sound stunned them; such beautiful and powerful voice. Like the pluck of a gujin of the highest note, the clearest of wind chime in Fire Nation autumn; mixed with the crisp ring of a sharpest sword rubbed against the hardest of whetstone, like the clank of a metal rod colliding with an iron shield. It was the sound that contained the finest of beauty and the most inspiring of strength.

Walls of crimson flame appeared abruptly around them, it whirled and roared around the four of them before engulfing them whole. Iroh could not see anything but the flame, the crimson flame, it warmed him greatly, it restored his strength.

When the flame subsided, they found themselves not in Koh's Lair but in the middle crater of an inactive volcano under a blue sky that housed a pearl white sun. The beautiful but powerful screeching continued; Koh took the opportunity of Lin's gape around the environment. Iroh quickly run to shield the boy from the Face Stealer, he would not let another soldier boy die; the blue light valiantly launched itself on the Face Stealer! The blue orb courageous but futile attack on Koh's face amounted as much as throwing cotton balls on a rampaging dragon but it distracted Koh long enough for Iroh to arrive in front of Lin with arms outstretched.

However, the owner of the beautiful yet powerful sound had another plan.

Once again the crimson flame erupted, encircling the crater with a hundred feet tall wall of flame tempest. Iroh and Lin was mesmerized by such powerful and pure Element; Koh's white noh face looked afraid and the blue orb had once against sought refuge inside Iroh's sleeve. Had Iroh not too drowned in admiration of the crimson flame, he would throw the annoying blue light to the wall flame. But, it would taint such beautiful flame, thought Iroh cruelly.

The flame abruptly converged on one point behind Koh; they all turned to witness the flame transforming from a mass of shapeless fire into such gigantic beautiful creature, beautiful but powerful: its slender body formed first; the long eight strand of peacock tail, its beautiful long thin-necked head with four plumes of long feather on top of its small head with sharp beak, and the two long slender legs were next, and the last was its gorgeous wings that stretched wide. Such beautiful creature made entirely of fire; it hurt the two mortals just to look at it.

Iroh and Lin, Fire Nation body and soul fell into a deep humble ultra-polite form of kowtow reserved only to Fire Lords and the Nation's most revered spiritual entities; two Dragons, two firebenders humbled themselves before the patron spirit of the highest order of their Element. Two Dragons humbled themselves before the Spirit of the Majestic Phoenix, the Flame of the Truest Form.

Iroh trembled in fear; fear and shame… he heard the centipede screamed at the Yin of Fire Element; the Spirit of the Majestic Phoenix screeched back louder and stronger. Koh the Face Stealer groaned bitterly before it fled back to its Lair, defeated. There was silence next, filled only by the flickering of the flame that made up the Majestic Spirit. Iroh and Lin still dare not look up; Iroh was too ashamed to.

He had transgressed the Law of the Spirit World. He had failed in his quest to top it all. Iroh sobbed bitterly as he pressed his forehead hard on the ground. He was ashamed. He was doubly ashamed that his hatred still held him strong, that he could not bring himself to let it go, that a part of him still secretly savored the dark emotion. Iroh had become a failure; a failure as a son, a failure as a brother, a failure as a general, a failure as a prince, a failure as an uncle, and worse of all, a failure as a mentor.

The Spirit of the Majestic Phoenix screeched one short note; it gave Iroh and Lin the courage to lift up their heads. The majestic bird perched down on the edge of the crater, still with its wings spread; with its faceless but beautiful head, it peered over the two mortals who both bore its gift. Iroh and Lin rose to their feet, eyes fixed in adoration of their patron spirit of the highest order. The blue light fluttered nervously around Iroh.

The Spirit of the Majestic Phoenix granted them one low note of its beautiful but powerful voice, telling them it was time to go home. It flapped its flaming wings, sending massive gust of wind and flames that gave the firebenders the utmost feelings of reverence; the Spirit of the Majestic Phoenix took flight and soared high to be one with the pearl white sun of its realm.

Iroh could not peel his eyes off the spirit as it grew smaller and smaller but Lin's scream of surprise snapped him off his admiration. He turned to the boy who looked stunned in his fighting stance; the blue light were fluttering near him. Lin's amber eyes looked astonished at the light that hovered close to the boy. Iroh knew that Lin too was taken in by such fragile and harmless looking light despite finding it such peculiar creature. Iroh, however, still could not shake off his hatred to the blue hue of the light.

"What are you still doing here!" Iroh's angry shout stunned all three of them; yes, it stunned even himself as he stomped his way to the light and swatted it hard with his hand. "Get out of my sight!"

"_GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Iroh swept his arm hard as flame spewed out of his fingers; the frightened teary-eyed girl on the ground clutched her cheek, her amber eyes were filled with such fear and hatred._

Iroh felt Lin shoving him hard; so hard, Iroh stumbled down to the ground.

"Are you blind!" Lin screamed at him; anger was in that teary amber eyes of him. Lin lifted his cupped hands gently as the blue orb of light landed on it; the boy cried sorrowfully at the sight of the light. Iroh saw the boy sobbed before he threw to Iroh the words that cut him so very deeply. "This… this is Lu Ten!"

Oh… may Agni have mercy; it cut Iroh so very deeply indeed…

One single tear dripped from Lin's chin onto the orb of gentle blue light that was Lu Ten; the spirit of Fire Prince Lu Ten expanded and bathed his father and one who was like a brother to him with warm light of blue hue. As the light blinked into nonexistence, Iroh and Lin found themselves in the tall Astronomy Tower of the Fire Nation Imperial Palace.

Iroh was flat on his back with teary amber eyes looking up the ceiling. He felt footsteps; Lin arrived by his side, knelt down and harshly pushed his neck down with one hand and with the other hand shoved a knife close to his face.

"I should kill you for what you've done!" Lin screamed at his face through his own teary and flaming amber eyes.

The boy raised his knife, ready to plunge it to the blackened and broken heart of the old man; Iroh closed his eyes and accepted his fate. In the darkness, Iroh heard the door of the room they were in being breached loudly, he heard and felt footsteps, heard the scuffle that ensued and felt the young Dragon's hand being wrenched from his neck. He heard the boy screamed and cried, heard several men struggling to hold the boy down.

Iroh felt a warm touch on his cheek; he opened his eyes slowly to see a face of a female as old as his with brown eyes filled with worry. "Iroh, you look terrible", the Palace Head Physician sighed deeply.

"Kaji", the Head Physician turned around. "Help me sit him up. Nazak, go find some help and a stretcher, hurry!"

Iroh could not do anything as the Head Physician and Kaji gently pulled him up to a sitting position leaning against the nearest wall; in fact, Iroh could not feel anything at all. He was so weak, he could not feel.

"Kaji", the Head Physician turned to the Imperial Firebending Instructor. "Go to my office, please. Tell my assistant to prepare a bed—"

"…room…" Iroh said weakly; such simple word took all the energy he had.

"Iroh", the Head Physician looked at the man with concern. "You need proper care."

"…room… …closer…" Iroh tried to gulp but he could not even feel how dry his mouth was.

"Oh, dear", the Head Physician shook her head a little. "Set my kit in Iroh's room. And ask them to prepare a bowl of mashed up banana and water. He's severely malnourished."

As Kaji left, Iroh had the unimpeded view of Lin hanging his head down as he sobbed, kneeling under Jian Wu and Piandao's clutch, each master locking the boy's stretched arm. Iroh saw the boy's clutch weakening as grief and sorrow took him. Lin's knife slipped off his weakening grip and fell with a sharp clank. Then, it all went dark for Iroh.

When he came to, he was on his bed back on the familiar bed in his room. The last time he was conscious in the physical world, he had felt nothing but some measure of headache and absolutely nothing at all; this time, he felt the headache and some sensation from neck down to the beating heart of his. He heard rustle and hushed voices. A warm hand reached out to him and, as his visions became clearer, he saw the face of the Head Physician over his.

"Iroh, how are you feeling?" the woman asked full of concern. "Can you speak?"

Iroh swallowed hard and gave it a shot. "Think so", thought he sounded as faint, he did not feel so anymore.

Iroh spent the next few minutes being spoon-fed gooey dissolved sweetened mash banana mothers feed their young babies with. Under normal circumstances, Iroh would protest such treatment of being spoon-fed baby food by a woman around his age, being watched by a Fire Sage, a swordmaster, and a firebending instructor; also by a boy who was sitting in the corner of the room, lurking under the shadow, away from the sunlight that penetrated the creaks and crevices of his closed window. But, Iroh was hungry, so hungry he could not feel the hunger.

They waited until he finished his meal, Iroh knew that. He was not in a hurry to finish his bowl, but the time came anyway. As the Head Physician helped him drank a sip of water and helped him lie back to the bed and tugged him back under his blanket; Fire Sage Shyu was the first to speak.

"General", the man called softly; Iroh's pathetic state must have triggered his pity.

"How long have I been gone?" Iroh said with a ragged whisper.

"Almost two months", the Head Physician answered the question. "This is the 21st of the second month. Winter."

"Two months?" Iroh chuckled a little.

The door was abruptly opened. All heads but Iroh's turned to the intruder; Iroh was still too faint to move. "U-uncle?"

He heard Zuko entering the room quickly. "Uncle!"

"Prince Zuko", Jian Wu moved towards the boy, halting Zuko halfway into the room. "Your uncle needs some rest. He is unwell. Pleas—"

"No, Uncle!" Zuko struggled; his head poked out of Jian Wu's broad frame. Iroh grunted lowly; Jian Wu turned around a little to him before he allowed Zuko to pass through to Iroh's bedside.

"Uncle!" Zuko was pale as paper as he scanned Iroh's face. "Uncle, what happened?"

"I didn't know you were coming home", Iroh started casually; his weak smile and his voice of a barest of whisper made no change in Zuko's pale face. "I am fine, Zuko."

"Uncle", Zuko grasped Iroh's hand. "Uncle, what's going on?"

"Prince Zuko", the Palace Physician lady called out softly. "Please, you must let your uncle rest."

Zuko did not want to leave.

"I will be fine", Iroh chuckled weakly. "I just need some sleep."

It took more persuasion but finally Zuko relented. Ushered out by the Palace Physician, Zuko got out of the room. They waited until Zuko was out and the Physician closed the door and they heard the Crown Prince's footsteps echoed away before Fire Sage Shyu spoke again.

"Defying the Law of the Spirit World is foolish, General", Fire Sage Shyu sounded both stern and sympathetic. "This is not a matter we should trifle with lightly. You, of all people, should know."

"I had to find my son", Iroh said weakly, unable to meet his colleagues in the eyes. "I had to make sure that he is alright."

"We understand", Kaji's snappish voice spoke out this time; he did not sound happy, but then again, he was never happy. "But, what you did is still reckless. If it's not for the young Dra—"

A loud but dull thud came from the corner of the room where Lin was attracted their attention. All heads but Iroh's turned to the direction; Jian Wu's was the first that turned to the door afterwards. The swordmaster called out. "Prince Zuko?"

They heard the sound of the young Fire Prince running away. Jian Wu shook his head a little and sighed deeply. They all turned back to Iroh.

"You are lucky we found you at all", Kaji said firmly. "You are lucky that Lin showed up. You could have died if we hadn't found you before the solstice ended."

Jian Wu raised his hand before Kaji could scold any further. Turning to Iroh with great sympathy in his amber eyes. "Did you at least find what you were looking for?"

Iroh opened his mouth to answer but he could not… He knew now why the myriad of spirits, hostile and friendly alike, had been adamant in chasing him away. Iroh did not find what he was looking for; he was too foolish, too stubborn to see that it had found him. He was too foolish, too full of hatred too realize that the spirit of Lu Ten had found him instead, that Lu Ten had kept him company the whole time even after the others had left him.

Iroh was too full of hatred to see his son. The spirits were right; Iroh would not have found what he was looking for. How could he, when he refused to even look?

Iroh cried a bitter sobs of shame. The Palace Physician quickly moved to him comforting him while the others slowly dispersed to his table on the other side of the room. Iroh sobbed bitterly into the woman's shoulder; Agni's mercy… he was too blinded by hatred to recognize his own son… And he was doubly ashamed because it only fueled his –he shuddered at the word- hatred of the blue flame.

And its mistress…

"General", the young Dragon's voice came from behind the Head Physician; Iroh could not bring himself to even see his face. "I won't say that I understand. But… I don't know…I—"

Iroh tried hard to control his sob and quell his shame; he regained enough composure to ask the Head Physician to help him sit. Jian Wu, the largest of them, moved to Iroh's other side and with the Head Physician held him up to lean on the headboard.

"…how…" Iroh started but he could not choose among so many questions he had, not to mention the shame he felt as he looked at the face of the boy who had been like a brother to his son.

"I'm here because of my job", Lin answered one of Iroh's unasked question. "You really are lucky I'm in the neighborhood."

"You… what about your…" Iroh heaved heavily.

"I haven't gone to the North Pole", Lin answered the unasked question somewhat curtly; he too seemed to be having a hard time maintaining eye contact. His gaze was fixed on the small engraved white lotus on top of Iroh's headboard. "I think I will have to wait until—"

The boy stopped abruptly. Iroh understood; the boy was being careful. Iroh nodded slightly, wordlessly telling that he understood that Lin must put his initiation into the royal assassin before the affair of the White Lotus.

"Have you seen…" Iroh started again but he could bring himself to mention their names, especially hers. "…your students?"

"I've been to Azula's", Lin said curtly. "I'll go to Zuko next."

"Have you told her about…?" Iroh asked again. Not that he cared anymore but he was just curious and he wanted to show that, despite everything, he was still on Lin's side.

"I tried but…" Lin looked away awkwardly. "It's not easy."

Iroh still had much to ask but his still waning consciousness did not permit him to say anything more. The Head Physician noticed this. She rose up and quickly chased them all out. Iroh barely saw Lin putting in his hood when the darkness claimed him once more.

Iroh slept, hoping that this whole thing would be nothing but a bad dream. He slept, for he knew what the people had been saying about him; he heard them. He slept, for he wanted all that to be nothing bad one bad dream. He wanted these past two months to be nothing but a really bad dream.

"_Oh, Agni's mercy… General Iroh has lost it! Poor Princess Azula… the bruise on her cheek is terrible! I hope it won't leave any mark."_

"_Fire Lord Ozai was angry at the servants again. It has been two months since General Iroh disappeared. No one can seem to find him."_

"_What's with this fog? It gives me the chill. I wonder if General Iroh's disappearance has anything to do with it."_

"_Prince Zuko was furious at a servant today. He was asking about General Iroh. *sigh* As if we haven't gotten enough from Fire Lord Ozai."_

"_Hey, did you hear? They say the fog disappeared soon after they found General Iroh in the Astronomy Tower! Nobody seems to think about looking for him there." _

"_It's new year soon. I wonder what General Iroh would do. I mean… Prince Lu Ten grave is…"_

"_Fire Sage Shyu found General Iroh. He was in the Astronomy Tower all along."_

"_They say General Iroh traveled into the spirit world! Creepy…"_

"_Think about it, it all adds up! The rumor about the spirit world, the fog, the solstice, Prince Lu Ten's grave! General Iroh really did go to the spirit world!"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

_On the deck of the flagship moored on the city of Gaipan, they have gathered. Private Yi Luo, who was apparently a long lost son of a Fire Sage, according to a letter sent from the said Fire Sage that had so very conveniently arrived the previous day, was in his best armor. Standing in front of him was the captain, the heir apparent of the Lin Family, on his right, also in the best of his clan armor; the Tiger Hawk was on Private Yi Luo's left, wearing a beautiful pink silk dress with red trims, wearing a make-up that her female medics had risked their lives putting on her, her hair was in her usual top-knot but she was wearing a bridal veil._

_Customarily, of course, the bride should be on the right side while the groom on the left but, um, the crews, you see, did not have the gall to poke the hotheaded groom or, Agni forbids, the cranky bride about such trivial matter. Besides, it's the spirit that counts! After months of violence, both physical and mental, that had marred their relationship, not to mention being, again both physically and mentally (the groom had the scar to prove it and the bride could no longer look at an eggplant in the eye; long story, perhaps another time), they had found each other at last. The crew was happy for the both of them_

_They had decorated the deck with ribbons and flowers; not successfully since, well, what did a bunch of navy knew about decorating anyway. But, they had given their best. Gathering in the deck for the event of the year, they waited as the bride and groom bowed to each other deeply, witnessed by the long lost son of a Fire Sage who, as the result of his newfound ancestry, carried the right to officiate a marriage._

"_Dearly beloved", Private Yi Luo started. "…And the rest of you guys", his attempt at joke was appreciated by the laughter of the crew, not so much by the about-to-be-wed couple. "We have gathered here today to witness the union of the son and daughter of Agni. Captain Lin, the twenty—", the private squeaked a little as a sharp and extremely fast punch greeted his gut and knocked his wind. "Captain Jeong *cough* Jeong of the Lin Family and Captain Umma of…"_

_The three exchanged awkward glances. Jeong Jeong shot the moron private a glare that said. '_Wing it!'

"… _of… Fire Nation Army?" Private Yi Luo shrugged; many of the crew shrugged back and murmured the mild approval. "You will agree that for these two very unlikely couple to find in each other love to hold and to have through sick and health, through thick and thin, rich and poor, evening tea and midnight cookies, and everything else, is such a beautiful miracle. If we look back to the events, the trials and tribulations these two have been through together these past few months… well, think about it."_

_The crew once more murmured their agreement._

"_The constant bickering, the physical violence! Oh, man! She tried to gouge his eye out because he tried to rape—"_

"_FOR THE LAST TIME—"_

"_Hush!" Private Yi Luo shushed the enraged bridegroom sternly. "We're at a wedding! Now, where was eye… pfft!"_

"_Grrr!" Jeong Jeong was so ready to jump at the private and shred him to pieces; he would risk death sentence from the Fire Lord with honor and no regret. Iroh, despite being older, held a certain measure of fear of the captain, so he went back to being serious. _

"_Yes", Private Yi Luo cleared his throat. "Now, a few months may seem short but…"_

_He spread his arms at the two. "When love is true, even a day is worth a lifetime."_

_Private Yi Luo gave the two a second or two to exchange such lovely smiles with each other. "We have two who are in love so deeply. Ladies and gentlemen", Private Yi Luo said proudly, they did not seem to notice he made a wee bit mistake that he smoothly redressed as. "Dearly beloved", Jeong Jeong and Umma threw him a puzzled glance that the private ignored. "As Jeong Jeong and Umma have found love in/and each other and wish to unite in holy matrimony, and both being of eligible age, both being sixteen—"_

"_Wait, what?" Umma threw her veil off, frowning at Private Yi Luo. "Sixteen? Not thirteen?"_

"_No… not since a hundred years ago, when we changed the rule…?" Private Yi Luo drawled. Oh, the premonition…_

"_Oh… well, I-I… uh, technically I'm fifteen. Turning sixteen in two days."_

_A raven-crow flew past and cawed loudly twice._

—_Two days later—_

"_Dearly beloved, and the rest of you guys, we have gathered here today—"_

"_Just get on with it!" Jeong Jeong snapped impatiently at him._

"_Hush, child!" Private Yi Luo shut him up. "There will be plenty of time to consummate—"_

_The cracking of Umma's balled up fists, however, was heard across Gaipan. The Tiger Hawk was __**not**__ someone you want to cross; rumor has it that the Earth Kingdom Army had issued an order of 'flee on sight' for her._

"_W-well, uh… R-rings!" Private Yi Luo fished his pocket while Sergeant Azaya darted from the crew towards him to hand Umma's ring and stayed by the officiator's side. "Now, let these two rings bear witness, as none of us could find a holy scripture anywhere", again, the crew murmured their mild approval. Private Yi Luo held the rings together in the middle of the couple. "Jeong Jeong, you may now ask for Umma's hand in marriage."_

_It was variant of Fire Nation wedding custom; the groom would ask the bride to marry him in front of everyone instead of the two of them exchanging vows. Jeong Jeong and Umma had not had enough time to compose a vow, you see. This way, Jeong Jeong would do the hard part and Umma would only need to say 'I do'. Only one will suffer and… Umma still scared the hell out of Jeong Jeong, so…_

"_Uh", Jeong Jeong cleared his throat as he took a step closer and took his bride's hands in his. "Umma—"_

"_~One knee~" Sergeant Azaya, standing by Private Yi Luo's side, singsonged subtly while scratching her nose. _

_Jeong Jeong nervously got on one knee and cleared his throat again; the look of anticipation his bride gave him from behind his veil proved of little help. But… it calmed him. For this was the woman he would spend the rest of his life with… _

"_Umma", Jeong Jeong's confidence was a shock even for him. "We may not have gotten along since the very beginning. I mean, I spat cookies on your face, you nearly choked me to death and drowned me in the ocean; I tried to pull rank on you, you tried to pull my uvula out with your bare hand; I snuck into your room and accidentally violated your personal clothing, you slapped me across the face and I lost a tooth", while Umma actually enjoyed the recounting of their misadventures, the couple were oblivious of the crew and the officiator's discomfort. "I tried to save you from a raccoon-rat in your bathroom while you were inside not so properly dressed, actually not dressed at all, you thought I was going to do something inappropriate and nearly scratched my eye out –still hurts, by the way-"_

"_Sorry", Umma mouthed gleefully through her veil; she too did not care for anything but his man._

"_In the dungeon of Omashu, I thought that you were going to die", Jeong Jeong continued with a smile on his face unlike any Iroh had ever seen. "It made me realize what an insufferable prude you are", they both chuckled. "And that… I can't imagine living without you."_

_Jeong Jeong had never looked as radiant and happy when he pressed the girl's hand to his heart and proposed slowly but intensely. "Umma, would you, with Agni as my witness… do me the honor of… uh, not refusing to be my lawfully wedded wife?"_

_Now, with that kind of proposal, who could blame Umma for replying with a very perplexed sounding. "Oh, uh… um, n-no, I… do?"_

_The crow-raven from two days ago made a return._

"_Dude, literature, seriously. You're embarrassing noblemen everywhere", Private Yi Luo whispered subtly, rolling his eyes openly. Addressing the crowd again, Private Yi Luo spoke. "Now, let Agni bless these rings—"_

_That was the part where the officiator would raise the rings, one in each hand, to the sun so the sunlight would produce a glint on the rings; Private Yi Luo was too excited, one of the rings slipped through his fingers. _

_Oh, the plunk it made as it dived into the ocean, it was very ominous indeed._

_Fuming and trembling with anger, Jeong Jeong turned to his trusty crew and made a slashing gesture on his throat with his thumb. The crew promptly mobbed the bumbling officiator, lifted him off his feet, and threw him to the sea._

-0-0-0-0-0-

When Iroh came to, it was night. The torches were set on low and sleeping sitting up by his side on a chair was the Head Physician. Iroh reached out softly to the woman's hands on her lap; she gasped slightly as she roused herself awake. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she welcomed the warm smile her patient gave her.

"We have grown old", Iroh said solemnly. "Have we not, Azaya?"

"That we have", Head Physician Azaya smiled warmly, caressing the old man's hand.

"Do you remember the first time we met? That mission?" Iroh chuckled slightly.

"Oh!" Head Physician Azaya laughed fondly. "We were… _young,_ indeed."

"It was the first time of many things", Iroh reminisced somewhat dreamily. "My first time in the military service."

"My first time slapping a royalty", Azaya chuckled.

"Our first time behind bars", Iroh continued, smiling broadly. "Our first time meeting King Bumi. Our first time encountering the Order."

"Our first time being a best man and a maid of honor in a wedding; Umma and Jeong Jeong's marriage", Azaya laughed shrilly. "I still can't believe the crew bought the story about you being a Fire Sage illegitimate son."

"Oh, I'm just that good", Iroh said not too humbly. He grasped the woman's hand tightly and paused for a few second to catch his breath. "Be honest with me… did you really have a sailor boyfriend?"

"Did you really frequent the red-light district?" Azaya asked back. They both laughed.

"We have grown old, haven't we, Sergeant?" asked Iroh again solemnly.

"We have, Private", Azaya picked up the man's hand and kissed it. "It is time for the younger generation to have the fun."

"Agree", Iroh sighed.

They sat in silence, each reminiscing the fond memory of their youth.

"By the way", Iroh said after some time. "I never got that five silver."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Names:

1. Azaya, from Aramaic word 'asya' which means 'doctor'

There may or may not be an extra chapter in the future in this fic, or a chapter in the side-story fic about Jeong Jeong and Umma and how they ended up together, well… the whole complete story. Theirs was one of the many storyline I had planned for this fic since the very beginning.

To the Dark Door, thanks for the review, cookies, and compliment! Yeah… Ozai and Lin related, can you imagine that? XD…

To OwlFeather13, thanks for the review and cookies, snowman, and good luck with school! So… you never told me you can predict the future. XD… Yeah, I have finished the first draft of this chapter when you posted the review about Iroh going to the spirit world. At first, I wanted Iroh's visit to be about his wife since she was never even mentioned in the main series. But, of course, they haven't done Avatar Extras then. When I was watching that episode with extra; it mentioned that Iroh went to the spirit world for Lu Ten, so… here we are. I had forgotten about that until after I posted chapter 80 and it thankfully fits Zhao only hearing rumors about it; Zhao was captured by the Earth Kingdom when it happened so he did not get to experience the mysterious fog. And I got the idea for the fog from the episode when Roku appeared in the Fire Sage temple using Aang as the conduit; when the door to his shrine opened, there was some sort of thick fog. And the mass of fog engulfing the whole palace was kind of necessary to add mysterious, spiritual, but painfully visible aspect to Iroh's disappearance. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a rumor spreading.

And phoenix being the Yin of Fire Element. Well, in Chinese culture, dragons are masculine (Yang) and phoenixes are feminine (Yin). they're opposites and since dragons in Avatar realm exist in the physical world, I think it's appropriate to have phoenix as a spiritual entity; them being opposites and all. Hopefully, the canon won't contest to this... *fingers crossed*

The next four-parter is done! Still need a little patching and polishing here there everywhere... but, they are done!

I think that's all… oh, and young Iroh fought with a lot kicks and acrobatic moves to, you know, accentuate his youth. And that's all… I hope.

Happy reading, enjoy the chapter, and don't stay up too late!


	86. Chapter 85

**Chapter 85 – Flight Home, Part 1**

**-Suicidal Mission-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

As soon as Earth Kingdom winter set in, the whole Zhong Thu Plain was covered by layers of snow and pelted by blizzard almost every day. It was the 15th day of the second month of winter and Lin already hated his life. Oh, Fire Nation winter… the wind, the rain, the cloud, all in perfect moderation compared to this ice pit; how the young Dragon longed for thee… Oh, how Lin hated this freezing hell!

He was in his tent, all alone, working out. Lin had neglected much of his own training; his leg had become stiff. He sat in a perfect split and stretched to one leg, dragging his chin to the direction of his toes. The tendon below his knee felt tightened. He really had neglected his training. Lin was shirtless at the time, trying to let his inner fire roam free in his system to warm himself up. His inner fire still existed and Lin could control it somewhat to raise his body temperature to a certain extent. But, the connection, his natural connection that is, it takes to form fire, it was still severed; like a tunnel buried in an avalanche. The fire blast he produced during the battle in the highway, it was like the one when he was Agni Kai-ing Iroh. But, worse…

It was sickening.

_Azula_… Lin stopped. _Oh, Agni… what has happened to her?_

The sound of his door being opened was accompanied by a sharp gasp. Bob looked stunned and as he gaped at the shirtless Lieutenant on the floor. Now, for a fourteen years old, suffice to say that the combination of his strict warrior upbringing and the early onset of puberty had been kind to our lieutenant. Lin had begun to develop muscle, unlike Earth Kingdom heavy huge bulgy kind, his was more of a slender, lean, and tightly-hugging-his-bone kind.

"…Yes?" drawled Lin when Bob did not seem to be able to say anything.

"Uh, um, I-I… ng…."

"What?" Lin asked confusedly.

"Aren't you cold?" Bob asked nervously.

"No", Lin pushed his hands down, lifted his body up, and flipped forward to his feet. "Ah, that felt good", he took his garb and put it on. "What, Bob? You're baiting flies?"

Bob quickly closed his mouth and cleared his throat. "Well, uh… we're waiting. The, uh, the muscle— _raffle_ is ready."

"Oh", Lin muttered as he put on more clothes. He picked up his flute, once again with a sooty bloody armband and a red handkerchief tied around it. He had a hard time taking his eyes off the red fabric. Sighing, he decided to leave the flute on his bed. "Come on."

Both boys walked out to the compound. Oh, the snow… what a depressing reminder that Lin had to go to the North Pole. The cold and strong wind was not helping him quelling his many issues too. Waving their greeting to a shivering Bullhorn on his watchtower, both boys walked towards the mess tent as Bullhorn delivered the morning announcement.

"**Attention all earthbender personnel! This is a friendly reminder to remind you to keep wearing shoes during wintertime. Frostbite is no joke!"**

"How's the internship going?" Lin shouted over the gust of wind, just to make small talk.

"I don't know", Bob shouted back. "Major Mor hasn't said anything about taking me back."

Since Haoqi Gun's death, Yee Shoo had been left without a mentor. Spear and Trik were more than happy to take him but Major Senshi Mor, being the acting commanding officer, pulled rank on them. Yapping something about university level and whatnot, he ordered Spear to relinquish Shoto to him and take Yee Shoo instead; something about Yee Shoo being from Omashu Medical Institute, Spear's alma mater, and Shoto from Ba Sing Se University, Senshi's alma mater. And Bob, he was soon left in the limbo, hovering around Spear and Trik's tables in operating sessions as Senshi had not seem to have the sense to decide something about the boy. Although, the camp Herbalist Tua Huo had been spending quite a lot of time imparting his knowledge to the boy. The old man often praised Bob's aptitude towards herbal healing.

Spear did not take such treatment lying down, of course. Arguing that such unheard of intern trade could jeopardize and disturb the growth of the interns, Spear had unsuccessfully persuaded the Major to back off. He had even threatened to bring this matter to General Chang Ye personally but the blizzard had cut off communication for an indefinite amount of time. Suffice to say, with Spear losing support from the General, Senshi was emboldened to do whatever he liked.

"Why do you want to be a surgeon anyway?" Lin shouted his question.

"I don't know", Bob shrugged back. "Curiosity?"

They arrived at the biggest tent. Lin pushed the door open and was soon greeted by the warmth of the stove inside and the cheer of the people in there. Waving sourly, our lieutenant moved to his appointed seat on an earthbent throne in the middle of the tent. Standing tall (sort of), spreading his arms, he let Nurses Huang Mei and Jen take off his coat, Nurse Xiao Li put on a his mantle of honor (a ragged surgical gown) over his shoulder and Nurse Wen Li rested his crown (replica of the Earth Crown made of paper) on his head. And sat, our Lieutenant with legs crossed like a true king; the crowd cheered at him.

"Now", Father Shu spoke over the noise. "I would like to proudly announce that we have raised over fifty gold pieces for Ci Pei Orphanage. The children will survive the rest of the winter!"

He gave the crowd a full two minutes to cheer.

"And now, the moment we have been waiting for! The winner of 'Lieutenant Lin's First Shave' raffle is…." Father Shu fished the myriad of tickets in a large glass specimen jar Sergeant Chim held out to him. "… Major Megumi Keh!"

The crowd exploded as the grinning major moved out with arms raised. Spear and Trik of course had the honor of holding the tray of equipment and basin of water, moved to the earthen podium alongside the lucky winner.

"Okay", Megumi clapped her hands, grinning widely. "Ready?"

"No", Lin gulped comically.

Megumi laughed as she took off her woolen gloves. Clearing her throat, she said a la operating room. "Water."

"Water", Trik repeated, holding out his basin. Megumi dipped her hands wet and tapped the lieutenant's slightly stubbly chin and upper lip. "Cream."

"Cream", Spear handed a shaving brush with cold soapy cream; Megumi took it, held it to the crowd, and apply the cream on the boy's face.

"Uh-oh, the moment of truth", Spear commented loudly as Megumi handed back the brush.

"Blade", Megumi held out her hand.

"Blade", Spear repeated as the crowd cheer. As the razor blade was brought by the major upon the lieutenant's face, Spear warned quickly. "Careful, Megumi. Be gentle with him, this is his first time."

The major shot the captain a serious look that carried little meaning on account of her stifling a smile and the laughing crowd. "I'm holding a knife", she threatened.

"Sadist", Spear cursed back jokingly.

After throwing threatening narrowed eyes at the captain, Major Megumi called for. "Restraint", which prompted Rha-Mi and Yee Shoo to each hold the lieutenant's hand down. "Any last word?"

"I do this for my country", Lin sighed, resigning to his fate. "And money. Mostly money."

"**Attention all personnel!"** Bullhorn roared before Megumi could bring the blade further. **"General Do's battalion has fallen victim to an avalanche near the Wulin Highway. The wounded will be arriving via tanks and carriages in an hour or so if the blizzard doesn't get them!"**

"Aw, well too bad—", Lin rose from his seat but Megumi pushed him down and threatened him with the shaving blade.

"No, no, no! You're not getting away that easily", Trik said, moving in to help holding the struggling lieutenant down.

"But, the wounded—"

"Don't worry, this won't take long", Megumi moved the blade to the cringing lieutenant.

"Mommy…" Lin whimpered, closing his eyes; he could not bear to watch.

Few minutes later, Lin sat down with the thinning crowd in the tent, occupying the spot with Bara and Rain. The batch that day, as with all other flow of wounded this early in winter would not be too big. The weather was one factor; the other would be that both armies were too exhausted to mount any large scale attack. The Fire Nation had been attacking nonstop all summer and autumn long; the Earth Kingdom needed time to rebuild their strength after the onslaught to take advantage of winter against firebenders.

The camp would not need their help; Lin was rubbing his chin he thought was too smooth, smoother than the original. Bara sniggered behind her cup. "Stop that", she said. Putting her cup down, she rubbed the boy's chin with a finger, annoying him.

"Why can't I at least keep my beard?" Lin grumbled. "Rocky got to keep his."

"Rocky looks good with beard", Bara shrugged sipping her cup calmly; Rain at her side nodded her agreement.

"I knew it", Lin narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the woman sitting at his left. "You _do_ have a thing for Rocky."

Rain turned to the boy with her bright emerald eyes widened in horror as she scooted away as far away as possible from the would-be combat zone. Bara, as calm as she had ever been, set her cup down, turned to Lin and gave her the sweetest smile Lin had never experienced from her and a tight grip on his shoulder joint unlike any Lin had ever felt before.

"Ah-huh…" Lin cringed breathlessly as pain invaded his left limb. "So, this is the… hmm, the fabled long lost Raven-Crow Joint Hold technique I've been hearing so much about."

"Preserved for generations by the Royal Assassins, especially the Genbu", Bara added so very friendlily.

"How come you've never…" Lin said with a strained voice that told he was in great pain. "…you've never taught me this one?"

"Oh, your training in Death's Touch is far from over", Bara tutted patronizingly. "Like Taka's, your division is required to learn only up to the advanced level form. The higher tier of the style has more joint lock and acupressure point strikes. We can kill with two fingers by pinching the correct vein or point if we want to."

"Yeah?" Lin gasped, on verge of tears.

"Oh, yes", Bara said, taking a sip with her free hand. "Ah… good tea. Anyway, you know the Ty Family chi-blocking technique?"

"Uh-huh", Lin said through his quivering lip.

"According to legend", Bara inspected the nails of her free hand. "Their chi-blocking style descended from Death's Touch. You know, the kind you know so far, but highly refined by the family into the style it is today. Ours is still like poking someone with a log of wood; theirs is like poking with a spear tip. More precise; so precise, they can hit people's chi pathway with their own chi fueled strikes."

"You're awfully chatty today", Lin whimpered, trying and failing to pry Bara's death grip off his shoulder.

"Well, I'm in a good mood", Bara took another sip of her cup.

"Bara?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry."

"There you go", she said as she would a child, letting go and ruffling the boy's ponytail. "Wasn't so hard, was it?"

"You're getting meaner lately", Lin pouted, rubbing his shoulder. Rain, deciding that it was safe, rejoined them.

"It's winter, I hate winter", Bara said matter-of-factly. "And our replacement's late! We've stayed here for more than one full season!"

"Oh, yeah", Lin arched a brow. "What kind of system do you guys use? You know, in regards to rotating shift for this unit."

"Dunno", Bara shrugged. "Taka and Rocky were supposed to go back with their experience and the guys there will decide among themselves."

"You two stayed longer than Taka and Rocky", Lin pointed out. "This does not bode well."

"Eh, like Taka would set up his own sister", Bara shrugged dismissively, going back to her drink. "Anyway, we've talk before we sent those two here. We think it would be wise if one of us three is here with you."

"Oh? Who's coming next?" Lin rolled his shoulder to return his blood flow. "I hope it's Taka. I need to practice my hand-to-hand combat."

"You know, I find it a little distasteful that you and Rocky use my little brother as a punching bag", Bara said in low dangerous tone.

"What? You do that all the time", Lin argued.

"So? He's my little brother", Bara huffed. "I have the Agni given right to beat, kick, pound, bully, or give him wedgie as much as I want."

"Not fair", Lin argued back. "Why should you have all the fun? It's not every day we have an indestructible immortal among our ranks."

"You guys are talking about me again?" a male voice appeared from behind them.

"Taka!" both Lin and Bara cheered before they proceeded to trying to beat the fletching out of the archer.

"So, how have you guys been?" Taka asked, dodging a spin kick from his sister and leaping over a sweep kick from his boss by performing a backward horizontal twirl.

"Oh, you know, the usual", Lin commented, sending a sweeping blow followed by a spinning backhand and a high spin kick; Taka dodged them all. Bara stepped up next with double palm thrust and added to Lin's comment. "Doing our job, fighting some Fire Nation, catching some naval commander."

"Oh, yeah!" Taka laughed as he caught Bara's wrists and pulled her over to his side, spun behind her, and pushed her to the other side of the tent while he moved to confront Lin; both male clashed arms and neck locks. "We heard about that back in the fort."

"Yeah?" Lin heaved as he took a step on a nearby chair and pushed himself into a liberating flip that had Taka's arm twisted in his clutch; he landed with Taka on his knee with his arm caught behind his back by the Lieutenant.

"Big news", Taka rolled to his side, dragging his locked arm over, using his weight and the motion to pull Lin over him; Lin had to leap forward and rolled to break his fall. Taka stood, with stance ready with the two opponents in front of him. "We heard they're giving you a medal, kiddo."

"That is a vicious lie. General Chang Ye only gave me a handshake", Lin sneered, easing up his stance; Bara did the same. "You have been practicing, have you?"

"Oh, kiddo", Taka sighed deeply as Bara and Lin crushed him in a welcoming hug. "My young naïve kiddo; when you have Bara as an older sister, you have to master at least two different forms of martial art and practice them constantly. It is the matter of survival."

"First Bara, now you", Lin said as they sat back and Bara smacked the archer on the head. "You guys have been training yourselves behind my back. I'm guessing Rocky is busy with earthbending too, huh?"

"Well, something like that", Taka cleared his throat somewhat weirdly; while Lin did not notice it, Bara caught the look he gave her. "Anyway", Taka said again quickly, gesturing to the other mercenary who came with him. "This is Jon, earthbender, practices Tianshui style. So, talk, mingle. Sis, a word."

With Bara, Taka left the tent, leaving Lin, Rain, and a male mercenary on the table. The mercenary was young, twenty something. He was wearing his Black Rider armor under a black leather coat like the one Taka was wearing. The man was bearded and had ivory skin like many Earth Kingdom people in the northern area, but he was not burly like Rocky. Green eyed, brown haired, and firmed jaw, he was muscular indeed and tall, but he did not look like a meat tank kind of brawny; the fact that intrigued Lin somewhat.

"Tianshui style?" Lin asked, shaking the man's hand.

"Yeah", he said; he looked friendly. "Think of it like… uh, the cross between sandbending and heavy duty earthbending."

"So, you bend gravel?" Lin guessed, causing the man to laugh out loud.

"You really _are_ smart", Jon laughed. "Taka was right."

While Jon the earthbender elaborated further about Tianshui style of earthbending, Taka and Bara were trying to have a conversation outside the tent. The strong gust of wind did not make it easy.

"Whaaaat?" Bara asked, shivering and cupping a hand on her ear.

"I saaaaaiiidd, Roooocky's wounded!" Taka shouted.

"What's wrong with Blaaaackie?" Bara asked loudly.

"Nothiiing! That idiotic cat is fiiiineee!" Taka yelled to no avail. "It's Rocky! Rocky! Your boyfrieeeeend! *choke*"

"How many times do I have to tell you blubberheads that THERE IS NOTHING GOING ON BETWEEN ME AND ROCKY!"

"Oh, _that_ you heard *choke*", Taka managed through his sisters' claw on his Adam's apple. Growling, Bara threw him down.

"What about Rocky!" she shouted. Taka gestured her to follow him as they made their way to Lin's tent.

"Phew", Taka sighed, taking off his coat. "Rocky's wounded."

"What?" Bara's voice broke into an uncharacteristically high-pitched version. "Wh— _how_?"

"You heard about the Butcher of Nan Shan?" Taka moved to the heating stove and shot a fire stream into it. "We got him. He got Rocky."

"When?" Bara sounded shocked. Of the three, she, much like Taka, wholeheartedly thought that Rocky was the toughest. For a good reason too; the Seiryu, the Green Dragon division, was an epitome of powerhouse. Each member of the division was trained to withstand inhumane pain and overcome impossible odds, just as intensely as they were drill relentlessly to become such force. And now, one serial killer took down a full-fledged Seiryu assassin?

"Autumn, on our way back", said Taka glumly, then he added quickly. "Don't tell Lin."

"Why not?" Bara asked quietly.

"It was the kiddo's idea to go after the Butcher", Taka shrugged as he sat down on an empty bed. "I don't want him to go blaming himself. I mean, think about it. The last time he was moping around, none of us could do anything."

"Yeah, we are all socially crappy", concurred Bara meekly. "But, _Rocky_?"

"Chest wound, broken ribs", Taka pointed at his side, the spot where Rocky got hit. "Quite severe, from what the doctor told me. He needs at least two seasons to fully recover."

"This could be bad", Bara pondered aloud. "You do know that we have secured some ships, right?"

"Oh, yeah", Taka grinned. "They arrived a month before we left. Nice stuff!"

"I'm sensing that the chance to go to the North Pole is coming closer", said Bara confidently.

"Oh, come on", Taka scoffed at it dismissively. "Byakko's initiation takes years."

"Yeah, but with Lin's luck…" Bara added.

"That kid _is_ really darn lucky", Taka frowned then shuddered.

Around that time, the door was opened and in walked a shivering Lieutenant Lin. Lin walked to his side of the tent with knocking teeth, took off his coat, breathed in and exhaled loudly to regulate his chi, failed to warm his body up satisfactorily, so naturally he walked towards the stove for heat. The uncomfortable stare his two mercenaries gave him prompted him to look up and asked ever so innocently. "What?"

* * *

It was morning when Major Senshi Mor stood tall and proud in the middle of the compound. Resplendent in his army winter uniform, which included a thick green coat, he stood proud with his ever so faithful clerk by his side, shivering though the twerp might be.

"Hit it!" the Major ordered. He ignored the defiant sigh the clerk gave him as the Corporal blew his trumpet, calling the camp to gather in the morning flag ceremony. Alas the trumpet could not beat the might of the blizzard. But, the effect was still felt.

"What is that?" Spear cried as he rose from his slumber. "Make it stop!"

"Hey, Spear", Trik rose with more grace and hangover. "I think we're in the Army."

In the interns' tent, things were just as favorable.

"Seitoooo! Do we have to do another intervention about you eating sweet potatoes before bed!" Yee Shoo yelled from under his pillow.

"Wasn'tmpphrmnn….. Zzzzz…" Seito kinda… said.

Shoto lay down with bloodshot eyes staring blankly at the ceiling; Bob entered with a damp towel and announced. "It's okay, guys! Just Major Senshi; no 'Seito sweet potato' intervention necessary."

In the Head Security tent.

"What is that?" Jon rose from his slumber, groggy like a drunkard with a major case of hangover.

"Just our acting commanding officer playing soldier", Lin said from his desk. "Go back to sleep."

Jon needed not to be told twice. Lin returned to his book, reading under the dim light of green glowing crystal. He tried to immense himself in the detailed instructions of _'Master Goom-sha's Manual for White Turtle-Crane Style of Swordsmanship: 7th Edition, with highly detailed illustration'_ but his mind kept wandering off to the pain. _Azula_, he sighed, shutting his eyes closed and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Giving up trying to distract himself, Lin went back to his bed and lying with his hands clasped behind his head, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Azula… did something happen? He rolled to his side, folding his pillow over his head, trying to shut away the light. What pain she must have felt…

Azula… Lin gritted his teeth as her scream filled his head. Azula, please…

Agni knows how hated himself, how he hated his powerlessness. He should be there! He was supposed to be her sifu, her friend, her (he gulped a little) fiancé! He should be there with her, protecting her from harm. Lin shot up from his bed, unable to hold his feeling anymore. He was about to go out and jumped off the cliff or something (for free-running exercise! Not… you know), but the blizzard made it impossible for him to do anything outside.

So, Lin fell back down on the bed; he even welcomed the sound of Taka's snoring to distract him from her scream.

"_Stop it! Stop!"_ Lin pressed the pillow on his head, wincing hard as her scream echoed in his mind once more. He had to know what was going on there. Therefore, it was no surprise that during the emergency officers meeting few hours later, his answer was. "I'll go."

"Wait, you're sure about this?" Major Megumi asked quietly.

In the commanding officer's office, they had just been briefed about a new strain of winter fever that had stricken the soldiers up in the front. According to rumor, the highly contagious illness was carried by Fire Nation soldiers from their homeland. The only known cure, according to a research by scientists from Tay Kho Imperial College was potion made of fire lilies extract, not the kind of fire lilies bred in plains and lowlands, but the wild kind that grew only on the slopes of volcanoes in Fire Nation Imperial City.

Which bring us to the meeting that day; Major Senshi Mor, in his infinite wisdom had called upon himself to combat this disease. Who knows, the soldiers that coming their way might carry the disease and our exalted acting commanding officer could not have his camp down with some icky Fire Nation fever now, could he? He had called for a team of volunteers to pose as Fire Nation colonials, infiltrate the Fire Nation, find some of the flowers, and bring them back.

"Now, wait a second!" Spear interjected heatedly. "Are you out of you mind?"

"I have not given you permission to speak, Haoren", Senshi snapped dryly. "And I resent that tone."

"Okay, permission to speak", Spear raised his hand. Senshi looked around, hoping for others who might wasn't to raise their hands to but Trik, Megumi, Lin, Father Shu, and the interns deliberately avoided eye contact. With clenched jaw, Senshi nodded as Spear who then spoke with such sweet tone it was sickening. "What lovely day, Major. Say, are you out of your mind?"

"We're medics, Senshi", Trik spat.

"Please refer to me as 'Major' or 'sir' when we are talking in an offi—"

"Forget it!" Trik cut him rudely. They all had begun to leave the room when Lin made himself heard again.

"I said I'll go", the young lieutenant's conviction was enough to halt them.

"Now, wait a minute", Spear held the lieutenant and turned to Senshi. "Why can't we request some from headquarters? We still do trades with the Fire Nation. We must have some in our Kingdom."

"No, we do not", Senshi refuted curtly. "I have contacted the Supply Regiment repeatedly and each time they told me 'Major, we don't have those'."

"Oh, at least they're polite", Spear scoffed sarcastically.

"What about sending some professionals there?" Trik suggested impatiently. "Send some, I don't know, Imperial Agents or something. I mean, there must be a reason we keep those guys around."

"As you will notice, Sho, if you read your Earth Kingdom Army Regulation Manual, Chapter 5 – Army Rank Regulation, paragraph ten, subsection eight: regarding subdivisions in the Earth Kingdom Army", Senshi inhaled before saying curtly. "We can't do that. Army Intelligence is ranked higher than us."

"So, get some generals to do that for us", Trik suggested as he would a five years old.

"Can't do that either", Senshi pointed out. "Communication's down."

While Trik was alternating between wanting to wring the major's neck or bash his skull with his bare fist, Lin voiced his mind again. "I'll go."

"Not alone", Senshi said, sharply. "I'm thinking of sending Bob with you. He should be able to recognize the flower."

"A-actually, si—", the meek intern squeaked but Senshi interjected.

"And either you", Senshi jerked his chin at Trik. "Or Haoren. There should be a ranking surgeon with them, to keep them in line, and Lieutenant Lin will act as bodyguard. Clever, huh?"

The Major allowed himself a smug laugh before continuing. "But, I wholeheartedly believe you should go, Haoren", Senshi said seriously. "At least, you can fight."

"Now, wait a second", Father Shu said patiently. "Please, think about this. I mean, if we send Lieutenant Lin, then what about our camp's security?"

"We have the mercenaries. That's what we're paying them for", Senshi pointed out somewhat smugly. "The last time we were bugging out, they have shown their worth. Sure, Lieutenant Colonel Haoqi Gun was… well, I suppose that's what happen when we entrusted the fighting to women, no offense Major Keh", Senshi nodded courteously to the hard jawed Head Nurse, completely oblivious that the woman was imagining rather vividly the way to stuff the lemur-bat's rotten mouth with rocks. "But, as I recall", Senshi continued. "We have two male mercenaries now."

"I'll go alone", Lin said quickly before either Spear or Megumi could rebutted the major. "I won't need Bob", Lin smiled weakly at the pale faced boy; Bob must be terrified of the prospect of going into the enemy territory. "I came from Senlin; I know more about Fire Nation stuff than most Earth Kingdom people. I know how fire lilies look like", Lin sniffled a little at Bob who breathed more easily before continuing. "As for Spear… well, I don't need supervision. Besides, aside from him being completely insufferable presence", the whole room murmured their agreement despite Spear's '_hey_!'. "He's going to be more a deadweight than an actual help."

"True", Senshi pointed agreeably at the boy. "But, I insist that you take Haoren and Bob. Bob can use more field experience. Haoren can… keep an eye on Bob."

"What about the wounded?" Lin argued again. "You are already one surgeon down."

"This is winter", Senshi waved it off dismissively. "We won't get too much influx in winter."

Lin scanned the room for input from the more experienced members of the camp; they could not argue with Senshi's logic. And so, the order was given: Lieutenant Lin, Captain Sai Haoren, and Bob would depart for Senin Village and catch a ship to the Fire Nation the next day. Major Senshi Mor had entrusted the details of the arrangement to the group.

"I don't know what I hate more", said Spear morosely as he, Trik, Megumi, and the interns walked to the mess tent for breakfast. "I'm going to the den of fire breathing monsters or that Senshi is right."

* * *

"Not a good idea", Taka pulled no punches in voicing his concern. Lin was busy packing his stuff.

"Yeah", Lin concurred as he stuffed his neutral colored clothes into his backpack, but on the ground that. "I should really go alone."

"If the Fire Lord finds out, you're gonna get killed", Taka pointed out the obvious for the umpteenth times. Lin shushed him with his stare, throwing an awkward glance at Jon whose meat bun stopped midair. Taka waved it off. "Oh, don't worry. Jon's cool."

"How many knows about us?" Lin asked somewhat furiously. Shouldn't their Fire Nation assassins' identity be a hush-hush thing?

"Some; most of them were founding members", Taka shrugged. "Jon used to be an assassin himself. What was that called again— Arc Shadow?"

"_Ash_ Shadow", Jon corrected. "The Ash Shadow; one of the oldest assassin's guilds in Earth Kingdom."

"Anyway, kiddo", Taka said again. "Think about this! The Fire Lord's gonna kill you! Sis's gonna kill you!"

"I have made my decision", Lin checked his pouch; his Seed, his letters, the key to his memoir, and just to be safe, his armband and red handkerchief were there too. Tugging it behind his sash, he threw his large memoir at Taka. "Guard this with your life. If you read it, I'll gouge your eye out."

"Man, you're still stubborn", Taka lamented, handing the book over to Jon who wrapped the book with a piece of cloth, stomped a hole in the ground, and kept the book in there with earthbending.

"I agree with Taka", Jon said somewhat unsurely. "You should not be reckless."

"I'll be fine", said Lin without taking his eyes off his silver compass. "I know what I'm doing."

"You said the same thing in Meitan. Remember what happened?" Taka said sternly.

"I won't go burning down any forest this time", Lin frowned, looking somewhat offended. "Okay", he said quickly when they were about to open their mouths again. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. Just… don't tell Bara."

* * *

"I hate this!" Spear slammed a bunch of trousers. "I hate this!" now, a bunch of boxers. "I hate this!" next, it was a thick coat.

"I thought you hated Senshi", Trik asked nonchalantly, half-lying on his bead with a cup of ambiguous liquor in his hand.

"That's right. I hate Senshi!" Spear slammed a bunch of shirt. "I hate Senshi!" now, it was a pile of socks. "Oh, spirits, I hate Senshi!" the shorts take the most blow. "I don't mind if it's just me and Lieutenant Lin. But, _Bob_!"

"I don't like the sound of that, myself", said Trik seriously. "Keep them safe, huh?"

"Of course, I will", Spear growled, stuffing all those aforementioned clothing articles into his duffle bag. "Lin, I can understand; and I don't mind having a bodyguard as I walk through the valley of hell. But, Bob? Come on, he's a kid!"

Trik gave him the look.

"Well, yeah, okay: Lieutenant Lin's a kid too!" Spear agreed dryly. "But, at least he can take care of himself. Bob? It's like throwing a baby koala-lamb to a pack of bat-wolves!"

Then it happened. It was one of the rare moments when our duo doctors' brain waves tuned into the same frequency.

"Oh… I hate _this_", Trik got up, looking horrified.

"Damn it!" Spear hurled a boot hard on the direction of where Senshi's bunk used to be.

"I'll talk to Father Shu and Megumi", Trik mused aloud. "Together, we must be able to do something."

"Omashu's on the way", Spear sat down and gripped his throbbing head. "Senshi did say that we can work our travel plan on our own, right?"

"Gonna rat him on General How?" Trik guessed.

"No, gonna rat him on my dad", Spear returned to packing his bag. "My dad has contact with the military suppliers. He can check things out for us."

"Will take long, Spear", Trik pointed out glumly.

"Yeah", Spear sighed. "Guess we're still gonna have to go to Fire Nation if only to keep appearance."

"Try General How anyway", Trik insisted. "Write a report about Senshi's misconduct last autumn. I don't like having to hold down the fort with just the two of us but… well, just in case."

"I'll see what I can do", Spear muttered, raising his glass. "Haoqi picked a lousy time to die on us."

"Rest in peace, boss", Trik toasted.

They drank. While Trik went back to their still, Spear put his glass down and was about to brave through lunch; alcohol makes people reckless. On the mouth of the door, he called out to Trik.

"Promise me one thing, though", Spear said solemnly.

"Yeah?" Trik replied with the same tone.

"Promise me you won't see another handsome surgeon behind my back", a pillow on his face engulfed the rest of his words.

* * *

It was truly fascinating the way this young boy handled stress; Yee Shoo and Seito were completely drawn by Bob's 'pick up clothes-paced the tent-shoved clothes in bag-pace the tent-whimper-pace the tent' pattern. Shoto, who showed no sign of interest in this behavioral study and was not very keen of the distraction his fellow intern caused him while he immersed himself in a book with the picture of human heart on the cover, closed his book loudly and shot the bandana wearing boy rather sharply. "Stop that", was all Shoto managed before he buried his nose back in the book.

Bob let out one last whimper before sitting down on his bed and buried his desperate face in his hands.

"Dude", Seito whispered to Yee Shoo, his card game partner. "I think he's crying."

"What do we do?" Yee Shoo asked. They eyed each other and then shrugged as they mouthed to each other. _"What would Lin do?"_

They moved to the shivering interns sides and slung their hands on his shoulder on both sides. "Um, there there?" Seito said to Bob, shrugged to Yee Shoo.

"Come on, Bob", Yee Shoo tried to cheer him up. "It's… it'll be okay."

"Yeah", Seito picked up the trail. "You'll be going with Doctor Spear and Lin. They… uh, they can… they can…"

"They can fight", Yee Shoo said to Bob, cringed to Seito. "You know, with hands and stuff…"

"I don't wanna go to the Fire Nation", Bob sobbed dryly, wiping his eyes.

"Nobody does", Seito said unhelpfully.

"Well, except for Lin, that is", Yee Shoo pointed out more unhelpfully. "… I'm making it worse, am I?"

"One spearman who can't even run ten meters without risking a cardiac arrest", Shoto said with his trademark flat tone, flipping his page ever so nonchalantly. "And one seemingly suicidal lieutenant."

"Dude", Seito exclaimed.

"What?" Shoto asked innocently. "I'm just pointing out the obvious. Fact gathering is a crucial part of every dangerous mission. It will lessen the risk of death", he said ignoring Bob's squeak.

"Yeah, but even if all the fact does point out that they will all die at burning stakes", Seito rebutted heatedly, Bob squeaked harder. "What advantage will knowing all the fact offer? They still gonna have to go; direct order and all."

"Knowing that they are all condemned to die will only result in lousy morale", Yee Shoo finished up, oblivious of another squeak from Bob. "And lousy morale makes it more detrimental", he concluded along with another squeak from Bob.

Shoto looked up from his book, thinking deeply. "I have not thought of that", Shoto admitted, then to Bob, he said in the most unhelpful deadpan expression. "You will be fine."

"Man, we suck at this", Yee Shoo commented at the devastated shape of Bob. "We really all should consider taking Counseling Psychology next term."

"I don't believe in psychology", Shoto commented before returning to his book.

"Oh, come on, Bob", Seito squeezing the bandana boy's shoulder jolted him back to life. "Here, at least we'll help you pack."

"No!" Bob's sudden scream surprised even the usually nonchalant Shoto. "J-just… _out_!"

"Aw, but it's freezing out— whoa, o-okay! Okay!" Seito quickly followed Yee Shoo to the door. "Just put that jar containing suspiciously green substance down!"

"Out!"

Fuming as he watched the departure of the two fellow interns, still had the jar containing suspiciously green substance on a hurling position, the bandana wearing boy threw the last remaining intern with a pair of furious brown. Of course, being severely unequipped for this seemingly obvious nonverbal social interaction, it took Shoto nearly two full minutes before he realized that he should really vacate the tent too less his head might get too friendly with the aforementioned jar that contained some suspiciously green substance. Closing his book, this socially clueless calmly stood up, put on his coat, tugged his book under his arm, and walked away.

Sighing depressingly, Bob put down the jar containing his favorite savory seaweed jam his mother sent him and resumed his packing with a broken spirit. When he was done, he simply climbed up his bed, pulled his blanket over his head, and cried himself to sleep.

* * *

When Lin was one step away from the mess tent for lunch, the door that open outwardly rammed him on the face. Cringing and muttering quick apologies that were in no way helped by her grinning face, Major Megumi Keh offered to accompany the young lieutenant in his endeavor to eat lunch.

"This is actually not so bad", Lin commented while chewing, inspecting what he was convinced to be sausage. "What is this? Pig-hen?"

"That's… potato?"

"Oooof course", Lin pushed his tray away, hating himself for indulging in his innocent belief that the mess tent could actually provide food without the heartbreak.

"Listen, Lieutenant", Megumi started but Lin held out his hand while he gargled from his cup.

"You can't change my mind", Lin said firmly after he set down his cup.

"Why are you so hardheaded about going?" Megumi asked sharply.

"I have my own reason", Lin said casually and evasively.

"I'm all ears", Megumi planted her elbow on the table, green eyes fixed dead on the boy's amber.

"Never said I want to talk about it", Lin smiled as he got up. However, Megumi was an earthbender. "Ah, so this is what it feels like when someone buries your feet on the ground."

"Talk", she ordered more firmly.

"Okay", Lin sat back down. "Why do you think I want to go to the Fire Nation?"

"I think you're homesick", Megumi said confidently; Lin felt a jolt on his stomach. "To get to the Fire Nation, you must go through Senlin."

"Uh-huh", Lin smiled again. _Phew_… "Well, if you say so?"

"But, what I say hardly matters now, does it?" said Megumi quickly as Lin was about to get up again. "Tell me, why do you want to go so bad?"

Lin pondered upon the question for a moment. He decided to give this answer. "There's someone I need to see."

"Who?" Megumi asked with narrowed eyes; Lin threw his gaze away. "Who do you need to see?" Megumi repeated.

Between her screams and her pain ringing in his head, Lin could only manage. "A friend."

* * *

"Doctor Spear?"

Spear looked up from his lunch table, munching loudly. The interns minus Bob sat down in front of him. "Oh, hey, kids", Spear greeted. "Have some lunch. The pig-hen sausage is pretty good today."

"I'm reasonably sure that it is some sort of yam", Shoto squinted at the piece of brown food Spear is showing with his chopsticks.

"Aaand that concludes lunch for today", Spear dropped his chopstick, took his napkin, and started rubbing the surface of his tongue roughly.

"Doctor", Seito started. "It's about Bob."

"Yeah?" asked Spear, sipping from his cup.

"He's depressed", Yee Shoo added.

"Clinically or socially?" Spear asked for more details.

"Little bit of both?" Seito and Yee Shoo exchanged a shrug.

"We made it worse", Shoto confessed from behind his book. "He threatened us with a jar of suspiciously green substance."

"Bob… tried to poison you?" Spear frowned deeply.

"No", Yee Shoo said, Seito added. "He was gonna throw the whole jar at us."

"Really, Bob? The same Bob who refused to even swat a fly that gave him swamp fever? The same Bob who fed the mutt that bit him on the leg?" Spear asked incredulously.

"Yeah, that Bob", Seito nodded, Yee Shoo added. "The reincarnation of Merciful Buddha."

"Yikes! What did you guys do to provoke him?" Spear wasted no time with his accusation.

"Nothing!" Yee Shoo and Seito exclaimed defensively; Shoto said through his book. "We crushed his already crumbling morale to tiny bits."

"Dude, seriously", Seito turned to the fellow intern. "One of these days, we need to talk about your social ineptitude."

"They started it", Shoto snitched on his two compatriots without a single shred of hesitation.

"Kids", Spear sighed at the two flustered interns.

* * *

"For the last time, Major", Lin said with a pleasant snarl. "I am fine. Leave my stuff alone."

"Oh, but look!" Megumi picked up a coat Lin had packed. "There's a hole on this. Why don't you pack this one instead?"

"Because it's green", Lin growled as he snatched the Megumi-approved coat and threw it into his footlocker. "I don't want to stand out. There will be a lot of Fire Nation soldiers in the west."

"Oh, yeah", Megumi thought to herself. "Good thinking. Oh, this is cute", she giggled, picking up a trunk with a picture of anthropomorphic platypus-bear in an earthbending stance wearing Earth Kingdom military uniform.

"That's not mine", Lin frowned, repacking his bag. "That's Shoto's. Remember 'Seito Sweet Potato crisis'? They moved to my tent for two weeks, driving me crazy, I had to share a bed with Bob since we're (he air quoted) 'the smallest'?"

"Oh, yeah", Megumi pondered. "Well, you and Bob are—"

"I am _not_ small! We are _not_ small!" Lin barked. "It's the rest of the freaking world that is too unnecessarily big!"

"Okay, okay", Megumi strained a smile. "You're so sensitive lately."

"I am _not_! Now, can I repack my stuff in peace?" Lin grumbled. Megumi sighed rather deeply as Lin repacked his clothing and refused to let her even touch his stuff.

"This is beautiful", to ease the awkwardness, Megumi picked up Lin's jade flute from his bed and inspected it. "You gave this to Bob for safekeeping when—"

She stopped short. It had been a painful day even for her.

"Haoqi looks like a pretty solid leader now Senshi has the rein, huh?" Lin scoffed somewhat bitterly.

"I've never said he wasn't", Megumi said somewhat defensively but, under Lin's stare, she rephrased. "Okay, so _maybe_ sometimes I did", she said then she got quiet a little. "I really do miss him. Haoqi wasn't a good soldier, but he was a _real_ leader. And an even better doctor."

"Well, at least you're doing something to -which one do you prefer: repent or atone-?" Lin grinned a little at the woman who haughtily refused an eye contact. "Rabbit told me you stepped up to protect Private Liu when Senshi was about to throw him to the minefield for frying his egg without butter."

"When Haoqi died, the whole camp was…" Megumi started but her voice cracked halfway. "Anyway, if his death could move so many people here, he couldn't have been a bad leader."

"…And…?" Lin baited.

"And", Megumi exasperated. "I was too blind to see it."

"…And…?" Lin baited again.

"And I feel like I owe it to him", Megumi resumed with clenched jaw. "…to protect this camp as much as I can from the megalomaniac we are stuck with for the moment."

"There you go, wasn't so hard was it?" Lin said as he would a child. "Here, have some cookies."

"Your last piece", Megumi said courteously, picking the last piece of almond cookie from the box Lin offered her.

"You still don't think I should go, huh?" Lin asked as he tied his bag and Megumi sat on his bed with her cookie.

"No", Megumi replied bluntly. "This 'friend'", she air quoted. "He or she?"

"What do you think?" Lin asked back, sitting on his bed, checking his bow and arrows.

"She", Megumi retorted without any hesitation. "You seem like a romantic type. You know, like a prince, galloping through the field of fire to save the princess."

Ignoring the heat that arose from his neck at the word '_princess'_, Lin accused instead. "You've been reading those books Nurse Jen collects, have you?"

"Yeah, so? I'm a girl, I'm allowed to read romance novel", Megumi took a bite of her cookie smugly. "So, this 'friend'. Who is she?"

"I don't wanna talk about it", Lin yawned, stretching his back. He hung his bow and quiver on a hook above his bed. "I think I'm gonna sleep now; I didn't get to sleep much last night. No, don't you dare— *sigh* _of course_…"

"Sleep tight now", Megumi pulled the blanket over the stone-faced boy's shoulder, completing the tugging in after she pulled his jacket over his head, took off his boots, and puffed his pillow.

"Night, mom", Lin growled as pleasantly as he could.

"Night, sonny."

"Don't kiss me", Lin warned quickly. Megumi laughed and settled with a light pinch on the cheek.

* * *

"So, just take him out… somewhere", Spear suggested. "What is it that you kids do for fun nowadays?"

"A lot", Seito said, taking a generous gulp of his cup. "But, nearly all of them don't work if there's a blizzard out there."

"Or, you can do what my mom used to do when I'm depressed", Spear thought aloud.

"What?" Yee Shoo asked desperately.

"My mom would pinned me to the couch and tickle me until I'm out of breath", Spear said casually. "It worked great. Until I got my first growth spurt and suddenly I'm four inches taller than her. And then, I discover the opposite sex—"

The interns, minus Shoto groaned.

"What?" Spear asked defensively. "Come now, children! Surely by now, you have realized that cootie is but a vicious rumor perpetrated by parents to enforce— _ouch_!"

"Don't teach them anything inappropriate", Nurse Xiao Li huffed as she arrived with Nurses Jen and Wen Li. "Yes, children; cootie is real. Boo!"

Seito and Yee Shoo gave her a most skeptical look; Shoto just did not care because he probably did not know what cootie is.

"Anyway", Nurse Jen said to Spear. "We heard about your trip."

"Oh?" Spear, the camp most desirable pervert perked up.

"Yeah", Nurse Jen sighed sadly. "Well, can't say it's been nice knowing you but…"

"You're going to regret that when I'm gone", Spear said with nose upturned. "Just like how each and every one of you nurses are going to regret ever turning me down."

"Uh-huh", Nurse Wen Li snickered sarcastically.

"Oh, hey! It's snowing again", Nurse Xiao Li pointed at the outside.

"Oh", Spear followed her gaze out. "You know what this means, right…?" Spear asked the table darkly.

* * *

Lin lay on his bed sleepless, staring at his ceiling. He had only slept for less than four hours the previous night. Her scream had been too much to handle. _Azula_… he closed his eyes tight, trying to chase away the scream that had been haunting him for more than a month. Such pain…

What the hell was General Iroh doing? He furiously asked himself that question for Agni-knows-how-many times. Iroh was supposed to be taking care of Azula, right? The security Lin found in that fact had been one of the main forces that enabled him to leave his homeland and old life behind. Lin was not worried about his family; the Lin Family was powerful enough to stand on their own. Lin was not too worried about Zuko; Iroh would take care of him naturally.

Azula, however…

Lin, being a true Fire Nation, had a healthy amount of respect for Fire Lord Ozai but… oh, the things he had 'seen'. But, argh! General Iroh had given his words. _Azula will be fine_, Lin reassured himself yet again. To no avail...

_Azula_… Lin pinched the bridge of his nose hard. _Please, be safe_…

Now, he could not sleep. His head was heavy but his eyes refused to be closed. Exhaling loudly, Lin decided to polish Nightshade or something, just so that he could occupy his mind with something. There was something about the sword that always mesmerized Lin whenever he held it. Lin had barely sat up when a loud thump graced the side of his tent near him; he instinctively hit the deck.

Oh, spirits! He feared for the worst. _Zhao_! What if he had indeed told the Fire Lord or the Earth Kingdom and they had come for Lin! The screaming outside did not help suppress his suspicion. Lin quickly moved to his sword and opened his door; he had barely stepped one foot outside the threshold when it hit his face.

"YEAH!" he heard Spear exclaimed loudly. "Got the snot!"

Trembling, Lin wiped the snow off his face, threw Nightshade back on his bed, calmly stepped outside and squeezed a snowball of his own, and rallied the whole camp against the captain. Since they respected (and feared) Lin a lot more than Spear, soon Spear was shrieking as Nurses Jen, Wen Li, Xiao Li, Huang Mei, Megumi, Mei Ling, Privates Li, Jou, You, Wang, Lu, Ling, the other Li, Thoo, Corporals Rha-Mi and Rabbit, Sergeant Chim and Captain Trik encircled him below Bullhorn's watchtower. Even the camp announcer had a bucket full of snow ready to dump.

"O-okay, guys… guys, wait!"

"Ladies and gentlemen", Lin said with no shred of mercy, throwing a ball of snow up and down. "We do this for our country. ATTACK!"

After successfully half burying the captain in snow, an all-out snow riot broke out. Everyone was throwing, no one was sparred. All except for an intern holding a snowball somebody gave him and a priest standing by his side.

"I don't see the point of this", Shoto said to Father Shu.

"Well, how would you feel if someone do… _this_!" Father Shu dumped the snowball he had hidden on the boy's head.

"I feel hurt", Shoto said with such innocence it wrecked Father Shu with guilt.

Another intern was having a hard time sleeping in his tent. As if the fear he felt was not enough, the whole camp had to be so noisy! Fuming, Bob stomped up and opened his door. Before he could say anything though, he was pelted from every direction by snowballs. The camp waited in anticipation when the intern did not react; maybe they had gone too far…

Bob calmly wipe the snow off his face, re-balled them and threw it to the person in front to him; Lin ducked, Spear evaded, and it hit Father Shu on the face.

"See", Father Shu said ever so cheerfully. "Karma exists."

* * *

One pair of green watched the snowball war from the curtained window of the CO office. They did not look happy. They hated the sight of undisciplined barnyard-like behavior such as this. This was a war, for the Great Mother's sake. And the soldiers were acting like children! Even the mercenaries!

But, no matter! Senshi thought, as he roughly pulled the curtain close. Soon, they will be a military camp this great Earth Kingdom deserved. Soon, under his command.

* * *

The four interns arrived at the long table occupied by the officers, minus Senshi, and Father Shu with their load of dinner. They sat down and the door was opened by Corporals Rha-Mi and Rabbit, shivering under their thick coat.

"Senshi's eating alone again, Rabbit?" Trik asked the rhetorical.

"Apparently, us mere mortals are not good enough to accompany our exalted commanding officer for dinner", Spear scoffed while Trik aimed a quip at Megumi. "Maybe you should give it a try, Major."

Megumi's nasty stare was not as potent as Lin, sitting by the nurse's side, making a slashing gesture across his neck. "By the way", Lin asked Spear, still keeping eye-daggers pointing at Trik. "You're absolutely sure that Haoqi never wrote anything?"

"Yeah", Spear shook his head bitterly. "If we have a letter of complaint he was threatening to write, we can finally get Senshi out of our hair."

"Too bad communication's down", Lin mused aloud.

"You're still bitter at him, huh?" Trik asked.

"How would you feel if someone play around with you mother's picture the way he did", Lin asked coldly. "When my complaint's get through, and he got sacked, I swear I'll kill him."

The rest of the table dared not say anything; Lin had that determined look in him. Also, there had not been much love for Senshi as of late. The Major had been driving the camp crazy. The camp had not made it easy for him though. They had learnt that Senshi was responsible for what had happened to Private Ming and that the Major had also been responsible of the death of one patient. Sadly, with him now on the seat of power, not even Lin's Vanguard status would outrank him. There had been small scale mutinies and insubordination, the whole camp against one man. Pranks and practical jokes of many kinds had been pulled at the Major; it was a good way to kill time in winter anyway.

"Oh, yeah", Rabbit, who had joined the table with Rha-Mi, spoke with mouth full of… what looked like lettuce but the color is… uh, anyway. "Those things you gave me, sir", the clerk said to Spear. "We've put them on that spot you mark."

"Ah, great!" Spear exclaimed. He stood up on his bench and addressed the whole tent; only after Rabbit yelled out 'QUIET!' did they obey though. "Ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I am sorry for bursting your bubble but the truth must be heard: it's _not_ pig-hen sausage."

One communal retching later.

"Now, few hours earlier, two of our brave campmates of the enlisted persuasion", he gave props to the two corporals. "Have braved though unspeakable breach of command, not to mention human decency, as they installed several items such as this", Spear pulled out a sandbent ball the size of a grape from his pocket and held it out for the tent to see. "Around strategic spots in the interior of our commanding officer's camp. The content of this ball is something Lieutenant Lin and I came up with after long hours we spent experimenting with chemicals in the supply tent out of boredom."

Spear looked down and extended a hand to Megumi who took it; he pulled the bewildered Major up to the bench. "The death of Haoqi Gun was tragic, to say the least", Spear resumed solemnly, still holding on to the major's hand. "It was… it was not a way for a good man to go. However, like many tragic things in life, there is a silver lining in Haoqi's death. No, it is not that we get to have Major Senshi as a commanding officer, acting though he might be", the camp murmured their agreement. "But, it is that we get to have this better looking major on our side. Finally!"

The camp applauded the sheepish Head Nurse.

"And now, this prank, nay, _masterpiece of a practical joke_ that Lieutenant Lin and I came up with; well, actually as a co-conspirator, I need the Lieutenant's permission before—"

"Granted", Lin interjected lazily.

"Thank you", Spear nodded courteously. "Well, now that the permission has been given, Major", he turned to the nurse. "Would you do the honor?"

"Of course", Megumi said happily.

Led by the couple, the whole tent made their way outside. They stood in the compound silently, all eyes directed on the commanding officer's tent where Senshi was currently having dinner alone. Receiving a cue from Spear, Private Liu and Jou, both earthbenders, scurried themselves towards the tent door and as silently as they could bent an earth wall to block the entrance. As they rejoined the group, Spear turned this time to Father Shu. "Father, maybe a prayer or two before we start."

"Might as well", Father Shu said before they all held hands. "Dear Mother Earth, we come to you humble yet proud, as your Element is the mighty earth. We have gathered here tonight to do something you might find distasteful. We understand that revenge is in thine hands but… well, us mere mortals sometimes want to have a bit of the action too."

Lin felt Major Megumi's hand twitched uncomfortably in his left and Sergeant Chim cleared his throat awkwardly on his right.

"But, Mother, rest assured that there is no ill intent in the making of— uh, I mean, in the execution of this particular event; although, I can't speak for all of us. But, well, you see, Major Megumi has helped us a lot since our beloved Haoqi was taken from us. Major Megumi, Dear Mother, was the one force who has been keeping this camp together and Lieutenant Lin's sword from Major Senshi's butt", Father Shu reasoned somewhat defensively. "Without her, we would all be real soldiers by now. Major Megumi has stood up for many of our unjustly treated enlisted personnel; like the time when she argued with Major Senshi when Major Senshi asked Private Liu and Wang to dig trenches around the camp and filled it water to make a moat. Or when Major Senshi was about to pass a regulation to enforce curfew at eight o'clock. Or, the worst of all, when Major Senshi forced all earthbenders to do daily combat training every evening; remember that one, guys?"

A loud murmur of agreement broke out.

"I mean, we are tired, Mother!" Father Shu resumed his prayer in the tone of a desperate man. "This war is… well, it's terrible. We have lost so much. And we are a hospital unit. Our job is to preserve life, to preserve your creation; not to take it. But, well, t-that's another topic… uh, oh, right! Major Senshi… yes, well, Mother, he's an a—", somebody sneezed loudly. "—hole. Now, we will not be praying for you to strike him down with an avalanche or something—"

"Though, it would be nice", Lin could not help himself; Megumi gave him a chiding squeeze.

"But", Father Shu ignored the interruption. "We'll settle for your blessing for the success of this… eh, event. Amen. Oh, and one more thing!" the crowd quickly joined hands again. "We thank you again for our Major Megumi and a blessing she had become. And, Haoqi, if you are watching, we hope you enjoy the show. Amen."

The crowd briefly applauded before the officers shushed them.

"Guys! Quiet!" Trik hissed loudly. Spear crouched down and cleared the snow over a patch of ground there.

"Now", Spear guided Megumi by the shoulders to the patch. "Just a shake."

"A shake?" Megumi grinned, taking off her right boot. "Okay."

The nurse breathed and stomped the earth hard. The commanding officer's tent rattled briefly before a series of pops and hiss ensued, followed by a loud shriek of the antagonistic Major that colored the night air. They heard the thud of Senshi's door failing to open on account of the earth wall. Next, still with hiss and shrieking, they saw the bulge on the side of the tent as Senshi tried to push through the canvas. On the third try, he emerged from the tent covered with red dust.

"Run away!" the Major screamed. "Fire Nation is attacking!"

"Yess!" Lin punched the air as Spear, Trik, Rha-Mi, and Father Shu groaned. "Told you he's gonna yap about Fire Nation when he sees red. Pay up!"

While the camp cheered at Senshi who jumped into what was left of the foxhole he had the enlisted men dig a month ago, which by that time had been used as garbage hole, Spear smiled as he embraced Major Megumi by the shoulder. "Well, Major; welcome to the dark side."

* * *

The next evening, the 17th of the second month of winter, an ostrich-horse-drawn cart was speeding away carrying three inconspicuously clothed passengers. Spear Haoren was singing something about Omashu and female anatomy on the driver seat, Bob was sitting with Lin in the cart, nervously tugging on his coat while the latter dozed off peacefully hugging his sword.

"How can you guys be so calm?" asked Bob in a slight whisper; Lin heard him.

"Well", Lin yawned slightly. "It's all in the mind. Do you know what courage really is?"

"What?" asked Bob curiously.

"Numb", Lin and, surprisingly, Spear answered curtly. "I mean, consider a tall cliff and you are about to jump", explained Lin. "Uh! Uh! Look! So hiiigh! Man, I'm gonna splat so baaad! But, Bob, just one second, one step of numbness of mind, is all you need to be 'brave' enough to jump. Of course, the duration of your fall you'd probably spend crying for your mommy, but…"

"It all comes down to not feeling", Spear added. "Just don't think about it, Bob. Think instead about all the nice thing we are having in this journey so far."

"Which is not much, granted", Lin shrugged. "But, come on! Yin and Yang, positive negative. Think of the positive, ignore the negative. Why are we going to Omashu?" the last part was for the driver who steered their cart up the snowy hill to a conical shaped grand city of Omashu that, from a distance, seemed to be carved onto the Koalu Mount like a sculpture.

"I have some business to take care of first", said Spear lightly. In the cart, Lin took out his compass and checked on it lazily; mentally slapping himself for not realizing that Spear had been leading them south instead of west.

When they reached the bridge leading to the city, Spear, being a resident of Omashu, felt the need to warn his fellow travellers of the intricate and delicate social norms of Omashu. His foremost words were: "Do _not_ look suspicious."

"Define suspicious", Lin said flatly. "You're a surgeon who carries a spear", standing in the middle, he pointed his index finger at Spear, then thumb at Bob. "He's a medical intern away from the camp", then at himself. "I'm a lone Vanguard far away Ba Sing Se."

"Yeah… we're pretty suspicious", Spear pondered. "Well, at least I have my citizenship document. Your Vanguard badge should have some pull. As for Bob…"

"Your… manservant…?" asked the guard at the grinning Omashu citizen and Vanguard Lieutenant few minutes later.

"Yes", Lin lied smoothly. "His, not mine. I don't support servantry."

"Oh, yes, sir", Spear approached the guards' soft side as he regaled them with the tragic tale of how the poor poor Bob was lost in the forest and was about to be eaten by a tigerdillo before Spear heroically saved him and took the boy in; and like all good fictional rescue tale, there were pirates too!

"Uh-huh", the guard said flat-faced while Spear sniffed loudly, Lin looked like he was suppressing a migraine, and Bob resigned to his fate. "Well, either way, entry to the city is not permitted at this time."

"What? Why?" Spear whined.

"King Bumi's order", the guard said curtly. "See those people", he pointed at the group of people cringing under a makeshift tent on the corner that our three medics had not noticed. "They are stuck out here too. The gate will open at midday. You have to wait outside until then."

"We can't wait that long", said Lin in low whisper to Spear. "The ship leaves every morning."

"Right", Spear muttered. Then closing in suggestively, not in a way he did with the nurses, of course, he said in low whisper to the guard. "You know, maybe we can come to some sort of a deal, huh? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge?"

"…You're not my type."

"No, I meant these", Spear showed some of his Army scrip money. The guard laughed on his face.

"We don't accept scrip money here", the guard shoved Spear away. The surgeon was about to move again when Lin and Bob quickly pulled him back; the guards behind the, well, the guard who shoved Spear, had begun to employ their earthbending stance.

"Okay, okay!" Spear disentangled himself from his two captors. Pulling a sealed envelope from his pocket, he shoved it to the guard. "Look, at least can you make sure this letter get to Yu Haoren as soon as possible."

"Uh, okay", the guard shrugged slightly, eyes fixed on the stamp of nobility on the envelope.

Soon, the three medics resumed their suicide mission. On the road leading northwest, Lin asked the driver about the envelope. "Just something for my father."

"Oh, your father?" Lin frowned. Dang it! If Spear was sending something to General How, Lin could have sent his complaint letter along.

"Yeah, my father", Spear repeated lightly. "You know, that retired merchant living in Omashu."

"What was he used to trade in?" Bob asked interestedly.

"Herbs and some woodwork", Spear frowned, scratching his chin. "I think. He never talked much about his work."

"Hey, what about you, Lieutenant?" Bob turned to Lin. "What about you father?"

"He's a soldier", Lin replied vaguely.

"Oh", Bob said somewhat awkwardly.

"What about you, Bob?" Spear asked. "Is your dad a doctor too?"

"Um, no", Bob answered quietly. "He was a farmer."

"Oh…" Spear said uncomfortably. "Sorry."

"Oh, no", Bob tried to laugh but failed miserably. "He's not… I mean, I hope he's not— uh, well, few years ago, the Fire Nation came to our village and…"

It was a heavy blow he felt in his gut as Lin turned to the boy beside him who hung his head down.

"They took all the men away", Bob said sullenly. "They did the same to some other surrounding villages too."

"I'm sorry", Lin replied softly, unable to look at the boy.

The rest of the journey was silent mostly; Spear's attempt to lighten the mood with some 18+ jokes met severe resistance from both boys. By the time they reached Senlin, night had already fallen. They set down on a hill near the village where they set up a camp. Lin and Spear was about to bring their cart to the village to be traded for some coins or supply but Bob was not so keen to be left alone so they brought him along too. Before they entered the village though, they had to do something about their appearance, especially their hair. And by 'they', I meant Spear. Bob was wearing a bandana anyway and Lin's ponytail was internationally accepted.

"Done", Spear showed his top-knot.

"What the hell is that?" Lin commented harshly at the surgeon's work. "Fire Nation top-knots don't point up. Fix it on the spot… uh, on your swirl or skull crown or whatever we call it; the knot must point diagonal", Lin put a finger on his skull to imitate it.

"Oh", Spear redid his hair. "Like this?"

"Passable", Lin nodded. "Come on."

They rode their cart into the village. They did not run into any Fire Nation soldiers, thankfully, but there were marks of their presence nearby; the night market had some stands selling Fire Nation stuff and from the tall hill they could see the encampment a mile away south. "Well, kids", Spear said to them as they entered the village. "You two go around and wander off or something. I'll go sell this cart."

"Maybe we should come along", Bob suggested timidly.

"No, I better go alone", Spear rejected the idea. "You two go have fun. Stay out of trouble."

Like they needed to be told that; to avoid suspicion, they had to leave their weapons in the camp although Lin had his throwing knives. So, while Spear rode their cart deeper into the village market, Lin and Bob ventured on their own to the night market on the outskirts of the village. Not long after, Spear rejoined them with a pouch of Fire Nation coins and they could enjoy the night market more earnestly. They were passing through a stand selling fresh fruit when Lin thought that he should get Azula something. After all, Lin sensed a rather ominous fireball of the blue colored kind being thrown at his face.

Now, what to get her… It was hard enough a task to decide what to get for Azula without having to stay inconspicuous. I mean, imagine how Lin would explain it to Spear and Bob if he decided to get Azula that doll, or that brooch.

"This is cherry?" Lin asked, inspecting a bright green cherry-shaped fruit that seemed to try to pass itself as green grape.

"Emerald cherry, fresh from the north", the old vendor advertised cheerfully. "Five silver pieces a pouch."

"Really? That's pricey", Lin lifted a pouch that weighted the pouch that contained only enough of the bright green cherries to fill a medium sized soup bowl.

"They're pretty rare down here", Spear added, inspecting some of them.

"They're good?" Lin asked.

"The best in Earth Kingdom", said the vendor but it was Spear's slight nod/shrug that convinced him. "No military paper", the vendor said flatly, looking belittlingly at the content of Lin's money pouch and at Spear's Fire Nation currency. "Earth Kingdom coins only."

"Here", Bob kindly traded some of his silver with Lin's army scrip.

After they concluded their trade and Lin secured a peace offering to appease the inevitable wrath a certain Fire Princess, they made their way back to their camp. Halfway through the hilly mountain path though, they looked down to the coast below and the sight of Fire Nation flags surrounding inches of the pier below sent quite a blow to their travel plan. Fire Nation did not allow Earth Kingdom people entry to their homeland; even colonials had trouble sometimes. With the Fire Nation Army present to such extent, any civilian transport to Fire Nation territory would logically be restricted.

"We are screwed", Spear sighed. "Oh, well. We gave it our best shot. Let's go home."

"I'm still going", said Lin with a certain kind of determination that worried Spear and Bob so much. "You guys go home, or wait in Omashu", Lin turned to them. "I'll move around easier alone."

"No", Spear said in all seriousness. "This is a bad idea altogether. But, if you go, we go with you. Or I'll go with you. Bob, you can stay in Senlin."

"Don't leave me", Bob half squeaked half cried, completely afraid of the idea of being left alone in a village crawling with Fire Nation soldiers.

"This is dangerous, Bob", Spear tried to explain.

"Which is why you should stay too", Lin told Spear matter-of-factly. "You need to keep an eye on Bob. I'll be fine on my own."

"So, who's going to keep an eye of you?" Spear turned to Lin somewhat furiously.

"I can take care of myself", Lin retorted also heatedly.

"G-guys!" Bob moved between them before the argument could escalate further. "Stop fighting, please! Look, we're here now. Let's just get this over with. Together."

"It's not—", Lin started but Bob cut him again.

"I know", Bob said with an uncharacteristic force in his tone. "But, we're stuck with each other, so let's just stick with our plan. We do this together."

"Yeah, the problem is our plan is screwed", Spear pointed at the pier below.

"Not really, you know", Lin said begrudgingly. Yes, he already had a plan to anticipate this kind of development. He would have argued relentlessly until Spear and Bob would decide to stay but his mind was too— her scream and pain were too unbearable, Lin could not think.

"You have a plan?" Spear half guessed half accused.

"Somebody has to do the heavy thinking around here", Lin said, eyes scanning on the ships and Fire Nation camp below. "Spear, how sticky are your fingers?"

"I don't know", Spear shrugged, lifting up a pouch. "Drop something, Bob?"

"What? Oh! Hey!" Bob quickly snatched his money pouch and brushed his hair off his face. Wait, hair…? "Hey!" just as furiously, he snatched his bandana from Lin's clutch. Wearing the fabric and tugging his brown hair into it once more. He was about to march furiously to the camp where Spear halted him.

"Okay, what you have in mind?" he asked Lin.

"We can steal a ship", Lin pondered, still scanning the area below.

"Now?" Spear gawked.

"Now, tomorrow morning. Dawn", Lin muttered. "I'm thinking maybe a disguise and set a distraction for tomorrow tonight. You take care of disguise, I'll handle distraction for tomorrow."

"What kind of disguise?" asked Spear again.

"Plain clothes, armors, and Fire Nation weapons", Lin muttered, stroking his chin. He gave his pouch containing his cherries to Bob and instructed the boy to wait at their camp when Spear halted him again.

"Wait, I'm not comfortable with this", Spear said somewhat darkly. "What if you run out on your own?"

"My stuff is in the camp", Lin pointed out incredulously.

"Not taking chances", Spear shook his head indignantly. "Your flute."

"Yeah, what's next?" Lin begrudgingly gave his flute to Bob. "You want a flock of my hair too?"

"No, I prefer brunette", Spear dismissed it curtly.

With the intern back to their camp, Lin and Spear watched as the bandana wearing boy disappear into the path.

"No bald patch", Lin muttered at the intern's departure while Spear said. "Not unusually colored hair."

"We owe Trik five silver", Lin sighed.

"Tell him?" Spear asked.

"Nah", Lin dismissed it.

Together they crept like a pair of nocturnal squirrel-hounds across the Fire Nation soldier camp. Nodding their silent good lucks, they parted way as Spear headed for the arsenal tent while Lin made his way to the supply tent. Inside the supply tent… Dear Agni… barrels of blasting jelly, carts of spark powder, bundles of fuses, many kinds of spices and seasoning for food, eggs and other perishable animal product. This is pranksters' heaven… practical jokers' Shangri-La…

Our grinning lieutenant quickly selected a generous amount of explosives, pocketed an unhealthy quantity of fuses, and concocted unspeakably gooey mixture of substances from the food supplies. He brought them up and fixed them together at some specific and well-hidden corners of the camp while skillfully evading the Fire Nation patrols. When he was finally done, he crept his way back to their camp uphill where Bob was already sleeping peacefully inside the tent and Spear was dozing off leaning on a Fire Nation three-pronged spear he held upright. Lin did not sleep at all that night.

He heard her still…

When the crow-rooster signaled the coming of morning, Lin roused himself up from his meditation. Her screams was still echoing in his mind but the combination of meditation and sleep-deprivation had built a wall of numb in Lin's mind; he needed to focus.

But, numb was better than nothing…

The sky was still dark and, while the Fire Nation camp was still deep in their slumber, the harbor market a stone throw away from the camp had begun their morning routine. Stands and carts had already selling the fresh product of nature, Senlin villagers doing their morning shopping, two ambiguous looking Fire nation soldiers loitering around the pier.

Spear and Bob waited for Lin in the pier nervously in their borrowed uniforms. When Lin finally showed up, also in uniform, the lieutenant gestured them to follow him somewhat urgently. "Not much time", Lin hissed as Spear threw him his word and he caught it. They followed the lieutenant as he led them in the dash along the pier bridge along which many Fire Nation steam-powered ships were moored. "No, not that one!" Lin quickly stopped Spear who was about to run up the gangplank to a large black ship. "That's a destroyer! It takes a whole crew to man. This way."

Lin led them up the gangplank to a slender smaller ship he told the other two was a small cargo ship. They entered the small control room where, to their bewildered mind's delight, Lin ordered them to hide while the young lieutenant messed around with the knobs and lever of the control panel.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Spear asked with real genuine concern.

"Is the sun green?" Lin asked back, hands ready on a lever and the steering wheel.

"We're going to die", just as soon as Spear finished his self-condemnation, a series of explosion loud pops, screams of many people and animals, and a very distinctively loud 'my cabbages!' emerged from the market behind them.

"Now?" Bob asked nervously not to mention fearfully.

"Not yet", Lin said, crouching low below the lookout window as a group of soldiers emerged from the many mooring ships and dashed towards the market with weapons ready. When the last footsteps of the Fire Nation soldiers left their hearing range, Bob asked again. "Not yet", Lin repeated almost cheerfully.

The series of explosion loud pops, screams of many people and animals, and a very distinctively loud 'my poor cabbages!' occurred once more but this time with added shouts and screams of the many unfortunate Fire Nation soldiers. "Now!" Lin hissed triumphantly as he pushed the lever up and the ship rocked to life.

To the west, our heroes sailed.

Back in the pier, a very angry General Jiang, covered from head to toes in a gooey and icky combination of eggs, feather, some suspicious red powder that burnt his eye, and soot grabbed a nearby soldier by the collar and hissed as an egg yolk dripped from his left earlobe. "Find whoever responsible for this. I'm going to kill him!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Names:

1. Ci Pei Orphanage, from mandarin 'ci bei' (慈悲) which means 'mercy'

Sorry for the late update. Again…

Real life happens and somebody asked me to translate some medical journals. I have officially known too much about the insides of a human being and shall enjoy a pleasant nightmare tonight… which I sadly look forward to because I haven't dreamt in a month! And sleeping without dreaming is the equivalent of going to the movie to read a magazine while listening to an IPod: pointless.

To the Dark Door, thanks for the review and cookies! I'm glad you like blue light Lu Ten. It got me too. I had no intention to make the blue light Lu Ten at first, but I'm glad the little voice in my head convinced me to. At first, it was gonna be either the Majestic Phoenix's underling or something, even a redemptive Azulon trying to keep his firstborn safe. Thankfully, Lu Ten won! :)

Next update will be as unpredictable as ever. Sorry… something's coming next week. I'll try to do the editing as soon as I can and have it ready next weekend. But, still... no guarantee.

Enjoy the reading, everyone!


	87. Chapter 86

**Chapter 86 – Flight Home, Part 2**

**-Suicidal Quest-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

The stolen ship sailed smoothly over the slightly stormy ocean. Spear Haoren was on the steering wheel while his two compatriots, Lieutenant Lin and intern Bob were in the command room with him; the former was lying lifelessly in his sleeping bag while the latter was tending to him.

Seasickness is a _(censored)_!

"Uh, Lieutenant?" Bob asked meekly.

"Why, hello there young man. Who is this Liu Tien Nan you keep speaking of? Someone I know, perhaps?"

"Dang it, kid! What did you give him, Bob?" Spear snapped from the wheel.

"Nothing! I swear!" Bob was quick of the defense there.

"My word, lad! Swearing is such a commitment for such a young man. Now, tell me honestly: does my right hand have ten fingers or have I grown an extra set of eye?"

"Doctor, help!" Bob nearly cried.

"Okay", Spear sighed. "Switching to auto-pilot."

"It's okay, Lieutenant", Bob tried to reassure the sick lieutenant. "Doctor Haoren's coming."

"Oh, how nice. Hello there, Doctor Haoren. You look spectacularly spiffing today."

"Lieutenant, that's a coat hanger."

"Oh, my! How rude of me, Mr. Spiffing. Why, hello there, Doctor Coat Hanger. You look particularly Haoren today."

Much to Bob's relief, Spear arrived shortly with his medic kit. Swiftly, the full-fledged doctor pulled his tube of glowing crystal and brought the faint luminescent material close to the seasick lieutenant's eyes and moved it side by side to test the boy's eye movement. Spear checked his temperature and pulse next.

"You really haven't given him anything?" Spear asked the intern skeptically.

"No, I haven't", Bob insisted.

"Really?" Spear did not buy it. "Think, Bob. Think hard."

"W-well", Bob stuttered, scanning his mind for the past one full day they had spent in their journey. "I-I-I don't know. Maybe… I don't know… maybe something?"

"Yes!" Spear exclaimed triumphantly; Lin groaned. "I can't believe this book actually works", Spear commented, pulling small book entitled _'Mind Control: A Study of Misdirection in Human Psychology'_ that he found on the ship from his pocket.

Bob was flabbergasted at Lin who rose up slowly but firmly and Spear who laughed at the book like a child. Realizing that he had been had, the intern let out a loud offended gasp before he pushed the crouching surgeon to the floor and stomped out angrily.

"You went too far", Lin said bluntly.

"You helped", Spear shrugged lightly.

"What time is it?" Lin plopped back on the sleeping bag, rubbing his head. His seasickness was real.

"Around ten, I think", Spear threw a glance at a sundial disk near the wheel.

"We should reach the Great Gate of Azulon in a few hours", Lin concluded, closing his eyes and he regretted such action.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_No, no, no… don't—", he cried at the girl in his arms as she let a trickle of blood escape through the corner of her mouth._

"_I'm sor… sorry", she smiled weakly as her blue eyes went off focus. "I know… that you're engaged to somebody else but…"_

"_Stop talking!" he snapped furiously through his tears, frantically pushing her brown hair off her face. "Just stop—"_

_Her weak frail fingers found their way to his mouth, silencing him._

"_Have you ever… just for one second, have you… ever… loved me…?" she asked with a faint whisper that accompanied a single tear that rolled down her cheek._

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I wonder why we didn't meet any naval patrol in the outer islands", Spear mused aloud as he studied the map on the wall. Their ship had sailed smoothly halfway into the Fire Nation archipelago and, while they ran into some fishing ships, they had not met any Fire Nation Navy patrol.

"This is winter. From what I understand, most Homeland Navy are out and stretched thin hunting pirates", Lin, with one hand covering the upper part of his face, took pride of how calm he sounded, how he managed to avoid having his voice cracked. _Great_, he thought bitterly. Just what he needed: another girl suffering.

A part of him felt that he should know the girl with blue eyes; he felt… _something_… for her.

"_Have you ever loved me",_ the girl asked with her dying breath. The very words pained him.

"Check the fuel", Lin instructed, still with a hand hiding his moist eyes.

"It's full", Spear interjected from his spot, eyes still fixed on the map.

"Just check it", Lin seethed somewhat. "This ship is old. The indicator might be off."

Only when he heard Spear's footsteps walking away did Lin rolled to his side, turning his back on Spear, and wiped his eyes dry. Lin got up slowly; he was worried sick for Azula, his head was throbbing and his stomach churning, and then there was the dying brown-haired blue-eyed girl. Lin was convinced that the universe hated him.

"What day is it?" Lin asked, standing up to his feet.

"Let's see, we left Senlin on the 19th", Spear thought aloud on the steering wheel. "This should be the 20th."

"Oh", was all Lin could say as he sat down on the chest nearby.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_There is something I need to ask you", he literally trembled as he asked the white-haired blue eyed girl seriously. "It's not really something I would normally ask a princess such as yourself but, I really really have to. You know, in order to avoid cultural shock."_

"_What's a 'cultural shock'?" she asked with such candor it stunned him._

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Hey, Spear", Lin asked flat-faced, hand tracing the nearest metal wall temptingly. "What do you think will happen if I bang my head really really hard on this wall?"

"Concussion, cracked skull, a bump?" Spear shrugged without looking back.

-0-0-0-0-0-

_The white-haired blue-eyed girl walked the hallway of the ice palace alone, humming a song that had stuck in her mind since the morning. She loved that song; her mother used to sing it to her._

"_Starlight, starlight~", she sang softly and serenely as she walked. "Let your light shine and the moon be bright—"_

_When he showed himself though, hanging upside down from the ceiling bearing his gift of a fresh fruit basket, his vibrant. "Hi, Princess", was met by her swift and seemingly instinctual shriek and swinging arm._

—_SLAP—_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Never mind", Lin said dryly, rubbing his cheek.

"Hey, is that a Fire Nation Navy ship?" Spear squinted at the black pillar of smoke that arose from a single dot far away in front. Bob seemed to have noticed it too because he had quickly entered with pale face and fearful looking eyes.

"Patrol", Lin commented at the three interceptors in front of them.

"We can outrun them", suggested Spear.

"Too risky, they may have noticed us", Lin said firmly. "We still need this ship. Stick to the plan."

They slowed down their engine, drifting ahead as they were approached by three slender ships not much bigger than their own but had a large naval ballista fixed on the bow. The ships encircled them from the sides and front. The one on their right fixed a gangplank towards their ship and three soldiers crossed over to their deck, greeted by Spear.

Of the three genuine soldiers; the one in the middle, obviously an officer stood haughtily as Spear, wearing the conical hat of a non-bender soldier, unlike the officer and his two men's pronged firebenders helmets, saluted. "We have no notification about a supply ship scheduled to cross this way", the officer said. "State your business."

"Sir, we were on the way to the Red Pearl Island when we found a shipwreck", Spear said in a perfectly acted hasty tone. "We— we found a survivor, sir: a Lin clansman."

"What?" the officer gawked. "Show me to him!"

The officer let the spearman lead him into the command room. On the floor, lying lifelessly on a sleeping bag was a young teenager in a tattered Fire Nation plain attire, the boy was wearing a sooty, bloody, ragged white armband on his left arm. The boy was pale and seemed to have trouble breathing as he was being tended by another boy wearing plain cloth and dark brown bandana.

The officer and his soldiers bowed politely to the sick injured boy; Lin simply stared at them with his surprisingly sharp eyes for his 'condition' did not permit anything more pleasant than that.

"We think he was attacked by pirates, sir", Spear explained quickly, drawing the full attention of the three very real Fire Nation soldiers; it gave Lin and Bob enough opportunity to snatch Spear's medic bag the dunderhead had carelessly let lying on the floor –it had the Kingdom insignia on it- and shoved it inside Lin's sleeping bag.

"Pirates!" the officer spat somewhat melodramatically. Lin had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes.

"Yes, around here, sir", Spear moved to the spot where the map was and stabbed a finger on the map. "Here around these waters."

"I thought you said you found the shipwreck near Red Pearl Island", the officer drawled suspiciously. Oh, Lin had warned him… Lin had warned him against improvisation!

Spear was pointing at Hing Wa Island.

"Yes", Spear gulped nervously, palm sweat on the spear shaft. "But, uh… the pirates found us and chased us all the way here."

"I see", the officer pondered. Lin and Bob breathed easier.

"We lost them somewhere around here but I'm afraid they might be still be coming for us, sir", Spear said fearfully. "We are but one spearman who barely graduated from boot camp, a heavily injured firebender, and a… manservant."

"Don't worry, soldier", the officer boomed. "We will escort your ship all the way to Imperial City."

Spear would have flipped at this had Lin not anticipated this turn.

"No, sir, please", Spear pleaded; he even got on his knee. "Y-you see, the young master, he… he kinda… well, he left the Imperial City without permission from the family. General Jiang will be furious if he found out what happened to him."

"Oh, I see", the officer pondered but he shook the hesitation off his head as he insisted. "No, I will still escort you to the Imperial City."

"Know you place… _peasant_!" the injured nobleman hissed, stunning everyone on the ship; even the spearman and the manservant.

The officer stammered and was speechless as the nobleman rose to his feet, helped by the manservant. The officer might not have witnessed the might of the Lin Family firebending but the reputation of the clan was known across the Nation. Quickly, the officer and his men stepped back and bowed -bowed not saluted- to the nobleman standing weakly supported by a manservant, staring at them with flaming burning eyes of amber. This did not bode well; they had made an injured Lin clansman stand up unnecessarily.

"Take you ships west", the nobleman hissed sharply. "The pirates are still there somewhere. Hunt them down."

"Y-yes, sir", the officer gulped, he dared not lift his face before the nobleman told him to.

"What… is your name?" the nobleman asked in a loud ragged heave.

"Captain Furza, sir", the officer replied, still looking down. "Of Admiral Liang's Western Fleet, Homeland Patrol Division, sir!"

"You may rise, Captain", still in ragged whisper, the nobleman spoke; the Lin Family firebender was terrifying indeed. The nobleman might be weakened by the Captain felt a certain kind of heat in the room, one that did not give way to the winter outside.

"T-thank you, Young Master", the captain gulped and rose; the sight of the glare the nobleman gave him startled him but he tried not to show it too much.

"Go", the nobleman hissed again through his pale face. "Go and bring me the heads of those responsible for this, and you will be rewarded."

"Yes, sir", the Captain saluted. Somewhat hurriedly, he led his men back to their ships. Lin and the others stayed in the command room and only started their engine again after the three Fire Nation ships are on their way to the east.

"That was close", Spear sighed in relief as he pulled the acceleration lever up. "Bob, kill the room heater. It's stuffy in here."

As the intern tinkered with a knob on the wall above the chest Lin was sitting on, Lin took off his armband and, after one painful look at it, shoved it into his pocket.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_You look awful", he said loudly over the droplets of water crashing down on him in the shower cubicle. "When is the last time you sleep?"_

"_I'm not here to talk about my sleep", the Fire Lord said in a tone that was mixed with both lethargy and forced patience._

"_I know. You want my help convincing the Avatar about Yu Dao and the other colonies", his hand reached out above the cubicle door; the young Fire Lord handed him his towel. "You're wasting your time on me."_

"_I need your help", the Fire Lord insisted; he got out of the cubicle with the towel wrapped around his waist. One look at the scarred monarch's face and he scoffed._

"_You've got to be joking", he said with just the perfect mixture of glee and bitterness. "Why should I help— okay, I admit, I have no quarrel with you after all you've done for Azula. But, the Avatar and I are not really on the best of terms. And don't get me started on that whore of his."_

"_This is not like you", the Fire Lord said quietly as his sifu put on his trousers._

"_They abandoned us", the man said hatefully, drying his hair with the towel. "Why should I help them?"_

"_The Four Nations can't survive another war—"_

_The Fire Lord's words were cut short by the other man's swift lunge and quicker claws that caught his neck and slammed him to the wall hard._

"_The Four Nations, you say", the man's hiss carried nothing but the blackest of enmity. "You are supposed to be smart, Fire Lord. The Four Nations… the whole world has turned its back on me."_

"_I'm desperate", the Fire Lord panted; he did not fight back, nor did he have a desire to._

_The other man snickered mockingly as he let the Fire Lord's neck go. He walked to his shirt hanging on the wall and slung it over his shoulder._

"_Will you help?" the Fire Lord braved another attempt as his sifu looked out the window, letting a patch of sunlight fall on his solemn face that was filled with nothing but bitterness._

"_Do you know how painful it is to see Azula like this, Fire Lord", he said through his gritting teeth and clenched fist. _

"_Don't call me that", was all Fire Lord Zuko could say through his own mixed emotions. _

_A thick painful silence ensued between the two men; it was broken by the Fire Lord who brought up another topic of unrelated issue but he knew his sifu would concern himself more. _

"_The Council…" Zuko started but he choked. He swallowed hard before he continued; it was not an issue his sifu would find pleasant, to say the least. "They… they made a motion… about Azula."_

"_Let me guess", the other man sighed deeply, trying to quell his anger. "They want her moved to a prison. Or maybe even executed on the spot; the gold you spent for her treatment can't have been insignificant. Or maybe they have decided it is time again to suggest her bending removed?"_

"_They want her spayed", Zuko's words caused the effect the Fire Lord expected from his sifu. "They don't want her to—"_

"_They're afraid she might one day produce an offspring that might rally the loyalists, now that Ozai is barely able to kill a flamey-fly. Imagine it, the scion of a Fire Princess who tamed the blue flame", the man concluded angrily. "Zuko, I'm warning you! I will not—"_

"_Who do you think I am!" now it was Zuko's turn to be angry._

"_You are weak!" the other man's anger was more severe. He marched towards the Fire Lord as the torches of the room exploded into pillars of flame. "Give me their names… I will kill them all."_

"_This is not our way", Zuko stood his ground._

"_No, but this is _my_ way", the man said cruelly. "The Avatar killed me when he refused to help. I will kill him if he gets in my way too."_

"_You said once that I was turning into my father", the Fire Lord eyed his sifu pityingly. "I can see now that… _you_ are turning into him." _

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Where are we?" Lin asked Spear as Bob handed him a cup of medicinal tea.

"We're should be around the point you mentioned", Spear said, looking around the small uninhabited islands. "This is where we turned our course northwest, right?"

"Yes", Lin replied curtly, taking a sip of the abominable tea.

"Why don't we just march through the Gate of Azulon?" Spear asked without taking his eyes of the window.

"We don't have authorization", Lin said tiredly; he was in no mood to talk.

"Where do you get that armband?" Spear asked out of the blue.

"From someone I killed", Lin answered without hesitation. To avoid more interrogation, he disobeyed his urge to sleep and stepped out to the deck, ignoring the coat Bob gave him.

Lin staggered to the front deck of the small ship, leaning against the railing, letting the wind flip his bangs. His head hurt him much and he felt anger, the one the man felt. It was almost enough to drown his worry for the one who had given him the red handkerchief he was feeling in his pocket. Almost…

"I shouldn't have told you about the auto-pilot function", Lin told the owner of footsteps that were approaching him.

"You know awful lot about Fire Nation military", Spear rested his back casually on the railing with arms crossed.

"You learn a lot watching soldiers in Senlin", Lin said curtly.

"Lin Family?" Spear asked carefully; Lin felt his leer on the side of his neck. "General Jiang?"

"Where are you getting at?" Lin should have felt comprehension but he just did not care; his mind was fixed on only one person.

"The name sounds familiar", Spear mused. "Oh, yeah… he beat my dad few years ago,"

"Really?" Lin asked with no interest at all.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_You're a waterbender!" he nearly screamed at her. "What waterbender so incompetent she can't freeze water?"_

"_That hurt", the brown-haired blue-eyed girl said with narrowed eyes._

"_Oh, man! What are we gonna do about this!" he growled, pointing at the man they had strapped on the chair with his hands engulfed by orbs of water._

"_How about this?" the blue-eyed girl shrugged as she made a gripping motion with her fingers that formed into claws; the water orbs hissed and bubbled, steaming and boiling at rapid speed._

-0-0-0-0-0-

"My dad won't shut up about it", reminisced Spear. "He got beaten near our camp, too. Haoqi nearly blew his top off when dad decided to send his wounded to the 44th."

"Yeah?" Lin grunted, eyes still fixed on the blue ocean below.

"You're awfully quiet today", Spear pointed out cheerfully.

"My head hurts", Lin said somewhat honestly. "Leave me alone."

"One more", Spear clasped his hands somewhat childishly. "How do you know so much about the Lin Family? By the way, I'm ignoring the similarity of the names here."

Lin turned to the man; even with haze and pain inside his cranium, Lin could see certain slyness in the brown eyes of the surgeon. "The name is coincidence", Lin dismissed. "As for how I know so much; well, General Jiang is quite popular in Senlin as far as a Fire Nation goes. He never mistreated the villagers like other Fire Nation commanders."

"You're barely making any sense", Spear let go of any pretenses now.

"Like I said… I'm…"

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_You're not getting away!" he screamed as he raced through the ice tundra, chasing the black-clad man through the snow. The black-clad man turned for a fraction a second, sneering, he'd bet, through the white mask of his as he spun and kicked a fire arc; the patch of snow between them rose and transformed into a water wall that defended him against the unexpected fire attack._

_Without slowing down, he leaped over the mass of vapor that was born of the collision with Nightshade raised up high; his blow failed against the ninjato of the white-masked man as sparks flew from their colliding blades. With an overwhelming strength, the white-masked man pushed him back. He staggered into a safe footing and ducked instinctively as she surfed above him with an arc of water that propelled her up to the air. She pushed her hands down midair, transforming the water arc below her feet into two powerful blasts of liquid that the white-masked man evaded._

_She landed safely with a roll, somehow had her blade ready in a reversed grip on her left hand; he arrived by her side with Nightshade ready. Together, they faced the white-masked man who cackled somewhat mockingly at them._

"_You have turned traitor", he rasped through his mask._

"_Call me what you want", the brown-haired blue-eyed girl replied calmly._

"_I hope you have a good reason for betraying Fire Lord Ozai", the white-masked man pulled his other blade strapped on his back slowly, the ringing of the blade rubbing the sheath echoed eerily across the ice tundra._

_The blue-eyed girl turned to the one standing by her side, she smiled warmly at the master of Nightshade before returning her gaze to the white-masked man and declared proudly. "I do."_

_They never got to clash…_

_She raised a ball of water that turned into several smaller orbs, he readied his Nightshade, knowing his role in delivering or defending against the first blow; the white-masked man braced his stance and with his sword held defensively. But, they never got to clash…_

_The universe was suddenly engulfed by darkness; the moon turned blood red. The blue-eyed girl gasped as her element failed to be one with her all of the sudden; he fell down to his knees, Nightshade slipped through his fingers, crying as his head split open. The white-masked man dashed and sent a blast of fire that caught her off-guard._

"_No…" he choked, as the blue-eyed girl and the white-masked man combatted each other. "No… YUUUEEEEE!"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Yu—Yue…." Lin gasped, trembling on the floor.

"Lin, what— are you okay?" Spear came to him but Lin flew past him as he grabbed the railing of the ship, threw his head over, and vomited.

"Doctor!" Bob ran towards them with the initiative of bringing Spear's kit with him.

"Oy, the Ocean Spirit must hate so much", Spear held his hand to his kit, wordlessly saying that he did not need it as his other hand rubbed the young lieutenant's back, easing his retching.

* * *

When their ship finally touched the land of the northernmost tip of Fire Nation Main Island, Lin wobbled to a nearby tree on the beach, helped by Bob, and it fell to Spear to do the hard work of carrying their load. Vehemently refusing Spear's suggestion to rest, as the surgeon changed from his uniform into plain Fire Nation cloth, Lin took his compass to check their bearing. But, his hand trembled so much, he could barely open the flab of the silver compass.

"You need to rest", Spear said again, somewhat commandingly as he took the compass from the boy and did the chore for him.

"No, we have to go bac—", Lin gasped as… _a dark grey filled the universe; the Moon is dead…_ "We have to go south. Hurry…"

At least, the 'vision' prevented him from saying 'go _back'_; imagine the suspicion it might cause.

"You need to—"

"They might be suspicious", Lin said as quickly as his head could permit. "Hurry."

Spear exasperated. "Kid, you are the most—"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm awesome", Lin stepped forward, practically dragging Bob who was supporting him. "Walk, quick", he ordered the surgeon weakly.

"I was going for stubborn", Spear took Lin's other arm.

"Mine's better", Lin commented simply so that he could distracted himself from…_ the pain he felt, oh, Agni… she flexed her fingers like she was squeezing orange; her bloodbending gripped his beating heart, ready to burst the organ to pieces._

"_Do… it…. Katara…" he grinned despite… oh, the pain. He drew twisted pleasure from the horror in the blue eyes of her._

"_Stop… Stop or I will!" she cried despite her attempt to be brave; her tears of horror spared her bravado no quarter. His grin… oh, his grin… it was pain personified. And his laughter… such bitter laughter, my friend… it brought tears to the waterbender's eyes, seeped into her soul, wrecking her from inside out. The pain he felt… oh, the pain…_

_It was all her fault…_

"_You have… destroyed me…" he rose to his feet, ignoring the pain he felt from fighting the forced flow of his blood in his vein. "I… am dead! You have ki… killed me… long before this! You have… broken… me… My… heart…"_

"_Stop!" she screamed as he stepped slowly closer despite the pain it must have caused him. The pain he felt, excruciatingly great though it was, was nothing compared to the magnitude of her horror._

"_Do it… Katara…" he hissed, cackling like a mad demon he had become, taking steps after steps closer still. "You've killed… my heart…. Why don't… you go… all the way…? Go on…"_

"_Stop!"_

"_Do it…"_

"_Stop! Stop or… or…"_

"_Grip, Katara…. Destroy it…. Destroy my heart…."_

"_Stoooop!"_

"_KILL MEEEE!"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Oh, good. A city", Spear sighed at the overview of the Fire Nation Imperial City. "Wow… they built a city in a crater of a volcano?"

"Fire Nation Caldera City; more like a district, really", was all Lin said before he stumbled; Bob and Spear quickly caught him and brought him back to his feet.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_Aang is an idiot", he declared bluntly._

"_Well, yeah, but you've got to admit he can be quite resourceful sometimes", the Water Tribe man shrugged diplomatically._

"_He should know that the number one rule of dealing with pregnant women is to never ever mention exotic hard-to-find food in their presence. Where am I gonna get seal jerky?" he screamed to the universe, drawing himself only curios eyes of Ba Sing Se denizens nearby._

-0-0-0-0-0-

"We're not going there", said Lin weakly as if nothing happened; he had to speak so he would not have to think. "If what the Fire Nation soldiers said is true, entry to the Caldera is strictly forbidden for peasants. See that part at the foot of the volcano?"

Their eyes traced to the small part that they could see of the some sort of cities but only a tiny part of it; their view was blocked by the volcano.

"It's in the southeast of the Caldera", Lin said as he took a step forward on the mountain path they were on.

"Hey, guys?" Bob frowned, finger pointing at the center of the Caldera. "Is that… fog?"

Lin fixed his eyes on the center of the crater where the Fire Nation Royal palace should be; but, he could not see past the milky colored mist that engulfed the spot. He did not know why but… Lin felt worried. His mind somehow traced the thread back to Azula again.

"Come on, we have to find an inn", he said.

"It's barely noon", Spear said sternly as he held the lieutenant in place.

"I know, which why we have to move fast", Lin argued as he wrenched his arm free.

"Why?" Spear demanded.

"I don't know. A hunch?"

Spear was not satisfied, of course. But he knew better than to argue with a sick but stubborn teenager. Lin led their way through the forest and mountain of the lower district of the Imperial City. He could not think as Bob and Spear half-dragged him through the forest and hill. When they arrived at a clearing about a mile away from the lower district though, Lin decided they should stop awhile.

"We don't want to attract attention to ourselves", Lin said as he broke away from Spear and Bob, trying and almost failing to stand on his own. "How do I look?"

"If you're any paler, you'd be transparent", Spear commented flatly.

"I can't believe I'm asking this but…" Lin heaved as he leaned back on a nearby tree. "You got anything in your bag? I'd take cactus juice again if it helps."

"No", Spear replied almost sounding offended. "I can't believe you asked for that kind of thing."

"We _are_ in enemy territory", Lin pointed out glumly. He was about to walk again but Spear grabbed his shoulder and, to Lin's slowed reflex's shame, held a blade on his throat.

"You know too much about the layout of this place", Spear said in low dangerous tone, pressing his scalpel at the base of the lieutenant's throat. Lin could see Bob behind the captain's back also ready with a spear albeit without Spear's enthusiasm and he looked like he was on the verge of either fainting or crying.

Lin sighed tiredly, acting as if he had had to explain this particular point so many times before. "I'm from Senlin—"

"Don't give that", Spear spat. "You came from Senlin, huh! Then, explain to me: why hasn't anyone in Senlin even showed any sign of recognizing you?"

Lin knew that he was on the verge of blowing his cover and being stabbed in his neck but… he could not care, as amazing as it sounded. Not when there were so much plaguing his muddy mind and strangely weakened constitution: Azula, a bitter man who no longer cared for the world, a brown-haired blue-eyed waterbender girl who died in his arms, Azula, a bitter man who could no longer love, Azula, Yue, a dark universe where the Moon could not shine, Azula, a bitter man who welcomed pain just so he could feel something, Azula, a bitter man who wished for nothing but death, and Azula.

"You know how to pilot a Fire Nation ship, you navigated our course without getting lost even once", Spear was furious mainly of the fact that the boy he had pinned was so calm; he decided to deliver his ultimate blow. "And I know that you are a firebender."

This… _this_ one, boys and girls, provoked a spark in the faint looking amber of Lin's; Spear noticed this and somehow, it made him even more furious.

"Remember the earth wall Father Shu bent, the one you destroyed?" Spear snapped; Lin could faintly saw Bob gasped and took a fearful step back for the intern had been there when Lin pulverized the said wall. "I noticed some scorched mark on the pieces. At first, I thought it was just some odd discoloration but… Oh, and the bomb trap you set up, there was no way your grenade could work in that rain. And don't get me started on how good and proper you look in that Fire nation garb."

Now, how would Lin get out of this snag? With the deception, of course. But, let's talk a little about the many varieties of lies. Risking the accusation of perpetrating indecency, I shall tell you of the two kinds of lie; well, there are actually many kinds of lie, but let's focus on these two: the full-blown lie and the half-truth. Fire Princess Azula and Lin, the twenty sixth, would each be so proficient at one of them; Fire Princess Azula, herself a true perfectionist, preferred the full-blown kind while Lin, a more laidback personality on the best of mood, was an advocate of half-truth as you may have noticed.

Think back to all the lies Lin had told for the sake of covering up his real identity: he was a swordsman (true), came from Senlin (true, not _born_ in Senlin), and when people asked, he would always tell them that he was not an _earth_bender (he was a _fire_bender). Adding a grain of truth into a lie would make the lie easier to produce and maintain, and be believed by the liar himself; and perfect lies, boys and girls, are the kind that could convinced even the liar. And the best of all, it does not weight much on conscience.

But, still… remember: the other half of 'half-truth' is a lie… (most of the times)

In retort, Lin, acting out a rather acidic self-loathing tone, hissed hatefully. "My father… is a Fire Nation general", he ignored Spear's widened eyes and Bob's gasp, and continued with a sadder but still bitter tone. "My mother was a colonial."

Half-truth: the term colonial sometimes applied also for Earth Kingdom who lived in Fire Nation colonies.

I will not explain what kind of union might have occurred between a Fire Nation general and a colonial woman that resulted in the teenager Spear was currently pinning down with in his softened grip; please draw your own conclusion as Spear and Bob, judging from their mellowed reaction, had.

"You're a Fire Nation's bastard child?" Spear asked softly as he lowered his scalpel. Lin simply maintained his stone-faced expression as he indignantly stared back at Spear's guilt-ridden brown and rubbed his neck on the spot where Spear's scalpel nearly punctured.

"We have to go find an inn", Lin said somewhat hatefully as he picked up his stuff. "I need to sleep."

"General Jiang?" Spear asked a little apologetically.

"I don't want to talk about it", Lin said coldly.

They resumed their walk in an awkward silence; Lin because he did not want to risk any blunder, Spear because he did feel somewhat bad for outing the boy the way he did, and Bob was not sure how he should react about this newfound truth. But, still… Spear was… well, Spear! Back to his laidback attitude, he asked somewhat teasingly. "She must be quite a good 'friend'."

Lin, in a flash, decided to reciprocate the surgeon's attempt to rebuild the bridge. "Urgh!" Lin groaned. "Megumi snitched?"

"I have extended knowledge of her buttons and which one to press to extract the truth, or, better yet, juicy gossip", Spear snickered as he slung an arm on the lieutenant's shoulder. "So? So? Who is she? What's her name? She's pretty? By the way, I do notice that you didn't sneak out to look for this special someone when we're in Senlin, so I assume that she's, well, _here_."

"Oh, hey", Bob too, after a brief moment of hesitation, decided that they should all get along in their bridge rebuilding. "Is she your fiancée? The one you mentioned before?"

"What!" Lin stammered as he turned to the intern. "I-I-I-I— w-w-wh— _what_!"

"Ooooo, _fiancée_", Spear laughed at the lieutenant. "Nice… hey, at least you have some color back on your face again."

"I don't have a— I've never told anyone anything like that!"

"A-actually, you have… under cactus juice influence…"

"That was the cactus juice speaking!"

* * *

_He chased her across the meadow, not realizing that his grin matching her gleeful laughter perfectly. She turned around briefly, flashing him an impish smile and a vibrant glint in the blue eyes of hers. It was the break he needed as he burst his speed, caught her on the arm, skidded roughly, and let the gravity dragged them to the grass below their feet. He did not realize that he was laughing along with her._

"_So?" lying on top of him, she smiled serenely as she pushed his bangs away from his forehead; he returned the favor by tucking a side of her voluminous brown strand behind her ear._

"_So…?" he drawled, smiling but he did not know why._

"_Hmm", her lips pursed as her finger rubbed his. "You're no fun."_

"_Really?" he asked playfully, ignoring her finger on his lower lip. "What should I do to be more… fun?"_

"_Easy", she smiled, whispering as her finger found its way to his chin and her lips drew closer to his. "Just stay still."_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"*choke*"

"Why is your face so close to mine?" Lin hissed dangerously at the booze-brain surgeon.

"I— *choke* I was… checking for… acne…?" the surgeon was quickly turning purple.

"What kind of retarded excuse is that?" Lin snapped, gripping tighter.

"…Air… breathe… bright light… mama at the end of the tunnel…"

Lin shoved the surgeon across the small inn room. Sitting up, our lieutenant suffered a brief moment of lightheadedness. For a short moment, the room swayed before his vision came to focus again. Spear picked himself up, gasping for air. "You know", he said, coughing a little. "One of these days, you'll get acne."

Lin's stare was enough to shut him up. Getting up, the lieutenant stretched and yawned. "Where's Bob?" Lin asked, scanning the second bed on their twin bed room.

"He's in the bathroom", Spear informed, thumb pointing at the door on the near their wardrobe. "I think Fire Nation food doesn't agree with him. What was that? Blubber curry on rice?"

"Sea slug", Lin corrected. He took a deep breath, held it in for a few second, and exhaled through his mouth forcefully. "I need to go somewhere."

"Off to woo the fiancée?" Spear's grin met severe reply in the form of a pillow that hit his face at ballistic speed.

"I'm going to look around", Lin said as he washed his face with water from a basin. "You two stay here."

-0-0-0-0-0-

_As they lay on the bed, her back was turned to him on the other side of her large bed and she had stubbornly refused her blanket, he stared at her back, pondering upon what he should do next. His relief and light mood faded somewhat as he noticed her shoulder started trembling. Maybe he had gone too far. He crept closer to her, trying not to shake the bed too much. Despite what she said earlier, he pulled the thick red quilt over her shoulder once more, taking it as an excuse to raise his head over hers to catch the sight of her, indeed, crying._

"_I'm n-not cry-crying", the Princess sobbed, her stubborn and definitely wet amber eyes refused to even turn to him though they were wide open._

"_I know", he said, circling his arm over her and squeezed her softly, pressing his chin on back of her head and her back to his chest, catching her refusing hand in his. "You're just laughing the wrong way."_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"And…" Lin sighed, knowing full well that Spear would act so insufferably when he added. "Don't wait up."

"Oho!" it was also met by a hard pillow.

It came as a relief when Lin found himself walking on the busy Capital City street. His beloved homeland… his head cleared up just by the fact that he was here: Fire Nation winter, among Fire Nation people, on Fire Nation soil, wearing Fire Nation boots that made his toes very happy. He missed this…

His first instinct, of course, was to obey his growling stomach. He looked around at the market he was walking through; eyes scanning the food stands longingly, almost lustfully: fireflakes, komodo sausage, spicy caramelized apples, fire gummies, flame custard, cinnamon rods, sun-disk cookies, ruby cheery pies.

Cherry… _cherry_!

Crud, he was getting sloppy! Fuming at himself, Lin quickly walked back to the inn as the list of things he had forgotten swarmed his mind without his express permission; Nightshade, his flute, his emergency knives he usually kept in his boots, a tiny knife he usually slipped under his left wristband. At least he had his pouch with him; Lu Ten's armband, Azula's handkerchief, Lotus letters, and his Seed were safely stored in there.

As he reentered their inn room, taking a small measure of relief that Spear could be heard singing some indecent song about Tianshui women and melons in the shower, he muttered weakly to Bob, who was reading a thick book (that Lin was convinced Shoto gave him), about forgetting his sword; the bandana wearing boy stifled his knowing smile as he returned his focus to the book while Lin dug through his bag for the cherries and just four throwing knives he slipped in his sash, and grabbed his sword last. Quickly, our lieutenant made his way out if only to avoid the judgmental snicker of the other boy.

Now, finally in the center of the district, he scrutinized the zig-zaging path carved on the slope of the volcano leading to the Caldera while savoring a flame custard to appease his understandably melancholic palate. The path was devoid of forest and trees, allowing no stealth infiltration. Where is a good rainstorm when you need one?

"Make way!" he heard somebody shouted. Turning to the origin of the voice, he saw a large komodo-rhino-drawn carriage manned by a driver wearing armor. Drivers do not usually wear armor unless… to his leaping heart delight, as the carriage passed by, Lin noticed the heart-warming emblem of his clan engraved on the wooden door.

Ah, the great Agni provid—

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_Oh, Yue", he sighed, pacifying the crying white-haired girl in his embrace._

"_I'm sorry you have to see me like this", the white-haired princess sobbed, trying and failing to control her crying, but she did not let go. "What should I do?"_

_He opened his mouth almost, _almost_, telling her to do what her heart told her to; he chose to hold his tongue and hugged her tighter. This was usually the time he would shamefully but doubtlessly plagiarize General Iroh's 'follow your heart' lecture but all he could manage was. "I don't know", in a sad tone. "I really don't know."_

-0-0-0-0-0-

Oh, princesses and their seemingly natural talent of needing to be rescued! Lin cursed in his mind as he shadowed the moving cart from behind the rows of houses and then huts as they approached the outskirt of the city. He stayed in the shadow of the stable, the last establishment on the outskirt, bracing through the sweet (sarcasm) aroma of komodo-rhino dropping, he let the carriage go a minute or two ahead. After making sure that nobody from the city would see him dashing towards the carriage and hitch the ride on the back, Lin pulled the hood of his dark robe on and did exactly that.

He crouched low as he hung on the edges of the carriage, setting flimsy foothold on the narrow protruding part on the lower edge of the rocking carriage; his positioning allowed him to give in to the temptation to press his ear to the wooden surface. He could hear muffled voice of males but the grinding of the wheels on the ground was too loud. He did not stop though; this was his homeland, his Nation, his family. The voice, inaudible it might be, belonged to his family.

As they approach the final descend of the zig-zaging path, Lin leaped down soundlessly and dashed quickly to the slope of the inactive volcano, scaling the surface sideways before the guards of the gate to the crater could peel their eyes long enough from the distraction the carriage was providing him to notice his unwanted presence. Lin climbed up as quickly as he could, a childish fear of losing the carriage somehow got to him as he ran to the side, gaining distance from the gate.

The fear was gone as he stopped after a safe distance away and pulled himself up to the edge of the crater.

"What the…" his gaped at the mass of white mist cocooning the grand establishment in the middle of the Caldera; the Fire Nation Imperial Palace was completely engulfed by the chalk-colored fog. He felt a fresh wave of apprehension.

And a healthy survival-instinct-driven fear as he looked down… all the way down… all six or seventy feet down.

"Azula…" Lin sighed as he secured Nightshade and his cherries pouch, took of off his robe and wrapped it on his left hand and fingers tightly. "Oh, Azula… the things your sifu would do for you…"

A second of numb later, he dropped and slid down the inner surface of the crater, clawing the earthen wall with his wrapped hand and planting his feet on it to slow down his fall, grimacing even though the friction caused less pain than he had anticipated. He would dropped down all the way to the ground but he felt that he was losing contact; instinctively, he recalled a certain memory, a specific emotion he felt from one his earlier 'vision', as he pushed himself from the wall and freefell the rest of the way down.

"_Stop!" she cried, her hand trembled as it bent the blood in his heart._

"_Kill me!"_

Lin pushed his free hand down at the last seconds, simultaneously building his chi on his palm and both soles of his feet, and let them erupt at the same time; jets of flame burst out, the propulsion prevented Lin from ending up a bloody splat that the owner of the rooftop balcony he was landing on had to deal with. Safely making his touchdown with a front roll to dissipate the force born of the combination of his rash action and gravity, he let out one big exhalation of relief.

At least he got in safely, Lin thought as he unwrapped the robe from his left hand; surprisingly, his hand and fingers were fine for the most part, only numbed and somewhat reddened. His robe however was thinned and tattered. He put it back on anyway and put his hood back on as he jumped down the building to the backstreet below

Quickly, his steps obeyed his memory of the streets, of the twist and turns that would lead him to the Imperial Palace; the giant mass of fog helped in the navigation process too. He was pleasantly surprised when, as he walked the final alley that would lead to the main road, the carriage from before made an appearance. He did not realize that he was grinning as he renewed his chase.

But, no, no, no!

Lin skidded to stop as he watched the carriage run farther and farther away from the alley. He was being foolish. Even in his family, only his father and uncles knew about the great many things that had truly happened to him; Senlin, assassin, Ty Lee, and all others. Or not, Lin thought as he walked through the dark alleys towards the Royal Palace. Senlin, Ty Lee, and assassin stuff. Wow… only three issues had turned his life upside down.

There was the engagement but, to Lin's knowledge, nobody else in his family knew but his father.

Lin did wonder why his father had shown such distaste to the betrothal. Yeah, it was too political, thought Lin as he cast a scrutinizing look at the front gate of the palace. But…

Oh, _man_… Lin mentally slapped his forehead. He was not thinking of… going through with it, right? I mean… well, he was Azula's sifu. That seemed wrong.

The Lin Family carriage unexpectedly coming round the corner and stopping in front of the giant metal gate was a welcomed distraction. Snoop first, think later. Lin felt a pang of guilt as his Uncle Fu, followed by Master Piandao and Zuko appeared from the vehicle.

Oh, how wanted to run to them. But, no; he could not afford to be sloppy anymore. He waited until Zuko and Piandao exchanged their goodbyes to Uncle Fu before he swiftly and stealthily made his way to the carriage's other side, avoiding the driver's peripheral vision. He crouched low and waited until he heard the grinding of the metal gate before he opened the carriage door only enough for his slender frame to slip in quietly.

Inside, he waited in the shadow; Uncle Fu stepped back in, noticed his presence and purposely stood big and wide on the door he was climbing through to block the view. Lin scooted closer to the other side, still pressing back as far as he could to his seat as Uncle Fu took the seat in front of him and closed the door and pulled down the curtain. At the sight of his nephew, Fu snickered.

"Driver", Fu shouted over his shoulder to a slit on the interior behind him. "Go slow",

"You've grown", Uncle Fu commented after a few seconds of scrutiny.

"Nice to see you, Uncle", Lin grinned.

"Whoa… your voice's—", Fu's comment was engulfed by his guffaw as Lin kicked him in the shin.

"There's nothing wrong with my voice!"

"Sure", Fu stifled his laughter the best he could. Clearing his throat, he continued. "So, you're home for good this time?"

"No, just for a while", Lin said.

"Your father's not here", Fu answered his nephew's unasked question. "He's on a mission in Earth Kingdom."

"Oh", Lin muttered.

"Your Aunt Bing is still sick", he added solemnly. "When you left, it broke her. She could not even get up from her bed for a month."

Fu waited for the boy to respond but Lin was having a hard time to even maintain eye contact.

"She's getting better though; but, still have trouble with low appetite", Fu said again. "Young Lady Wen has been living with us for a while now, you know."

"Urgh!" Lin grunted; Fu laughed.

"No, not yet", Fu laughed heartily. "She's been taking care of your Aunt Bing. Your dad provided her with a room in the estate so she could stay 24/7 for your Aunt Bing."

"And Biao…?" Lin asked fearfully.

"…is probably still out for your blood", Fu sniggered. "I think you should tell her, at least."

"Really, Uncle?" Lin rubbed his temple. "Oh, hi, fiery-tempered, firebending prodigious, cousin of mine with a tendency towards violence and an unresolved anger issue who is also a tomboy who collects knives! Guess what; I'm a royal assassin. The Fire Lord made me one. That is the whole reason I became a fugitive, my dad's dating a girl the same age as you, and your mom couldn't leave bed for a month; so, basically why our family is falling apart, kind of."

"Good point", Fu pondered aloud. Lin crossed to his side of the carriage and put an arm on his shoulder chummily.

"Have I ever told you that you're my favorite uncle?" Lin said, grinning slyly.

"I thought Kang's your favorite uncle", Fu said suspiciously.

"Whoever said that was lying!"

"You said that! When you were nine."

"I was lying."

"Uh-huh?"

"Your scar looks cool. Your hair is awesome. You're gonna make a colonel soon, I'm sure."

"I see."

"You broke Uncle Masa's favorite vase. You lied to your wife about missing her birthday party when you got drunk with your army buddies. You didn't really have a cold when Dad asked you to train the kids. And don't get me started about the blind date you set up for Biao which you blamed on me."

Fu sighed, fingering his waist for his pouch. "How much do you want?"

"How much you've got?" Lin grinned wider as Fu, somewhat begrudgingly, dropped his whole money pouch on his palm. "One more thing, have you heard about some kind of fever that can only be cured by some sort of potion made of fire lilies, the kind that grows on the slope of volcanoes?"

"Yeah", Fu scratched his chin, to Lin's worry, so close to his scar. "There's an outbreak in the front, from what I've heard."

"Can you get me some of those lilies?" Lin asked. "Remember our family fishing spot?"

"You want me to drop it there?" Fu guessed.

"Yeah, just in case", Lin nodded. "I'm here on an official capacity, so to speak. I'd rather not let people know I'm involving family."

"I see", Fu grunted. "How much?"

"I don't know… a medium sized pack, maybe? By the way", Lin asked again. "What's with the fog?"

"No one knows", Fu replied grimly. "Been there since winter started. It doesn't touch any part of the Imperial City, only the Royal Palace and the surrounding."

"Did… Have you heard from General Iroh lately?" Lin asked though he was not sure what compelled him to.

"No", Fu frowned. "Funny you asked", he added. "Master Piandao and Prince Zuko said they haven't been able to reach him to."

"Zuko?" Lin arched a brow; how could Zuko not be able to reach Iroh if they lived under the same roof?

"Oh, right", Fu clasped his hands. "Prince Zuko has been learning swordsmanship from Master Piandao in Shu Jing."

"Really?" Lin was not sure how to feel about this development; he rubbed his head as… _he crossed his arms standing unnoticed on the dark corner of the tall battlement. On the courtyard far below, the Blue Spirit held the monk's life by the edge of his crossed blades, surrounded from all sides by Fire Nation soldiers._

"You look unwell", Fu, ever the caring uncle, took off his coat and slung it over his pale nephew.

"I just arrived this morning", again, the application of half-truth, a variant where one give an incomplete but truthful truth. "By ship."

"Ah, the proud grandson of Admiral Jeong Jeong", Fu laughed teasingly.

"I think I should go", Lin said, peeking out of the window, and getting out of Uncle Fu's eye-pokingly crimson coat. "Don't say hi to the others for me."

"Wait", Fu pulled the boy back to his seat. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Uncle", Lin moved for a quick hug. "Thanks."

"Wait", Fu pulled the boy back again; he sat the boy down and stared him in the eye. "Its new year soon", he said solemnly. "Before you go back to the Earth Kingdom, go visit your mom."

"I will, Uncle", Lin promised. As his Uncle Fu let him go, he opened the door slightly, enough for him to slip through.

The first step he landed on the cobblestone was dedicated to a forceful push into the nearest bush. He waited for a moment, waiting for anyone who might have caught glimpse of him or heard him to dismiss it as their mind playing tricks on them, and for his own beating heart to slow down.

"_Kuruk_", he breathed, clutching his head as a skull-splitting pain assaulted the inside of his cranium. "Oh, Agni… just kill me now…"

Well, not _now_ now, he thought to himself as he rose to a crouch and, ignoring his hurting head, took a peek outside. He recognized the Mansion of Lu Family across the street in front of him. Ignoring the terrible battle between a giant centipede creature and a Water Tribe man that was playing in his head, Lin navigated his way back to the Royal Palace. Luckily, the mass of fog was quite helpful.

Now, let's see… that was the main gate over there. The secret entrance that Lu Ten had often used whenever he snuck out should be… on the west side. Lin crept his way nearly all the way back to the other side of the Palace. There, Lin noticed it from under the shadow of a large tree, hidden behind an ornamental pile of smooth rock. He looked around for any patrolling guards, found none, and quickly marched to the—

_The girl coughed, choking and gasping for air as he firmly grabbed her neck, pinning her on the wall and lifting her up of her feet. Her legs trashed around and her arms failingly tried to break his old but still powerful clutch. She was but a teenager, not much older than thirteen or fourteen._

_But, a broken old man like him no longer had a heart._

"_How dare you come to me!" he spat mercilessly, gripping even tighter, impervious to the tears of fear and pain dripping from the blue orbs of hers. "After everything…! Come out…"_

"_L-let… me…" she tried but he pulled and slammed her back on the wall hard, silencing her, choking her until her ocean blue eyes shed tears of pain._

"_Come out! Come out, AANG!_

—wall; weathered engravings of flame on the gray stone wall, with knobs of gold lining up along the dark-colored segment below. Lin leaned down on the wall and slid down weakly. Gripping his head, he fought an urge to throw up.

They said solstice is a spiritual occurrence as it is physical. Guess they were right, he bitterly thought as he picked himself to a kneeling position and ran his fingers on the knobs until he found the specific one with a moveable center. He pressed the center of the chrysanthemum shape gold knobs with his index finger and sent a tiny blast of flame into it. The ornamental rock trembled and slid aside with a rough grinding sound of metal and rock, revealing a secret tunnel underneath.

Lin quickly moved into the dark tunnel and descended the small steps of the stairs if only to avoid thinking about how… _painful it was as the arrow pieced his chest_. As he stepped inside, the automated mechanism kicked in and the rock slid back over the entrance, leaving him in total darkness. Crouching low in the low ceiling of the very claustrophobically narrow rock tunnel, he crept forward with flickering on-off spit of flame on his palm that he had to re-spark every three or four steps. He was, oh, so very tempted to let his rage force a more stable and dignified connection with his inner fire but having been raised by respectable firebending masters like Jeong Jeong and Jiang, he chose the high ground. Using rage is so very… _intoxicating_. Like eating peanuts; can anyone get a bag of peanuts and just eat one peanut?

Lin approached the edge of the tunnel, a set of tiny stairs leading up. He felt above on the metal trapdoor for a hole, found it, and shoved his finger in it and sent a fire blast. He climbed up to a grassy patch of the main courtyard, barely alert enough to leap behind a nearby tree as Zuko ran across the hallway only a few feet away from him. Regulating his breath inside the mist to quell the rush, he felt Zuko scanning around for him. Not bad, Lin thought. It seemed like Zuko kept his promise to keep doing the extra training.

At least, something here cheered him up a little, Lin thought as Zuko dismissed Lin's presence as a trick of light and mist, and resumed his march. It was nice to know that his sifu-ing got through to at least one student. Now, the main courtyard… he picked the nearest hallway the he knew would take him to…

Well, Azula's room but… would it be prudent to go there this time of the day. Well, it was Saturday so, Azula would not be at school and since Azula had never felt the need to step outside the palace, she was bound to be there; well, in her room or the training hall. But, would it be prudent to go to her _now_? Her scream once again filled his head, tempting him so much to dash there with no care for the guards or servants who might feel the need to either set him on fire or announce his unwanted presence to the whole wide world as part of their job description.

No, not now… _sorry, Azula_…

He decided to go to General Iroh's first. Lu Ten's old room; he both welcomed and lamented the wave of nostalgia that hit him like a wall. He crept into the hallway, looked around, and pushed a false wooden panel on the wall. Fire Nation Royal Palace, much like any other palaces, fell victim to the notion that no royal palace is complete without secret entrances and hidden hallways and compartments; false walls hiding alleys and hallways that would cut extra precious minutes for servants to navigate the palace, hidden compartments filled with weapons and armors for the guards in case of emergency, and secret exits known only to the highest echelons of Royal Procession and the Fire Lord himself (with the exception of Lu Ten, Zuko, and Lin who had stumbled into one during the game of hide and shriek a long time ago).

In less than five minutes, Lin arrived at the door of Iroh's room, concluding the trip that would usually take twice the time from the main courtyard. He took one look inside the room and his heart sank. The room looked dirty and unused. Lin felt worry about this, topped with what Uncle Fu had told him. Quickly, he moved in, closed the door, and opened the wardrobe and jumped inside hiding when he heard footsteps coming closer.

"Uncle", he heard Zuko calling to the empty room. "Uncle, I'm home."

He heard the footsteps of the Fire Prince echoed eerily against the floor, and the clattering of the wooden window being pushed open. Lin waited for a few more minutes for Zuko's footsteps to echo away and, just to be safe, waited a few more minutes. When he was sure Zuko was completely gone, Lin got out of his hiding place and, after one last look at the room, he too stepped out of the room.

Where to now?

Azula…

Yeah, it is only logical for him to go to Azula, right? If Zuko had been staying in Shu Jing all this time, and approaching the Fire Lord warranted death by burning, then Azula would be the only source of information he cou— wait, why was he looking for Iroh again?

Urgh… to find out if anything has happened to Azula… Lin mentally and literally slapped his forehead. This had never happened to him before; he was unfocused, not thinking clearly.

To hell with that, he thought. To Azula's!

Again employing the hidden secret hallways, he made his way, rushed but he did not notice it, to the Royal Female Quarters. He stopped again, taking refuge behind a tree on a garden just a short sprint away from Azula's room; that was when Zuko once again emerged from the corner of the hallway and was stopped by a servant.

"Prince Zuko", Lin heard the servant said. "Lunch is ready, Your Highness."

"Thank you", he heard Zuko replied. "Has my sister been notified?"

"No, Your Highness", the servant replied. "I will go to the Princess' chamber next."

Ah, so Azula's in her room.

"No need for that", Zuko said, Lin felt a little pricked. "I'll tell her myself. You go the North Wing and tell Master Piandao and Master Jian Wu. Have you seen my uncle?"

North wing…?

"No, Your Highness", Lin heard a tinge of worry in the servant's voice. "I have not seen General Iroh for quite a while now."

"Why is it that none of you can seem to keep track on one large old man!" Zuko's outburst shocked Lin. _Temper, Zuko, temper_; Lin mentally shook his head.

"I apologize, Prince Zuko", Lin heard the servant stammered. "Please, forgive my incompetence."

"Get up!" he heard Zuko snapped again. Next was a series of heavy and angry footsteps followed by a shuffle; Lin peeked a little to see Zuko gone and the servant picking himself up from the floor. Lin waited a little more before he retraced the servant's footsteps towards the North Wing; the idea of facing both Zuko and Azula was… *sigh* one royal disaster at a time. And besides, Azula seemed fine, from what he concluded by the way Zuko and the servant talked about her.

It was enough to convince himself to— now, wait a minute! The whole idea of risking his neck entering the palace was for… well, _Azula_!

"I need to sleep", Lin groaned under his breath as he found his way to Master Jian Wu's chamber. As expected, the master was in there with Master Piandao, both were sitting in a small garden in front of the Imperial Sword Instructor's hut. After making sure that no one was around, he stepped out of the shadow and, to ease the two alerted swordmasters, pulled his hood down and revealed his face.

"Master", Lin bowed to Piandao; for the first time since his arrival, he felt truly light and relief, he felt like he was truly home.

"Lin", Piandao smiled; he looked more amused than surprised. Jian Wu looked somewhat unhappy.

"You are risking a lot coming here", Jian Wu said bluntly.

"I'm— I… uh, I have a reason?" Lin grinned guiltily.

"Tea and Pai Sho… or Nightshade Lovers?" Piandao asked.

"Nightshade Lovers", Lin's shoulder crumpled.

"You haven't been to the North Pole", Piandao's utterance was both a question and a statement wrapped by thin layer of admonition. To the awkward glances Lin threw Master Jian Wu, Piandao smirked. "I believe you know Master Jian Wu; one of the senior Lotus Masters of the Order and my very own Air Master."

"Really?" Lin felt both relived and bewildered. "Exactly how many are you out there? Or in _here_?"

"Oh, quite a few", Piandao said evasively. "Now, is there anything we can do for you?"

"Well—", really… Lin was here for Azula, but the… "The fog… General Iroh… what is going on he—"

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_No… nononono! Stay! Stay!" he shook her hard; her blue eyes had lost their light but he would not accept it! "No, stay with me! Wake up!"_

_The white masked man laughed as he rose to his feet slowly; the blast had cracked the left part of his mask and burnt part of his face. The white masked man laughed as he clutched his blade with one hand and his burnt face with the other._

"_Now, it's your turn… traitor!" the white masked man snarled as his pace broke into a stride into a dash, lunging with his blade raised, ready to pierce his next pray, the young man who was holding the dead waterbender girl in his arm, crying her death like a weakling he was!_

_It was with such a struggle indeed for the young man to pull himself away from her, to peel her lifeless face from his chest as he threw vengeful amber at the coming danger and shouted the first word, the first name that, as if moved by the spirits, came to his tongue._

"_AMAROOOOOK!"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Lin, are you alright?" Piandao asked the boy as he and Jian Wu caught him before he fell and heaved him to the nearest bench on the garden.

"You've been having visions and dreams more these past few days, haven't you?" it was an unexpected question from Jian Wu as Piandao poured the boy a cup of tea. "Oh, come now", Jian Wu said somewhat witheringly at Lin's frown. "Great many people in the Order know about you more than you know yourself."

At the accusatory stare Lin threw to Piandao's direction, the swordmaster simply gestured to the cup of tea with a slight smirk.

"Thank you, Master", Lin growled as politely as he could; he took a sip of his tea and. "Bruewgh! This is terrible—"

"Brew it myself", Piandao said, sipping his own cup calmly.

"—ly good", Lin evaded successfully, kind of. "Mmmm… *choke*"

"You have Umma's gift", Jian Wu stated at Lin who pretended to take the second sip of tea, put his cup down, and pushed it away.

"I don't even know what that is", Lin said truthfully; he suddenly became aware of the jade flute he had strapped on his sash behind his back.

"General Iroh hasn't—", Jian Wu asked Paindao incredulously, Piandao shook his head before the other man could even finish. Jian Wu exasperated. "Umma would have killed him if—"

Piandao nodded this time.

"What is going on?" Lin asked again, tired of being ignored. "And what is this _gift_?"

"It's General Iroh's duty to teach you that", Jian Wu said firmly.

"But, you can teach me", Lin said, desperately if I might add.

"No", Jian Wu said. "I have knowledge of it, yes, but there are rules, Young Dragon. It was supposed to be your mother who would guide you in discovering this gift but…" he exchanged a knowing glance with Piandao before continuing. "Now, the duty falls to General Iroh."

"M-my… mother… She was a member of the Order?" Lin felt his eyes getting warmer.

"Lian? No", Jian Wu said, then he scoffed a little along with Piandao. "Oh, dear Agni, _no_."

"It's a long story, Lin", Piandao said fondly. "Now—", Piandao paused, turned to Jian Wu and said somewhat pleadingly. "Master, I don't think this is wise."

"I prefer Jeong Jeong myself", Jian Wu admitted glumly. "His ability to peer into the Spirit Realm and communicate with the other side is much more useful in this case than… (he cocked his head subtly at Lin) well."

"Um… I'm right here", Lin said, feeling a little insulted.

"Listen", Jian Wu ignored Lin's remark. "General Iroh is in the Astronomy Tower. And yes, him being there has something to do with this mist."

"…It's something related to the Spirit World, isn't it?" Lin guessed, his stomach churned as Jian Wu's silently confirmed. "Is this why I'm having these… visions?" Lin asked urgently.

"Who knows?" Jian Wu sighed. "I don't know much about this spirit world affairs myself but this mist _is_ spiritual."

"It originated from the Astronomy Tower where General Iroh is", Piandao informed. "Master Jian Wu and other members of the Order who lived in the palace have been steering the Fire Lord and the others away from this matter but, it's getting worse for General Iroh."

"What is he doing there?" Lin asked incredulously.

"He has crossed over to the Spirit Realm", Jian Wu said gloomily.

"Wa— he's _dead_!" Lin gawked.

"No, not dead", Jian Wu waved his hand dismissively. "I don't know how he did it but his spirit has crossed over to the—"

Lin quickly leaped and dashed towards Jian Wu's hut and the two swordmasters assumed their non-suspicious position and conversation just as swiftly, which included Piandao hurling Lin's cup into a nearby bush. A servant approached a few seconds later, announcing lunch to the two masters who were chatting merrily about various techniques severing a person's jugular vein. Jian Wu dismissed him and, after making sure they were alone once more, he summoned the wayward Dragon.

"We have to go", Jian Wu decided. "We can't afford to cast suspicion on ourselves."

"You should rest in the meantime", Piandao suggested to Lin.

"But—", Lin was about to protest; however, Jian Wu raised a finger, silencing him.

"Piandao's right", Jian Wu said commandingly. "Go to your room. Sleep."

"We will need your help later", Piandao quickly said before Lin could refuse. "You will need all the strength you could muster."

"Yes, Master", Lin bowed to them begrudgingly.

They parted ways as Lin's feet carried him to the direction of his old Firebending Instructor room. Wow… been awhile, he thought fondly as he arrived and pushed the door open. From riches, splendor, and glory to rags, mud, and blood. Lin did not even bother to take off his boots as he fell down face first to his bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

When he woke up, only about an hour later, according to his hourglass that he had set before his sleep simply out of habit, he got up groggily with a sore throat. Reaching to a pitcher of water, which was not empty for some reason, he took large gulp from it without even bothering with a goblet. Strange… Lin thought. He had not been in this room for more than a year and… now, he realized that his room was well cleaned. Even his bed cover and blanket smelt clean and the water tasted fresh.

If not for his still puzzled mind, Lin would have been wondering who it was that had been keeping his room livable. Must be General Iroh, he guessed as he took a quick but relaxing shower in his bathroom. Nothing beats home, he thought as he put on his clothes, his own clothes; he still had some left in his wardrobe. He looked to his door as he retied his ponytail, half-expecting Piandao and Jian Wu to walk in. But, even after he sat back down on his bed, nobody came to fetch him in this dark cold room of his.

He rested his head back on his pillow and absentmindedly took his other pillow and hugged it; he had decided not to light his candles and torches and kept his room heating off to avoid suspicion so it was pretty cold in there. That was when he smelt something… something pleasant, like… he took a deep sniff, trying to locate the source… smelt flowery, like vanilla. Lin located the source from the pillow he was hugging, burying his face into it. Strange, he thought. The floral scent of vanilla on his pillowcase?

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_I said, I don't want you to go… dummy", she pouted a little, narrowing her amber eyes, crossing her arms on her chest. When he did not budge, she moved in to hold him tightly. "Don't go", she repeated softer, circling her arms around his neck, fixing her eyes on his chin, for she could not bring herself look at him in the eye; she did not want him to see tears swelling in her amber-colored eyes._

"_I wish I could stay", he said truthfully, leaning down and pressed his lips on the part between her neck and shoulder, taking in her scent deeply, teasing her soft skin with his breath, making her giggle slightly. _

_She cringed but did not let go; she only hugged his neck tighter, pulling herself to a tiptoe for he was a little taller than she. He held her too, not wanting to let her go. "So just stay. You always leave me, I hate that. Dummy…" she whispered. "Dummydummydummydummydummy…"_

_He chuckled a little, kissing her jaw below her ear._

"_You should probably go, though. Just in case", she said though she made no attempt to peel herself away. _

_But, he did._

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Oh, dear lord", Lin rose from the bed, pale like you would not believe. "I'm engaged…"

Lin got up and paced around the room, breathing fast. Believe it or not, after three years of engagement, anxiety _finally_ set in.

"_What was I thinking! Why didn't I say 'no'? Oh, right… because saying 'no' means death. But, what was I thinking! I mean… _Azula_! Azula, she's… well… huh… well, I suppose she's not— ARGGH! Stop it! Stop it! She's my student! She's Lu Ten's cousin! She's Zuko's sister! And she's my student! My own student!"_

"Lin, are you—", Jian Wu and Piandao opened his door, entered, and paused at the sight of the boy.

"Lin, did you sleep at all?" Piandao asked, full of concern. "You seem like you've just seen a ghost."

"I…" Lin tried to speak; his mouth opened but his voice was something of a cross between a squeak and a gasp. Piandao and Jian Wu exchanged quizzical look.

"We don't have much time", Jian Wu said firmly. "The solstice will end soon."

"When the sun is down", Piandao added. "General Iroh will be lost forever."

Another man arrived, a Fire Sage by the look of his garment.

"Shyu", Jian Wu greeted. "Is everything ready?"

"Azaya, Nazak, and Kaji are in the Astronomy Tower", the Fire Sage informed. "Wey, Ping, and Kuva are making sure we won't run into any guards and servants but we have to hurry. They can only mislead them for about an hour."

The Fire Sage led them out without another word; they left so fast, Lin had not time to pick up any of his belongings but his beat-up robe. Aside from his pouch that he kept in sash, his flute, and the four hidden knives he kept also behind his sash, those daily items that he had taken a habit to bring even when he was having a daily boring day in the 44th, Lin had nothing else with him; his Nightshade, Azula's peace offering, even the money he extor—_borrowed_ from uncle Fu was in his room. He was thinking of doubling back for his sword at least when Jian Wu stopped the march.

"Piandao, you stay", the senior swordmaster ordered. "You did say something about my workshop."

"Ah, yes", Piandao stroke his beard. "I was thinking about making something for Princess Azula."

"Prince Zuko might show up looking for you", Jian Wu said. "It will be too suspicious if you are not in the workshop after what you said to him."

"I understand", Piandao bowed at the two older men and, ever the perceptive master, caught the sight of Lin's worry and smiled and he reassured the boy. "We'll talk later but suffice to say that your firebending students are doing well."

Lin's face lit up… _I want to be like him when I grow up_, he thought earnestly, watching Piandao's departure briefly before Jian Wu led them back on their march to the Astronomy Tower.

Jian Wu and Shyu opted for a more conventional route, much to Lin's chagrin, and they ran into no opposition, no single soul all the fifteen minutes stride to the Astronomy Tower, much to Lin's admiration of the Order's influence, where, indeed, the mist was so much thicker they could barely see five feet in front of them and Lin was heavily tempted to pull out one of his knives and try to cut the mist to see if he could.

"Up there", Shyu said, holding out a flame on his palm as he led the other two up the metal spiral stairs.

As they reached the highest level of the tower and walked a few meters along the hallway, a flame lit up from inside the mist. Jian Wu raised his arm to Lin who was walking a few steps behind, sensing the boy had assumed his fighting stance.

"Shyu?" a rough deep voice of a male called; the flame moved closer towards them.

"Kuva", Shyu nodded at the tall Royal Procession guard who approached them also with a flame on his palm.

"Good, you're here", the man's voice was muffled somewhat by his mask. "I wish you all luck."

"Thank you", Shyu and Jian Wu nodded as the Royal Procession extinguished his flame and walked to the stair. Shyu led them deeper along the hallway.

Lin had never been here. The Astronomy Tower was considered a forbidden ground for children due to the altitude; can't have the mischievous Prince Lu Ten, the clumsy Prince Zuko, or the then timid Princess Azula make any royal splat on the ground fifty feet down, can we? Lin had never been here before and he could not see much due to the ungodly thick mist.

The last step they took, it was towards the clear space. Like a dome of clear air, the area few feet around the room at the end of the hallway was… clean, clear… no mist. Waiting for their arrival was three individuals Lin had not expected at all. The first one was a woman of greying hair and advanced age, tall and willowy, wearing a seemingly oversized robe of red and gold with a white haori –long sleeveless jacket-like tabard- worn only by Palace Scholars, and she was wearing a distinctive monocle; Lin and Lu Ten had made enough mess in the Palace Library to earn them numerous scolding from this woman, the Head Librarian Nazak.

The second woman was also grey and old but she had a much kinder face that, much to Lin, Zuko, and Lu Ten's horror had been described as 'quite a babe' when she had been younger by Iroh when Lu Ten had stupidly mistaken white wine for vinegar when they spiked Iroh's tea, causing the old Dragon to bear-hugged the three children, sat them on his broad lap, and recounted to them the numerous conquests of the more lecherous nature from his youth. She was a tad shorter than Nazak, wearing the white robe and red-gold sash of a healer, amber eyes that still shone bright, face that would easily give way to fond smiles whenever Lin, Lu Ten, or Zuko had to visit her in the infirmary due to injuries or simply when they were hiding from Iroh after they had successfully spiked his tea, the same woman who was responsible for introducing the three kids to varieties of sweets that would seemingly flow out from her infinitely deep pockets. Head Physician Azaya, according to Umma, had also been her sergeant back in the military days, and her maid of honor.

And the last person, a grumpy looking old man with a face that Lin was convinced had no ability to smile, narrow gray eyes and thin lanky frame under his red and black robe that deceptively hid his prowess in firebending. The grumpy Head Imperial Firebending Instructor Kaji, one of Lin's first 'nemesis', whose presence there caused Lin to stammer. "W-what are _you_ doing here?"

"That's a quaint way to greet your sifu", Kaji said flatly. Well, Kaji _was_ the one who tutored Lin the Raging Phoenix style.

"There's no time", Azaya called Lin closer with her wave. "Shyu, are you sure?" she addressed the Fire Sage.

"I don't see any other way", Shyu said uncomfortably. "I don't like throwing a boy to the spirits, but without Umma or Jeong Jeong, we really don't have anyone else gifted enough to pull this through."

"Pull what through", Lin turned around, mostly to Head Physician Azaya who held him by his shoulder. "Can someone please tell me what's going on? Wha— My grandparents! What are you guys talking about?"

"Child, listen", Azaya said patiently. "General Iroh is in the spirit world. The crossing over process is not something… _natural_."

"It is a violation of the Law that keeps the two realms in balance", Shyu added. "That is what causing this mist. It's a warning from the spirits."

"So…" Lin rubbed his forehead, trying to process the information. "General Iroh is in the spirit world."

"Yes", Azaya said.

"He's… dead?" Lin asked again, skeptically this time.

"No", Azaya shook her head. "I know it's confusing, child, but… to put it simply, General Iroh's spirit is _there_ and his body is _here_. We think."

"… Where is 'there', where is 'here', and what do you mean by 'we think'?" Lin asked flatly.

"Physical body cannot exist in the spirit world", Shyu provided the explanation. "When one travels to the Spirit Realm, their spirit will leave their body. We have s reason to believe that General Iroh's body is in that room", he pointed at the door.

"You mean… you haven't even checked?" Lin asked incredulously.

"Do we really have to?" Kaji asked sourly, gesturing to the clarity of air around them.

"Now, listen carefully", Shyu quickly interjected before an Agni Kai occurred. "Young Master, we need your help to enter the room and somehow bring General Iroh back."

"How can I do that?" Lin asked the very obvious question.

"To be honest", Shyu exchanged pained looked with his Lotus colleagues. "We don't know."

"But… you guys are… _you're_ a Fire Sage!" Lin pointed somewhat furiously at Shyu.

"This is not something even the Sages fully understand", Shyu admitted sadly.

"W-well", Lin stammered, looking at them one by one; they all looked just as lost as him. Then, he remembered what Jian Wu had said about his gift. "Master Jian Wu", he addressed the swordmaster. "You know something about my… whatever this is—"

"It will not help", Jian Wu cut in calmly. "Trust me."

"It's better than nothing", Lin sounded desperate.

"I still cannot answer your question", Jian Wu said to Lin, nodded slightly to Azaya.

The Head Physician gently guided Lin by the shoulder to the door but Lin persisted.

"No!" he said forcefully; they needed him and he, despite his respect for them, was willing to use this leverage. "At least, tell me why General Iroh is in the spirit world. I have the right to know that much!"

The adults exchanged a look, then all of them unanimously turned to the Head Physician. Azaya sighed deeply before she addressed Lin with a grim tone. "We believe it has something to do with Prince Lu Ten."

"What?" Lin asked slowly, he simply could not comprehend why on earth Lu Ten was involved in this. Lu Ten had been gone for years now.

"Last autumn", Azaya started but paused briefly. "We don't know the details ourselves but I was called to Princess Azula's room by General Iroh. She… she was unconscious when I arrived."

Agni… it was real… "What happened to Azula?" Lin asked urgently. "And when exactly was this? What time, what day?"

"It was the fourteenth or fifteenth, I think, last month of autumn", Azaya said; Lin realized that it was the day when they fought the Fire Nation soldiers. "It was night when I got there. Princess Azula had a fever and she was…" Azaya looked around the room; her oath as a healer to the Royal Family of course prevented her from divulging too much information, even if she trusted each and every one of them with her life. "I can't say much but, I was called again few hours later in the middle of the night; by Fire Lord Ozai. Princess Azula had a bruise on her cheek."

"She hurt herself?" Lin gaped; he felt his stomach churn again.

"I'm afraid not", Azaya said quietly. "Later on, as I treated her in her room, I overheard Fire Lord talking to a servant just outside the door. He was saying something about Prince Lu Ten's grave; something about 'fixing it' as soon as possible."

"General Iroh disappeared the next day", Jian Wu added. "We drew our own conclusion."

"Azula… _Lu Ten's grave_? You mean, she—", Lin gripped his head; he could not believe it.

"I overheard some servants talking", Kaji admitted. "And Azaya told me about it as soon as she heard, so I headed out to Prince Lu Ten's grave the very same night; it was ruined. Firebending, a wild shot. Only three persons living in the palace besides myself could shoot fire strong enough to break solid marble headstone."

"General Iroh went to the spirit world for some stupid superstition!" Lin nearly screamed. "And… he— he _hit_ Azula!"

"Conjectures at this point", Kaji reminded the boy sternly. "When winter came, the mist appeared. We thought it was ordinary mist at first but after a few days…"

"We tried to find General Iroh, to ask for his opinion", Nazak finally spoke. "He knew more about the spiritual affair more than the rest of us. But, we could not find him anywhere in the Nation, even after we contacted every members of the Order living in Fire Nation."

"A few days ago, Fire Lord Ozai sent a summon to the Fire Sages of the Crescent Island Temple", Shyu continued. "I managed to persuade our Head Sage to send me as a representative, with the help from Masters Jian Wu and Kaji, of course."

"Shyu traced the source of the mist here", Kaji jerked his head at the door. "We are not sure what to do until Jian Wu informed us you were here."

"Child, only you can help", Azaya said again urgently.

"But", Lin's shoulder fell. "I-I don't know what to do!"

"Just trust your instinct, child", she advised kindly. "And good luck."

Lin turned to them, they all look at him like he was going to save the world or something. I mean, for crying out loud, he was just a fourteen year old who had just shaved for the first time a few days ago! And they were all older and wiser and members of the Order of the White Lotus. Shouldn't they be the one who do something? Only after Head Physician Azaya gave him another encouraging smile could Lin bring himself to lift his hand to the door knob and push it open.

He could have sworn he felt a colder draft of wind hitting his face from inside the room. The room was dark and on normal occasion Lin would find the lines engraved on the gold plated walls, connecting orbs made of precious gemstones to chart the stars constellation wondrous. The sight of an old man lying like a blob of useless mass of flesh Lin thought of him cruelly did not permit the boy to feel anything good. Lin heard the door closing behind him; he was completely alone now.

He took slow steps towards Iroh, fighting an urge to pull one of his knives and just… end him. How dare he! After everything he had promised. He had promised to take care of Azula while Lin was gone and… and he hit her! All for a stupid superstition that an untended grave will null a spirit's chance of reincarnation.

Lin shut his eyes hard, fighting back his own demon. He got on his knees, gripping his head hard, gritting his teeth; the rage was too much. His inner fire engulfed him whole from inside out; he could literally hear steam hissing from his being.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_It's a flame that doesn't give light, Zuko. It disgusts me."_

-0-0-0-0-0-

Lin forced himself to breathe deep and slow, disorienting his head briefly before clarity set in. He stayed for a moment, breathing. The sight of the old man sent him spiraling down the abyss of darkness again.

The Dragon of the Deep Forest lost all control when he lunged forwards with a flame engulfing his fist…

Anyway, the crunchy sound his knuckle made as it collided the stone interior of the cave, may have suggested that he broke a finger or two. A part of him wanted to scream but… he felt nothing. More than nothing, actually… or is it less than nothing.

The f— the flame, his inner fire… it felt worse than not having a connection, it felt… _gone_. Lin instinctively put a hand on his stomach, the spot an inch below his navel, his Dan Tian point, the point where human chi originated. It felt sickeningly empty, like his own heartbeat was gone.

"_Kill me!" the man screamed at the waterbender wench who caught his heart in her bloodbending._

Lin roared as he punched his fire… not even a puff of smoke came out.

Now, Lin felt the fear and… sadness. Even when his connection was severed, his inner fire never left him. It had become the one constant companion of him, the source of his pride, the closest he felt to his root, his home, his old life. His inner fire was now completely gone. There was a sound coming from the mouth of the cave, the sound of heaving and heavy footsteps. The young Dragon instinctively reached to his waist, to his knife. But there were no knives. In fact, it was not the garb he was wearing when he came.

It was not the crimson garb he owned; it was a dark garb, the color of shadow, simple and undignified in a passing glance but he felt, sensed even, a certain pride, a certain strength, inspired in him at the sight of this black fabric of material unknown to him. His hands were gloved in fingerless black gloves with metal plate, also of the dark color of night, on the back of the hand and his forearm; much like his Fire Nation style boots that bore segmented-plated shin. His belt was silken-like, his buckler, he guessed, was of the same black metal material and had a two-pronged insignia of his Nation in grey enamel. His hooded robe was like the one he was wearing in the physical world, only well-kept and not tattered, the kind that would blend him in shadow or the crowd seamlessly.

Lin swiftly moved behind a nearby large stalagmite, crouching low like a creature of the night. The owner of the steps appeared; Iroh stumbled and grunted as he fell to the floor. A blue orb of light flew to the old man's face, knocking itself gently on his face to prevent Iroh from passing out. Iroh waved it away, looking annoyed by it. Iroh rose to his knees, holding onto a nearest stalagmite for support. Good… not even the fugitive Lin, the twenty sixth, the Dragon of Deep Forest, would lower himself so, he would assault an old man without giving him a chance to rise to his feet.

"You DUMBASSS!" Lin shouted angrily as flew and punched the old man on the face, sending him flying at least three meters away. The effects were relief, a very satisfied feeling, and a slight intrigue as to how Iroh could fly so far. Lin looked at his fist then at Iroh who groaned weakly on the ground. "Huh, interesting…" Lin muttered, still looking at his fist while Iroh struggled to his feet.

"Wh… why…" Iroh panted, leaning weakly on the wall of the cave, gawking at Lin; the blue orb of light hovered in front of him and rammed lightly into Iroh's head, as if trying to check how he was doing after Lin's attack.

"Why am I here?" Lin seethed in obvious anger. "I'm trying to get you back to the physical world, of course. As for how—"

The rest of Lin's speech was cut short by an echo of cruel laughter; the clicking sound of its feet and segment preceded the appearance of a giant terrifyingly ugly centipede crawling on the ceiling of the cave out of the darkness into the cave, that Lin noticed now, was riddled with pillars of light. The centipede dropped from the ceiling, barring the way out. The face of a blue-snot baboon cackled heartily on a slit on its head where a face should be.

"Two Dragons?" the centipede laughed; Lin looked at creature with an obvious disgusted look, the blue orb of light that came with Iroh hovered around in front of the old man in sharp trajectories as if trying to defend him. "This is my lucky day. You, Deep Forest, are truly unpredictable. I have enjoyed watching your adventure; too bad I will have to end it now."

Before Lin could even think about how this creature know who he was, the centipede pounced at him; Lin, surrendering to his warrior instinct, stood his ground and delivered a punch on the face of the blue humanoid with fangs. The giant centipede flew backward and cracked the cave wall with a crunchy sound. As it rose to its feet, the blue humanoid face gritted its teeth before cracking down and crumbled apart like porcelain, revealing beneath it the face of a white noh mask.

"I think I know why bending doesn't work here", Lin grinned cruelly the centipede, taking pride in his intellect and newfound knowledge. "Bending is a physical art; it needs a physical body to manifest itself. But, pure chi… chi flows with the soul, with the spirit. Come, worm! I'll show you Death's Touch!"

The giant centipede roared; Lin braced his stance, Iroh gasped weakly, the blue orb dived into Iroh's sleeve. Before any of them could do anything, a sharp screeching sound stunned them; such beautiful and powerful voice. Like the pluck of a gujin of the highest note, the clearest of wind chime in Fire Nation autumn; mixed with the crisp ring of a sharpest sword rubbing against the hardest of whetstone, like the clank of a metal rod colliding with an iron shield. It was the sound that contained the finest of beauty and the most inspiring of strength.

Walls of crimson flame appeared abruptly around them, it whirled and roared around the four of them before engulfing them whole. Lin, for the first time since he lost his connection, felt… warm and… oh, Agni, it was like the embrace of a mother, one he had never truly experienced; it warmed him greatly, it restored his strength, banished his fear, extinguished his rage.

When the flame subsided, they found themselves not in dark cave but in the middle crater of an inactive volcano under a blue sky that housed a pearl white sun. The beautiful but powerful screeching continued; the centipede took the opportunity of Lin's gape around the environment. When Lin realized the sneaky creature attacking him, Iroh was already standing in front of him, standing between him and the incoming centipede, shielding him from imminent death with his arms outstretched.

However, the owner of the beautiful yet powerful sound had another plan.

Once again the crimson flame erupted, encircling the crater with a hundred feet tall wall of flame tempest. Lin and Iroh were mesmerized by such powerful and pure Element; such beauty, Lin found himself gasping at the sight. This is him, this is his Element, this is his essence, this is his existence… Flame of such true purity, Lin felt his eyes watered at such profoundly pure flame.

The flame converged on one point behind the giant centipede that looked so small compared to the flame, the pure and true flame; they all turned to witness the flame transforming from a mass of shapeless fire into such gigantic beautiful creature, beautiful but powerful: its slender body formed first; the long eight strands of peacock tail, its beautiful long thin-necked head with four plumes of long feather on top of its small head that housed a sharp beak, and the two long slender legs were next, and the last was its gorgeous wings that stretched wide. Such beautiful creature made entirely of fire, flame of the purest kind; it hurt the two mortals just to look at it.

Iroh and Lin, Fire Nation body and soul fell into a deep humble ultra-polite form of kowtow reserved only to Fire Lords and the Nation's most revered spiritual entities; two Dragons, two firebenders humbled themselves before the patron spirit of the highest order of their Element. Two Dragons humbled themselves before the Spirit of the Majestic Phoenix, the Flame of the Truest Form.

Lin trembled in revelry; this is him, his essence, his core… he heard the giant centipede screaming defiantly at the Yin of Fire Element; the Spirit of the Majestic Phoenix screeched back louder and stronger. He felt a wave of relief when the centipede's defeated bitter groan reached his ears, followed by the clicking of its many feet drifting away from there. There was silence next aside from the flickering of the flame that made up the Majestic Spirit; Iroh and Lin still dare not look up. Lin was too caught up in awe and guilt.

Guilt for losing the gift the Majestic Phoenix had bestowed upon his unworthy self. Lin had trained, had fought with, had been hailed for his firebending prowess by the whole Fire Nation. Agni knows he was proud of his gift, loved his gift. He knew the sensation of feeling his flame flickering on his palm, the thrill of controlling the wild uncontrollable Element of Fire. He was proud, he loved the firebender in him. He loved Agni, he loved his flame, he loved the gift this beautiful but powerful Spirit had bestowed upon him.

And he lost it…

The Spirit of the Majestic Phoenix screeched one short note; it gave Lin and Iroh the courage to lift up their heads. The majestic bird perched down on the edge of the crater, still with its wings spread; it peered over the two mortals who bore its gift with its faceless but beautiful head. Iroh and Lin rose to their feet, eyes fixed in adoration of their patron spirit of the highest order. The blue light fluttered nervously around Iroh.

The Spirit of the Majestic Phoenix granted them one low note of its beautiful but powerful voice; telling them it was time to go home. It flapped its flaming wings, sending massive gust of wind and flames that gave the firebenders the utmost feelings of reverence; the Spirit of the Majestic Phoenix took flight and soared high to be one with the pearl white sun of its realm.

Lin could not peel his eyes off the spirit as it grew smaller and smaller; the strange blue orb that flew to his face made him let out a scream of surprise snapped him of his admiration. Lin instinctively assumed his fighting stance but the blue light… he knew it meant no harm. The blue light hovered near him. Lin's amber eyes looked astonished as the light bumped itself lightly on his ready fist.

_"Good call with the milk, Lu Ten," he laughed, raising his left knuckle. Lu Ten raised his right one and bumped it lightly on his friend's raised knuckle._

-0-0-0-0-0-

_Lu Ten raised his fist to Lin. "Good luck, buddy."_

_Lin too raised his fist and slowly bumped it on Lu Ten's fist, "You, too."_

-0-0-0-0-0-

Lin's eyes widened at the orb of blue light, for the light was…

_Oh, Agni… it's you…_

"What are you still doing here!" Iroh's angry shout stunned Lin and even the light that jumped a little as the old Dragon stomped his way to the light and swatted it hard with his hand. "Get out of my sight!"

Lin shoved the old man hard; so hard, Iroh stumbled down to the ground.

"Are you blind!" Lin screamed at him; anger was all he felt. Agni… how can Iroh be so… Azula, and now Lu Ten! Lin lifted his cupped hands gently as the blue orb of light landed on it; he cried sorrowfully at the sight of the light. The next of his words… God, may they cut the idiot down! "This… this is Lu Ten!"

May they cut him deeply, indeed…

One single tear dripped from Lin's chin onto the orb of gentle blue light that was the soul of the fallen Fire Prince Lu Ten; the spirit of Fire Prince Lu Ten expanded and bathed his father and one who was like a brother to him with warm light of blue hue. As the light blinked into nonexistence, Lin and Iroh found themselves in the tall Astronomy Tower of the Fire Nation Imperial Palace.

Lin felt the cold stone floor pressing hard on his knees; droplets of his angry tears were on the floor, mocking him, inspiring him to run his hand to his waist, to pull his knife he knew was there. Iroh was lying flat on his back with amber eyes opened, looking up at the ceiling. Lin picked himself up without breaking contact with his prey. He moved forwards, wobbling from disorientation, from his vision growing dark with rage. Slumping down to his knee, Lin harshly pushed Iroh down by the neck with his free hand; his other hand shoved the knife close to his face.

"I should kill you for what you've done!" Lin screamed at his face through his own teary amber eyes. Azula… Lu Ten… everything he had done…

This man deserved to die!

Lin raised his knife, ready to plunge it to the blackened and broken heart of the old bastard; Iroh closed his eyes and accepted his fate. Good, he should… Lin said to himself cruelly. He was ready to end Iroh this time; for everything he had done, Iroh deserved to die!

Lin did not even hear the door being breached loudly; but, he did feel the strong arms wrenching him away from the… the trash!

"Noo!" he shouted, as the men dragged him down. "Let me go! I'll kill him!"

"Lin, stop!" Piandao bellowed, pinning his knife wielding arm; Lin tried to hurl his other fist but another pair of hands caught his arm. Together, Jian Wu and Piandao locked his arms and forced him to his knee.

It was… it was simply too much…

Iroh, the Dragon of the West…

Iroh was supposed to be… _Iroh_! He was supposed to be the infallible force in this chaos, the undeterred defender of Lin's conviction of leaving this life, this Nation. He was supposed to be one who protected them, who kept them safe.

Iroh was not supposed to be… weak… Iroh was not supposed to be… wrong…

Lin felt his own life, his consciousness fading. He heard the clank of his knife slipping through his fingers, hitting the floor, snubbing the light off his eyes.

When he came to, Lin was safely tugged in a bed. His hand automatically moved to his sash, fingering for his knives. But he found none and, after he recognized the display case and the calligraphy hanging on the wall in front of him, he realized that he was safe in his own room.

_Damn it, Lu Ten_… he buried his face in his hand and sobbed. He was lost…

He stayed for a moment in self-pity and agony. Iroh had always been the most powerful force of inspiration and the greatest source of security in his life; he was… he was Iroh, for Agni's sake! Iroh… he was… strong, wise… perfect. He was Iroh.

He had let Lin down… again…

Lin got up, looking around for his sword. He found it propped against his nightstand; his two pouches were on it. He grabbed Nightshade, put on his boots, and… he did not know. He did not care. He just stormed out. He ran and ran, he… he wanted to leave. He had seen Zuko and knew that he was doing fine; he had heard about Azula from Piandao and the others and he knew she was doing fine too. The mist was gone but he did not care. He ran and ran all the way to the main courtyard; he tripped and fell, he fell hard. Slipped of his clutch was his sword… _Azure; it slipped of his old hand as he fell face first. The blue-gold slender jian bounced off the stone floor twice before the blade, vibrating slightly dropped to the ground with a loud clank._

_Groaning, he pushed himself up with his free right hand, stepping his left foot, pivoting on it, he pushed himself spinning to the left with Scarlet slashing wildly; an arc of flame trailed from the slash towards the group of agile chi-blockers, hitting one square in the chest._

"_You are a relic from the past, Dragon", the masked man said, clutching his hands behind his back, calmly watched the old man moved to his fallen blade, groaning all the while. "Surrender quietly and be equalized, and I'll promise you freedom. I may even welcome you into our ranks."_

_The old man laughed as he picked Azure and fell back into his dual wielding firebending-swordplay stance. "You're good", the old man grinned, amber eyes fixed dead on the hooded masked figure leading what was left of his chi-blockers. Scoffing crudely, the old man rasped. "If only I were fifty years younger, Amon… hah! If only… I would enjoy fighting you."_

"_You will not surrender?" the masked figured asked unemotionally._

"_Do you know what ticks me off the most ever since I was a kid?" the old man said coldly. "That people always seem to forget what an amazing firebender I am. Come… I'd rather let you all taste my fire than surrender."_

"_It has been an honor, Dragon", the masked figure, Amon, bowed, actually bowed, respectfully. He even gave the old man the honor by leading the first strike himself. The old dual-wielding firebending swordsman braced his stance, readying himself for the collision._

—_BOOM—_

_A lightning bolt struck the ground before the Equalists could get within five meters from the old man. From the hill overlooking the plain on which the old man made his stand, a young teenager jumped, shooting flames as well as insults: "Get away from my master!"_

"_Sora, No!"_

"S-Sora… no…" Lin whispered though he did not know why as he crept on the ground. He kept his eyes fixed on his sword… _Azure_… no, no… _Scarlet_….No! Nightshade! Nightshade! It's… it's that one there… Nightshade… black as the night, not… not blue or red…

He crawled; the flood of images and sound and feelings were too much. He… he had to… _run to the exit fast. "Ty Lee!" he turned and shouted. "Hurry! She's getting away!"_

No! No, he had to get to Nightshade… he had to get to… _her! She was lunging towards them, wild blue flame ready to claim life._

"_Azula, stop!" the man shouted; she did not stop. "Azula!"_

_He dashed after her, caught her waist, and dragged her down; she struggled and screamed, trying and failing to fight him off._

"Make it stop", Lin begged, gritting his teeth only to drown the images, the sounds, the feelings. "Please, make it stop…"

"_Stop!" the waterbender wench screamed, gripping his bloodbent heart tighter. "Stop or I will kill you!"_

"_Kill me!"_

Lin gripped his chest tightly… Agni, the pain…the pain he, I mean, the man felt, not of the bending but the… the hollow the man felt inside, the gaping hole that shall never be filled.

"Lin", a voice called, one that could always bring him calm. Piandao crouched down and softly turned Lin on his back. "Lin, are you alright?"

"Master…" Lin cried, yes, he cried, and he did not care; he gripped his master on the front of his robe and begged as he cried, yes, cried. "Master, please… help… S-sora… she's…"

"Come", Piandao pulled the boy up gently. Somebody else moved and secured Lin's sword; Lin could not see him but it was a fully dressed Royal Procession. "You need to sleep."

"No…" Lin felt the pain… oh, the pain of the broken man, the pain that far, oh, so far eclipsed the pain of the bloodbending… whatever that is. "No…I need to die…"

Lin did not even remember passing out.

When he was awake again, he felt the cold damp towel being removed from his forehead. Piandao, sitting on his bedside, dipped the towel back on a basin of cold water, squeezed off as much excess water as he could, folded it, and put it back on his feverish forehead.

"…'ster…" Lin could barely whisper.

"Try to sleep", Piandao said calmingly. "You have barely slept for thirty minutes."

"I…" Lin swallowed, hard, and was about to try again when Piandao put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly, halting his speech.

"Don't think", Piandao said with the serene smile of his, though there was sympathy, even sadness, in it. "Just sleep."

Lin obeyed; Master Piandao knows best…

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_You are tired, Young Dragon", a voice, a gentle voice of a female called out to him; oh, such a voice… like the voice of a mother he had never known. "Come."_

_He turned around and saw the figure bathed in a golden light. She spread her arms wide; her wide winged sleeves slid down halfway her forearms as she did so. The light dispersed slowly but steadily, revealing the figure of pink, red, and gold robe, Fire Nation robe. _

_She was beautiful, beyond beautiful, he thought. Her skin was the color of pearl, flawless in any way, her eyes were molten gold, her lips, full and kind as was her smile, her brows, nose, jawline were marks of Agni's fine creation. Her long charcoal-colored hair was done in a feminine Fire Nation top-knot, bearing a large golden two-pronged Fire Nation ornament. Her robe was regal and royal, crimson inner robe and light colored long outer robe of plum flower pink with two-layered shoulder mantle of maroon with gold flame pattern trim, exhibiting a regal feminine charm, and her golden-silk sash bore the buckler of black metal with gray enamel painting of flame, advertising her worth as a warrior._

"_Will you not come into my arms, Young Dragon?" she asked again kindly with that beautiful voice of hers that made him think of the mother he had never known._

"…Wait, what?" Lin's jaw dropped to the floor as he realized that he was feeling not only the warmth this woman was radiating but also the damp breeze of the swamp, smelt not only the fragrant wild rose the woman was exhuming but also the putrid swamp earth and water. "Oh… no!"

He scanned around the swamp, looked down to his black garb and robe, scrutinizing his gloves. "Great…" he grimaced painfully. "I'm back in the spirit world… am I?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Piandao put Nightshade down on his lap as he took the towel from his student's head and re-dipped the no longer cold cloth in the basin. He caught the boy's groan, registering words like '_great'_, '_woman'_, and some gurgling sound. He snickered slightly as he put the now cold towel back on the boy's forehead and went back to polishing Nightshade.

"Ah, to be young again", he muttered as he rubbed the surface of the blade with sword polish.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Names:

1. Wey and Ping, from Mandarin 'wei bing' (衛兵) which means 'guard'

2. Kuva, from Croatian word 'cuvar', which also means 'guard'

Avatar Kuruk fighting off Koh is just one of those things that happen in the right place and the right time. Lin had nothing to do with it. Lin was having visions more often and had more problems adjusting to it because it was the solstice and due to the spiritual fog.

And yes, it would appear that Grandpapa Lin lives around the time of Korra too. :)

In the vision with Amon, Old Man Lin was rescued by a boy he called Sora but when he was found by Piandao in the palace ground, he was muttering something about '_Sora'_ and '_she's_…'. That is not a typo, I double-checked. :)

It's just something I had planned for the upcoming sequel to this story. I like to put fragments of my ideas in here as a reminder and a motivational tool to keep writing.

And who is that mysterious woman appearing in the spirit world to greet Lin? A long lost distant aunt thrice removed, perhaps? Or some crazy machination of Koh the Face Stealer? We shall find out in the next chapter.


	88. Chapter 87

**Chapter 87 – Flight Home, Part 3**

**-Suicidal Encounter-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"Will you not come into my arms, Young Dragon?" the woman asked kindly. "I do long for an embrace from an old friend."

Lin eyed the beautiful woman from head to toe, from the top of her hair ornament, to her kind motherly face, to her extravagant robe, all the way to the tip of her Fire Nation boots peeking from the hem of her long robe.

"Oh, might as well", Lin moved forward, arms stretched but halted abruptly. "You're not going to hurt me, right?"

The woman stifled her chuckle into a strained smile, shaking her head lightly. Lin did not know why but he trusted her; he had this inkling suspicion that should she told him to jump into a volcano, he would do it gladly if she assured him that he would be okay. Lin moved into her arms, resting his head on the chest of tall Fire Nation woman, listening to her soothing heartbeat. Huh… spirits have heartbeat…

"I know you", Lin felt tears of longing surging in his eyes; oh, tears of joy, borne of the meeting with a long lost friend. "I know you, don't I?"

"You knew me", Lin heard the woman's voice cracked a little above his head.

"Knew?" Lin asked, not letting go.

"Oh, in so many incarnations", she said, sniffing. She let go first, peeling the boy's head gently. She placed her long-fingered hand on his cheek, dabbing the tears Lin did not know had fallen, ignoring her own. "You, my old friend, have been so many men", she smiled a little impishly as she continued. "So many women", Lin was both groaning and chuckling; she too giggled. "So many creatures. But, I have always been the same."

She has always been the same, indeed… Lin thought, looking at her, reveling in the surge of longing, yearning… of love that had been tested by Agni-knows-how many incarnations. "I remember you", Lin did not know why he was sobbing, but he did. "You're the Avatar."

"I am", the woman let her smile bloom the second she pulled her long-lost friend back into her embrace.

* * *

"Come on, truth or dare", Spear nearly begged.

"No", Bob refused blatantly, refusing to even look up from his book.

"Aw, come on, Bob", Spear really begged now. "Alright, you get to go first."

Exasperated, Bob closed his book loudly, turning to the supposedly adult. "Okay, I dare you…"

"Yes!"

"…not to play truth or dare."

"… Pai Sho?"

"No."

Spear sulked at the boy who had begun to bury his nose back in the thick book. "You're getting meaner and meaner the longer we stay here."

Bob shot the surgeon a dangerous look before he went back to ignoring the man. Sighing, Spear picked up his pouch containing his Earth Kingdom green spear and made his way to the door.

"Hey, Lieutenant Lin told us to wait", Bob called.

"He's been gone for hours", Spear said, opening the door. "I'm gonna go look around. Who knows? I might come across some fire lilies myself."

"Do you know how to tell which kind we need?" Bob asked flatly.

"No", Spear shrugged. "Do you?"

"Of course not", Bob said snappishly. "How would I know anything about Fire Nation plants?"

"Oh, well. I can always just go and check out the …" his eyes, grin, and lechery were locked on a Fire Nation girl who was passing by their hallway. "…local varieties."

And he left with tongue wagging.

* * *

"Why am I seeing all these vision, these dreams?" Lin asked as they sat on a set of Pai Sho table and chairs carved of rugged stone. "Please, answer me", he added quickly as Avatar Serra showed a sign of hesitation.

"Mortals have their own rules", Avatar Serra said apologetically. "I cannot say anything about this matter, I'm sorry."

Lin was about to persuade, or even protest, but… he could not bring himself to do so. So, he asked again. "I understand but, please, can you tell me what they are exactly?"

"You are fourteen in this life, are you not?" Avatar Serra narrowed her brilliant gold eyes a little, staring sharply.

"Yes", Lin drawled. "What does it have to do with this?"

"You started to be aware of this dreams and visions when you were ten", Avatar Serra said; she did not sound like she was guessing.

"How do you know?" Lin frowned, thinking back to the first time he dreamt about those two, about Hothead and Snowflake. The Avatar simply smiled. Lin continued. "But, not like this. Not this often, not this much in a day."

"I can tell you that it's because today is the solstice", Avatar Serra said. "The day when the boundary between the spirit world and the physical world is at the weakest; that is why since the beginning, the Great Spirit has willed it that during the winter solstice, the day will end quicker. And the matter with General Iroh transgressing the Law of Natural Balance threw everything, including you, off… well, _balance_."

The Fire Nation Avatar smiled both soothingly and sadly when Lin could not reply. "You are tired", she said caringly.

"I'm scared", Lin admitted quietly. He would not have admitted it to anyone but… she was different. "What I see… they are real, aren't they? They're the future. They will happen?"

The Avatar did not answer right away, she smiled and looked up to the brown colored sky, as if reminiscing. "What _is_ real, Young Dragon, what is the future? What _will_ happen?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the horizon. Lin did not answer.

"My father and my mother…" she started. "…were both master firebender. When I was born, would I not be a firebender as well? Will _that_ be the future, the assured future?"

Lin was tempted to say 'yes' but chose to hold his tongue.

"When I was born, the first element that bowed to me was the water on a nearby basin", Avatar Serra smiled at Lin. "Imagine my parents' surprise. They would have been content having a firebender as a child; instead they gave birth to the Avatar."

"Are you saying that the future is not set on a slab of stone?" Lin said; God, the words dragged out of his throat like a barbed wire. It felt like so long ago he was the steadfast advocate of such philosophy.

"Yes", the Avatar said kindly. "_You_ taught me that in our time. You are losing your faith, Young Dragon."

"After everything I saw", Lin looked away in shame. "I'm—"

"You were never weak", there was a stern but subtle admonition in the woman's voice. "And you are not weak now, Young Dragon", her tone and face mellowed as she concluded with. "You're just tired."

"I'm scared", Lin said again.

"We all are", the Avatar said sympathetically.

"Will you help me?" Lin pleaded. "Or not me, I don't care about me; will you help Azula and Zuko? Please…"

"While I applaud your selflessness, you are underestimating your students", there was a hint of glee in her voice. "Zuko and Azula are not some nameless players in this game of war, Young Dragon."

"That's what I'm afraid of", Lin said fiercely. "They…"

"… are not strong enough", Avatar Serra finished his sentence. "Maybe. But, they will be, in time."

Lin opened his mouth but he closed it again; he could not come up with any words.

"What will you do, hmm? March down to Ba Sing Se and burn the city to the ground all by yourself just for the sake of ending this war so your students won't have to be involved in it?" Avatar Serra scolded but softly. "Fire Lord Azulon was wise; one of his best qualities, really: it will take two Dragons to bring down the titan Ba Sing Se."

"I cannot trust General Iroh anymore", Lin spat tersely.

"Why? Because he acted as a father, as _any father_, would?" Avatar Serra spoke with limitless patience. "Or because he hurt Azula? Lin…" it was the first time she addressed the boy by name; Lin looked up to her. "… Iroh was but a man. Even one such as he has faults."

"He… he's not supposed to… he couldn't even recognize Lu Ten, his own son!" Lin slammed his fist on the table; the Avatar was unfazed by this.

"And you thought that because of that one mistake Azula was hurt for nothing?" Avatar Serra concluded calmly. "Life is not a series of mathematical equation, Lin, no matter what the scholars want us to believe."

"How could he not recognize his own son?" Lin gritted his teeth, gripping his fist so hard his glove tightened.

"Like you, Iroh was tired and scared", Avatar Serra explained kindly. "He was devastated by what Azula has done. He was blinded by his love for Lu Ten. He is old, Lin; surely, he is entitled to some mistakes of his own."

"I don't know what to do anymore", Lin felt his defenses crumbling down. "Please, help me…"

"I can't, I'm sorry", Avatar Serra shut her eyes slow and sad. "I truly am, Lin."

"Where did you go?" Lin asked, overwhelmed by a fresh wave of deep-seated fury. "Where did the Avatar go? This whole mess, this war…"

"Perhaps, you were right", Avatar Serra rose; Lin found himself standing in front of her on top of a tall rock. "It is but one more of the fixed events of the past that will bring about a shapeless future."

Lin fixed his angered stare on the ground, not even the least bit surprised that they had changed place for reason unknown to him. The woman's gentle hand reached to his chin and lifted his face slowly. "I will show you this, though. This happened a long time ago", she said. "Let me remind you of it."

She swept her arm gracefully to the horizon; flame of bewitchingly pure pearly-white color trailed off her fingers, blinding him.

-0-0-0-0-0-

_His tiny three-year-old feet dashed across the Estate, wanting, oh, so very much to be the one who greeted the royal guests, so very much want to be the first to say it to her, to say a very big 'conragaluta— conratul—', arggh! What's that word again?!_

_There, there! Cradling the one-year-old Zuko, Lady Ursa, holding hands with six-year-old Lu Ten, was following a Lin Estate servant and Admiral Jeong Jeong who were guiding them to a guest room._

"_You're here!" the three-year-old boy squealed as he glomped onto the Princess' knee, the part he could reach due to his height. Lady Ursa giggled at the child. Setting Zuko into the Admiral's offering arms, she knelt down and hugged the hugging boy warmly._

_Unable to recall the word he was so dying to use (he looked it up in the dictionary the previous night), he settled for a simple but no less sincere. "I'm happy for you!" _

"_I'm happy to see you too", the lady patted the boy's back fondly._

"_No, not that", the boy grinned as he detached himself from the woman's arms. "I mean your baby!"_

"_Zuko?" Ursa chuckled as she threw a fond glance at her baby boy who was pulling the impassive admiral's goatee._

"_No, no! Baby in there!" the three-year-old boy squealed happily as he pointed his tiny finger at the lady's stomach._

_At the time, the boy was too engulfed in the Lady's renewed embrace to notice any of the meaningful and slightly concerned gaze she and the Admiral exchanged. "I just found out that I'm pregnant this morning. I haven't told anyone yet, not even Ozai."_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I was…"

"Three", Avatar Serra said; the bright pure light of white subsided as fast as it appeared.

"What does it mean? I… I _saw_ Azula before she was born…?" Lin could not even believe what he was saying.

"More like _dreamt_", Avatar Serra corrected lightly. "You and Azula… eh, how should I explain this…?"

There goes the high and mighty atmosphere of the Avatar, shattered instantly but that smirk of hers as she bit her lip a little, thinking hard while trying not to laugh.

"What are you— _are you laughing_!" Lin accused crossly.

"I'm not!" the Avatar's voice actually turned high-pitched in denial. Clearing her throat, she repeated with her serene motherly voice from before. "I am not..."

Yeah, like Lin's gonna buy that…

"Okay, okay", the Avatar let out a full-fledged guffaw, as she reached out to the boy's shoulder before he walked away. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Ahem… I am sorry."

"You're not cool anymore", Lin pointed out coldly.

"Hey, it's tiring to act cool", Agni in Heaven… she actually looked more like a deviant laidback school girl than the wise, graceful, and almighty Avatar she was a minute before. "You were never one who would care about this kind of façade anyway. Although, if I may point out, _you_ were the one who taught me about this."

"About what?" Lin snapped, crossing his arms defensively.

"About acting cool and Avatar-ish when I'm doing my Avatar duty", Avatar Serra had assumed a more informal face. But still very… well, very _her_. Lin knew it though he did not know why or how he knew.

"Don't change the subject", Lin said witheringly. "Azula and I…."

"…are entwined by a shared destiny", Avatar Serra smiled, then she squealed, oh, Agni, so very much like Ty Lee. "Romance!"

"Oh, I'm gonna throw up", Lin grunted. "She's my student!"

"Yeah, so?" Avatar Serra scoffed.

"You do know that the 'fu' in 'sifu' means '_father'_ right?" Lin asked, feeling sick to the stomach.

"Semantic", Avatar Serra waved it off. "The bond between you and Azula are too… well, _deep_ to be troubled by it. And people don't really care about that sifu thing anymore; not even in my time. Well, not that much, anyway. I do have a cousin who fell in love with her sifu and our family disown— err, anyway, that doesn't matter anymore."

"That feels…" Lin squirmed.

"…wrong?" Avatar Serra guessed.

"Do you always do that?" Lin asked, sounding annoyed.

"Only with you", the Avatar shrugged. "You never minded it; you said it saved you the trouble of talking too much", then, she moved like a flash and pulled the bewildered boy back to her arms; this was a bone-crushing hug unlike the warm gentle kind from before. "Oh, I do miss you so much!"

"Out of curiosity and against my better judgment", Lin's muffled voice was heard somehow. "When I was… when, you know… I wasn't a woman, was I?"

"No", Avatar Serra giggled, gripping tighter. "No, you were a man. At least in that one life."

"W-were we… uh…" Lin felt weirder and weirder.

Letting him go, the Avatar held the boy by the shoulder and leaned down a little to match his level. "Were we what, hubby?"

"Oh, Agni, no…" Lin's knees lost all function.

"I'm kidding", the Avatar laughed out loud, clutching her side. "Oh… Oh, my kidney… hahaha! You are so gullible in this life!"

"Don't joke about that!" Lin snapped, crimson all over.

"Okay, okay", she was still laughing as she cleared her throat. "Honest to Agni: no marriage, you died without ever being married or having any children, although there was this one time when we, you know, kissed."

"Urgh…" Lin sat back down on the stone bench that had actually been there for quite a while now.

"… in the middle of the night", Avatar Serra sat and scooted closer, her voice carried a lilt that was teasing and playful, even tempting. "… in the bed, fully naked…"

"AARRGHHH!" Lin screamed, covering his ears. "Stop it! Stop!"

Avatar Serra laughed even harder as she pulled the boy back into her arms; to his credit, Lin, cringing, shivering, and crept out though he was, did not resist… much. "I'm kidding", her motherly air returned a little, mixing quite well with her childish teasing tone. "We were friends."

"What kind?" Lin asked suspiciously.

"The best platonic kind", Avatar Serra, holding the cringing boy in her arms, leaned down and whispered earnestly in his ears. "You died before me. It was the saddest day of my life", she said and she did sound sad. She rubbed the boy's back like a mother would. Reaching out, to the boy's face, she placed her palm on his forehead and the bright light returned.

They were standing now, she held him by the shoulder. It was a different world, a different time. Fire Nation Caldera City had never been this lively and happy as far as Lin could remember. Nobleman of his time was snobbish and uptight; of _this_ time, they had been… wow, they were actually smiling. And mingling. Some of the people in the crowd, Lin noticed, were suspiciously Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe, judging from their attire and general appearances. There were also some men and women wearing baggy robe of yellow and orange, and had tattoos of blue arrow on their foreheads.

They seemed familiar although Lin knew he had never seen anyone like them before in his life.

"There you are", Lin pointed at the figure of a tall graceful woman walking regally through the crowd that dispersed and bowed in reverence; she looked at least five years younger than the Avatar standing by his side with minor difference in her buckler free sash and her small crimson three-pronged hair ornament. As he was pointing, Lin noticed that his arm, like his whole body, and the Avatar's by his side, had turned transparent and bluish but he could not seem to care.

"Fire Festival", Avatar Serra told him, guiding him towards the crowd, following the trail of her past self. "This night was special."

"How so?" Lin asked.

She smiled. "You'll see."

Avatar Serra, the tangible looking one, smiled brightly at the crowd, accepting their bows and greetings gracefully. Lin was tempted to point out to the ethereal version of the woman walking by his side that she was being Avatar-ish but chose not to. Avatar Serra, the living one, made it to the raised platform of the vast courtyard leading to the grand door. She turned to the crowd whose eyes were fixed at her. Spreading her arms wide, she called out to the people, her voice carried strength and tenderness: "Welcome!"

The crowd cheered for her, clapping and shouting. Joyful indeed they were; to be invited to the humble abode of the Avatar to celebrate the Fire Festival.

"Welcome, friends and families! It is with great pleasure and honor that I welcome you to this humble house of my parents to celebrate this auspicious event. Friends and families; today we celebrate Fire Festival!" she said with voice as broad as her smile.

It gave cue to a most spectacular display of fireworks; so many different colors erupting from all around the courtyard, most predominantly from the top of the multi-tiered pagoda style mansion of gold and red. Also, the cue for the door to creak open, and through walked were a couple of middle-aged, dressed in Fire Nation noble attire much like the Avatar's but more baggy and elaborately embroidered with gold flames and dragons, and the color of bright red, unlike the Avatar's plum blossom pink. The man was cleaned-shaven and looked humorless; the woman looked like a kind and loving mother that she was.

Avatar Serra turned to them and walked back a step or two to draw space. She then bowed to them a Fire Nation bow individually, and dived into the embrace of the woman. The man flashed the Avatar a brief stiff smile before he addressed the crowd with a booming deep voice of a war general.

"Today, we also have the honor of introducing for the first time the young man we have chosen to be the husband of our dear daughter", the man declared, sweeping his hand at the still gaping door behind them; a young man of the Avatar's age in regal black armor with crimson accent, brown hair done up in a top-knot with a maroon three-pronged ornament, handsome clean-shaven face with pronounced masculine feature, tall and imposing but inspiring at the same time.

"Spoiler alert: that was _not_ you", the bluish version of the Avatar leaned and whispered to the horrified boy who recognized a taiji emblem on the man's buckler.

"General Lin, the nineteenth!"

Lin cranked his head towards the Avatar standing at his side, glaring accusingly; Avatar Serra shrugged innocently.

"What? It's not my fault you were reborn in that family and turned out to be…" she argued while gesturing to Lin, the twenty sixth, lightly. "Don't worry, you'll show up soon."

General Lin, the nineteenth, and Avatar Serra, the tangible colorful one, bowed to one another; Lin, the twenty sixth, noticed how stiff and almost robotic their bows were. "You don't… er, _didn't_ love him, did you?"

Avatar Serra, the spirit one, sighed, rubbing the boy's shoulder as she said. "How should I put this… I", she pointed her slender finger at her past self. "… hated his gut, he", she flicked the same finger to the general. "…just doesn't like me, from what I understand. I never found out why. Meh…"

Lin frowned at her; she was looking at the event with a ghost of a smirk.

"Father, I am tired", it was tumultuously loud, noisy, and festive but somehow Lin, the twenty sixth, and Avatar Serra, the spirit, could hear her as she bowed to her father a little. "May I be excused?"

"Nonsense", the middle-aged man grunted; placing a hand on General Lin, the nineteenth, he subtly pulled the man closer towards his daughter. "The two of you haven't seen each other for months. You are always busy with your Avatar duty", he placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder and did the same subtle pulling; turning to his future son-in-law, he said to him, already sounding like a father. "And you, General, have been away for far too long on your campaign. The two of you need more time to catch up."

"Oh, are you suggesting we postpone the marriage, Father?" Avatar Serra, the one with colors, was so very straight and earnest in her utterance; Avatar Serra and Lin, the spirits, were barely able to stifle their chuckle.

"What? No!" the middle-aged man blurted. "I— *sigh* yes, you may be excused."

"Thank you, Father", Avatar Serra bowed slightly and had already taken her first step back when her mother, who was about a head shorter, halted her.

"Now, now, sweetie", she, always the diplomat, chirped jovially. "Please, you don't want to be rude to General Lin. Go to the rose garden inside and have a seat there. General Lin", she moved, still grasping the Avatar by the arm, caught the General's arm and less than subtly pulled them closer to each other. "…I'm sure will not mind keeping you company there. I will send a servant to bring out tea and cookies for you two."

Lin, the twenty sixth, was utterly admiring Avatar Serra's (the younger one) perfectly acted gentle smile at the deadpan General Lin, the nineteenth. Had the spirit of the Avatar not confirmed that they had no romantic feelings toward each other, he would really think that Avatar Serra was actually thrilled at the idea of having some alone time with her fiancé.

The spirit of the Avatar waved her hand and instantly, she and Lin, twenty sixth, found themselves in a well-lit garden of roses. On the center was a patch of golden-colored roses planted with such alignment they blossomed into the shape of large Fire Nation insignia surrounded by a full circle of red roses. On the two sides of the stepping stones passing across the grass were low bushes of white and red roses. In the middle of the walkway, overlooking the Fire Nation insignia roses, were a set of Pai Sho table and four rectangular chairs made of polished gray marble. Casting shadow on the table were two ancient oaks standing proud like pillars on the two sides of the Fire Nation insignia bushes.

General Lin, the nineteenth, with his arm hosting the Avatar's hand, was walking with the Avatar slowly as fast as they could; it's a little confusing when put into words, but… Anyway, there were a couple of maids on their heels, so they had to act their part.

They reached the table; General Lin, the nineteenth, ever the gentleman, took the lady's hand and held it up gently as the lady sat down on the nearest chair. They broke contact just as gracefully and the general moved to the seat in front of the lady. Covertly, inside her long sleeves, Avatar Serra was rubbing every surface of her skin he had touched onto the fabric; General Lin breathed silently as he heated his palm to burn away any residual Avatar germ.

"Wow…" Lin, the twenty sixth, grinned at the past event. "You guys reeeeaaly don't like each other, huh?"

"Here's another spoiler", Avatar Serra, the spirit, laughed, knowing full well the boy noticed the extremely subtle and hard to detect firebending feat his ancestor was doing. "In this life, you were also a master firebender."

"I'm not a master", Lin confessed somewhat ruefully, trying to steer his mind off his severed connection with his inner fire.

"You are enough of one to teach and even invented a new technique", Avatar Serra whispered her genuine praise. Lin smiled but did not reply; the younger Avatar and her betrothed, as soon as they dismissed the servants, began to talk.

"So", Avatar Serra, the past event one, drawled awkwardly, gold eyes darted to a point on the wall behind the general. "How have you been?"

"Good, thank you for asking", General Lin replied… uh, his tone was neutral to say the least; his amber eyes were fixed on the middle grid of the Pai Sho table. He did not ask back.

"Rude, isn't he?" Avatar Serra, the spirit, said to Lin sourly. Lin could not decide who he should side with; his friend from past life or ancestor of this life.

Since the interaction did not seem to go anywhere, Avatar Serra, the younger one stood up and calmly walked towards one of the oak trees; she stepped into the shadow towards a man in a black garb and hooded robe that Lin had not noticed before. A tingling feeling told Lin that General Lin and both Serras had noticed the black clad man's presence since the beginning. Avatar Serra, the one under the tree, tugging her hands in her sleeves, narrowed her eyes at the man who was leaning on his back against the tree trunk, arms crossed on his chest, legs crossed slightly, hooded head nodding a little as if sleeping.

The Avatar cleared her throat loudly, the hooded man did not respond. Raising her right index finger, she tapped the man's nose and sparked a tiny flame.

"Ouch", the man said, almost yawned.

"It didn't hurt?" Avatar Serra asked incredulously.

"Why don't I burn your nose and you tell me if it hurts?" he yawned for real, opening his eyes of amber. Peeling himself from the tree, uncrossing his arms, stepping out of the shadow, the man paced towards the seat between the two engaged persons, Avatar Serra walked behind him.

While Avatar Serra sat with regal ladylike demeanor and General Lin almost militaristically stiff, the black-clad man opted for a more peasant-like style with one leg up on the chair while he lazily hugged his leg. "So", the man drawled, pulling his hood up just a wee bit to show his bright but distant, almost half-closed honey-colored eyes, clean-shaven handsome face that, unlike General Lin's stiff tough face, was more relaxed and even lazy and hedonistic. "I heard the announcement."

Not only the other two did not answer, they did not even pay the man, or each other for that matter, a passing glance. The hooded man took this as a time to address the General. "Mr. Lin", and the lady. "Mrs. Lin."

Their first act as an engaged couple was punching the hooded man on the face. While the hooded man climbed his way back to the chair, General Lin cleared his throat uncomfortably, looking down at the Pai Sho grid once more while the Avatar openly and furiously glared at the grinning hooded man.

"So, no go?" the hooded man asked almost lazily and sighed. "And I was sooo looking forward to attending a marriage."

He caught their punches and gripped their fists hard. Setting them down on the table, still had them securely gripped, he relented first on the Avatar's fist and, tapping her knuckle lightly, he chided as he would a child. "Violence is so unladylike", turning to the general, he was about to deliver the same light scolding but. "Well, you're a war general, so…"

Under their withering stare, the hooded man assumed more dignified sitting position. Elbows on the table, resting his chin on his netted fingers, he turned to the man first. "You don't want to go through with the marriage because…"

"I don't even like her", General Lin said curtly, eyes still fixed on the Pai Sho grid, not completely oblivious to the Avatar's glare.

"And you don't want to marry him because—"

"—I hate him", Avatar Serra finished his sentence with the most polite growl she could manage.

"Of course", the hooded man yawned openly. "So, naturally the two of you mere mortals have decided to plead for assistance from this flamingly wonderful self, yours truly."

"Ick…" Avatar Serra grumbled. The hooded man ignored her.

"Well, I can help, of course", the hooded man clasped his hands excitedly.

"But…" Avatar Serra drawled.

"You will mostly be fine", the hooded man nodded at General Lin. "A general, nobleman, heir to a noble family; Fire Nation can't afford to lose one such as you in this troubled time", he turned to the Avatar. "You, however, if the ruse I have in mind worked, you might be disowned, your virtue as a maiden questioned, and your chance of finding a future husband gets so low you'll probably die old and alone."

"Do I look like a marriage material to you?" Avatar Serra narrowed her eyes at the man.

"Well, as the matter of fact, you do", the hooded man said with a straight face, stunning the blushing woman. "Now, General", the hooded man's grin matched the General's stifled smile; not everyday anyone could make the almighty Avatar Serra this flustered. "Are you in?"

"Anything to get out of it", General Lin grunted.

"And you, Serra?" as the man turned to the Fire Nation Avatar, his face was once again between bored and straight.

"Yes, of course", she mumbled, still a bit pink.

"Are you sure?" the hooded man asked solemnly. "You will have to leave your parents."

"My dad advertises me around for marriage like I am some sort of cattle", Avatar Serra said bitterly. "As for my mom… well, I do love my mom."

"Yeah, without her as a buffer, you and your dad would have killed each other a long time ago", the hooded man smiled a little.

"But, she mostly sides with my dad—"

"—so, bye bye, mom", the hooded man decided.

"I'm in", Avatar Serra said firmly.

"Well, now that the deal—", the man said all businesslike.

"—with the devil—", you know who said that.

"—is struck", the hooded man resumed as if he had not been interrupted. "General Lin, if you would kindly leave to the nearest bathroom until the next commotion, please."

Without further ado, not even a bow, the good general rose from his seat and walked away in a hurried but firm steps, leaving the other two alone in the garden.

"Now what?" as General Lin's shadow disappeared, Avatar Serra asked the hooded man.

"Now, we wait", the hooded man folded one arm on the table resting his chin on it, while his other hand traced the carved grid absentmindedly. "He's not such a bad man, you know", the man said quietly.

"I know", Avatar Serra sighed grumpily, slouching slightly; her formal demeanor seemed to have left with General Lin. "I just… I can't stand him!"

"What did he ever do to you?" the man looked up a little. "You're never this upset with anyone before. Remember when I tricked you into playing around with Monk Temmera's Air beads, you lassoed an innocent winged lemur midflight with it? You didn't get this mad at me."

"We were kids!" Serra huffed. "And I was—"

"—upset?"

"— furious at you!" Serra snapped. "You— *sigh* _okay_, you got me there, it was actually kinda fun", she failed not to giggle.

"Yeah, the one hour air blast drill was worth it, huh?" the hooded man grinned. Serra turned sour and averted her glance, his grin persisted. "Come on", the man said without budging his grin. "My teeth are getting tired."

Serra's mask was broken by her chuckle. "I hate you!" she slapped the back of the man's head suddenly.

"Ow, what did I do? I didn't get engaged to you!" the man protested, rubbing his hooded head.

"You always make me laugh when I'm mad at you", Serra grumbled sullenly.

"Well, duh! The last time I made you angrier when you were mad at me, you discovered the Avatar State, remember?" the man picked his head up only to shudder.

"Avatar State?" Lin turned to the older Avatar Serra quizzically.

"You'll know one day", the spirit Avatar smiled, then she giggled. "I beat him up so baaad!"

"Do I have to show you the scar again?"

"That man was me, wasn't he?" Lin asked again, not knowing how to feel as he looked at the hooded man who had once again fallen into a slightly anticipative silence with the Avatar; he felt… a familiarity, which is maybe normal, after all, he was looking at his past self, and strangely, he also felt a feeling of longing. Funnily enough, he saw no physical similarities between him and the hooded man; even if they were both wearing black, the man's outfit was more ordinary than Lin's. The man's skin was slight ivory, unlike Lin's and Serra's pale white; his eyes were the color of honey, unlike Lin, and General Lin's for that matter, that were the color of bright amber, and Serra's sunny gold, almost yellow orbs; the man's face had a somewhat lazy -not laidback; _lazy_- and, distant, listless feel to it, unlike Lin's either serious or mischievous kind.

"Yes", the spirit of the Avatar smiled fondly at the hooded man who appeared to be daydreaming at the center spot of the grids. "Taja… my oldest and truest friend. He was a year older and the only one who had ever treated me normally when we were kids. My Avatar status was discovered almost immediately after birth, you see. When a firebender baby's first cry froze a basin of water, one might draw such conclusion. Growing up, kids around me, even older kids, treated me like I was some sort of independent omnipotent being who could somehow always take care of herself. Taja was the only boy at school who had ever… say, peeled my oranges for me instead of fawning over how Avatar I looked when I was failing to do it myself, or extorted my candies when he helped me with homework; small things like that. Small but… special."

"Soooo…" the hooded man, Taja, tried to start again. "How've you been?"

"Good", Serra replied curtly; her thumbs twiddling in her sleeves, eyes fixed on the same strangely distractive center spot of the grid.

"How's Western Air Temple?" Taja asked again, still sounded bored although Lin and both Serras knew he was being genuinely caring.

"Good", Serra replied just as curtly.

"Bring me anything back?" Taja asked again.

"Nope", Serra had a slight smile this time.

"Cold", Taja playfully kicked her foot.

"The nuns said hi though", Serra added teasingly.

"Dad said I'm not allowed to date women with tattoos", Taja waved dismissively though he had this faint smirk. "What's taking your servants so long?"

"We were supposed to be 'courting', remember?" Serra said dryly.

"What? Ew, don't wanna", Taja shuddered, earning him a kick in the shin. "Oh, you meant you and General Lin. Ah, that makes more sense."

"Hey, Taja", Serra said after a while, a little timidly which sort of surprised Lin because he had not expected the Avatar to have this side of her. "Did you really mean what you said?"

"I've always meant what I said", Taja declared without hesitation, paused a little, and then asked. "What did I say?"

"That…" Serra growled, slugged the man on the arm, but mellowed again as she continued. "…you thought I was a marriage material."

"Oh, Agni…" Taja straightened up with a horrified look on his face. "You're not falling for me, are you?"

"What!" Serra blurted; Lin recognized the high-pitched screechy voice of denial from before. "I— _what_! No! You're… icky!"

"Yeah, right— oh, boy! Pucker up!"

"Puck— mmmppphh!" was all Serra managed before the hooded man leaped at her, locked his lips onto hers, pushed her to the ground, and he basically… -uh, which is better: assaulted or molested?- the Avatar. What followed were the simultaneous events of the woman pushing the hooded man up and her flailing arm aimed at his face caught by him, accompanied by the cracking sound of porcelain and a scream of a maid.

"And it begins", Taja grinned at the still bewildered Avatar. Smacking his lips, he asked. "New lip-gloss? This one tastes like app—_urgh_!"

"Get away!" Serra pushed the man away furiously, the man she may have just sterilized with a well-aimed knee strike. Lin could not bear to watch as the universal pain that binds all males together reverberated through incarnations into a tingling he felt on his groin; he even heard the spirit of Avatar Serra grunted painfully.

"Ow… my future children", Taja groaned on the ground; Serra beating every inch of him she could reach with her bare hands was an overkill, Lin thought. "What are you… Neanderthal! What kind of civilized Avatar kicks someone in the family jewel!"

"I-I—", she panted heatedly.

"Like it?" Taja tried to help, Serra's open palm graduated to closed fists. "Ow, stop hitting me!"

"What is going on here!" Avatar Serra's father materialized out of nowhere with a contingent of guards and a rather reluctant General Lin. "What is this about a strange man assaulting my daughter!"

"Correction", Taja wobbled to his feet slowly, tidied up his robe, pulled his hood down to further cover his face but his smirk, and was gentleman enough to offer a hand to help the lady up. "This is not an assault; this is a date. No, a tryst, or a rendezvous. Whichever sounds more scandalous. Don't believe me? Watch!"

Ignoring the spectators' gasp, he promptly grabbed the Avatar by the back of her neck and waist, and assaulted her lips with his again. Understandingly, the Avatar did not appreciate it much but her feeble slapping on his chest and pushing him away did not seem to work. Taja's slender built was deceptively strong.

"For a platonic relationship", Lin shivered at the scene. "There was a lot of kissing."

"Well, we always thought that you were a bit crazy", Avatar Serra shrugged dismissively. "We tried to get Taja tested once but he was too difficult to subdue."

Taja emerged from Serra's lips, panting. "See!" he grinned at the crowd, still holding the very confused woman. "Romance… or lust, whichever works."

When the crowd was too stunned to respond, he muttered to Serra from the corner of his mouth. "Sell it."

"What?"

"Sell it!"

Whimpering subtly, it was Serra who reached for the hooded man's head and jumped at him; of the crowd's more prominent members, Serra's mother fainted into a group of maids behind her, Serra's father screamed, and General Lin, the nineteenth, buried his face in his hand, shoulders trembling with anger although Lin, the twenty sixth, and Avatar Serra, the spirit, suspected that he was actually struggling to hold down his laughter.

"Stop! Stop!" Serra's father shouted furiously at the scandalous display of lustful affection, or affectionate lust, whichever fits. "You!" he turned to his future son-in-law. "Are you not going to defend your bride's honor!"

It was a feat Avatar Serra admired to this very day when General Lin dragged his claw off his face and his expression was just so scary and fitted the atmosphere so well. The General took two menacing steps forward and assumed his firebending stance; Taja pushed the Avatar along with her lips away and. "Wow! Tongue, really?"

"TONGUE! REALLY?" Lin's screaming the spirit of the Avatar was more frantic though. "WHAT IS YOUR TONGUE DOING WITH HIS MOUTH, WOMAN!"

"I was selling it!" the spirit said defensively; but she was using her high-pitched voice of denial.

"I challenge you to an Agni Kai, stranger", General Lin hissed; leering the crowd behind him from the corner of his eyes, he mouthed to the pair. "_Sorry_."

Scoffing loudly and disrespectfully, of course, Taja shoved Serra aside a wee bit too roughly, much to the woman's protest. Planting a defiant stomp forward, he pointed an equally defiant finger at the General smugly, mockingly, and belittlingly. "I am not afraid of you!"

—WHOOSH—

"Now, I am afraid of you!" he shouted over the bush of fire at his feet that nearly hit him. Turning to the still bewildered Avatar, he grabbed her wrist and said. "Let's go!"

"Where?" Serra asked loudly over the noise of the clattering of armors and the angry shouts that accompanied their dash across the dark hallway to the main courtyard.

"Anywhere you want", Taja turned and grinned a little.

"Your place?" Serra teased, grinning back widely as they ran.

"My dad's gonna kill us!" Taja laughed. They skidded to stop at the yard leading to the main gate; a group of firebender guards were there, ready to apprehend them. Taja made an elaborate bow. "Ladies first."

"Why, thank you", Serra bowed back. She jumped forward lightly but the effect was a mighty tremor, followed by two earth walls dividing the guards' line formation into two right in the middle, brought forth by her two short uppercut fists, and her ripping gestures that pushed the walls along with the guards sideways, clearing the screaming guards away from their path.

"You're pretty when you're vicious", Taja joked as he grabbed the woman's wrist again and dragged her to the crowd on the other side of the gate. In front of the bewildered crowd, they exchanged smirks before they announced the denizens of the Fire Nation Capital City. "We're eloping!" Serra declared; Taja exclaimed. "And we're happy!"

Reveling in the crowd's reaction, the two turned to each other and mouthed. "_Not_!"

"There!" Serra's father roared from inside the mansion. "Catch them!"

"Up", Taja said quickly.

"Okie", Serra chirped childishly; Taja scoffed.

Breathing calmly, Taja raised his palms and brought it down sharply and simultaneously; jets of flame erupted from all his limbs, propelling him up to the air, all the way up to the top of the eight stories tall pagoda. Serra raised her hands and spun gracefully, breeze danced around her fluttering long robe, she spun once more sharply and an air vortex carried her up to the tip of the pagoda where Taja, one hand grabbing the pole tip of the structure, securing his flimsy footing on the slanted roof, caught Serra's hand with his free hand as she floated towards him and proceeded to latch her arms around his neck.

"Airbending?" Taja asked, grinning as he held Serra close by the waist.

"It makes less mess", Serra shrugged, securing her arms on the man's neck.

"They could see your panties", Taja pointed out mischievously.

"Uh, I'm wearing trousers underneath my robe", Serra narrowed her eyes dryly at his remark.

"Party-pooper", the smack on his hooded head was worth it.

With the girl secured onto him, Taja circled his free arm around her slender shoulder, put his index and pinky on his mouth, and he whistled hard. They waited for a moment, reveling in the angry and frantic shouts of their fellow Fire Nationals. A loud powerful roar silenced the mob. The two eloping couple looked to the full moon above; a shadow of a winged quadrupedal creature flew closer and closer.

"Tora, here!" Taja called, shooting a jet of flame with his free hand. The tiger-hawk roared once and dived fast towards them. The creature did not slow down its freefall; Taja and Serra timed their jump perfectly as they leaped and landed on Tora's back as the beast flew past them. Tora dived nearly all the way down to the ground; Taja actually managed to grab an apple from a random table before Tora climbed back up to the sky and flew away.

"Woo-hoo!" Serra, sitting behind Taja, screamed excitedly, spreading her arms wide for she was finally free!

"Whoa! Hang on! And stop yelling into my ears!" Taja reached behind for her waist to prevent her from being blown away. Serra, still grinning, hugged the man's neck and yelled a very intentional. "WHAAAT!"

"Argh!" Taja cringed, rubbing his ear. "Here!"

"Thanks!" Serra took the apple he gave her. Smirking impishly, her gaze fell upon one of the fireworks depot towers her family had set up a few meters below and punched a fire blast at it. Her flame dissipated before it could even get close.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk", Taja tutted patronizingly. "Observe", he said, circling the tiger-hawk around. Breathing calmly, he aimed his right index and middle fingers at the target; lightning bolt shot out from his finger tips and ignited the depot, sending colorful fireworks everywhere.

"Wait!" Lin, sitting behind the spirit of Avatar Serra on an ethereal tiger-hawk that was slightly smaller than the one Taja and Serra was riding, gawked at this. "Wait a minute! That's Lightning Generation! You mean, Taja was—"

"Prince Taja, third son of Fire Lord Hirue, one of the most talented firebender to have ever walked the earth, and the strongest candidate at the time for the next Fire Nation Grand General", the Avatar steering their ethereal tiger-hawk said. Taja, as if on cue, threw his hood off, revealing on the top-knot of his dark brown hair a golden three-pronged ornament Lin recognized as a part of Fire Nation Royal Armor.

"Well, Avatar", Fire Prince Taja grabbed the girl's elbow on his shoulder. "By the power vested in me by the bloodline of my father, I pronounce you… unengaged!"

"Yeah!" Serra threw her arms up, forcing Taja to catch her waist again. Both were laughing.

"Well", Taja took off his hair ornament and looked at it with the lazy uncaring gaze of his before he said. "Goodbye, Fire Nation!" he threw it uncaringly behind his back.

"You know, Taja", Serra latched onto his neck tightly, pressing her cheek against his. "You're not so bad yourself."

"Thanks", Taja laughed as he steered Tora's rein to the left, avoiding the tall guard towers on the Royal Plaza as they flew east, reached back with his free hand and patted the girl on the head lightly. "You're still icky in my eye."

"I would have fallen for you", Serra pecked him lightly on the cheek. "If you weren't gay."

"What!" Taja turned to the woman brusquely. "I am _not_ gay! I'll have you know that I peek on you regularly while you were bathing and I enjoy what I see immensely!"

"Pervert!" Serra screamed as she applied a mean sleeper hold on the choking man's neck

"He really did?" Lin asked glumly as he and Avatar Serra found themselves standing on a cloud that carried them forward through space and time.

"Apparently", Avatar Serra wrapped her arms around herself as she shuddered. "Brr… I thought he was lying at first but from time to time after this, he would mention certain things about my body that only—"

"Okay, I've heard enough!" Lin held out a hand. "But, I've never heard about Fire Prince Taja. I mean, he could shoot lightning without going through the bending motion! That's amazing!"

"A month after our 'elopement'", Avatar Serra air-quoted. "They found out that the hooded man who took me away was their own Fire Prince."

"Politics?" Lin guessed.

"Yes", Avatar Serra smiled sadly. "The Lin Family considered this a great offense; their future bride was snatched right under their noses. Fire Lord Hirue disowned and banished Taja immediately to avoid conflict with the Lin Family and any records of Taja's existence were erased."

"A great firebender like him was lost in history, just like that", Lin concluded sadly. "That's not fair."

"Taja does… _did_n't care", Avatar Serra reminisced fondly. "Taja had always been a little off; distant, aloof, detached, like he was living in his own world. He accompanied me in my Avatar training. While we were in the Eastern Air Temple, many Air Nomads believed that he would have made a great Air monk because he was so detached from everything."

"He didn't care about having to leave his Nation and his family?" Lin could not believe it at all; he himself would do anything for his Nation, for his family, and that wayward Fire Prince that cared for none of those was him, or he had been Lin or Lin had been him. Man, that's complicated.

"Not a bit", Avatar Serra concurred with no hesitation. "Taja threw it all away in a heartbeat –his status, his wealth and power, his future career as a Grand General, his Nation- for a girl whom he was not even courting. Very much unlike yourself, don't you think?"

Lin gulped subtly as he evaded his gaze uncomfortably; he risked everything and came back for Azula. But… "I'm not courting Azula!"

"Well, I suppose not", Avatar Serra tapped her chin, pondering, then pointed surely. "But, you love her."

"I care for her", Lin denied tersely, ignoring the heat arising from his neck crawling to his face. "And I care for Zuko, too!"

"Come now, Lin", Avatar Serra smirked. "It wasn't Zuko's screaming that have been haunting you for the past two months."

"Why are you showing me this?" Lin switched the topic of conversation quickly.

"There is something I can teach you from this life we shared", Avatar Serra said, letting the boy off the hook for now. "For about a year or two after that night, Taja and I roamed all over the world."

Avatar Serra brought Lin through many snippets of memories, most were mundane and sometimes comical: Taja tapping his foot annoyingly at the Serra who feigned weakness sitting on a bench with the back of her hand on her forehead, dumping the chore of shoveling Tora's dropping to the man; the both of them meditating on top of the mountain, only that while Serra was immersed deeply in the exercise, Taja's head was nodding slightly with a snot bubble on his nose; Taja and Serra running away screaming from a cave, being chased by a boarilla; a group of singing nomads were sitting around a campfire, feasting on what appeared to be a boarilla they were grilling over a campfire while a grumpy Taja was lying on a sleeping bag nearby having his many injuries tended by a grinning and unscathed Serra; Taja, from the shadow of a tree he was leaning on gave Serra a thumb up, whose Avatar-ish persona stopped an unjust execution of a desperate thief by a mob of angry Earth Kingdom people; in a kitchen somewhere, Taja was holding a bowl and spoon, turning purple fast with Serra, holding a ladle in front of the cooking pot, narrowing her eyes and sulking at him.

"And we did have our moments", the tinge of longing and affection in the spirit of the Fire Nation Avatar was not something Lin excepted let alone was ready for and knew how to react to.

In front of them, they saw Taja and Serra, Taja was wearing his dark garb and hooded robe like he usually would while Serra had her wide sleeves tied up by a scarf to her shoulders to ease her arms movement and the hem of her long skirt-robe tugged in her sash, climbing the tall rocky mountain; Serra's hand slipped and she screamed but Taja caught her wrist and with combination of his strength and her airbending, he pulled her into the safety of his arms and, the moment their eyes met as their faces got reaaaly close, even Lin saw the spark.

Tora flew past them and Lin and the spirit of Avatar Serra found themselves walking alongside the two in a night market in Earth Kingdom; a loud and colorful firework display soared through the night sky and blossomed into a spectacular green and gold Earth Kingdom insignia and, of the many stands on the two sides of the road, Taja chose the flower stand. Turning to Serra, he tugged the small white rose blossom on her ear; she smiled, glomped onto his arms and, as they walked, Serra's free hand shot out from her long sleeve with two copper pieces that she airbent to the flower stand behind her back.

It was night when Serra tiptoed to the mouth of the cave in which they had found shelter for the night; Serra smiled at Taja who had fallen asleep in his night guard duty, sitting cross-legged against a rock. She sat beside him, gently pulled up his hood a little to allow her more of his peaceful sleeping face. Smiling, she rested her head on his lap and slept. When a distant noise of a nocturnal critter from far away woke her up few minutes later, she found Taja's robe covering her all the way up to her shoulder while the man slept with his arms crossed, hugging himself for warmth.

"I thought you guys were not…" Lin muttered, somehow feeling rather embarrassed, if that is the word, as they watched Serra and Taja in a garden with an apple tree beside a pond; Serra was standing at the side of the pond, enjoying summer breeze that fluttered her hair and robe only to be distracted by a rustle that was caused by Taja who appeared from the tree, hanging upside down as he offered a ripe apple for the girl.

"…in a relationship?" the spirit of Avatar Serra finished Lin's sentence, watching fondly her younger self took the apple with a sweet smile and flame-tapped the former prince's nose. "Like I said, we had our moments. Some are more… uh, _momentous_ than others."

"What do you mean?" Lin turned to her but she merely pointed at the unfolding event of the past.

It was full moon, they were sitting on top of a hill with their feet dangling over the ravine, Serra had fallen asleep on Taja's shoulder while Taja himself was strangely alert as he, though still with the lazy expression of his, circled his arm tenderly on her shoulder before he looked up to the moon; the same moon but on a different grassy valley on which they stood, close to each other as Taja took off Serra's three-pronged ornament and replaced it with the two-pronged gold ornament the Avatar would be wearing until the day she died.

A gust of wind carried a veil of dry leaves, engulfing the scene and transporting the two spirits into a rock plain on which Serra was meditating in a windy twilight and Taja, walking towards her as silently as he could, took off his robe and put it on the Avatar's shoulder.

As a breeze flew by, they found themselves looking at another apple tree, Serra had her back on the trunk, Taja held out an apple for her, standing so close their noses nearly brushed against each other, Serra traced her slender fingers to his face, his lips, and with a flash of an impish smirk, sparked a tiny flame on the tip of his nose before snatching the apple and running away.

The scene changed and they were in a tent, in the middle of the night, and Lin's bad feeling came true as he recognized the physically mingling figures in the bed in the dark as…

"Wait! You said you guys were not—", Lin's crimson face turned away quickly.

"Well, we were not! Technically…" Avatar Serra's spirit denied but her slightly screechy voice made Lin doubt her.

"B-but you guys were… he's kissing you! His hand is inside your robe! He's touching—"

"W-well, yeah, but" the spirit Avatar cleared his throat. "We didn't really… uh, go all the way. If you know what I mean?"

"No, I don't! What are you talking about!"

"*sigh* I keep forgetting that you are still fourteen in this life."

"Can we just leave this place! Or time! Whatever, can we just leave!"

"Are you sure? We're getting to a good part, you know; you might learn something."

"NOW!"

"Okay, okay! Sheesh! You try to show a teenager smut, you get your head bit off", Avatar Serra brought them back to the limbo of cloud and blue sky.

"What's a smut?"

"… You haven't had _the talk_, have you?"

"What talk?"

"Thought not", Avatar Serra sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Where's Roku when you need him…?"

* * *

He was a good kid, wasn't he? He never caused any trouble for anyone, he always listened to his mother and teachers, he studied hard; so why did Bob have to be the one roaming the street of the enemy capital city looking for one who was supposed to be his supervisor who was out looking for one who was supposed to be their protector in the first place! Arrgh! The universe is not fair!

I mean, look… Fire Nation people! Eww…

Well, Lieutenant Lin was part Fire Nation as it turned out, Bob thought as he walked through the market timidly. But, he was okay, right? Lieutenant Lin, Bob meant. S-sure, Lieutenant Lin was a bit scary but he was not so scary anymore as of late. He used to lock himself in his tent but so did Shoto. And Lieutenant Lin really did care about the interns, maybe. He looked out for them, protected them from Major Senshi's weird flex of authority even when the major was not a commanding officer. And Lieutenant Lin, according to Seito and Yee Shoo, had been the major contributor of their revenge prank campaign against Major Senshi whenever the major was being unjust to Bob.

Yeah, Lieutenant Lin was okay.

But, these Fire Nation people…

"Urgh! My back…"

They're evil!

"*sigh* my back is really killing me…"

They hurt people, they started the war!

"Ufgh! This bag is so heavy!"

They're bad! Which was why Bob was asking himself the question 'WHY!' all the way to the old lady's house as he helped the diminutive Fire Nation woman with her heavy bag of grocery.

"What a kind young man!" the old lady said, leading Bob through the street. "You simply must join us for dinner. I insist!"

"N-no, ma'am", Bob squeaked, nearly dropping the bag. Dinner with Fire Nation people! "T-that's okay, really. I'm glad to help."

"Nonsense!" the old lady's grip was strangely strong. Ten minutes later, Bob found himself in a simple hut inhabited a family of the old lady, her son and daughter-in-law, and her three young grandsons.

"I'm sorry you have to do this", the daughter-in-law smiled brightly as the boy was somehow being herded into helping around with preparing dinner. "Mother can be pushy sometimes."

"N-no, it's okay. I don't mind", the boy stuttered meekly. Wait, what! No, he minded! This was the house of an enemy family!

"Yay!" three hugging monsters tackled the yelping intern from behind, knocking him out of breath. "Yay, big brother is home!"

"Children!" the daughter-in-law scolded. "Don't play in here! Go outside!"

"Aw, Moooom…"

"Now", the daughter-in-law said sternly, hands on hips. "Go on, before it gets dark. Today's the solstice, remember? It gets dark early."

It took more persuasions and some candies from the mother's pocket before the three children were willing to go play outside. Bob felt a shiver down his spine as he watched the children outside the kitchen, where he was helping the daughter-in-law washing vegetable, throwing sparks of flame at each other, laughing merrily as a spark bounced off their skin harmlessly.

"U-um, is-is that safe?" he asked timidly.

"Hmm?" the daughter-in-law took a peek at the children playing fire sparks outside. "Oh, yes. Don't worry. They're firebenders but they were too young to even light a candle."

"Um, they said something about… big brother?" Bob braved this question.

The daughter-in-law's knife halted mid-air in the middle of chopping a carrot for a brief moment before it returned to her expertly rapid and fast chopping. "My eldest son", the woman said sadly. "Aliz… he was in the Army."

"Was?" Bob asked after a few seconds of pause.

The daughter-in-law hiccupped a mixture of sad sniff and an awkward chuckle as she dropped her chopped veggies in the cooking pot. "Yes, he… uh…" the woman smiled briefly as she dabbed the corner of her eyes with her apron before she continued. "He was in the Army, with General Lu's battalion. A couple of years ago, he was sent to Ba Sing Se; you know, the Siege."

Yeah, even Bob knew about the legendary 600 days Siege of Ba Sing Se, even the name the Dragon of the West.

"Anyway, uh…" the daughter-in-law looked away to hide her flowing tears. "Aliz was… he was c-crushed… *sob* big rock… *sniff* earthbender…"

"I'm sorry", Bob muttered almost inaudibly.

"No, it's… uh…" the woman exhaled, trying her best to banish her sadness away. When she had enough courage to look at the boy, her smile was serene though her eyes were damp. Her voice, Agni be praised, returned. "General Lu thought that it was best to have Aliz cremated. He was… crushed. Badly. Mother and my husband agreed that the children were too young to learn about what have happened to their big brother so we told them that Aliz is still somewhere out there, fighting for our country."

"Oh", Bob somehow managed, handing a clean cabbage to the woman; he felt for them, for his enemy, and he… he did not know how to react to it.

"Ah, well", the woman cleared her throat loudly, already half of the cabbage fell victim to her expertise with kitchen knife. "So, Bob, was it?"

"Yes, ma'am", Bob nodded.

"Do you like your veggie soup with extra flamey-chili?"

"Extra _what_-chili…?"

To his horror, the woman dumped an entire bowl of dangerously crimson powdered spice into the pot.

* * *

Crowded cobblestone streets, food stands and kiosks selling mostly fried food, the smell of grease and moist dust, the sound and noises of people chattering, yelling, shouting orders and chaos. They tried to pass a regular food hawker street but they did not fool Spear Haoren one bit.

"Hi, handsome", a woman of such, oh, such fine pair of…eyes winked at him.

"Why, hello there", Spear moved to her and her friends, all of which were just as… physically gifted as her.

Yeah, they did not fool Spear Haoren one bit. He knew a red-light district when he saw one.

"Hmm…" the lady who called eyed Spear appraisingly from head to toe, smirking slightly; she turned and flipped her long black hair, the tip of her hair barely missing his face, the smell of cheap but potent rose hit him full front though. "Ng… nope."

"What?" Spear could not believe his ears. "Nope? You say 'nope' to this?" Spear gesture his whole (un)desirable existence. "Really? No?"

"You're not my type", her red lips curled up into a patronizing smile.

"But, you're mine", Spear smiled equally broadly. "Type, I mean. You're my type."

The woman laughed and, flipping her hair to his face once more, walked away from the spot with her group, leaving Spear who was still drunk of such beauty. Sighing longingly at the slender and curvy back on the lady, her wonderfully tempting smile, her bright amber eyes (eyes, really this time), her flawlessly white skin, and, oh, so many other womanly charm that Spear desired so, our luckless surgeon was about to enter the nearby tavern when angry shouts of the same woman who had begun to starred in Spear's wildest fantasy rang through the air.

"Let me go!" Spear turned to the street as she screamed angrily at the brute who gripped her arm so much less than gently.

"You haven't paid—", the rest of the man's words were cut by a sharp punch delivered by a hand that had been sworn to save lives. Spear Haoren, the hero in shining top-knot, arrived. Cracking his knuckle, the deep exasperated sigh he caught from the distressed damsel he had just saved was not a very appreciative kind. Of course, he turned to her with a deep frown.

"You've done it now", the woman grumbled. He had done it indeed; from various nooks and crannies of the red-light district trying to pass a food hawker street, various men of sizes L to XXL emerged. They were all armed and the least dangerous weapon they wielded was a bat with numerous protruding nails.

"Come on!" Spear felt the woman's surprisingly sharp tug on his wrist.

They ran quickly before the stampede could get to them, making sharp turn and twist on the numerous shoddy looking alleys. After spirits know how long a jog, they found themselves barging into a bar in what appeared to be a slightly more dignified part of the district. They drew eyes at first; a scantily dressed woman in bright red and a shabby looking guy with a long green pouch that definitely contained a weapon tugged on his sash behind his back.

Spear grinned awkwardly; the crowded bar abruptly resumed their activity. I may have to point out that the bartender was a large man of muscle with a large burn scar on his bald scalp, and the hostess was a sour lady who openly kept her knife on her belt. Now, that we get a clearer idea of what kind of bar this was…

"Thanks a lot, pal", the woman Spear saved said acidly, gulping her cup in one go as they sat in their booth; no longer was she the temptress who spoke with lilt that could turn any men's knees into jelly.

"That guy was hurting you", Spear protested as he poured the lady another cup of white wine.

"So?" the woman smirked; the temptress was in her tone, not in her sharp amber eyes (eyes, really! The organs, not the glands). Leaning forward in just the right angle, she practically purred. "Isn't that what men like you do?"

"I'm not like him", Spear was offended but he muttered evasively. He picked up his cup and downed the content in one huge gulp. The woman snickered mockingly as she refilled Spear's cup.

"What's your name?" she asked; there was a genuine hint of curiosity in her voice.

"Spear Haoren", Spear said, gulping another cup of wine.

"Oh, I wonder why you are called… _Spear_", she licked her lips suggestively; Spear choked on his drink.

"W-well, it's because—", Spear felt the need to straight things out but she reached out and pressed her finger gently on his lips. Oh, so deep were the amber eyes (still the real eyes here!) of hers, Spear was instantly lost in them.

"Please", she whispered, leaning closer and closer. "There's a lady present."

"Oh, yes, there is", Spear could not help but smile at the prospect of—

"Waiter", she called out suddenly, faces still nearly touching and all. "More wine!"

There goes the mood, Spear's shoulders fell, leaning back to his seat. The woman stifled an amused smirk as she returned to her seat with playful pouty mouth. They sat, they drank, they talked through about six bottles of cheap white wine. Quite drunk were they when Spear asked her the cliché question a gentleman like him would ask such nice young lady of such affronted profession: _why_.

The woman laughed shrilly, hiccupped once, giggled embarrassedly, and slurred though her red drunken face. "Oh… wouldn't you like to know", she half-cooed, half-tempted.

"I re— *hiccup* really would", Spear said somehow, swaying on the spot to keep balance.

The woman sighed, looked sullen for a moment, then said with no trace of her alcohol-induced euphoria while her fingers reached out to the flame-shaped silver locket. "Well, if you must know…" she burped silently once. "…Mr. Spear", said with extra 'rrr' on the 'Spear' as she slurred. "Mmmy husband, Agni rests his ungrateful hiney, was a sssoldierrr."

"Oh", Spear sniffed hard, his blurry vision got clearer for a second before going blurry again. "Soldier, huh?"

"Yeah", the woman said; unwitting sadness set in. "Hmm… killed in the line of *hiccup* duty. He was a good man", a certain defensive ferocity colored her last utterance.

"I'm sure", Spear nodded sharply, regretting it as his brain sloshed inside his skull. "What's that commotion out there?"

"Solstice Dance", the woman perked up. Calling for the bill, she made Spear pay with only several bats of her catlike eyes (still real eyes here, people). Dragging the man by his wrist, they stumbled their way out to the town.

It was still bright out but the whole district was there in the town square where a wooden pillar with a circling paper dragon dummy was set on a platform in the middle of eight small bonfires circling eight feet away from each other; eight is an auspicious number in Four Nations culture. On the platform were a band of musicians playing music, predominantly of string and drum instruments, so very lively with a dancer, a female dancer, of a very attractive kind wearing dress that only a firebender could pull off in this cold winter afternoon, enough said, and a transparent veil that, like her dress, hair ornaments, armlets, bangles, and anklets, was riddled with colorful beads of red and yellow of many shades.

She danced, oh, yes, she _danced_.

Yes, Fire Lord Sozin might have reformed Fire Nation mainstream cultures into a more 'proper' kind and suppressed the continuation of these sorts of thing but, like all leaders out there, even Fire Lord Sozin could not subdue the beast known as the red-light district.

"You dance?" the woman asked loudly over the cheering crowd.

"No", Spear shouted back. The woman smirked impishly as she said. "Too bad", and pushed him to the clear space between the ring of bonfires and the crowd.

Spear was not alone; seven others men, some were bewildered as he, were pushed after him by seven women who, like the one moving so very slowly and temptingly at Spear, were _definitely_ firebenders. She smirked, eyes (the amber kind, not the ones behind the…you know what I mean) fixed on Spear's as she spun so fast to him into his arms. The music picked up pace, so did the eight dancing girls and the main dancer on stage.

Spear, laughing and grinning, caught her by the arm and waist every time she coiled by; she would lingered, touched and teased his face with her flipping hair and lingering fingers. When the last note was played, she dived onto him; Spear caught her waist and shooting leg as she stretched back with arms outstretched. The crowd cheered.

The woman regained her footing, panting like Spear was, but neither of them break contact or gain distance. Her nose touched his, her breath teased his lips. "Let's go", she whispered, looking deep into the man's brown orbs.

"Go where?" Spear asked, taking in her scent of alcohol-tainted but still very alluring rose and the warmth of her skin in his arms.

She smirked and pecked him lightly on the nose. "Away", she said before, grinning wide, dragging him once more by the waist through the crowd, not forgetting to snatch a red apple from a nearby vendor of course.

They would laughed, she would run, he would chase her; she would be caught, he would extort a kiss, she would teased and, right before their lips met, she would smirk and flip her hair at his face before running away again laughing. She let him caught her at the mouth of the cave on the outskirt of the island, up on a rocky plain overlooking the coast.

"Why do I get the feeling that you know where you're going?" Spear chuckled, catching her from behind by the waist, burying his face on the side of her neck.

"I used to play here when I was little", she said, giggling.

Holding his hands and stepping forward, she dragged the man into the cave. It was dark inside; the twilight solstice sun did not shine through. The woman turned and, without warning, rammed into him by the lips; it goes without saying that Spear received her willingly. When her tongue bored through his mouth, Spear's crumpled down gradually, dragging her with him.

"Wait, wait", Spear grimaced as she lay on top of him, breaking contact. "My spear."

She gasped. "_Mister_ Spear Haoren", she scolded playfully as she put her apple on the ground so they would not accidentally squish it.

"What? I'm talking about my spear", Spear grinned, pulling his spear pouch from his back and threw it away lightly. "Now, where were we?"

"Hmm, somewhere around here", she said, diving into his mouth first once more. They kissed, passionately and lustfully, also ferociously, and voraciously for what appeared to be an eternity that ended too quickly. She emerged from him, panting but looking satisfied. He tried to reach to her lips but she barred his lips with her finger and tutted teasingly.

Spear tried to pinch her finger with his mouth, she giggled, removed her finger and pecked him lightly on the nose. "You never told me your name", Spear said, tucking a strand of her black hair to her ear to allow him more visual beauty of her face.

"Hmm, you never asked", she countered, pushing Spear's trademarked left bang off his face.

"Tell me your name", Spear said, stroking her thigh that poked out through her dress.

"That's not asking", she smirked. "Are you a good man, Mr. Spear… _Haoren_?"

"You tell me", Spear chuckled.

"Good men don't last", she said with a hint of sad that had been present when she was talking about her late husband. However, after a deep breath, she perked up into her charmingly alluring self, heavily aided by her… eyes (_now_, it's euphemism) pressing against Spear's chest; she lifted up her hand holding a pouch, Spear's money pouch. "But, I like you Mr. Spear. So, I won't be taking this."

"Hmm", Spear imitated her purr perfectly. "I like you, too. So, I'm returning this", Spear pulled her flame locket out of nowhere. He was half expecting her to be mad but she simply laughed.

"So, you can play this game too, hmm, Mr. Spear?" she purred, gathering her hair, twisting it at the back of her head to allow Spear to put the locket back on her slender neck, knowing full well the man was using tying her locket as an excuse to steal glances at her bosom.

"You shouldn't do this", Spear said; though his face still held on to the ghost of his smirk, his tone was sincere.

"Being a whore?" she scoffed dismissively.

"Being a courtesan", Spear corrected, still struggling with the tiny screw mechanism that held the ends of the thin chain together. "You're a good woman."

"Am I now?" she asked, leaning down with her face so close to his, her lower lip brushed against his nose.

"Those men from before might hurt you", Spear said again, sounding more serious.

"I can handle them", she whispered. Spear was finally done with her locket. "My husband gave it to me", she said, picking up the silver flame and allowing Spear to hold it. "He was a good man."

"Good men don't last", Spear quoted her, inspecting the simple but beautiful craftsmanship.

"Are you a good man?" she breathed.

"You tell me", Spear breathed back.

He rolled her gently, lying now on top of her. They stared deeply into each other's eyes; his brown met her amber. When the spark ignited, he kissed her and she kissed him back; passionately… lustfully… ferociously… and, of course, voraciously…

She smiled solemnly as the man went limb on top of her, losing consciousness. Resting his head gently on her neck, she caressed the back of his head almost lovingly; from her moving mouth, she held out a broken capsule between her teeth. Spitting the capsule away, she sighed at the man but her eyes, amber eyes, were distant. "Good men don't last."

* * *

"I'm not good at this…" Avatar Serra twiddled her thumbs inside her sleeves. "How should I put this delicately? Hmm…"

"Put _what_ delicately?" Lin asked the fidgeting Avatar, both were once again sitting on the Pai Sho table in the swamp; they were playing an evenly matched game.

"Well", Avatar Serra bit her lower lip a little; her right hand emerged from her sleeve, tapping a rose tile on her chin as her golden eyes assessed any weaknesses in Lin's White Tiger-Southern Wall combo. "You and I— I-I mean, Taja and I… yes, there were kissing, and hugging, and… touching and, um, groping. But, we have never actually, uh… ng… w-well, as they say, t-the… dragon", Avatar Serra's eyes lit up but her cheeks blushed heavily. "… never flew into the… lair."

Lin, frowning, asked the very innocent. "What are you talking about?"

"The… uh, the badger-mole… never entered the cave", the Avatar laughed meekly, placing her rose tile to halt Lin's wolf tile advancement.

"What? That doesn't even make any sense!"

"T-the uh, the otter-penguin never dived into the… ice hole?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The lemur— arrggh! We've never had sex! I'm still a virgin, okay! There! I said it! You happy now!"

… ~awkward~…

"…Checkmate", Lin cleared his throat, placed his purple nightshade tile.

"…Think again", the scarlet-faced Avatar replied with her wheel tile and self-loathing tone.

"S-so, uh…" Lin tried to break the, oh, so thick awkward atmosphere. "You and Taja…?"

Avatar Serra buried her face into her sleeves, whimpering (oh, _great_, I made the Avatar cry, thought Lin). Less and less was she the almighty magnanimous Avatar that first appeared before Lin. At this point, Lin had a hard time, actually, believing that this woman was not some kind regular girl with a crush on someone unattainable.

"That is actually what I want to show you", Avatar Serra emerged from her sleeves, still red and averting her gaze to random swamp bug that was hovering around their spot.

"You really don't have to", Lin felt queasy because of what he had seen Taja and Serra were doing and also because deep deep, so very deep down inside he caught himself secretly… wanting to… see... more. _Oh, dear Agni… what's wrong with me_, our young Dragon drummed his head mentally.

"It's not _that_, Lin", Avatar Serra sighed, still awkward but part of her was serious. "It was the night when everything fell apart between me and Taja."

"Wonder why", Lin muttered softly, not soft enough because the Avatar pelted his head with an orchid tile.

"For every one of us", the almighty Avatar Serra resumed her lecture as pleasantly as her snarky growl could go. "There will come a time when we must face a great conflict within ourselves. That night, Taja faced his."

"And he failed", Lin finished her story for her; Avatar Serra nodded solemnly.

"Shall we?" she asked. Without waiting for the boy's answer, they found themselves once again standing in the tent Serra and Taja shared as they committed themselves into each other's flesh.

"You said you were kidding when you and Taja were kissing on a bed in the middle of the night fully naked", Lin muttered crossly as he fixed his amber eyes on the floor below the bed where bits and pieces of their garments were lying around, including a black silken belt with a metal buckler bearing an emblem of gray Fire Nation insignia lying on top of Serra's hair ornament.

"Well", Avatar Serra cleared her throat sheepishly; nudging her head at Taja whose shirt was undone, yes, but he was still wearing and Serra's robe that was no longer secured by her sash, true, and pulled down by the man but the lace was still tied, loosely thought it might be, and it revealed only her shoulder and a generous portion of her cleavage, but nothing lower. "We weren't fully nude."

"Your… your parts are showing!" Lin protested, trying so very hard not to look at the voluptuous firm bosom of th— arrggh! He was looking!

"Not all the way", Avatar Serra got a bit defensive there, around the time Taja reached to Serra's chest and unsheathed one of her breasts. "I stand corrected. But, still: not _fully_ nude."

"Oh, Agni", Lin turned around completely, covering his ears tightly for Taja had slithered down to Serra's naked breast and Serra had begun producing… noises.

"Okay, look at it this way", Avatar Serra battled her own embarrassment as her younger self moaned behind them. "Taja is -or is it _was_- your past life. So basically, it… the, uh, the event, you've been through it yourself; that was you, so to speak. And now, you are simply reliving it, or more like reviewing it. Urgh, these reincarnation cycle jargons are so confusing."

"I thought you said Taja was gay", Lin asked accusatorily. "Then, why is he—"

"Oh, trust me", Avatar Serra tugged her collar a little. "He was _not_. I only thought that because he had never flirted with any girl before, including me", the last part was muttered softly. "Even though he was quite popular among women; that dark aloof happy-go-lucky slightly hermetic personality of his, women find it charming."

"How can you be sure?" Lin asked loudly simply to drown the… noises.

"You see the way he's lying on top of me?" Avatar Serra jabbed her thumb over her shoulder.

"I would rather not", Lin replied coldly.

"Well, okay, he, uh… it's the positioning, you see", Avatar Serra tried to made gesture with her hands; it did not help Lin at all. "As he lay on top of me, I, uh, I felt it… on my thigh."

"Felt what?" asked Lin innocently.

"Oh, dear", Avatar Serra nearly cried, really. "Someone really ought to have _the talk_ with you."

"Seriously, _what_ talk?"

Avatar Serra, with glassy eyes, reverted back to her motherly side and encased the boy in a warm sympathetic embrace. "Oh, you pure innocent child."

"And you showed me _that_!"

"Oh, hey, it's about done", Avatar Serra said abruptly, recognizing the flow of event. They turned back to the couple for a second before Lin groaned and, ever the gentleman, averted his eyes again. "Can't we wait until you're more… covered?"

"Aw, don't you want to see?" the Avatar teased, poking the boy's crimson cheek with a finger.

"I do", Lin growled, surprisingly honest, but still not looking (much). "That's what I'm worried about! I'm turning into a pervert like him!" Lin jabbed his finger at Taja still without looking; Avatar Serra repositioned his arm a bit for his pointing finger missed by one squirming person.

"Wai…" Serra breathed but Taja rose and swallowed her lips once more. "Taj—", she was overwhelmed by him, he was snickering. "Taja, wait!"

"You talk too much", Taja whispered into her ear before he nibbled her earlobe.

"Stop", Serra whined, giggling. "I'm serious."

"Don't. You'll get wrinkle", his kisses dripped down to her neck and she melted again.

Lin took this opportunity to ask the Avatar. "So, this is not _romance_?"

"Oh, Lin", the Avatar sounded somewhat motherly. "As you grow older, you will learn that there is a significant difference between 'romance' and 'lust'."

"Taja…." Serra, against her own carnal desire, pushed them man's head away from her neck; the former prince stared into her eyes with his trademarked lazy expression, but there was a certain tenderness in it and it gave Serra the courage to speak. "Taja, wha… why are we doing this?"

"Doing what?" Taja smiled a little, allowing the girl to push his messy bangs off his face; futility since he dived back down into her neck.

"This", Serra giggled, pushing him up again. "I…" she sighed, staring deep into the honey-colored eyes of the man. "Do you love me?"

The fact that Taja did not answer immediately, the fact that his smile melted slowly, the fact that Serra noticed a dumbstruck expression blossoming in the amber eyes of his; it was hard blow to her heart.

"I love you", Taja's tone was that of desperation, even pain; as Lin listened to it, he dared not turned to the spirit of Avatar Serra. Serra's tearful and shattered gold were heartbreaking enough.

"Serra…" Taja breathed as the girl turned away; she refused to respond, even a few seconds after he nuzzled into her exposed neck.

"Stop it, please", Serra cried for real now.

"I thought you wanted this", Taja did not stop.

"Why bother?" she sobbed as she struggled against the man. "You don't even care, do you?" she squirmed; he was still forcing himself on her. "Stop it, you're hurting me!" Serra cried harder. "I said stop!"

A small but powerful air dome erupted on Taja's chest, blasting him off the bed. Serra was right… he did not care. As the girl picked herself up the best she could, tying her long messy hair into a simple ponytail, Taja sat up, groaning a little, but he did not seem to care about… anything. Serra tried to tie her sash but her hands were trembling too much and the sobbing didn't help; Taja just sat there on the floor in his pants, eyeing her struggle with a listless blank face that was so very him.

"Why did you even help me out when… when…?" Serra sobbed harder, throwing her sash at him and had to be content with holding her robe in place with her hand.

"I don't know", Taja said with his usual neutral tone, calmly picking the sash off his shoulder. "I wanted to get away from my family too, I think."

"You used me!" Serra screamed tearfully.

"Seems like it", Taja rose to his feet, rubbing his back; Serra closed in on him quickly and slapped him hard on his face.

Even to that, Taja did not show any sign of caring.

"Do you ever love me at all?" Serra hissed angrily, chest rising up and down as she struggled against her anger and sob. "And what if we did do it tonight, huh? You really want to be the man who 'conquered' the Avatar so badly, is that it!"

Years later as Lin, the twenty sixth, learnt more about the romance and lust, and the physical activities that go with it, along with words and terms both rude and euphemistic, he would put in the word 'conquered'; the original term Serra screamed at Taja, as penned by the naïve fourteen year old boy, had been more derogatory.

There was the spark in the distant honey-colored eyes of his as he abruptly grabbed the angry girl hard by the arms; for a moment there, there was something flashing in that distant honey-colored eyes of his. The girl glared at him hatefully as if challenging him to do anything; he relented his grip as he reverted back to his lazy distant self. Taja picked up his trousers, put it on, and picked up the rest of his items and a roll of sleeping bag. "I'll sleep outside."

Serra watched him leave with an indignant stare that, at the drop of the tent flab being closed behind Taja's back, broke to pieces as she dropped to the floor, sobbing bitterly.

"I was too angry to see it", Avatar Serra's sorrowful low whisper surprised Lin a little because he was deeply sympathizing with Serra's pain. "But, you noticed, didn't you?"

"Yes", Lin said wistfully.

"Come", Avatar Serra guided the boy's shoulder as they were once again floating in the air, watching a series of events; Taja and Serra walking across a plain with a healthy three meters between them, each carrying their own load.

Tora flew past by and they saw Taja and Serra riding a small blue boat in the artic sea, Taja was leaning on the railing, arms crossed, eyes drifting to the horizon while Serra sat on the front, one elbow on the railing with hand supporting her chin, the other hand was bending the water underneath the boat absentmindedly. Noticing Serra breathing vapor, Taja took off his robe and put in on the empty space between them as close as possible to her. Serra glowered at it sharply before turning her back completely on him. Taja did not reclaim his robe.

They were in the middle of the forest, in their camp where Serra was stirring a pot of soup, Taja appeared silently and put an apple down on a rock near her before walking away without uttering a single word; Serra ignored him the best she could and when her defenses were finally broken, she picked up her bowl of soup and flung it to the apple the moment before she broke down crying.

A very pale Serra was coughing inside her cocoon of thick red quilt as she sat near the campfire, warming herself in the middle of the snowy winter night. Taja arrived carrying a bundle of firewood. They did not even look at each other as Taja added more fuel to the fire, brewed a pot of tea, and offered the sick girl a cup, all done without a single word being uttered.

"I tried to send him away a few times", Avatar Serra admitted sadly. "But, he never budged. And it killed me every time I did that. Taja was a banished prince; his family and his homeland were all but gone. He only had me and I tried to send him away."

"Did you guys ever make up?" Lin asked quietly as they watched Taja walking on foot while Serra sat sideways on Tora's saddle with her back turned on Taja while the beast walked alongside his master.

"Not until it was too late", Avatar Serra said lowly before she let out a short sniff; she looked away and dabbed the corners of her eyes a little before she cleared her throat and resumed her story with a calmer tone. "Around that time, there was a civil unrest in the Earth Kingdom. There was a rebellion to overthrow the Earth King."

Unfolding before them was a war… Earth versus Earth.

"As the Avatar, it was my duty to help resolve the conflict. The instigator of the rebellion was a disgruntled minister in the Earth King's court, an evil black-hearted man", Avatar Serra narrated as her younger self jumped into the fray full blazes.

Surrounded from all sides by hundreds of enemy soldiers, Serra, assumed a graceful stance, breathed calmly, and closed her eyes; when she opened them, her eyes were not gold irises but, on the whole, were of pure white light. She spun dance-like with her hands tracing the air, strong gust of wind disheartened her assailants; she secured a light but sure footing and whipped her arms back, wind tornado of forty feet tall carried her up to the air.

Her enemies trembled, some tried in vain to throw giant rocks at her; her tornado simply swallowed their bending whole and threw them back. Bringing her fist down like a mallet, the wind slammed herself down, her landing resulted in a powerful earth shockwave that overwhelmed the area of a radius half a mile from her landing spot. Hundreds of enemies fell to one Avatar.

Serra rose to her feet, eyes closed as the dust from the powerful shockwave settled; she exhaled calmly and her eyes were back to their original gold. She looked around, scanning for more opponents. There were some stragglers but they were mostly harmless. Breathing in to calm her raging chi—

She turned instinctively to the sound of crackling that preceded an explosion of closer proximity. It was all too fast for her to even register: the residual dust from the collision between the earthbent rock and the lightning had not even settled when a fluttering flash of black flew past and Taja slammed a fist on the sneaky earthbender's face. Wobbling backward did not save the earthbender from Taja who pounced at him and barraged him with sharp fire punches. Even after the man was down on the ground.

"T-taja…" Serra mouthed, eyes widened in horror at the former prince's unnecessarily and sickeningly violent and cruel inhumane assault on the already unconscious opponent.

"The Avatar is here! Men, attack!" it was the enemy general, leading around a hundred more foot soldiers.

Serra was ready to face them but she found herself looking at Taja's back as he appeared in front of her, standing between her and the incoming enemies. Taja looked back at Serra but so subtly with his hood on, Serra did not know it. The Prince secured a fast stance and launched a double finger jabs; loose wide-branching tendrils of coldblooded fire shot out from his fingertips and they lasted for a prolonged five full seconds. The lightning zapped the hundred opponents all at once into submission, leaving them all groaning and subdued on the ground.

They did not have time to celebrate. From behind them, a hundred meters away, a rumbling of peculiar kind announced the arrival of a golem; an earthbending giant war instrument of the past in the form of a pyramidal earth construct built and operated purely with earthbending, manned by multiple skilled earthbenders inside the multi-tiered interior. The earthbenders inside would launch parts of the golem at their enemies and could replace them from nearby rock if need be, allowing them great offensive potential and seemingly infinite defensive capability.

Serra was about to launch her first strike, but once again Taja beat her to it. Running in front of the Avatar, the banished prince secured a sideway stance with his arms rose up and hands crossed; his fist form was again the finger jabs. Bringing his front hand slashing down like a sword, his lightning whip severed the golem in two right in the middle; aided by his hip movement, his second finger jabs sent a powerful lightning bolt that struck the still standing golem right on the middle, right on the Earth Kingdom insignia on the middle, exploding the whole fifty feet tall instrument into smithereens.

Angry though she still was, even Serra was powerless against a gush of awe. Fire Nation truly lost a great treasure the day they banished Fire Prince Ta—

"Taja!" she screamed his name as he slumped into his knees, breathing heavily with trickle of blood dripping down the corner of his mouth. Serra arrived in time to catch the man before he fell to the ground. Propping him on the ground softly, Serra was frantic, not knowing what to do, not knowing what… what just happened.

"Urgh…" Taja chuckled/groaned weakly, gripping his chest. "Messed up my lightning."

"I-I-I'll go get help, okay", though her tears were falling and she could think straight, Serra tried and failed miserably to sound tough. "Just-just hang on! You're going to be fine!"

Taja's snicker was broken by a painful groan. "You were never good at lying", he coughed.

"Just wait, please!" Serra begged him. "Just—"

With the last of his strength, he pushed himself up slightly, pulled her down to meet him halfway, and caught her lips with his. It was lasting kiss of a very passionate and true kind. As the one who initiated it, Taja was also the one who broke it. Lying back on the ground, he laughed painfully. "You talk too much."

"Taja…" Serra sobbed, trembling hand caressing his pained face.

"I still don't feel it. I guess I don't love you that way, after all", he confessed, caressing her tearful cheek weakly; Serra caught his hand and pressed it onto her face, wet golden eyes not wanting to leave his honey-colored ones. "I'm sorry… I never meant to hurt you, Serra…"

"It's okay", Serra gripped his hand tightly, tears falling like rain. "I… I don't care anymore. So, just please… Taja? _Taja_!"

His hand went limb as his eyes lost their light. "No… no! Taja!" she roughly shook his shoulder; his head bobbled out of his hood but his face was already blank, blanker than usual and… "TAJAAA!"

They were happy were they not; the— the childhood they had, the time at school, the apples and oranges, the playful banters, her sparking flames on his nose, even him peeking at her while she was bathing and teasing her endlessly with it… no, they were not supposed to end like this… they were not supposed to end at all…

"Taja, please!" Serra held her one true friend to her chest, calling his name in vain.

No, Fire Prince Taja was not supposed to go like this… the best firebender in the whole world… the truest master of the coldblooded fire… the most noble and courageous warrior… he-he was not supposed to go like this… Serra would not give him up!

With her arm that was holding his lifeless body, she held his head on the crown of his skull; her other hand she rested on his dead heart. She closed her eyes, mustering every ounce of spiritual strength she had left; when she opened them, her eyes were once again of pure white light. Serra's spirit soared through the heavens above. She found him there above the cloud under the bright yellow sun…

Fire Prince Taja was wearing his black and gold Royal Armor and a golden three-pronged hair ornament; a true Fire Prince that he always had been. Sobbing, Serra's spirit ran to him as he drifted apart. She caught Taja's hand and pulled him back hard but the universe would not budge. Not even the Avatar has this privilege, the universe had long since decreed.

"Taja… please!" Serra cried, nailing her feet on the cloud, losing the tug-of-war against the universe. "Please! You're all I have left!"

He was slipping away despite Serra's valiant struggle, holding on both hands to his slipping wrist. "Taja… Taja, don't let go!" he was not even holding on in the first place.

He was smiling, just smiling…

Even after his hand slipped out completely of Serra's clutches and Serra screamed his name as the light engulfed him whole, he was still smiling.

Serra opened her eyes, her gold eyes; his honey-colored ones looked back at her blankly from her arms. She cried his name…. for the first time in the years of life they shared, he did not call back.

"You love him, don't you?" Lin asked quietly.

"Yes", Avatar Serra whispered. They watched as the heartrending scene of Serra crying over Taja drifted apart and they found themselves once again standing above the mass of cloud.

"I don't understand", Lin admitted softly; Avatar Serra's damp golden eyes dissuaded him from voicing any more objectionable opinion.

"You understand Taja's conflict", Avatar Serra said; her motherly calm persona was genuine, Lin knew.

"I do", Lin replied solemnly.

"Is it not the same as yours?" Avatar Serra asked.

"No", Lin shook his head. "Taja found it hard to care."

"You, on the other hand, care so much", Avatar Serra concluded his speech.

"I don't understand what I'm supposed to learn from this", Lin admitted again.

"I don't know myself", Avatar Serra's dam broke as she sobbed uncontrollably into her sleeves. "You shared lives with many Avatars, Young Dragon. Any of the many others could have appeared here instead of me and helped guide you back to the right path but I insisted that I should be the one to perform this duty. Perhaps… I am being selfish…"

Lin opened his mouth and was about to say… say, _what_? The graceful almighty Avatar Serra was crying in front of him; what could Lin possibly say to her. And she said that she was being selfish. Was she really?

"No, you're not", Lin stepped closer to her and embraced her. "You're being human."

Like General Iroh…

"Oh, crapster…" Lin groaned.

"Gotcha", Avatar Serra hiccupped triumphantly, still sobbing her genuine tears as she embraced the boy tightly. "You are not Taja, Lin. You have a gift of understanding and empathizing with others like him, yes, but you have the capability of showing it openly; it was the concept that Taja struggled with all his life. It was the reason why Taja always appeared distant and uncaring to many, detached from the world, living in his own universe. He was too afraid to care, too afraid to show that he cared; that's why when it comes down to it, he would always run away, hiding by acting like a jackass. But, you shouldn't, because caring and showing that you care have always been your greatest strength."

"I still can't forgive General Iroh", Lin said somewhat tersely but quietly.

"Why are you still calling him 'General' then?" Avatar Serra asked, rubbing the boy's back gently. Chuckling slightly, she continued. "I have watched over the great many lives Taja has reincarnated into. No two incarnations are perfectly similar but no two incarnations are completely different, either. I see Taja in you; in your drive, you love for firebending, your willingness to literally sail across the ocean and jump into a volcano, inactive though it may be…" Lin chuckled as Avatar Serra continued. "… just to make sure people you care about are doing fine."

"Somebody has to", Lin sniffed.

"It doesn't have to be you", Avatar Serra peeled the bot off her chest softly and held him by the shoulder. "But, you did it anyway."

"I'm their sifu", he said.

"Zuko and Azula are lucky to have a teacher like you", Avatar Serra smiled proudly.

"Do you want me to forgive General Iroh?" Lin asked, averting his eyes for the question sparked in him fury.

"I only want you to understand what it is to be human", Avatar Serra smiled warmly. She let go off the boy and took a small step back.

"Is it my time to leave?" Lin asked sadly.

"Yes, but…" in her hesitation, Lin saw not Avatar Serra but Serra, the girl who loved Taja. "I-I know that it's not…I know it's too late and it's not the same but… but, may I…? Just once, please. Please, indulge me this one time. I miss him so much…"

Lin dived back into the woman's embrace, letting Serra hold Taja once last time.

"Oh, Taja", Serra whispered, blinking her tears away. "Taja… you sick perverted bastard…"

Lin snickered lightly; it was when he felt it in his core, like a flicker of his inner fire. He felt it, he felt… him.

_Please_… he pleaded to Lin.

"Serra", Lin called, holding her still. "Taja, he—"

"Shh…" Serra patted the back of his head. "Let it rest in the past, Lin."

"B-but, Taja he… he wanted you to know", Lin himself was touched greatly by Taja, by the overwhelming feeling towards her he filled his heart. "He loved you, he always had."

Serra sniffed but she did not say anything.

"Ever since the first day he traded his apple for your orange", Lin said fondly. "When he left Fire Nation with you, it was because he could not bear seeing you marrying somebody else; it hurt him so much he traded his royal life for a wandering life of a vagabond with you in a heartbeat, and that he was being selfish himself when he made the world doubted that you were still a maiden by kissing you like that in front of your parents", Serra chuckled and held Taja tighter; Lin continued. "That night, he was dying to tell you that he loved you, more than anything. But, he knew that he was just a banished prince and you're the Avatar. The world needed you and he didn't want to be a distraction. And should you bear his child, your child would carry his royal blood; the Fire Nation Royal Family would not sit idly by and might hunt you down. He was protecting you."

"And I'm supposed to be the Avatar", Serra sniffed. "I'm supposed to be the one protecting the world; I'm supposed to be the one protecting him…"

"Not to Taja", Lin said. "To him, you're just Serra; the girl who's never truly learnt how to peel oranges properly, the girl who can't cook a bowl of soup to save her life", Serra sobbed; Lin smiled. "That's why he stayed with you. He felt like he owed it to you to keep you safe. When he was dying and he told you that he didn't love you, he lied; he didn't want you go on living blaming yourself for what happened that night."

"He always was a dishonest man", Serra peeled herself away, wiping her tears. "Especially to himself."

"Will I ever see you again?" Lin asked, his own heart was breaking in the face of the inevitable goodbye.

"In a way", Serra smiled sadly. "An Avatar existence will physically end when he or she dies but the spirit lives on through the endless cycle of reincarnation."

"So, I will eventually come across the current missing Avatar", Lin concluded. "The Avatar really is alive."

"Yes", Serra said, drying her eyes.

"I'm still a Fire Nation and I am loyal to my country", Lin said firmly. "Will the Avatar and I be enemies?"

Serra smiled fondly and said. "The future is not—"

"—set on a slab of stone", Lin finished her sentence. She chuckled a little.

"Goodbye, Serra", Lin bowed to her a Fire Nation bow. Serra stepped closer to him and held his chin up. "Goodbye, Lin", she leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. Light erupted in his eyes and when it subsided, Lin was staring at his ceiling, lying on his bed in the Royal Palace with Master Piandao sitting by his side polishing Nightshade.

* * *

"I hope you enjoyed your dinner with us", the son and daughter-in-law were ushering the guest out; Bob, the intern, was having a hard time not to smile. These people had little but they had warmth and they were willing to share it freely; like fire that shared its light and warmth for those who are willing to go near it.

"Wait, wait!" the old woman emerged from the house with a box of cake and the three children on tow. "Take some of these home."

Bob politely refused but six against one was hardly fair. Soon, he was being hugged by the three children and exchanged bows with the adults before he walked back to the darkening street pondering upon how evil Fire Nation people should be and how not evil the family was.

They had little but they gave much to this strange 'boy from the colonies'. Bob looked down at the wooden box he had in his hands, peeking the content, he had a mixed feeling about the strawberry cream on top of the pastry. Yeah, sure it was bound to be sweet unlike the tongue-searing throat-burning but belly-warming crimson red vegetable soup they had partake in but does every food have to be _red_?

"Bob?" Spear, emerging from the corner of the street, frowned at the intern.

"Doctor!" Bob cried his relief as he ran towards the man. "Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"

"Oh, well, you know", Spear mumbled; Bob's cringing nose told him that the boy noticed that he was reeking alcohol. "What you've got there?" Spear asked evasively.

"Some kind of strawberry cake", Bob said.

"Oh", Spear said. After a second or two of awkward silence. "Trade with my apple?"

* * *

"You have only slept for a couple of hours", Piandao said without taking his eyes off Nightshade. Lin emerged from his bathroom, put on a fresh set of clothes, stored his pouch, knives, and flute on his sash, and was picking up his cherries pouch when Piandao spoke.

"Really? But, it's dark out there", Lin frowned at the sky outside through the flame-shaped transom above his door.

"Today's the solstice", Piandao reminded him.

"Oh, right", Lin muttered, sitting on his bed, putting on his boots. "I still have to go."

"Jian Wu and Kaji are standing guard on General Iroh's room", Piandao said with a subtle hint of sternness. Lin halted his putting on his tattered robe.

"I don't care about that anymore, Master", Lin said somewhat truthfully; he did really did not care whether Iroh was dead or alive anymore. He had to forgive yes but, there was more important thing in his mind. "I'm going to Azula's. I need to see for myself that she's alright."

Piandao's stern gaze persisted for a few seconds before he resumed polishing Nightshade. "From what Prince Zuko has told me about Princess Azula, she will not be too thrilled to see you again."

"I'm bringing a peace offering", Lin lifted his cherries pouch. Around that time, the silliness of presenting a pouch of cherries to an angry firebending Fire Princess hit him. "Oh, crickey… she's gonna kill me…"

-0-0-0-0-0-

_He embraced her from behind; she did not seem surprised. She stirred the cooking pot still, smiling a little as he buried his face on the top of her head, breathing in. He leaned down and pecked her neck, making her giggle. "Dummy", she said, a little pouty._

"_What's this?" he asked, looking over her shoulder to the content of the steaming pot._

"_Something I learnt fro— urgh…" she groaned as he kissed her on the temple. "Don't kiss me there."_

"_Why not?" he asked, faking a tone of incredulity. She did not answer and merely elbowed him lightly. Turning slightly in his arms, she brought the ladle to his mouth. "Try some", she said. He obeyed._

"_So?" she asked, putting the ladle back to pot, turning to him completely and linking her arms around his neck. "Is it good?"_

"…_Mm-mm…" he nodded._

"… _Swallow", she pouted._

"_Nuh-uhm…" he shook his head_

"_Dummy."_

-0-0-0-0-0-

Chuckling slightly, Piandao picked up a long rectangular box from Lin's Nightstand. "Here", he gave the box to his student. "I made this for Princess Azula to show my gratitude for her hospitality. Feel free to take the credit if you must."

Lin lifted up the lid of the box and was greeted by a red short sword that seemed so familiar: fifteen centimeters of guard-less handle, forty of blade; the exterior was red, bright red, with golden lotus blossom around the upper hilt that was mirrored on the upper scabbard; vines of gold with tiny leaves coiled around the hilt to the pommel that was an engraved cap, and the scabbard to the base, that bore similar fashion to the pommel.

"Nameless?" Lin asked as he picked up the sword and Piandao gave him a familiar small wrapped bundle Lin knew contained tools for engraving.

"I thought Princess Azula would appreciate the opportunity to choose the name herself", said Piandao.

Lin put the bundle inside his chest garb and was about to leave again when he decided that he should put his flute and pouch of personal belongings in his drawer.

"Bad feeling, huh?" Piandao smirked.

"Ominous", Lin gave him a strained smile as he tugged the red sword on the spot where his flute would usually be. He bowed to Piandao before putting on his hood and heading out, but not before he turned and asked his master one question that had been bugging him since he woke up. "Master, what's a smut?"

"Out!"

* * *

Okay, here it is… the moment of truth…

Lin gulped at the red door with golden engravings at the end of the hall; he himself was hidden behind a false wall panel that hid the secret passageway he was taking shelter in. A couple of guards walked pass by, completely oblivious of his presence. Apparently, his beating heart drumming his eardrum was not loud enough for them.

Just relax, he told himself. Just show up, say a simple… '_hi'_ or something, and duck if fire starts flying, and wing it from there. Show up, a simple '_hi'_, duck. As long as she is doing fine…. You can power through everything else!

Oh, boy…

Let's see… Earth Kingdom cherries; check. The red sword; check.

But, really? Cherries? Why couldn't he get something like… a necklace or something? Not that he had ever seen Azula wearing any jewelries or anything; for a Fire Princess, Azula was strangely frugal (Lu Ten, though, once used the term '_boyish'_). And a sword? Come on, Master Piandao! Is _blue_ flame not dangerous enough!

Oh, Lin hated being like this… he could not think straight. His formidable intellect had all but abandoned him since…

… since the scream…

Inhaling deeply, Sifu Lin stepped out of the panel, circling around to the direction of Azula's window. Lin was no fool. He knew how protective Fire Lord Ozai was towards his children. Zuko and Azula's rooms, especially Azula's room, were guarded heavily by the Royal Assassins; the guards who stood outside Zuko's quarters were Rocky's colleagues from the Seiryu in disguise, the head maid responsible for Azula's quarter was a senior Byakko that even Lin, an uninitiated, knew by reputation, and there were at least a platoon of Genbu perching on their roofs always in tightly rotated shifts. There must be at least a dozen pair of eyes fixed on Azula's door at all time.

Azula's winter chamber was located on the fifth floor. Lin had to jump down the railing on the hallway, crouched along the small tilting roof lining along the wall, and crawled all the way to her opened window, crouching below her windowsill. Okay, here goes… Lin goaded himself. He had been to Azula's room before; a study desk right under her window. Jump in, land on the desk, leap to the side, left side. Right side was her vanity mirror, left side was her bookrack. There would be some shadow to hide in there.

Okay, here goes… before the assassin guards noticed him…

_Oh, Azula… please be okay…_

Lin climbed and leaped like a dragon taking flight… and crashed into a pile of books, a stack of papers, and a mountain of scrolls. A short moment of surprise was complemented by a brief episode of disorientation as the combination of his unceremonious but no less spectacular stumbling and the force of gravity dragged him down, and completing his failure was a dull ache as his face hit the floor.

Contrary to popular belief, carpet does not break a fall. Not that much.

"Ow!" Lin groaned; the pile of books, a stack of papers, and mountain of scrolls avalanching on him… they were mocking him! "Crapster! Since when there's a mountain of—"

His words were cut short by a certain Fire Princess' astonishment at his sudden appearance. "Oh, uh… Hi…?"

Oh, relieved indeed was our young Dragon at the sight of her, obviously ready for bed, judging from her nightgown and ponytail, as she rose slowly from her seat in front of her vanity mirror. Relief indeed was all Lin felt seeing her standing on her own two feet, eyes widened in astonishment, mouth hung open slightly, blue flame flying from her fist to his fee—

"Eeek!" Lin jumped like a little girl as the blue, oh, _her_ blue flame, flew to the floor, barely missing his feet. Have I mentioned that when Lin crash landed he knocked down Azula's papers to the floor? Anyway, the papers were on the floor and they fell victim to Azula's misfire.

Lin kept his gaze at her; he should be scared but oh, relieved indeed was he seeing her fuming, seeing her shoulders and chest rising up and down in anger. Relived indeed Lin was, finally seeing for himself that Azula was doing fine. He cared not for anything else.

"Azula, I am so glad—", his advancing forward was discourage by the Princess' sharp movement of raising her fist. Gulping, Lin backed away slowly with hands slightly raised in a surrender manner; do not provoke the blue flame girl, he warned himself.

For a few seconds, their gaze flew between each other and the flickering flame engulfing Azula's papers and books. Lin felt that he should do something about the flame but he could not afford to provoke the blue flame girl. Azula felt that Lin should do something about it too, since he was closer to it, but she could trust her self-restraint. Should Lin move just a single muscle, she knew that she would surrender to the urge to incinerate the bastard on the spot.

Few moments of awkward stand-off later…

"Put it out!" Azula cried, stomping her foot rapidly and angrily. God, he is so thick!

"Okay, okay!" Lin quickly took off his robe and beat the fire with it. "J-just don't hurt me, okay."

Azula bit her lip, trying so very hard not to cry even if it would be of anger, and not to tremble so much as her own breath betrayed her in her chest, clogging her throat and nose. He's here, she told herself, convincing herself that she was not dreaming. He's here, in her room, putting out fire with his robe. Agni knows how upset, how hurt she felt, how angry, how furious.

And how she secretly missed him; secret even to herself.

And how she hated him for that…

Done with the fire, Lin threw his smoky robe on her desk. He returned his gaze at Azula and… oh, relived indeed. "Azula, I'm so glad that— ooookay…" his three quick steps forward, smiling, were soon followed by five small steps backward, gulping; Azula had raised her fist again.

For a few seconds, they just stared at each other; one was furious and hurting and angry and _hating him_, the other relived and cautious, but mostly relived, and a little afraid because he was completely defenseless.

Lin fidgeted uncomfortably, trying so hard to think of a way, any way, he could calm her down; him less than covertly shoving her burnt paper with his foot under her desk, by the way, was not helping. But, relief -oh, his relief- of seeing her doing just fine was clouding his mind. He could not think of anything. He said the first thing that came to his mind. "…Hi?"

"'Hi'", she hissed angrily. "'Hi'? Is that all you've got to— to—", her angry trembling rendered her speechless. Azula looked away and pressed a hand hard to her face, gritting her teeth. "Don't come near me!" she shrieked, halting Lin's step.

"Azula", Lin tried to smile but what came out was something one might classify as a grimace. "Azula, come on… look! I-I brought gifts. Azula, wait! Put that fire ball—", he ducked just in time. "Put that other fire ball— WAIT!"

Azula's raised flaming palm was trembling as much as the rest of her. Lin calmly put his cherries pouch and the red sword on Azula's desk, paced away to a clearer space, and stretched his arms, shoulder, and back a little. Steeling himself, he said. "Okay, I'm ready", before cringing on the spot with his eyes closed.

He didn't hear no flickering fire. It was an ominous crackling that chilled his blood and set the hair on the back of his neck standing…

He opened one of his eyes, his other eyes flipped open next, as did his mouth. Azula went through the distinct circular motion with her finger jabs.

"Holy sh—"

When the cold-blooded fire trailed his way, Lin's reflex of firebending defensive stance kicked in. With pure chi on his palm, he tried to synchronize with the lightning. Lin Family fire redirection technique works a lot like a radio, you see. You got a radio, a firebender, and the radio frequency in the air, the flame being shot at the said firebender. If your radio could synchronize its frequency to the one in the air, it would work fine. If a firebender can match his chi to a flame being thrown at him, he will claim it as his own. Too little chi, he will get burnt; too much chi, the fire will simply be overwhelmed.

That being said, Lin Family fire redirection does _not_ work on lightning…

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Names:

1. Taja, from Pipil word which is the third person of 'you', because Lin is seeing his past life as an observer.

2. Serra, Italian for 'evening'. There will be a multi-chaptered side story about her that would explain more about her name.

3. Tora, Japanese for 'tiger'

4. Temmera, Telugu for 'wind'

At first, I did not plan for Avatar Serra to appear at all. It was supposed to be Piandao who helped the brokenhearted Lin to understand Iroh's pain but it would appear that Lin needed someone, a stranger, with no ties to Iroh at all. It's the psychology. Think about it; if it was Piandao, Lin would just assume that he was taking Iroh's side because they were fellow White Lotus. Lin might even feel betrayed by Piandao.

Also, at first I wanted Avatar Serra to be all serious and wise and Avatarish like Roku. I made the foolish mistake of watching the Big Bang Theory while writing this chapter…

As mentioned above, there might be a multi-chapter side story about Avatar Serra. Either that or a completely separate spin-off (right now, I'm leaning more towards spin-off). It's because of Taja's death; it seems suspicious to me. So, I ask that voice in my head. "Dear Mr. Voice, could it be that Taja committed suicide with his lightning? I mean, he was fine and uninjured and then, bam! He fell down hacking blood."

The Voice blew me a raspberry…

It won't come out anytime soon, though. I'm only writing it whenever I have a block or am simply bored writing this story. Funny, huh? I'm taking a break from writing by writing. :D

Anyway, songs of the chapter! I was listening to Lindsey Striling on YouTube (her album wasn't out then! It's out now! :D) while writing this chapter. Her violin rendition of Yiruma's _'River Flows in You_' fits well with the part where Serra and Taja's relationship went south all the way to Taja's death. Also, '_Electric Daisy Violin'_ sort of inspired the Solstice Dance.

And I wonder if anyone noticed the Earth Kingdom chauvinism in Spear's telling the Fire Nation woman to tell him her name? Also, a reminder: Haoren means 'good person'.

I guess that's it. Happy reading!


	89. Chapter 88

**Chapter 88 – Flight Home, Part 4**

**-Suicidal Confession-**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"I didn't know you've leant lightning", Lin said as soon as he came to. Azula, sitting by his side with their backs against the wall below the window, hugging her folded legs, refused to even look at him, let alone reply verbally.

"You look different", Lin said again after a while.

"You _sound_ different". Azula said, still somewhat angrily and not looking.

"I do _not_", Lin denied weakly. They sat for a second or three in silence; he was still looking at her, head turned as much as his numb post-electrocuted state could permit; she was still refusing to look at him while fighting her own battle inside. It was Azula who broke the silence next.

"I'm wearing makeup. Dad said I'm old enough", she said, picking up a cup of cold tea she heated up before handing it to her sifu. That was when Lin noticed her nails, prompting her to add. "The maids did that. Dad said I'm old enough for that too."

"Looks good on you", Lin commented, feeling somewhat… weird, it was akin to embarrassment. Simply to ease his awkwardness, he took a sip of his cup. It might be that he had just been struck by Azula's lightning or the pseudo-embarrassment, or whatever, but he did not notice how… unique his tea looked before taking a sip that he immediately spat out. "I'm guessing the maid didn't make _this_."

"I made that", Azula turned to him finally but she looked offended.

"Oh", Lin gulped; there was this dangerous glint in that narrowed amber of hers. Sloshing the teacup a little, Lin braved further comments. "Um, you do now that tea shouldn't be this… black and… chunky, right?"

Which caused Azula to snatch the teacup away and, from the looks of it was about to either dump it on Lin's head or throw it across the room. Thankfully, she decided that making a mess of her room was not worth the aggravation. She just exhaled hard to quell her rage and set the cup down.

"So", Lin said after an appropriate moment of silence and being ignored. "How have you been?"

"If you hadn't left, you'd know", Azula muttered brusquely.

"Ouch", Lin said.

They sat again is silence. Lin was too numb to do anything but stare; really, his nose itched and he could not even lift his arm that high. Azula just sat there, staring at the spot on the carpet her toes was rubbing. Few seconds later, again Azula was the first to cave.

This time, it got physical.

"Why! Did! You! Leave!" she screamed, accompanying each word with a beating on his shoulder.

"Shh! Not so loud!" Lin hissed gravely. "I don't wanna go back to the prison! It's terrible in there. They… they'd tie me up with chains! Remember that one time?"

"That's because you attacked the guards!" she snapped, shoving him hard, then rising to her feet, she stomped her way to the door. She opened the door and yelled out. "GUARDS!"

"Oh, no… by my own student…" Lin's heart leaped to his throat. He would try to move away but other than limited hands and arms movement, he could barely move at all.

There were hushed voice of males outside of the room; Lin was sitting on the corner of the room under the window so natural they could not see him. But, aside from Azula's hand holding the opened door, he could not see anything either. Her voice came next, rapid and angry, the guards' fearful protest was next, her subsequent, "OUT!" won the verbal bout.

Lin's puzzled relief was, however, soon replaced by apprehension as Azula slammed the door hard, locked it (she never locked her door, Lin thought fearfully), and turned to him with shallow breaths and glaring amber that signify another flash of lightning coming to his direction. She strode to where he was sitting rather fast, seemingly ready to beat him up to a pulp with her bare hands, but she stopped halfway, still panting and generally looking very upset.

She halted her steps, gasped and looked away, closing her eyes and gripping her face with a hand, trying hard to not to break down. Azula really did not know why she…

She just did not know what to do.

"I'm going to take a shower", she said coldly.

"Okay", Lin sighed a relief. "So, I'll just crawl out and get arrested somewhere—"

"Stay", she growled. "When I get back, you better still be here. I'm not finished with you."

"You're going to shoot lightning at me again?" Lin asked, not entirely sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"Maybe", Azula muttered. With one last hateful look, she huffed her way to her bathroom and slammed the door rather loudly behind her.

The sound of her shower drizzling was very ominous to Lin for some reason. But, then again, that might just be the ringing in his ears. Azula's night shower was quick; partly because she could not trust that Lin would actually stay. The moment she opened her bathroom door, stepping out with droplets of water on her face and hair, seeing her sifu still sitting there, she felt a tiny shred of relief that she immediately trampled with anger.

With clenched jaws and still unsure how she should feel about his return, Azula made her way back to his side, fixing the knot of her nightgown. She sat there, fixing her eyes once more at her toes; she could not even bring herself to look at him. Yeah, she was _that_ mad.

"You've changed", said Lin again once she got a better look at Azula without her makeup; she had gotten taller and she had, well… changed. "I really shouldn't have left."

"But, you left", Azula added extra acid on the last word.

"I had to", Lin said again.

"You lied to me", Azula looked away, afraid that her eyes might betray her. "You said you'd go to Fire Fountain City with me."

"I know", Lin said apologetically. "I'm sorry."

Azula had no answer for this, not of the verbal kind anyway. Turning to him, she beat him up on the arm again, word per word. "Why! Did! You! Leave! Liar!"

"Azu— Ow, I don't…", Lin grimaced, his head was splitting. "I don't mind the beating; I'm numb all over anyway. But, please, keep the yelling to the minimum. My head is—"

Azula leaned close to his ear and screamed. The assault of his auditory function in this post-lightning-struck state of his was just as bad as being struck with Azula's lightning. "OW! Stop that!"

She gave him another earful. Literally.

"Liar!" Azula screamed, hitting him hard. "Traitor!"

"I am _not_ a traitor!" Lin argued crossly. "I'm a fugitive. There's a big difference."

"Traitor! Traitor! TRAITOR!" she did not relent.

"Azula, wait!" with every ounce of his strength, he caught her wrists. "Just… wait, please. You can hit me as much as you want. Just promise me one thing: no firebending. No, no! Put that flame— _Azula_!"

Azula was panting from anger; her flame she held in her claw, she squeezed into nothingness as she opted for a very hard plain punch. "Why are you grinning!" she snapped tersely.

"I…" Lin smiled, almost laughed even. "I'm just glad you're doing okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Azula growled, sitting back down. "Why would you care anyway?"

_Oh, a chance here… now, take it!_ "Well, that's because I'm your…" _fiancé_. "…sifu."

"You're not my sifu anymore!" Azula denied heatedly.

"Oh, I still am", Lin scoffed but mentally slapping his forehead for his last second cowardice. "I think… I've never actually got fired, so..."

Screaming her frustration, Azula, as expected, proceeded to beat her hopeless sifu again; she even got up and kicked him once before stomping to her bed and sat there fuming. To Lin's horror, Azula jumped up and stormed her way back to him again. "No, no, no… Azula, wai— I'm so dead…" he closed his eyes and cringed, ready to accept his fate like a man. Sort of…

What he felt was her on his chest, her arms around him, the smell of her soap, shampoo, and leftover perfume filled his nose. Lin thought Azula was hugging him at first until he felt her tugging him up. "Oh, you want me to—"

"Just get up!" she snapped.

"Okay, okay", Lin gulped. Heaving, he tried to push himself up. His legs, by the by, were still numb; he stumbled and dragged the both of them down. "Wait!" he raised his index finger to halt Azula's incoming fist. "You zapped me. This is technically your fault so— ufgh!"

After calming herself the best she could –that hit on the moron's the gut helped a lot-, Azula tried hauling the aforementioned moron up again. Azula might have grown from the height of Lin's chest to the level of his nose but she was still a girl. Lin was quite heavy for her, especially since the idiot could not even walk right on his own. She sat him down begrudgingly on the left side of her bed, took off his boots roughly and shoved him down hard on the chest.

"Ouch!" Lin grunted. Azula's right hand hit him right on the heart; it felt like his chest was being poked with a bat in his numbed state. Still showing every symptoms of being miffed, Azula circled around and rested herself on the far side of the bed, her back turned on Lin. "I thought you usually sleep in the middle", Lin asked before he could stop himself.

Azula turned to him with narrowed suspicious eyes. "How do you know that?"

"I know stuff", Lin shrugged lightly. "I can sleep down here, you know", he had actually begun to roll down when Azula's very angry. "You can't sleep down there!" stopped him dead.

"Why not?" Lin asked, trying so very hard to ignore the heat arising from his neck.

"You just can't!" Azula yelled again, fighting her own losing battle with her blushing cheeks. Half-angry, half- flustered, she plopped back down to her pillow.

Not knowing what else to do, Lin too rested his head on Azula's other pillow. A familiar scent of vanilla he caught from the pillow and bed, and from her, told him who had been hanging around his room. He was not sure how to feel about it. So, Lin just lay there, staring at the upper velvet panel of her four-poster bed. He raised his hand to his head, closing his eyes. His head hurt…

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_I don't believe that any man can be truly evil", he said, polishing his blade. "Not even your father."_

"_Personal experience?" the scarred Fire Lord asked, leaning on his doorway with crossed arms._

"_Something like that", he snickered slightly, lifting his blade against the sunlight shining through the window of his room. "I have done a lot of things I am not proud of", he turned to the scarred Fire Lord with a sharp meaningful look. "And yet, am I not a hero?"_

"_You did what you did for your country", the Fire Lord argued; his tone however was between awkward sheepishness and outright discomfort. Not very argumentative._

"_Sozin started the war", he said sourly. "Not your father."_

"_He could have stopped it", the Fire Lord said bitterly. The other man laughed._

"_Oh, this is rich", he laughed harder. "Trust me. If the Avatar had never returned and even if you assumed the Fire Throne the way you did, by usurping your father, the war would have never ended. You're a dreamer, Fire Lord."_

"_Don't call me that", the Fire Lord said a little brusquely._

"_Fire Lord or dreamer?"_

"_Both."_

-0-0-0-0-0-

Lin gasped as he returned to reality. He shut his eyes hard, trying to banish that 'vision'. He did not like it. It made him… The ones about that Fire Lord with a scarred face made him feel… _disgusted_. His chest felt so heavy, Lin involuntarily sniffed, taking in quick air. The floral scent of Azula made him turn to her direction. She was no longer on the far side of the bed with her back turned on him; she was just inches away, lying on her right side with her arms crossed and her eyes scrutinizing him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, there was a tinge of genuine concern in her still irritated tone. "You were mumbling."

"Just a headache", Lin half-lied.

"Oh", was all she said. After about two seconds of silence, she sat up abruptly, reached to her pillow, and beat Lin up repeatedly with it. She stopped, glared at him briefly, then beat him up some more. "I hate you!"

"Azula…" Lin started patiently, unable to hold his smile.

"Why are you smiling?!" Azula barked angrily, accompanying each word with a blow of her pillow.

"I'm just glad you're doing okay", Lin chuckled, receiving a blow to his face willingly. "I'm still numb, you know."

So, of course, Azula moved to his ear and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Stop that!" Lin managed through his massive head ache. Azula seemed to be too busy beating him to hear his protest.

"I-I…" she gasped, oh, so angry was she. "Liar!"

"Well…" Lin fidgeted.

"Traitor!" she yelled again.

"Fugitive!"

"I don't care!" she yelled. "I… I don't…" she stopped abruptly.

"Azula, listen—", Lin tried to explain but she beat him once more.

"Why—", her gasp caught her throat again; she looked and sounded more hurt than angry which Lin thought was a lot worse. "Why did you leave?!"

"Azula, I—"

"Shut up! You-you…" unable to form her speech properly, Azula opted for another high-pitched ear-splitting scream on Lin's ear.

"Ow, stop yelling in my ear!" Lin protested through his throbbing head.

"Liar!" her pillow swung down like a mallet of justice.

"Yes, but—"

"Traitor!" again the pillow of righteousness struck!

"Fugitive! Why do people keep—"

"Traitor! Liar! Idiot!" her strikes accompanied each words.

"Okay! Idiot is just rude. I'm smar—", her pillow nearly flattened his nose. "Azulaaaaa! Stop for a sec—"

—thud—

"—ond and listen to me—

—thud—

"…"

Nothing happened for about three seconds.

"So, here's what happened—"

—THUD—

"That one really hurt", Lin said sulkily.

"You said you were numb!" Azula screamed still angrily, if not angrier. "You just got back for a couple of hours and you're already lying to me!"

"I didn't— but, I wasn't—", Lin blurted. "Oy… me and my big mouth…"

"Exactly how many girls have you lied to all the way to the Earth Kingdom!" she demanded heatedly.

"None! No one else, I swear! I only ever lied to you!"

"That's even worse!"

"Again, me and my big mouth…" Lin griped under the rain of pillow blows.

"You, liar!" she screamed. "Traitor! You… you… _stupid_!"

"Really, stupid?" Lin snickered despite his common sense. "That's the best you can come up with? Okay! Wait, wait! No hard object! Put that vase down!"

Still panting, Azula did what she was told; her only defense was that killing him right now would be troublesome for her. How would she get rid of his carcass? Naturally, she reverted back to her pillow strikes. "Why-did-you-leave-with-out-say-ing-good-bye!" she yelled each syllables with anger and beating.

"I did say goodbye!" Lin's somewhat forceful defense melted as he added. "Sort of…"

Azula angrily and somewhat strugglingly crawled her way to her side of the bed –it was a rather large bed-, pulled out her drawer noisily and took out her black and white beaded bracelet. "I don't want it!" she flung it hard to his face.

"Ow, my eye!"

"I hate you!" it was the one that truly got to him… aside from his hurting left eye. "You... you stupid… traitor! Liar! Stupid!"

Lin opened his mouth, wanting to say something in his defense; his words were engulfed by the sight of her… oh, Agni, Lin lamented in his mind at the sight of her angry amber, her short breaths, her trembling shoulder, her… he really had hurt her. "Azula…"

"I don't want to hear anything from you", she said, nearly sobbed. "Just… just go to sleep…"

Lin decided not to argue. "Okay", he got up with great effort and made his way to the floor. Yeah… he did not deserve fluffy bed.

"I said you can't sleep down there!" Azula's turning to him and scream made him jump. "Get back on the bed or I'll zap you again!"

"Okay, okay! N-no zapping, please…" Lin quickly scrambled himself into her quilt. "See… bed, me in… so, no zap. Please… It really hurt."

Azula growled exasperatedly. Throwing her pillow hard to her side of the bed, she moved there with equal rigor. She beat her pillow like she so certainly would Lin's stupid head, fluffing it a little too violently and rested her head on it, clearly still upset. True enough, barely two seconds passed and she flew once more to the limp Dragon's side, armed with her pillow and her intent to kill.

"Az—ow! Azula", Lin called, shielding himself with his arms helplessly; Azula was beating him with both her pillow and her small but mean fist. "Azula! Stop—"

"I hate you!" she screamed out loud.

"Azul— Azula, wait! Let me explain!"

"Stupid!"

—knock, knock—

They gasped, eyes thrown to the direction of the door. Before Lin could formulate a plan, or compose a will, or anything, Azula shoved him off the edge of the bed, making him yelp. Next, she landed rather roughly on top of him; her knee staked him on the gut, her chin collided with his forehead. Panting in panic this time, she shoved him under her bed none too gently like he was some dirty secret. She leaped quickly to her desk, gathered Lin's belongings –his robe, pouch, and red sword- and shoved it under the bed too.

Azula swiftly made his way to the door, doubling back for she had forgotten about Lin's boots; she picked them up, looked around in panic, and threw it over her folding screen on the other side of the room. Okay, what else, she threw her panic glance across her room. No more sign of him ever being here aside from the burnt paper on her desk, that she really could do nothing abo— _the bracelet_! She scooped it up from the bed and, in her trepidation –part of her wanted to just threw it away to the dark corner of her room, the other part was begging her not to because it was… she shuddered at the word, _special_- she just shoved it inside her nightgown chest.

Azula made her way to the door only to double back again. Skidding to the floor, she leaned under her bed to her stupid sifu and hissed. "Stay there! Don't make a sound!"

"Aw, you do care about me", Lin teased. Azula sat her butt down to ease her delivering a front kick to his gut.

"Me and my big mouth…" Lin coughed breathlessly. He lay flat on his back, wishing to Agni whoever it was at the door would not find him there. Being back to the Fire Nation was bad enough; if he was caught in the Royal Palace… in Princess Azula's room… at night… alone with the Princess… who was in her nightgown… and him hiding under her bed! "I really didn't think this through", he muttered, already picturing his dead badly burnt carcass hanging from the highest of gallows.

The sound of Azula's door, the ray of moonlight that flooded the part of the floor his feet were pointing, and her very calm. "Father", sent another wave of chill to Lin. The Fire Lord himself! Of all the guards, servants, and maids who lived here, of everyone who could have been on that door… it had to be the Fire Lord himself, Fire Lord Ozai… someone whose Lightning Generation was bound to be more deadly than Azula's.

"Azula."

_That really is him! _Lin gripped his chest, the part where his heart is. _Oh, man… please, heart… don't beat so hard. He'll hear you!_ Lin was not sure what happened. He could see their shadows on the floor. Next thing he knew, Azula's shadow crumpled as her corporeal figure collapsed to the ground and Ozai's shadow transformed into his feet under his long robe barging in. Lin caught Azula's look of horror thrown at him before she quickly scrambled up.

"Father, it is late", Lin heard Azula said as the door creaked away and the moonlight diminished. _No, don't close the— too late_… "Is there anything you need?"

The subsequent few seconds of silence was pure torture for Lin and his petrified state. Fire Lord Ozai's shouting. "Azula!" scared both him and the Princess; he saw Azula's legs jumped a little. "What is going on here?"

_It's over…_

"I was practicing a firebending form earlier, Father", he heard Azula said, rather innocently, if he might add. "It was a Lin Family form called 'Flaming Wheel of Ne Zha'. I once saw Lin practicing it and thought I could emulate it from memory. Evidently, I was mistaken."

_Wow… she's good_. But, of course, Azula had pretty much mastered the Flaming Wheel of Ne Zha two years ago under Lin's tutelage. Still need work with the power and substance of her fla— _dude_, not the time… Lin told himself.

Fire Lord Ozai's feet shifted a bit, as if he was looking around… searching for Lin…

Azula stood her ground.

"You shouldn't practice firebending in your room", Fire Lord Ozai said finally. His tone was softer but still a wee bit suspicious.

"I know, Father. It was a mistake", Azula walked closer to him. Fire Lord Ozai, to Lin's horror, moved to her bedside, so very close to Lin's hiding spot. Lin could literally feel heat coming from the Fire Lord.

"I'm here to check on you, to make sure you didn't skip a meal again", the man said.

"I didn't. See", Lin followed the direction of Azula's feet turning. On that direction, a small portable table stood near her study desk. "I ate here in my room because I was too busy with work."

A simple. "Oh", came from the Fire Lord a second or two later.

It was an awkward silence, heart-gripping for Lin, as he watched Azula moved closer to her father and sat on her bed. Fire Lord Ozai stood for a moment; Lin suspected that he was still scanning the room for any signs of intruder. To his left, he watched their legs carefully. Azula's bare feet dangled a little, her toes curling and uncurling, her sign that she was nervous; Fire Lord's boots under his long robe settled down next, the heavy creaking of the bedframe told Lin that Fire Lord Ozai too sat down.

"You burnt quite a great deal of paper", Fire Lord Ozai's voice broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, Father", Azula's whispered reply was convincingly sad; her feet dangled slightly. Lin would imagine her delivering her potent puppy-dog eyes. "I will be careful next time… *sniff*"

_She's _really_ good_… Lin found himself stifling a smile.

"So, _firebending_", Fire Lord Ozai said slowly; Lin could sense his suspicion at the way he drawled on the word 'firebending'.

"Yes, Father", Azula still retained her sad tone. "Firebending."

"_Lin Family_ style, you say", Fire Lord Ozai prodded further; Lin gulped as silently as he could. Why the emphasis?!

"Yes", Azula said again, still convincingly doleful. "Lin Family style."

"I see", Fire Lord Ozai cleared his throat. A soft creak followed this utterance.

"Father, are you alright?" Azula asked next, with what would appear to be genuine concern to untrained ears. "You seem a little tired."

"Firebending?" Fire Lord Ozai asked again.

"Yes, firebending", Azula said again.

"Lin Family style?" again, the drawl… on 'Lin' and 'Family'.

"Lin Family style", still sad and remorseful. Way to go Azula!

"I thought you fingers are still hurting", Fire Lord Ozai switched to the offensive.

"I wasn't using my fingers", Azula said quietly. Nice… Flaming Wheel of Ne Zha uses palms. _Wait, her fingers are hurt?_

"Are you… _hurt_ anywhere?" Fire Lord Ozai drawled.

_Huh…?_ _Was she injured or something?_

"No, Father", Azula replied slowly. She gasped a little as her feet tensed up and Ozai's turned to her abruptly; one of her feet she set on the floor, seemingly to stabilize herself. "Um… F-father?"

"Azula, answer truthfully!" Fire Lord Ozai sounded stern. "You were… practicing firebending?"

"Y-yes?" Azula stammered.

"Lin Family style?" still stern.

"Uh-huh?" nervous, still.

"Are you— are you hurt anywhere?" now, there was concern.

"Um… no?" not convincing, thought Lin.

"Are you sure?" Fire Lord Ozai growled again.

"Yes?" Azula's reply was still unsure.

"You are not hurt? Really? You are not lying?" Fire Lord Ozai asked rapidly; Azula did not give verbal answer but what followed was. "Oh, embrace me", said very relievedly by the Fire Lord.

"Father", Azula groaned, sounding like she was being crushed in her father's hug. "You're acting unusually strange."

"I am worried", Fire Lord Ozai sighed in relief; so did Lin. "But, as I can see, you are not hurt. While practicing firebending. Lin Family style."

"Father, maybe you are tired", Azula said with a calmer tone, slightly authoritative even. "You need to get some rest."

_Oh, nice… Get him out!_ Lin crossed his fingers.

"Yes, but", Fire Lord Ozai's feet did not move. "Your nightgown is too thin! Wear something thicker; this is winter!"

"Of course, Father", Azula said quickly, standing up. "If you leave, I'll change into something else."

"The flower—", Fire Lord Ozai said again but he was interrupted.

"Yes, it is beautiful, Father. I love it", Azula was clearly struggling to pull the man. There was a smooching sound after she tiptoed a little. "Thank you, Father."

"Yes, yes", Fire Lord Ozai's feet was obviously nailed to the floor despite Azula's pushing him from behind. "Your papers—"

"Don't worry", Azula heaved; against all odds, she had the man a reach away from the door. "I will rewrite them. And I will not stay up too late."

"About lunch today—", Fire Lord Ozai pushed back but Azula put up quite a fight.

"That's alright, you're welcomed, hope you enjoyed the mustard". Azula's heaved as sweetly as she could.

"The fog—", the Fire Lord won a step inside.

"Yes, gone suddenly. Creepy", Azula hissed breathlessly as she regained the step and an additional two it took to push him across the threshold of her door. "Goodnight, Father."

"Yes, goodnight", Fire Lord Ozai said. Lin's relief at the door leaf swinging close was cut short by an abrupt halt and the Fire Lord. "Maybe I should get you a glass of warm milk while you work?"

"Father! I'm not a child!" Azula huffed.

Huh… Lin did not know Azula was this close to her father, or Fire Lord Ozai was this close to any of his children. Well, he knew that Azula was close her father, closer than Zuko was, but Fire Lord Ozai…? A kind of father who would baby his children? Unthinkable…

"That's what I'm afraid of", the man said under his breath. But, the Royal Female Quarter being devoid of any living being other than the three of them, even Lin could hear him.

"What?" Azula said flatly, clearly annoyed.

"Nothing", Fire Lord Ozai said quickly, also evasively.

Azula sighed loudly next. Lin saw her legs carried her forward towards her father. Seconds after, she said kindly. "Goodnight, Father. Sleep well. I know how winter gets you down."

"I do hate winter", Fire Lord Ozai said.

"Me too", Azula sounded just as downcast as Fire Lord Ozai.

"Remember what I taught you about firebending?" the Fire Lord asked again.

"Don't be afraid to use it", Azula's reply was muffled but sure.

"And about fighting?"

"No mercy."

"That's my girl", Fire Lord Ozai sighed deeply.

"Father", Azula giggled a little. "I'm not hopeless."

"I know, Azula", the monarch said tiredly.

"… Father, let go."

"Of course, Azula", he did not let go.

"… My spine is starting to hurt. Let go, Father."

Fire Lord Ozai's long robe stepped back. "Just remember to be careful. Understand, Azula?" he advised and turned away. Half a step later, he turned back and added. "Especially when you're practicing firebending", he said sternly, turned back, and turned around again. "Lin Family style is dangerous."

"Goodnight, Father", Azula's voice was still convincingly kind.

"Goodni—"

—SLAM—

Lin exhaled the breath he did not know he had been holding.

—CLICK—

It was followed by Azula's feet striding to the left side of her bed. She knelt down and leaned under her bed, looking slightly pale. Gripping Lin's forearm with both hands, she pulled the boy out. "Are you happy now?" she grumbled as she pulled the boy out not so gently; she tugged hard as she added heatedly. "I just lied to my dad!"

"Sorry?" Lin muttered; its slightly interrogative form, which indicates uncertainty, not apology, was not lost to Azula's hand smacking him hard on the chest. "I thought you were going to turn me in."

"The thought crossed my mind", Azula huffed, sitting on the floor near Lin, lying through her teeth. She did not know why but she really did not want him to get found by her father. Her only explanation, the one that she accepted, of course, was that she would also be implicated and get into trouble herself.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't", Lin sat up straighter, leaning his back against Azula's nightstand, rubbing his sore chest. "Anyway", he continued with a more cheery tone. "I brought you something."

Azula eyed the pouch coldly at first but her curiosity won her over eventually. "Grapes?"

"Emerald cherries. You like cherries, right? I was told that they're pretty good", Lin said. He was very very unsure about the nameless sword but the silliness of a pouch of cherries hit him again. "And a sword. Nameless. Wanna name it?"

"Now, this I can use!" Azula snatched the red sword.

"No, no! Azula! No sharp object!" Lin quickly held both her hands; one tightly gripping the sheath, the other ready to pull the sword free. "Azula! Don't play around with—"

Oh, he really did not want to do this… he had been sworn by Ty Lee to only ever use this dark knowledge of Azula's anatomy when it concerns the fate of the Fire Nation, but he had no choice: he poked his finger on…

…_the spot_…

As soon as Azula let go, gasping hard while clutching her ticklish waist, thrown a few feet away by the sheer force of tickle, Lin quickly seized the sword and tucked in on his sash behind his back, away from her reach. "W-wai— Okay, wait a minute", he said calmly at the fuming Princess. "You forced my han— _ugh_!"

"Stupid! Traitor! Jerk!" she screamed each words with a ramming fist at her cringing sifu.

"Azula! Don't hit me like that!" Lin somehow managed to make his voice heard, at her next series of pounding. "Wait! You'll ruin your nails!"

Azula stopped hitting at once, still fuming though. True, her long nails made forming a fist exceedingly difficult. She stood up angrily, climbed back up to her bed, not forgetting to stomp on Lin once, and returned with her vase that housed a lovely though slightly bent snow peony raised up high.

"Azu— Azula", Lin gulped at the angry Princess advancing at him with porcelain object housing a single white flower. "You'll ruin me!"

"Good!"

"You'll ruin your vase!"

She halted. "… I _am_ rather fond of this", Azula admitted tersely, setting her vase down on the nightstand a cringing Lin was leaning on. She moved back up and reached for the nearest pillow. Lin received the coming strikes much more willingly. "I… hate… you… hate… you… hate… you!" each words was accompanied by a blow.

"I know", Lin could not help but smile.

"What are you grinning about!" she got down and gave him more beating.

"I'm just glad you're doing fine", Lin said again, oh, so very relievedly. "Yeah, okay… hit me again if you want."

Lin cringed, closing his eyes, ready to accept more pillow strikes; Azula punched him hard on the chest. While Lin recovered from the very sharp blow on the floor, curling and coughing, Azula sat hugging her legs with her face buried in her arms. Great, now I made her cry, Lin cursed himself. But, his relief would not go away.

"I really…" he groaned as he picked up his still numb self. "… am glad that you're okay, you know."

"Shut up, I'm not talking to you", she emerged, refusing eye contact. Amber eyes fixed on the leg of her vanity mirror, she asked quietly. "Why did you leave?"

"I had to", Lin replied just as solemnly. "I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice."

"Did you even care about—", she sniffed dryly, biting her lip; she could not, _did not_ want to finish that sentence.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Lin smiled at her.

"For good?" she asked still growly but begrudgingly hopeful, turning to him finally. Oh, how Lin wished his smile had not faltered.

"No", Lin replied sadly. "For a few days max."

"Why do you even bother showing up?!" Azula snapped, getting up and stomping her way to the other side of the bed. She beat her innocent pillow somewhat forcefully, fluffing the already fluffy pillow before lying down there with her back understandably turned to Lin.

Lin sighed silently… being a sifu is never easy…

"So… I'm sleeping down here now?"

"GET UP!"

After he was back up in the bed…

"So… lightning?" he braved another question. She did not answer.

"I said I'm not talking to you!" she snapped again, not even moving.

"Get under the blanket", Lin said, moving to her side, lifting her part of the quilt.

"I don't want it!" her angry reply halted him for a moment. Lin pulled the red quilt over her shoulder anyway, to which she proceeded to kick it under her feet harshly.

"Azula", Lin started but she snapped at him. "Shut up! I wanna sleep!" still without even turning to Lin.

Smiling sadly, Lin moved back to his appointed place as silently as possible. Resting his head appreciatively back on her pillow, Lin stared back at the layer velvet up there. He had really hurt her indeed. This was the first for him; Lin really did not know what he should do from here. He could only stare at the layer of velvet up there, lost in thought for what seemed to be an eternity.

As they lay on the bed, Azula's back was turned to him on the other side of her large bed and she had stubbornly refused her blanket, Lin stared at her back, pondering upon what he should do next. His relief and light mood faded somewhat as he noticed Azula's shoulder started trembling. Maybe he had gone too far. He crept closer to her, trying not to shake the bed too much. Despite what she said earlier, Lin pulled the thick red quilt over her shoulder once more, taking it as an excuse to raise his head over hers to catch the sight of her, indeed, crying.

"I'm n-not cry-crying", Azula sobbed, her stubborn and definitely wet amber eyes refused to even turn to him though they were wide open.

"I know", Lin said, circling his arm over her and squeezed her softly, pressing his chin on back of her head and her back to his chest, catching her refusing hand in his. "You're just laughing the wrong way."

She sobbed harder, with left hand clasping her mouth for she did not want to let him hear her cry; her right curled up to a tight fist in Lin's hand. Lin dived his fingers softly but surely into her fist; her nails must have been hurting her palm. She fought at first but her keeping her sobs inaudible was more important to her than gripping her fist.

"Are you mad at me?" Lin asked quietly, gripping her stubborn fingers lightly.

"I-I hate you", Azula sobbed terribly. "Why-why did you l-leave?"

_I had no choice_… he nearly said this again. "I'm sorry", he whispered. He really was sorry.

"I-I hate you", Azula's sob did not stop. "Y-you lied to m-me."

"I know", Lin said again, pressing his chin a little on top of her head. "I'm sorry."

"J-jerk."

"I am."

"Li-liar…"

"Yeah…"

"Traitor."

"Fugitive."

Azula chuckled a little, before she closed her mouth again; unfortunately for her, Lin heard it.

"I still hate you!" she declared quickly, trying to hide that defiant smile that tried to crawl its way back to her mouth.

"It's okay", Lin said, a tiny bit gleefully, a lot relieved. "As long as you're doing fine."

"Why wouldn't I be doing fine?" Azula huffed, sniffing back her subsiding sobs. Lin did not answer her, of course. They just stayed that way for a few more moments, each not knowing what else to say. Wiping her eyes dry, trusting her voice not crack, Azula asked again. "Why did you leave?"

Lin thought for a moment. "Remember the deals?" he asked back.

"What deals?" Azula muttered, raising her head a little, allowing Lin to put his folded arm under her head.

"You know, the ones I had with Fire Lord Azulon", Lin reminded as Azula rested her head on his folded arms. "Three deals, the first one is I got to be your firebending teacher?"

"You never told us the other two", Azula sniffed, wiping her leftover tears.

"This is second one", Lin said, choosing his words carefully. "I have to work for the Fire Lord, you know, doing spy stuff."

"Liar", Azula whispered somewhat acidly. "I don't believe you."

"I know", Lin smiled weakly, pressing his chin to her head slightly. "Hard to believe, huh?"

"So, you're some sort of an Imperial Agent", Azula said skeptically, pressing her thumbnail into his index finger.

"Something like that", Lin half-lied. Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination, aka the Royal Assassins, and the Imperial Agents are both part of the clandestine units, although the Royal Assassins were more secretive and their existence was unknown to anyone but the Fire Lord and a handful of the highest ranking of military officers. She did not say anything for the next few seconds, only silently jabbing his hand with her thumbnail.

"By the way, what are you naming your sword?" Lin changed the topic. "It's still nameless. When you think of something I'll carve it there with these tools that I, for some reason, still keep in my garb."

Chuckling slightly, Lin let go of her hand and fished his chest for the tool bundle Piandao gave him. He reached forward and put it on Azula's nightstand in front of them, where the vase containing a single snow peony had been, before returning his hand once more to hers; she welcomed it this time and immediately began jabbing it with her nail again.

"How have you been?" Lin asked, looking at her nail leaving temporary marks on his skin.

"That thing's been poking my back. It hurt", Azula said, referring of course to the bundle of tool now sitting near her vase.

"Sorry", Lin snickered lowly. "Look, I know this is not the right time to say this but… you smell really nice", he grinned as she failed to hold her giggle. "Ah! You're laughing!"

"I'm not!" she denied through her grin and cupped hand over her mouth. Sniffing her laughter and leftover sob, she elbowed him hard. "I'm still mad at you", this time she succeeded a little in sounding angry.

"When did you start wearing perfume?" Lin asked, bracing through the sharp pain on his ribs.

"I don't know, autumn", Azula said trying to sound flat and angry but it came out a strangely casual. "My dad picked it up for me."

"Huh, your dad?" Lin scoffed slightly.

"Who else would do that for me? My mom?" Azula's tone was the most condescending at the last word.

"You've never told me what happened to her", Lin said, rubbing her knuckle slightly with his finger.

"You've never asked", Azula replied coldly.

"What happened to her?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

Lin did not push her.

"You're still numb?" she asked this time.

"Yep", Lin said, his numbness returned to his consciousness. "I still can't feel my legs."

"Oh", was all she had in response.

"You weren't… trying to kill me, were you?" Lin asked quietly.

"I don't know", Azula fixed her eyes on the bundle of tools, ignoring the pang in her chest. "I was angry."

"Was?" Lin stifled his smile.

"Still _am_", she growled and elbowed him again, not as hard as before though.

Chuckling a little, Lin asked again. "You hurt your fingers?"

"I don't wanna talk about it", Azula huffed a little.

"What do you want to talk about then?" Lin asked.

"You", Azula said, trying to sound impassive, biting her finger a little. "What have you been doing out there?"

"Well, you know… playing soldiers in the Earth Kingdom Army, I got demoted to a lieutenant", Lin shrugged.

"You are stationed in the Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital, the 44th. Last autumn you led a group of medics, a band of Water Tribe, and two female warriors to attack and capture Commander Zhao in Nan Yi Forest", Azula droned. "You were wearing black and carrying two swords at the time",

"Azula", Lin raised his head and spoke full of stern concern. "You promised me you'd burn that black velvet book Mai gave you for your birthday two years ago; you know, the one with a picture of a bloodstained handprint on the front cover."

"It's not that, dummy", Azula elbowed him again. "I've been helping my dad with his job. I read the report."

"Oh", Lin felt relieved somewhat. "So, Fire Lord Ozai knows that it was me who…?"

"So, it really was you?" Azula asked slowly and scoffed bitterly. "You _are_ a traitor."

"Fugitive", Lin sighed tiredly. "And, no— I mean, yes, that was me. But, no—"

"Stop sniffing me", Azula said suddenly.

"Sorry", Lin cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I didn't betray the Fire Nation. Technically, Zhao did violate the Hongmen Convention; he'd get arrested by our side anyway. I still have to maintain my cover, plus I kinda hate him. So, I thought… hey, why not catch him myself? I can sell myself as a hero to the Earth Kingdom people."

"You can get into trouble", reminded Azula sharply .

"Nah, your dad knows about it", Lin dismissed it but… "He knows, right?"

"I didn't tell him", Azula admitted. "I did ask the Inquisitors for more information about 'Lieutenant Lin of the Earth Kingdom Army'. I wanted to make sure first. So, I distracted him with that Water Tribe band."

"Well, you know more about Lieutenant Lin than the Inquisitors do", Lin scoffed lightly. "You just zapped him. Oh, and it's 'of Ba Sing Se Vanguard'. Sounds better."

"Show off", Azula muttered, elbowing lightly. "Two swords?"

"One was a spare", Lin explained.

"Oh", she said again.

Few seconds passed.

"Dummy? I thought I was stupid", Lin asked playfully.

"You're both", Azula said bluntly.

"For a moment there, I thought you were gonna say 'dumb-dumb'", Lin sniffled. "You never called me dumb-dumb. You called Zuko and Lu Ten dumb-dumb, but never me."

"You're worse that a dumb-dumb", Azula said curtly.

"Not true", Lin argued. "I'm smart. Don't believe me? Ask me anything."

"What the third deal?" Azula turned around to him a little.

"Yes-no questions only", Lin said again.

"You don't get to make the rules", Azula narrowed her eyes at him.

"Says who?" Lin scoffed.

"Says me", Azula said matter-of-factly. "Princess", she pointed at herself, then at him. "Traitor."

"Fugitive."

"Princess wins either way", Azula continued as if she was never interrupted. "Tell me what the third deal is."

"Hmm, let me think", Lin frowned. Well, this is a chance, why not take it. "Eh… no."

"Why not?" Azula asked dryly, and then she bargained. "If you tell me, I'll stop hating you."

"Oh, I doubt it", Lin muttered softly, not soft enough.

"It has something to do with me, doesn't it?" Azula turned to him completely.

"No", Lin evaded uncomfortably. _Just say it! Take the chance now!_

"What is it? Spill it", Azula held the front of his garb, preventing him to roll away. "If it has something to do with me, I have the right to know."

"Azula", Lin peeled her gripping hand. "Look, it's complicated (_not really! Just say it, man!_). I really don't think it's that important right now (_you, me, engaged_). Just, uh… (_stuck with each other for better or worse and everything in between_) just trust me, okay."

"You broke your promise, you left me without saying goodbye, you lied to me multiple times, and now you're keeping secrets from me. And you want me to trust you?" Azula stated plainly.

"…yes", Lin gulped under her withering stare. "Please…?"

Azula closed her eyes and sighed exasperatedly. "Fine", she growled.

"W-wait, what? Really? Fine?"

"You want me to change my mind?"

"No! No, no—"

"So, shut up", Azula snapped as she turned back. "And just— just go to sleep."

"Yes, Princess", Lin smiled a bit. "So… how long are we going to be hugging?"

"Why are we hugging in the first place?" Azula snapped suddenly sitting up.

"Isn't that obvious?" Lin tried, oh, so hard to stifle his smile. "You like me."

He kinda missed being beaten with a pillow.

"Stupid… traitor… jerk…!"

"Don't forget dummy. Ow… use pillow!"

"Stupid! Stupid! Dummy!"

"Okay, Azula", Lin chuckled; relieved indeed he was. At least, Azula was doing well enough to shoot lightning, throw fire, call him 'stupid' or 'dummy', and get worked up to the point of beating him up. "Azula! Stop…"

"What are you laughing about?" she snapped, though the corner of her mouth threatened to show a sign of glee as well. "You— go to your side! Dummy!"

"Okay, just give me my hand back", Lin tried not to laugh; Azula had once again occupied his folded arm. Azula got up and rained pillow strikes at him all the way to the right side of the bed. "This is so not how you treat your (_fiancé!_) sifu."

"You're not my sifu anymore", Azula snapped, returning her weapon/pillow back where it belonged and her head on it, her back once more was turned on Lin.

"Still am", Lin yawned. "I think."

"Traitor", Azula muttered from the other side of the bed.

"Fugitive. Really, what is wrong with people", Lin sighed, pulling the red sword out of his sash and set it on the nightstand nearest to him. "I've never betrayed my country", Lin smiled to himself as he added. "I've never betrayed you", which caused him to mentally gulped and added casually. "Or your family."

Azula did not respond. She just lay there with her back turned on him and arms crossed.

"Get under your blanket, Azula", Lin said again.

"I don't want it", Azula replied this time, still not turning though.

Lin waited for a moment, mulling over whether he should or should not risk another lightning zap. For better or worse, he closed in on her and pulled her blanket over her shoulder. He reached out to her cheek with his right hand gently and slipped his folded left arm under her head. "You are one troublesome (_fiancée_) student."

"You're a stupid sifu", Azula countered huffily but repositioned her head on his arms willingly.

"Finally, you admit that I'm still your sifu", Lin snickered triumphantly.

"Don't make me zap you again", Azula growled, tugging on her red quilt hard on her chest.

"Are you cold?" Lin asked.

"Yes", she said begrudgingly.

But, she was not…

"If people ask, you hugged me first", Lin teased.

She elbowed his ribs hard.

"Night", Azula said flatly.

"Night", Lin replied more cheerfully.

Neither of them closed their eyes.

"Why did you leave?" Azula's distant tone broke the silence again.

"I've told you why I left", Lin said, letting her jab his hand with her nail.

"You gave me vague answers", Azula argued. "You always do that. I hate it when you do that."

"I've never done that", Lin denied, trying hard to remember when he had ever done so. A tingling feeling on the back of his head was not on his side.

"'I've been sworn to an eternal secrecy regarding that matter. None shall break my resolve as I take the secret to my grave'", Azula droned, mimicking him perfectly.

"Oh, wow… I've forgotten about that", Lin blinked in surprise. That night in the dark lawn, with bandages and wounds and bracelet was only four years ago. But it seemed like forever…

"'Well, Princess'", she even mimed his snicker. "'If I tell you, I'm afraid that you're going to kill me'."

"You remember all that?" Lin smiled a little.

"I don't forget things", Azula said bluntly. "Why did you leave?"

"You're not gonna ask me about the third deal?" Lin arched a brow.

"I've told you I'll trust you for now", Azula reminded him brusquely. "Don't make me change my mind and don't change the subject: why did you leave?"

"I left because it was part of my duty to infiltrate the Earth Kingdom Army", a classical move of half-truth: rewording combined with selective and partial utterance of genuine truth. "I was planning to stay in Shu Jing for about a year originally—"

"So, you were to planning to leave anyway?" Azula interrupted coldly.

Lin paused a little. "Yes", he said, nearly whispered.

"Jerk", Azula cursed under her breath, blinking rapidly to discourage her coming tears. "Why didn't you say goodbye to me?"

"You were sleeping", Lin said; again, half-truth: distraction by utilizing a loosely pertinent fact. "I didn't want to wake you."

"Were you afraid of me?" Azula accused tersely.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_Why…?" she hissed, gasping hard and rapidly, clutching her chest; flaming amber pierced his steely ones of the same color through the veil of her disheveled uneven raven hair. She scoffed as she asked with her seductive singsong voice that carried more venom than a three headed cobra-scorpion. "Are you afraid of me?"_

"_No", he replied firmly. "Don't you remember?" he stepped closer to the corner where she was cringing. She jumped at him but he caught her thin wrists and roughly pulled her into his arms before she could attack him again; his embrace holding her struggling self, by Agni's mercy, was gentle but enduring. "I have promised you. Don't you remember?"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Why would you think that?" Lin asked, slowly catching her jabbing thumb and grasped it gently.

"Because I'm still your princess", Azula pointed out placidly; Lin waited for more. "And you were afraid of my blue flame."

"I'm not", Lin frowned; where did that come from…?

"You told me not to use it anymore", Azula said severely. "You told me it was…"

"I also told you that I was proud of you", Lin reminded her while beating himself mentally. "And, I was wrong when I told you to stop using your blue flame", he pressed his chin softly on her head, caressing her thumbnail gently. "Maybe, you were right. I don't deserve to be your sifu."

"I've never said that", Azula turned her gaze low, not that he could see her face. "But, you were afraid of me, weren't you? You still are."

"Azula", Lin said earnestly. "I promise you that as long as we both live, I will never be afraid of you."

"What if I want you to be afraid of me?" Azula snapped a little angrily as she turned to him.

"Hmm, well, can't always get what you want", Lin purposely ignored the room's dim lighting that had turned blue. "Do you want me to be afraid of you?"

"Why not?" she raised her voice, sitting up suddenly; on her face though, it was not anger, it was pain. "Everybody's afraid of me! Zuko's afraid of me! Uncle's afraid of me! Ty Lee was obviously too scared to even tell me that she was running away! Mai—", she gripped her hair and gritted her teeth, slipping more and more into pain. "Even Mom… she thought there was something wrong with me. She thought I was a monster!" and her pain gave way to anger.

Lin got up slowly, ignoring the blue colored flame on the surrounding torches. He felt strangely calm…

"I'm not afraid of you", Lin said firmly but gently. "Lu Ten was not. Your dad is not."

"Lu Ten's dead!" she screamed; her torches burst into life for a few short seconds before returning to their dim blue flame. "And you… you left me!"

Lin reached to her shoulder, she jerked away but Lin gently pulled her, trembling and sobbing, into his arms anyway. "You were a-afraid of me! I-I expect t-that from anybody e-else but… why y-you too?"

"Maybe, I was…" Lin held her tight. "Maybe, I was and I didn't even know it. But, I'm not afraid now."

"Wh-why did you leave?" she sobbed into her hands.

Lin thought for a moment, it hurt him too when he left though he had been ignoring it, hiding behind the wall of his loyalty and patriotism, hiding behind his country, his duty. "I could give you a hundred reasons why I left, I could convince you that I really left for the greater good, if we can call it that", he grasped her arm gently. "The truth is, I really don't know. I thought I left because it was expected of me, because the Fire Lord ordered me to. I'm really just being swept away by all of this. I never wanted to leave", Lin added firmly. "Why would I want to leave? I had a good life here, didn't I? You, Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee, my family."

"So, wh-why did you l-leave?" Azula sobbed, but she was a little calmer now though.

"Because I had to", Lin said, himself hurting for it was the best he could think of.

"D-did you even care about…" her sob caught her throat.

"I'm here now, aren't I?" Lin squeezed her.

"I-I still hate you", and she was still sobbing a little when she broke away and plopped back down to her bed on her side.

"I can go away, if you want", Lin suggested, hoping to Agni she would say no. He did not want to leave her like this; once was enough!

"No", Azula sniffed. "I want you to sleep here."

"Good night", Lin leaned down over her a little and smiled.

"I said I don't want the blanket", she said a little indignantly; Lin, who was about to pull her blanket to her shoulder stopped.

"As you wish, Princess", Lin snickered a little. She was still stubborn, he thought as he made his way to his end of the bed. But, from time to time, stubborn is good.

Her back was turned on him. He was looking at her, relieved that she was at least well and healthy.

After a few seconds of silence, Azula called. "I'm cold."

Lin crept to her side once more, resting her head on his folded arm, pulled her blanket over her shoulder, and his other arm around her.

She was not cold.

"Stay this time", Azula sniffed again but she sounded calmer. Somber. Hopeful. Pleading…

"I'll see what I can do", Lin promised half-heartedly. Dear Agni, Zuko was right: he had a soft spot for Azula. "It's late. You should get some sleep. Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's Sunday", Azula pointed out with a tiny yawn. "Promise me you won't leave me tonight."

"I promise. I'll be here when you wake up", Lin grasped her hand a little. "Sleep now."

She turned and snuggled into his chest, one of her hand gripped the front of his garb tightly, almost childishly. "Still don't trust me, huh?"

"You're a liar", Azula huffed slightly.

"Yeah, I guess I am", Lin tugged the strand of her hair behind her ear.

"What are you going to do tomorrow?" she asked quietly, a little hopefully even.

"Well…" yeah, what was Lin going to do…? "I suppose I'm going to need to check on something, meet some people", General Iroh, for example. "And then… I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious", Azula said neutrally.

"Still mad at me?"

She rammed her fist on his gut.

"Take that as a 'yes'", Lin groaned; Azula did not look like much but she had a mean punch. "Hey, at least I can feel again. My knees still feel weird, though."

"Stupid", Azula grumbled. She gripped back on his garb; that was when she felt something solid in his clothes. "What's this?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh, just something someone gave me", Lin fished out the broken jade pendant Spear had given him, that he now wore around his neck with a black cord; not a green cord, despite Megumi's suggestion. He might be undercover but Lin would never wear that much green.

"It's broken", Azula pointed out the obvious, tracing the still sharp jagged surface of the broken part.

"That reminds me", Lin muttered, mostly to himself. "I may need to go to the lower district tomorrow."

"You're here with some Earth Kingdom people, aren't you?" Azula guessed without hesitation.

"Medics", Lin did not even try to hide it. "We're herb hunting."

"Hmph! I should have known better", Azula huffed. "You're not even here just to—"

…_see me…_

Fortunately for her, she managed to hold her tongue.

"I'm worried about you, you know", Lin said patiently, ignoring Azula's hand that had begun pinching him on the chest; Azula's fist hurt, but her pinch stung. "For what it's worth, when the opportunity came I jumped on it without even thinking."

"So, stay this time", Azula said again, still pinching. "Tell me where those Earth Kingdom people are. I'll send some guards at them. They'll get arrested, maybe even executed, and you'll get to stay."

"Azula", Lin sighed, not sure if he should feel touched or concerned. "It's not that simple. And that decision is for the Fire Lord to make."

Azula had no reply for this. She gave one last very hard pinch and, to her own surprise, she circled her arm around his torso and hugged him. Well, in her defense, it was winter! And she was cold!

Not really…

She slept rather well that night. He did not…

-0-0-0-0-0-

_He stepped silently along the shadow of the dark corridor. He did not even have to try to be sneaky or stealthy. He walked his casual way. It was truly a wonder how these youngsters could terrorize this great Republic City so. He stepped out of the shadow into the moonlit courtyard where two of the Equalists were standing guard. He walked out behind them undetected and swiftly snapped the neck of one of them with one effective head-and-jaw twist. The other's shock was met by a swift punch that shattered his mask and cranium, killing him instantly. _

_This is not even funny, he thought, letting the one whose neck he snapped slide down to the ground silently. How weak! _

_He moved back into the shadow, walking up the steps towards the Air Temple Island mansion. Lax security; these Equalists are getting cocky, he surmised. He infiltrated the mansion without further trouble. The security really was lax. Then again, those 'benders' were all weak. _No spirit at all! _He cursed. He walked through the wooden hallway leading to the basement. Descending the stairs, he arrived at his destination._

_Numerous people were there, most of them looked weak; weak in spirit, weak in body. They disgusted him. He walked down the steps, all eyes of many different shapes and colors traced to him and his dark hooded robe. No, not even curiosity was in those eyes. They had all resigned to their fate. No wonder the Equalists are winning, he snickered bitterly._

"_Y-you", one of them, a White Lotus Sentry by the look of his uniform, widened his amber eyes at his old face under his hood. "I-I know you! Master—"_

_He silenced the sentry with his stare alone. The amber-eyed White Lotus sentry gasped and quickly fell into a deep deep kowtow, one that was reserved for patron spirits and royalties._

"_Can you fight?" he growled at prostrating young man._

"_Amon took away our bending, Master", the Fire Nation Lotus said helplessly; the other four White Lotus sentries, though did not know who the hooded old man was, slowly fell into similar prostration._

He could not say the word 'no', _the hooded man thought fairly_. At least, this one still has pride.

"_Show me to Lin Beifong", the hooded man said. _

"_They keep Lin Beifong tied to a pole outside, Master", the Fire Nation Lotus said without lifting his head. "The Equalists intercepted news that General Iroh is coming with his fleet. Amon tied her up on the Western Courtyard so she could see his men crush General Iroh's fleet."_

_The old hooded man did not show any sign that he even cared but… then again, a broken man could not care._

"_Can you fight?" he asked again, coldly this time. He had no time for weakness._

"_A-are you going to…" the Fire Nation Lotus gulped as he resumed his speech in a hushed voice so the other inmates would not hear him. "… are you going to bust us out."_

_The hooded man rolled his eyes at him. He knelt down and the mere gesture made the Fire Nation Lotus cringed tighter. "Get up", the hooded man hissed._

"_N-no, Master, I dare not", the Fire Nation Lotus could be hyperventilating for all the hooded man knew. "T-t-the Decree of Eternal Flame by Fire Lord Zuko is clear: no Fire National should exempt from bowing to—"_

_The hooded man pulled him up harshly by the collar and choked him hard. "I don't have time for this", he snapped cruelly, shoving the man hard he fell on his behind into the other Lotus comrades. "Do not make me repeat myself again: can you fight?"_

"_W-we can't bend, Master", the Fire Nation Lotus went pale really fast; the other Lotus of the other nationalities still looked confused as to who the hooded old man was._

"_That is not what I ask", the hooded man snapped. "Can you fight?"_

"_I-I-I…"_

"_We are weak but we will fight, Master", another Lotus answered this time._

"_Good man", the hooded man grinned at the emerald hue of this one's iris; count on an Earth Kingdom to never give up. He pulled from his garb five sets of his knives, one for each of them. The Earth Kingdom Lotus reached out for it first. The Fire Nation Lotus raised his hand last but hesitated at the last moment. The old man sneered mockingly and dropped the last knife on the ground near him. "All of you will stay. Help will arrive. Protect these people in the meantime."_

"_Master", the Earth Kingdom Lotus called. "Lin Beifong, her bending has been removed."_

"_I suspect as much", the hooded man said brusquely, pulling his hood lower as he got up. "If Amon would even bother with insects like these…" he sneered at the lot of them, all those dejected pathetic people. Without so much as a glance, the hooded man retraced his steps back up, checking the blue long sword strapped on his back and the short red sword on his waist._

_The hooded man got out back to the moonlit courtyard. He positioned himself under a shady ancient tree, looking towards the gray stoned wall. Over the wall was the inner courtyard leading to the steps towards the tall mansion tower. The west courtyard, if his memory served -oh, if his memory served, big if- would be… a jump away, avoid guards and detection while crossing the yard, which would be difficult since the inner courtyard had less shadow, and jump down to the low ledge. The west courtyard was the place where they trained their lemurs._

_He breathed, gathering his chi and spreading them through his limbs. He exhaled once, and breathed once more. He dashed like lightning. He reached out to the three meters tall ledge of the wall with one bound and pulled himself up weightlessly, he rolled sideways midair to propel his whole body across the wall and landed in a soft roll. _

_Without breaking his momentum, he dashed forward again. Another pair of chi-blocker guards on the other side of the courtyard did not hear him before he was halfway through. They turned to him and dashed towards them; their chi-blocking punches collided with his seasoned and ancient Death's Touch double punch like a feeble needle meeting a log of wood. _

_The sound of the chi-blockers' arms cracking and splintering through their tight sleeves was sickening. He grabbed their necks and with strength no man his age should have, charged forward with the two weaklings dragged along. At the ledge where he was supposed to jump, he_ _jumped still with the two gripped in his claws. He landed on the four meters drop in kneeling position; the two caught chi-blockers shattered their spines at the impact._

_The noise alerted the rest of them; all ten chi-blockers and two mecha tanks. She was tied to a stake indeed, still in her metal armor; an insult to her injury. These people will pay for what they did to her…_

_The mecha tanks whirled and creaked to life while the ten chi-blockers foot soldiers dashed towards the hooded man in their spearhead battle formation. Two of them in front threw a twirling bolas each; the hooded man sidestepped the first one almost lazily and ducked to avoid the second one. Shaking his head slightly in exasperation, he lunged and dropped the nearest chi-blocker with a punch to the gut; the chi-blocker's green goggles were tainted by red of his blood he coughed up seconds before his death._

_The second chi-blocker tried to hit him with that electrocuting gauntlet of his; cheap imitation of Lightning Generation! He used the dead chi-blocker as a shield and kicked them both away. More opponents jumped his way: a chi-blocker launched a sneak attack with his gauntlet from the hooded man's left, the old man spun and sidestepped, catching his masked jaw with his left grip and gripping his cranium with his right grip, he pushed the jaw and pulled the head, eliciting an ominous cracking sound that sent another soul to Nightcrow, the Spirit of Death._

_The hooded man ducked so low as a crackling baton slashed his back from his behind; he spun 180 degree to face this sneak attacker and delivered a disemboweling left stance iai with his red short sword. Next, the hooded man was forced to leaped away as one of the mecha tanks shot an electrified cabled disk; the hooded man performed a horizontal flip as it flew above him and, with precision jabbed the tip of his sword on the disk and lightly spun it to retain its movement as he landed, and threw it back to a reckless chi-blocker who thought she could capitalize on the hooded man's brief moment airborne._

_They stopped their aggressive stance; the hooded man did not. Unsheathing his blue long sword, he unleashed a flurry of silvery gleam. With one last almost lazy but nonetheless deathly slash, the last of the foot soldier fell. Now, the tanks. He had to be careful; he could not afford getting Lin Beifong in the crossfire._

_Grinning condescendingly under his hood, he ignored his protesting heart and burning lungs. He was too old for this, truly, he thought as he sheathed his swords. But, what does a broken man like him care anyway. He had none to live for, why covet a comfortable life? He breathed and roared like a vengeful dragon as he sent two powerful streams of fire that even caused a strong draft of wind that fluttered his flowing robe, nearly throwing his hood off. _

_His flame subsided but the tanks still stood; red hot on the spot where his flame hit. The hooded man produced a fireball on each hand, compressed it into a ball of egg-sized fire and threw it with sharp palm strike one by one; each punched a hole through the red-hot spot of the mecha tanks and undoubtedly killed the pilots. The mecha tanks went limb and hissed as the old man fixed his hood and moved calmly towards the metal armored woman tied to the stake, trying not to wheeze too loud as he walked._

"_I'm too old for this", he griped, flicking a tiny flame that severed the rope that tied Lin Beifong to the upright wooden log. She made a noisy clanking sound as she fell._

"_Who… who's…" she breathed weakly._

"_Me?" the hooded man arrived by her side, slung her arm over his shoulder, and, despite the sharp tingle on his back telling him not to, lifted the woman up armor and all. "I'm the closest thing you have to a godfather."_

_She fell limply, almost dragging the hooded man down, forcing him to prop her on the wooden stake. "Come now, girl!" the hooded man snapped, roughly lifting the woman's face by the jaw. "You may look like your weak grandmother but it is your mother's blood that runs strong in you. Honor her!"_

_Lin Beifong stared back into those bright but cold amber under that hood with her green orbs; the old man grinned as life sparked back into those green. "Get up, little girl!" he snapped but still with that grin. Lin Beifong was not very fond of being addressed as 'little girl' but… there was something familiar about this old man._

"_Can you walk?" the old man asked, looking around, assessing their surroundings._

"_I… I'm still…" Lin Beifong paused, eyes widened at the destruction this old man had wrought upon her captors. "__**Who**__ are you?"_

"_Toph never mentioned me, huh?" the old man sneered. "Not surprising. Come on, we're leaving."_

"_What about Tenzin and his family", Lin Beifong halted the old man._

"_Captured, taken somewhere", the old man informed impassively. "And no, I'm not going to do anything about it", he added sternly at the woman's undelivered request._

"_Please, you must help!" Lin Beifong said urgently. "They are the last of the airbenders! You must help!"_

"_I will have no business with the descendants of the previous Avatar", the old man snapped unexpectedly. "You are lucky that I owe a debt of gratitude to your parents. Come with me if you want to live or I'll drag you out of here myself!"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

When Azula woke up, her hourglass told her that she had only slept for a few hours. Being a firebender, she was attuned to the rising and setting of the sun; she needed not turn around to her transom above her window to know that it was still dark out. Besides, she blushed due to the arm that was circling her, the other arm folded underneath her head, the warmth of him all around her, he was blocking her view.

_He's really here_, Azula told herself again, closing her eyes. She dared not look up to his face for the fear that he would be gone if she did that; that the whole thing was a dream, that he was an illusion, that this was just some weird faceless pillow or something that just happened to have heartbeats she was pressing her head onto.

But, she did look up. He was still sleeping. Azula reached out to his face but halted; she pulled her hand to her mouth, to quell her short gasps. She felt like crying again. She hated this, she hated crying.

_Crying is for the weak!_

But, this time, this cry that she would not let out… she knew that it would be, it would _feel_, liberating. He's really here, she told herself again. She stared into his sleeping face, she could not believe her eyes. And she really did not know what to do, what to feel.

Of everyone who had left her, he was the first one to ever come back…

He kept his promise this time, pondered Azula. He was still here.

Azula sat up silently. The corner of her mouth tingled and curved up for the briefest of moment though she did not know why. Tidying up her hair, she got out of her quilt and down from her bed. Silently, she made her way to her closet and took a hooded winter robe that she put on; next, she slipped into a pair of slippers and walked to her door. Wincing, she turned her noisy key, unlocking her door as silently as possible. She opened her door, wincing even more for the door hinges creaked severely –note to self: get a servant to fix that! Azula thought- and she got out locking the door behind her.

She walked as inconspicuously as possible. Luckily, it was still quite dark out there and there were not many people around. She knew some of the secret passageways, courtesy to Lu Ten, and returned around ten minutes later with a bulge under her robe. Entering her room once more, she tiptoed to her nightstand, the one on her side of the bed containing nothing but Lin's tools bundle, and she put his fresh change of clothes on it. She took the tool bundle and was about to put it somewhere else when she noticed the red sword on her other nightstand.

Taking off her thick robe and throwing it gently on the unoccupied side of the bed, she sat down on her bedside and inspected the sword. _It _is_ beautiful_, she admitted, pulling the blade free. The blade was gleaming silver with a groove, a fuller, running on the middle of the flat side of the two inch wide blade; thin flame engraving ran along the groove. The sword was short and light enough for her and it felt right in her hand. She got to name it, he said. Now, what to name it, Azula pondered as she returned the blade to its scabbard.

Lin grunted in his sleep, rolling to his back. Azula turned to him and in the dimly lit room lighting, she could see his pale face. Still clutching the sword, she crawled closer to him and, around the time she put her hand on his feverish forehead, he began letting out short shallow heave.

-0-0-0-0-0-

_She screamed in pain as the torture device –tean zu, wooden sticks put between her fingers and connected by stings- was tightened, crushing her fingers and inflicting massive pain. _

"_I won't ask you again", her interrogator asked. "Where did that bison go?"_

_She did not answer but bared her fangs at her interrogator, her violet eyes stared back indignantly through the veil of her disheveled auburn hair. Her interrogator sighed and flicked her long-nailed finger almost lazily at the Royal Procession manning the device. The soldier did what soldiers do, the auburn-haired girl screamed harder._

"_You can spare yourself some pain and me a lot of precious time", her captor pointed out placidly. "Tell me what I need to know and this will all be over."_

"_Go… to… hell…" the violet-eyed girl growled venomously._

_He could not stomach this anymore. Stepping out of the shadow, he called to the tent. "That's enough", his sudden appearance shocked everyone but the interrogator._

"_Stand down, you useless bunch", the interrogator snapped at her guards who had just noticed this hooded man's presence. "He's with me."_

_He walked towards the captured girl, tilting his head a little as he inspected her teary and sweaty but indignant face. "What's your name?"_

_She stared at him hatefully._

_He raised a hand, halting the interrogator's gesture to the torturer. "I'll handle this", he said to the interrogator._

_Her amber eyes narrowed somewhat but he grinned. "Don't you trust me?" he asked._

_Her skeptical amber persisted for a few more moments until finally. "Very well", she clasped her hands behind her back. "All of you, out!"_

_She waited for the last of her guards to get out before she addressed the hooded man a little warningly. "I'm putting you responsible for her and her lot."_

"_My men can escort them to back to the prison, if you'd like", he suggested lightly._

"_Yes… do that", she pondered aloud. "I can use my men here."_

"_When do you want me to leave?" he asked._

"_I don't care", she said offhandedly. _

"_The Avatar is heading to Ba Sing Se", he informed her, ignoring the captured girl's gasp. "Go", he ushered his princess out. "This one is useless. You should have come to me in the first place, you know."_

"_You didn't reply my last letter", she said somewhat sulkily._

"_Really? I could have sworn I saw that bird flew away (_to Heaven_, he added in his mind) myself", he parted the tent flab for her. "Sleep well, Princess."_

_She smiled a little at him before turning and walking away. He closed the tent flab and marched back to the captured girl. "So", he pulled down his hood slowly, revealing a friendly smile that reached even those bright amber eyes of his. "I believe you were going to tell me your name."_

"_You and that crazy (censored) can go and die!" the violent-eyed auburn-haired girl barked._

"_Hmm", still with his serene friendly smile, he reached out to a pair of those sticks that clasped her right ring finger together, and he pinched them hard; she held her scream well for the first two seconds. "Mock me if you want, but please, for your own sake, refrain from using such foul language on my Princess."_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Bad dream?" Azula asked as Lin shot up suddenly, gasping for air.

"Urgh…" Lin plopped back down, gripping his head. Azula lay on her front, propping her head on her hands, eyeing him curiously. "Did you sleep at all?" she asked.

"Not much", Lin yawned. "You snore."

"I do _not_!" she pinched him hard on his side.

"Ow! Hey… I'm sensitive there", Lin grimaced, rubbing his side. Azula, huffing, took her sheathed sword and poked him hard on that spot. "Ha ha…" Lin singsonged mockingly. "~I don't have a tickle spot~"

Azula narrowed her eyes at his grin. Well, he was pale and looked kinda sick, so she would let him off the hook this once. "I don't snore", she said again.

"Why is it so hard to believe?" Lin stretched a little. "Every members of your family has a bad sleeping habit: your uncle's snore once put the whole palace on high alert, Zuko and Lu Ten hurt people in their sleep –personal experience, don't ask-, and I heard a rumor that your dad once broke your mom's nose?"

"… and nearly crushed me once when I was three. But, I don't snore!" Azula pinched him again. "And only the males have those!"

"Ow, okay, not— Azula, I think I'm bleeding", Azula let go but she jabbed him once there. "Well, not a snore, exactly. It was more like… uh…" Lin's face scrunched up, trying to find the perfect word. "…like a purr. Kinda cute."

She smacked his gut with the sword and an amused smile she failed to hold.

"What time is it?" Lin asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Mmm… five in the morning", Azula looked at her hourglass, then it hit her. "Oh, shoot! My dad's expecting me for breakfast!"

"At five?" Lin asked incredulously.

"No! But, I was planning to rewrite all those paper—urgh!" she buried her face in her hands; emerging from it, she sulked at Lin. "This is all your fault."

"Of course, it is", Lin practically cooed, patting her head as he often would. Azula jabbed him hard again with the sword before she got up and marched to her desk. "Need help?" Lin called.

"No", Azula put her sword down and picked up a particular paper, inspecting it. "You're stupid, remember? I don't want you to get your head injured."

Lin snickered, burying his head back to his pillow. He felt so heavy, like his body was made entirely of lead. Azula's dull footsteps echoed all the way to her closet where she picked up some fresh undergarments and a towel she sheepishly wrapped those clothing articles in, then to her bathroom. Inside, she put her clothes on a small stool table in the corner and prepared her toothbrush in front of her sink. She looked up and saw her reflection on her mirror. She looked terrible. Her eyes were a little bloodshot and slightly puffy, probably from all the crying and little sleep. _Hopefully, Father will not notice_, Azula hoped as she brushed her teeth. After all, she did promise him that she would not stay up too late.

Done with her teeth, she wiped the droplets of water on her chin and undid the knot of her nightgown; as her sash loosened, something fell down from inside her clothes onto the floor. Holding the chest of her robe, she picked the bracelet up. She had forgotten that she hid it inside her nightgown.

And it hit her…

Oh, Agni… she was hugging him! A-and, he was hugging her!

_Urgh_…Azula sat down on her closed toilet seat, burying her burning face in her hands. _Stupid Mom_! She cursed, staring at the bracelet in her hand. _Stupid Mom!_ _Never around when you need her!_

Suddenly, and involuntarily, I should add, what her father and uncle had said before about Lin came to her mind: how her uncle once asked her directly what she thought of Lin, and that smirk of his when Azula had accidentally blurted out about Lin, and, to her utmost embarrassment, her own father saying that he would not mind giving her away to Lin! Oh, the thought of…

_Well, to be fair, he's not— gah! No! Never!_

Quickly, she undressed and stepped under her shower and set her water to the hottest possible, literally trying to burn away those… those thoughts! Mom was gone, dead for all she cared, Uncle was as good as dead, and Dad was… well, Azula did shove two pieces of heavily mustarded sausage down his throat that time, so her father might just be saying that to annoy her.

But, still… it would be nice if someone could… help her with this.

When she stepped out of her bathroom in her nightgown with towel wrapped around her damp hair, she tried, oh, so hard not to look at him. He had slept back in, she thought. W-well, it was just that she… zapped him the previous night. Her pulling the blanket over his shivering shoulder was nothing! Nothing, I tell ya! And her pushing his messy bang off his pale forehead was… was, you know, while she was there!

"N-no…" Azula raised her brows at his gasp. "D-don't…"

Azula fidgeted a little; what should she do? He was sleep talking; Azula had never dealt with a sleep talker before! Should she wake him up? Staying put and listening sounds tempting and plausible but, would that not be a breach of privacy…?

"Suki…" Lin gasped hard and opened his eyes only to shut them again hard, gritting his teeth, enduring his pain.

"What's wrong?" Azula asked full of concern (Why! Why sound so weak! She mentally drummed her head). Suddenly, she realized that she was still wearing her towel like a turban and quickly took it off before Lin came to completely.

"Bad dream", Lin muttered, gripping the upper part of his face. "What time is it?"

"Five-twenty", Azula said, draping her towel on her neck. "Try to sleep some more. You really don't look so good."

Lin smiled weakly. "You do care."

"If you die or something in my room, I'll never hear the end of it", Azula poked her tongue at him.

"Still hate me, huh?" Lin asked, still grinning.

"Yup", Azula answered sweetly before she got up and returned to her desk. She sat down on her chair and sighed at the daunting task ahead. It made her felt somewhat irked towards her stupid sifu again. Rubbing her damp hair with her towel, she inspected most of the remaining paper, recognized most of them. Luckily, most of them were reports that she had studied, only three or four papers bearing her recommendation that she had to rewrite.

Getting up, she walked towards a small desk right beside her study desk where the maids kept her writing supply. Above the desk was a calendar hanging on the wall; she ripped the 20th to display the 21st beneath it. Extracting a tube of dry ink and a saucer, she prepared her ink and penbrush, and, after bringing the items to her desk, began writing.

When she was finished, the dark blue sky had begun to give way to slight orange. She opened her window and let some fresh air in; maybe fresh air will be good for him— _her_, for _her_! You know, like Mai said, fresh air is good for brain circulation, chi activity, respiratory aura, and—no, wait that's… arrggh!

Azula inhaled the cold air deeply and let the fresh morn—

"Um… Az-Azula? What did I do this time?"

Azula turned to him, cringing under her blanket and the pillars of blue flame arising from every indoor torches of her room. Nearly choking on her own gasp, Azula toned her firebending down.

"Are you okay?" he frowned at her as he tried to get up only to crash down on the floor. Azula's heart missed a beat as she ran to his side. "Are _you_ okay?" she returned his question; only that while his was of concern, hers sounded panicky.

"My legs feel funny again", Lin groaned, Azula pulled him up and set him back down on her bed.

"Maybe I should call someone", Azula bit her lip in panic, not knowing why she felt this way, why she felt apologetic. Well, she did zap him…but he deserved to be zapped!

"I'm fine", Lin breathed. Catching Azula's expression, he added. "I'm already a little unwell before I got here. This is not your fault."

_See_, a tiny voice gloated in her mind. "A-are you sure?" _why do you ask, dummy_! The same voice berated her. _Just let it go_.

"When's the breakfast?" Lin asked, changing the topic.

"Seven", Azula said, still unable to look at him in the eye.

"Try to sleep a little bit more", Lin suggested. "Come on, I'll wake you up when it's time. Your eyes are a bit red."

"Well", she grumbled, looking away. "_Somebody_ did make me cry a lot last night."

Lin smiled amusedly as Azula wiped the corner of her sparkling eyes sadly. Tugging her wrist, she pulled her to his embrace. "So", he said, squeezing the Princess a little, platonically and unromantically, of course, as she rested her back on him. "You _really_ took Drama Class as elective? I was kidding when I suggested that, you know."

"Either that or joining the school band", Azula smiled smugly, shifting for a more comfortable position in Lin's arms. "And I'd rather gouge my eye out than be a tsungi hornist; an instrument that you have to wear just sounds wrong."

"Poor Mai", Lin laughed. "She must be lonely."

"Nah, she said she kinda enjoyed playing that triangle thingy that goes 'ding'", Azula giggled.

"Something that _Mai_ enjoys", Lin sighed deeply. "Man, I really shouldn't have left. I missed out on a lot of things."

"You'll be missing out on a lot more if you leave again", Azula pointed out with less glee.

"I know", Lin said a little sadly. "I love our country too, you know. Everyone I care about is here."

"So, don't go", Azula said quietly, gripping his arm circling her around her waist. "Stay."

Lin did not answer. "What time is it?" he asked instead.

"Almost six", Azula yawned a little, looking at her hourglass on the wall. "Wake me up in thirty minutes?"

"Of course, Your Highness", Lin said formally. Azula stifled a smile as she sat up, gathered her hair, twisting it up, and secured the bunch with a hair-claw clip she produced from her drawer. She almost fell asleep immediately using his arm as a pillow with her back on his warm chest; just to be safe, she tugged on the fold of his elbow.

"Make it forty", Azula yawned, snuggling her back closer to him. She forgot to close the window, so she felt a little chilly (not really…).

"Got it", Lin said, pulling the blanket over her. "Wanna change side?" Azula was lying only inches away from the edge. "You might fall over."

Her response was her tugging Lin's free arm over her waist. "There. I won't fall over."

"Still hate me?" Lin asked amusedly.

"Hmm… yes", she said before sleep embraced her.

Lin snickered a little. He sighed, looking down at the flock of her raven hair trapped under her hair claw. Wow… he had a fiancée. He was not going to go through with it… right? Well, yeah, he cared about Azula but… urgh! _Damn it, Serra_! Lin found himself blaming the Avatar for giving him ideas.

Forget it for now, Lin told himself. He was just a fourteen year old brat trapped in a false life in the enemy territory. What did he know about -he shuddered at the word- _love_ anyway? He cared about Azula. He would do anything for her, sure, and he would willingly kill for her, of course. He was Azula's sifu; she was his student, his friend, and his Princess: it was his duty.

Duty… sounds almost natural for a Fire Nation soldier boy raised in the militaristic Lin Family.

Yeah, duty… Lin caressed the bristle of her twisted hair with the tips of his fingers. He really had missed on much, hadn't he? What he would not give to able to go back to the good old days; firebending, teaching Azula and Zuko, helping the girls occasionally with their school work or pranking Zuko, training with his father and uncles on weekends. No assassin business.

…which would mean no Piandao and the others, no Bara, Taka, and Rocky, no Rain, no Megumi and the nurses, no Trik, no Bob, Seito, Yee Shoo and Shoto, no Rabbit, Rha-Mi, Father Shu and the 44th.

Oh, Agni… Lin frowned hard. This was one of the times he really really hated his tendency to see the good in bad situation. It was practically ingrained to him by his family creed, the symbol of black and white, of Yin and Yang: the Good and the Bad.

To distract his mind, he made plan for the day. Assuming that he could walk when he got up later, he would go to General Iroh, simply to straight things out. Then, maybe he would braved an audience with Fire Lord Ozai, explaining about Zhao himself; if what Azula had said the previous night was true, then Fire Lord Ozai really did not know yet about his involvement and it would do Lin good if the Fire Lord heard about it from him directly. And then, well… maybe… goodbye…?

He still needed to get to the drop spot Uncle Fu had set up for the flower, and the spot was outside the Caldera, and he had to return with the lilies to Spear and Bob. He was not sure if he could infiltrate Caldera City again. Not that he would not jump from the top of the crater again, mind you. Now that he knew he could do it safely, he might just do it again for the fun of it; he had become reckless lately, he knew, but he did not know why.

Lin was afraid that if he came back, Azula would ask him to stay and this time, he might just do it. Zuko was right, Lin thought. He had a soft spot for Azula. He tried to banish the thought altogether, reciting passages from his favorite philosophical books and war treatise in his mind. In the middle of reciting the _'Oath of the Elemental Change', _Azula's hourglass dripped to 6:35.

"Azula", he called softly, gently shaking her shoulder. "Azula, wake up."

"Hmm…?" ever the light sleeper, Azula rolled around and groaned, only to snuggle into his warmth.

"Azula, wake up", Lin shook her shoulder again.

"Five more minutes", she muttered sleepily, gripping the front of his garb with both hands like a child.

"Now", Lin said again. "Wake up. Or I'll go for your spot."

Azula pinched his stomach hard.

"Of course", Lin grimaced. "Ow… hurt… pain… I _will_ poke you."

She yelped and curled when Lin's finger lightly grazed her waist a little. "Dummy", her tired pout betrayed the intensity of her pillow strike.

"Still sleepy?" Lin asked, picking her pillow from his face. Azula sat and stretched, propped one of her legs and rested her forehead on her bended knee, groaning lowly.

"My head hurts", Azula complained.

_Welcome to the club…_ Lin smiled a little, himself experience a surge of ache bouncing off his cranium.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_Not bad" he grinned amusedly at her work._

"_Well, what can I say" the blue-eyed girl shrugged less than humbly, flipping her black hair cheekily. "I'm just that good."_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"How do you handle this?" Azula asked; unclasping her hair, she clipped the hair claw on Lin's trousers, gathered her deceptively long hair, and held in a low ponytail with her hand.

"Well", Lin, a resident insomniac of some renown who, when he had been staying in the palace as a Royal Firebending Instructor, was often found wandering around the palace in the middle of the night by some servants and guards, shrugged. "You get used to it."

"I don't think I want to", Azula commented, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Survival instinct", Lin nodded sagely. "I have taught you well, my student."

Smiling weakly, Azula unclasped her hair claw and pinned it on Lin's nose instead.

"Still hate me, I see", Lin asked, nose trapped and all. Azula simply hit him once with a pillow.

Azula got down from the bed, stretching her arms above her head and yawned. She walked halfheartedly to her closet and, with more vigor, she doubled back to her bed and closed the right side curtain of her four poster bed.

"What's wrong?" Lin, freeing his nose, asked Azula who was in the middle of untying the knot of the other half of the curtain.

"I'm changing next", Azula cleared her throat uncomfortably, turning slightly pink.

"So? You have that wooden wall thingy", Lin pointed at Azula's wooden wall thingy— I mean, her tall redwood folding screens near her bathroom door, a device people normally use for a little privacy while changing their clothes.

Azula narrowed her eyes sharply at Lin despite her rosy cheeks. "I don't trust you that much yet."

"Wha— _I can't even walk_", Lin incredulously protested such insinuation as Azula tugged the curtains closed sharply. Sighing at such little faith his (_fiancée_) student had in him, Lin rested his head back down. Vision came again; this time, it was a series of fragmented pictures –a more unusual but bearable kind of vision- they were all part of the same thing, of the same location, the same swamp. It was not the supernatural swamp of the Spirit Realm. This one was definitely worldly. He had had this before, one that strangely involved vines that moved on its own and… urgh, he could not remember much. And he blamed Madame Skunkhead (Aunt Wu) for it. After all, it was her peeking on his palm lines that had woken him up from that dream.

His contemplation was broken by a draft of sweet vanilla scent. Azula, fully dressed, arrived by his side, fishing for some items in her drawer. That was fast, thought Lin who, just for the heck of it, checked the hourglass. Five minutes. And to think that the full-blown tomboy Biao would take at least twice longer to get ready.

"You should sleep", Azula said without looking out from several papers she kept in her drawer. "You really look unwell."

"I think I'll go back to my room", Lin sat up, setting his feet on the floor, gripping his head as flashes of the swamp flooded his mind.

"Your room's pretty far", Azula pointed out, closing her drawer as she found what she was looking for: a key with a small ornamental red tassel. "And there might be some servants who might enter to clean it. I don't know if you know but, someone's been keeping your room clean."

"It wasn't you?" Lin asked, puzzled. But, his pillow smelt like…

"No", Azula shook her head slightly, standing up. "Anyway, I'll send the guards and the maids away from my quarter. You'll be fine here."

"No", Lin refused the offer, getting up strugglingly. "I should really go—"

"No, you— _sit_!"

Lin paused but he did not si—

"Sit", Azula repeated, sterner this time. Lin sat back down slowly; but, when he got up again, Azula repeated her order but with this slightly threatening drawl.

Sighing, Lin tried to get up again. "I think I sh—"

"Stay!" Azula interjected him.

He… stayed.

"Lie down", Azula furthered her command. Lin lied down and Azula pulled her blanket over his chest. Scratching below his chin, she cooed. "Good boy."

"*bark*"

Stifling her amused smile, Azula put her hand on the pile of clothes she had put earlier on her nightstand, one that Lin had strangely not noticed. "I took these from Zuko's. There's a clean towel in the bathroom, you can use my toothbrush. My spare key…", she dangled her tasseled key and put it on top of the clothes. "…will never leave my room."

"Zuko's?" Lin narrowed his eyes somewhat.

"Yeah, why?" Azula asked.

"Be honest with me", Lin asked seriously. "I'm taller than Zuko right?"

Azula just smiled kindly and scratched below his chin again.

"Wait, can you close the window?" Lin groaned as he pointed at the window behind the bed curtain. "The sunlight mocks me."

"Where's your pride as a firebender?" Azula asked somewhat sarcastically. But, she closed her window anyway.

"Well, probably vaporized when you zapped me", Lin sighed convincingly sad as Azula arrived once more to tug him in.

"Sorry", she giggled before she leaned down…

… and kissed him…

… on the face…

… near his mouth…

… so near, her lips brushed against the corner of his mouth…

She rose quickly, flustered. "T-that never happened!"

"Oooh, but it did— urgh!"

To top her mean pounding on his solar plexus (that is dangerous, do not try at home! Or at somebody else's home!), she angrily pulled him down to the floor and just left him there, huffing her way out, not forgetting to slam the door.

"Ow…" Lin groaned breathlessly on the floor. Rolling to his back, gripping his chest, he declared to no one in particular. "Ladies and gentleman, my fiancée…"

He picked himself up, muttering somewhat crossly. "She hit me, she zapped him, she tried to set me on fire and bash my head with a vase, then she hugged me and called me dummy", he picked up his change of clothes and wobbled away to the bathroom. "And she kissed me. Like hell I'm telling her we're engaged."

In front of the sink, he submerged his eyes on cold water he held in his cupped hand; that woke him up. In the middle of uncorking the toothpaste cap, his gaze fell upon the sleeve of the folded garb Azula had gotten him that he put on the corner of the wide red marble sink. Lin snickered as he picked up her toothbrush. "And she called _me_ a liar", the sleeve had a small taiji circle of his clan on it.

Shower was somewhat torturous for him; each droplets of the shower hit him like sharp gravel raining down at ballistic speed in his post numb state. Bruises from Azula's numerous punches and pinches riddled his front. Stepping out with fresh change of clothes and a new kind of lingering pain, Lin groaned and wobbled his way to the nearest surface where he could sit; Azula's desk. She had draped his tattered robe on the backrest of her chair. Lin took one look at it and made a mental note to get a new robe from his room.

Breathing deep to regulate his chi that felt… _scattered_ for some reason, Lin picked up the beaded bracelet he had found on the sink and inspected it. Wow… it did seem like a lifetime ago when he gave this to her. He missed those days. When everything had been so crystal clear. Oh, well, let bygones be bygones, he put the bracelet inside his garb.

Fixing his ponytail, his gaze fell upon the red nameless sword on the table and a small piece of paper tugged under his bundle of carving tools that had been aligned neatly by Azula. Lin picked up the paper and read the one word she had written there: 緋 (Scarlet).

The color was more deep ruby red than scarlet really but the lingering sore in his solar plexus urged him to agree. Well, Lin should probably go and do something else before he attended to this but, meh… this was more fun and, at that time, had more meaning.

He unrolled his bundle and extracted from the tools a long slender penbrush with tiny but sharp pointed brush point. Using Azula's leftover but still useable ink, he stroked the word artistically on the base of the pommel. Satisfied with his calligraphy, he blew it dry. A thought crossed his mind; maybe he could dismantle the pommel cap.

He scrutinized the sword, studying the nearly invisible line of the two halves of the hilt pieces and trying to find the locking pin that locked the hilt and tang of the blade together. Knowing Master Piandao's style, it must be camouflaging in the golden leaves as not to disturb the artistic element of such piece. Finding the spot, he pressed it gently but steadily with the base of his slender pen. Slowly but surely, he pressed the pin down enough for him to loosen the two halves on the tightly secured hilt pieces and extracted the pommel alone. This made his subsequent work of carving and chiseling the solid gold pommel easier. Done with his work in after about half an hour, he was in the middle of rubbing any excess ink and checking the depth of his carving when the door was opened and his nose caught the scent of vanilla.

"Ty Lee taught you some of her tricks, I see", Lin commented at his suddenly limb left arm as Azula walked behind him and rubbed his shoulder. "I still need to reassemble this", he turned a little, lifting the pommel cap.

"That never happened", she said a little flatly, much embarrassedly.

"What never happened?" Lin asked so very convincingly perplexed.

"Th- that, you know… kiss", she muttered the last word quickly. Lin gasped and gripped his forehead, as if in horror. "Why did you remind me of it?" he griped.

Naturally, Azula hit him repeatedly on the back. "Stupid! Jerk! P-pervert!"

"Me pervert?" Lin scoffed as he fixed the pommel cap back on. "_You_ kissed _me_."

"It was an accident!" Azula stomped her foot angrily, crimson all over.

"Oh, yeah, sure. You were slipping and just happened to break your fall on my face with your lips", Lin grinned; oh, it seemed like a lifetime ago when he would tease one of the royal siblings this much. He missed this. "Hey, Azula", he called, sounding serious as he caught her hands that were gripping hard on his shoulder while keeping his amber eyes fixed on the closed window. "Are you doing anything today?" he asked.

"I have a daily audience with my dad later", Azula grumbled, still trying to grip the shoulder acupressure point Ty Lee taught her about even though Lin seemed to have suddenly grown impervious to it. "Why?"

"I need to go", Lin said, getting up and handing the named sword back to Azula.

"Wait, now?" Azula blinked rapidly, confused. "But, you said—"

"I have to see someone", Lin said patiently as he got up and put on his robe and hood. "I'll be back, I promise. I won't leave without saying goodbye this time."

Azula opened her mouth and hoping she would say something, anything. Nothing came to mind. She just kept her gaze on her Scarlet in her hands as Lin patted her head a little as he usually would and walked to her door.

Lin kept his senses on those two figures lurking outside the closed window. They would not harm Azula, of course. He, however, was a fair game; now, Lin really regretted not going back to his own room. He sensed two more arrived at the door, at the right and left. "I'll see you later, okay", Lin called to Azula again. Azula did not reply, she simply nodded briefly. Smiling a bit, Lin opened the door only as much as he needed and slipped out.

Closing the door, he leaned his back against it, ignoring the two dark clad hooded figures donning white oni masks standing at the right and left of Azula's door like a pair of guards. One of them was tilting his or her masked hooded face at him; Lin breathed deep and silently, calmly regulating his chi despite the terror he felt. His legs still felt wobbly and he was completely defenseless without his firebending and Nightshade. He still had his knives and hand-to-hand combat skill but so do these two and that other one who climbed up the ledge of the hallway and perched on the railing soundlessly like an agile swallow-monkey.

They made no move.

Lin exhaled calmly as the heat of his chi rejuvenated his still tingling legs. Peeling his back off the door, he walked forward, making as little eye contact with them as possible. He did not know what they wanted but, well, this is the psycho Wuxin we are talking about, the man who had once killed an entire family of Shu Jing herbalist only to create a cover he used for about a day. Lin walked steady paces, pulling his hood even lower.

More and more Byakko appeared one by one; one was leaning on the beam that Lin was passing, another one dangled upside-down from the horizontal beam on the hallway in front of him, another one dropped out of nowhere in the lawn Lin was walking into, barring the defenseless boy's way with his imposing height.

Lin turned and chose the left route; the right one was barricade by two assassins who stood like statues. He was being herded.

Of course, Lin thought bitterly. Of course Wuxin would know; he was _the_ Spymaster. Lin walked like he had a business being there. He was, after all, a nobleman and in the face of such odds, the least he could do was to retain his dignity. He moved faster, more assassins appeared along his way, barricading and directing him until he reached a lawn he did not recognize. This part of the palace was like any other but it was completely devoid of guards and servants.

Wuxin was there in his Byakko uniform and white tiger mask, standing cross-armed with two tall assassins at his right and left.

"Colonel", Lin assumed a kneeling bow.

"You are quite something, aren't you?" Wuxin rasped. "How do you know about your first test?"

"First test, Colonel?" Lin asked with a perfectly acted puzzled tone, keeping his eyes on the grass below and he bowed just low enough for the upper part of his hood to hide the view of Wuxin's imposing mask. For all it was worth, Lin _was_ confused. He was expecting to be admonished for showing up unexpectedly. He had completely forgotten about Wuxin and his far-reaching all-knowing eyes and ears. _I really didn't think this through_, Lin lamented.

"You don't know?" Wuxin snickered roughly. "You _are_ quite something."

Wuxin gestured Lin to rise with his hand; Lin did but he felt no more relieved. Receiving a lazy wave, his assassins but the two by his side disappeared. "One of the most important skills for us Byakko is the art of evasion and escape. A Byakko agent must be able to leave their posts without raising suspicion or breaking cover. This is the first test: when an initiate is summoned back to the Nation", Wuxin laughed a little. "I was just about to send you your instruction when, to my surprise, one of my agents reported to me that you are already here."

Wuxin paused but Lin did not answer. The boy simply kept his gazed fixed on the Spymaster's belt for his hood was too low to allow him to look the man any higher.

"The first test usually involves an agent being called to a pilgrimage, if you will, to our headquarters on White Oak Island", Wuxin continued. "But, _you"_, Wuxin laughed again, harder this time. "You made it all the way to the Royal Palace. Hah!"

"It was a fluke", Lin tried to sound humble but his voice wavered a bit.

"Yes, it was", Wuxin sneered again, then he assumed a more authoritative tone. "I know about those two Earth Kingdom medics."

Lin tried to banish the fear that gripped his chest; the image of Spear and Bob lying dead in the pool of their own blood in their inn room sent a chill down his spine. His mind involuntarily conjured the memory of that poor herbalist family in Shu Jing.

"You are here in Fire Nation for the purpose of maintaining cover, no?" Wuxin asked slowly, practically hissed.

"Yes, Colonel", Lin said, hoping to hell his hood hid his apprehension.

"What are you doing here in the Palace then?" Wuxin spat; Lin nearly jumped. "And in… Princess Azula's chamber?" he drawled dangerously. "You may be Fire Lord Ozai's golden boy but there are limits to his tolerance", Wuxin growled venomously.

"I will explain myself to the Fire Lord in person, Colonel", Lin steeled himself for the offensive. "That is also why I am here. As I'm sure you are aware, I was responsible for Commander Zhao's capture. I am here to explain this matter to Fire Lord Ozai personally."

"Very well", Wuxin said diplomatically. By the way, no, Wuxin did not know about Lin being involved in this Zhao business, at least not this particular detail; his spy in the camp had to cease contact due to the camp's communication breakdown since the middle of autumn. "Go then. Fire Lord Ozai has summoned you."

Lin bowed wordlessly and plainly before walking two steps back and spun around; Wuxin's stare set the back of his neck cold. Lin walked, keeping his pace steady; the assassins were still around, lurking somewhere, keeping their eyes at him. He did not know anything about this part of the palace, a disadvantage his analytical mind swore to one day redress. He retraced his steps for the fear of being lost and found his way back to a hallway leading to the main courtyard.

It was still early in the morning, some servants and guards were around. Lin slipped into the hidden passageway and made his way quickly to the Throne Room before his courage waver. Peeking from a hole on one of the flame carving on the false wall between the tall portrait of Fire Lord Hirue and Fire Lord Da Jiang, Lin assessed his surroundings. Then it hit him… Fire Lord Ozai was no fool! If he was expecting Lin, surely the Fire Lord had cleared this part of the palace of any guards.

"Azula was right", Lin sighed as he pushed the false wall open, not at all stealthily. "I _am_ stupid."

Tidying his robe, Lin paced towards the unguarded red curtain with golden a Fire Nation insignia on the end of the hallway. Regulating his breathing to calm his mind and his chi –stumbling on his butt on account of his wobbling legs in front of the Fire Lord? Sacrilegious!- he prepared himself mentally for the confronta— I mean, _audience_.

With his future father-in-law…

_Dammit, SERRAAA!_

And that particular thought had to come in that bumbling Avatar's voice too!

"Breathe", he literally squeaked to himself. Breathe… for the world is an illusion… so was this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach that may or may not have anything to do with the fact that he had not eaten anything since yesterday. Oh, Agni! What if his stomach growled in the middle of their audience! I mean, sound echoed in the vast and mostly empty Throne Room! The Throne Room was designed that way!

"B**rE**_aT_he_ee_…" his squeak rose several pitches, dry throat turned arid. Ignorance, dude… ignore everything… take that one step of numb ignorance that sparks courage. He reminded himself of the lesson of courage he and Spear had given Bob. One step of numb…

Lin parted the curtain and walked in with sure steps of numb towards the wall of flame in front of him.

"My Lord", Lin threw his hood off and fell on his knees. "You have summoned me."

Lin tried his best to ignore the flame around the throne that flared to life.

"Leave!" Fire Lord Ozai barked, nearly making Lin jump. Several black-clad figures leaped down from the ceiling, bowed, and disappeared. "LEAVE!" Fire Lord Ozai roared now. At least a dozen more figures jumped down and, like the first wave, bowed and skedaddled away.

"Now", Fire Lord Ozai hissed at the boy kneeling in front of him, now that they were alone. "We need to talk."

"Yes, My Lord", Lin nodded a little, still keeping his hands and gaze on the floor.

"What are you doing here?" Fire Lord Ozai growled. "You are supposed to be in the Earth Kingdom."

"I am here as per my duty of maintaining cover within the enemy ranks, My Lord", Lin kept his tone steady, gripping the floor tightly his fingers felt stiff. He went on explaining to the Fire Lord about the herb hunt, purposefully omitting the part about Spear and Bob travelling with him. Well, Wuxin knew so Fire Lord Ozai should know too.

"I see", Fire Lord Ozai said still a little growly. "Wuxin has told you about the test, has he not?"

"The good Colonel has, My Lord", Lin concurred.

"I will have someone prepare the herb you need", Fire Lord Ozai said with his earlier tone.

"Thank you, My Lord", no, no, children! Lin did _not_ expect this! Fire Lord Ozai was… helping him…? _Whaaaat_…? Lin had not the heart nor the courage to tell the Fire Lord that he had arranged for that and there was probably a pack waiting for him somewhere in the outer forest of the lowland.

"Now, about Commander Zhao", Fire Lord Ozai started another topic. "Your name came up."

"Yes, My Lord", Lin gulped subtly. "I was the one who organized and led the assault on Commander Zhao. It was all for the purpose of maintaining cover; I assure you and swear the truth of my words by Agni's Flame."

Fire Lord Ozai did not speak for a few seconds, as if mulling over whether or not he should trust Lin's words. "Very well", Fire Lord Ozai spoke finally. "Zhao violated the Hongmen Convention, do you contest this statement?"

"No, My Lord", Lin said calmly and surely. "I abide by it."

"In that case, Zhao would have been arrested by our military, anyway", Fire Lord Ozai said coldly. "You will not be implicated in this matter further."

"Thank you, My Lord", Lin bowed briefly.

"Now, on to another topic", oh, what a perfect harmony of oppositions… Fire Lord Ozai's voice grew artic cold while the flame of his throne grew solar hot. "What were you doing in my daughter's chamber last night…?"

"Shortly after my return", the chill that engulfed Lin whole seemed impervious to the flame that heated up even the wooden floor. "I noticed the unnatural fog engulfing the Royal Palace. Moreover, after I have successfully gained entry to the Royal Palace, I overheard rumors about Princess Azula's brief illness last autumn. I was concerned, My Lord."

"It does not explain why you were in my daughter's room", Fire Lord Ozai snarled; Lin dared not look up.

"I was visiting, My Lord", Lin tried hard to keep his tone neutral and steady. "Princess Azula was not happy to see me. She attacked me with lightning and I failed to defend myself."

Lin felt the flame flickering subside a little… that's a good thing, right…?

He resumed his explanation. "When I regained consciousness, it was already night and I was not able to move", Lin said, feeling less tense somehow. "Princess Azula had graciously allowed me to rest in her room while I recover."

"I see", the Fire Lord… wow, Lin could not believe his ears… did the Fire Lord just _sigh_? In relief?

"My Lord—", Lin blurted out before he could stop himself… oh, so many things he would want to ask of this man: to free him from this duty of his, to liberate him from the 44th –a group of people, a life he had come to embrace and it scared him so-, to clear his name, to allow him back into the ranks of the Fire Nation. Oh, so much indeed…

"Yes?" Fire Lord Ozai drawled, waiting for the boy to stop looking so dumb.

For what it was worth, Lin chose the more altruistic option. "I noticed that Princess Azula was injured. Her fingers—"

"Yes", Fire Lord Ozai concurred rather snappishly and Lin understood why; he was a brat making comment about a technique he was not even allowed to know. "Her lightning was too much for her to handle. She will grow accustomed to it in no time."

"I beg to differ, My Lord", Lin risked his life arguing. Sure enough, the flame around Fire Lord Ozai's throne rose several inches taller. Lin continued quickly. "I do not understand Lightning Generation, but I understand firebending. My Lord, if I may, how many female lightningbenders has there been before Princess Azula?"

Two seconds later, the flame around the Throne shrunk in intensity,

"Go on", Fire Lord Ozai drawled, not even bothering to answer. Ever since the Dragon Princess Izumi who lived centuries ago, there had only been around four or five female lightningbenders including Azula and it was not because the Royal Family tree lacked Fire Princesses, mind you.

"As I am sure you understand, great power requires greater vessel", Lin said.

"Are you saying my daughter is weak?!" Fire Lord Ozai snapped angrily.

"I am saying Azula is young", Lin bowed lower but stood his ground valiantly. He owed Azula this much. "Please, My Lord; reconsider. Wait for a year or two before you allow Azula to learn Lightning Generation."

"We don't have much time!" Fire Lord Ozai spat. "Sozin's Comet is returning and I will have both my son and daughter stand by my side as I conquer the Four Nations!"

"I'm begging you, My Lord", Lin bowed deeply, touching his forehead on the floor. He should feel fear but… this was not fear he felt. "Please, reconsider."

"Your impudence is starting to annoy me", Fire Lord Ozai snarled. "I have shown you much leniency. Do not test my patience."

"My Lord, please… she is your daughter", Lin clenched his jaw.

He was utterly perplexed when the roaring of the flame subsided into a mild flicker. Lin raised his head slightly and caught the sight of the shadowed Fire Lord; he waited for the monarch's verdict.

"Azula will decide for herself", Fire Lord Ozai growled finally.

"Thank you", Lin sighed in relief, bowing down once more, already making plan to talk Azula out of learning lightning.

…which would be so difficult a task to accomplish but it was better than nothing!

"The incident with Zhao is unfortunate", the Fire Lord said curtly. "Before you leave for the Earth Kingdom, take your Dragon emblem with you. I will issue a secret protocol that will authorize you to disrupt any military operations in the Earth Kingdom that might besmirch the honor and integrity of our Nation like the one Zhao has foolishly done. You _will_ be prudent in exercising this privilege."

"Yes, My Lord, I will", Lin bowed quickly, again… _wow_… "I will be prudent."

"Also", Fire Lord Ozai added. "I have been keeping your old room livable. You are welcomed to use it as a shelter should you need it. But, remember your status as a fugitive."

"Thank you, My Lord", Lin bowed again. Whaaaat! Really! It was Fire Lord Ozai who… not Azula? Not even General Iroh?

"Azula might be betrothed to you", Fire Lord Ozai said coldly. "But, it is not proper for—"

Fire Lord Ozai's remark was cut short by Lin who quickly leaped to his left, crouching behind the nearest beam. Seconds later, the reason for such unexpectedly rudeness arrived in the form of Fire Princess Azula walking through the curtain, frowning a little as she looked around. While the Princess arrived at her appointed spot, Lin crept sideways, aligning his hiding with Azula's range of vision as the Princes approached. Azula knelt and bowed briefly before she spoke somewhat warily.

"Father", Lin heard her steady voice. "Where are the guards? This whole Wing is unguarded."

_Azula, don't say it like that_, Lin mentally facepalmed.

"I can say the same for your quarter last night, Azula."

_See_…

"Yes, I have a reason for that", Azula's calm and casual tone startled Lin. "I was busy with work, as you know, and the servants and guards make noises when they walk pass my door. They distract me."

_A bit weak but… oh, heck, Fire Lord Ozai knows anyway_.

"I see", Fire Lord Ozai said with a neutral tone. "Have you any recommendation for the report I sent to you yesterday."

"Yes, Father", Lin heard Azula said. "Colonel Bujing's request was unfounded. I have checked with the Inquisitors; there are no reports about rogue earthbenders around Pohuai Stronghold. Even if there is, Yu Yan Archers should be able to handle them."

"I see", from the corner of his eyes, Lin caught the shadowy sight of Fire Lord Ozai behind the flame; he could not confirm if the Fire Lord was being subtly patronizing as his voice suggested.

"As for General Mak's suggestion about Garsai", Azula continued; Lin noticed how strained her calm tone had become, as if she was forcing herself to sound that way. "I agree. With recent insurrection and avalanche in Garsai, morale is low. We should show our support to our soldiers and citizens in the colony. Hopefully, our show of good faith will inspire more loyalty from them. If they keep whining, General Mak should round up every colonials who speak of dissent and make example of them!" yikes, she lost control, Lin heard her voice grew fiercer. "The punishment for sedition is, as you are aware, beheading for benders and burning at the stake for non-benders. It is my belief that—"

"Azula", Fire Lord Ozai interrupted her, much to Lin's relief. "Azula, you look exhausted."

"I am fine, Father", Azula's reply was once more calm but Lin, though he could not see her, knew she was not.

"Azula, take the rest of the day off", Fire Lord Ozai ordered.

"But, Father—"

"It is an order, Azula", Ozai scolded her. "I will not have you fall ill from exhaustion."

"Yes, Father", Azula went calm again. "Thank you for your concern."

Lin sat in wait as her tapping boots echoed away, followed by the fluttering of the curtain; she must be angry. Lin waited for a few extra seconds just to be safe before he emerged from his hiding spot and assumed the spot that Azula left.

"I do not know how Wuxin will judge you", Fire Lord Ozai started coldly. "But, I believe you have passed your first test."

"Thank you, My Lord", Lin bowed humbly.

"You will return to your cover and resume your duty", Fire Lord Ozai declared.

"I understand, My Lord", Lin bowed again. "About Commander Zhao…"

"I will send an agent to shut his mouth", Ozai growled. "Get out of here."

Lin bowed once more before he got up and turned around.

"One moment."

Lin was startled not by the unexpectedness of the Fire Lord's utterance but by the tone of his voice. There was something… kind there. And the Fire Lord sounded like he was choking or something, like he was forcing those words out.

Lin turned but did not kneel; he was already too far and had no time to walk back when Fire Lord Ozai spoke again. "Our Nation prides ourselves in civility and propriety. Go visit your family grave before you leave the Nation. It's new year soon."

"I will, My Lord", Lin bowed a standing formal Fire Nation bow. "Thank you."

"I will issue a temporary permit for you", Fire Lord Ozai added again. "It will allow you unrestricted access to Caldera; you can use it to get in and out. I will send it to you later today."

Lin bowed deeper.

"Now, get out", Fire Lord Ozai growled this time.

Lin turned and left. He kept his pace and face steady. Only after he walked past the curtain and took a few steps forward did he mouthed a very amazed. "_Wow!_"

Wow, indeed… he had never dealt with Fire Lord Ozai. He was close personally with the Royal Family, of course; Lady Ursa was like mother to him, Lu Ten and Zuko were his childhood friends, Azula, before she became his friend and student, used to be that shy little girl who had always been half-hidden behind Lady Ursa, Iroh was… well, Iroh. He had run into Fire Prince Ozai from time to time but the man would mostly just scowl at Lin. General Iroh had once warned him explicitly not to trust Fire Lord Ozai but… wow!

Lin was really really confused…

Him finding himself walking into General Iroh's room confused him even more although Jian Wu and Kaji standing up suddenly from their seats added a dash of wary his confused state happily took shelter in. Lin bowed politely at them, prompting them to ease up. Somewhat awkwardly, for Jian Wu kept his falcon-like eyes at him, Lin walked to Iroh's circular marble dining table on the other side of the room, picked an apple from a fruit basket on it, and retreated back to the shadowy corner of the room.

He immersed himself with his apple unnecessarily deeply, experiencing the sensation of chewing and the sweet taste of the fruit. He noticed Head Physician Azaya walking across the room to the hanging calendar across the room from where Lin was lurking, ripping the 20th for the 21st. She turned to Lin and smiled warmly. The old woman walked towards him, tugged her long robe up a little, and plopped down beside Lin, all the while with Lin purposefully ignoring her.

"You have grown so much", Head Physician Azaya smiled fondly. Lin did not answer. She fished from her pocket a candy and dropped it on Lin's lap; to this Lin sniffed weakly.

Kaji cleared his throat loudly; Head Physician Azaya turned to him, understanding the gaze he gave her. The woman got up quickly and went to Iroh's bedside. Lin did not even bother to look up. Lin took another bite of his apple, truly ignoring them; him, to be more specific. General Iroh disgusted him.

"Iroh, how are you feeling?" Lin heard Head Physician Azaya asked full of concern. "Can you speak?"

The sound of the General's grunt was like grating metal to Lin's ears; it made his skin crawl. Lin spent the next few minutes with two more slow bites of his apple, ignoring the clicking sound of a spoon and bowl from the direction of Iroh's bed. How he wished Master Piandao were here; he barely knew those old people—

As the thought crossed his mind, another lighter thought interrupted his mind: just _how old_ was Piandao? Of all the White Lotus Masters Lin had met, Piandao was the only one who seemed to still be in his middle age. Jian Wu looked youthful too but he… well, he definitely looked older than Piandao at least by a decade; Jian Wu had that old man, to use Ty Lee's term, aura.

Huh… maybe Lin would write the twins, Yung and Rei, just for the heck of it. During his stay at Piandao's school, Lin had heard a rumor about the twins' personal quest with their own unique approach to find out about Piandao's age and how they failed so spectacularly; the details were unclear but Lin swore somebody told him that Yuu nearly died because of it.

As he was about to take his fifth bite, Fire Sage Shyu spoke.

"General", the Sage said softly; Iroh's pathetic state must have triggered his pity. Funny, it triggered only antipathy in Lin.

"How long have I been gone?" Iroh's ragged whisper came out.

"Almost two months", Head Physician Azaya answered the question. "This is the 21st of the second month. Winter."

"Two months?" Iroh chuckled a little.

Lin turned to the direction of the door as it was abruptly opened. All heads but Iroh's turned to the intruder. "U-uncle?" Zuko stammered. The Prince entered the room quickly. "Uncle!"

"Prince Zuko", Jian Wu moved towards the boy, halting Zuko halfway into the room. "Your uncle needs some rest. He is unwell. Pleas—"

"No, Uncle!" Zuko struggled against Jian Wu's broad frame. Iroh grunted lowly; Jian Wu turned around a little to him before he allowed Zuko to pass through to Iroh's bedside.

"Uncle!" Zuko was pale as paper as he scanned Iroh's face. "Uncle, what happened?"

"I didn't know you were coming home", Iroh started casually; his weak smile and his voice of a barest of whisper made no change in Zuko's pale face. "I am fine, Zuko."

"Uncle", Zuko grasped Iroh's hand. "Uncle, what's going on?"

"Prince Zuko", Head Physician Azaya called out softly. "Please, you must let your uncle rest."

Zuko seemed reluctant to leave.

"I will be fine", Iroh chuckled weakly. "I just need some sleep."

It took more persuasion but finally Zuko relent. Ushered out by the Palace Physician, Zuko got out of the room. They waited until Zuko was out and the Physician closed the door and they heard his footsteps away. Lin snickered to himself as he sensed Zuko's crawling back to Iroh's door slowly. He was the one who taught Zuko about this sneaky stuff; he should be proud really.

"Defying the Law of the Spirit World is foolish, General", Fire Sage Shyu sounded both stern and sympathetic. "This is not a matter we should trifle with lightly. You, of all people, should know."

"I had to find my son", Iroh said weakly, unable to look his colleagues in the eye. "I had to make sure that he is alright."

"We understand", Kaji's snappish voice spoke out this time; he did not sound happy, but then again, he was never happy. "But, what you did is still reckless. If it's not for the young Dra—"

A loud but dull thud came from the corner of the room where Lin attracted their attention by ramming his fist to the carpeted floor. All heads but Iroh's turned to the direction; Lin raised the same hand and jabbed his thumb at the direction of the door and raised a finger across his mouth; Jian Wu seemed to be the only one who understood the gesture. The swordmaster called out. "Prince Zuko?"

They heard the sound of the young Fire Prince running away. Jian Wu shook his head a little and sighed deeply. They all turned back to Iroh and Lin went back to his apple.

"You are lucky we found you at all", Kaji said firmly. "You are lucky that Lin showed up. You could have died if we hadn't found you before the solstice ended."

Lin jerked his head at them slightly at the mention of his name.

Jian Wu raised his hand before Kaji could scold any further. Turning to Iroh with great sympathy in his amber eyes, he asked. "Did you at least find what you were looking for?"

Lin scoffed openly but none could hear him but himself.

Iroh's answer was his bitter sobs of shame. Head Physician Azaya quickly moved to him comforting him while the others slowly dispersed to his table on the other side of the room. Iroh sobbed bitterly into the woman's shoulder; the sight disgusted Lin even more.

"_You're being human."_

_Dammit… Serra…_

Lin sighed, rubbing his temple. Stumbled by his own words.

General Iroh was being human.

Picking himself, and the candy Head Physician Azaya gave him, up, Lin put his half-eaten apple on the nearest surface, Iroh's Dragon items glass case, and walked towards the old man.

"General", even Lin had to admit how understanding he sounded despite the cold fury that churned his stomach. "I won't say that I understand. But…" Agni, he felt so lost. "I don't know…I—"

Iroh tried hard to control his sob; he regained enough composure to ask Head Physician Azaya to help him sit. Jian Wu moved to Iroh's other side and with the Head Physician held him up to lean on the headboard.

"…how…" Iroh started but he did look like he was strong enough to talk.

"I'm here because of my job", Lin answered Iroh's unasked question. "You really are lucky I'm in the neighborhood."

"You… what about your…" Iroh heaved heavily.

"I haven't gone to the North Pole", Lin answered the next unasked question somewhat curtly; he evaded the old eyes somewhat, fixing his amber eyes on the small engraved white lotus on top of Iroh's headboard. "I think I will have to wait until—"

Lin held his tongue; his initiation to the Secret Squad. He was not sure if he could mention it lightly in front of these people. Iroh seemed to understand as he nodded slightly.

"Have you seen…" Iroh started again but he paused a little and swallowed hard before adding. "…your students?"

"I've been to Azula's", Lin said curtly. "I'll go to Zuko next."

"Have you told her about…?" Iroh asked again.

"I tried but…" Lin looked away awkwardly, not sure how to feel about this. What, the old man cared about his and Azula's engagement now? "It's not easy."

Before Iroh could ask more questions, Head Physician Azaya rose up and quickly chased them all out, saying something about Iroh having to rest. Lin, feeling strangely relieved, put on his hood and exited before the other three could; not exactly polite but, unlike Shyu, Jian Wu, or Kaji, Lin had not the luxury of being seen.

Not sure what to do next, Lin stepped into the secret passageways. Maybe he should go back to Azula's, Lin thought. Azula would definitely be upset after the scolding she received from her father.

_No_… Lin's survival instinct kicked in.

That reminded him of the daunting task of dissuading Azula from practicing Lightning Generation further.

"Why, Agni?" he found himself muttering as he slipped into a dark narrow passageway. "One is all brain and no patience, the other is no brain but lots of temper. Why can't my students be easy to teach? I'm a good teacher. I'm entitled."

Yeah… being a sifu is never easy.

* * *

"Of course, it's not", conceded Piandao a couple of hours later as he propped Nightshade on Lin's bed; the boy had just emerged from a long long hot shower. "You are responsible for your students' wellbeing like a parent would his children."

"I'm tired, Master", Lin grunted, still with damp hair wearing nothing but trousers fell face fist on his bed. "Why can't my students be as easy as yours…? We _are_ easy, right?" he looked up.

"Well, I did have Shin and Fat to help me", Piandao stroked his beard, sitting on a chair by the boy's bedside. "One is fair, the other is strict; then, there are Yoku and Zhong, scary and intimidating when needed, and the twins and Ren, fun, and Yuu… I'm not sure where to put him. They all helped."

"What about me?" Lin asked suspiciously.

"I don't know where to put you too; with Yuu, I supposed", Piandao chuckled.

Lin grew silent; the fond memory of school was a massive guilt ride for him. "Master… about your school…"

"Don't be", Master Piandao scoffed lightly. "I was thinking of retiring and leaving it to Shin anyway."

"Yoku and Zhong did say often that you always thought of Shin as your successor", Lin sat up.

"I was saving up to buy a plot of land somewhere and build a branch school for Shin to lead", Piandao shrugged a little. "I had my eye on this old abandoned facility on Hingwa Island, about a day or so boat ride from Shu Jing. I never would have thought your father would purchase the Mansion Island for us. I can visit the new school anytime I want, only a swim away."

"But… you don't get to teach anymore", Lin said guiltily.

"I still take occasional students", Piandao informed. "And, like I said, I was thinking of retiring from teaching. You kids are giving me premature wrinkle."

"_How old_ are you?" Lin could not contain his curiosity anymore.

"What did I teach you about the mysteries of life?"

"They are called 'mysteries' for a reason."

"You have learnt well, my student."

"Do I get to be a master swordsman now?"

"No."

"Master, what's a smut?"

"Out!"

* * *

"Let me see it", Azula demanded again, crossing her arms as she sat on her bed against her headboard in her nightgown and ponytail in this lovely evening, looking clearly upset.

"No, you'll burn it", Lin, sitting on the floor back on the bed, polishing Scarlet, did not even look up as the pillow hit the top of his head. No, boys and girls, Lin would not show Azula the permit Fire Lord Ozai had sent him… via Wuxin… "Go to sleep, it's night."

"You can't sleep down there", Azula hit him with her pillow again.

"I'm not sleeping, I'm polishing your sword", Lin pointed out yet again.

"Get up here", Azula hit him.

"I'm not done", Lin said far too cheerfully. "So, can I go again now?"

Azula's answer was another pillow hit.

"Okay", Lin cleared his throat, rubbing the smooth blade of Scarlet with sword polishing sandpaper. "You are the most amazing firebender in the world. For a girl."

—thud—

"Still hate you", Azula huffed.

"You are the smartest… something, something… whatever it is Ty Lee used to say."

—thud—

"No plagiarism allowed. Still hate you."

"You look pretty with makeup. Without it, you're cute."

—thud—

"You look cute with makeup. Without it, you're pretty."

—thud—

"Okay, I'm gonna try one more empty flattery", Lin raised Scarlet, satisfied with his work, and sheathed it safely back to its scabbard. "Then I'm going poetry on you. Do you prefer a short haiku, a longer tanka, or a full-blown sonnet?"

—thud x 3, + 1 more—

"Dummy."

"Not stupid?" Lin asked, rubbing the exterior of the red blade with a cloth.

"Stupid."

"There you go", Lin smiled a little. "I missed your birthday, didn't I?"

"And the one before that", Azula struck him again, crumbling his ponytail. "You were in prison."

"Yeah… I almost forgot about that one."

"And the one before that", Azula struck him again. "You were in the warfront."

"I sent you back something", Lin turned to her, frowning. "It was that jade penbrush. I don't see it anywhere."

"I'm not using it", Azula's next strike was a tad weaker. "It's green."

"Greenish white", Lin corrected before he returned to tending Scarlet. "White jade. Pretty hard to come by. I got it from this guy in the Army (Chit Sang). He can get stuff."

—thud—

"Now that I think about it", Lin frowned again. "You never used anything I gave you."

"Not true", Azula said, somewhat defensively.

"I don't even see any of them here", Lin looked around her room.

"That silk scarf is in my closet", Azula pointed a dainty finger at the direction of her closet. "That flame locket is somewhere in Ty Lee's jewelry box; she borrowed it. And that pearl comb is in my drawer over there."

"What about the panda?" Lin asked, polishing the golden leaves on Scarlet.

"What panda?" Azula asked incredul— oh, tha_— …oh-uh…_

"You know, that panda I won for you", Lin snickered as he added. "You hugged it when you sleep."

"Who snitched?" Azula drawled dangerously.

"Ty Lee", Lin stifled a smile as the next pillow strike disintegrated his ponytail.

"I wear the brace—"

Lin felt the sudden shift on the bed, prompting him to fish the beaded bracelet from his garb. Azula snatched it and hit him again.

"You never wear it", Lin said, inspecting the final touches he put on Scarlet.

"I _do_ wear it", Azula argued crossly. True, she wore it… just not in the middle of winter when she had to wear tight sleeves. She wanted to ask about the… you know… handkerchief. But, Lin had gotten up suddenly, stretching.

"Why don't you wear top-knot?" Azula asked, receiving her sword back; Lin proceeded to fix his ponytail.

Puffing up his chest, Lin declared with pride. "I'm a rebel."

"You're a traitor", Azula corrected.

"Fugitive!" Lin corrected her correction. "Why do people keep calling me a traitor? I'm a fugitive. There's a big difference; around fifty years of slammer time."

"You ponytail looks like Zuko's."

"Correction: Zuko's ponytail looks like mine", Lin said absentmindedly as he finished his hair. "So", he crouched down, grinning. "What do you want for your make up birthday day gifts?"

"You staying", Azula demanded without any shred of hesitation.

"Come on", Lin groaned, forehead fell on her bedside. "I'm serious. Do you know how hard it is to pick up gifts for you? I mean", he looked up, looking so desperate. "Do you even have a hobby?"

To further his desperate ire, Azula just shrugged.

"Now that I think about it", Lin sat, scratching his chin. "I don't know that much about you. I mean, aside from you liking cherries and snore—"

—THUD—

"—purr when you sleep", Lin redressed. "Seriously, what's your hobby? What's your favorite book? Favorite color? Favorite play? Heck, what's your middle name? What's your _last_ name?"

Azula inhaled deeply, and she answered. "Don't know, never thought about it, never care, don't even like plays, no middle name -not that _you_ have a middle name-, and… there are a lot of theories, some say our family's too old to have a last name, some say it's 'Kai' since we are the descendant of Agni, you know, as in Agni _Kai_."

_Well, in six years you'll have a last name for sure: Lin…_

"Why are you banging your head on my bed?" Azula asked the very obvious question.

"I'm trying to kill myself. _Put that sword down_!"

"Hmph!" Azula huffed, crossing her arms again as her sword was confiscated. "You're going somewhere?"

"Yes", Lin rose to his feet, propping Scarlet on Azula's nightstand as far away as possible from her reach. "I still have to find that missing emblem."

"Not tonight", Azula tugged the edge of his sleeve and just for the fun of it put the beaded bracelet on his wrist. "You'll just run off again."

"I won't run off again", Lin promised but made no attempt to pry her hand away; he could not bring himself to and would rather she let him go.

"Leave your pass here and I'll believe you", Azula narrowed her eyes rather slyly.

"Don't you trust your (_fiancé_) sifu?" Lin scoffed lightly.

"Nope", Azula answered curtly, lifting up a hand.

"Your dad stamped this with his seal", Lin reluctantly pulled out a sealed letter from his garb. "Why do I feel like I need to remind you that it's high treason to ruin documents stamped by the Fire Lord's seal?"

"Because you're stupid", Azula snatched the letter before Lin changed his mind; Lin felt like he and just been chained and the key had just been handed to an angry dragon.

"Don't wait up", Lin joked; Azula kicked him pleasantly on his way out.

Few minutes later, he was out in the dark hallway, blending so well with the dark shadow overlooking the door of Crown Prince Zuko's chamber. He had parted with Zuko on better term. Also, Zuko was his student too. Taking a deep breath, Lin crept onto Zuko's window, jimmied it open with a knife, and jumped in safely unlike how he had fared with Azula's room, closed it carefully as he entered. Zuko was sleeping.

On the floor. Inches away from where Lin landed.

It might have something to do with Azula stuffing him under her bed, Lin did not know; suddenly, he found himself diving under Zuko's bed. _One shoots lightning at intruders, the other sleeps on the floor_, Lin mentally sighed. _Why can't I have easy students?_

He lied flat, waiting for Zuko's footsteps to walk away to his door. Zuko opened it and rammed into…

…Fire Lord Ozai…

Lin physically closed his eyes, mentally slapped his forehead, spiritually fainted. _I am so dead…_

"Father?" he heard Zuko called groggily.

"I see you have indeed returned", Fire Lord Ozai's voice sent chill even to Lin's spine.

"Is that… a flower?" Lin's ears perked up at Zuko's utterance: Fire Lord Ozai carrying a flower? Now, _this_ he got to see. Lin actually tried to shift his position for a little peek but he could not move much in the cramped space; he was carrying Nightshade on his back and it kinda stuck on something.

"Yes", Fire Lord Ozai said. "This is for your sister."

"Azula likes flower?" Zuko's baffled response mimicked the one Lin had in his mind. Well, Azula did seem to like that snow peony Fire Lord Ozai had brought her the previous night, and Lin had once given her a rose but had not stuck around long enough to see her reaction.

"Of course she does", Fire Lord Ozai scoffed. "She is a proper Fire Princess."

"What?" Zuko's flabbergasted response once again mirrored Lin's. Not that Lin ever doubted Azula as… well, it was just that— _It's complicated!_

"And she does not let her stomach growl", Fire Lord Ozai sneered. "Go get something to eat before you embarrass yourself further."

The man's shadow shifted away, much to Lin's relief; Zuko's angry stomps reentered the room, much to Lin's chagrin. Well, time for sifu-ing. Sifu Lin waited until Zuko's legs were pointing away before he rolled out and leaped to his feet soundlessly; Zuko accidentally dropped one of his dual sabers.

Lin's straightening up his robe was abruptly interrupted by Zuko's unexpected attack that he evaded easily. Zuko's next slash, a vertical slash, Lin countered by sidestepping to Zuko's right. Quickly, he caught Zuko's saber holding right hand with his left and secured it in a powerful grip. With efficient waist twist, Lin's free right hand flew to Zuko's neck with a three-fingers crow-raven claw form that did not even touch the Prince intentionally.

To Lin's surprise, Zuko gawked and called his name. "Lin?"

"How'd you know it was me?" Lin grinned, throwing his hood off, letting Zuko go. "Nice reflexes, messy footing, your slashes are wild, Zuko", he assessed, letting his sifu instinct reign. "But, then again, when it comes to swords I'm just your senior brother disciple, not your sifu."

"What are you doing here?" Zuko blushed, clearly pissed for being bested and criticized in the span of a minute. He was having a really really bad day, after all.

"I'm visiting", Lin shrugged lightly. "By the way, there are no guards around, right?"

"Why don't I try calling them and we'll find out", Zuko seethed.

"Come now", Lin grinned. "By the way, I need your help."

"Always a catch with you", Zuko growled, not as hard as his stomach did.

Lin sympathetically offered the candy Head Physician Azaya had given him. "…Wanna go to the kitchen and grab someth—"

"Just get on with it!" Zuko snatched the candy anyway.

Few minutes later, they were in the middle of the garbage compound, digging through stuff that's best left unsaid; 'garbage compound' speaks for itself. It was a large rocky plain somewhere at the foot of the mountain, accessible by one of the secret escape routes from the palace and many many garbage chutes from the palace. Crown Prince Zuko had suddenly appeared and sent the guards away. Next thing he knew, he was knee deep in the ocean of garbage looking for his sifu's Dragon emblem. As for the size of the compound? Rumor has it that it used to be a lake that got dried up and turned into a garbage disposal facility.

"When I get my hands on that servant who threw your emblem away", the cranky Prince barked. "I'm gonna KILL HIM!"

"'Kill' is such an ugly word, Zuko", Lin chided lightly, inspecting the inside of a broken jar.

"Right. I'll banish him instead!" Zuko yelled again, slamming a brownish half-eaten apple that had gone unknown in history as the very same one his sifu was eating few hours earlier. Head Physician Azaya threw it away for Lin. "What kind of idiot threw away a piece of solid gold anyway?!"

"Gah!" frustration finally got to Lin; gripping a branch he used to poke some slimy brown stuff so hard. "Where the hell is that thing?"

"Why do you want it anyway?" Zuko was just as frustrated as he dug through some… unknown fabric.

Lin could not really tell him, could he? "I'm gonna pawn it", Lin lied; there is no rule saying a half-liar can't use a full lie, is there?

"How do you know a servant accidentally threw it away?" Zuko growled again, digging through more thrash.

"Azula told me", the Dragon said before a piece suspiciously squishy orange flew to his mouth. "Bwagh! Yuck! _Zuko_!"

"What are you, an idiot?!" Zuko was even angrier. "Azula lies! Azula always lies!"

"Azula never lied to me!" Lin stated rather defensively.

"She just did!" Zuko snapped; flame spewed from his nostrils. "Come on!"

"Where?" Lin asked, being dragged away by the very angry Fire Prince.

"Your room!"

Few minutes later, they were back in Lin's room, crouching low to look for the emblem under the furniture.

"Azula never lied to me", Lin repeated as he stepped out from the bathroom after taking a quick shower and brushing his teeth at least five times and using up at least half of his relatively new toothpaste tube; that squishy orange left taste in his mouth. Yuck…

"Azula always lies", Zuko seethed angrily as he stepped into the bathroom and took a quick shower too. Being a prince and a nobleman, Zuko and Lin were not really prepared for smelling like garbage.

"Not to me", Lin yelled over the drizzling water.

"She just did! Get over it!" Zuko yelled back from the bathroom.

"Azula lied to me", Lin muttered under his breath as he peeked under his bed, feeling strangely hurt. "Well, I supposed I deserve it."

Lin was in the middle of inspecting his drawers when Zuko stepped out of the bathroom to rejoin the search. "So, you've been to Azula's?"

"Yeah", Lin said without taking an eye off a collection of books he never remembered collecting. "Since when do I have firebending manuals? By the way, Azula's getting meaner lately; what did you do to her?"

Zuko's growl synchronized with the room's lighting flaring.

"Temper, Zuko", Lin snapped a la Kaji. "Oh, hey, look! I've been looking for this."

A blast of fire engulfed Lin's folding fan.

"Hey", Lin protested, waving the flame off with his chi; Zuko angrily went back to the search. "Your mom gave me this!"

"I don't care!" Zuko snapped angrily; emerging from under Lin's study desk, he found the emblem. "And here!"

"Zuko, don't throw— Ow!" Lin gripped his eye upon the collision. "Are you crazy?! This stuff's solid gold! It hurts!"

"See, Azula lied!" Zuko yelled again. "Arrgh! You guys are all crazy!"

"Oh, great", Lin sighed, storing the emblem safely inside his pocket. "One calls me dummy, the other calls me crazy. My rep as a sifu is crumbling. Zuko, strangling your sifu is rude."

Zuko stopped his claws midair. Exhaling hard, he brought the torches down from jets of flame into small candlelight sized flame.

"Very good", Lin commented. "What's wrong? You look unusually…" Lin picked up a dictionary and flipped several pages. "… petulant."

Zuko seethed, flames erupted from his nostrils.

"Talk", Lin commanded, shoving his dictionary. "Here, this might help."

Zuko slapped the book away.

"Talk", Lin said again, crossing his arms, leaning on his desk, wordlessly saying that he would not let this go.

"It's—", Zuko looked like he was being strangled inside out by his own words.

"Yes…?" Lin baited.

"Nothing", Zuko growled, looking more pissed than before.

"Zuko, what happened to your mother?" Lin asked out of the blue.

"What?" Zuko gawked. _Never forget who you are… _Zuko involuntarily replayed that memory. "I don't know."

They did not say anything for a few seconds.

"You've never told me why you're here", Zuko broke the silence.

"Can't say", Lin evaded; Zuko knew absolutely nothing about Lin's affair. A part of Lin thought that he was being unfair, like he was favoring Azula. "Zuko, do you trust me?"

"Do I have a choice?" Zuko grumbled, sitting down on the bedside. "You're my sifu."

_Oh,_ _respect_… Lin was deeply touched. "Can you tell me what happened to Azula? Couple of months ago?"

Zuko jerked his head to his sifu, eyes widened, mouth ajar. "I don't know", Zuko replied quietly. "And my mom, she's just… gone."

"Do you think Azula knows what happened to her?" Lin asked again just asked solemnly.

"How should I know?" Zuko got up somewhat angrily. "I'm gonna go to sleep."

"I should go too", Lin picked up Nightshade and a new robe and followed the Prince out.

"You're going now?" Zuko muttered, sounding somewhat reluctant. He ducked just in time to avoid Lin's swinging arm, leaped backward just barely avoiding Lin's subsequent leg sweep.

"Very good, you've been practicing", Lin smirked.

"Of course, I have", Zuko narrowed his eyes. "I gave you my word."

"Azula's been ditching her cotton jumping, hasn't she?" Lin guessed as they walked again; Zuko was about to opt for the common route but Lin chose that time to introduce the prince to the secret passageways.

"How should I know?" Zuko grumbled.

"She's your sister", Lin felt like he had to remind Zuko of this. Zuko did not respond.

"So, you're going back to the Earth Kingdom now?" Zuko asked again once they were inside the sanctuary of his room.

"No", Lin said, peeking through the crack of Zuko's window for guards. "I'm gonna stick around for a while."

"Do you know about Uncle?" Zuko asked; Lin turned to him, frowning. Zuko knew about General Iroh hitting…

"What do you mean?" Lin decided to play it safe.

"They said Uncle disappeared for a while", Zuko said a little angrily. "I saw Uncle Iroh this afternoon but nobody would tell me anything."

Lin would beat himself so bad for saying what he would say next. "Do you trust your uncle?" he was practically throwing a defenseless koala-lamb to a traitorous dragon.

"I don't know. I guess", Zuko almost growled. "It's not like I have anybody else."

Lin gaped a little; he had been too fixated on Azula, he had really forgotten about Zuko. "Oh, crickey… Azula's right: I'm a stupid sifu."

"What?" Zuko frowned.

"Nothing", Lin stepped back. "Listen. I—", he fell short, what exactly could he say…? "Zuko, I really cannot trust your uncle right now."

"What? _Why_?" Zuko could not believe his ears… Lin? As in 'Lu Ten and Lin'?

"It's personal", Lin replied vaguely. Iroh might not deserve this but Lin could not deprive Zuko of the only person he had. "You trust me, right?"

"Yeah, but why?" Zuko rose to his feet.

"Look", Lin rubbed his temple; his head hurt from all of this. "I'll try to work something out, okay. Anyway, you're busy tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow", Zuko pondered aloud. "I'm supposed to be training with Master Piandao and Master Jian Wu."

"Oh", Lin thought. "I'll come to you then."

"What for?" Zuko asked.

"You'll see", Lin shuddered for some reason. "Now, stand straight."

"What, why?" Zuko frowned at his sifu who stood straight in front of him and placed his hands on his shoulder, observing him with great interest. "What?"

"Nothing", Lin stifled his smile. _Yes, I'm taller! _"By the way, your lace's untied."

"What?" Zuko looked down to his boots; his laces were tied. When he heard the thud and looked up, Lin was no longer there. Groaning, Zuko went to his opened window, leaned out and yelled at the groaning mass of sifu under the black fabric down there. "Just use the door, stupid!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

And the second four-parter is complete…

I think this chapter is the longest I have written yet.

Now, we have arrived at the 'good news bad news moment'. I have good news and I have bad news. Good news is I found a job. Bad news is… well, I found a job. I'm now teaching part-time in a local school which means that I have even less time to write. But, fret not. I have 3 chapters ready for editing and re-editing; _four_ actually but I'm slipping one more in between. Hopefully, I can maintain the 'one chapter per weekend' deadline I have set up for myself.

But still…no guarantee. The future is but a mystery, my friends. I can't even begin to predict what I'm going to have for dinner today.

To war sage, thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you will continue to enjoy this story. :)


	90. Chapter 89

**Chapter 89 – Life He Missed Out**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"So, you lied to me", Lin said, arms crossed, foot tapping.

"Yup", Azula did not even try to deny it or look up from the book she was reading on her bed or even sound apologetic; if anything, she sounded jovial, proud even.

"Azula", Lin sighed as he walked to her bedside, not taking off his robe or sword. "Lying is wrong."

"This comes from a known liar", Azula looked up a little, narrowing her amber eyes sharply. "How does it taste, your own medicine?"

"I didn't lie about Fire Fountain City", Lin exasperated. Oh, Agni he was really tired. He was tired, scared, sleep deprived, and had just ruffled some wrong feathers. Lin had both Wuxin and Fire Lord Ozai on his keister, for crying out loud! "Azula, can I have my letter now?"

"Nope", Azula smirked as she went back to her book.

"Where is it?" Lin asked, feeling a chill down his stomach. Jumping down the crater is one thing, climbing up is impossible. It's the angle, you see… and the lack of proper equipment and the means to procure said equipment.

"Here", Azula tapped her belly casually.

"You ate it?" Lin gasped.

"Don't be foolish, dummy", Azula said witheringly. "I keep it in here, inside my robe", she smirked slyly. "Take it if you dare."

Oh, great… Lin felt his face heating up. "Azula, I'm not in the mood to joke around."

"Who says I'm joking?" she laughed as she sat back up and began reading her book again.

"Azula…" Lin nearly groveled, already pleading. "Come on."

"Stay until tomorrow", Azula closed her book, eyeing her sifu sharply. "That's all I ask."

"You lied to me about my emblem", Lin grumbled, taking off his sword and robe and let them crumple on the floor at the foot of Azula's nightstand; on the event of Fire Lord Ozai's another sudden visit, Azula could just shove it under her bed. Lin moved to her study. "Can I borrow a hawk?"

"Say please", she narrowed her eyes dryly at him.

"Please?" Lin obeyed.

"Not sincere enough."

"Pleeeease…"

"I thought you've given up on that prank mail thing?" Azula smirked, going back to her reading.

"That was all Lu Ten, I was never in, I was only there to humor him", Lin said absentmindedly as he composed a short letter: _Got lead on the lilies. Will be back in a few days or tomorrow. Stay put, don't wander off, don't reply_, and he signed _44__th__ Head Security_.

Rolling the parchment, Lin took from Azula's, wow, very neat and tidy drawer a small thin wooden whistle. He blew it, summoning a palace hawk with its low sharp sound. When the bird arrived, Lin shoved the letter into the tube strapped on the bird's back and set it free.

"Who's that for?" Azula asked casually and, at the same time, curiously as Lin made his way back to the floor by her bedside and sat down near his robe and sword.

"My secret Earth Kingdom girlfriend", Lin replied offhandedly, taking off his boots and receiving a blow on top of his head from Azula's book. "What? Jealous?" he smirked, rubbing his sore foot.

"Why should I be?" Azula denied tersely. Huffing, she went back to reading. "Dummy."

"Hmm", Lin turned to her; her face was hidden behind her book. "New edition of the history textbook, huh? Something nice about me in there?"

"Yeah, says here you're a lying dummy jerk…"

"Stupid?"

"Stupid… idiot!"

"That's rather redundant", Lin sniggered under his breath.

"You can't sleep down there", Azula said crossly, still hidden behind her book.

"I'm not sleeping, I'm sitting", Lin pointed out, already assuming a meditative stance. He still felt a bit tingly inside from the previous night lightning strike.

"You're planning to sleep sitting up", Azula accused.

"True", Lin admitted. "But, I'm not sleeping right now."

"Get up here", Azula commanded.

"Nope", Lin refused, cracking his stiff neck.

"Why not?" Azula asked.

"It's not proper", Lin pointed out. "You're a girl, I'm a guy—"

"I'm a princess, I can do whatever I want", Azula put down her book, scowling. "And besides, you slept in my bed last night."

"Yes, but I didn't have much of a choice. You zapped me", Lin reminded her. "I couldn't move. Besides, you were the one who put me in your bed. Why can't I sleep down here?"

"You just can't", Azula said stubbornly.

"Why not?" Lin turned to her again.

"You just can't!" she snapped suddenly. When Lin did not respond, Azula added somewhat grumpily. "I want to keep an eye on you."

"Do you still hate me?" Lin asked, turning to her slightly.

"Yes", Azula said quickly but quietly, flipping a page of her book rather forcefully from the sound the page made.

Sighing, Lin suppressed the feeling of bad premonition and ascended the bed; Azula, smirking triumphantly, scooted over to give him room. "But, I'm going back to my room later, okay", Lin said firmly, resting his back on the headboard. He took Nightshade and shoved his robe and boots under the bed with it before propping the sword against the nightstand.

"No, you're not", Azula replied somewhat too cheerfully, it made Lin worried she was planning something. Her resting her head on his lap, propping her book on her chest while she read on with a wispy smirk on her face truly threw him off.

"Oh, are we snuggling now?" Lin smirked, gently pulling the full length of her ponytail over his lap and over the edge of the bed. How did she get this much hair in a top-knot, Lin found himself wondering, all the while silently admiring how soft and silky her hair feel.

"Call it what you want", Azula said in her sigh/yawn tone. "I'm cold."

"No, you're not."

She was not. Really…

"You've been acting weird since you came back from seeing my dad", Azula said without taking her eyes off her book.

"Well, it was rather interesting meeting we had", Lin muttered as his mind wandered back to the peculiar audience he had with the Fire Lord, absentmindedly twirling a flock of Azula's right bang. "He told me to visit my family grave since it's new year soon; he even gave me that permit. He was… _nice_."

"My dad is always nice", Azula turned to him and shot him a sharp look. "My dad is always nice to people who deserve it."

"So, I deserve—"

"No", Azula interjected flippantly, back to her book. "This is winter, winter gets to him, he's being overly charitable; you're still just a lying stupid jerk."

"Oh, your words wound my heart."

"Don't be absurd: you don't have a heart."

"You're getting meaner lately", Lin lamented aloud.

"Your fault for being a lying stupid jerk", Azula huffed, randomly hitting him with her right hand; she hit something solid in Lin's chest. Out of curiosity, she fished into Lin's garb, ignoring his 'hey, that tickles!' and pulled his emblem out. "Where'd you find it?" she asked interestedly, lying back down, holding the circular gold emblem in front of her.

"Not fair", Lin protested. "You can do that to me, but if I do that to you the guards will arrest me for molesting a Princess."

"Hmph, your fault for being born a boy", Azula smirked triumphantly. "Turn up the light for me?"

"Nope, do it yourself", Lin smirked then he got sifu-like. "It will be a test of your skills, my student."

Pouting, Azula's palm reach out gently; she flexed, causing her sleeve to snap and slide down to her elbow and the torches to light up brighter, earning her a pat on her head.

"Azula, I'm tired. I haven't slept since well since I got back", Lin yawned.

"Night", Azula singsonged, smirking but not moving an inch. "Sleep tight, don't let bedbug bite."

Sighing, Lin asked again. "Can I go back to my room now?"

"Nope", Azula replied curtly, flipping a page slowly. "Sleep here."

"It's not proper", Lin reminded her again. "I'll get arrested for indecency."

"I've sent the guards away again", Azula shrugged lightly.

"Nobody will want to marry you if anyone finds out", Lin said cunningly.

"Oh, good! Why didn't I think of that? I just told my dad the other day that I never wanted to get married anyway. Uh, let's tell someone you're here!" Azula actually suggested excitedly. Lin got really worried when he noticed that glint in her eyes.

"I've promised you I won't leave without saying goodbye, right?" Lin said lethargically, keeping a really close eye on her.

"I don't care", Azula replied flatly, flipping another page. "I don't trust you anymore."

"Now, _that_ really hurt", Lin sighed a little. After a while, he asked. "I'm a good sifu, right?"

"You're a liar", Azula said rather coldly. "You lied to me about being an Imperial Agent. I did a little checking, you know."

"Really?" Lin really should feel worried but he was too tired to feel so.

"Imperial Agents don't use swords; it's not their protocol", Azula said firmly though her eyes were still on her books. "They use knives and small concealable weapons; none of them go around carrying weapons you can see in plain sight. And Master Piandao told me that you've learnt how to use a sword before you ran away to Shu Jing, he even showed me some of your moves. Your style looks like the kind used by assassins."

"I know some assassins from the Earth Kingdom, from this guild called Ash Shadow", half-lie: insinuation without confirmation.

"I still don't trust you", Azula said closing her book. She rose and walked to her desk, placed her book there and returned with her bowl of emerald cherries.

"When I get back from school tomorrow", Azula started, sitting by Lin's side with her bowl and the emblem she was inspecting. "Teach me firebending."

"You're at lightning stage", Lin reminded her. "You already know more than me."

"I meant your family art", Azula said flatly, propping a green cherry into her mouth.

"Azula, you've leant far too much", Lin sighed tiredly, taking his emblem back. Casting a listless look at it, he continued. "You've learnt the first five basics, around half of the other secret eleven; not to mention six advanced forms including the Disappearing Fire. I mean, _I_ haven't been taught the Disappearing Fire yet."

"How do you know it then?" Azula asked interestedly as Lin reached for her bowl.

"I figured it out myself; told you I'm smart", Lin shrugged lightly, throwing the fruit into his mouth. "Still, Disappearing Fire is waaaay up there, number thirty-something; super-secret stuff, not for anyone outside my family. You do know that if my dad finds out, you're gonna have to marry me, right?"

Lin smirked a little as Azula choked on her snack.

"Please, I'm eating", she narrowed her eyes at him, blushing a little. "And, eww…"

"'Eww'? Really?" Lin scoffed. _Yep, not gonna tell her_…

"Yeah! Eww", Azula said grumpily, pelting Lin's head with a cherry. "You're… _icky_. Absolutely unmarriageable."

"Hmm, am I now?" Lin smiled a little, still absentmindedly rubbing the carving on his emblem with his thumb if only to help him ignore that prick in his chest. "And yet, you want me around. I wonder why?"

"Don't make me zap you again", Azula drawled threateningly.

"You can't; your fingers are hurt", Lin turned to her, excising caution; he would not let himself do the same mistake he did with the blue flame back in Shu Jing. "Azula, I've been meaning to talk to you about lightning."

"I know what you're going to say", Azula turned her gaze to her bowl. "You want me to be careful, don't be reckless, take things slow… all that stuff you always said."

"Why do want to learn it now?" Lin asked with a neutral tone.

"I'm turning thirteen in a few years", Azula said, conjuring a blue flame on her free palm. "I'm going to join the Army."

"You don't have to join the Army the moment you turn thirteen", Lin pointed out, reaching out to touch her blue flame, letting the warmth of the blue flame tickle his fingers; it engulfed his fingers but did not burn his skin. In fact, Lin found the sensation quite pleasant, like caressing a warm fluffy bunny.

"You're one to talk", Azula muttered dryly. "I have to", Azula said again, eyes watching her sifu's fingers ruffled through her blue flame. "My dad needs me."

"Your dad is the Fire Lord", Lin said quietly. "He has the entire Nation at his beck and call."

"It's not that", Azula's tone grew steely; her flame grew warmer. "It's— you won't understand."

"Try me", Lin channeled his chi into Azula's flame; putting his palm above hers, he made her blue flame form tendrils that whipped around like the tentacles of an overturned octurtlepus.

Azula did not say anything for a few seconds, eyes fixed on her flame. When she spoke, her tone was stern. "Zuko's an idiot, Uncle's a failure", Azula said through her clenched jaw. "I'm the only one Father can't count on. I want to make him proud."

"Well, _I'm_ proud of you", Lin stifled his smile; Azula threw her flame at his face harmlessly.

"Hmph! I don't care about a traitor like you", Azula huffed her way to her desk with her bowl.

"_Fugitive_… Why can't people get it?" Lin sighed, rubbing the part between his eyes tiredly. A shift on the bed he felt was soon followed by a whiff of floral scent and a warm weight on his lap; Azula had once again rested her head on his lap with some cherries in her hand. "Don't eat lying down. You'll choke."

Azula response was the slow defiant way she propped a cherry to her mouth.

"Want one?" she offered one to Lin's mouth; Lin let her put it in his mouth. "Why are we snuggling?" she asked.

"I've told you: you like me", Lin chewed calmly despite the sting on his chest from Azula's mean pinch. "Still think I'm icky?"

"Yes", she concluded her pinch with a punch.

"Still hate me?" Lin asked again, smiling amiably.

"Yes", Azula scowled.

"So, about lightning", Lin said casually, carefully tucking one of her bang behind her ear.

"I'm not going to stop learning it", Azula exasperated, halting a cherry. "What is it with you people? I'm not weak!"

"I know you're not; you zapped me, remember?" Lin said patiently, patting her head like he usually would. "Just wait for a year or two, strengthen your basics first."

"There's nothing wrong with my basics", Azula huffed defiantly. "I don't wanna talk about this anymore."

"So, what do you wanna talk about?" Lin asked with a strained smile at her stubbornness.

"I don't know", Azula shoved her last cherry to Lin's mouth if only to stop his impeding lecture about lightning again. "Is there any way you can stay?"

"I'll still be here tomorrow", Lin chewed slowly, lost in thought. "By the way, have I told you that you're the first person I see? You know, after I got back to Fire Nation?"

"No, why?" Azula asked, sitting up and stretched.

"Just want you to know. Since the last time I didn't say goodbye and all", Lin said; Azula turned to him, looking slightly astonished. Lin placed a hand on her shoulder and said meaningfully. "You're special to me: you're my (_fiancée! Say it, say it!_) favorite student."

Azula snorted, and slugged his arm once. "I still hate you", she got up.

"_Dang it_", Lin cursed under his breath as the Princess walked to the other side of the room. "You're the light that shines so bright, Agni's Flame feels the fright."

"Still hate you", Azula exclaimed from her closet.

"You're the beacon of hope when the world has naught."

"Still hate you", Azula closed her closet, walking back with a towel she bundled up.

"You're the glorious breeze of air that banishes the blackest of despair. Please, I'm starting to rhyme, I'm scaring myself. Remember the last time I rhymed? Zuko nearly hang himself. _Why am I still rhyming?!_"

Azula crawled up the bed and reached past Lin to her nightstand on the other side. "Still hate you", she smiled sweetly as she retreated with Nightshade clutched in her hand.

"You're the tower—

"Hate you."

"You're t—"

"Hate you."

"You're—"

"Hate you."

"You—"

"Hate you."

"Zula…"

"Don't call me that! That's a boy's name", she smacked him on the head with her bundle. "I'm going to take a shower now. Don't run off. I'm holding your sword hostage."

"Still don't trust me?" Lin playfully pouted. "What's in that towel?"

"None of your business", she scowled, blushing heavily. "What are you smiling about?"

"You said 'business'" Lin snorted. Azula promptly gasped, mortified, but with a strained amused smile she could not repress fully, and rained blows of pillow on Lin.

"I'm telling my dad… I'm telling MY DAD!"

"Nooo!" Lin grabbed her ankle as she crawled away. "Dooon't! I don't wanna go back to the prisoooon! Nooooo_*sob*_ooo!"

Still with a strained smile and warm cheeks, and an instrument of justice that was her pillow in her hand, she hit that stupid sobbing sifu of hers, who had buried his face on her leg, begging for forgiveness,. "Stupid! Idiot!"

"Don't forget dummy", Lin rose briefly to remind her.

"Dummy! Dummy!" she hit him again.

"So, 'business', huh?" Lin casually reached to her towel bundle and lifted the edge up with two fingers; making her shriek as she quickly secured her towel, horrified as the bundle came undone halfway but, thank be to Agni, nothing was revealed to the world.

"Pervert! Stupid! Dummy!" she smacked him at each word with the once-again-bundled-up bundle and shoved him hard once before she got down the bed with her towel and Nightshade; all the way fighting her amused grin and blushing cheeks with her pout. "Don't peek!" she warned at her bathroom door.

"Please", Lin scoffed dismissively. "There's nothing to peek."

After he had successfully rolled down to the floor to avoid Azula's blue flame, his head poked up from the side of the bed and said. "Us perverts have high standards, you know", he ducked again as her second wave of flame nearly nicked his ponytail.

Snickering at the sound of her slamming and locking the door, Lin got up and sat back on the bed, yawning. He really felt tired and sleepy; the drizzle of Azula's shower only worked to lull him deeper to slee—

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_I can handle this", he said, checking his bowstring. _

"_You're not that good a shot, you know", the blue-eyed pale-skinned girl noted. "There! I said it! I'm sorry to crush your self-esteem but… honey, you suck!"_

"_I've been practicing", he said defensively. _

"_Yeah… you said the same thing about cooking. My tongue still tingles during full moon!"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"What's wrong?" Azula's concerned voice brought him back; she sat by his side with a damp towel draping on her neck and her hair secured by a hair claw clip. "You're pale again."

"I'm fine", Lin muttered weakly as Azula put her palm on his cold forehead.

"I should call someone", Azula said, getting up but Lin caught her wrist.

"And how are you going to explain a fugitive in your room?" Lin smiled bitterly.

"I don't know", Azula sat back down. "You are here to… _*sigh*_ yeah, I don't know."

"Here's a thought: I go back to my room and you call—"

"No. And hate you still", Azula cut in curtly. She went to her vanity mirror, draped her towel on her chair and fashioned her hair into her night ponytail. When she came back, Lin was gripping his head again with gritting teeth.

"You do that a lot, you know", Azula said, sitting close and eyeing him with interest and something akin to concern. "Mostly, you'd just shake your head and blink rapidly. I thought you were just having a head rush or something."

"Do you ever feel like your life is going out of control, like there are so much things going on, so much you should know but those who know won't tell you anything about it?" Lin asked, rubbing his forehead.

"No", Azula shook her head a little, thinking of her sifu's words more deeply that she would like. "Or yes… no… I don't know. I don't wanna talk about it."

Smiling, Lin watched the Princess reached to the nearest pillow, fluffing it with the same amount of force her fist generated when she was beating Lin the previous night when her anger had been at its peak, and plopped down on the spot.

"What?" she said as she felt her sifu's shadow approaching. "I usually sleep in the middle."

"I'm going back to my room, okay?" Lin said.

"No, you stay here", Azula yawned.

"Can I at least sleep on the floor?" Lin asked again, a little surprise when Azula rose so quickly and frowned furiously at him. "No!" she said a little angrily.

"Why not?" Lin asked, a little confused at her adamancy.

"You just can't", she grumbled. A few seconds of silence later, Lin chuckled and pulled her up to him embrace. "Wait, no— why are you hugging meeeee?"

"Who knows?" Lin muttered, holding the grumbling girl; Azula sulked a little as she adjusted her back on Lin's chest for a more comfortable position. "I really am glad that you're doing okay, you know."

"You keep saying that", Azula grumbled again, fighting an urge to cross her arms. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

Lin did not answer. He pressed his chin on the top of her head and said earnestly. "I care so much about you. You know that, right?"

"So don't go", Azula said quietly. "If you really care then… stay. It's simple."

"I can't", Lin squeezed her a little. "Promise me that when I'm gone again, you'll take care of yourself."

"No", Azula said indignantly. "Stay and take care of me, make sure I'm okay."

"I really should have done that in the first place", Lin lamented, feeling a painful prick in his chest that, to his amazement, had nothing to do with anger towards Iroh. "I'm sorry."

"Jerk", Azula grumbled. "If you go again, I won't forgive you. I'll hate you forever."

"Why can't I sleep down there?" Lin changed the topic.

"It's not your place", Azula replied curtly.

"And it is my place up here, in your bed?" Lin asked again; Azula tried to elbow him but he held her in place. "I'm a traitor, remember."

"Fugitive."

"YEEES! _Finally_!"

"Wha— that's— _urgh_!" Azula grunted, failing to break free from Lin's arms despite her valiant thrashing. "Not fair! You tricked me!"

"I didn't", Lin scoffed, holding the struggling Princess. "I'm serious about all that stuff. I care about you and I'm glad you're okay."

"I don't believe you", Azula huffed, hitting his arms. "You always lie to me, never talk straight. I really hate that."

"Really?" Lin thought aloud, thinking back to all the times they had spent together. Did I really do that? The Young Dragon asked himself. Another thought, however, hit him. "I just realized something: you never call me by name."

"Not true", Azula still sulked.

"It's true", Lin said with a strained smile. "You refer to me by name, yes, when you're talking about me to someone else. But, when you talk to me, you never call me by name."

"Not true", Azula repeated, pouting a little. "And besides, it's not your real name. It's a title", Azula turned a little. "Tell me your name; your real name."

"You know my real name", Lin smiled mysteriously.

"I don't remember", Azula admitted sulkily.

"But, you don't forget things", Lin returned her words at her.

"I was six when you changed your name", Azula said a little crossly. "I was just a kid then."

"That's no excuse. You remember that 'eternal secrecy' thing", Lin pointed out. "_That_ literally happened the next day I changed my name."

"Yeah, so?" Azula pouted again. "Tell me your name."

"Nope", Lin shook his head slowly but surely.

"Tell me."

"No."

"I'll stop hating you."

"No. I like being hated by you."

"I'll stop calling you a traitor."

"No. You already did that one time; that's enough for me."

"I'll give you this candy."

"Psh! Please. I'm easy, not _cheap_…. …What flavor?"

"Um?" Azula read the print on the wrapper of the candy she took from her pocket. "Cherry mint."

"No", Lin shook his head again. "I like barley mint flavor."

"Tell me."

"Nope."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me…_*sniff*_"

"Aw… the adorable eyes… Meh, no."

"Tell meee!" Azula whined, kicking her feet rapidly like a child throwing tantum. Lin inhaled deeply and delivered a very conceited. "No."

"Jerk!" she sulked again, struggling mightily to get free. "Idiot! Stupid! Dummy! Traitor!"

"Azula", Lin sighed, trying not to laugh.

"Dummy! Dummydummydummydummy!"

"Try saying 'fugitive' like that. I dare you", Lin laughed, holding her still.

"Dummy! Dummy!" Azula still pouted.

"Who's a dummy?"

"You!"

"Call me by name."

"No! You're name's stupid. Dummy!"

Lin chuckled and squeezed her tighter; Azula went back to being docile though she still muttered '_dummydummydummy_' rapidly under her breath. This is good, right? Lin asked himself. At least Azula was doing well enough to get annoyed by something as simple as this.

"Azula…" Lin called.

"What?" she asked before resuming her low but rapid '_dummydummydummy_'.

"Nothing. I just like your name", Lin smiled a little. "It rolls well on the tongue. Azula… Azzz-zula… Azz-zull-laa. Do you have a nickname?"

"Nope. _Dummydummydummydummy_…"

"Why not?" Lin scoffed. "Your name has three syllables; it's like the minimum syllable for a nickname."

"I don't want a nickname, dummy. _Dummydummydummydummydummydum my_…"

"I thought Ty Lee calls you 'Zula'", Lin said, scoffing at Azula's groan.

"That's a boy's name", Azula grumbled. "And she does not. She just says my name too fast sometimes it sounds like 'Zula'. Azula, Azula, azula, _a_zula,_a_zula,zula,'zula,'zula."

"How about… Azzie?"

"No, too cutesy."

"Lala?"

"Eww… that's even worse."

"Azu?"

"That's a different name entirely.

"Zulie?"

"There's a girl by that name at my school."

"Yeah, you're stuck with a boy's name, Zula?"

"Don't call me that!"

"Call you what, Zula?"

"I'm telling my dad!"

"No! No, no, no!" Lin quickly held her before she broke loose. "Why do you always play the dad card?"

"It's part of the fun having a Fire Lord as a dad", Azula smirked smugly. "Tell me your name or I tell my dad that you snuck into my room."

"That name's dead, Azzie", Lin smiled both playfully and solemnly. "And besides, your dad already knows. He's the Fire Lord and this _is_ his palace."

"Wait, what?!" Azula's grin melted, her face grew pale. "H-he knows?"

"Yeah", Lin too shuddered. "He said he's gonna do something terrible to me if he finds out I'm in your room again; he's been keeping my room clean just to avoid this, you know."

"Hmph, told you he's nice", Azula said somewhat proudly before turning solemn, if not a little wary and fearful, again. "He really knows? He didn't say anything about it to me."

"Yeah. I really should get back to my room", Lin peeled the girl off his arms. "I seriously don't want to go back to jail."

"But, I want you to stay", Azula said, tugging Lin's waist. "Please."

"Azula… I _will_ die", Lin pointed out the obvious.

"I don't care", Azula sounded a little pouty. "You owe me that much. You lied to me, you left me. I really hate you for that."

Lin turned to her… she really did look hurt despite all the jokes and laughter before. B-but, this really was improper! He's a boy, Azula's a girl. And this was just…

"Urgh… When I die, promise me I will get cremated", Lin rested himself back on the padded headboard. "I want to be buried the firebender way."

Azula was beaming when she dived down to her sifu's chest but then the thought of her action hit her and she quickly rose, mortified, and went back to her pillow, lying sideways with her back turned to him.

"You really hate me, huh?" Lin's voice trailed to her ears; she felt his finger tugging her left bang to her ear.

"I don't know", she muttered. Sitting up, she rested her back on the headboard, propped her legs up and hugged her folded legs. "I guess so. You left me. People always leave me. I hate that."

"I'm here now", Lin tried to cheer her up.

"But, you'll leave again", Azula said more than a wee bit sadly.

"Want to hit me again?" Lin asked.

"Yes, very", Azula sighed tiredly.

"Use pillow", was Lin's last words before he was once again a victim of Fire Princess Azula's expertise in pillow wielding.

Her anger was the real deal…

"Why! Did! You! Leave!" Azula screamed angrily. "Why! Did… WHY?!"

Lin could only stare at her solemnly; Azula was showing such pain as her tears swelled up in her eyes and she bit her quivering lip to hold her sobs. It did naught to stop her from crying. Her pillow strikes grew less in frequency but more in intensity; her tears flowed freely but her sobs she strained to the best of her ability. "I don't understand", she sobbed quietly, striking hard. "Was it something I did? Did I-did I do something wrong?"

Lin kept his silence, willingly waiting until she stopped hitting. When she did, he welcomed her in his embrace.

"Why did you leave…?" Azula sobbed, gripping the front of his garb with both hands. "I hate you! I hate you so much! Dummy! Jerk! You're a… y-you're…"

All he could do was stroking her hair as she sobbed harder than she ever did on his chest.

* * *

"Why me?" Bob nearly shrieked. "You're the… you can fight! You do it!"

"But, it's… red", Spear held his spear pouch in front of him defensively. "What if it starts spitting fire or something?"

The messenger hawk eyed those two foolish Earth Kingdom with haughty condescending eyes, as if saying. '_Freaking colonial bums'_.

* * *

Azula had calmed a little, still sobbing, still teary, still gripping the front of his garb, still keeping her head on the crook of his neck; Lin rested his chin on the top of her head, still gently stroking the side of her head, still holding her close, still hating himself for ever leaving her, still loathing himself for inflicting this much pain to those he left behind. If Azula was hurting this much, imagine what his Aunt Bing and Biao must have gone through, his father, his uncles, his cousins, nephews and nieces, his family.

"Don't go", Azula said finally. "Just stay. I like it when you're here."

"I like it here too", Lin concurred then he paused and redressed. "W-well, not _here_ here. I mean Fire Nation here", Azula chuckled a little as Lin stammered on. "N-not that I don't like _here_ here! It's just that… seriously, Azula: if anyone catches me here, I'm dead."

"I don't care. Serves your right", she pounded his chest once. Hard.

"It's nice here and all –_here_ here-", Lin said fairly. "But, I got zapped and hit a lot. So…"

"Hmph, dummy", she sniffed on his chest but smiled a bit. After a few while. "You really have a…" her voice turned into low mumble. "… secret Earth Kingdom girlfriend?"

"Of course not", Lin scoffed, the corner of his mouth tickled. "... She's Fire Nation. Okay, I confess: it's Mai", Azula chuckled, Lin continued with his declaration. "I've been in love with her since the day I met her. It's the hair buns, you see; so adorable, remind me of a baby panda."

Giggling, Azula took a pillow and smacked his face.

"Dummy", she sniffed, wiping her eyes. "By the way, Mai… and Zuko… _at last_."

"No… _get out!_" Lin exclaimed. "Really?!"

"I know", Azula grinned more cheerfully now. "I'm so going to write Ty Lee about this."

"I'm so going to tease Zuko with this. He threw garbage into my mouth", Lin smirked evilly.

"See what you've been missing?" Azula said, back to being sad. "So, don't go."

"I'll still be here tomorrow", Lin shrugged halfheartedly. Azula's simply sulked and picked her pillow. She sighed once and dropped to her bed with the pillow on the side of her head; this time, she faced him.

"Dummy", she said, sniffing deep and yawned a little. Lin rested his back again on the headboard. Azula spoke again. "I can talk to my dad. He listens to me."

"Don't", Lin shook his head a little. "I don't want you to get involved in this."

"Why not?" Azula shot up furiously. "I'm not weak! I can handle anything!" she suddenly beamed, damp slightly red eyes widening hopefully… and desperately as she rose and said. "In fact, I-I'll go talk to him right now, okay. Just wait here and—"

"Azula", Lin caught her wrist quick; Azula really was going to go. "Azula, please… listen—"

"What is _wrong_ with you?!" she snapped angrily, yanking her hand free. "I just… Why do you want to leave so much?!"

"I don't want to leave", Lin replied heatedly. He breathed and softened his tone but still keeping it firm. "I never wanted to leave."

Azula simply punched him hard on the chest, right where a person's heart is (dangerous stuff, do not try on anybody! Or yourself!). Lin coughed, gasping in pain; Azula furiously raised her fist wanting to strike again but…

"Why do you want to go so much…?" she cried quietly. "Don't you like living here…? In your own country?"

Lin did not answer immediately; he honestly had never thought about it that much. Such is the nature of Fire Element, of a Fire National: Fire burns to stay alight, it will not care what it burns. Much like Water that adapts, Fire too adapts in its own way. It burns, it retains its light; when it can do so, it will not care what it burns, _where_ it burns.

Water adapts by adjusting itself to suit the environment.

Fire adapts by adjusting the environment to suit itself.

"This is my home, Azula", Lin said solemnly. "I have just begun to understand my dad, I have just begun to be your and Zuko's teacher, I have just begun to…" he paused, fixing his eyes on the spot where Azula's hands were gripping her trousers. "My life had just begun: a more peaceful one. I had just retired from the Army around that time, you know?"

"And then you went to the Earth Kingdom for a vacation", Azula growled still rather furiously.

"I shouldn't have gone", Lin shut his eyes hard remorsefully; the fact that it was General Iroh who had sent him there to Tyro's village was a burning acid to his ache. "It was my first mistake."

"What were you doing there?" Azula asked, wiping her tears. "Why did you burn that forest?"

"I saw my grandfather", total honesty; Lin clutched his fist hard, his knuckle whitened. "I tried to capture him. I failed."

"And you burnt a forest instead", Azula hurled a pillow at him, hard. "Dummy…"

"I know", Lin smiled sadly at himself; Azula lied back on the bed and curled up there in the middle of the mattress. "Use your pillow; you'll hurt your neck in the morning."

"I don't want it", Azula muttered, staring blankly at his direction. "Dummy…"

Lin smiled lightly. Azula absentmindedly reached to his wrist, the right wrist where she had put on the bracelet.

"You really think I'm icky?" Lin asked out of the blue as Azula twirled the bracelet on his wrist.

"Yes", Azula answered quickly.

"But… you kissed me."

"That never happened!"

"Oh, but it did", Lin chuckled under the renewed barrage of pillow; he caught it and wrenched it away. "Haven't washed my face since, you know", he teased; Azula simply used another pillow.

"Never happened! Never happened!" Azula screamed as she hit as much and as hard as she could; having pillow after pillow snatched. She did not know why she was grinning herself despite the burn on her face. "Pervert!"

"Me? You ki— ow!" Lin failed to defend his nose against Azula's pillow.

"Dummy! Stupid!"

"Okay", Lin held that pillow before it crashed his face again. "Seriously! How many pillows do you have?"

"Shut up, dummy!" Azula tried to sound angry but the most she could manage was flustered. "You're— _pervert_!"

"Hey, I'm not a pervert", Lin frowned, though still looked amused. "You're the one who—"

"I don't wanna hear it!" Azula huffed; with a new pillow, she lied back down and buried her head under it. "Stupid pervert!"

"Feeling better now?" Lin snickered, rubbing his still sore chest.

"I'm not talking to you ever again!" Azula's muffled declaration came from under her pillow.

"You just talk to me", Lin calmly flicked a strand of his hair off his forehead.

"Starting now!"

"There, you did it again."

"Arrggh!"

"There you go", Lin commented nonchalantly, raising his right arm to defend against the angry Princess' pillow strike. "'Zula…"

"Don't call me that! Don't call me that!"

"Okay, stop hitting", Lin caught her in his arms again. "Violence is so unladylike."

"Yeah?!" Azula, trapped, struggled once, huffing. "Says the one who teaches people firebending! Stupid!"

"Not dummy?"

"Dummy!"

Lin simply smiled a little, squeezing her tighter, pressing her back against his chest; her warmth, her '_dummydummydummy_', her scent, her annoyed pinching and slapping on his arms… they were the proofs that she was alright.

"Why are we hugging?" she asked again, back to being docile this time.

"I don't know? Why did hug me last night?" Lin asked back, nudging her head with his chin.

"Because I didn't want you run away again", Azula grumbled, hoping to Agni that warmth she felt on her cheek did not manifest as a blush. "And I was cold!"

Not really…

"You have your blanket", Lin pointed out.

"So? What does it have to do with anything?" Azula huffed.

"You're acting a like a spoiled child", Lin scoffed lightly.

"I am _not_!" Azula denied crossly. "Dummy!"

"Well, dummy's better than—"

"—pervert…"

"Don't call me that", Lin sighed. "I'm not a pervert."

"Pervert", Azula huffed.

"I'm not."

"Pervert."

"Not."

"Pervert."

"Not!"

"Pervert."

"Azula!"

"Pervert."

"I'm not a—"

"Pervert."

"…"

"Pervert."

"…"

"…Pervert."

"…"

"…"

"So, to clear—"

"Pervert."

Lin sighed tiredly. "I'm a pervert, huh?"

"Yeah", Azula said smugly, looking up a little. "Pervert."

"I'm not! Don't call me that", Lin whined a little.

"I don't care, pervert."

"Well, if I get to be a pervert anyway, might as well do something to earn the title."

"What's that, pervert?"

"Surrender your lips!"

"Perveeert!"

"Ow!"

"Dummy! Dummy!" broken free, Fire Princess Azula proved once more she was a mean hitter with a pillow.

"Don't forget stupid. Ow!"

"Stupid!" Azula threw her pillow hard, failing to hold her grin.

"Feeling better?" Lin asked somewhat too cheerfully.

"I still hate you", Azula declared again, puffing yet another pillow and lied down on the spot, back turned on the dummy.

"But, you're feeling better", Lin said. "That's good."

"Dummy", Azula turned and kicked him once before turning back again.

"I really am glad you're doing alright, you know", Lin smiled fondly, pulling her blanket over her shoulder before he returned to the headboard. "Believe it or not, there were times when I couldn't sleep at night worrying about you."

"Not working, still hate you", came from Azula flatly.

"_Dang it!_' Lin winced. "Want me to rhyme again?"

"No. Dummy", Azula muttered, yawning a little.

"Can I go back to my room now?" Lin yawned too and stretched a little.

"No. I forbid it."

"Sleep on the floor?"

"No."

"I'm really concerned about you sometimes", Lin sighed. "You let someone you declared a pervert in your room."

"Dummy."

"You don't just let any pervert in your room, right?"

Azula simply rose, threw her pillow at his face, and snuggled onto him, using his stomach as a pillow.

"You're the only pervert I know", she said, closing her eyes, ready to sleep.

"And if, in the future, you come across some other perverts?"

"I'll kill them all."

"Atta girl", Lin patted her head.

"Don't do that", Azula grumbled, though the corner of her mouth curled up; she sniffed her leftover sobs and put on a scowl as she rolled to her back and faced him. "I'm not a child anymore."

"Yeah, but you're still my (_say fiancée!_) student", Lin patted her head again, only to have his hand swatted away.

"Dummy", she grumbled, rolling away with her back to him.

"You didn't really mean it when you said that thing about me being unmarriageable, right?" Lin asked without even knowing why it bothered him this much.

Azula rolled back to face him; with narrowed judgmental eyes, she scrutinized her sifu, assessing his every feature. "Yup", she delivered her verdict: "Unmarriageable."

"That's mean", Lin feigned a hurt look. Not much effort to it.

"You're a traitor—"

"Fugitive."

"—a dummy, an idiot, and a pervert."

"Liar?"

"Yeah, that too", Azula concurred. "Girls hate that."

"Still, there must be something good about me", Lin shrugged. "You must be keeping me around for a reason."

"I want to learn firebending from you", Azula said rather bluntly.

"I don't know which is more hurtful: when you're lying or when you're being honest", Lin frowned.

"Hmph, dummy", Azula turned her back on him.

"Night", Lin mimicked her earlier singsong. "Sleep tight, don't let the bedbug bite."

"I don't wanna sleep yet", Azula rolled back to face him again.

"You have a test tomorrow", Lin reminded.

"So? I'm smart. I'll ace it", Azula crossed her arms. "Besides, I napped too much today."

"It's late", Lin said again, yawning himself.

"Give me Scarlet", Azula ordered.

"Say 'please'", Lin narrowed his eyes at her.

"Please", Azula obeyed curtly.

"Not cute enough."

"Pweeeeaase…"

Chuckling, Lin reached out to Scarlet but before he handed the sword to its rightful owner… "I promise that…"

Azula exasperated.

"That…"

"…I will not play around with my sword unnecessarily", Azula droned flatly.

"I hereby swear that…"

"…I won't stab, slash, cut, or hurt my sifu in any way with my sword."

"Atta girl", Lin patted her head again, much to her chagrin, before he gave her the sword.

"Dummy", Azula muttered once before she busied herself admiring her new sword.

"You really ne-_*yawn*_-ver called me by name", Lin rubbed his tired eyes.

"Tell me your name and I'll call you by name", Azula drew her sword and began performing a simple stabbing move aimed at a point on her bed upper canopy.

"You know my name", Lin said lazily. "Careful. Don't drop your sword, you'll impale yourself."

"I meant your real name", Azula said dryly, scowling from his lap.

"You know my real name", Lin snickered. "Relax your grip; you'll hurt your wrist."

"I meant your _birth_ name", Azula shot him a sharp look before she went back to stabbing the thin air.

"Hmm", Lin halted her hand and corrected her grip. "Let me think… _no_."

"Why not?" Azula grumbled, stabbing the air still. "Like this?"

"Yes, be careful", Lin advised. "Well, a guy must have some mystery to him. Chicks dig that."

Azula chortled skeptically. "Dummy…"

"You let me call you Azzie, I'll tell you my real name", Lin bargained.

"Your _birth_ name; I'm not gonna fall for your tricks again", Azula huffed smugly at Lin's soft '_dang it!_'. "Why is it so hard to aim? Master Piandao can stab the spine of a falling leaf with his sword."

"Azula, Master Piandao is awesome", Lin stated matter-of-factly. "He's learnt swords for decades."

"How old is he? He doesn't look that old", Azula asked interestedly.

"I don't know; I heard rumors he's fifty something, turning forty six next year, some even go as far as saying he's a really really old looking mid-twenty", Lin shrugged. "It's his mystery. See, I was right; mystery makes a guy look cooler."

"Of course, it does", Azula patronizingly cooed. "So, your real name, birth name? Real birth name?"

"No, you'll laugh", Lin refused lightly. "Sleep, come on."

"I'll sleep when you do", Azula said as Lin pried Scarlet from her grip carefully. "You'll sneak out if I sleep first."

"I'll still be here tomorrow", Lin promised again, holding Scarlet in front of him, letting the gleam of the blade fall on his eyes.

"_Here_ here?" Azula drawled suspiciously.

"Azula", Lin groaned, _busted_. "I'll get arrested. Your dad is going to kill me."

"Not my problem", Azula huffed again. Lin stabbed the air forward once; unlike Azula's feeble stabs, in his hand Scarlet produced a sharp whistling sound.

"You really are getting meaner lately", Lin sighed, taking Scarlet's scabbard and sheathed the sword back. "Come on. Up, sleep."

Lin propped Scarlet against the nightstand near him. "By the way, where's my sword?"

"In the bathroom", Azula yawned a little, getting up and lying back down on a pillow. "That way, you'll wake me up when you get down from here."

"Sometimes, I think you're too smart for your own good", Lin commented, shifting for a more comfortable sitting position.

"Lie down", Azula ordered.

"It's not proper", Lin closed his eyes and began sleeping sitting up.

"Dummy", he heard Azula said.

"Night", Lin said, pulling her blanket over her shoulder.

"I don't want the blanket", Azula said grumpily.

"But, the blanket wants you", Lin joked.

"If I use the blanket, promise me you'll be here when I wake up", Azula said firmly. "_Here_ here, in this room, in this bed", Lin groaned, much to Azula's smug delight as she continued. "And you will stay here while I sleep, you will not run out?"

"First of all—"

"Say 'yes'!"

Lin sighed, too tired to argue. "Okay, fine, _yes_", he rubbed his forehead. "But, you must know that _this_…" he made a sweeping gesture. "…_this_ is inappropriate, right?"

"I don't care", Azula huffed, crossing her arms rather defiantly.

"I really am concerned about you", Lin shook his head in disbelief at her childish sulking.

"The solution is simple", Azula shrugged with that slight smug smirk of hers. "Stay. For good. Keep me in line."

"I can't", Lin replied flatly. "We've been through this."

"Lie down", Azula ordered again.

"No. That's a crime against social norms and general decency", Lin said just as flatly. "And the Royal Family."

"You just hugged me few minutes ago", Azula said incredulously.

"Yeah, and?"

"Hugging a princess is a crime."

"I wasn't hugging a princess; I was hugging my (_fiancée!_) student."

"So, why won't you lie down?"

"Because you're a princess."

"Don't do that!" Azula miffily slugged his side. "Don't twist your words around. I hate it when you do that!"

Still with throbbing side, Lin decided to slide down to his back, resting his head appreciatively on a pillow. "You keep saying things you hate about me", he chuckled slightly at Azula's pinching his arm. "What about things you like? There must be something you like about me. That's why you keep me around, right?"

"I keep you around because I want to learn firebending from you", Azula restated still far too honestly.

"I would prefer it if you had— _oh, never mind_", Lin yawned tiredly. "Night", he rolled around, turning his back on Azula.

He would have fallen asleep instantly if a certain Princess was not tugging the tip of his ponytail a little. "What is it?" he asked.

"Turn around", Azula said.

"Aren't you sleepy?" Lin obeyed anyway.

"I told you, I slept too much today", Azula said, letting her sifu took off the beaded bracelet from his right wrist and put it on her left wrist. "I just realized something; it's about that thing you said earlier."

"That I'm currently committing a crime against the Royal Family?" Lin guessed.

"Not that, dummy", Azula punched him on the arm; her beaded bracelet clicked and dangled as she did so. "I meant that thing about you not knowing much about me. I don't know much about you, either. I don't even know your name."

"You know my—"

"Real name", she growled. "Real birth name!"

"Nope", Lin closed his and smiled a bit. "Sleep. I'm tired."

"What's your hobby?" her question made him smile a bit but Lin still kept his eyes behind the darkness behind his eyelids. "What's your favorite book? Favorite color? Favorite play? What's your _name_?

"Lots of hobbies, various of books, no preference for color –but, I do hate green-, and play… really? After Ember Island… with your mom? Remember that one time?" Lin opened his eyes; Azula was eyeing him like one would a curio. "Sleep. You look tired."

"I don't feel tired", Azula denied through her tiny yawn.

"You have a test tomorrow", Lin reminded her.

"I'm prepared for it", Azula said rather smugly.

"Sleep", Lin said again. "It's late, it's almost…" he turned to the hourglass behind him. "… wow, only ten?"

"See, it's still early", Azula argued smugly.

"Azulaaa…" Lin nearly cried. "I'm really tired."

"Tell me you real name", Azula extorted.

"No", Lin rolled to his back and inhaled deeply.

"Tell me", Azula demanded again.

"No. Sleep, you have school tomorrow", Lin said, rolling back to her direction. "Sleep, now. Sifu's order."

"Tell me", Azula said again.

"No", Lin shut his eyes.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

Sighing, Lin opened his eyes again. "Okay… but, admit that you kissed me."

"That never happened!" Azula smacked his arm, turning red fast. "Never happened!" she smacked him again. "Never happened!" and again.

"Of course not", Lin mimicked her earlier patronizing coo. "Sleep."

"No", Azula said stubbornly.

"You're being childish", Lin pointed out rather sternly.

"You're being a jerk", Azula countered.

Snickering, Lin patted her head; she swatted his hand away. Letting his hand fall, he reached out slowly to one of her bangs. "I like these", he commented at the two strands of hair veiling the sides of her face. "Kinda cute."

"Don't do that", Azula muttered sharply. "Don't change the subject. You always do that. I hate that."

"Again, with the things you hate", Lin scoffed lightly.

"You're diverting the topic again", Azula grumbled.

"You really are too smart for your own good", Lin laughed a little. "Goodnight, Princess."

"Dummy", Azula said at Lin's back that was turned to her again.

Azula did not sleep though. She reached out to her sifu's back and tugged a little at his garb. "Are you still hurting from when I zapped you?" she asked quietly.

"No", Lin replied. Then he rolled back to face her but before he could get a word out of his mouth, Azula spoke. "I know what you're going to say."

"Really?" Lin arched his brows.

"I won't stop training lightning", Azula decided.

"Will you at least wait until next spring?" Lin persuaded. "Take time to heal."

"I'm fine", Azula mumbled.

"Azula, can you even hold a penbrush tomorrow?" Lin asked curtly.

"Of course, I can", Azula frowned.

"Let me see your fingers", Lin reached out but she withdrew her hands to her chest quickly. "Azula, I'm serious."

"I don't care what you think", Azula said adamantly. "I can handle lightning."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_No lightning today?" the scarred contender taunted at her panting figure rolling up to her feet. "What's the matter?" he assumed his stance. "Afraid I'll redirect it?"_

"_Oh", she fell for it. "I'll show you LIGHTNING!"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I don't doubt it, Azula", Lin said patiently. "But, please, wait a while. Just for the rest of the year."

"Why should I listen to you?" Azula said crossly.

"Why do you want me around?" Lin asked back.

"Because—", Azula halted. Because… _what_? She smacked him on the arm. "Don't answer a question with a question, it's rude! You do that too. I hate that!"

"Now, who's diverting the topic?" Lin resumed his offensive.

Azula looked taken aback at the direct blow. Scowling, she rolled and turned her back on him. "Why are you hugging me?" she asked still a little angrily at her sifu's arms circling her frame though she welcomed his other arm folded underneath her head that she used as a pillow.

"I don't know. I'm a dummy, remember", Lin said, nudging the top of her head with his chin. "I can't think that heavy."

"That's another thing; you like to use my own words against me", Azula groused. "I hate that."

"If you hate me so much, why do you want me around?" Lin asked again.

"I don't know", Azula admitted somewhat gruffly. "I really don't know."

Lin did not pester her for more; he just let her jab his hand with her long sharp nail.

"I can't remember Lu Ten's face sometimes", Azula unexpectedly confessed; her tone was distant. "I was only six when he left; I just started going to school, I just started learning firebending, I had so much going on."

She paused; Lin waited.

"Sometimes, when I try to picture him, I see you", Azula said finally. "…with a top-knot."

Lin groaned, Azula giggled. She sounded less gleeful when she said. "Does it make me…" she paused a little and continued with a solemn tone. "Does it mean that I'm a bad cousin?"

"No", Lin said just as solemnly. "It means you're human", he said; half thanking Avatar Serra, half annoyed that she was right.

"I don't like this", Azula said; crying quietly now. "I hate him; I hate Lu Ten… why did he have to go? And I hate this. I hate crying. Crying is for the weak!"

"You're wrong", Lin argued softly. "Crying is for us firebenders, the tamers of Fire Element, the element of passion. And crying is also for the brave."

* * *

"Doctor… Do something already", Bob whined, hiding behind the doctor's back. "I'm tired."

"What am I supposed to do?" Spear hissed back. "Look at that thing! It's just—"

—SQUAWK!—

"Arrghh!"

* * *

"Tell me one thing honestly", Azula said, wiping her eyes. "Why won't you let me talk to my dad about this?"

"Because you are not supposed to know about this at all", Lin said truthfully.

"My dad told me about Ty Lee", Azula rolled around and turned to him. "He trusts me."

"I know he does", Lin concurred. "But this thing I'm in, this is not something I want you to get involved in."

"Why not?" Azula muttered dejectedly.

"It's not honorable", Lin said darkly. "Please, trust me on this."

Azula sniffed and stared into that evasive amber of his as if assessing if he was lying. "Why'd you do it, then?"

"It was an order from the Fire Lord", Lin said with resignation. "I had no choice."

Azula, the daughter of Fire Lord Ozai, could not come up with an argument for this; loyalty is expected, _demanded_, from every Fire Nation citizens, noble or not.

"I still hate you", she decided as she leaned forward and pressed her forehead on his chest, on the notch between his collarbones.

"Are we snuggling now?" she heard her stupid sifu asked; so, naturally, she slugged him on the chest.

"Shut up", she grumbled, tugging on the front of his garb with the same hand.

For a moment, none spoke; Azula because she was secretly savoring this feeling that made her father's voice yelled out 'WEAK!' inside her, and Lin because he knew he should just hold his silence for now. It was Azula who spoke after that few moments.

"You feel like Lu Ten", she said quietly, dragging those words out of her reluctant mouth. "When I hug you, it feels like hugging Lu Ten."

She pressed closer and, despite a part of her that screamed at her not to, she circled her arms around Lin's neck, burying her face on the crook of his neck.

"But, your hug's different", Azula continued, not knowing why she did; that part of her was still screaming at her, calling her weak while she let herself feel the warmth of the boy's arms around her. "Lu Ten's felt a bit rough; I was a kid then and I was his baby cousin, maybe that's why; he liked to squeeze me just to annoy me. But, yours' not. You hug like my dad. It's like being hugged by a tiger-bear; it makes me feel protected."

"Really?" Lin smiled a little, failing to picture _the_ Fire Lord Ozai hugging anyone without crushing ribs.

"There, I told you why I hug you", Azula said, sniffing a little. "Why do you hug me?"

"Let's see", Lin thought for a moment; telling her that he hugged her because she hugged him first, which, now that Lin thought about it, was not true (_he_ hugged Azula first), might cause him to get zapped again. Why did he hug her? They had never hugged before, had they? There was the occasional pat on the head and that hand holding in the festival but that was all. There must be a reason; Lin rarely did things without a reason even if the reason was something as impertinent as boredom (remember his '100 ways to kill a Haoren' project?).

Sighing, Lin squeezed the Princess a little as he, and his lightheadedness, surrendered to the first words that formed in his mind. "Well, you're warm… soft, smell nice, kinda cuddly."

"So, basically, I'm a pillow", Azula emerged from his arms and narrowed her eyes at Lin.

"Yes, you are', Lin nodded too honestly for his own good. "Ow… hurt… pain… Azula, my bruises from yesterday are still fresh."

"Hmm? Oh, really?" Azula said sweetly. "They say if we pinch hard enough", she added a pleasant twist; Lin had begun making the noise of a strangled lynx-cat. "The skin will actually bleed. Shall we put the myth to a test?"

"Azula", Lin wheezed, hurting so very much. "Azula… I _will_ poke you on your spot."

"You wouldn— Eeeeek!"

"You forced my hand", Lin bemoaned as the Fire Princess, who had been launched over the edge of the bed on the other side to the floor by the sheer force of the light poke, climbed back up to the bed and crawled to him slowly like an angry dragon. "Before you hit me with that vase, I feel the need to remind you that if you had let me go back to— let me finish", he could not help but smile as he tried to catch that vase before it could crash his skull. "Azula! That's dangerous! Don't play around with a porcelain ornament."

"Dummy!" Azula had to be content with smacking him with her bare hand; she was disarmed of her weapon. "Stupid! Dummy!"

"Jerk?" Lin caught her flailing wrists but she struggled hard.

"Jerk!"

"Azula, stop hitting", Lin raised his arm to defend against her arm she managed to get free. "Don't—", He caught that free arm. "Violence is wrong."

"Yeah, this comes from a… a jerk!" she shoved him, hands trapped and all; her own mouth was curling up to a smile she tried hard to stifle. "Dummy!"

"Feeling better?" Lin asked still too cheerfully. "Azulaa! Stop hitting! Bad Azula!"

"Dummy!" Azula continued hitting him, still fighting a losing battle with her smile too.

"Okay", Lin, chuckling, caught her and held her in a hug. "Feeling better?"

"Shut up", Azula grumbled, though she herself did feel lighter. "Don't ever touch me there again!"

"… Azula, if somebody hear that, they're gonna have the wrong idea", Lin said somewhat warily.

"Dummy", she muttered, holding a laughter with her hand on her mouth. "That's another thing you do. You always make me laugh after you make me angry and just let everything blow over. I hate that."

"I know", Lin pressed his chin on her head nesting in the crook of his neck. "But, you must excuse that one, it's self-preservation; I really don't want to get zapped again."

"Dummy."

"Sleep", Lin said again. "Test tomorrow."

"Dummy", Azula said one last time before lying back down on her side, back turned on Lin; she brought her hand to her mouth, covering the tiny smile she could not hold when he pulled her blanket over her shoulder and embraced her like he had done before.

"Let it be known that I'm only doing this because you're cold", even though she was not. "And that because you… zap people with lightning and it worries me; really, Azula, we'll have a serious talk about this tomorrow."

Azula giggled slightly but when she turned around to him, she spoke with a strained sternness. "Dummy", she said before she buried her face in his neck once more. "I still hate you."

"It's okay", Lin said, smiling a little. "As long as you're doing alright."

"Dummy", he heard Azula whispered. "I hated you when you left me. It felt like Lu Ten all over again."

"Sometimes, I forget how Lu Ten's death must have hurt you", Lin confessed ruefully, then he snickered fondly. "You know, Lu Ten rarely spoke about you."

"I know", Azula sniffed gleefully. "I told you, I was his baby cousin; he was very protective of me. He wouldn't even let me talk to a boy", then she giggled. "If he knew that you're hugging me, he'd probably challenge you to an Agni Kai."

"Correction; you hugged me", Lin joked, earning a sharp pinch. After a while, Lin spoke again with a cold fury that sparked his inner fire for a second. "Ba Sing Se will pay one day", he whispered. "I promise you that."

"I know they will", Azula muttered back, completely aware of how the room's dim lighting turning blue with streaks of orange mingling on each and every blue flame. "We'll make them pay. Defeating Ba Sing Se will be our closure."

* * *

"Hey, Bob! Wake up."

"Zzzz… what?"

"Look… I think-I think it's moving."

—SPLAT—

"…It just pooped on your bag."

"Shut up, Bob."

* * *

Azula was the first to wake up in the morning. Her eyes were kept closed and, despite feeling his warm breath on top of her head and feeling the beating of his heart on her face, she dared not open her eyes right away. What if none of that had ever happened, what if when she opened her eyes, if would be the morning of the 20th when she would be waiting for her maids to come in to wake her and prepare her bathwater for her?

When she gained enough courage to open her eyes, she saw him; it was the morning of the 22nd and it was not a dream…

Which brought another wave of terror, or confusion, she was still not really clear about it: why, oh, _why_ did she let him stay here, _here_ here? Why did she want him to stay?

The night before could be justified by her striking him with lightning, effectively incapacitating him. She had had to let him stay. But, last night? Azula mentally groaned, mortified even more so when she realized that she was pressing her forehead on his chin. Trying her best to ignore the heat arising to her face, she slowly peeled herself away from his arms.

Curling tightly on the other side of the bed inside her quilt with her back turned on Lin, she valiantly stood her ground against her embarrassment and beating heart. Her father's insinuation about… courtship and… _marriage_ made her shudder. I mean, he was a traitor!

Azula mentally drummed her head when she corrected the last word, '_fugitive'_.

Azula let out a soft gasp as she felt his hand on top of her head. "I told you not to do that", she sighed, turning to him; Lin had risen to a sitting position leaning against the headboard, rubbing his eyes. "I'm not a child anymore", Azula protested again.

"I know", Lin yawned, grew silent for a few seconds, and abruptly collapsed sideways and died.

"Dummy", Azula snickered a little, hitting his head with a pillow.

"You haven't asked when I'm going back to the Earth Kingdom", Lin said tiredly. "You're planning something, aren't you?"

"No", Azula drawled far too innocently.

"Azula", Lin squirmed up to face her. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing", Azula smiled innocently like a baby angel.

"Azula, I've known you since you were six", Lin said rather witheringly. "Believe it or not, you're not that good of a liar."

"Of course, I am", Azula huffed defensively. "Here, watch!" she assumed the flattest face possible. "Zuko's adopted."

Lin started at her for a few seconds, his expression was hard to read. "That was… creepy."

"And convincing."

"I really couldn't… that was _creepy_."

"But, convincing."

"That's the creepy part", Lin felt such bad premonition at the smug on her smirk. "It makes me sense great anguish and suffering in my future."

"That's what dummies do", Azula yawned and stretched on her back. "You didn't try to take your permit from me last night, did you?"

"Depends", Lin tugged her bang behind her ear, smiling. "Do you feel like I've been touching you all ov— ouch!"

"Pervert!" Azula smacked him with pillow again despite her chuckle. "I'm telling my dad… I'm really telling my dad this time!"

"No, no, no! Azula! Prison is hell!" Lin quickly grabbed her waist.

"But, it's a good solution", Azula, encased in his embrace, suggested through her giggle and elbowing the boy's chest. "I…" she quickly changed to. "…_We_ get keep you in Fire Nation."

"Yeah?" Lin let go and stretched; Azula smacked him once with a random pillow.

"Yeah", Azula smirked as Lin sat with his head hung heavily. "If you leave again, Mai will miss you…"

"Oh, I'm sure", Lin mimicked her singsong tone, then he winced. "Urgh… I missed her birthday too."

"Yup", Azula said, lying down on her side.

"Well, she's easy; knives or something black and… depressing", Lin leaned back on the headboard. "Ty Lee's practically the Yin to Mai's Yang, or is it the Yang to Mai's Yin. Anything pink and bright and fluffy", sighing, he threw his glance, a rather desperate kind at his (_fiancée_) student. "You, on the other hand… seriously, Azula, for your seventh birthday Zuko and I actually went all over the Imperial City looking for gifts. We got lost and ended up at parts of the city that no one should get lost in. Zuko has the scar to prove it."

"Dummy", she muttered, smiling sleepily. "What are you doing today?"

"What are you planning?" Lin asked again a little sharply.

"Oh, nothing", Azula yawned a little, smirking impishly. "Just planning to show you what kind of life you've been missing out, is all."

"Yeah… you see what you did there, trying to get to me with the… _that_", Lin said accusingly.

"With what?" asked Azula so very innocently.

"With the… _stop_… don't look at me with those puppy-dog eyes…"

"What puppy-dog eyes…?"

"Azula", Lin lifted a pillow with a heavy heart. "Don't make me…"

"You wouldn't hit your favorite student… would you?"

—thud—

"I'm telling my daaaad!"

"Azula!"

"Dummy!" she punched his chest hard.

"Ow", Lin rubbed his sore chest. "Azula, hitting people is wrong, especially if it's me you're hitting."

"Dummy. Dummydummydummydummy", she muttered while Lin… "Why are you hugging me again?" she pouted a bit.

"You're cold", Lin snickered, holding the side of her head in his chest lightly.

"I told you I hated that", she pounded his arm. "Don't use my words against me."

"Still hate me?" Lin asked.

"Yup", she grumbled. Emerging from his arms, she asked again. "What are you going to do now?"

"I have some spy stuff to do, don't make that face", Lin narrowed his eyes. "I'm serious, I really am some sort of an imperial spy", _what, it's true_. "I'm gonna go to the lower district to take care of something. I need my permit and, for Agni's sake, don't make me get it from you myself."

"You wouldn't dare", Azula narrowed her eyes sharply.

Lin mimicked her. "I will enjoy it."

Smirking impishly, Azula sighed and got up. Walking to the book she was reading last night on her table, she returned shortly with the letter.

"Wait… you didn't really—"

"Of course not, dummy", she swatted his head with the letter. "For a spy, you're simply too gullible."

"I am _not_", Lin frowned, safely storing his letter in his garb and, just to be sure, checked if his emblem was still there. "I'm just sleep deprived."

"Why? A bed fit for a princess isn't comfy enough for you?" Azula asked rather teasingly; it was not every day she got the upper hand.

"No, the bed fit for a princess is fine and all", Lin yawned. "It's the Princess snoring on the— Azula, the lights are turning blue again."

"I do _not_ snore!" Azula barked crossly, accompanying each word with a blow with her pillow.

"Of course, you're not", Lin mimicked her patronizing coo.

"Dummy", Azula smacked him one last time before huffing her way to her closet.

"Don't forget to get my sword", Lin called as she was about to enter her bathroom.

"Get it yourself", Azula poked her tongue at him before closing her door.

"Now?" Lin asked and rolled down just in time to avoid Azula who came out just to throw a fistful of fire at him. "What? You said it", Lin's head poked out from the side of the bed before it had to duck the second wave of flame. "Hah…" he sighed at the sound of the door slamming and clicking. "Of all the girls I could get engaged to, why does it have to a violent Fire Princess who constantly tries to get me arrested?"

When Azula emerged from her bathroom though, Lin had once again lost in slumber. The sight of him on her bed, gripping his head gave Azula the feeling of déjà vu. She went to his side and was a little astonished when he breathed out the word '_stop'_, wheezed a little, and choked out '_please'_.

"Are you alright?" Azula asked, catching Lin as he fell limply her way. "Hey…"

A very faint, "Hey _who_?" came from the mass of sifu she held in her embrace.

"Dummy", Azula hit him lightly on the arm.

"You still won't call me by name", Lin muttered, still sounding a little faint which worried Azula a little.

"You still won't tell me your name", Azula countered. "Are you okay?" she asked again.

"Aw, you do care", Lin joked as Azula gently rolled him to his back.

"You're pale again", Azula said. "And don't do that. I hate it when you joke about… things."

"'Things'?" Lin snickered slightly, burying the upper part of his face in his hand.

"You know, serious things", Azula placed a palm on his burning forehead. "I hate it when you do that, too."

"Sorry", Lin muttered, taking his hand off his face. "Call me by name."

"Tell me your name", Azula stood her ground.

"Sifu's order", Lin said again, eyes fixed on hers.

"Princess tells the Fire Lord", Azula countered smugly.

"No daddies!"

"Princess says yes daddies."

"Princess is cheating."

"Sifu is a dummy."

"You are getting meaner lately, Azzie. Ow…" Lin rose up despite the hard blow.

"Are you going now?" she asked, still hitting with a pillow.

"Kicking me out?" Lin asked rather playfully as he rested his back on the headboard. "Azula, stop hitting. Or I'll call you Zula till the day you die."

"I have to let the maids in to clean", she said, still hitting though. "It'll be too suspicious if I keep them away for two days straight."

"Hmm, you _are_ smart", Lin commended under the rain of pillows.

"You sound surprised", Azula said somewhat grumpily.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna say anything on that", Lin grinned, getting a pillow throw anyway as he descended the bed.

"Still dark out there", Azula sang.

"Oh, good", Lin collapsed back. "I couldn't sleep… I kept thinking Fire Lord Ozai would barge in and shoot lightning at me."

"Aha! So, I don't snore", Azula exclaimed triumphantly.

"Oh, no, no; you still snore", Lin emphasized his earlier argument. "What?" he asked as Azula's upside down but somewhat scowling face came close to his. "You're going to kiss me again?"

He could literally feel heat radiating from her suddenly pink cheeks inches away above his face. "That never happened", she muttered.

"Of course not", Lin smiled at her muttering '_dummydummydummy_'. "By the way, this never happened too", he reached up to her head and pulled her down gently; he kissed her on the forehead. "Good luck on your test."

Azula turned into a deeper shade of pink, her expression was a hybrid between embarrassment and confusion. "This is getting weird", she said finally after few seconds of silence. Rolling to her back, she said. "My dad kisses me there."

"Oh", Lin said, turning to her; she was lying on her back close to him, staring at the upper panel.

Azula inhaled and turned to Lin, lying at his right upside down. "When are you going?" she asked again.

"When do you want me to go?" Lin asked back.

"Don't answer a question with a question", Azula said. "I told you I hated that."

"Sorry", Lin snickered a little. "Well, let's see. It's still dark out so… oh, hey, maybe now. It'd be easier to sneak out when it's still dark out there."

"No, I forbid it", Azula said bossily.

"Azula", Lin sighed tiredly. "I have a job to do."

"It's still five", Azula casually shrugged.

"… The words '_crime'_ and '_painful death'_ are starting to ring in my ears again", Lin shivered.

"Shut up", Azula smirked at her sifu's upside down face. "Come back around lunchtime?"

"Back here?" Lin yawned. "_Here_ here?"

Azula just shrugged.

"Don't know, maybe after", Lin pondered. "I need to stop by the inn we're staying at. Then, I need to sleep. Badly."

"Go back to the inn, do your…" she air-quoted skeptically. "… 'spy stuff', then come back and sleep here."

"_Here_ here?" Lin frowned.

"Your room _here_, dummy", Azula said dryly. "I'd be at school."

"What are you planning?" Lin asked again.

"Nothing", Azula drawled still far too innocently.

"I'm really concerned about you sometimes", Lin said warily. "Still five-something?"

"Yup", Azula said, lighting a blue flame on the tip of her finger and doodling the air with it.

"Won't your dad be expecting you for breakfast?" Lin asked, rolling around to her direction.

"I really don't know", Azula's flame disappeared as she frowned. "I haven't seen him at all since breakfast yesterday."

"Didn't you have lunch and dinner with your dad and Zuko yesterday?" Lin asked, twirling her bang; she flicked his hand in return.

"No", Azula said, still staring distantly on the upper panel of her four-poster bed. "I missed lunch yesterday, I was taking a nap; I had dinner in my room because I was busy. Now that I think about it, lately my dad always comes and checks on me when I missed dinner with him. He didn't come last night", she groaned, burying her face in her hands, and whimpered. "He really _does_ know…"

Azula turned to him suddenly, promptly Lin to quickly said. "I know you're blaming me—"

"It _is_ your fault!"

"—but, let me remind you that _I_ called for going back to _my_ room last night, _I_ did not zap anyone with lightning two nights ago", Lin continued. "So, if we think about this objectively, this is almost entirely your fault."

When Azula could do nothing but pout, Lin added. "Okay, I'll help", he said.

"Really, how?" Azula asked hopefully.

"Tell him that we've been dating for years."

A severe pillow blow later…

"I should have known… all these years knowing you…" Azula exasperated. "Why can't you take things seriously?"

"What, I'm serious", Lin snickered.

"Dummy", Azula muttered, the sight of her sifu having a 'headache' made her mellow a little.

"Wake me up in thirty minutes?" he said with one hand gripping his upper face.

"Okay", she said. "But, are you sure you don't want me to get someone?"

"How are you going to explain me?" Lin said, already closing his tired eyes.

"Well, if my dad knows", Azula shrugged.

"There is still the thing regarding moral decency", Lin said sleepily. "I doubt even your dad will be that merciful."

"So? You'd only get… what, imprisoned and beheaded? Man up!" Azula smirked.

Lin's eyelids fluttered open and were full of concern as he stared at those ambers of the Princess. "This is why I don't want Ty Lee to go away; she's Mai's buffer. Mai is bad influence for you."

"So, stay", Azula reasoned casually. "You can be Mai's buffer."

"Nah, we have Zuko for that now", Lin smirked; he sounded more solemn as he asked. "Hey, did you mean what you said last night? I remind you of Lu Ten?"

"I suppose", Azula mused aloud. "To me, you and Lu Ten are like… a pair of chopsticks."

Lin chuckled at the metaphor.

"The two of you are a package deal", Azula smiled a little, a smile that melted as the pain set in. "I hate him. He left me; he was the first to leave me."

"I came back", Lin tried to cheer her up.

"You'll leave eventually", Azula argued. "And then, who knows when you'll come back."

"Do you want me here?" Lin asked.

"I don't know", Azula looked away. "Yes?"

"Why do you want me here?" Lin asked again. "You're at lightning stage. You don't need me anymore."

Instead of answering, Azula simply turned her back at him. "Sleep", she said. "I'll wake you up in thirty minutes."

"I changed my mind", Lin said. "I'd rather stay up and talk."

"I'm going to study", Azula rose and walked to her desk.

Smiling faintly at her departure, Lin too rose up. Sitting on the bedside, he gripped his head and tried to regulate his breath. Even inhaling caused a head rush. Wobbling to his feet, Lin walked to the bathroom and reclaimed Nightshade Azula had put near the sink. Walking out, still gripping his head, he was walking past Azula's study when the Princess caught the other end of the sword.

"Leave it here", she said. "That way, you'll return for sure."

"I need my sword", Lin argued.

"Why? You can firebend", Azula's rebuttal was quite reasonable.

"Okay", Lin sighed, pulling out his emblem. "A sword I can easily replace", he lifted Nightshade a little though Azula still held on to it, then his emblem. "A power vested by your dad to disrupt any military action in the Earth Kingdom."

Needless to say, Azula chose the emblem.

"The window, really?" she commented dryly next at her sifu, ready to go in his cloak, and was in the middle of climbing her desk.

"What? You think I was kidding about not wanting to go to prison again?" Lin grinned from under his hood. "Good luck."

"Be back", she sang back.

Lin jumped lightly on the low narrow roof along the wall below the window and dashed fast along the wall. He jumped across the railing onto the hallway and skulked behind the low wall for a moment; he had not alerted the assassin guards. Regulating his breathing, he crept along to the nearest passageway hidden behind a wall panel. From there, he followed the narrow alley out of Azula's quarter.

Few minutes later, Lin arrived at his room in the North Wing with a head splitting pain inside his skull. He promptly collapsed on his own bed and slept for a couple of hours. Woken up by Piandao opening his door, Lin groggily sat up and rubbed his tired eyes. Getting up, he offered his master a bow.

"You weren't here last night", Piandao said; tone neutral at best as he sat down on a chair near Lin's bed. "We were worried."

_Of course_, Lin thought a little bitterly. They must have thought he was going to try something reckless on General Iroh again.

"Where were you?" Piandao asked.

"I'm here with some Earth Kingdom people", Lin started weaving his half-lie. "We have a room in an inn in the lower district."

"Earth Kingdom?" Piandao stroked his beard. "Soldiers?"

"Medics", Lin corrected, sitting down on his bed. "We're here on a herb hunt. Some fire lilies."

"Herb hunt?" Piandao frowned, keen mind connecting the dots correctly. "Hongmen Convention ensures free trade in herbs and medicine for humanitarian reason."

"Really?" Lin arched a brow. "That's strange. Our commanding officer said he couldn't find the herb we need everywhere."

"When are you going back to the Earth Kingdom?" Piandao asked.

"I don't know, Master", Lin pondered. "Fire Lord Ozai is going to prepare some herb for me. I'm still waiting for that", it reminded Lin of something. "Oh, hey, you and Zuko are training with Master Jian Wu today, aren't you?"

"Yes, at noon", Piandao informed. "Technically, I'm here for a training session with Master Jian Wu; in truth, I serve as a distraction during the affair with General Iroh."

"I might drop by", Lin mused. "I don't know… I need to do something about Zuko and Azula."

"You're a good teacher", Piandao commended.

"Not good enough", Lin rose and walked to his bathroom.

When he emerged from his bathroom, ready for the day, the sun had shone with more integrity and Piandao was pouring a cup of tea in the round dining table near the window. Lin sat down on the other table, nodding his thanks as Piandao poured him a cup. Lin reached out to the plate of steamed meat bun on the table, thanking Piandao for procuring the meal.

"How's Zuko doing?" Lin asked, chewing the hot bun gratefully.

"Difficult at first", Piandao confessed. "Believe it or not, I found myself thanking the spirits sometimes that I lost all my other students. Teaching Prince Zuko requires extra effort. If he were training with the rest of you kids, he wouldn't be as good as he is now."

"Really? Teaching him firebending is pretty easy", Lin shrugged as he moved for seconds. "If he succeeded, I taught him new moves right away while he still had the confidence; if he failed, I made him run laps or meditate. Either way, he's improving as a firebender."

"He doesn't respond well to the method I use to teach my other students", Piandao said.

"He doesn't respond well to the method I use to teach Azula or my nephews and nieces back home", Lin shrugged again. "I just keep to it and wait until he comes around."

"Waiting didn't work for me", Piandao confessed.

"You didn't have Azula", Lin grinned. "Zuko takes honor seriously. Imagine how he would feel if his own sister, his _little_ sister, is doing better than him."

"It couldn't have been easy on Azula", Piandao smiled knowingly as he pointed out. "You're sacrificing her."

"Yeah… I am, aren't I?" Lin frowned and sighed. "No wonder I can't refuse when she asked me to teach her my family art."

"You _can't_?" Piandao arched his brows. "You do know that if your father finds out, you may have to marry Azula, right?"

"…Way ahead of you…"

An explanation later…

"Don't laugh", Lin narrowed his eyes sharply at his master's subtle signs of mirth.

"I'm sorry", Piandao cleared his throat, still smiling; he took a sip from his cup and nearly choked when his laughter emerged.

"Don't laaaaugh…" Lin whined now.

"Again, sorry", Piandao tried to regain his composure. "But, look at the bright side: you can use this to ease Azula into the engagement."

"I hadn't thought of it like that…"

"You mean, you've been teaching Azula your family firebending out of the goodness of heart?"

"More like heavy gut-wrenching guilt."

"My, you _are_ your father's son", Piandao smiled. "Though, your mother's cunning would be more useful in this matter."

"You knew my mother?" Lin asked quietly.

"Only by reputation", Piandao admitted.

"She had _reputation_?" Lin gawked. "What kind?"

"Half of the senior members of the Order knew your mother", Piandao explained. "They always speak fondly of her. Do you know Zan Wa, the artist?"

"Yeah… I think so: tall, clean, pale skin, long brown hair with… kind of black lines, hides his face with a fan, has a huge bodyguard", Lin raked his brain. "He drew me a lotus blossom when he visited our estate once; I still have it hanging on my wall. What about him?"

"He used to live in Shu Jing", Piandao said. "Master Zan Wa is senior member of our Order and was some sort of a father figure to Lian. He gave her away at her wedding", then Piandao laughed a little. "I used to have tea every weekend with him. He often regaled me with stories of your mother's pranks in her youth."

"Really? No wonder my grandma told me to call him 'Uncle'", Lin smiled serenely at this. "I didn't know my mom used to live in Shu Jing", he said quietly. "Nobody talks about her much."

"I was told that her death was a painful blow for many", Piandao said sympathetically. "She was loved."

When Lin did not respond, Piandao added sternly. "Never blame yourself", the swordmaster said sternly. "Your birth may or may not have anything to do with Lian's death but…" he rose from his seat. "…from what I understand of her character, Lian had no regret."

Lin could simply fix his eyes on his cup, Piandao patted him on the back and walked towards his door. Upon reaching the door, Piandao offer a bit of suggestion. "You should visit your mother's grave. It's new year soon", Lin felt a pang in his chest; this was the third time he was told that. "Bring her a snow peony; I was told it was her favorite", Piandao added. "There's a patch of snow peony in the front courtyard, by the fountain with a stone dragon."

"Will do", Lin promised.

As Piandao closed the door behind him, Lin drained his cup in one gulp. He quickly changed, most importantly he replaced his tattered robe with a new one. Securing his personal belongings, his flute and pouch, he exited his room and made his way to main courtyard. His eyes fell upon the dragon fountain Piandao had mentioned, to the patch of white flower.

Later, he decided. That way, he would definitely return.

No, he would not try to find some snow peony outside, he snapped at the little voice in his head that suggested such alternative. He would return, he must return. With that determination, flimsy though it might be, Lin entered the secret passageway leading out. Walking through the relatively empty streets of the Royal Caldera City in the early morning, Lin made his way towards the gate leading out of the district.

Approaching the gate guards, he tried to ignore the feeling of apprehension that was creeping up his spine. When a person bearing a sword on his back wearing a dark robe with hood so low you could see none of his face but his mouth approaches, guards are bound to be suspicious. Before they could move a muscle though, Lin raised his arms a little in a surrender manner; one of his hands was holding his permit.

Upon seeing the permit bearing the seal of the Fire Lord, the soldiers feel into salute. Lin received his permit back and made his way down. Fresh winter air was a welcomed change. Quickly, he made his way to the lake where his family often had their fishing trips, all the while mulling over whether or not he should go with Azula's suggestion of returning to the palace a soon as he dropped the herb with Spear and Bob.

Maybe he should, he decided as he extracted a densely packed dried lilies from under a rotted tree trunk. Lin took a rather big rock with a rather flat surface and set it in the hole where the pack had been; he traced his finger and with his meager firebending scorched a word on it. His name, his real name; real birth name as Azula put it. So Uncle Fu would not have to worry, he reasoned.

Tempted very much our young Dragon was to make a visit to his family estate.

The fact that his family estate, like the dwellings of many ancient clans, was not locate in the Caldera but in the lowland at the foot of the mountain was not helping his conviction to play his homecoming safe. Lin Family was ancient; they had already been around since the Caldera was an active volcano and the Royal Family lived in a palace at the foot of the mighty mountain like the rest of the Imperial City. As the Nation began to populate the inactive crater, the Lin Family retained their dwelling on the lowland. The clan was expansive in quantity; the Calderic architecture of tall pagoda-like mansion could not provide enough space for the whole family.

Tempted, indeed…

But, no. Not now. Not yet.

As he made his way back to the city, to his inn, he was beginning to convince himself that he should go back as soon as he drop the pack with Spear and Bob. He still had not gotten the lilies promised by Fire Lord Ozai and leaving without it would not be prudent; it would make Lin seem ungrateful, among others. Besides, he had promised Azula he would say goodbye this time. And, he still needed to have that talk with Zuko, and perhaps a little talk with General Iroh regarding… things. And then, there was Master Piandao and, heck, even Mai.

"Why can't my life be easy?" he breathed as he descended the stairs in the inn leading to the floor their room was on. "I'm a nobleman, I'm a good person, I'm a war hero. I deserve an easy life."

He opened the door without knocking, prompting the two Earth Kingdom to scream, stare at him briefly with astonished baggy black eyes, and run to him hugging him and cheering; Bob might be crying too.

"What the—", Lin barely said when the two Earth Kingdom squeezed the breath out of him.

"T-t-t-that thing", Spear stammered, gulping hard. "That thing has been perching there, just staring at us! What is it?!"

"That's a messenger hawk, you dumba—", the bird cawed hard, probably recognizing the Fire Nation in Lin. The latter walked to the avian, recognized the marking on the bird and the letter he took from it, and set the bird free. "Freaking Earth Kingdom hicks", Lin cursed under his breath, ripping his letter to small pieces. "You've never seen messenger birds before?" he snapped at them.

"Well, never something so… red!" Spear exclaimed defensively; Bob whimpered as he fell face first on a nearby bed. "What if it spontaneously combust or something? What's the message about? Who sent it?"

"I sent it", Lin growled. "Here, I got some herbs we're looking for."

"Oh, I thought we were going to look for it together. But, hey that's good", Spear beamed, receiving the pack Lin threw him. "We can go home now."

"Not yet", Lin said grimly, taking off Nightshade and his robe. "There's something I have to take care of."

"Your clothes look different", Spear pointed out suspiciously; even Bob's head rose from the pillow and turned to Lin for a quick look.

"Don't ask. I went through a lot for that herb", Lin muttered. _What, it's true_. "I'm gonna go take a long bath, probably drown myself", he groaned tiredly, dragging his feet to the bathroom.

Inside, he had already taken off his garb and shirt before he realized that he still kept his pouch, money pouch, and flute around his sash. Oh, he hated this… he had been so unfocused lately. Getting out shirtless, he brought his items out to a desk by the window. When he turned back, he caught Spear's widened eyes at his many bruises on his chest and abdomen, courtesy to Azula's pinching, and noticed that Spear probably thought they were the product of a brawl.

"Yeah, and you doubted my loyalty?" Lin sneered acidly at the surgeon. "See what I had to go through to get that lousy herb?"

He held his smirk all the way to the bathroom. What, he was not lying. Not completely anyway. When Lin leaned down to the sink to wash his face, he heard the room door opened. Spear's, "Oh, hello there, young lady", he caught when he took some water into his mouth for gurgling purposes. Azula's very sweet and friendly, "Hi, I'm looking for Lieutenant Lin of Ba Sing Se Vanguard", made Lin spit that water full throttle.

* * *

**Author's Note**:

Oh, no! Azula shows up!

I was planning for Lin's visit to only last for the first eight chapter but… eh, I don't think he would want to leave that early. Besides, I just realized that his interaction with Azula when he was still a Firebending Instructor was a little lacking and mostly implied or happened behind the scene. Hopeful, I can explore more about the two.

No new names here, I think.

Oh yeah… I don't think I've ever explained Lin's take of his visions and how he seemed to have forgotten ever having a vision about him and Spear fighting Fire Nation soldiers side by side before. To him, his visions are like dreams and, as we all know, remembering dreams is difficult. Also, he is a skeptic to begin with; he may have subconsciously been forgetting his dreams and visions as some sort of defensive mechanism. Unless it is something really really important or concerning a significant person in his life (like Azula's downfall and Lu Ten's death) or strange or unusual (like two _dragons_ encircling a scarred teenager and a bald meek looking kid) or something that he, you know, _like_ (like the raven-haired angel playing on the beach that he believed to be Azula), Lin would not even care to cling onto it.

To OwlFeather13, thanks for the review, snowman! Especially for the chapter about Serra and Taja. Haha. It cracked me up.:)

Sorry about the smut. It's sort of important. I would like to show the progress of Lin's mental growth by tinkering with the storyline, with things he encounters, things he is now aware of, and all that. Hopefully, it can give the feel that the story is maturing along with the titular character.

But, yeah… smut… hopefully, I won't be doing much of it in the future. :)

About Senlin Village… no, actually, it was a very fortunate coincidence. If you look at the map, Senlin Village is on the westernmost part of the Earth Continent overlooking the sea that separates Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. Strategically speaking, Fire Nation will want to capture it for easy access to the Earth Kingdom (when Spear and Trik first met Lin, one of them described Senlin as a welcome mat for the Fire Nation soldiers). It is only natural for Lin, who may or may not have extensive knowledge of the Earth Kingdom topography to pick Senlin as his fake hometown. He could have picked some other places, his assassin training on the academic field actually includes the knowledge of various cultures of the Earth Kingdom. But he had prior personal experience with Senlin while he was in the Fire Nation Army, so… you know. Familiar ground and all.

And I'm glad you like Serra and Taja. And again, sorry about the smut. :)

My writing style's changing? A good kind of change, I hope. :D

Yeah… I do notice that I have started to write on less points of view and storylines in a single chapter. Unlike the chapter where Haoqi died, for example, where we have storylines of Lin and the camp, Mr. Li and Aunt Wu's confrontation, Kisa and the Lotus, Chey and Yuan Cay, Jet and the orphans, and, of course Azula and Iroh. I'm giving most them a break for now in favor for more inter Fire Nation Royal Family and Azula-Lin interactions. Hopefully, I get to explore Mai-Zuko too.

As for writing based on this fic? Well, _yeah_! Of course you can! It'd be awesome. And that goes for everybody else out there. Just send me a PM or tell me through review or…smoke signal or something if you want to and then when you publish it. I want to check it out. :)

My job is pretty cool, actually. They gave me only one class to handle and I get to teach only one subject (which, ironically, is English. God help them! XD). Less responsibility, more flexible hours, I only have to show up when they have the class, and since I'm not fulltime I don't get any extra duties or have to attend meetings or anything. For a half-wit practically-nocturnal insomniac like me, it has been a dream come true.

Oh, and good job catching Lin not listing Spear! :)

I guess that's it for now. I hope I can update next weekend. Fingers crossed!


	91. Chapter 90

**Chapter 90 – Sifu**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

"Be back", Azula sang, smirking at the disappearing act her dummy sifu pulled. Smiling briefly at the bluish dark sky outside her window, she went back to her reading.

But, she could not…

For some reason, she felt light, sort of happy. She felt like Ty Lee.

Sighing, Azula closed her book and went back to her bed, perhaps she should sneak in some nap before breakfast; after all, it was barely six in the morning. Curling on her bed, feeling a little of the chilly winter morning air blowing through her open window, she hugged a random pillow and curled herself tight.

She did not know why she smiled as she inspected the circular emblem she held in her hand.

…or why they were snuggling…

…or how she should feel about him kissing her forehead like that…

Azula shut her eyes and whimpered slightly. To her, Lin had always been… what's the word, _confusing_? A puzzle with no clue, a mystery that would remain that way. She knew that she had a certain amount of… oh, shall we say, _control_ over the boy; she did not mind that, she liked that even. What befuddled her to no end was why he seemed to have the same kind of control over her as well. Oh, if her father knew there existed someone who, with words alone, could make her _willingly_ do boring things like meditation and basic firebending breathing or stop torturing Zuko! Azula could not even tell which would get the more terrible fate; her or Lin.

Lin… definitely. Azula sighed, rubbing the encircling dragons engraving on the emblem. Her father's favorite child and all, plus the fact that her father had been more… well, uh… fatherly (?) as of late, Azula would probably receive a stern scolding for being weak while Lin would most possibly be skinned alive before he was chopped to pieces, zapped with the Fire Lord's white lightning, and fed to a flock of lava-vultures. And buried in an unmarked grave.

And Azula did not know why it would bother her so much. Maybe because she still had use of him, or because he was her sifu, you know, _her_ sifu. Like a belonging, a property. To her, he was simply a source of more power; he was not much different from a… a firebending manual.

An annoying, stubborn, …stupid, dummy of a firebending manual!

But, Azula did not know why the idea of Lin being thrown to jail and executed for his, shall we say, _crimes_ bothered her so much. Maybe she _should_ have let him go back to his own room.

…

"What was I doing?" she whimpered again.

She blamed sleep deprivation. It addled her mind. And the reason she was sleep deprived in the first place?

_Him_…

Azula felt a gush of… well, too mild to be called anger, let alone fury. It was more like, uh… annoyance, maybe, a higher form of annoyance?

Whimpering again, she rolled to her other side, squeezing her pillow tighter. She hated this, really. She hated being weak!

Why was she smiling then?

Maybe she could ask her father about this. Azula scoffed at herself before she could fully finish that thought; she scoffed at the naivety of that thought. Her father might have been, as she had put it, _overly charitable_ as of late but coming to him with something like this, admitting that she was being weak and, not to mention, risking scandal by letting a boy in her room -even though according to Lin, her father already knew-, it would be pushing her luck. Azula was born lucky but not _that_ lucky!

It did bring her to another thought: why didn't her father say anything? Azula's mind had begun entertaining the idea of conspiracy. What if her father had actually been serious when he said that thing about, she whimpered again, _marriage_…? Or maybe she was just being paranoid, her mind was just being too active, she was over-rationalizing this little event.

_Maybe he was right_, Azula pondered. _I _am_ too smart for my own good_.

Which was not a bad thing, she decided.

But, why, indeed? Why did she want him here; _here_ here? And why could she not bring herself to see before what she was seeing now? Azula simply could not comprehend…

Why did she want him in her room? Why could she not let him go back to his own room and just take his word that he would stay? Why did she… hug him and all? Why did she let him hug her, while we're on the subject?

And why did she find him so confusing? Why could she not read him, manipulate him, push him around like the others?

Here are Azula's attempts at answering those questions: he was sort of fun to be around with and Azula kind of enjoyed hitting him; he was a stupid dummy no-good liar who could not be trusted; she was not thinking clearly; she was cold (not really…)!

And as for why she found him confusing; well, that… err, she'd get back to that later. Why she could not read him, manipulate him, push him around like the others; because he was, like her father, a formidable character in his own right.

But, why did she find him confusing? She was smart; people did not confuse her. They may occasionally intrigue her, but they never confused her. People had… they follow patterns. Some may sprout nonsense like 'individualism', 'eccentricity', or 'nonconformity' but, in the end, they were following patterns called 'individualism', 'eccentricity', or 'nonconformity'. Azula and her formidable intellect could discern these patterns and, from it, find out why people tick, how they tick, what makes them tick, and use that knowledge to manipulate them.

So, why did she find him confusing…?

Maybe because he was her only boy friend; boy… friend, please notice the painfully accentuated pause, carefully enunciated noun phrase in Azula's mental monologue. This was the girl who shot lightning at people when she was not throwing a fistful of blue flame…

Azula might be a formidable people reader but, like she had proposed before, Lin was a formidable character to read. Besides, Azula had not had much experience reading males who were not related to her. She went to an all-girls school where the majority of the teachers were females and, while they had male guards around, they were nothing but faceless nameless figures devoid of any personality to her. Her father, Zuko, and Uncle all followed a set of paradigm she had been acquainting with since her childhood so they did not represent males in general.

And most males in her life were all older! Much older!

Lin was her peer in terms of age. Sort of… four years apart was not that big a deal. Maybe…

In regards of age, her mind put him between Zuko and Lu Ten but more to Lu Ten's level than Zuko's; which did not say much since Lu Ten had always struck her as someone whose personality had the approximate maturity of a five year old during a mild case of sugar rush.

Anyways, still Azula finding Lin confusing; Azula blamed it on circumstances. If only she had more male friends her age, maybe she could know how boys, in general, tick. Of course, being a Fire Princess, a rather reclusive one at that, she had not many interactions with boys. Well, not yet… As her father had warned her, she would not be short of suitors and already some losers had begun trying to gain her favor. They had all tasted failure; one of them, she even sent to jail.

Suitors, who would all be wearing 'masks' to cover their true faces. Male friends…? Now, _that_ was another song entirely.

Besides, they all wore masks! Everyone!

Zuko wore a mask, Uncle wore a mask, Ty Lee and Mai, the maids, the servants, the guards, Li and Lo…

…even her father wore a mask sometimes.

_He_ was much like Lu Ten in this regards; he never wore a mask. But, while Lu Ten had been so freaking tall Azula could barely look at his face without him looking down, Lin displayed his true face alright but he would not show it directly. He would stand by her side, grinning, and when she turned to him, he would move back to her side, sometimes behind her, never staying still, never allowing her log enough gaze at his true self, always staying on her peripheral sight: enough to let her know that he was there, to tease her with his genuine face, but never let her see right to it.

But, he still showed his true face, he did not wear a mask. How could Azula be mad? He was being honest and real, right?

She hated this, really. She hated not knowing; it made her feel vulnerable, made her feel weak.

So, why did she still feel light and tingly in her chest, feelings that she found… _pleasant_?

Whimpering again, she buried her face in her pillow.

_Stupid Mom…_ who had been the first person she would turn to when she was confused when she was a kid.

_Stupid Lu Ten…_ who could always make her laugh at least; even if she had never gone to her cousin for his (nonexistent) wisdom, he would always make her laugh and forget about her problem.

_Stupid Ty Lee…_ Azula felt the urge to list her here. She was not sure why.

They had all left her.

_He_ was difficult to predict, hard to understand, complicated to comprehend, impossible to decipher, frustrating to fathom. Azula did know that he would respond (sometimes) to guilt. And her puppy-dog eyes.

Asides from that, Azula realized that she _really_ barely knew him; she did not even know his real name! _Birth_ name! _Real_ birth name! She knew that he was annoying, he was right most of the time and could be insufferable when he was, he was a decent teacher, he was sort of fun, he had the ability to make her laugh by annoying her, he was a proponent of 'anything goes' policy, he was not averse to using underhanded and unconventional maneuvers to get his way when teaching (he once made a 'Punch Zuko' pass to motivate her in firebending training without Zuko's knowledge or consent), he liked to meditate and read, he liked almond cookies, he hated shrimps that he was convinced to be some species of aquatic bugs, he could not stand papaya due to the, as he put it, '_stench'_, and…

…he was also a swordsman and he collected knives apparently, along with some suspicious chemicals. He actually liked winter because he liked wind, he hated lizards and other animals with scaly or slippery skin, he was good at Pai Sho to the point of being able to last more than ten rounds against a certain old geezer who shall remain nameless and hopefully be condemned to the deepest of hell, he…um… he could wiggle his ears but could not cross his eyes or roll his tongue…

…he and Lu Ten and Zuko had known each other since forever, he got seasick easily, he disliked fire gummies and ginseng tea, he always kept his desk neat but his bed messy because he believed that while keeping books and papers neat was… well, neat, making one's bed after a restful sleep was unnecessary and borderline futile. Azula also knew that he had a soft spot for crying girls, that Mai scared him sometimes, that Ty Lee often enlisted his help with her homework, that the three of them often ganged up on him for assistance in their schoolwork usually while he was taking a nap simply because they enjoyed annoying him and he could not do anything about it, that he was, you know, smart… for a dummy.

And… well, that he was an insomniac, that he was a bad cook who had traumatized Mai and Ty Lee and was responsible for the two girls not being able to get near any egg dishes without hyperventilating (Azula had been forewarned by Zuko, or was it by her mother, and had wisely let the other two eat first on that particular picnic lunch), that he always had this wispy grin on his face whenever he was firebending, that he liked to pat her head as a form of praise, that he liked to twist his words around, that he was deceptively cunning, that he…

… was a jerk, an idiot, a liar, and a dummy!

Oh, and he was stupid too!

Azula knew all that but what did it tell her about him, his character, his personality. He was still a deep mystery to her.

_Deep_… something stirred inside her at the word… _Deep_ Forest…?

The Dragon of the Deep Forest… Azula knew that he secretly liked that title despite his humble, 'still a lot to learn', not-mightier-than-thou persona he had put on regarding the matter.

And Azula knew that she wanted him to stay.

Like a possession, a property! She quickly added. She had use of him.

Few seconds later, Azula found herself thinking back to a certain event that she had vehemently declared 'never happened'. She whimpered again as she buried her crimson face back to her pillow. How she hated winter; winter always got to her. Winter made her think about weird stuff, winter made her do weird stuff! Winter is bad!

It had been winter when he left her.

It was now winter when he returned and wreaked havoc in her.

It would still be winter when he had to leave again.

Azula hated winter so very much.

Sighing deeply, Fire Princess Azula asked herself an impertinent but equally important question: the names of the five generals who assisted General Mori in quelling the Red Blight Rebellion. She could not recall even one. Grumbling this time, she made an oath; if she flunked her test, she was so going to zap Sifu Dummy again!

Getting up, Azula adjusted her slightly messy hair; rolling around whimpering on the bed does that to hair. She was about to get up and go back to her books but, whimpering, she let her bed entice her back down. Besides, she argued to herself. It was still six-something. Breakfast was at seven and—

…breakfast…

Again, the memory of her father talking about courtship…

Probably nothing, Azula tried to reason. She had clearly said that she did not want to get married or anything, right? Her father loved her; he would not force her into anything. Being a Fire Princess and her father most beloved, Azula knew the worth she had in the eyes of the noble houses. A royalty, for starter, and she had her father's ear. Imagine what prize she would be.

She hated this too: the way they looked at her, the way they perceived her as. Like a trophy, a prize to be won. Her own worth as a firebending prodigy, an academic genius, and capable advisor would not even matter.

They wore masks and refused to show their faces; she could show her face to the best of her ability, they would not even care for it.

They wanted the Fire Lord. She was a mean to that end.

She hated that…

She was a Fire Princess!

She was a leader, a ruler, her father's daughter. She was not some weak delicate flower princesses are traditionally thought to be. She was a Fire Nation; a race of warrior. She was not a weak delicate flower. She was Fire Princess Azula. She was a warrior. She was a prodigy. She was… Azula.

And _he_ knew that… _he_ saw that…

He saw her…

Probably the only one who did.

He was much like her father in that regards; he saw Azula's worth. But, while her father drove her forward, drove her to be better, to be stronger, to grow more and more, Lin was more laidback. But, he saw her! He did not constantly push her forward and make her feel weak when she remained stagnant; he simply wanted her to be comfortable with who she was. He often said that before one moves forward, one must plant a firm enough foothold on where one is currently standing.

That was why the 'do it until you get it' training policy; slow and time consuming. Azula saw the value of it, of course; she was smart after all. But the fact they would move forward whenever Zuko finally caught up naturally made Azula suspect that it was just a load of rubbish to justify him stumping her growth for Zuko's sake.

Sighing loudly, Azula sat up.

_He's just a dummy_, she mused bluntly as she picked herself up and went to her closet. Halfway to her bathroom with her towel and change of clothes, she realized that she was keeping her unmentionables in her bundled up towel again. _He's not here_, she mentally barked at her stupidity.

She unwrapped the bundle but, halfway doing it, she felt a rush of heat emerging from her neck up and simply decided to go to her bathroom, unmentionables kept hidden in the bundle and all. What's the big deal anyway, she argued in her mind. She could do whatever she wanted with her… _business_.

Azula failed to hold her chuckle…

Her morning shower was exceptionally long that day.

When she reemerged from the bathroom, she prepared her books and dressed herself on her own. It was a few drops of sand to seven when Azula got out of her room, fully dressed, ready for—

Breakfast…

She lost all appetite suddenly.

The idea of spending time with her father since she knew that he knew…

Azula did not feel like facing her father right now. In fact, the very idea of being in her father's presence made her shudder. Her father had not shown any signs of acknowledging Lin's presence in her room during their audience the previous day, or two nights before when the Fire Lord showed up after she shot lightning at the dummy, but who knows. Maybe he had something in mind.

It was a game for them, you see. Like the mundane conversation every mealtime whenever the servants and maids were present. Keeping up the appearance of a happy family.

Yeah, Azula decided to have her breakfast in her own quarter. Later on, during her daily audience, her father would ask, worried that she might have skipped a meal; it would be her first line of defense, an opportunity to distract the man from this thing with her sifu with this breakfast thing. Her father would most probably ask why she had her breakfast alone in her quarter, she could come up with some lies about being busy with work or last minute studying for the test; second line of defense.

And that was all she got. For now…

Sleep deprivation was still a new experience for her. She hated that.

In her quarter dining room, being served hot meals by her maids, she furthered an order for them to clean her room as soon and as quickly as possible. As the head maid sent a couple of younger maids to lead the charge, Azula felt a rather nostalgic subtle rush of apprehension: what if Lin had forgotten some of his stuff in there?!

Shaking her head a little, Azula dismissed the thought. Lin had his robe and sword and letter and emblem. He got them all with him but the emblem that was currently in Azula's pocket. Huh… good thing he offered that emblem instead, thought Azula to herself as she swallowed her soup. How would she explain a sword in her room? Where could she even hide it?

Oh, Scarlet's fine, she told herself. Scarlet was… artistic, with the color and the golden leaves; Azula could just say that it was a gift from someone. Her sifu's sword, though, Nightshade; dark as shadow in the dead of night and was simply too long for her, definitely a sword meant to be used by males. And, unlike Scarlet, Nightshade did not look like something a Princess would own. What would a Princess do with such a thing? Scarlet possessed an artistic beauty that Nightshade lacked.

Snickering at her luck, Azula went on with her meal with a book on the table by her bowl and a heart that felt a little lighter. Fifteen minutes later, she found herself being carried in her palanquin to the front gate. Sitting in a neat seiza inside, she found herself fingering that object in her pocket, her other pocket. She twirled her bracelet in her pocket, not even thinking of wearing it. Despite what she had said, she had at some point worn it at school in winter even when she had to wear tight sleeves that made it impossible for her to hide it.

Until it was momentarily lost and returned the previous winter.

In her current class, there were a couple of girls from Lin Family and once Azula overheard their conversation about her owning a bracelet of their clan and how it intrigued them and how they would wait for an opportunity to see the truth for themselves; Azula remembered how she covertly tugged her hands inside her wide summer garb sleeves at that time and swiftly removed her bracelet. Not that she cared that much, not that it was any of their business! Besides, it was those girls' relative who had given it to her. Not their concern!

That was another thing that confused her. She found it hard to act normal whenever her Sifu Dummy was concerned. It brought her out of her comfort zone. She hated that.

The change of light and air hit her through her curtain; she noticed that she was already at the main courtyard and the main gate would be next. As they approached the gate though, she did not hear the usual gritting and creaking of the grand metal gate sliding open; she only heard the wooden thud of the palanquin being put down following the feeling of the vehicle being lowered.

She felt apprehensive as her warrior instinct kicked in; a trait her father had trained in her since she was a kid.

Azula heard steps on the wooden frame as two bearers ascended the vehicle steps and parted her front curtain for her. A palace eunuch was standing below, bowing.

"Princess Azula", the man kept his bow. "Fire Lord Ozai wishes to inform you that you have been excused from attending school for the week."

Azula frowned a little at this. Intrigued…

"Fire Lord Ozai has written a letter informing the Royal Fire Academy for Girls of how the winter has made you unwell", the eunuch went on. "He has—"

"I see", Azula interjected, not knowing what to make of this. "Is there anything else?"

"Fire Lord Ozai has also excused you from your work and daily audiences for the week, Princess", the eunuch replied.

"Alright", Azula sighed a little. "My father's right, I do need a little break", she mused aloud. "Tell my father that I appreciate his concern and will do as he asked. Also, tell him that I will be taking some time off firebending training with Li and Lo as well. Assure him that I will make it up to him next week."

"Yes, Princess", the eunuch bowed.

"Take me back to my quarter", she ordered one of the palanquin bearers holding her curtain.

Arriving at her quarter, Azula wasted no time to stride to her room, ignoring the bows her maids gave her as she entered. She took from her closet the simplest plainest looking garb she owned, changed into it behind her folding screens, and as she was putting on her hooded crimson winter cloak, she gave further orders to the nearest maids.

"I will be taking a walk around the palace to clear my mind; I want to be alone", she added extra sharpness on the last part. "I will be in my quarter all day today, I have much to do. I want you to— _don't touch my sword!_" she snapped at a maid who was about to pick Scarlet up; the said maid quickly cowered as the Princess walked to her nightstand and took the sword. Azula ignored the trembling woman. "As I was saying", she readdressed the maid from before, ignoring the frightened one. "I will be in my room all day. Tell my father and brother that I will not be joining them for lunch and dinner but assure my father that I won't be skipping meals; I don't want him to worry about me. He has enough to worry about with the retreat campaign."

"Of course, Princess", the maid bowed. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes", Azula said after thinking a little; smirking a bit she added. "When you are done, get me a tray of assorted pastries from the kitchen. Set it here in my room. I'm in the mood for something sweet", she smirked wider, tying Scarlet with a long tasseled ornamental cord that was part of her sash and fitted the sword on her side. "Put red cinnamon sprinkle on them, I'm in the mood for cinnamon too."

"Yes, Princess", the maid bowed again.

Azula walked out as she gave her last order. "When you are done, I want everyone to leave my quarter until further notice. I want some peace and quiet."

With that, she exited her room. Breathing in deeply, her eyes sparkled with a glint of sly and cunning. Smirking, Azula made her way towards the courtyard with a stone dragon statue in it. She ignored servants and guards who greeted her, gave a passing glance to some visiting aristocrats, and a polite bow and '_good morning_' to Head Librarian Nazak. Frivolous, she thought as she excused herself from the tall willowy lady sporting a monocle. Masks…

All masks…

Fake, unreal, futile, false, pretentious, ostensible, artificial, superficial…

That was why she liked having him around.

Maybe…

Like how she liked having Ty Lee around.

…and Mai too, but Ty Lee was more… more _'Ty Lee'_ and less _'Mai'_…

Oh, great! She was starting to use Ty Lee and Mai's names as adjectives now! Like he did…

Still, she liked having him around, maybe, because of that: because he was not frivolous, he was not fake, he was not unreal, or futile, or even false, or pretentious, or ostensible, not artificial, and definitely not superficial.

He was real…

Azula might be a good people reader but she had little knowledge of why people behave the way they do.

That… doesn't sound right…

Azula knew why but not, you know, _why_; the why of the why, why the first why. Noble boys: coming to the palace to court her, to introduce themselves to her, to ask her if she had hobbies or preference for some activities of the artistic kind or something. Why? Because they wanted to gain her favor, because their families made them, because their families wanted her father's power and gaining her favor was one of the easiest way to get it, because they were greedy opportunistic sycophantic bastards.

As for why they wanted to gain her favor, why their families made them, why their families wanted her father's power so much to the point where they would even send their precious sons to try to gain her favor while she knew that she had establish a reputation of being a rather finicky moody Princess who was not averse to throwing an eleven year old son of the powerful Zhu Family to the dungeon, and why they were such greedy opportunistic sycophantic bastards… well, Azula had accepted that fact as the way the world was, the way _her_ world was. As for why her world was so; she did not know. She never had to know.

She had never been allowed to know.

No, she never had to know why her grandfather Azulon had made his family call him Fire Lord Azulon, why she had never been allowed to address him as grandfather or grandpa as Lin could with his grandfather; or why Ty Lee's and Mai's parents could allow them to stay over at Azula's place while Azula could not even step outside the main gate without a battalion of Royal Processions forming a fire-throwing meat wall around her; or why the Lin Family Estate, a place she had only ever visited twice, once when she was only six, was so full of… people and they were all related, they were all laughing and… close to each other but at the same time polite and respectful and… different. They bowed to each other and then they hugged, they laughed… Large family but they were close.

Unlike her family: small but distant… Azula did not know why.

Unlike Mai's family too, for that matter, but kind of like the Ty Family and their rather lenient ways; the Ty Family did not even raise too much ruckus with Ty Lee's kidnapping.

Azula knew why they acted the way they did. She could not even begin to comprehend why it was so, why it had to be so. Why her family, simply because they were the Royal Family, had to put up with a cranky grandfather whom Azula had never in her life seen without a wall of flame shielding him as he sat on his throne; why her family was so different from some prominent families like the Ty's and the Lin's or the Zhu's and Lu's and the Shu's, all were also considered ancient like hers.

Azula knew why people could not afford to be real with her: because she was a Princess. She did not know why it had to be so. It was not her fault she was a Princess, right?

Azula certainly did not know why Lin was so… so him. So Lin…

Why he annoyed her, he patted her on the head like she was still a kid, he hugged her, he kissed her that one time…

…why he was not afraid of her.

_Father was right_, Azula pondered aloud as she walked to the secret exit hidden under a patch of grass leading out to the main street on the west side of the palace. _Fear makes things simpler._

She found the mechanism; a very well hidden hole on the surface of the jagged ornamental rock behind the bushes on the far side of the garden. Pointing a dainty long nailed finger at it, Azula shot a stream of blue flame; she winced as the small feat of firebending stung the flesh of her finger inside out.

That was another thing about him; he was always right!

Lightning was too much for her. That one time she zapped him, it hurt her too.

Azula hated it when he was right.

She emerged through the tunnel underneath a pile of ornamental rock. She got out, watching the rock slide back to hide the tunnel. Straightening her robe and securing her hood, Azula walked out of the shadow cast by a nearby tree. She walked as inconspicuously as possible, feeling a rush of excitement as she began her adventure in the Royal Caldera City.

She had never been out of the palace alone before!

This was sort of fun for her; thrilling kind of fun. Now, she knew why Lu Ten liked to sneak out so much, all the way out of the Caldera to the lowland sometimes. Azula sensed whispers and murmurs. Before she could think of how she should react to it, she heard a very rude. "Hey, watch out!" from behind her and leaped to the side road just in time as the driver of the carriage nearly ran her over.

Her analytical mind quickly surmised that people did not walk in the middle of the road; her vengeful part of mind noticed the red sparrow-seal crest on the carriage, the crest of the Zhang Family. She would make them pay…

Trying hard to ignore other pedestrians staring at her, Azula quickly scampered away towards the Royal Caldera District Gate, pressing Scarlet to her side a little as the sword was dangling too much inside her cloak when she was striding. Approaching the gate guards, Azula threw her hood off, revealing her identity…

"Where do you think you're going, little girl?"

… _oh, ignorant fools_, Azula's temple popped a vein.

"Don't you know who I am?" Azula asked dryly.

"Are you lost?" one of the masked firebender guards walked up to her. "If you tell me where you live, we can send your family a hawk."

Azula was literally fuming now. Really. The guard took a wary step back as steam blew out from her nostrils.

"Are you alright, little girl?" the man asked again kindly.

_Little girl…? Little girl!_

Azula was wearing a plain garb, she was carrying a sword under her cloak; she had only one way to prove that she was truly the daughter of the man who had every Agni given right to incinerate these two ignorant fools on the spot.

"P-p-princess!" they quickly hit the deck and kowtowed deeply.

Azula extinguished the blue flame on her palm and retracted her hand back into her robe. With a healthy dose of pride she paced towards the opening on the crater. The draft of wind from the altitude she was on hit her in the face. Standing on top of the zigzagging mountain path, she looked down to the lower district.

To answer her question of whether or not a boy wearing a black hooded robe and a sword strapped on his back bearing a permit stamped by the Fire Lord himself had come through the gate before, the guards, still prostrating on the ground, stammered. "N-no, Princess. Should we be expecting—"

"When he comes, let him pass", Azula turned around and walked back into the Caldera. "He bears a permit issued by my father himself. Respect it."

"Of course, Princess", they cringed.

"And, no one shall know I was ever here", Azula glanced over them sharply.

Azula put her hood back on and retraced her steps back into the palace. She returned to her quarter, noticing how the place was once more empty. It told her that her room had been cleaned. Good, she thought. Azula walked more freely to another secret tunnel; this one led directly out to the foot of the Caldera.

She stepped out of a hidden mechanized door masquerading on the outside as an innocent rock wall at the foot of the Caldera District. Azula walked forwards, overwhelmed briefly by the vastness of the open air before her.

It was truly her first time stepping foot on the lowland.

Freedom… kind of scary. A good kind of scary.

Azula walked around the woods at the foot of the mountain, eyes darting between the mountain path leading up and the bustling district on the other side. She kind of felt like just going there and finding the inn. It wasn't until she remembered what Lu Ten once told her about the lower district, that there were more than just one inn there. Caldera District had one hotel, the largest one and the most luxurious in the Nation reserved for visiting nobles who did not have dwellings in the Caldera.

Like a true Fire Princess, Azula had lived a sheltered life; well, semi sheltered but sheltered enough to be genuinely surprised when Lu Ten told her that the peasants in the lower district had more than one inn, three different marketplaces, and had non-benders among the guards. For the longest of time, she had thought Lu Ten was lying. Even after all these years, she had to remind herself that those were not the first Lu Ten had lied to her; that would be when Lu Ten lied about forgetting her fifth birthday.

Azula sat down on a random rock, hidden inside the bushes and under the trees, eyes keeping track on the comings and goings of the mountain path. She lazily unsheathed her sword and began cutting nearby grass and tree bark. She remembered watching Lin in Piandao's school sparring with that other guy, that servant whom Mai had bullied out of boredom.

She remembered how Lin's slash missed that guy and cut tall grass cleanly. Azula tried her sword on the bushes; her sword cut the branches and she hurt her wrist. Sighing, Azula spent the rest of her waiting cutting leaves, grass, and tree bark. Master Piandao was right: in the hand of an inept swordsman, a blade was no more than a piece of sharp metal.

As Azula sheathed her sword back, she told herself once again that her dummy sifu was a very confusing person. A sword…? He gave her a sword but refused to teach her firebending. He was confusing, a little weird and crazy sometimes. Like Lu Ten.

Azula smiled to herself as she remembered a rather peculiar memory of her childhood when Lu Ten appeared at lunch during wintertime like this wearing nothing but his beach trunk, claiming that he wanted to make a fashion statement. Her mother had called him 'eccentric'; Azula preferred 'crazy'. Truth was, Lu Ten was simply bored; he often did weird things when he was bored.

Azula had heard a story that once Lu Ten spoke in Pig Latin for almost an entire week until Ozai made him stop. Azula was very young at the time and had just beginning to learn how to talk, and Ozai was concerned that his dearest daughter had begun to pick up some words from her crazy cousin; Ozai did not appreciate being called '_addy-day_' by his baby girl.

Lin was a different kind of crazy though. Maybe not exactly _different_… just a milder kind. Lin once practiced calligraphy with his left hand –he was right-handed- and the result was something that, though still strangely legible, made Ty Lee's calligraphy looked decent; the girls once found him in the library, as they were about to do their homework, reading a book upside down (the book was upside down, not him); and Zuko once caught him fishing, actually fishing with a fishing rod and all, in the pond in the North Wing but luckily no priceless fire koi was harmed in the process.

That was the main difference between the two crazies: Lu Ten was the 'hey, look at me!' kind of crazy who made a spectacle of his antics, Lin was the 'eh, why not; I'm bored anyway' kind of crazy who simply aimed to break routine and did not need any audience, or intent on raising a few brows in the process.

Like how Lu Ten once climbed all the way to the top of the Royal Palace with Fire Propelling technique, which made Fire Lord Azulon throw him to the dungeon for three days; while Lin once secretly converted to vegetarianism for a full month, worrying Ursa since she thought Lin was depressed about living away from his family or something and giving Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee quite a source of entertainment by eating his favorite komodo-chicken strip in front of him every day to test his willpower. History did not record this but it was Lady Ursa who had secretly made sure a plate of komodo-chicken would always be available in the Royal Female Quarters kitchen for this purpose.

Azula skulked lower in her cover as a dark hooded figure appeared on the mouth to the gate up there. Lin held his hood as his robe fluttered violently in the winter wind. Azula smirked as she waited for him to descend completely.

As Lin reached the end of the path, he circled around to his left, away from the district; Azula found this interesting. Her first guess was that Lin was heading to his family estate; she did not realize that the Lin Family Estate was the other way. Which was why she was a little confused when Lin brought her deeper into the woods. Azula stumbled and slipped, her robe got caught in dry branches, her hood was fluttering in the windy morning as she stalked her sifu through the forest into a clearing around a vast lake.

She watched Sifu Dummy making his way through the wet grass, moist earth, and slippery stones with little difficulty, unlike her, to the edge of a small pier bridge where four small boats were moored. Azula felt a little intrigued as he crouched down to a rotted tree trunk and got up after a few minutes clutching a pack. Okay, she admitted, it was rather spy-ish. Azula quickly retraced her steps back to the main path before him. She hid once more behind a bush and waited for not so long for Lin to reemerge from the woods and, as Azula expected, made his way to the lower district.

If the citizens of the lower district found a girl in a bright red hooded robe skulking around, hiding behind big burly shoppers in the market, behind stalls and carts, while stalking a boy who was carrying a sword, they did not show it. Azula did not notice this herself. She had an assertive, driven nature that probably stemmed from her childhood low self-esteem of being the only 'non-bender' in her family which drove her to excel at anything she did; before she turned four, she had completed her study of basic literacy, had mastered classical literature, could recite poems of renown and recount historical events and facts with flawless fluency, and, more or less, was as literary knowledgeable as a first-year liberal art student of the Fire Nation Royal College.

Ironically, it was the reason why she excelled so much and so quickly in her firebending.

That was also why she was so immersed in her stalking, she did not realize that half the eyes of the market were looking at her weirdly. No, Azula had eyes, pardon the pun, only for the back of her dummy sifu entering a building, a modest wooden building of varnished burgundy red with a signboard bearing the words _'Red Rose Inn'_.

Azula waited, hidden behind a funky smelling butcher the size of Uncle Iroh, sly amber eyes fixed on her prey ascending a set of wooden stairways to the upper level of the inn. When she was sure that she was in the clear, Azula casually entered the inn, not forgetting to take off her hood of course for it is rude to wear head covering indoor. _Unlike what a certain dummy just did_, she smirked.

"Good morning", she greeted the receptionist, a pleasant looking young woman with a smile that could lit up a candle.

"Why, hello, young lady", Azula noticed a slight discomfort in that grey eyes of the lady but the Princess admired her unflinching friendly smile. "Uh… anything I can help you with?"

"Yes", Azula said sweetly. "The boy who just got here; could you tell me where his chamber is?" I feel the need to stress again: Azula was semi-sheltered and this was her first time being outside the Palace alone interacting with the populace. "He is a cousin visiting the Imperial City and I want to surprise him."

"Oh, of course", the young lady flipped a ledger on the receptionist desk, dismissing the word 'chamber' as something she might have misheard. "He is staying with two other guests at room 2-A."

"…"

"…I hope it goes well…?" the receptionist drawled, still grinning toothily.

"Aren't you going to take me there?" Azula asked, reverting back a little to the haughty Fire Princess in her.

"Uh… 2-A…?" the receptionist drawled again, more uncertain than before, but her smile was still as bright.

"Alright", Azula exasperated dryly. "Where is that?"

"Um… second floor?"

"I see", Azula said dryly, completed her transformation back to her Fire Princess nature.

With that, she left the 'unhelpful' receptionist and walked up the staircases to the hallway with rows of door. She actually wandered the whole floor, all doors numbered with '1', all the while wondering when the 2's would appear. It wasn't until she walked back and forth twice that she tried her luck by going up one more floor; if the room was not there, she promised herself she would march down to the receptionist and shoot lightning at her.

Luckily for the receptionist, the Princess found the room almost immediately on her right one floor up. 2-A… Azula pressed her ear on it, hearing a muffled voice that she recognized as her sifu's; a random guest was walking down the hallway and threw her a weird look but Azula did not notice. Azula smirked wider, feeling the flutter of excitement in her chest; felt like when Zuzu was about to trip a wire that would trigger a stink ball to his face.

Tugging the long sleeve of her robe up a little, Azula knocked on the door. She heard the click of the lock and the door was opened by a tall man with dark brown eyes and hair in a top-knot that looked a wee bit… off and lopsided, and a look of mild surprise at her bright smirk.

"Oh, hello there, young lady", the man tried to grin and the result looked awkward.

Very sweet and friendly was Azula's. "Hi, I'm looking for Lieutenant Lin of Ba Sing Se Vanguard", and she did not bother lowering her voice.

* * *

Her voice that was more ominous that the crackling of her lightning…

Horrified, Lin quickly scampered out; oh, so very ominous indeed his future felt. Imagine the many different ways things could go wrong when Azula talked those two. Like a lightning bolt, he dashed to the doorway, planting himself between the surgeon and the Princess before any damage could happen.

Replying Azula's smirk and tiny wave with a pleasant snarl, Lin turned to the grinning surgeon and pointed the ceiling. "What's that?" Lin said; Spear fell for it, looked up, and suffered a Tigerdillo Claw grip on his exposed neck. Choking, the hapless surgeon was duly stuffed in a closet that was conveniently located near them. With his stare alone, Lin sent Bob, who had woken up to see this visitor, yelping to the bathroom where he proceeded to shut the door and locked it for his own safety.

"Oooh, I forgot how devious you can be… What are you doing here?!" Lin demanded.

"I'm here to visit you", Azula said innocently, smirked cunningly. "You've been unwell."

"Vis— you— but— I— _oh, my head_…" Lin groaned, gripping the said head. "You're not supposed to go anywhere without any guards! By the by, you're not here with guards… right?"

"Of course not, dummy", Azula said dryly. "I snuck out", she declared rather proudly.

"You can't just— argh!" Lin groaned harder.

"Put on some clothes", Azula suggested airily.

"You stay there!" running inside to put on some shirt, he halted Azula who was about to step in; the Princess had to be content with leaning on the doorframe, watching her sifu picked up his robe, walked to the bathroom and rapped the door with his fist, the hand of that other boy shot out with her sifu's clothes. "You dad is going to kill me", Lin nearly shouted as he put on his garb in a hurry.

"Oh, that's not good", Spear's voice came from inside the closet.

"Shut up!" Lin roared at the closet, putting on his robe. Stomping out, he grabbed Azula's wrist and was about to drag the girl out when Spear sang again from the closet.

"Don't forget your sword", he grinned in the darkness as he registered Lin's groan and felt his stomping back on the floorboard. "And your flute", another groan and stomping. "You kids have fun now."

"GET A LIFE!" Lin angrily kicked the closet door. Slamming the room door hard, he stormed out with the smirking Princess on tow.

Spear waited inside, grinning ear to ear; Bob came to free him few minutes later. "Could that be her?" he asked gleefully. "The rumored fiancée?"

"Maybe", Bob too was smiling. "Wow… the cactus juice wasn't kidding; she _is_ pretty like a princess."

* * *

"Do you even—"

"Even what?"

"That was—"

"Was what?"

Swallowing what felt like anger but Lin was not sure _was_ anger, for he could never be angry at his (_fiancée_!) favorite student, Lin groaned exasperatedly much to Azula's delight.

"You shouldn't be here alone", Lin growled, securing his hood as they walked through the morning market. "You should be at school."

"My dad wrote a sick letter to school", Azula shrugged rather innocently, receiving an apple Lin bought her from a nearby vendor. "Who was that at the door?"

"**Come one, come all! Witness Sifu Zao Man and his Vulture-Lion sword style!"**

"Someone I'm going to kill", Lin snarled. Oh, if only Azula knew…

"And the other one on the bed?" Azula asked again, nibbling on her apple.

"Just some guy from our camp", Lin sighed rubbing his hurting head. "You shouldn't be here", he said again sternly. "You could have broken my cover! Your dad's really going to kill me!"

"**Alone he stood against a horde of vicious bandits! His sword, fast and true, deadly and virtuous, brought down justice upon the wicked!"**

"No, he won't", Azula smirked, taking in the scene of peasants' life; they stared back at her. "Why are they looking at me like that?" she asked Lin, noticing the many eyes that were scrutinizing her.

"You stand out too much", Lin walked faster, tugging the girl's wrist.

"Not true", Azula argued. "I'm wearing the simplest clothes I own."

"Azula", Lin muttered, walking through the crowd as quickly but inconspicuously as possible. "Your coat alone can be sold for enough money to feed seven families."

"Oh", Azula arched her brows. "Stop pulling, you're hurting my arm."

"**Sifu Zao Man's Academy of Swordsmanship has opened its branch right here in the Imperial City!"**

"I have to get you back to…" _the Caldera…?_ "How did you even get to the lower district without the guards suspe— aren't you worried that your dad's going to find out?!"

"I can just say you kidnapped me", Azula said smugly. "Like how you kidnapped Ty Lee. Don't do that, you'll hurt what's left of your brain", she added at Lin's face-palm.

"I am so…" Lin started but stopped short. Oh, Agni… Zuko was right, he really was right: Lin had a soft spot for Azula. He could not even get mad at her. "Come on. You're going home."

"**For today only, Sifu Zao Man will demonstrate his godly prowess with the blade. Come one, come all! Witness for yourself the wonder that is Sifu Zao Man!"**

"Oh, yeah!" Azula shouted at that annoying announcer on the market square. The boy with his bullhorn, several others men and women wearing similar uniform of red garb with a small silhouette picture of a vulture-lion on the back, and pretty much everyone else in the market turned to her. "My sifu can kick you sifu's butt any time of the day!"

Anthropology 101: honor for a Fire Nation is like a boomerang for a Water Tribesman, or the layer dirt on an earthbender's feet, or a glider for a flighty Air Nomad; they never left home without it.

Challenging a Fire Nation the way Azula did… well, it could only end in a duel.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Lin asked for the umpteenth time, standing on one side of the wooden podium on the square with Azula who not trying hard to hide her smirk, the angered sifu Zao Man who was the six feet of bearded mean waving his large cleaver-like sword around for a warm-up on the other side, and around fifty or sixty spectators cheering at the large swordmaster and booing his itsy bitsy hooded challenger. "Azula… look at me!"

"Hey, it's started", Azula exclaimed excitedly at the sound of the gong from below the stage. "Wait", she grabbed the Lin's Nightshade that the boy held sheathed in his left hand. "Give me your sword."

"This is a swordfight", Lin growled.

"I know", Azula yanked the black sword away from Lin's grip. "Here, use this", she unsheathed Scarlet from her waist under her robe; Lin did not even know she was carrying it.

"Azula", Lin nearly cried, practically begged. "I need to use a sword I'm—"

"Nope", Azula propped Nightshade in front of her, hands rested on top of it like she would a cane. "I forbid it."

"Azula—"

"Psst!"

"Azu—"

"Psst!"

"*sigh* I'm not—"

"Ssstt!" Azula hissed him quiet; pointing at the mean looking gigantic master swordsman of the Vulture-Lion style, she ordered. "Attack!"

"*bark*"

Few minutes, a lot of cheering, one giant swordmaster and three of his senior students later, Lin and Azula resumed their march back to Caldera with Azula, taking full advantage of her sifu's weakness against her, leading them through the more scenic route much to Lin's chagrin. Oh, if something were to happen, if someone recognized their Fire Princess, Fire Lord Ozai would burn him alive for sure!

"No, don't touch that—"

Azula poked the totem of Tojigeshi, the Spirit of Solstice, causing to priest who stood by it, holding an alms box, to scream in horror before the Princess ran away laughing. Away from the fire spitting priest, safe but deep inside a crowded market, Lin was… oh, Agni, he lamented at the Princess who was tugging his wrist deeper into the crowd. Why could he not be mad at her?

"Azula", Lin tugged back, dragging her to an alley. "Put your hood up!"

"What's wrong?" she asked, smirking rather gleefully, not so secretly savoring the fact that she was causing her sifu to get all flustered; this had never happened before. "There", she put on her hood. "Happy? Can we go look around now?"

"No!" Lin snapped. "Are you crazy? You're not allowed to even get outside the palace without guards!"

"Why would I need guards? I have you here", Azula shrugged innocently. "The Dragon of the Deep Forest… Hero of the Western Shore… stupid spy, dummy sifu, and all that."

"Azula don't joke aro— why do I keep saying your name! People don't know your face but they know your name. Urgh…" Lin groaned into his hand. "I need some sleep. I really really need some sleep."

"Are you sure you're a spy?" Azula asked dryly, then she whined. "Come on, I want to go look around."

"No", Lin pulled her back. "You're going home!"

"But, I—"

"No!"

"It's just—"

"No!"

"But—"

"No! And don't look at me with those eyes!" Lin said rocklike, you know, tough; heart of steel, liver of iron, and pancreas of… aluminum (?), Lin would _not_ cave! Seconds later, the jelly pudding of a sifu was so ready to kneel down and beg. "Pleeease! Just go ho— _Your dad is really really scary_!"

"Oh, h-hey, guys", Bob appeared out of nowhere. "Uh… You forgot your money pouch", he handed the said pouch to the angry lieutenant.

"And you are…?" Azula smiled friendlily at the bandana boy.

"Oh, h-hi…" Bob stammered, eyes darted to Lin for help.

"Okay", Lin quickly placed himself between them. "Well, this is Bob, from the camp. She knows", he turned to the slightly stunned Bob at the last part. Turning to Azula he continued. "And this is…" his frown smoothened and a sly smirk returned; Azula noticed this and quickly said. "Ty Lee!"

_Dang it!_ Lin cursed in his mind. He was ready to go with Azzie or Zula.

"Oh, nice to meet you", Bob smiled meekly, completely at lost as to why those two were glaring at each other.

"So, you're from Earth Kingdom?" Azula asked Bob, back to her charming self.

"Yes, he is", Lin answered that question, throwing a sharp _'shut up and go with it!'_ look at Bob. "He's some sort of… medic?" Lin shrugged at Bob who shrugged back; this whole internship concept was truly Earth Kingdom. No self-respecting Fire Nation Army division would send kids to the front unless the kids they sent were really really qualified. Like Lin once were.

Azula frowned at Lin, turned to Bob, still frowning, beamed up to a smirk; back at Lin she scoffed and to Bob she sort of… giggled. "Very good", she said; then to Lin, Azula tutted. "You really are too gullible."

"What?" Lin gawked.

"Say, Bob", Azula ignored her sifu. "Have you tried Fire Nation winter timgeung? Sweet ginger juice, warm your belly, you'll like it."

She found the two boys stammering fascinating.

"N-no, I-I-I should go back", Bob stuttered.

"Ye-yeah, he should", Lin nodded rapidly.

"I insist", it was the way Azula said it, like the true daughter of Fire Lord Ozai. And the true daughter of Fire Lord Ozai always got what she wanted.

It was awkward, yes, as they sat on the small comfy round table in a nearby teashop, each with a cup of sweet gingery beverage, with Azula hiding her amused smirk behind her cup as she took a tiny sip, it was still quite entertaining watching her sifu squirmed. Not every day she got him by the noose.

"So", Azula said cheerfully.

"S-so", Bob gulped awkwardly.

"So…" Lin growled.

"U-um", Bob tried to sound cheery. "How did you two meet?"

He yelped as a certain lieutenant kicked him under the table.

Azula, not at all missing the not so subtle kick, took one relaxing sip of her drink before she spoke around the same time Lin did. "He mugged me", Azula shrugged while Lin said. "In a festival."

They exchanged a look; well, a smirk and a scowl actually, and you can guess who had what.

"It was during a festival, he mugged me", Azula explained to the bewildered Bob. Lin narrowed his eyes at Azula's smirk before he lied. "It was a Fire Nation thing, you know, a festival where boys mug girls. Dedicated to the patron spirits of… muggers… you know, that Shade-something dude."

Interestingly, there was a Shade-Lynx, the little known patron spirit of spies and assassins, who was said to often take the physical form of agile saber-tooth-jungle-lynx with a body that was seemingly made of a puff of dark shadow and had a pair crimson red eyes with gold pupil that could peer into a person's soul.

"And somehow you two became eng—"

—THUD—

"—engaged in mutual love for swordsmanship", Lin cut in quickly. "I became her sifu, she became my student; I was a good sifu, she was a bad student, really _bad student_", Lin spoke the last part with such contempt to Azula's scowl. "But, I had to go back to the colonies and, well… this led to that, I ended up with the camp."

"Oh, how nice", Bob squeaked from the pain in his shin, seemingly shrunken gradually under Lin's Dragon stare; it reminded him of one other thing the cactus juice had told him, about how 'Ty Lee' did not know she was engaged to Lin. Bob was tempted to probe further but his fear for Lin's wrath discouraged him from this pursuit of knowledge, or the pursuit of this knowledge, whichever sounds better. "Um, why are you two wearing your hoods inside?"

"We're cold", came from Lin, while Azula said. "It's a Fire Nation thing."

An awkward glance later, Bob decided it was time to go. "I better go", Bob cleared his throat awkwardly, getting up quickly. "Doctor Haoren might be worried…"

"Yeah, tell him I'm gonna kill him for making you come and ask questions", Lin waved his goodbye pleasantly.

"Oh, _thank you_", Bob sighed a relief.

"Oooh, I'm gonna get you too, buddy", Lin promised; Bob's shoulder fell. "Now, shoo!"

"Well, hang in there… Bob. I'm rooting for you", Azula smiled at him, a smile that, believe it or not, so very sincere Lin himself had only ever experienced it once and it involved the beaded bracelet currently dangling on her waving left wrist and lots of bandages. As Bob departed, Azula turned to Lin, smirking slyly. "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what?" Lin asked dryly.

"Hurt Bob", Azula took a sip of her cup.

"Wanna bet?" Lin growled, draining his cup in one go.

"You wouldn't", Azula too empty her cup but with more grace. "I know you."

"Don't count on it", Lin muttered, dropping coins on the table. "Come on, we're going home."

"_We're…_ going home?" Azula asked, smiling amusedly.

"_You!_ _You're_ going home, I'm taking you home", Lin snapped, grabbing her wrist.

"Relax", Azula scoffed. "You'll get wrinkle."

"Oh, I'll take wrinkle over this", Lin retorted snappishly. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Why did you leave me? Why did you lie to me? Why did you annoy me with that… those… you know", Azula replied just as defiantly.

"With 'that-those' what?" Lin asked back, dragging the Princess through the less populated streets and alleys towards the mountain path leading to the Caldera.

"I'm not going to fall for that again", Azula huffed. "You're just going to use my words against me again. I thought I told you I hated that."

"I can get… I— urgh…" Lin was _this_ close to breaking down and crying on the spot. "When we get back, you— I don't know, you go and do whatever it is you do when you're skipping school while I… I'm going to sleep, in _my_ room", he added sternly. "Then, you, me, and Zuko are going to talk, okay."

"What does Zuko have to do with anything?" Azula scowled at the mention of her failure brother.

"He's my student too", Lin said matter-of-factly. "Okay, here we go", they had arrived at the edge of the woods, looking straight at the base of the zigzagging mountain path. "You keep your face hidden, stay behind me and my permit, and—"

"Come with me", Azula cut in, dragging the boy by the back of his robe, not caring if she was choking him.

Azula led them to the secret passageway she had used to get down here.

"How do you know about this one?" Lin asked, somewhat amazed as Azula led ahead with a blue flame on her palm for lighting in the dark ascending tunnel they were in.

"When we were kids, my dad brought Lu Ten, Zuko, and me through several passageways like this", Azula said. "It was some sort of Royal Family tradition, he said."

"Where will this tunnel lead?" Lin asked, feeling a little uneasy. Imagine the horror if this tunnel brought him directly to the Fire Lord's study room or something like that.

"You'll see", Azula sang.

"Now, I'm afraid", Lin's shoulder fell.

Azula turned to him, frowning and looking slightly miffed. "You said you'd never be afraid of me", she said sharply. "You're lying to me again?"

"No, I didn't say I was afraid of you", Lin said rather lethargically, scooping part of Azula's blue flame and held it alight as orange fire on his palm; he could not make his own fire but he could still sustain flame with his chi. "I said, I'm afraid of _this_… you know, this whole situation."

Huffing, Azula stomped ahead. As they arrived at the end of the tunnel, she pressed her palm on a flame-shaped knob on the wall and sent a blast of her blue flame. The flame parted the earth wall and they stepped out into a communal toilet.

"This is a girls' bathroom", Lin commented, not hiding his distaste.

"Exactly _how_ do you know that?" Azula asked suspiciously.

"There's no urinal", Lin shrugged.

"What's a urinal?" Azula asked again.

"Well, it's a… um… ask your dad", Lin said evasively, moving to the door and peeked from the keyhole. "Where are we exactly?"

"My quarter", Azula said, smacking Lin's back to get him out of the way. "This is the maids' bathroom."

"Okay", Lin sighed, hiding behind the wall as Azula opened the door. "So, I'm going back to my room—"

"Come with me", Azula ordered curtly. "And you don't have to skulk around like a hamster-rat. I sent everyone away."

"Hamster-rat?" Lin asked, emerging from the shadow but still walked along the inner part of the hallway, hidden in the light shadow cast by the morning sun.

"So, Bob, huh?" Azula asked back, ignoring Lin's remark.

"Yeah, what about him?" Lin asked, feeling a little intrigued.

"Interesting name", Azula smirked as they walked towards her door.

"He said it meant 'seed' in some Northern Earth Kingdom dialects", Lin explained. "His mom is part Korkean; that's what people call the Northern Earth Kingdom Tribesmen", he added to Azula's arched brow.

"Well", she smirked. "Good luck to you."

"Good luck to me?" Lin said as Azula pushed her door open. "Why?"

Azula laughed, actually laughed. "You know, I actually studied Earth Kingdom medic regimen protocol since I heard about 'Lieutenant Lin'", she air quoted, taking off her coat and threw it over her chair in front of her mirror. "So, I'm not surprised at all."

"What are you talking about?" Lin collapsed on the bed.

"Wouldn't you like to know", Azula snickered smugly, taking Scarlet off her waist.

"You're going to offer a bargain; my name for whatever you have", Lin guessed as he lazily sat up and rubbed his forehead.

"How'd you know?" Azula asked incredulously from her study desk.

"I know you", Lin said, propping Nightshade against Azula's nightstand, still not taking off his robe and hoping he would not have to.

"By the way", Azula walked to him, carrying a pack the size of a brick. "Somebody left this on my doorstep. I believe this is for you."

"I'm dead", Lin proclaimed at the pack he knew contained dried up fire lilies, sent to him by Fire Lord Ozai; the pack had his name on it. "Don't smirk! You're in trouble too, you know."

"Not true", Azula argued, smirking still as she made her way back to her desk. "My dad would never toss me to a prison and send me to the chopping block."

"True, but you are forgetting one other alternative outcome of this ordeal", Lin pointed out rather playfully. "You might be forced to marry me."

_Good, build it up here: that's okay, though… we're already engaged anyway, courtesy to your grandfather._

"Wha— eww!" Azula shuddered on her chair. "Gross! It's like… marrying your own cousin!"

"Oh, how hurtful your words are, cuz", Lin grinned, rising up and stretched.

Noticing this, Azula said quickly. "Stay", she said authoritatively. "Sleep here if you want."

"Why can't I go back to my room this time?" Lin asked despite his heavy head, still not taking off his robe.

"Because you have what you came for", Azula said, glancing at the pack in Lin's hand. "You can just run off."

Well, that is a valid point, Lin thought. But, then he rose up again as another point hit him. "You still have my emblem."

"Yeah, like you really need it", Azula snorted sarcastically. "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that fight with Commander Zhao. I know you too; you like fighting."

"I do not", Lin denied, yawning as he rested his back on the headboard and lifted his legs up the bed.

"Take off your boots", Azula hurled a random book at him. "I sleep there, dummy."

"I do not enjoy fighting", Lin repeated as he took off his boots, but not his robe, and shoved it under the bed. "I'm a pacifist."

"Yeah… you started that fight with your grandfather, you attacked the guards when you were in prison simply because you were bored, you assaulted Commander Zhao's camp when you could've just let it go", Azula recounted flatly. "My, what a pacifist you are, hypocrite."

"I'm not a hypocrite", Lin argued while taking off his boots, feeling a rather blunt pang to his chest.

"Of course not", Azula cooed sarcastically; going back to her desk to a scroll she was reading, she said with certain tenderness. "Sleep. You look like you're about to faint."

"I won't wake up in a dungeon, will I?" Lin yawned as he collapsed, robe still on and all.

"You'll just have to find out for yourself", he heard Azula said before sleep claimed him

-0-0-0-0-0-

_Oh, this is bad, this bad… he ran as fast as he could, so not wanting to be late! Skidding around the corner of the university hallway, almost slipping on the rather slippery tiled university floor, ignoring the many curious eyes staring at his hurry, he ran fast like a lightning bolt. Barging in rather rudely into the laboratory, he drew gasps and eyes of around five or six students._

"_Uh…" he cleared his throat, heart beating fast. "Have any of you seen my wife? She has this 'my-husband-forgot-our-anniversary-and-I'm-gonna-kill-him' look on her face?"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"You barely slept", Azula said, sitting on the bed now, not taking her eyes off her book. Turning to her sifu lying inside her blanket by her side, she added. "You talked in your sleep, you know."

"Funny, Bob said the same thing when he slept in my tent", Lin failed to get up, his head was hurting too much. Noticing how he was no longer wearing his robe and his flute was not on his sash, he covertly traced his hands along his sash pocket; he felt relief that his pouch containing his Seed and White Lotus initiation letters was still there.

"How's that?" Azula arched a brow, smirking.

"Well", Lin yawned and squirmed but did not get up. "We have this other guy in the camp, suffering from fascination towards sweet potato and sadly, to use the medical term, gastrointestinal reaction towards the food", noticing Azula's frown, Lin explained. "It gives him gas."

"And this concern Bob because…?" Azula drawled.

"Bob and two other guys shared a tent with the gas-boy", Lin shrugged, then shuddered. "Their tent was rather unlivable for quite a while and Bob and the other two had to move to my tent since I have two extra beds there. Anyway, the other two boys were bigger so they got their own bed, and Bob and I had to share mine. Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing", Azula giggled, barring her mouth with her hand. "Oh, you poor gullible sifu."

"Seriously, you're making me nervous", Lin narrowed his eyes at the Princess who had rolled to her side and laughed out loud. "Where's my flute?"

"Here", still grinning, Azula produced the flute from her side of the bed. Getting back up, she rubbed her watery eyes, still laughing. "Wait", Azula pulled it away at last second. "Teach me firebending."

"You want to marry me that much?" for that remark, Lin earned the firsthand experience of how hard his jade flute was; his grandmother Umma was right, it could crack a person's skull.

"Dummy", Azula growled, glaring at her sifu who was squirming clutching his bumped head. "W-well, then… teach me Fire Compression! That's not your family style."

"No", Lin rejected immediately. "Azula!" he caught the flute before it met his head the second time. "That's dangerous!" he yanked the flute off the Princess' hand testily. "No Fire Compression! We've talked about this years ago: it's not perfect yet."

"Even after three years you still haven't perfected it?" Azula crossed her arms, huffing. "And you call yourself smart."

"I'm going to ignore that", Lin frowned, putting his flute inside Azula's drawer for safekeeping. "And didn't you learn Fire Bomb in advanced level? I've seen it; it's pretty much the same."

"Fire Bomb doesn't punch a clean hole on a stone wall", Azula argued. "It's not the same, I want Fire Compression."

"No", Lin yawned, sitting up with back against the headboard. "Sifu's decision."

"Sifu's a dummy."

"Princess is being childish."

"Princess doesn't care."

"Sifu is concerned."

"Princess is going to zap sifu."

"Sifu forbids zapping…

"…"

"Sifu is serious… stop looking at sifu like that…"

"Princess hates sifu."

Lin sighed. "Okay, but with one condition."

"What?" Azula beamed.

"Admit that you kissed me."

"THAT NEVER HAPPENED!"

"Of course not", Lin smirked, shielding his head with his arms. "Ow! Pillows only!"

"Dummy!" Azula shoved the said dummy off the bed. She buried her face in the book she was reading, ignoring her groaning sifu who was climbing back up strugglingly. "I hate you. You never take me seriously. I hate that."

"I'm serious about Fire Compression", Lin said, resting back on a pillow. "It's far from perfect."

"I don't believe you", Azula scowled. "You're a liar."

"Come on, Azula", Lin sighed, lazily taking one of her books. "Where would I find time to perfect Fire Compression in between teaching you and Zuko, and ruining my life?"

Azula did not answer though she nearly ripped the page she was turning.

"You're having lunch with your family today?" asked Lin, peeking from the calculus book that brought nothing but distant recollection; academic education felt like so long ago for him.

"Nope", Azula grumbled. "Mai's coming though. She sent me a bird from school; she's bringing notes for me."

"What are you planning?" Lin let go of all pretenses.

"Nothing", Azula smirked a little. "Have you noticed that tray of food over there?"

"I have", Lin replied, aware of the portable stool table at the foot of Azula's bed bearing a platter of pastries and a pot of steaming beverage from the moment he entered.

"That's for you", she said. "I asked the maids to prepare that for you. That's a 'welcome home, Sifu Dummy' present", putting her book down, she narrowed her eyes at Lin. "And you called me a bad student."

"I'm still suspicious", Lin said, making his way to the tray. "You are deceptively devious."

"I am not", Azula denied, back to her book. As Lin sat back by her side, she added. "I'm openly devious. And stop rhyming."

"You almost sounded proud", Lin smirked, handing her a cup of timgeung. Scrutinizing the flame custard he held on his hand, he asked the very understandable. "You didn't poison this, did you?"

Azula, in the middle of sipping her cup, shot him a very offended look.

"Okay", Lin took a bite, chewed, swallowed, and collapsed with tongue hanging out and eyes showing only the whites. Azula calmly took from that stiff hand the bitten pastry, took a bite herself, chewed slowly, swallowed calmly, and, after putting down her book and cup, hit her idiotic sifu on the gut.

"Dummy", she muttered, back to her book. Rising up, completely fine, Lin commented. "Princess is being mean."

"Sifu is a dummy", Azula said flatly, back to her book she had propped against her folded legs.

"There's only one cup?" Lin asked, back with another flame custard.

"Yup", Azula handed him her cup. "Nobody knows you're here, remember?"

"You're not afraid of my germ?" Lin smirked, receiving the cup from the Princess.

"I let you use my toothbrush", Azula reminded Lin dryly.

"If I remember correctly", Lin started, putting the cup on the nightstand. "Lu Ten taught you how to brush your teeth, didn't he?"

Azula turned to him, blinking in confusion. "Yeah, so?" she asked, Lin merely shrugged.

Azula went back to her book, trying hard to concentrate on the historical account of the Conquest of Tai Shan Province; Lin's noisy chewing did nothing to help. When she turned to glare at the ponytailed boy, for a split second there, she swore she saw in him Lu Ten who was a genuine noisy chewer; Azula knew Lin was not and he was doing it on purpose. Azula turned back to her book, scowling a little. The words on her book blurred, her mind could think of nothing but the memory of her toddler years.

"Mom was supposed to do that", Azula blurted out before she could stop herself, the relief she felt compelled her to keep talking despite her mental protest. "She was sick that day, Dad was away for some official inspection, Uncle was on the warfront. I don't remember much else, I was really young then."

She took an absent nibble on her pastry, failing not to smile a bit as she remembered herself standing in front of the sink of Lu Ten's bathroom on a stool, keeping close eyes on her baby teeth and seeing Lu Ten's supportive big cousin grin on the mirror as he stood behind her, holding her shoulders for balance. "We couldn't find a new toothbrush anywhere so Lu Ten let me use his."

Lin did not say anything; Azula cleared her throat, and went back to her book, flipping the page she had barely read. Gulping his food, Lin commented casually. "It must have been a really long time ago. I can't believe you still remember it at all."

"I've told you: I don't forget things", Azula said rather gruffly.

"You forget my name", Lin pointed out somewhat cheerfully.

Azula threw him a glare that made him gulp a little before she returned her gaze to her book. After a while, Azula spoke again. "Stop touching me in weird places."

"Aw, but your top-knot is so…"

—WHACK—

"Princess is mean", Lin said with a throbbing head.

"Sifu is a dummy", Azula flipped her weapon— I mean, _book_ open.

"You put cinnamon on purpose didn't you?" Lin said, sipping his cup; Azula tried not to smile too much. "You know I hate cinnamon", Lin said again, still no reply from the smirking Princess. "You're mean", still no reaction. "You're mean like Mai."

"Am I now?" Azula smirked. "Mai's mean to you? What did you do to her?"

"Nothing!" Lin said defensively. "Why do you always assume that I'm at fault?"

Azula shot him a withering look.

"Well, yeah, okay", Lin sighed. "Maybe, I've done… things, but come on! She threatened me with a knife once."

"Uh-huh… what did you do to her?" Azula repeated, still smirking.

"Nothing!" Lin denied again.

"Mai doesn't threaten just anyone", Azula surmised. "You must have done something to provoke her."

"Well, it's not what I did to her; more like what I did to Ty Lee", Lin admitted. "She wanted me to take responsibility for what happened to Ty Lee."

The snapping sound of Azula's closed book made Lin jump a bit.

"What does that mean?" Azula said in low dangerous tone.

"Mai wanted me to tell you about Ty Lee", Lin said.

"What exactly did you do to Ty Lee?" Azula asked, still wary.

"I kidnapped her", Lin replied a little puzzled at Azula's reaction. "I thought you knew."

"Knew what exactly?" Azula growled.

"That I didn't really kidnap Ty Lee?" Lin drawled.

"…I'm confused", Azula said through her throbbing head.

"Me too", Lin concurred. "I thought your dad told you about Ty Lee."

"Okay, stop talking", Azula rubbed her head a little.

"Azula—"

"Ssstt!"

"But—"

Azula shoved the rest of her flame custard into Lin's mouth, effectively silencing him.

"You do know that…" Lin drank the rest of his cup to ease his swallowing. "…that I didn't really kidnap Ty Lee, right? I distinctly remember you saying that you knew. Twice!"

"I said stop talking", Azula grunted. "You're hurting my head."

"Aw, want me to kiss it better?"

_The New History of War, 10__th__ edition_ was a thick thick book, boys and girls. Thick thick… thick, _oh_, so thick a book. It has nearly one hundred years' worth of historical account of the Great War in it.

"You're getting weirder lately", Azula blew her book like one would a smoking gun. "All huggy and kissy. Like my dad… this is getting really weird."

"Prison changed me", Lin picked what was left of him and sat back up.

"Why don't I send back there? You might change back", Azula suggested acidly.

"You wouldn't do that to your sifu… would you?" Lin gulped comically.

"I'm _this_ close", Azula lifted her index and thumb millimeters apart from each other. "So, be careful with your next words."

"You know—", Lin started, slinging his arm on the Princess' shoulder and pulled her to him.

"Don't hug meeee", Azula whined but did not fight back as she rested her back on her sifu's chest.

"—I really am worried about you", Lin said, pressing his chin on her head in his chest, dodging her hair ornament.

"That's because you're a dummy", Azula huffed, still reading her book.

"Not a dumb-dumb?" Lin snickered.

"Dummy is worse than dumb-dumb", Azula titled her head, poking Lin's cheek with her ornament.

"Not true", Lin pecked her on the temple; she grunted, annoyed by it.

"Hugging is one thing, kissing is… weird", she said, wiping the spot where he kissed her. "And don't ever kiss me there again."

"Who kisses you there?" Lin asked.

"No one", Azula mumbled, after a few while, she pried herself away. "I hate this; it makes me feel weak."

"You can be weak with me", Lin said warmly as he leaned back on the headboard. "I'm your (_fiancé! Say it!_) sifu, remember?"

"I don't care", she grumbled, back to her book. "I don't like being weak."

"A person has to be weak from time to time", Lin said sagely, nudging her with his elbow lightly. "Even you. For me, it's every Friday of the second week of the month, just saying."

"I can't be weak", Azula argued a little furiously, eyes fixed at the transom above her window, to the sky behind it. "I can't afford to", she was barely audible when she added. "My dad hates weakness."

"You're forcing yourself", Lin commented, noticing her jaw hardened. "Take some time to heal, Azula. You're no good to anyone injured."

Azula turned to Lin, frowning; Lin had never been this stern to her before.

"I don't wanna talk about this", she decided furiously.

"What do you want to talk about?" Lin nudged the side of her head with his head.

"Nothing. I just want to read", Azula muttered.

"I thought you're taking a break from school", Lin asked.

"That's right… why am I reading this?" Azula frowned at herself and grunted. "Does this happen a lot when you're not sleep—"

"Oh, yeah", Lin nodded.

"Teach me firebending", Azula said.

"No", Lin lied back down. "I'm tired."

"Princess' order", Azula shoved his arm a little.

"Sifu is tired", Lin yawned a little too widely. "Wake sifu up in an hour or so?"

"Shall Princess use a sharp object to wake sifu up?"

"No, use kisses."

"Never happened!"

Lin laughed a little as he rolled to his side, turning his back on Azula. Few seconds after he closed his eyes, Azula tugged his ponytail lightly. "When are you leaving?"

"I'm thinking tomorrow", Lin said, staring blankly at the snow peony on Azula's nightstand in front of him. "The sooner I get out of your dad's hair, the better."

"I can talk to my dad", Azula offered again.

Lin did not reply immediately, he rolled around to face her and saw that distant pensive expression on her again. Lin did not know why but he promised her. "I'll talk to him", he noticed the spark in her eyes. "I've done my job well enough. I don't know, maybe I can appeal to his generosity. He's being overly charitable due to winter, right?"

Azula turned her gaze away, back to her knees, not saying anything. She awkwardly picked up a random book and set it open on her lap, reading it. Smiling a little, Lin took the book and set his head on her lap instead. "Now who's snuggling up to who?" Azula asked, not knowing why she even let him snuggle to her.

Or why she felt all tingly inside all of the sudden.

"You started it", Lin said, already shutting his eyes.

"Tell me your name", Azula asked, playing with his ponytail.

"You know my name", Lin said without opening his eyes.

"Tell me", Lin heard Azula said and felt her fingers flicking his bang. "I told you I hated it when you don't take me seriously."

"Okay, answer this first", Lin opened his eyes, staring directly to hers. "Do you really think I'm unmarriageable?"

Azula blinked, scoffed, and as she noticed the serious look in Lin's face, she grunted. "You can't be seriously asking me that. Why does it bother you anyway?"

"I'm my father's only heir", Lin said matter-of-factly. "Marriage is not an option for me; it's a duty."

"Sucks to be firstborn", Azula snickered.

"Only child, no less", Lin added, pointing at himself.

"I thought your dad is dating someone", Azula asked, still smirking as she reclaimed her book and opened it using Lin's forehead as a base.

"Yeah, so?"

"Maybe they'll get married one day and have another heir."

"Good point", Lin thought aloud. "Oh, well… Mai's off the hook."

"Why are talking about marriage all of the sudden?" Azula asked again curiously… and suspiciously.

"I'm turning sixteen soon", Lin shrugged. "It's the eligible age for marriage."

"You don't have to get married the moment you turn sixteen", Azula pointed out.

"You don't have to join the military the moment you turn thirteen", Lin retorted. Cunningly…

Yeah, the strategist still lived.

Azula lifted her book, staring -scowling a little, actually- directly at the boy's amber. "You're doing that again", she said coldly. "Using my words against me; I told you I hated that."

Lin wisely kept his silence this time. Zuko, he could push around; Azula crumbled when he pushed too hard.

"Well, there's always Ty Lee", Azula restarted the earlier topic. "You can try to track her down in the Earth Kingdom and start courting her."

"Another good point", Lin concurred fairly. "Nah… my dad's dating her aunt. If they got through, Ty Lee and I are going to be cousins."

"Now you know how I feel when you suggested that we… you know", she grumbled, then she shuddered, and then she whined. "Eww… I'm gonna have nightmares now! Thanks to you!"

"…I'm hurt."

"You deserve to be hurt."

"You're mean."

"Am not."

"Are too", Lin replied. "By the way, did you lock the door? I don't remember seeing you locking it?"

"I thought you did…" Azula frowned.

Whoa-oh…

"No, no, no! Leave it", Lin pulled her back. "Come on, what's the worst that can happen?"

"My dad can walk in again, dummy", Azula, caught once more in his arms, elbowed him hard.

"Good", Lin chuckled. "He'll come in, see us hugging, and like you said, he's being overly generous, I can beg for his forgiveness, he'll forgive us, and we'll be forced into an arranged marriage to avoid scandal. My problem solved!"

"And mine begins!" Azula elbowed him again harder. "I don— _you're icky_!"

"Now, _that_ hurt my feelings", Lin feigned.

"Don't get all maudlin: you have no feelings", Azula countered.

"Ouch… a simple 'no' would have suffice", he said as Azula broke free and dashed to the door, and growled dangerously at Lin from there once she realized she had been had; Lin had in fact remembered to lock it.

"What? You want to marry me now?" Azula accused, back to him with a refilled cup and fire pies for them.

"Of course not", Lin… maybe he was lying, maybe half-lying, maybe not lying at all; he never thought about the engagement to that extent yet. "You're icky", he joked.

"I'm a princess", Azula retorted sharply. "Princesses are not icky."

Lin scoffed at this.

"Go back to sleep", Azula said, as she bit her pie on her mouth and collected her books. "You look like you need some."

"Kiss me awake in an hour?" Lin said putting his pie on the nightstand, earning him a very hard pillow blow. Placing his uneaten pie on the nightstand, he lied down and slept almost instantly.

When Lin woke up, more than an hour had certainly passed. He was alone, Azula was nowhere to be found; her spare key lying on the pillow in front of his face told Lin that she had gone out, probably with Mai. Getting up, his head felt heavy, Lin walked to Azula's bathroom and washed his face. Walking to the tray of food, he poured himself a cup of now cold timgeung; definitely more than an hour had passed. The sunlight had shone to full extent through the transom of the window. Lin was putting on his boots and was about to pick up Nightshade and his robe when an idea hit him.

Meanwhile, Azula and Mai were sitting on the stone dragon courtyard, below the apple tree where they often played; Mai had just briefed the Princess on things she had missed at school. "You'll ace it, don't worry", she said.

"I'm not worried", Azula said, lazily doodling the air with her blue flame.

"I thought your fingers are hurting", Mai commented at her firebending.

"Urgh… not _you_ too", Azula exasperated.

"Yeah, yeah, you're tough, you'll be fine", Mai sighed, ignoring the Princess' narrowed amber.

"Are you going to see Zuko any time soon?" Azula switched to the offensive, failing miserably to make Mai fumble; Mai had gotten more and more… _Mai_ lately.

"No, he'll be busy training with Master Piandao and Master Jian Wu", Mai thought a little. "Right about now, actually."

"How do you know that?" Azula asked incredulously. "_I_ don't know that. I'm his sister. I live a quarter away."

"We write each other", Mai shrugged. "You're getting awfully nosy about this. I'm getting suspicious. Who is he?"

"What?" Azula gasped, the pitch of her voice a little too high for her liking; her flame disappearing with a loud pop was not helping her much. "Where did that come from?"

"Nowhere, I was trying my luck", Mai smirked a little. "You're blushing. I find it very interesting. Spill."

Azula merely shot the other girl a dry look. "Let's just go to the library."

"Not your room?" Mai asked suspiciously, watching the Princess getting up.

"No, the maids are cleaning it; they're getting slow lately", Azula lied.

Leading the way, Azula walked past the hallways towards the library with Mai by her side, ignoring the many servants, maids, and guards they encountered. Upon reaching the stairway leading to the upper level, Azula opted for the hallway leading away from the library instead; Mai noticed this but she did not question it. The Princess led them to a garden deep in the palace, a private royal ground where no guards would be patrolling; aside from the one following them since the dragon fountain.

"Yes?" Azula turned to him while Mai walked towards the golden sundial on the middle ground of the garden with something akin to fascination on her face.

"Princess", the guard saluted as his muffled voice emerged from behind his masked helmet. "Fire Lord Ozai is concerned for your health and wellbeing. He has assigned me to be your bodyguard— ugh!"

"Come on, I'm insulted", Azula commented dryly after her perfectly executed front kick; Lin stumbled backward and landed on his back, his helmet fell off. "As if my dad would send just _one_ person to babysit me."

True… when Azula forgot her book one time, and Lin foolishly volunteered to take the book to her to school, Fire Lord Ozai had organized a full company of Royal Procession guards and a royal palanquin for this one occasion; Lin had never been so embarrassed in his life before, being carried in the thin veiled palanquin escorted by 200 Royal Processions through the crowded Imperial City street as if he was delivering some sort of top-secret document or something.

"Violence is wrong", Lin groaned, gripping his gut.

"Oh, look, a criminal. Guards, guards, help", Mai deadpanned; would have been convincing if she actually showed some emotion or at least raised her tone.

"She knows", Lin grunted, wobbling to his feet.

"Oh", Mai simply said. "Finally. That one's been giving me hard time sleeping", then to Azula, she added. "He made me do it."

"I did not!" Lin argued.

"I zapped him with lightning", Azula shrugged at Mai.

"Oh, really? You can do lightning now? I wanna see. Zap him again, zap him again", Mai said.

"Hey!"

"What? You missed my birthday", Mai said bluntly. Girls might not casually give boys presents in Fire Nation culture; sadly, the reverse was not true.

"I was— _I'm a fugitive, for goodness sake!_" Lin argued heatedly.

"Traitor", came from both girls.

"Fugitive!" Lin growled. "Don't believe me? Check with your dad."

Azula gave Lin the look that said, '_Cheap shot_.'

"And you", he turned to Mai crossly. "We're in this together. You could've helped!"

Mai pondered a little. "Okay", she sighed. Lin beamed up as Mai turned to Azula. Perhaps, Lin had misjudged her, perhaps she was not so bad after all, despite all depressing sigh, dark, gloomy, and unhealthy fascination towards knives, Mai was just…

"He snuck into my room once."

… the black-nailed knife-throwing she-devil Lin had always known she was.

"What?" Azula frowned and Lin screamed.

"You didn't say help who", Mai pointed out to Lin and explained to Azula. "From the window, at night, I threw a knife at him… I missed."

"He snuck into _my_ room two night ago", Azula grumbled. "I shot lightning at him, got him head-on."

"Probably snuck into Ty Lee's room too when he kidnapped her", Mai suggested, inspecting her pitch-black polished nails; narrowing her eyes at Lin, she condemned. "Sick pervert."

"Not true! Am not!" Lin denied. "Ty Lee snuck into _my_ room. Sort of…"

"Do you know about this one?" Azula turned to Mai; Mai shook her head and shrugged. "There, you're lying", Azula decided, slugging Lin at the arm.

"That's not fair", Lin protested, picking up his helmet. "I'm not lying about Ty Lee; she came to me! By the way, someone's coming", he added as he put on his helmet.

"Where did you get that anyway?" Azula frowned at the armor Lin was wearing.

"The armory", he managed right before Admiral Liang and a boy of noble bearing appeared from the corner of the hallway about twenty feet away.

Admiral Liang and the boy bowed to the two girls from the spot; Mai bowed back, Azula gave them a simple passing glance. The two males talked to each other briefly, the boy bowed to the Admiral, and the Admiral went back out while the boy walked towards them.

"By the way, my dad told me that your dad has announced that you're not to be courted even though he has deemed you ready for nails and cosmetics, good luck", Mai said rapidly before she retreated to the other side of the sundial.

Lin was about to use the power of his borrowed uniform but Azula stepped faster and placed a halting hand on his chest, turning to the fake soldier so the incoming noble boy could not see her smirking and mouthing. "_I'll handle this_."

"Princess Azula", the boy bowed and smiled; Azula simply looked at him with a sly glint that, unfortunately for him, the boy did not recognize. "I wish you a pleasant morning. Do you remember me from your birthday party last summer?"

"Of course", Azula smiled oh, so sweetly, turning briefly to Mai and Lin on the other side of the sundial.

What happened the next fifteen minutes was apparently, at some point, recorded in the newly unearthed memoir of Lin, the twenty sixth. However, it would appear that at some point after the five full pages had been written, the author had decided to redact the whole event from the pages of history. The passage that followed the redaction told us the result of that particular courtship event.

_(The poor misguided boy never had a chance. As he wobbled his way back to the hallway like a broken, utterly destroyed, completely decimated, viciously vivisected soul that he was, ramming into the wall at least twice before disappearing into the corner of the hallway, muttering, 'I'm useless, I'm useless' and 'I don't want to live anymore, I don't want to live anymore', Azula sat down on the stone bench, crossing her legs like a conqueror that she was, smirking at her victim's departure while reveling in the due slow appreciative applause from Mai and myself. _

_The saying 'sticks and stones'… Whoever said that had never experienced the verbal might of Princess Azula.)_

"Bravo, bravo", Lin applauded. "I am proud of you. Now, I know that I can truly leave without worry."

"He took it better than the last one; remember Colonel Zhu Ruo's son from last week? I had to call the guards on him?" Mai smirked.

"Oh, yeah… him", Azula huffed a little, crossing her arms. "Pushy guy. Kept asking me to go with him to Ember Island for winter vacation."

"Then he tried to kiss you", Mai added.

The clank Lin made as he dropped his helmet was rather loud,

"Yeah, no one tried to kiss me and get away with it", Azula growled lowly, eyes kept on one of the sundisks on the sundial, away from her sifu. "He's still in prison. I think…"

Mai turned from Lin, and the noise he made, to Azula, and her sudden and rare blush.

"You know what", Mai rose from her seat, trying hard to keep her face straight as she turned and left. "I think I'm going home."

"No, stay!" the other two shouted.

"Okay. Let go of my hair", Mai sighed; Lin and Azula each let go of her hair buns.

While Mai sat back on the bench, Azula stood behind her fixing her ruined hair, and Lin sat there on one of the benches encircling the sundial. Now, the sundial; golden with disks made of clear high-quality pearl mirror, anti-fog, anti-crack, and highly reflective. Mai could see from the reflection on one of the disks the unusually cheerful smirk Azula almost successfully hid in her face; _almost_. And Mai could also see Lin's leering to the direction of the Princess every now and then also with a ghost of a smirk. The goth girl sighed. "You two are so going to end up together."

She found their stammering fascinating.

* * *

"Tell me", Spear ordered again.

"I've told you", Bob did not even looked up from his book. "Lin mugged her in some weird Fire Nation festival, this led to that, they got engaged."

"What do you mean 'this led to that'?" Spear pondered deeply. "That's gotta be something."

"You're just bored, aren't you?" Bob frowned at his mentor.

"No", Spear sat down on a chair, looking a little distant. "I kind of promised Megumi I'd find out about this 'friend' Lin mentioned to her."

"You guys should leave him alone", Bob sighed, back to his book.

"We can't", Spear sighed back. "He is like a son we never had—"

"—who can slit your throats with a knife", Bob cut in.

"— in clear conscience", Spear nodded submissively. "Still, he's fun to mess around."

"You've been playing with that apple", Bob delivered a segue.

"Well, it's a gift", Spear shrugged.

"You're not going out again?" Bob asked as Spear rose from his chair. "Where did you go to anyway?"

"Oh, you know", Spear evaded, twirling his apple in his hand. "Studying the fascinating culture of the locals."

In case anyone is wondering, Spear had never found and would never find her again.

* * *

"Very good", Master Jian Wu commented, standing down his stance and wooden sword.

"Thank you, Master", Zuko bowed, grinning.

"Now, Piandao", Master Jian Wu threw his wooden sword to Zuko. Turning to his former student and present fellow swordmaster, he snapped his arm down; his long slender jian slid down to his grip.

Zuko quickly withdrew to a safe distance as the two swordmaster clashed. Fascinating indeed those two; Piandao who was smaller in built wielding a jian sword with thicker blade while Master Jian Wu, the giant of a man, employed a thin slender blade. Zuko found himself amazed by Jian Wu's ability to actually parry Piandao's thick blade with the paper-thin sword of his.

He nearly fell for the sneak attack. He defended the initial strike safely with his dual wooden sabers; Lin pushed him hard with his wooden sword to break the weapon lock. "Very good", the fugitive who was once again wearing his hooded robe commended. "Now, if you'll excuse me", he threw his wooden sword at Zuko and drew his Nightshade. "I have to say hello to our master."

With that, he dashed to the dueling swordmasters and assaulted the bearded one. Witnessing the exchange of the first few blows between Lin and Piandao, Jian Wu decided to join in and a three-way battle ensued.

"I still don't see the point of this", Azula's unexpected comment surprised Zuko.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko scowled at her while trying not to look at Mai too much.

"Being a good little sister, cheering on my dear brother", Azula said innocently. "Go Zuzu."

"Don't call me that!"

In the meantime, after a few bouts the three swordsmen lowered their weapons. "Very good", Master Jian Wu, the most senior of the three, commented first. "You were right about this one, Piandao", he addressed the bearded swordmaster; Lin felt a little prick of being addressed as 'this one'.

"So… am I a master now?"

"No", both swordmasters declared curtly.

"I beat one this morning", Lin grumbled defensively. "Someone called Zao Wan or Zao Man or something."

"Zao Man? Not bad", Piandao scoffed.

"He's legit but too proud", Jian Wu spat heatedly; from behind his hand, Piandao explained to Lin. "Used to be a student."

"Oh", Lin smirked knowingly. "Vulture-Lion style?"

"Zao Man created his own style after he left", Piandao shrugged; both were feigning interest at Master Jian Wu fiery bashing on his former student's numerous bad qualities.

"— careless, too hotheaded, and vain! And he picks his nose! Anyway, Piandao", Jian Wu said authoritatively. "He's not ready to be a master yet."

"I agree", Piandao nodded.

"May I ask why not?" Lin drawled. "I know that I haven't learnt for long but…"

"Your sword has never taken a life", Jian Wu said bluntly and grimly. Piandao turned to Lin and offered a more diplomatic explanation.

"It's the burden we swordsmen carry with us every time we draw our sword, Lin", he said. "Honor, justice, integrity… none of that matter to the stroke of our blades; you cut a righteous hero the same way you cut a blasphemous villain. Swords kill and a swordsman must understand it and, sadly, know what it felt like."

"To truly know that fire burns", Jian Wu added sternly. "You must know how it feels like to be burnt."

Lin opened his mouth but closed it again; the image of a sword, his sword, nesting at the back of an Earth Kingdom soldier invaded his mind. _I know how that feels_, he wanted to say.

"Either way", Jian Wu rested his sword in a safe grip behind his back. "Your technique and skills show that you are Piandao's true student: free, unattached, versatile, and natural. Keep training and you might one day be a master by proving your skills."

"Thank you, Grandmaster", Lin bowed politely; being a direct student of Piandao, it was fitting for him to address Jian Wu as such. Sheathing Nightshade back to his back, he offered a Fire Nation bow to the senior swordmaster. Allowing the two adults back to their spar, Lin made his way back to the royal siblings and Mai. He scoffed a little at Azula who he knew had intentionally seated herself between Mai and Zuko.

"Come on", he tugged on Azula's wrist. "Time for firebending."

As expected, Azula jumped up. Zuko too rose but Lin threw Nightshade at him, wordlessly telling him that he would not be teaching the Prince. The 'no complaint' policy was still in effect; Zuko could do nothing but pout and sit back down.

Taking Azula to a safe distance, away from Mai and Zuko on the bench, and Piandao and Jian Wu exchanging lightning fast strikes, Lin proceeded to order Azula to rehearse all the Celestial Dragon style she had learnt so far, an instruction that prompted Azula to raise her doubt.

"Why?" Lin scoffed dismissively. "Master Jian Wu and Master Piandao are non-benders, so is Mai, and Zuko is… well, Zuko."

Smirking at the last argument, Azula bowed and began performing, from bottom to the top, the lower level basic techniques to the highest of advanced forms. Flawless, as always, Lin commented, keeping a keen eye on his (_fiancée_) student's performance. He missed this, truly; teaching firebending. As Azula completed her Disappearing Fire, a higher form of Fire Dome in which a firebender would seemingly disappear by forming a fire dome as a distraction, Azula appeared a few steps away behind the spot where her blue fire dome dissipated.

"Good", Lin commented, taking off his robe and threw it away to the ground, ignoring scorch marks all around them. "Now, this one is Form 15 of the basic level."

"Basic?" Azula narrowed her eyes. "Uh… I have mastered _Disappearing Fire_?"

"I haven't tested your Disappearing Fire's defense yet", Lin smirked. "Anyway, here's 'Two-Steps Kick'. First kick—", Lin kicked his right leg high in an arc and brought it down in front, crossing his other leg a little. "—you bend fire to heat the air with your chi. Second kick—", he used his first foot to pivot his second spin kick of his left leg. "—you send a blast forward. The chi in the air from your first kick will increase the power of your second kick. Normal fire kick, at least mine, look like this", summoning the rage he felt for Iroh's idiocy in the Spirit Realm, Lin kicked a blast of fire the size of a kuai ball. "With the same amount of chi and intensity", he said, performing Two-Steps Kick; the first arc kick trailed flame that heated the air around him, the second kicked sent a blast of five times larger and thicker flame that travelled twice farther and produced a louder flickering noise.

"This is one of the forms where we manipulate our surrounding", Lin explained. "Now, do it."

Azula inhaled slowly. Exhaling, she leaped forward and… _spun once to ease her first of the Two-Steps, her second kick sent a blast of blue flame so powerful she staggered the Kyoshi Warrior behind the buckler; a splash of her blue flame ignited the fallen tree branch behind the warrior and the groaning sky bison._

"Good", Lin nodded. "That's all for today."

"Just one? I want to learn more", Azula demanded dryly.

Lin merely scoffed. Picking up his robe, he motioned Azula to follow him back to the bench, smirking as he knew Azula was at Zuko and Mai who promptly scooted away farther from each other. "Come on", Lin said to Zuko as he strapped Nightshade on his back. "Swallow-monkey tag. I go first. By the way, Azula", Lin smirked as he showed his dragon emblem he might have pickpocketed from the Princess. "Bye."

"Wha—", Azula gasped, reaching to her empty pocket. Her sifu's annoying smirk under his hood only served to irk her more. Soon, she joined Zuko in the chase.

Only to find herself being left behind by the two boys fast. Well, they were taller and older, she argued in her mind. She nearly lost them twice around several corners and across several flights of staircases, across many gardens and courtyards, even across empty rooms and chambers. Her sticking to the ground while the other two leaped over to the ledges of roofs and walls, and actually ran along the tight high places like agile swallow-monkeys (or Ty Lee), might have contributed to that fact.

But, Azula was nothing if not persistent; turning to the corner on the ground floor ahead after jumping down the last few steps of the stairway leading down from the North Wing second level dorm rooms, she halted when Lin dropped from nowhere in front of her, turned around to smirk at her, and dashed so quickly that the edge of his robe evaded Azula's fast snatching hand; her fingertips brushed against the fabric.

Azula was about to give chase when she had to leap back again lest Zuko dropped on her literally. "Watch it!" the Prince yelled.

"You watch it!" the Princess snapped back.

Lin ran fast and found himself on a wall, four meters tall. Back facing the wall, he assumed a firm central stance with arms netted together in front. Zuko, understanding this, dashed faster towards his sifu; leaping and planting one foot on the older boy's joined hands, he let himself being hurled upwards, clearing the obstacle in one giant leap.

Azula skidded to stop with the '_you've got to be kidding me; I'm not Ty Lee'_ look on her face. Lin grinned and nudged the spot by his side with his head. Turning to the wall, Lin trailed his hands down in an arc, flames trailed from his palms, heating the air. He brought his flameless palms down once more in a sharper thrust; jet of flames erupted from his palms and feet, propelling him up over the wall. Azula snickered under her breath. She performed Jet Propelling technique much like the one Lin had done but one that belonged to her family style. She landed on the ground over the wall, the training ground where they had started the whole chase.

Lin was talking to Zuko and, as she got closer to them, she caught Zuko's protest. "Already?"

Azula was about to ask what they were talking about when Zuko turned to her heatedly. "You know he was here and you didn't tell me?"

"I have to tell you everything now?" Azula countered acidly.

"Alright, kids!" Lin mediated; _this_, he did not miss. "Listen to me, okay. I might return next year, or not, I really don't know… anyway, in the meantime, I want you two to get along."

"But—", both siblings started, Lin halted them with a raised hand.

"I don't want to hear it", he declared; Zuko was still under the 'no complaint' policy while Azula sort of listened to Lin a little maybe… it's a little complicated between the two. Especially since the zapping and… other… forms of physical intimacy since two nights ago… maybe. "Now, both of you; Zuko, good job keeping with your extra training. Azula", Lin turned to the Princess. "I'm a little disappointed that you skipped your cotton jump."

Azula looked somewhat offended by the scolding as she crossed her arms and looked away, scowling.

"I wasn't joking around with the cotton jump. Did you see what Zuko and I did, jumping over walls, running around, jumping down high places?" Lin asked sternly. "That has cotton jump as the basis."

"I don't care about—", Azula was about to argue but Lin interjected.

"You should", Lin said seriously. "That is the problem with your firebending."

"My firebending ha—"

"Azula, your fingers are hurt", Lin interrupted her rebuttal. "Firebenders are like dragons, Azula: A dragon doesn't fight only from the ground; it will soar high and rain flame and destruction from up high should the need arise. Firebenders must never be grounded. We must be flexible, versatile, _alive_. Flame flickers; it does not burn stiffly like a stick."

"I'm not a stick!" Azula nearly screamed, feeling rather angry… _hurt_… at the scolding.

"I know", Lin merely smiled warmly. "But, still, training your physique is important for another reason. Come here."

"No", Azula huffed.

"Zuko", Lin turned to the Prince. "Look", he said to the girl, gripping Zuko's forearm hard with his fingers claw-grip; Zuko showed no reaction to it even after Lin's fingers strained so much his knuckle bones were bulging out. "Now, let's see how you do", Lin motioned her to come closer. Begrudgingly, Azula did; Lin barely gripped her forearm like he had done Zuko's when Azula whined and cringed in pain.

"You have a great power, Azula", Lin continued, making sure it came out patiently and proudly; Azula still pouted at him, rubbing her sore arm. "Your firebending is inherently powerful; your physique, however, is not. I'm not calling you weak", he added earnestly as Azula showed a sign of protesting. "Firebending is not only about our ability to produce fire; it is also about our strength, physical and mental, to withstand it. Great power requires greater vessel. Your firebending demands you to be physically capable to contain it, Azula. This is one of the reasons why I can't teach you Fire Compression yet."

"You're planning to teach her Fire Compression?!" Zuko snapped abruptly.

"Hush, Zuko! I'm talking here!" Lin snapped back; turning to Azula, he resumed. "The first time I compressed fire, I nearly burnt my hand; my palm was numb for two days. Your blue flame is strong, Azula. You can easily injure yourself with it."

"There's nothing wrong with my flame", Azula scowled. "And why are you being mean?"

"Why did you skip cotton jumping?" Lin asked back.

"It was dumb", Azula grumbled, crossing her arms again.

"I know", Lin scoffed, stepping forward to embrace her.

"Hugging a Princess is a crime", Azula said, not hugging back while Zuko stammered. "Why are you hugging my sister?!"

"None of your business, Zuzu", Azula snapped at him and…

—STOMP—

"Not my injured foot!" Lin fell to the ground, gripping his left foot.

"I told you I hated that", Azula huffed.

"What?!" Zuko screamed. "This has happened before?!"

"Stay out of this, Zuko", Azula snapped at him next. "My life is none of your concern!"

"Actually", groaning, Lin got up, limpy though he might be. "That's another thing I need to talk to you two about. Azula, I want you to help Zuko with firebending."

"What?!" came from the both of them.

"And Zuko, I want you to teach your sister about the extra training we've been having."

"_What?!_"

"Come on, now!" Lin scolded the both of them. "Zuko, you need help with your firebending and your uncle is…" _a completely and utterly unreliable moronic piece of trashy garbage_. "…unwell at the moment."

"I thought Uncle's still missing", Azula frowned at the both of them.

"Tell you later", Lin muttered. "And you, Azula, these extra physical trainings can help you develop your physical strength. I mean, look at Ty Lee; she's itsy bitsy small and she dropped my cousin Shi all by herself when we were escaping the Capital."

"You and Ty Lee did _what_?!" Zuko screamed again.

"Zuko, seriously! I'm talking to your sister here!" Lin scolded. "Anyway, Azula, you should consider taking time off firebending", he continued quickly as the Princess opened her mouth to protest again. "At least, until spring comes. Take time to rest. In the meantime, Zuko can teach you the training I've been giving him. It can help you master your flame better."

Azula's reply was a defiant sulk.

"Promise me, both of you", Lin commanded in the way only he could; even Zuko could not miss the likeness of their cousin Lu Ten in him.

"Okay", the Prince grumbled first. "I promise."

"Azula?" Lin turned to the girl.

"Alright", she growled.

"Alright what?"

"Alright, I promise! Happy?"

"Yes, very", Lin patted her head; she kicked his shin in retaliation.

"I told you I hated that", Azula groused.

"Good", Lin groaned, jumping up and down, gripping his shin; karma, indeed. "Now, I know I can leave you guys in peace."

"You're leaving? Now?" Azula asked a little crestfallen.

"I got what I came for, I have all my things with me", Lin drawled; Azula looked a little taken aback but then her keen mind replayed the sight of her sifu without his robe earlier: he did not have the green jade flute on his back and judging from the smirk on the dummy's face, he knew it. Azula smirked back briefly.

"So, this is it", Lin set his hood straight and spoke rather threateningly. "Take care of each other okay. Zuko, the next time we meet, I'll Agni Kai you and I won't hold back. As for you, Azula, the next time we meet, I'm going to throw compressed fire at you and you better be able to dodge because, to my knowledge, no firebending technique can defend against compressed fire."

Lin held his serious-sifu mask against the siblings' nervous gulp.

"Good", Lin smirked a little. "Now, I'll see you guys… probably next year. See you later, Mai!"

"You owe me a birthday!" Mai yelled back from her bench.

"Ask your boyfriend to get you an extra present on my behalf", Lin ducked just in time as Mai's first dart sailed through the air towards his head; his own knife flew and collided with Mai's second shuriken midair resulting a loud clank and a spark as both blades flew off course.

Grinning, Lin waved back to the girl and dashed away from the spot, leaving the courtyard and the life had been missing out on.

* * *

When Azula walked out of her bathroom, she was half expecting Lin to be there. She found no one but Mai, twirling a throwing knife Lin had used earlier; regular straight leaf-shaped unmarked blade unlike Mai's preference of Fire Nation style curvy talon-shaped multi-pronged red-colored knives.

"So", the goth girl started, smirking a bit. "You didn't tell me about a certain someone returning after that certain someone kidnapped Ty Lee."

"You didn't tell me about a certain some 'kidnapping' Ty Lee", Azula countered, sitting in front of her mirror, firebent her hair dry, and let Mai walk up to her to brush her hair.

"We had an agreement; he'd be the one telling you", explained Mai, brushing the raven hair of the Fire Princess carefully. "He sounds different."

"He keeps denying it", Azula chuckled, scrutinizing the throwing knife Mai had put on the table in front of them. "Kinda like Lu Ten", she added before she could stop herself.

Mai noticed Azula's smile melting. "Your cousin sounds like a fun guy", she commented with her usual flat tone to the untrained ears; Azula knew that Mai was cheering her up.

"He was a dumb-dumb", Azula muttered; Mai snickered at the Princess' signature mock word. "Are you staying for dinner?" Azula asked, gathering her deceptively long hair into her usual top-knot while Mai went for a ribbon.

"No", Mai sighed lazily, tying a red ribbon on the knot Azula held. "My mom grounded me for sneaking in that last time. They only let me come here because I might have told them that _you_ told me to come over to bring you notes and help you study for your make-up test."

"Aw, you used me", Azula smirked, letting Mai placed her hair ornament on her knot. "You have learnt well."

"Eh, nothing compared to Ty Lee", Mai snickered. "She used Lin."

Meanwhile, in the Royal Male Quarters, General Iroh woke up from a long sleep. His sore achingly numb body and his hurting lightheaded skull needed several seconds before they could register the boy sitting by his side on the bed, slicing an apple he was eating with a throwing knife. Chewing the crunchy fruit slowly, Lin turned to the old man, hatred gave a little space for pity at the man who had seemingly aged at least ten years since the last time he saw him.

"How's Zuko's firebending?" the boy tried to ask casually; he sounded cold. "He told me he had started master level training with you."

"He has", Iroh rasped through his dry throat and sticky mouth and coughed a little. Lin reached out to a goblet of water at the nightstand and helped the old man drink. "Why are you still here?" Iroh asked without looking.

Lin narrowed his eyes dangerously, feeling the raging fury kicking back to life. "I have a lot to do. I have a life too, you know. If it wasn't for my grandmother's wish, I wouldn't even bother with you and your Order anymore."

Iroh wisely kept his retort to himself.

"Zuko's coming with dinner", Lin said again, back to his apple. Noticing Iroh eyeing the apple weirdly, Lin added rather defensively. "So I ate my dessert first, sue me."

"You are a lot like Lu Ten", Iroh sighed, turning his gaze distant and away. "He was a little weird too sometimes when he was bored."

Lin did not know how he should feel about the mention of Lu Ten; in his eyes, Iroh was an idiot, a moron, and all that but Lu Ten was still Iroh's son. What right did Lin have to smack the old man in the mouth for talking about his own son?

"You are not ready", Iroh replied to Lin's undelivered request. He tried to sit up and could not; Lin begrudgingly moved to him and helped pull him up. "Your grandmother's wish was for me to guide you to understand her legacy but I'm afraid I won't be able to do it."

"You're running away", Lin condemned coldly as he sat back. "After all the mess you've caused", Lin scoffed cruelly as he added. "Just like Ba Sing Se."

Iroh shut his eyes as his chest rose; it was not anger, it was regret and shame. With hardened jaw, he continued. "There is a man living in the Earth Kingdom, in a place called the Foggy Swamp", Iroh said. "The swamp, much like the Sanna Plain in the North Pole, or the famed Si Wong Desert in the Earth Kingdom, or even the heart of the Caldera and the Village of Jang Hui, is one of the few focal points in the physical world where the spiritual energy is rich and strong. This man will help you understand everything."

Lin waited for the catch.

"… if he is still alive", Iroh added uncomfortably while Lin rolled his eyes. "Either way, try going there. The journey to the swamp will be enlightening for you even if you won't get to meet him."

Before Lin could say anything else, the door was pushed open and Zuko's back appeared; turning around, Zuko walked towards them carrying a large tray of dinner. A pleasant exchange between the two royalties ensued. Lin ate in silence, Iroh was positively dodging any questions from Zuko regarding his disappearance, while Zuko asked nothing but questions regarding the old man's disappearance. Finally, he got to Lin's nerve; and no, the pleading look Iroh gave Lin had nothing to do with anything.

"Zuko, stop", Lin ordered; the younger Prince grumbled but obeyed. Done with his meal, as Zuko had, Lin gestured him to follow him out. "Come on. Your uncle needs some rest."

"But—", Zuko's protest was cut short by Lin's. "It's time I teach you firebending."

Beaming, Zuko obeyed. Saying their goodbye, Lin led Zuko to a training hall in the male quarter. While Zuko stretched, Lin went to a nearby bench where he unloaded Nightshade and was in the middle of taking off his robe when he rearranged his thought; the rage… _the old man felt as he witnessed the destruction of the young General Iroh fleet, it was like none he had ever experienced_… and it was enough to spark the connection to his inner fire to life.

Breathing out, he snapped his balled up fist down; daggers of flame formed below each grip. "Sustained flame", Lin explained while Zuko observed his flame daggers with interest. "You have learnt fire needle -restraint and control- I believe? I learnt from Lu Ten that it was the first thing your uncle taught him when he started master level."

"Yeah", Zuko nodded excitedly, proving his point by shooting consecutive fire needles from… _his right and left, silently and accurately hitting each and every candle post around the fountain without alerting the Earth Kingdom girl who was covering her eyes…_ both finger jabs to the wall ahead, leaving two tiny singed spot on the surface.

"Not bad", Lin extinguished his left dagger and raised his right one; he found it exhausting to dwell so long in the dark recess of his mind where hatred and rage dwelled. "This move has similar theory. Instead of dispensing part of your chi and stop, you dispense your chi continuously in a controlled flow, but be mindful to exercise restraint and control. Without control, your fire will either be too loose or to strong –you might burn yourself if it's the latter-, and without restraint, your chi might go all out at once, your fire might just explode in your hand."

"Okay", Zuko breathed and snapped his fist down like Lin had done; to his credit, while Lin noticed his awkwardness in performing an unfamiliar move like this, Zuko did form a dagger… a tad bigger and loose and flaring too much, unlike Lin's smooth-edged fire dagger.

"Not enough control", Lin commented, extinguishing his own flame. "You're too tense, relax a bit."

"I'm trying", Zuko groaned, focusing deeply in his dagger; his flame flickered dangerously, threatening to explode.

"Don't be afraid", Lin said sternly. "This is your fire, Zuko; a part of you. It's like being afraid of your own nose: simply ridiculous."

"You _are_ getting meaner lately", Zuko grumbled back.

"I'm tired, haven't slept well lately", Lin reasoned. "Good, try to keep it steady."

Zuko's groaning, "Don't rhyme", came in tandem with Lin's horrified, "God, I'm rhyming."

"How long have you been back", Zuko asked in between controlling the unstable flow of his chi and shuddering.

"A couple of days", Lin said. "I think. My mind is still lagging on yesterday. Like I said, I haven't been sleeping well."

"I think I got it", Zuko said, focusing every breath and every cells of his brain on keeping the edge of his fire dagger smooth.

"Good", Lin approved. "Remember the feeling. Keep practicing it until you get used to it. The second tier of this move is when you manipulate the shape of your flame to form a whip or something, something looser, harder to control, but more flexible and far-reaching."

"You mean like what those circus trainers do? Remember that one my mom took us and Lu Ten to when we were kids? There was guy who whipped fire at a vulture-lion" Zuko frowned.

"Cheap imitation", Lin scoffed. "My family's style is more than just to scare animals."

Lin, armed with the darkness of his mind, formed a fire whip and slashed at the nearby stone bench, severing the furniture in two effortlessly.

"Restraint determines the integrity of the flame, control determines the power; remember that", Lin said. "I'm teaching you this just in case Azula learns everything from you before you are done learning from her. This can be your last bargaining chip. Just remember to mention that this technique is from my family art."

"Okay", Zuko grinned. "I still can't believe you duped her with that goodbye."

"Meh, she thinks I'm duping you", Lin grinned back. "But, don't tell her that!"

"You've never told me why you're here", Zuko asked as he watched his sifu donned on his robe and picked up his sword."

"Oh, you know… have stuff to do", Lin replied evasively; no, Zuko knew squat about anything!

"You sound different…"

"I do not! I do NOT!"

"Almost like Lu Ten", the corner of Zuko's mouth twitched. "But, a little more… screechy."

"…That's it. No more firebending for you. Ever!"

Snickering, Zuko followed the huffing sifu out.

"By the way", Lin turned to the Prince, walking in the darkness cast by the setting sun. "Azula told me your dad showed you guys some secret tunnels out of the palace when you were kids?"

"Uh-huh…?" Zuko drawled, feeling uneasy because the knowledge of such information was strictly for Royal Family only and any outside party who— _oh, heck! This is Lin_, Zuko scoffed mentally, _practically a brother_.

"Azula took me through one; it was in the maids' bathroom", Lin tugged the collar of his garb uneasily.

"There's one in my quarter; the armory, east wall, behind a tower shield, firebending operated", Zuko muttered flatly. "And… Azula…? Wait! What are you two… _you guys were hugging! _You two never hugged before!"

"What about you and Mai?" Lin asked back just as seriously.

"That's none of your business!" Zuko's snapped heatedly, blushing heavily.

"Of course, it is. Mai is like a sister to me."

"Azula _is_ my sister!"

"I always forget that", Lin grinned, ducking Zuko's swinging arm. "Too obvious, need more practice."

Zuko simply stared at his smug looking sifu, trying to picture him being burnt alive.

"Well, in any case, this is goodbye-for-now", Lin straightened up.

"You're really going?" Zuko muttered, still growly but with a tinge of sad.

"Not until I see Azula; I duped her, remember", Lin shrugged and shuddered. "She's so mean lately. She hit me."

"Good", Zuko muttered, looking away. A dull smack on the back of his head made him jerk his head back to his sifu angrily, ready to hit back. Lin was no longer there…

* * *

When Lin entered the inn room, he was half expecting Spear and Bob already packed and ready to go; they were playing Pai Sho.

"Don't even start", Lin barked at Spear's teasing grin. "Here, I got another pack", he threw the second pack of lilies from Fire Lord Ozai to the surgeon. "Pack up. And where's that map from the ship?"

"_Oh_, a second pack", Spear sniggered. "Do we have a certain Ty Lee to thank for this?"

Bob squeaked rather sharply.

"No, her dad", Lin muttered, studying the map a trembling Bob handed to him.

"Oh, even better. Her dad, huh… hey, you know what… Let's!" Spear stood up energetically. "Buttering up to one's future in-laws is an integral part of courtships."

"…who is very very high ranking in the Fire Nation Army", _which is true_…

"So, we're leaving?" Spear quickly went for his stuff.

"Sort of", Lin showed them the map; his finger jabbed on a small island northwest of where they hid their ship. "See this small island?" which was a property of the Lin Family. "I was told that it's uninhabited, just a plain empty forest. Go get supplies, take our ship there, and camp out there until I return."

"You're not coming with us?" Spear asked incredulously. "And how're you going to get there without a ship?"

"I'll walk", Lin shrugged. "The water is pretty shallow, from what I've heard", _and experienced…_ "I need to take care of something first."

"Okay", Spear pondered upon their plan. "When do you want us to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning", Lin said, back to scrutinizing his map; he missed the spark on Spear and Bob's eyes. "It's getting dark soon. You guys should go get supplies tonight."

"On it!" Spear dashed out without further ado, leaving the two bewildered teenagers behind.

"What's with him?" Lin frowned upon the surgeon's flight. Bob shrugged.

"Where have you been?" Bob asked interestedly, packing the inn Pai Sho board. "I-if you don't mind me asking", he stuttered and laughed nervously.

Lin swallowed hard; he must have been very tired and confused and scared because, despite his careful nature, he said this. "I was making sure… Ty Lee will be alright after I'm gone", and he felt very very relived as he loosed the words, like a poison being drained from him. "You're…" Lin fidgeted a little uncomfortably. "You're okay with me being… you know… Fire Nation."

"You helped me a lot", Bob muttered quietly, busying himself with unnecessarily tidying the Pai Sho tiles in the compartment below the board. "You're…um, you're a good person", he steeled himself to look the lieutenant in the eye. "You're a good friend", he smiled weakly.

"Thanks", Lin smiled back. He dropped the rolled up map and his robe and sword on the nearby table and walked to the bathroom to wash his face. "By the way", he called from there. "I would appreciate it if… you know."

"I know", Bob called back. "Doctor Haoren and I talked about it. We won't tell anyone about you."

"Not even our exalted commanding officer?" Lin emerged with a fresher face.

"Especially…" Bob shivered.

"Thanks, man", Lin grinned, donning on his robe and sword. "Well, I better get going."

"Good luck", Bob smiled a little.

Lin put on his hood and walked back into the city. The sky had already darkened; sunset was barely a tint of orange emerging from the top of Caldera. Lin breathed in winter air and marched on. Upon reaching the middle of the early night market, he remembered that Spear and Bob might need some gold for supplies; their inn and food expense must have been quite a burden on their limited expense. Gripping the money pouch Uncle Fu gave him, Lin turned around and marched right back to the inn.

He entered the establishment with a heavy head; the swamp appeared again. He shook the image of the eerie mossy green swamp tree off his head as he opened the door to their room and entered. The shower was running and Bob was nowhere to be seen; he must be inside. Staggering a little, Lin gripped his head as his vision blurred.

The moment his knee touched the floor, his agony disappeared. Thank Agni, he muttered as he got up again. He felt wary about this. Maybe he should try again with General Iroh, he thought. He knocked on the bathroom door but there was no answer. Lin cast a wary look at the dark-blue sky outside the window. He should catch General Iroh before night arrived. The old man needed his sleep.

The old man was no good to Lin dead…

He pushed the bathroom door open and entered.

"Hey, Bob", Lin started, lifting his money pouch… "Just in case—"…that fell to the ceramic tiled floor with a loud metallic clink.

Bob was in the shower, turning to Lin as he entered.

_What the… how come down there is no… and up there, are those…_

The two of them stared at each other, horrified, mortified…

And they screamed…

Oh, yes, they screamed.

* * *

**Author's Note**:

Sorry for the late update. Azula's mental monologue was difficult to put into words. After all, she is smarter than me.

To war sage, thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy this chapter. :)

To anonymous reviewer, thanks for the review! I'm glad you like the story.

To OwlFeather13, thanks for the review, snowman! Ah, yes, insanity… as we say in psychology: 95% of all people in living in this world have varied amount of insanity brewing, lurking in the dark corner of their minds, waiting ever so patiently to be unleashed to the light of day, to overwhelm, to take control of the mind so it might rule over… whatever it is it wants to rule over!

Oh, the other 5% are already coo coo.

The next update might be late. The first drafts for the next two chapters are done but I want to finish the third one for just to be safe. Also, there will be a belated Halloween themed chapter for the side story.

Guess that's it.

See ya!


	92. Chapter 91

**Chapter 91 – Parental**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

They sat on the foot of the bed. Horrified. Mortified.

"So…" Lin cleared his throat.

"So…" Bob gulped, wearing a bathrobe and damp long brown hair.

"Y-you're a…" Lin felt a chill down his spine. "… _girl_?"

"Yes…" Bob winced.

Lin shut his eyes, trying so… oh, so very very hard to erase the image of her naked form as slowly as possible.

Something sounds wrong up there…

…oh, well.

"I—", Lin felt a clog in his throat, begging his mind to _stop_ displaying the… image. "Oh, God… I really really don't need this right now", he gripped his forehead hard with a hand. Turning to the other boy— I mean, the girl masquerading as a boy, furiously, he snarled. "Why? Just… _why_? Bob, if that's even your name, I am _this_ close", he put his thumb and index finger close. "_This_ close to having the inside of my skull exploding into yucky brain goo! I really _really_ don't need this right now!"

"I'm sorry", Bob, if that was hi—er, _her_ name, shrunk under the lieutenant's stare. "It's… um…"

"Why?" Lin asked again; oh, desperation personified was his face.

"Well… you know… females can't be surgeons in the Earth Kingdom system, so…" Bob looked away awkwardly. "I-I mean, some universities won't even accept female students in their modern medicine faculties. So, I kind of… you know…"

Lin groaned. His head was hurting so much…

"Wait", Lin's head rose suddenly. "That time, during Seito Sweet Potato crisis, you and I… we slept…"

Now, it was Bob who groaned and buried her red face into her hands.

"Oh, great", Lin felt a little… it was hard to describe… "This is great… my fiancée doesn't even know we're engaged and I'm already unfaithful."

"Don't say it like that", Bob whined, almost cried herself. "It's not like we were doing anything! And _who_ still thinks like that? Grandpa?"

"I don't get it", Lin groused. "Why don't I see this sooner?" Lin recounted his life with Bob in the camp. He really could not see why he did not suspect anything sooner. Now, that Lin thought about it, the signs were there!

-f-f-f-f-f-

_Ah, nothing beats cold shower in summer heat after sword combat training with Taka and Rocky. _This camp sucks_, Lin thought from under the drizzle of mercifully cold water. Life sucks, this place sucks, the food sucks, the people here suck, his job sucks. If only drowning oneself in a shower was possible._

_The camp door creaked open; Lin lazily turned to it. Oh, it was one of the new kids, the one with the weird Korkean name._

"_Oh, hey Bob", Lin greeted not very friendlily. "Want— whoa…" Lin commented at the speed the intern disappeared. "He's fast."_

-f-f-f-f-f-

_They laughed at Spear's story as they enjoyed (sarcasm) dinner. The story coming from Spear, the audience being Trik, Rha-Mi, and Sergeant Chim on the enthusiastic side, Seito, Yee Shoo, Shoto, and Rabbit among those showing interest albeit a bit sheepish, Father Shu who felt a little out of place, and Haoqi who was giggling to himself halfway through his bottle of barley wine, should give an indication of what rating the story would recive ._

"_Hey, guys", Lin arrived at their table with Megumi and Bob; the latter two had just finished a supply duty while Lin had just finished his patrol duty. "What're talking about?"_

_Spear answered Lin's question with one sentence that pretty much summed his story. To this date, it was still the single dirtiest sentence Lin had ever heard coming out of a person's mouth. It took a while for anyone to notice that Bob had left the table while Spear and Megumi bickered._

-f-f-f-f-f-

"_So, we set this…"_

"_On the doorstep", Lin said again to Seito, unrolling a roll fishing line attached to a pin-locked fused grenade that came with the batch of explosives he had requisitioned but the black powder inside had been reduced by half and mixed with chalk powder. "When he opens the door, the pin will be pulled and poof."_

_He grinned along with Seito and Yee Shoo._

"_Okay, ready?" Yee Shoo, the lookout hissed. _

"_Ready", Lin replied. "Now, scram!"_

_They scurried away as inconspicuously as possible to the mess tent where they would see their 'revenge for Bob' prank unfolded upon Major Senshi. Before they could reach for the mess tent door, Bullhorn announced. "__**Attention all personnel! Incoming wounded! Come quick before they run out!**__"_

"_Aww…" Lin groaned; the dull thud that ensued was caused by Yee Shoo, standing in front of the tent crashed his face on the door that was swung open by a bandana-wearing intern._

"_Oh, sorry", Bob grimaced at his handiwork briefly before running to the square to join the welcoming committee. _

"_Is it just me having a concussion or…" Yee Shoo started, holding his bumped forehead. "…does Bob run a lot like my sister Mei Mei."_

_Seito and Lin looked at Bob, turned to Yee Shoo, then shrugged at each other and said in tandem. "Just you."_

-f-f-f-f-f-

"_And so, it's decided: we're gonna go intervention on him", Yee Shoo decided from Rocky's cot._

"_I'll make the banner", yes, your mind did not play trick on you; Shoto said this._

"_Oh, look at you", Lin clapped appreciatively with Yee Shoo's gasp and Bob's gape. "You're getting involved. So, you did read that book we gave you."_

"…_I'm going to sleep", Shoto entered his blanket._

"_Yeah, it's late", Yee Shoo followed his example. "Night, guys."_

"_Night", Lin muttered along with the rest of them. He got up from his bed and walked to his desk. Sitting there, he opened up a comic book he had borrowed from Bullhorn for our young lieutenant could not sleep._

"_Um, Lieutenant?" Bob called meekly. "So… uh, how're we going to…"_

"_What's the matter?" Lin frowned. "Just sleep. I don't usually sleep this early myself."_

"_B-but, uh…" the bandana wearing intern stammered. "W-well, uh… okay, then."_

"_Night, Bob", Lin went back to _'Blue Spirit – Vengeance is Blue'_, barely registering Bob's very very soft and squeaky. "…night…"_

_It could be hours later, maybe… Lin could never keep track of time when he was asleep; that came with being an insomniac. Anyway, hours later when it was still dark out there, Lin pleasantly hit the floor following a scream and a violent shove._

"_Bob!" the young lieutenant protested; he did not appreciate being shoved off his own bed especially when he was dreaming about… um… certain activities with a pretty blue-eyed pale-skinned girl that involved… the use of… um… ehem, lips… on each other…_

"_S-sorry, nightmare", the intern managed before he dashed out clutching a jar of suspiciously green substance he was holding on to even in his sleep._

"_Again?" Yee Shoo's groan pierced the darkness of the tent. "This happens every night since we moved here."_

"_Yeah, I've decided", Lin picked his tired self up to the bed. "Forget intervention. Let's sedate Seito, bring him to the operating room, and you guys can remove his stomach or sew his (censored) together." _

"…_Shoto, go back to bed. Lin was just kidding."_

-f-f-f-f-f-

"_Can't sleep, Lieutenant?" the shivering sandbender corporal greeted, hugging his spear tightly in his redundant struggle for warmth; his thick brown minx-weasel coat was surprisingly not enough to keep himself warm in the snowy winter dawn. _

"_I just got up", Lin griped, rubbing his aching forehead. "I had a weird dream about a giant white… bull thingy."_

"_Ah, if only my Aunt Suang-Mi was here", Rha-Mi groaned through his gritting teeth; desert-dweller and snow are not supposed to meet. "She's a seer, you know. She can tell the meaning of dreams."_

"_Yeah…" Lin drawled skeptically. "And I'm a giant puffy mushroom."_

_Rha-Mi sniggered. The shower tent door flinging open as they walked past nearly flattened the corporal's generously proportioned nose._

"_Somebody should come up with a safer door design for military tents", Lin pondered aloud. "Hey, Bob. You were having a… shower? At this hour? In this weather?"_

-f-f-f-f-f-

"I really…" Lin griped. "Oh, man… I don't— I can't think right now."

"Um… don't tell. Please", she squeaked.

"I really don't… Do you... Oh, spirits…" Lin rubbed his throbbing temple. He really wanted to just curl up into a tight ball, suck his thumb, and cry, just cry.

Long they sat in silence. Azula and her problems, Zuko and his issues, Iroh and his idiocy, Fire Lord Ozai and the terror he inspired… and now, _this_! And we haven't put Lin's personal problems into the bunch: his 'headache', him planning to visit his family grave before returning to the palace, him and his spy stuff, and, to top it all, he was sleep deprived.

The silence was uneasy too.

"So", Lin started, simply to ease the awkwardness. "W-what happened to your leg?"

"Oh", Bob stammered; her hand self-consciously traced her right thigh. She had a terrible burn scar that ran all over her right leg that ironically looked like tongues of flames. "Well", she rolled up her right trousers, displaying a little of her marred leg. "Fire Nation—", she stopped suddenly, gaping at Lin uncomfortably; Lin could not say anything to ease her mind.

"Um", she tried again. "Remember when I told you about Fire Nation raiding our village?" she asked timidly, especially at the _'Fire Nation'_ part.

"Yeah", Lin muttered, fixing his eyes on the floor. "Sorry…"

"It's not your fault", Bob muttered back.

"Does it still hurt?" Lin asked uneasily, leering at her scar from the corner of his eyes. "Is that what the baby powder is for?"

To this, Bob blushed and stuttered. "W-well, uh… a-actually, it's for… other purpose?"

"What?" Lin frowned.

"Urgh, just because I disguised myself as a boy, doesn't mean I have to smell like one", she said sheepishly and defensively. "It's not like I can wear perfume or something. It'd be too suspicious. A-and I have to wear thick clothes to… hide… stuff."

"…Oh", Lin felt more and more awkward.

"My mom knows about me being here, if you're wondering", Bob diverted the topic. "A-and, um… err, yeah, I got nothing else."

"I'm an idiot", Lin griped again. "I should've… Oh, spirits, why does my life have to be so complicated?"

"Um… sorry?" Bob tried.

"Not your fault", Lin returned the courtesy. "I blame the universe. And the spirits. And a really really fat old man I'm really gonna kill one day!"

The silence from before returned.

It became unbearable for Lin. He had to do something, anything. He had to get out, to get away from this issue. Deal with the others first, he told himself. Getting up, he put on his robe and picked up his sword.

"You're not going to tell anyone… right?" Bob asked hopefully.

Lin opened his mouth but no words came out. He looked around uncomfortably. This was _huge_, you see. And he had a load of troubles without this adding to the toll. Sighing, he moved to a single red apple his sight fell upon on the table. "No, I won't tell anyone", Lin promised, taking the apple and pocketed it. "Just be careful when we get back to the camp. I won't be able to bail you out if you are found."

"Thanks", Bob said timidly, smiled weakly, and beamed gratefully. "Oh, and…" she called as Lin was about to exit. "…um, my name's Song."

Lin wanted to say something, wanted to at least smile; he settled for an exasperated sigh and confused shrugged. Song accepted it graciously anyway. Groaning lowly and painfully, Lin got out and closed the door behind him. He absentmindedly walked through the crowded cheerful night market, a cacophony of people oblivious of the hell that was his life.

Sometimes, Lin truly hated this altruistic side of him.

"Look", he said, appearing once more through the door of their inn room, making Bob scream a little; she was busy stuffing her long brown hair back under her bandana. "Just… stay—"

Bob, or Song, waited for more.

"Oh, spirits in heaven", Lin sighed, rubbing his head. "Just keep up with your cover for the time being, okay. Be _more_ careful", he said the last one sternly. "If anything happen, just come to me. And don't tell Spear yet", Lin warned. "Who knows how's he gonna react. Also, I've got a little dirt on him, so, you know, let me soften him up first and then _we_ drop the bomb."

"Um… okay", Song smiled weakly. "Thanks."

Lin's '_you're welcome'_, '_anytime'_, or '_don't mention it'_ did not come out. He simply groaned lightly and got out again. Back to the city.

Oh, happy days… he missed his old life something terrible. He wanted to go back, you know… he wanted to go back to being Lin, simply Lin: his father's son, his family's heir, his students' sifu, but he still wanted to have Master Piandao, Bara, Taka, Rocky, Rain, his friends back at the camp, and everyone else.

Selfish, yes, but he convinced himself that he had suffered enough to deserve such selfishness. His life was like trying to put out fire occurring at two different places; he went to one, the other place was being demolished. He went to that one, the first place would take the heat. He constantly had to choose one in expense of the other while trying his best to keep that other available.

He hated this.

He wanted a life that was simple and, well, straightforward.

Lin got into the Caldera with no problem courtesy to Fire Lord Ozai's permit; he did not feel like skulking inside a cramped tunnel just yet. His life was cramped enough. Lin walked through the almost deserted streets of the Caldera district, the dwelling of the blue-blooded noblemen. His feet carried him through the streets leading to that tall pagoda-like mansion.

He had only ever been to this mansion once in this lifetime; the House of Zhu. The retired General Zhu, as in General Zhu of the Black Rhino Brigade, was a close personal friend of his grandfather and they often visited each other every weekend to play Pai Sho. The Zhu Family was much like the Lin Family; an ancient clan of firebending warriors. They had their own firebending art too.

Lin looked up to the tip of the pagoda. He felt a… sense of nostalgia. It made him feel warm inside and shiver a little. A little oxymoronic but such is humankind; a mystery, an infinite possibility, a possible impossibility.

On behalf of Taja, Lin placed the apple he brought on the threshold of the gate.

_May they find each other one day_, he prayed.

* * *

Fire Lord Ozai picked up a piece of komodo-chicken sausage and halted his chopsticks midair.

Sausage…

He even dipped it in mustard.

It sure was lonely at the top. Not even dinner was an occasion that warranted the presence of his family. Well, his brother could just shrivel up and turn to dust for all he cared, his son could have at least shown up as a show of respect, but her daughter's absence was felt. Truly felt.

Ozai set down his chopsticks and bowl. His appetite disappeared suddenly.

The brat's words hit him harder than he thought they had or could have. Ozai had never given those two's engagement much thought; mostly because it was borne of his wife's suggestion. The union of the two families was too political to begin with, but then again Ursa was never known for her political skill. She had never been the kind of royal lady who would help around with the national affair. She was a bit traditionalist that way.

Quickly wiping that smile with a napkin, Ozai punished his defiant mouth by draining his steaming hot ginger-pepper ginseng tea in one large gulp. Getting up suddenly, he did not even let his servants a chance to voice their concern for him barely eating half his bowl. Striding fast, he let his feet carry him to the direction of his dearest daughter's quarters. But, as we have discussed before, to get out of the Royal Wing, one must walk pass the Crown Prince's chamber.

A tug in his chest, just a tug, he ignored at the crossroad. Iroh was an utterly useless waste of space but at least he could be useful in keeping his son company. From the latest report he received from Commander Wey of the Imperial Firebenders, Iroh had been found and was currently resting in his room. That was all Ozai cared about; he did not like it when Iroh was nowhere to be found. Iroh's presence was a nuisance to him, yes, but a nuisance Ozai must keep track of. It is like a fight: never take your eyes off your opponent.

Iroh had been found; that was one problem ticked off Ozai's list. His son and daughter, and that brat were still plaguing his mind. Lin was still around, according to Wuxin; a problem indeed. Azula had been elusive lately since Lin's return; Ozai felt chill just thinking about it. Zuko… oy, his head throbbed just by the thought of the name.

Lin would depart soon… _he'd better_…

Azula… Ozai had to play it passively, he knew. One wrong move, he could turn Azula against him and Ozai could not have that. He had to treat her like a scared kitten and let her take the first step, let her approach.

Zuko… Ozai was at his wit's end. Iroh had become more brazen lately. Taking Zuko to Shu Jing and let him stay at Piandao's school without telling Ozai; not that Ozai minded but still, being Zuko's father he should have been informed at least. As for Zuko himself, going to Shu Jing to play around with swords! Bah! That boy did not even have pride as a firebender!

Something must be done…

Something must be done indeed…

_Kill Iroh…_ No, Ozai had to warn himself, as he had done so ever since he assumed the throne, against the idea. Fire Lord Azulon's death had been suspicious enough, Iroh's death would make all that suspicion resurface.

No, Iroh might be useful. At least, he kept Zuko occupied at the moment. Ozai needed to focus on Azula. His daughter needed just a little more time, a step or two more to perfection. His son…?

Oh, his son…

_Time will come_, Ozai convinced himself again. _Yes, time will come_.

_Time will come_…

* * *

Zuko performed his kata, his newly acquired fire daggers applied in his family firebending style. He kicked, punched, slashed, took pride in his now unflinching fire blades. Grinning wide, he tried to bring it to the next step…

… despite having learnt it only a few hours ago.

Zuko was definitely not quite ready for looser harder to control fire yet. By the time he picked himself up after his flame exploded and threw him off his feet, he heard a chuckle from the other side of the training hall. Grumbling, he made his way to Mai.

"I thought you already went home", Zuko said, sheepishly putting on his shirt and receiving a cup of tea Mai poured her.

Shrugging, Mai drank from her cup calmly. "It's still early", she said. "Azula's been tugged in and I got bored. So, here I am."

To Zuko's befuddled frown, Mai added. "She hasn't been sleeping well lately and she seems restless", she sighed. "You should take better care of your sister."

Mai took another sip of her half empty cup to hide her smirk at Zuko's low growl.

"You missed my birthday", Mai said again. Zuko choked on his tea.

"Sorry", the Crown Prince muttered apologetically. "Um, happy… birthday?"

Mai let out one of her rare snicker.

"Tenth birthday, isn't it?" Zuko asked simply to ease the awkwardness.

Mai's voice carried a certain sharpness as she corrected. "Eleventh", she said. "I'm a year older than Azula and Ty Lee, remember?"

"Sorry", Zuko said again, grinning a little. Fortunately, a servant entered and announced the arrival of a palanquin sent by Mai's parents to carry her home.

"Oh, well", Mai drained the rest of her cup as the servant exited the training hall. "Don't stay up too late."

Zuko did not expect Mai to lean in and kiss him on the cheek. Ignoring the petrified Crown Prince and his suddenly steaming cup of tea, Mai rose up, tugged her hands inside her sleeves, and walked to the door calmly, all the while grinning in the inside and smirking on the outside. "I want two presents", she said without turning back from the door.

As the girl disappeared and the clog of air dissipated from Zuko's throat, Zuko felt the corner of his mouth twitched. He fared better in flame whip all of the sudden.

* * *

In the graveyard, he stood, offering a silent prayer. He had forgotten to pick some flower for his mother.

"Next time, Mom", Lin promised, kneeling down and picking some dried leaves off the mound of Lian's grave. The moment his fingers grazed the cold earth of the grave, he felt shiver in his face that gave no way to a sob. Just a shiver…

"Mom, I'm sorry I haven't visited you as often as I should", Lin said, sitting in a polite seiza. "There is so much I should tell you."

So much, indeed…

"I lost my firebending, you know", Lin snickered bitterly, or at least he tried to; it came out like a hiccup. "I can still firebend but… I don't like it. It feels wrong… _I_ feel wrong"

A cold wind blew, giving him chill; he would imagine his mother embracing him, comforting him, saying that it was okay and she did not blame him.

"Azula shot lightning at me", Lin pulled a successful snicker this time. "It hurt."

He could literally see his mother laughing hard… oh, so hard she would probably fell down and rolled all over the ground clutching her side.

"Yeah, I probably deserve that", he said, smiling faintly; what Avatar Serra had said and he had been ruminating on came next. "I don't know, Mom", Lin fidgeted uncomfortably. "I mean… yeah, I care about Azula but… not in _that_ way. I don't know…"

He grew silent. His mind drifted from trying to find words to express his thought to thinking back at the time he had spent with Azula… her sulking because he would not tell her his name, her pouting at him not wanting to teach her more firebending, her getting annoyed at him teasing her, her snuggling up to—

Lin quickly shook the thought off. If his mom had been alive and able to see his thought, she must have been smirking wide.

"Cheap shot", Lin grumbled, as if Lian was responsible for that thought. "Besides, Azula clearly said that she thinks I'm not marriageable. She said it would be like marrying a cousin."

Still a little miffed, Lin reached out to his mother's headstone and caressed the part that bore her name. By the will of the spirits, it came to him… the life the man who did exactly that a couple of nights ago, caressing the headstone, the part that bore Lian's name, had shared with the deceased.

The apple tree by the fountain the fountain, the gruel with raw egg and the flu, the flowers, the moment near the fountain where his mother was very ill…

All of it…

"Oh… my… freaking… Agni…" Lin had never felt so horrified before in his life. He had been to the war, he had been a criminal, he had been in the presence of many dangerous men like Wuxin and Fire Lord Ozai, he had been at the receiving end of a lightning bolt, he had run into a naked girl… but, _this_ takes the cake. "What was—! You! _Mom_!"

His nearly choked on his spit, which was funny because his throat felt arid dry. He lost all sensation to his limbs and he sat down and trembled. "You and Lady Ursa… _sisters_!" which might have explained why Lady Ursa had always been nicer to him than she had been with the other children in his clan. "You and Fire Lord Ozai!" now, Lin knew why Fire Lord Ozai had always been rather cold towards him. "Oh, dear Agni…" Lin gulped strugglingly. "Oh, no…"

Oh, no… indeed…

"I'm engaged to my cousin…"

* * *

Spear strode through the red-light district, hoping to hell his disguise –some tail hair he cut from a sleeping deer-horse that he stuck to his chin and the sides of his face to imitate beard and sideburns- would fool those mean looking men enough to give him no more than that suspicious glance of theirs.

Spear regretted not taking his weapon with him.

"Hello, there", a shrill voice of the female of his species called out. Spear hopefully turned around and that hope was crushed by the sight of the caller; the woman from before did not have that beauty mark below her left eye.

"Hey, I know you", the woman's tempting smile melted into a frown. "You're that guy from the other day."

"No, you're mistaken", Spear denied with a rough voice that was not his own. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Common face, you see."

"No, I'm fairly sure…" the woman squinted at Spear's feature; the man's purposeful and intentional looking away and evading her gaze made her all the more suspicious. When she was finally convinced that her suspicion was true, she let out a sharp gasp and promptly dragged the man by the wrist away from the district.

"What are you doing here?" the woman wasted no time to hiss at the man as they arrived in the woods between the red-light district and the market district where most tourists were staying.

"I'm looking fo—", Spear barely heaved when he yelped and jumped as the woman threw a fistful of fire at his feet.

"You've caused enough trouble!" she spat. "Get out of here! We don't want your kind here!"

"But, I—"

"I'm warning you", the woman snapped before she turned around and left, still keeping angry glare at Spear. "If I see you again, I won't hesitate to turn you in to the local gang."

Spear could only watch her departure in silence; his Earth Kingdom pride was not so keen of being treated as such by a woman. But, he had caused trouble, she said… what kind of trouble?

Angrily punching the trunk of a nearby tree, Spear let the foliage and droplets of dew rain down on him.

Quelling his angry heave, banishing the lilt of her voice, the feel of her skin, the warmth of her breath, the sweet of her kiss, one that was passionate and lustful, one that was ferocious and, dear Mother, so voracious… Spear stomped his way back to the merchant district. What did he care anyway? He was the son of General How, he was a man of noble blood, he was a man of Earth Kingdom.

Why would he care about a… a…

…a _whore_!

* * *

Fire Lord Ozai stood before the door of his dearest daughter's room. Despite the darkening sky, it was still quite early. Mulling over whether or not he should enter, or knock first, or simply turn back and go away as he had done the night before when he found himself in similar predicament, Ozai took a deep breath to calm his mind.

He disliked this… being _weak_!

This went against everything he had stood for, against everything he had taught Azula. But, even one such as he bowed down to a greater force. Even one such as he was vulnerable to certain things. The silver arrow to his heart? His children. His daughter.

He was, after all, a father, was he not…?

Ozai pushed the door open.

His dearest daughter, standing in there in her nightgown, clutching a green flute…

The state she was in, the sight of her… it was a blow unlike any Ozai had ever endured before.

* * *

Biao walked into her mother's room, carrying tray of gruel and a cup of herbal tea. Bing, resting on her bed, looking out of her opened window, received her usual chiding from her doting daughter.

"Mom!" Biao exclaimed, racing as fast as she could to the window above the bed. "Mom! It's winter!"

Setting the tray down on her mother's nightstand, the girl quickly moved to close the window leaf. Embracing her smiling mother, she encased the older woman's frail body in her arms and channeled her chi to raise her body temperature.

"I didn't know you've come home", Bing said, reaching for her daughter's face.

"We got held up for a day, we couldn't find a ship and there was a storm", Biao said, rubbing her mother's shoulder. "Sorry."

"It's okay", Bing chuckled weakly, immersing in the warmth of her daughter's. "How was Shu Jing? Met any boys there?"

"_Mom_!" Biao growled, then blushed. Bing laughed.

"By the way", Biao said as Bing tapped her arms, signaling that she was warm enough. "Master Piandao's here in Imperial City."

"Really?" Bing beamed, feeling a tingle in her chest that she welcomed. "Then, we must invite him here."

"Uncle Fu already did", Biao said, moving to the tray she brought in, she picked up the teacup. "Master Piandao promised that he would visit us before he goes back."

"Oh, good", Bing sighed and coughed weakly once. "I would very much like to meet him."

"Yeah, me too", Biao smiled sadly at her mother who had to be assisted in drinking her tea. "Are you eating well, Mom?"

"Well enough", Bing replied, not oblivious to the skeptical look her daughter could not banish completely from her eyes. "I'll eat later, okay. You must be exhausted after your journey; you should rest."

"I'm fine, Mom", Biao argued softly. "I'll stay with you, okay."

Bing shook her head lightly. "No, sweetie", she said. "Maybe you can go to the night market or something, go have fun."

"I don't need fun", Biao argued again.

"And I also need you to pick up something for me", Bing added kindly. "It's new year soon."

"Flowers?" Biao asked knowingly.

"Yes", Bing nodded. "I think I'm fit enough to visit your Aunt Lian this year."

"Okay", Biao grumbled as she reluctantly rose up. "But, you better eat. I want this bowl empty when I get back."

"Of course, dear", Bing smiled fondly. "Remember, potted flowers. I should like to arrange them myself."

"I know", Biao leaned in and kissed her mother on the forehead.

As Biao walked out and closed the door behind her, Bing reached out to the window and was about to open it again; the sky was beautiful that night.

A hand halted the window leaf from opening.

* * *

Spear traded his silver and cooper pieces with some sticky rice cake with little to no attention; he did not even hear the peddler calling him because he had forgotten his change. Shoving the package into his bag that already contained dried meat, salted fish, and fresh fruits, Spear absentmindedly navigated through the crowded night market. He stood out, being the only one wearing a thick cotton coat that was definitely part of the Army uniform; the color was red of the very deep kind which, like the rest of Fire Nation Army uniform, had the sinister purpose of masking bloodstain.

Not that Spear actually noticed the curious look he was being showered with.

Why would he care about some prostitute who had drugged him and left him in a seaside cave? She did not steal any of his belongings, granted, and she even gave him an apple, but still…

He was the son of General How of Earth Kingdom, for goodness sake! Imagine the taint he would bring to his family name and his country if this got out! That he was drugged by a Fire Nation prostitute!

That he might have fallen for—

_No!_ Spear violently shook his head. This is not love or affection, he scolded himself. This is… _lust_, maybe, or passion… fleeting, unreal, temporary passion. Or… _lust_. This is not real.

Besides, Spear sighed to himself. There was another reason why he should not purse anything like this. With anyone!

Sure, Spear Haoren had flirted with each and every female personnel that had come through the 44th Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital and then some, but none of that had ever escalated to anything more than simple exchanges of playful flirtation, or at most a romantic picnic in the meadow a mile behind the hill overlooking the camp under the crisp warm afternoon of late spring.

None of it was serious.

This one… Spear could neither confirm nor deny its meaning to him.

_She's a prostitute!_ He mentally screamed at himself, picking through fresh nuts from a nearby stall. He gripped the scoop he was using too hard, the cracked the hollow handle of the bamboo instrument. Muttering his apology, he quickened his shopping and paid the merchant extra without asking for his change.

Striding quick with his burden, he tried to chase those eyes that bore the color of sunset away, that skin that bore the color of snow and the smooth of velvet out of his mind, those lips so soft and inviting, and the feel and taste of them so gentle and sweet like the morning dew… _away_ as far away as possible from his mind.

The effort made him stumble down, tripping on a pothole. Ignoring the stare the market gave him, and the embarrassment of such occurrence, Spear quickly picked up his spilled groceries back to his bag. Getting up, he quickly paced towards the inn, deciding that he had gotten enough food for the rest of their journey back, ignoring each and every eye of the Fire Nation people.

People of the Nation that had caused him so much grief.

He did, however, noticed Lin's face on the crowd. Frowning, Spear approached him furiously and tapped the boy's shoulder. "What are you doing here, Lieutenant?" he hissed gravely at the boy who looked back at him, looking more confused than astonished.

"Um… yes?" the boy frowned deeply at Spear. It was the voice that hit Spear's consciousness first; the high-pitch voice of a child. Then, the rest of it rushed into his perception… the boy's dark brown hair, not jet black, his amber eyes, shades of a bit darker, his height and built, a wee bit shorter and thinner, and of course, the most obvious of all, the hairstyle and clothes, top-knot and _not_ a robe. If only the boy was wearing his armband instead of keeping it in his pocket like any of his clansmen would do when they were mingling with the peasants, _that_ would probably hit Spear too.

"Hello?" a young girl of early twenty called next, coming out of the florist store with a few potted white flower. "Is there anything we can help you with?"

Spear felt color leaving his face, chill invading his spine. When he told this story to Trik later on, he swore that his mind had no control of his mouth and this was what happened next.

"Lieutenant", he hissed, looking around as if wary of eavesdroppers. "Your order has been carried out. I have secured some food supply for the top secret mission in which we will train iguana-seals to fight earthbenders in naval battle, sir. Here's a little sample."

He picked a red grape from his bag and dropped in on the bewildered boy's hand. "Long live Fire Nation."

"Um, okay…?" the boy blinked, puzzled at the man who skulked away singing. "Fire Looorrdd! My flame burns for theeeeee!" in perfect baritone.

"…What was that?" Biao asked Nise, scratching her head.

"I don't know", Nise shrugged.

"Don't eat that!" she slapped the grape the crazy dude gave his brother off the boy's hand. "You might catch his crazy!"

* * *

Bing sat up, leaning sideway on her headboard.

Lin knelt before her.

Knelt, like a repentant child.

"Aunt Bing", Lin started, warm wet eyes fixed on his aunt's knees. "I…"

He barely felt her weight leaning down on him and embracing him tightly. Agni… she had really got worse…

"I'm sorry", Lin embraced the woman back. "I'm really sorry…"

"What you did was wrong", Bing tried to scold but her voice carried tenderness instead of admonition. "Ty Fu is your father's close friend, as you are aware. And you kidnapped his daughter…"

"It's not—", the clog in his throat halted his speech. Next… oh, next it was like with Bob when Lin could not hold himself. But, more this time… from Ty Lee's running away from home, Lin just went on and on, unable to restrain himself. He ended up telling Aunt Bing about… everything.

Like a child would a mother.

Ty Lee… Piandao's school… assassin business… even his engagement to Azula… and, after an understandably curious question from Aunt Bing about what he had been up to, the 44th and the many meaningful adventures he had had with the crazy bunch. Even about his inner fire…

Aunt Bing laughed shrilly at Lin's recount of 'Seito Sweet Potato Crisis'. Stroking the boy's head on her knees, she chided playfully. "I do hope you didn't do anything indecent to his 'Bob' or 'Song' girl!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Lin asked innocently. Aunt Bing closed her eyes and winced slightly. Oh, she really needed to get Jiang to give this boy _the talk_.

"You sound different", Aunt Bing commented instead.

"I do _not_!" Lin huffed. "Why do people keep saying that?"

Bing simply laughed, stroking the cheek of the pouting boy softly. "It's not so bad", she said. "You're starting to sound like your father. He has a nice powerful voice; the voice of a leader."

"I don't wanna talk about it", Lin said curtly. He mellowed a little when he asked. "Aunt Bing, are you eating well?"

"Don't worry about me", Bing replied faintly, still smiling.

But Lin would not hear it. Turning to the nightstand, he cracked the raw egg onto the now cold gruel. Taking it into his hands, he tried to channel his bending.

Naturally, he failed…

_Please, Agni_, he felt a prick, a pain in his chest… so sharp and painful, like a dart dipped in a poison that rotted his flesh. _Please, I don't care if I can't firebend ever again. Please… just this one time…_

Seconds passed.

The warmth spread in him. It started from the pit of his stomach. Like a sunrise after a night of cold winter, the warmth –not heat; _warmth_- spread from the pit of his stomach like a rising sun. It traced itself to his limbs, to his arms, to his hands, all the way to the tips of individual fingers. Steam rose from the gruel, the yellow egg yolk hardened, the transparent mucous solidified into milky white.

Lin inhaled, or at least he intended to. He sobbed instead.

Oh, Agni, he missed this. This feeling, this sensation. Fleeting though it might be.

"Here", Lin said, sniffing hard, taking a spoon and stirred, mixing the half cooked egg into the gruel. "I won't leave until you eat everything."

He sat by his aunt side, resting the woman's frail light body against his. Circling his arm on her shoulder, he pecked the top of her head that rested limply on his shoulder while holding in his fresh sobs.

He really should have never left…

Taking a spoonful to his mouth, he blew on it to cool it down before offering it to Aunt Bing. Aunt Bing retained her brave and kind smile, but she could not mask how weak she was from Lin. Opening her mouth was clearly quite a struggle, she chewed slowly, and twice she spilled the food from her mouth.

Lin really should not have left…

"I'm sorry…" he could not hold his sobs anymore. "I'm really sorry…"

"Don't be", Aunt Bing kindly squeezed his trembling arm that was holding her tight; the force of her grip brought a measure of comfort to Lin.

"I shouldn't have left, Aunt Bing", Lin cried. Aunt Bing raised her head and let the boy dived into her chest as he often would when he was younger. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't be", Aunt Bing said again, rubbing the boy's back like she usually would. "You had no choice, Lin. You did what you did for your country. You should be proud."

Again, Lin found himself unable to stop blurting out. "Then… why do I feel so ashamed…?"

* * *

It was dark already when Azula woke up from her nap. Mai had already gone. The books and notes she brought for the Princess were stacked on the study desk. Still clutched in her hands was the green flute with red tassel.

The owner was not there…

Azula really hated winter. Winter made her weak!

She quickly jumped down and the moment her feet touched the floor, apprehension gripped her chest.

_He left_…

"_I won't leave without saying goodbye this time"_, was what he had said.

But… where was he…?

"_Now, I know I can leave you guys in peace…." _Yeah… he did say that too…

_No… no! That is _not_ true! He's still here… somewhere!_

"_I got what I came for, I have all my things with me…" _she distinctly remembered him saying that, distinctly remembered his subtle wink and smirk telling her otherwise.

_That's a lie, he said! A lie for Zuko! That's… here, look! His flute is still here… _

"_I'll see you guys… probably next year…" _he said that too_._

_No! It was just something he said to fool Zuko and Mai! _

Her head started to hurt her, her chest started to tighten so much it physically pained her, the mean voice started to taunt her… saying she was alone, she was unwanted, her own sifu lied to her… her own sifu wanted to leave her so bad… her own sifu could not stand her presence… her own sifu could not stand her foolishness… her weakness!

She was weak… she had been crying a lot and crying is for the weak!

She was angry and mad at him… she hit him, try to set him on fire, hurt him so much, even shot lightning at him… no wonder he left…

She did not want him to leave… she did not know why but she did not want him to leave…

So, when the door was pushed open, Azula turned to it with such anticipation she could literally feel herself beaming. The sight of her father coming in made her feel the rush escaping her face and the wetness that had been staining her cheeks. She was crying again and she only realized it now.

And, worst of all, her father saw it.

"Azula?" her father's voice called, coming like an echo from a great distance; Azula was startled a little by his voice; she was lost, she felt lost. She blinked rapidly, not knowing what to do, what to say…

_A Fire Princess must be strong…_

_A Fire Princess must never cry!_

_Crying is for the weak…_

"I-I-I'm… I'm sorry, F-father…" she quickly wiped those tears away. "I'm s-sorry… I-I…. I don't want you to see me w-weak like t-this…"

_A fire Princess does not apologize!_

"I'm sorry!" she did not know why but she ran. She ran to her bathroom and locked the door behind her.

* * *

Lin put down the empty bowl on the nightstand. Aunt Bing rested her back on the headboard and beckoned her nephew to come. Lin embraced her and rested his head on her chest like he was a child once more. It felt rather awkward since his growth spurt but neither of them cared.

"You are so tall now", Aunt Bing commented.

Lin did not say anything.

"Don't worry about us", Aunt Bing said, knowing full well what was going on in the head that she was currently stroking. "We will be fine. I will be fine", she accompanied the last part with a peck on top of the boy's head. "Lady Wen is taking such a good care of me."

"I'm sorry", Lin whispered resting the side of his head on his aunt's chest, taking comfort in the beating of her heart; Aunt Bing squeezed him as a reply.

He really should not have left…

"Aunt Bing?" Lin said after a while. "There is something that I want to ask."

"What is it?" Aunt Bing said as Lin emerged from her arms, noticing the discomfort in the boy's face.

"Um… I-t's about my mom…" Lin fidgeted a little, finding himself unable to look at the sadness that flashed briefly on his aunt's face. The subject of his mother had been rather touchy ever since he could remember. People, mostly Aunt Bing and his uncles and grandparents, would tell him how he resembled her, how his mother loved to prank his father, how her mother was such a kind cheerful soul. But no one would go farther than that. No one would speak of Lian's life, of what she used to do, of the details of her life. Lin had a rather vivid image of what kind of person his mother had been; he did not know much of who she really was.

"Um…" Lin bit his lip. "You told me once that you and my mom were childhood friends?"

Aunt Bing let out a deep sad sigh. "Yes", she whispered. "We were classmates, you know. Me, Lian… and Lady Ursa and Ty Lee's mother."

"Really?" Ty Lee's mom too? "Well… uh… Aunt Bing, I, uh… I have a reason to believe that my mom and Lady Ursa were…" he gulped. "…_related_."

"Oh?" Aunt Bing frowned, then she blinked and scoffed. "Of course!" she smiled. "Now, I remember: Lian was a colonial orphan Lady Ursa's family adopted. They were always together, you know. Came to school and went home together riding the same palanquin. Strangely enough, no one seemed to have the mind to ask them about it. Your mother, Lian, she…" Aunt Bing smiled fondly at the memory. "… she was such a… formidable character. When people asked her about her life in the colony or her family, she could always avoid their questions or distract them with… with jokes, or…" Aunt Bing chuckled. "…or she could just…" _cough twice into her sleeve, feigning an episode_. "She was crafty", Aunt Bing diplomatically settled with this. "She could make people do anything she wanted and she could get away with anything."

There was not as much relief or happiness in her nephew's face as Aunt Bing would expect; little Lin had always been so keen on listening about his mother.

"When your mother married your father, an artist from Shu Jing –you remember Uncle Zan Wa?-", Aunt Bing coughed a little, prompting Lin to reach for the teacup and help her take a sip. "Well, Master Zan Wa gave her away at the wedding. I asked Lian about him after that; she said Master Zan Wa was a family friend who brought her from the colony and send her to live with Lady Ursa's family."

She smiled a little, knowing full what her nephew was thinking. "And now, you are worried that you and Azula might be related somehow."

"Yeah", Lin groaned, hanging his head down.

"Aw, look at that", Aunt Bing chuckled. "My nephew's in love…"

"What?!" Lin's voice carried pitch of the higher kind, higher than he would like it to be. "I-I-I… _What?! _No! Eww!"

"You're redder than a volcano-tomato", Aunt Bing pointed out with little to no tact, not that she had to be tactful. Not that she wanted to be tactful. "And what do you mean '_eww'_? I remember seeing her at your Ceremony of Ascension. She looked so adorable back then."

"I don't wanna hear it!" Lin screamed, covering his ears.

"I'm pretty sure she will grow into a bea—"

"Lalalalalalalala!"

"—tiful young lady one day."

"…"

"…I'm done."

"I don't want to—", Lin started rather heatedly but stopped short. Well, since the engagement had been proposed by the Fire Lord himself, not to mention had been delivered and accepted, there really was no other way than to go through with it. Nonetheless, Lin had been entertaining the idea that he would think of a way out all this time.

"Lin, answer this simple question", Aunt Bing said; voice stern, face grinning, making Lin feel very uneasy. "Do you love Azula?"

"No… …yes… …maybe…" Lin gulped. Following a loud whimper, he redressed. "She's my student. My _student_. I…" the tip of his tongue had touched the roof of his mouth, ready to deliver the 'l' of the incoming word. It was harder than he thought. "…_love_… her as platonically and as chastely as and as unromantically as any sif—", he cleared his throat, realizing suddenly how he was talking a bit too fast; he set his speed to what he thought to be perfectly normal and calm but Aunt Bing and the standard of perfectly normal and calm speech followed by the rest of the world found it excessively so. "I… *gulp* ..._love_ Azula about as much as any sifu loves his (_student_) fiancée…" it was followed by an angry self-loathing shout directed at the universe. "Really! _Now_!"

Aunt Bing never knew she would get to laugh this much again.

"Aunt Bing…" Lin whined like a child, feeling very much annoyed by how much glee his dilemma brought his aunt. "I'm serious!"

"I know", Aunt Bing cleared her throat, stifling her smile the best she could. "Oh, come on…" she tried unsuccessfully to pat the boy's head; Lin dodged her hand. "If what you said is true, then it was _Lady Ursa_ who came up with the engagement, right?"

"Yeah", Lin grumbled. "Dad says so."

…

Five full seconds later.

"…_Ooooh_…"

"Yeah, that 'ooooh", Aunt Bing pinched the boy's cheek, shaking her head in disbelief. "What is wrong with you? You used to be smarter than this", then, she naturally got suspicious. "You haven't started smoking weed, have you?"

"Weed?"

Aunt Bing blinked at the angelic childlike candor, feeling a pang to her chest. "Come here", she nearly cried as she pulled the boy back to her embrace. "Promise Aunt Bing you will stay this pure and innocent."

"…huh?"

* * *

Spear walked down the hallway of the second floor of the inn with heavy steps and hollow chest. this herb hunt had been so much more than he hoped it would be: the discovery of Lieutenant Lin's Fire Nation root, which he swore he would keep a secret from General How; his newfound fascination towards the Fire Nation culture and people, which he, being a typical Earth Kingdom noble born deep inside, did not know how to deal with; and his fascination towards a certain Fire Nation… person.

_She's Fire Nation…_

_She's a prostitute…_

Spear repeated these two lines like mantras. Ethically improbable, socially impossible. Son of General How patronizing with a Fire Nation whore: a Fire Nation _and_ a whore!

_Courtesan_…

He hated himself for correcting the earlier thought. Banishing the thought of her voice… scent of rose… warmth of her skin… the passion and lust, ferocity and voracity that was her kiss…

Spear growled, gritting his teeth. Ridiculous! A man of his stature should not be feeling this way towards…

… the enemy.

What about Lieutenant Lin, then? He might be half Earth Kingdom, which is bad in and of itself, but he was also a firebender and it made things worse. As much as they tried to kid themselves, Earth Kingdom, despite its vast cultural diversity, were the most objectionable when it comes to interracial… um, mingling. Stories that had been circulating about the cruel things done to children of mixed ancestry in the name of racial purity…

Spear wasted no time to scoff at his small-mindedness. He had fought side by side with the lieutenant, the boy was his protector and had done his job well. Lieutenant Lin was not an enemy.

Spear Haoren hated the war… it made making friends so unnecessarily difficult.

When he opened the door of their room, he was greeted by a loud shriek that made him drop his bag and assumed a hand-to-hand fighting stance that imitated some kind of… bird; a crane-poodle?

"What's wrong?" he quickly asked, scanning the room for any danger. "That scary hawk from the other day again?"

"N-no", he found Bob stuttering, fixing that bandana of his. "Just, um… you startled me, that's all."

"Oh", Spear eased up, picking his stuff up. "Have you heard from Lin?"

"No", Spear turned to the intern again; he could have sworn Bob was… squeaking.

"What's wrong?" he asked the intern. "You looked nervous."

"Nothing", Bob evaded. To avoid more awkwardness, she inconspicuously got to her bed and slept with blanket pulled all the way over her head.

Meanwhile, Spear wondered why Bob slept wearing his bandana. And also… "Hey… where did my apple go?"

* * *

"Azula!" Ozai called but before he could barely move a step, the bathroom door was slammed closed.

He feared for the worst…

Head Physician Azaya had warned him about his daughter's mental fatigue. Ozai feared for the worst indeed…

Getting out, he waved his hand, summoning a kneeling assassin out of nowhere. Talking rapidly, he ordered sternly. "Get everyone out! None of you is to be here until further notice", at the woman's nod, Ozai added with a voice he failed from keeping calm. "And get Head Physician Azaya here! No words to anyone, do you understand?"

"Yes, My Lord", the female assassin bowed before she got up and jumped off the railing of the hallway.

Closing the front door, but leaving it slightly ajar, Fire Lord Ozai strode to the bathroom door and rapped it with his knuckle more frantically than he would like. "Azula", he called. "Open this door at once!"

He heard nothing but a cry, a scream maybe… like when little Azula got stung by a stinger-crab on Ember Island, like when little Azula cut her hand playing with knives, like when little Azula tried her then nonexistent firebending by recklessly touching a flame on a candle and burn her fingers.

It was a scream of pain…

A scream that told him his daughter was in pain…

"Azula, stand back!" Ozai ordered and, yes, that too sounded more frantic than he would like it to be.

Assuming a firm footing quickly, he punched the door handle with a flame that blast a hole on it and part of the door frame. Shoving the door open, he barged in and the first few frantic seconds he did not see his dearest daughter cringing in the corner of her bathtub was like the time when he searched high and low all over the palace when little Azula got lost and somehow ended up in the far isolated corner of the palace that even Ozai was not familiar with, or when he was scouring a woods when little Azula failed to show up at dinner barbecue party on Ember Island because she had gone on a little exploring of her own and got lost in the forest all alone.

It was the fear of a frantic father…

The feat that told him he might have lost his daughter…

"Azula", Ozai tried to make his voice come out calm and collected; his voice was cracked.

Azula cringed and turned to her father with fearful eyes and pale quivering lips. "F-father… I'm-I'm-I'm not… I'm not… I'm not crying, I'm just…" she hastily wiped her tears with her free hand that was not clutching the green jade flute. "I'm just… _no_!" she cringed tighter at Ozai's touch on her shoulder. "I'm sorry…" she started to sob uncontrollably.

"Azula", Ozai knelt, tried to swallow for his throat felt clog, tried to reach out but his dearest daughter cringed away.

"I'm not-I'm-I'm not weak", Azula suddenly said with such force, desperate kind of force. "See… here, look!" she lit a flume of blue flame on her trembling palm that cast an eerie blue light on her teary face. "See! See… m-my flame, i-it's-it's blue. _See_… j-just like you wanted."

"Azula, stop–", stop _what_ exactly…?

_Stop doing that..?_

_Stop being you…?_

Ozai was much like Azula; a prodigy and genius who thirsted for recognition. Azula spent her earlier childhood envious of the gift that she did not think she had; Ozai was born a little brother to an accomplished firebending master and a war hero. Both excelled in their royal education of academic, etiquette, and politic at very young age exactly because of this: envy. Both strived to compensate what they lacked by excelling in everything they did.

Azula completed her early beginner literature (which covers the literary skills needed to be considered fully literate) at age four; a handful of children with the best and strictest of education and the keenest of intellect did at age ten. Lin and Lu Ten did at age eight, Zuko just did last year. Ozai finished his tertiary literature education at age thirteen, effectively making him as qualified as any graduate of the Fire Nation Royal College, Faculty of Modern Literature, most were in their mid-twenties.

Even with all his keen intellect and cunningness of mind, Ozai could not think of a word to say.

"I'm sorry…" Azula cringed even tighter, trembling like a scarred kitten. "You shouldn't s-see me weak like t-this…"

Ozai moved in and tucked his arms behind the bend of his dearest daughter's knees and her back; he lifted her up and carried her out.

"You will be fine", he said; still his voice cracked, matching his steps that were not as steady and even as they should be.

"I'm not-I'm not weak", Azula cried quietly, trembling still as her father set her down on her bed gently.

"Stay here", Ozai said, nearly choking himself at the pitiful state his daughter was in. "Stay. I'll go get—"

"No! Daddy, no!" it surprised Ozai when Azula shot up and clutched his robe, sobbing. "Don't leave me… please…" a hopeful beam dawned on her face, clashing very heartbreakingly so with her trembling palm on which her _perfect_ blue, _perfectly blue_ flame was lit once more. "Here, look! My flame is not… it's-it's _blue_! See! So, don't… don't…"

"Azula, enough!" it was supposed to be an order! But, it came out sounding like a plead. "Enough", Ozai waved her flame off with a hand that was also trembling.

"Daddy, don't leave me…" it was the very rare moment when Fire Lord Ozai could not even begin to think of how he should react; Ozai could not even begin to think how he should react to his dearest daughter latching herself onto his waist, crying uncontrollably.

"I'm not leaving", he said so strugglingly; his jaw and throat were against him in his endeavor to speak. "I'm not leaving", he repeated, practically heaving. He sat down on the bedside, allowing his daughter, his dearest dearest daughter, to embrace him tight.

"I won't leave you", he said again.

Even his eyes were against him.

* * *

"I really don't understand, Mom", Lin said as he set down his two burning incense sticks on the carved hole at the base of of Lian's gravestone; this time he brought flowers and his mother's favorite cookies. Aunt Bing asked Ning Ma, who was now her personal maid, to provide these. "My life is really complicated nowadays", Lin sighed lethargically.

He closed his eyes and offered a silent prayer.

"I'm really tired", Lin opened his eyes. "Just like Serra said", he smiled a bit. "And I'm scared."

He paused for a second.

"I don't think I'm strong enough", Lin admitted ruefully. "I can't trust General Iroh anymore. After everything… _I should have known!_" Lin snapped suddenly. "I mean, after Ba Sing Se—"

He stopped himself. The topic of Iroh and his decision to give up Ba Sing Se, his mind had declared it a taboo.

"You know, Mom", Lin looked down to the earth, avoiding the headstone. "Sometimes, I… sometimes, I sort of… hate you", he bit the inside of his mouth. "You left me before I even get to know you. It's not fair."

He braved himself to look up but his gaze held for no longer than a second.

"I guess that must be how Azula must have felt, huh?" he pondered. "After Lu Ten and Lady Ursa. And now, General Iroh too; only it's worse this time. He's still around."

What came next was hard for him to say.

"I want to kill him", such coldness in his tone, such heat arising from the pit of his stomach, one that sickened him. "He has brought nothing but pain."

Nothing but pain…

"But, Zuko needs him", it was even harder for Lin to admit this. "Zuko has no one else to count on", even Zuko said so. "The Fire Prince you… -seriously, _Mom_, we'll talk about this one day- the Fire Prince you once knew is… he's changed. But… I don't know…" Lin squeezed his eyes shut, feeling really really tired and confused. "Fire Lord Ozai seems… nice... …enough."

He really did…

"I think", Lin shrugged. "I think Azula was right; her dad loves her. At least, enough to ensure her wellbeing and that she will be cared for when I'm gone again."

Which brought Lin to another topic.

"I'm worried about Aunt Bing", he said quietly. "Keep her safe, please."

He offered his mother another moment of silence.

"I will do the right thing, Mom", Lin rose and put his hood on. "I'm not a kid anymore, so you don't have to worry about me, okay."

He really was not a kid anymore…

"Not sure about the engagement, though", he shuddered and it was not because of the weather. "She thinks I'm icky anyway", Lin snickered. "Well, we'll see about that. Just so you know, I'm very pessimistic about this."

That he was…

"I hope I can come back next year", Lin bowed a Fire nation bow. "I love you, Mom."

Like a shadow, he was gone.

* * *

Azula… his dearest daughter…

Truly, she was…

He sat on the bedside, resting his back on the headboard. His dearest daughter put her head on his chest, trembling still but slightly, sobbing still but quietly. She knew he despised tears, he despised weakness.

He knew she was afraid of him…

Rare moments indeed when Fire Lord Ozai would evaluate his past doings and found them wanting, wrong, flawed, _imperfect_. What kind of father is feared by his children? He asked himself this. Not even Azulon had been feared by his children. _Hated_, yes, but never feared.

At their first stages of childhood, Ozai, much like Iroh, adored Azulon, admired him like he was a living god. Fire Lord Azulon… the most powerful man on earth he was their father.

In their teenage years, they were wary of him on account of the way they were brought up, the way Azulon despised— no, _loathed_ weakness, on account of how far Azulon was willing to go to make his children strong! In quite a tender age, Iroh and Ozai had committed atrocious things in the name of their father, for the sake of making him proud, for the sake of earning his approval. For the sake of being strong…

In their early adult years, after spending time in the warfront, after spending time learning about the ugly side of the world, Ozai, much like he knew Iroh was, was grateful for Azulon and his brutal love. Because, brutal though his love, Azulon made them strong.

Iroh loved and respected Azulon.

Ozai loved and respected Azulon more.

So much more that when every single thing he did to please his father were eclipsed by Iroh's definitely less heartfelt way of showing his love and respect, simply because Ozai was a second son, a spare prince, it bred disappointment like none other.

Azulon had not been a good father.

But, even so, his children did not fear him.

They respected and loved him and grew to be disappointed of him eventually, but they had never feared him, never truly feared him.

And, the truth of the matter is Azulon had never loved his children the way Iroh and Ozai loved theirs; though, the siblings had their own ways of showing their love.

Lu Ten had been pampered as a baby, much like Zuko and Azula had been, yes.

Growing up, Lu Ten were given much leniency, much like Zuko and Azula, yes.

However, Lu Ten had also been born lucky. Everything came easy for Lu Ten: firebending, academic education, etiquette training, political study. Fire Prince Lu Ten could run around naked like a swallow-monkey for all he cared; he deserved all the leniency, all the privilege, all the good things that came his way. He had earned it.

Zuko was not born lucky. He had to struggle, he had to push himself more, he had to fight harder. Being set under the shadow of Lu Ten and the high bars the older Prince had conquered only made it worse.

Azula was born lucky, just not a firebender, as everyone, including Azulon, had mistakenly believed. Azulon had despised that _weak_ baby girl; Ozai had named her after him as a show of respect and Azulon despised her. Azula excelled at everything she had done, a true prodigy in her own right. And Ozai loved her for that; truly, he did.

Azula might look like the splitting image of her mother but Ozai saw himself in her.

A second-born, an 'inferior' to an elder brother, and, most importantly, a fighter.

Oh, yes… Azula was a fighter like her father.

If only Ursa had seen it too.

_Ursa_… Ozai smiled sourly. If only she could see thing his way.

Azula shouldn't force herself too much, Azula should not play around with fire, Azula should not play around with pranks…

If Azula could not do any of those, what would she do, then? Sit around and do nothing? Like a caged bird… Bah! His dearest daughter was not a caged bird! Never a caged bird!

Ursa had been too blind, Ursa had been too busy coddling their children with… with _weakness_ to see it!

Ozai had pushed Zuko hard in firebending because Zuko needed to be strong!

Ursa saw it as Ozai being a cruel father.

Ozai made Azula's tutor hasten her academic study without consulting with Ursa first because Azula needed it and could handle it!

Ursa thought Ozai was secretly punishing Azula for not being a firebender as many had mistakenly believed.

It was the one thing he resented the most about Ursa: that she, the mother of his children, thought that he would so something like that, that he would punish his children for something that was beyond their control.

Ozai loved his children; especially his dearest daughter. Ursa and the rest of the world were simply too blind to see it.

He pushed Zuko hard in firebending because Zuko could not afford to be weak; a Fire Prince, a firstborn, and a grandson of Fire Lord Azulon could not _afford_ to be weak!

When Azulon ordered the boy's death, Ozai were to do the deed himself with a poisoned knife. Ursa had called him a coward and a monster; Ozai simply wished for his son to die by his hand rather than by the blade of some no-name assassin on Azulon's order, and a poisoned knife? No son of Ozai shall die by fire wielded in such wicked intention and cowardly manner; no son of Ozai shall die by fire that has no honor! And his poisoned knife would kill quickly and painlessly. Ozai's hand would be stained with the blood of his firstborn but Zuko would die with honor.

He pushed little Azula hard on her study because Azula needed something she could be proud of; a flameless Fire Princess needed something to win her favors and respect from her subjects and, most importantly, _use_ and _worth_ in the eyes of Fire Lord Azulon.

When Ursa confronted him about his decision to add more load to Azula's study, he had told Ursa about how Azula had too much free time and spent most of it watching Lu Ten and Zuko's firebending training, which might not do very well on her self-esteem, or finding dead animals to put in Zuko's room, which was not a good thing comparatively speaking. Ursa had apologized; he had smiled and said he understood. Ursa had urged him to let up a little on Zuko's firebending training, he had urged Ursa to try better at keeping little Azula company when he was training Zuko in firebending. Neither of them did what the other had suggested.

Ozai loved his children, especially his dearest daughter…

But, somewhere along the line, his love assigned the mask of cruelty and bred fear.

He did not understand why. Everything he did, he did for his children, for the sake of making them strong, for the sake of giving them worth in the eye of Fire Lord Azulon. It was just that... after Fire Lord Azulon died, Ozai had done what he did for so long he had forgotten how to be a father he once had been. And, without Ursa by his side, he had no one to tell him how.

Everything he did, he did for the sake of making his children strong. Even this… _rivalry_ he instigated between the two. Where Zuko had honor, Azula had pride. He encouraged Azula to flaunt, to gloat her superior talents to Zuko. Zuko's honor would not stand it if his sister, his _little_ sister, outdid him in anything, especially firebending; it would give him drive to fight harder, to grow stronger. Azula would have the pride of a victor at first and Ozai knew she would do anything to retain it; Zuko catching up would be a force to keep her on edge, to keep her going further and further, to soar higher and not stopping.

See, Ozai loved his children, especially his dearest daughter… in his own way.

Even when she was that flameless little girl who would eye even a candlelight with such bitter envy. It hurt him, you know, that her daughter felt such pain of longing for the gift no one thought she had in her. Ursa thought Ozai was secretly punishing his dearest daughter… How could she?!

Ozai was proud of his dearest daughter. Even then!

His daughter was a flameless Fire Princess? So, what?! She was a genius whose keen intellect and fierce determination would put many older more qualified scholars to shame. Ozai was the father of such academic prodigy; what to feel but pride?

True, he valued his dearest daughter's prowess in firebending above all else now, to the point that he… trained her in a way Azulon had him and Iroh; that cruel brutal method. But, it was all for the sake of making her strong. Azula was his dearest daughter. He wanted only the best for her.

And he was proud of her. Always had…

Ozai felt a light tug on his chin. Looking down, he saw Azula's hand lightly pulling his long beard she had been absentmindedly twirling for a while.

"I used to do this when I was a kid", she said with a ragged voice, giving her father's beard another light tug.

"Whenever you were upset with me", Ozai added, smiling. Yes, _smiling_. But, just a little. And very briefly.

"Did it hurt?" Azula asked, tugging a little again.

"No", lied Ozai. It kinda hurt, actually, especially the strands around the corner.

"I'm sorry", it was the barest of whisper. "I'm sorry, Father."

_Father_, she called him…

She cringed and trembled again despite Ozai's arm embracing her and his other hand stroking her hair. "I'm sorry", he heard his dearest daughter sob. "I-I know I shoul-I shouldn't cry. B-but, I'm not weak…"

"I know you're not", Ozai could not stop himself from saying this.

"A-and I shouldn't apologize", he felt her tensing up; he did not why it bothered him so much, he did not remember why it could bother him so much. "A-a Fire P-princess should never apologize."

"You are my daughter", Ozai said, proud of the stern of his voice. "You are my daughter", he repeated. "Do you fear me, Azula?"

She did not answer; he had expected this.

"You are my daughter, my dearest daughter", Ozai said, lifting his daughter's face up by the chin so she could know that it was okay to look at him. "A Fire Princess must never be weak", stern and firm. "But, you are my daughter", he said again and would do so again and again if needed be. "You are my daughter and you can…" oh, Agni… such struggle… To Ozai it was like hearing someone else using his mouth, his tongue, his throat, his voice to say. "… you can be weak with me. You can be weak, you can apologize, you can cry with me if you want to."

"I don't want to…" it brought something that Ozai had truly forgotten how to react to. "I don't want to, Father", his daughter whispered. "I have to be strong… I don't want to cry anymore. I don't want to be weak…"

No, Ozai could not even begin to think how he should react to this…

He wiped those tears away; he remembered the last time he did this and he could not believe how different it had been. The last time had been that… firebending training where he warned his daughter against crying. _This will be your last tear_, Ozai had said to her, lifting a finger stained with her tear.

"You know", Ozai swallowed his… contempt for the tears, masking it with a smile, a brief and small kind. "Here", he traced his finger along his dearest daughter's brows. "You have your grandmother's eyebrows."

Azula smiled weakly. "How was she like?"

"I don't remember", Ozai admitted softly. "She died when I was young."

"Must be family tradition", Azula whispered gravely. Ozai did not know how to feel about this too.

"Dad", his dearest daughter called again after a few while; her voice was once again that of deep anguish. "W-will Mom ever come back?"

Oh, Ozai did not know how to feel about this. He did not want to even feel about this.

"I don't know", he simply said.

"I am not weak", there was force, edge in his dearest daughter's voice. "I'm just… tired."

"I know", Ozai forced himself to say, effortlessly leaned down and kissed his dearest daughter on the forehead and stayed there. "My daughter is not weak."

"I'm not weak…"

"I know."

* * *

Head Physician Azaya was waiting by the door outside. She had come, checked up on the Princess just for show, and concocted a sleeping draught she mixed in the bowl of gruel that Fire Lord Ozai was currently cracking an egg onto.

Ozai brought the gruel from Azula desk to her bedside where she was currently dozing off, trembling still. He put the steaming bowl on the nightstand and gently pulled his daughter to his arms, resting her weak figure against him. He reached out for the bowl and Azula saw a half cooked egg on top of it; a childhood memory sparked.

"You made this", she said weakly. "You used to make something like this when I was sick."

"You are not sick", Ozai chided a little. "You are tired", then he scoffed a little. "And I've told you not to skip meals."

"I'm sorry", Azula sniffed from the sanctuary of her father's embrace, watching the white and yellow of the egg swirled and mixed into the steaming gruel.

"You are not a child anymore", Ozai said, scooping a spoonful to his mouth and blew on it to cool it off. "You ought to be able to take care of yourself now."

"I'm sorry", Azula said again, turning away from the spoon.

"Azula, eat", Ozai said sternly.

"I can eat by myself", his daughter said, unlatching herself from him, clutching that green jade flute she had not let go of the whole time closer to her. "You shouldn't do this. You're the Fire Lord, not a servant."

"I'm your father", Ozai argued, staring deep into those amber of his dearest daughter's. "And, only for my dearest…" he pushed the spoon closer to her mouth.

His dearest daughter gave a weak smile before she opened her mouth. She chewed slowly, leaning sideways on the headboard.

"You know what you need?" Ozai started another conversation, blowing the second scoop. "A vacation."

Azula winced at the mention of that word.

"What's wrong?" Ozai asked, intrigued by this reaction; the Azula that he knew had never been one who shrunk away from any opportunity to leave the confinement of the palace. "You'd like Ember Island. It's bound to be warmer there."

"I hate Ember Island", Azula hissed, taking her second spoon rather forcefully.

"Oh, good", Ozai sighed a relief, which in turn intrigued Azula. Giving the third spoon, he added rather begrudgingly. "I would not feel comfortable sending my daughter on a vacation without my supervision to any place where she gets to wear bikini."

Azula nearly choked on her food.

"Is that why you insisted on that beachwear that comes with a skirt that one time?" Azula accused.

"Yes", Ozai grumbled.

"Father, I was _four_!" Azula huffed.

"I don't care", Ozai said stone-faced. "No more Ember Island."

"You can come with me", Azula suggested hopefully, resting her head on her father's shoulder.

"You know I can't leave the palace so easily", Ozai adjusted his dearest daughter into his arms to ease his movement.

"I know", Azula grumbled. "Then, I don't want any vacation. Ever."

"Maybe…" _I can get someone to go with you_. Ozai thanked the spirits he was able to stop himself from saying this. It could make Azula suspicious that he knew that she had been in contact with a certain _someone_ these past couple of days, even had that certain someone sleeping in her room at some point after striking that certain someone with lightning. It could make things awkward and she did not need that right now. "Maybe", Ozai cleared his throat. "Li and Lo can go with you. You can also take that friend of yours who lives next door."

"No", Azula said stubbornly. "I don't want to go anywhere without you."

"Might as well", Ozai sighed. "Again, with the… beachwear and—", he stopped, letting his dearest daughter giggle and tug his beard lightly.

"I'm sorry, Father", Azula whispered, sounded solemn but sincere. "I'm sorry I'm weak right now. But, I won't be for long. I promise", she sat up straight and looked at her father in the eyes with determination. "I will be strong, _stronger_. I will make you proud."

Ozai had forgotten how to feel about this. He remembered how react to this, though; a kiss on the forehead and a. "I already am proud."

* * *

Head Physician Azaya surmised that it was midnight from the position of the moon that was but a stain of a misty silvery light on the thick cloud hanging above the dark sky. She still wondered how in the name of Agni Princess Azula could come to have that white and black beaded bracelet on her left wrist the Head Physician took notice when she was checking the girl's pulse and that green jade flute with red tassel the woman knew had once been Umma's. She yawned a little and was startled by the door opening. Quickly regaining her composure, she bowed formally to her lord. Ozai closed the door behind him quietly.

"She's sleeping", he said. Head Physician Azaya was about to say something but Ozai held out a hand. "Come out", he ordered to the hallway.

From behind the beam in front of them, walked out a boy in a dark hooded robe.

"I know that the Royal Family has given you this sole authority", he said coldly to the boy who knelt down and bowed. "But, this will be an exception."

Turning to Head Physician Azaya who looked alerted at Lin's sudden appearance and the lack of violence that ensued, Ozai announced. "This young man is betrothed to my daughter and has been so for the last three years. I believe that it will not be a breach of your oath as a physician to divulge all the necessary information regarding my daughter's condition to him. However…" he added menacingly. "This engagement has been treated as classified information and it will remain so. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, My Lord", the woman bowed.

"Good", Ozai growled. Then at Lin, he ordered. "Get up."

The moment Lin did, Ozai grabbed his neck, lifted his whole being up, and slammed him to the nearest wall. Hard.

"Listen to me", the Fire Lord seethed; unlike the startled Head Physician Azaya, Lin could not see his free hand crackled with tendrils of white-colored lightning. "There are no guards or servants in this quarter. You will stay with my daughter, keep her company until she gets better. But, I'm warning you—", words clogged up in his throat but his tightening grip spoke volume. Roughly, he swept and threw the boy to the side, to the direction of Azula's room; Head Physician Azaya dashed to him and tried to catch him, stumbling with the boy to the ground for her effort.

And no, Ozai did not know how he should react to the boy who, against his expectation, calmly assumed his kneeling kowtow, astonishing even the old Head Physician.

"Thank you, My Lord, I will", the boy said, choking in his own cough he was holding.

Ozai opted for storming off, letting torches that he passed along the hallway on his way out burst to life. There was such force radiating from him; servants and guards whom he walked pass by as he exited Azula's quarters cowered at his wake. He arrived at his door; his attending servants caught the murder in his eyes and quickly cowered to the ground. He entered his room and closed his door. He wanted to slam it but he did not.

He breathed deeply, closing his eyes.

He too was tired…

Ozai took off his robe; stains of his daughter's tears were there. He remembered the last time this happened. He had burnt his robe. He burnt this robe too.

And his bed.

His desk.

His chair and table.

His couch.

His closet.

His walls when he ran out of things to burn.

Inside the rabble that few minutes ago had been his room, a father screamed; pillars of flame erupted from his screaming mouth and clenched fists.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

All hail Daddy Lord Ozai!

I might have humanized Ozai too much here… I should stop… but I can't… Oh, the temptation to go AU with good Ozai and a functional Fire Nation Royal Family.

So, Bob. The fake name is homage to two characters from the British comedy series '_Blackadder'_. In two of the seasons, there were two characters, both women disguising themselves as men and went by the pseudonym Bob. Interestingly, one of them disguised herself so she could join the British Army in WW I.

And here, also during his encounter with Avatar Serra, we can see that Lin is a bit old-fashioned. Might have had something with being raised by his grandparents.

The Dark Door has pointed out that the storyline has become repetitive with Azula and Lin in the same room. Yes, I do notice that. Sadly, more of that is coming. T_T

It's circumstantial though. Azula is a princess and Lin is a criminal. They can't be seen together out there, or in the palace. Azula's room is pretty much the only safe place where the risk of being spotted by someone is minimum. Also, I sort of focus more on the interactions rather than the setting. And now that Azula is unwell, I'm afraid they will get stuck in the room.

Just know that I rarely do things without a reason. I have a reason for this. :)

Hopefully, by the end of this storyline, the reason will be clear. I'm still trying to find a way to incorporate it in the story more explicitly. It has been alluded several times, to be honest, but I did it rather subtly. Anyway, they won't stay in the room all the time. There will be time when they'll get out too. But, yeah, they won't get anywhere outside the palace (mostly).

Anyway, thanks again to the Dark Door for pointing this out. :D

To OwlFeather13, thanks for the review, snowman! Unmentionable… oh, well, you know… different culture, different era. :D

Nah, Lin's firebending is still messed up. More about it in later chapters. :)

And your review made me realize something. Lin does have a lot of visions about girls, huh? Hmm… puberty, anyone?

To war sage, thanks for the review!

And to anonymous guest, thanks for the review and the compliment! Enjoy the chapter. :D

As usual, the next update might be a bit late. The chapters from this one until the end of this Book will be connected by some hairline thin strings of events so, just to be safe, I have decided to keep a two chapters distance between the update and the chapter I'm currently writing.

I think that's all for now.

Have a nice life!


	93. Chapter 92

**Chapter 92 – Not Okay**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

_Time is such a fickle little thing. It moves forwards, said a sage once. Forward, onward, never stopping, never ending. Pace even, flow steady, flight never ceasing._

_And yet, it seemed like time had stopped in the meadow under the heavy rain. It seemed like time had stopped around the spearman and the swordsman and the pellets of rain falling down from the heavens. The two warriors themselves, to the two of them, time had stopped around them, but slowed down for them. As their weapons clashed, time slowed for them. _

_Time is a fickle thing. It flows onward, never ceasing, never stopping. And yet, for the spearman and the swordsman… time had stopped._

_The green and gold spear slammed downward; he raised his sword to block it and, at the clank of the collision, shoved it aside. His blade, now on top the spear, moved swiftly as it slid in an arc, slashing dangerously close to the spearman's neck; the spearman jerked his head backward and, spinning, delivered a sweeping blow the swordsman leaped over with sheer superior athleticism and a sideway flip._

_Landing on a crouching position, like a wolf, the swordsman slashed at the spearman's legs; the latter leaped backward, spreading his legs wide in a split, and brought his spear down like a mallet. The swordsman rolled away; the spear's shaft hit the ground, sending splashes of rain water everywhere._

_The swordsman pushed himself up with one hand, assuming a stance defensive in nature. The spearman regained his stance as well, also not too eager on the offensive._

"_I thought you have—", the spearman shouted over the pouring rain; his desperation gave way to another kind of desperation, a sadder, angrier kind. "I thought you are one of us!"_

"_I am!" the swordsman shouted back, jerking his head to the side a little to flip his wet hair off his eyes. _

"_You're a traitor!" the spearman screamed. Anger and nothing but anger this time…_

"_I'm one of you, aren't I?" the swordsman screamed back with equal rage. "So, _yeah_! I'm a traitor!"_

_The spearman, clenched his jaw, gritted his teeth; anger, yes… anger and pain._

"_Do you think this is easy for me!" the swordsman screamed again. "Do you think I want this?! Do you think I want any of this?!"_

_The spearman screamed his battle cry as he twirled his weapon and dashed forward; the swordsman too dashed to meet his opponent but with less flourish in his simplistic stance. _

_The force behind their colliding weapons was more than before; they each staggered back, their weapons vibrated from the collision as if refusing to clash with each other, reflecting the souls of their respective masters. _

_Their respective masters fought on anyway. _

_The sword slashed quickly and rapidly; the spear blocked each and every single blow. Locking weapon, the spear pushed the sword back. Leaping forward, they both clashed again. _

"_I trusted you, I protected you", the spearman hissed. "You are like a brother to me."_

_The swordsman grinned. It was the grin that the spearman knew well; one that bore no ill will, one that was sincere. _

"_Thank you", the swordsman said earnestly; grin turned to a snarl as he roared and pushed the spearman backward._

_They leaped at each other… the sword slashed and the spear thrust. Thunder roared at the collision of weapons that never happened. _

_A gush of red stained the green grass below their feet. _

_The spearman roared once more as he raised his green weapon and brought it down like a mallet._

* * *

The dull pain on his skull woke him up, the subsequent blow his hand instinctively blocked roused him up, the third blow on the same spot of his forearm made him cry out. "_Azula_!"

"I said you can't sleep down there!" was accompanied by another angry blow of the green jade flute that had once, according to a certain Tiger Hawk, cracked an Earth Kingdom soldier's skull.

"Stop that!" Lin cringed on the floor, still getting beaten. "I'm not sleeping, I'm—", Princess Azula had the courtesy of letting up on her attack to allow her dummy sifu an explanation. "… meditating."

—whack—

"You were SNORING!"

"I do _not_ snore! You snore!"

—WHACK!—

"Sometimes I think my mouth is out to get me", Lin whimpered, gripping his hurting head with one hand while the other tried in vain to catch that solid hard jade flute he himself had once used as a weapon in the warfront; Azula just hit that shielding hand when she could not reach a more viable target. "Azula, cut it out!"

"Stupid!"

"Am not!"

"Idiot!"

"Not true!"

"Dummy!"

"Maybe!"

Azula halted her next blow, a little puzzled by that—

Growling, she dropped down on her dummy sifu and proceeded to beat him up with both the flute and her other hand. "You're doing that again!"

"Ouch! What did I do?" Lin shielded himself with his arms to no avail.

"You tried to make me laugh when I'm mad at you!" the Princess screamed, not letting out with her assault.

"Azula, that flute is a precious family heirloom", Lin groaned, sore all over, still getting beaten. "And my grandma once –_ouch_- broke somebody's head with it! It hurts!"

"GOOD!"

She gasped suddenly and gripped her head, faint all of the sudden. Azula grunted and dropped her head on the bedside. Lin tried to reach out to her but whatever was causing her head to hurt did not affect her flute-wielding hand.

"Are you okay?" Lin asked, nursing his hurting hand.

"Shut up", she hissed heatedly. "I hate you."

"Azula, come on", Lin rubbed his leftover sleepiness off his eyes. Azula turned her scowl away.

"I hate you", she repeated. She raised her weapon quickly as she felt her sifu approaching; Lin promptly raised his hands in a surrender/defensive manner and slowed down his approach. Settling as near as possible but still far enough for defensive purposes, he placed a palm on his (_fiancée's_) student's forehead.

"You're burning up", Lin commented and for that he earned the honor of being hit in the knee with the flute by the Princess.

"My head hurts", she complained.

"Oh", Lin stared at her for a moment; she did look awfully pale. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not okay, dummy", Azula barked back; raising her voice seemed to be a little disadvantageous on her state because she suddenly gasped and clutched her head again.

"Come on", Lin rose a little. "Get back in the bed, sleep some more."

"I still hate you", Azula breathed one last time before she ascended to the bed rather strugglingly. "You can't sleep down there", she snapped at Lin who went back to slouching against her nightstand. "Get up here!"

"No", Lin rejected the idea curtly. "Your dad will really kill me this time. He said, and I quote", he made a scary face and used a rough voice. "_'I'm warning you'_."

—WHACK!—

"My dad don't talk like that!"

"Ouch!... Wait, what did you—"

"My dad doesn't talk like that!"

"… You need to sleep", he tried to cover the Princess in her blanket but suffered a hit on his head for it; it was weaker this time.

"Where did you go?!" Azula demanded angrily, trying to wrench the flute that Lin caught.

"I was visiting my family", _it's true_. "Give me that", Lin tried to reclaim his flute but Azula pulled it away from his clutch and held it close to her.

"Get up here", she commanded again.

"No. Your dad's scary", Lin rejected the order. "Don't look at me like that… Stop looking at me like that… sifu's order…? Azula… stop…"

"*sniff*" she even clamped her hands together and blinked several times; her lower lip was quivering too.

"Thine wish is my command", Lin sighed, getting up. "One of these days, really, it's gonna stop working on me."

"No, over there", Azula furthered her order, pointing at the left side of her bed while she herself occupied the edge of the right side.

"No", Lin replied curtly. "Scooch."

"…*sniff*…"

"You're unbelievable", grumbled Lin few seconds later, sitting on his appointed space of bed crossed arms. "Again, I must remind you that your dad is _the_ Fire Lord who—"

"Shh", Azula closed her eyes serenely, smirking weakly. "I want to sleep."

"How are you feeling?" in the darkness behind her eyelids, Azula felt a shift on the bed followed by a hand tucking her hair behind her ear and settling down on the side of her face. She smelt the faint fragrance of saffron from that hand. Azula opened her eyes and met the pair of bright amber in front of her on the head that had settled down on a pillow next to her. Taking the hand on her face, she sniffed it a little.

"You hand smells nice", she stated, sounding neutral and casual.

"Really?" Lin smelt his other hand. "Oh, that's from the incense. I was visiting my mother's grave."

Azula gaped a little. "Oh", she said, diverting her gaze. Banishing the guilt and feeling of stupidity, she declared flatly "It doesn't change anything. I still hate you."

"I know", Lin said tiredly.

"What time is it?" Azula asked, poking her sifu's chest lightly with the flute. Lin's head rose a little to get a better view of the hourglass fixed on the wall behind Azula and squinted. "One."

"Oh", Azula said again, poking the solid object inside his robe she knew was the broken pendant.

"Sorry", Lin said again.

"You didn't tell me you were going to—", Azula didn't finish the sentence; her tongue refused to do so for it would justify him and make her see how foolish she had been. And her head began to hurt more.

"I wasn't planning to go myself. I kind of just did, somehow", Lin said, reaching out to her head but Azula hit his hand with the flute. "Ow… anyway, when I got back…" he grew silent.

"I don't wanna talk about it", Azula muttered. "And don't…" too late. "…hug meeee…"

"I'm really worried about you, you know", Azula heard the crack in his voice too, just like with her father's, feeling his hand stroking the back of her head gently.

"I don't care", she started rather crossly but settled quite softly. "I still hate you."

"I know", she heard him said, felt his heavy heave on his chest.

"I thought I could make you stay one more day, since you said you were going to visit your family grave", Azula admitted slowly. "I thought I could keep you around today and you'd have no choice but do your family grave visit tomorrow", she paused and concluded with a. "Dummy."

"I've told you that I won't leave without saying goodbye", she felt the nudge of his chin on her head. "Don't you trust me?"

"I trusted you before", the fury she repressed was threatening to resurface; her head was throbbing in conspiracy with it. "Look where that got me."

"I'm sorry", he whispered. Azula felt him kissing the top of her head.

"You can't kiss me there", she said, feeling strange rush of anger surging through her chest.

He scoffed.

"Sorry", he let go a little and looked down on her face. "Who kisses you there?"

"No one. Shut up. I hate you", she declared quietly, banishing the thought of a certain uncle away, as far away as possible. He smiled and leaned in, landing a peck on her front cheek. She hit him for that.

"Hugging, I can tolerate", Azula huffed, ignoring her warm face. "But, you can't kiss me."

"Not fair. You kissed me", he smirked.

"Never happened", Azula growled again. "You can't kiss me."

"Of course, Princess", he kissed her again.

"Stupid", Azula said coldly despite the warmth she felt on the spot where he kissed her.

"Exactly", and he kissed her again.

"You're doing that again!" Azula hit him on the arm harder this time. "You're using my words against me!"

"Not true", Lin grinned. "Come on, sleep. Oh, hey at least you have some color back to your face."

"Shut up, dummy", Azula grumbled and turned around. Her sifu embracing her like he had done before, she accepted begrudgingly. Him pecking her on the temple, she retaliated by smacking his head with the flute and wiping her temple furiously. "You can't kiss me there! Ever!"

"Who kisses you here?" she felt his finger rubbing her temple gently where he had kissed her… twice.

"No one. Go to sleep", Azula muttered, snuggling her back closer to him. "Night."

"Before that", she heard an uneasiness in his tone. "Can you, please, face this way or sleep on this side?"

"Why?" she smirked a little.

"How would it look like to your dad if he came in and saw us like this; me hugging you like this and you're lying on the edge of the bed?" Lin asked and Azula nearly laughed at this.

"That you are currently molesting your Princess", she said far too cheerfully.

"Exactly", she felt him pulling her unmoving shoulder a bit. "So, come o— _oh_, I see. That's why you want me on this side."

"Yeah", she said smugly, still not turning around.

"Okay", she felt his arms tightening around her. "You leave me no choice."

She yelped a little as Lin pretty much lifted her and rolled around with her clutched in his arms. She found herself facing her study desk, lying now on the vast right side of the bed. "Stupid", she snapped lightly. "And don't do that… my head hurts."

"Sorry", she let her dummy sifu readjusted her head on his folded arm.

"My head really…" she breathed, overwhelmed by her pain; it was like having a piece of razor lodged between the fold of her brain. "My head hurts…"

"Are you okay?" she heard his concern through the veil of her pain.

"My head hurts…" she repeated faintly. She felt him gently pulling her shoulder; she lied on her back and he held her tight, hugging her head to his chest. The sound of his heartbeat was a nice distraction from the pain.

"Try to sleep", he suggested softly.

"Night", Azula muttered, turning to him and gripped the front of his garb like she had done before.

It was so easy for her to fall asleep.

Not so easy for her fiancé who was wrecked from inside out.

Lin really regretted ever leaving. And he blamed everything on General Iroh.

General Iroh had been the one who suggested that trip to Meitan; he even provided them with an unmarked ship and a pass bearing his seal.

And Lin also blamed himself.

He could have said 'no', could have just said 'no'. The trip was shortly after his return from the one year post-Ba Sing Se campaign in the warfront. Lin had been tired; he could not linger around the Royal Palace without feeling the pain of losing Lu Ten, he could not teach his students without feeling the sickening hatred for the Earth Kingdom Army, for those weird people wearing long robe and triangle hats. Hatred had begun to set in and he could not teach Zuko and Azula while harboring such dark emotion.

Iroh had come to him, inviting him for tea one evening, saying that he suggested a trip to the Earth Kingdom village of Meitan, one of the few free territories where the presence of both armies were minimal where Lin could experience the life of Earth Kingdom people without risking much. Iroh had said that understanding the good inside Earth Kingdom people would help him find closure and forgiveness. Iroh had even offered to talk things out with the Fire Lord and Lin Family representatives (Jiang had been in the warfront that time); leaving Lin to only have to pack his things and leave with Bara, Taka, and Rocky as guides and bodyguards.

It had been his first mistake: going on that trip.

If he had not gone though, many innocents could have been hurt by the Fire Nation Army…

He squeezed his eyes…

_Why can't I be evil and completely selfish, just for once…?_

Azula grunted and snuggled closer to his chest, trembling. He felt a prick in his chest, one that he had long associated with guilt. He had hurt her too.

He was not going to go through with the engagement… right?

He brought forth one argument: even after all these years, they were still strangers to each other.

Azula did not even know his name. Lin did not even know what her hobby was, or if she even had one.

So, yeah, Lin knew that she was a firebending prodigy like pretty much everyone in her family, that she was an academic genius and she could be really really mean if she wanted to, that she was not above using petty trickery or puppy-dog eyes to get her way, that she liked to prank Zuko, that…

… that she was really close with her father and, like Lin had experienced these past few days, would be the first to jump to the Fire Lord's defense when someone was talking badly about him. Lin also knew that she liked cherries and orange juice, that she was deceptively devious, that she was clever and witty and… funny…

…that she liked to read or to practice firebending to kill time, that she could practice her firebending all day like a machine provided Lin could focus her attention on him long enough because during her hyper energetic days she had the attention span of a slightly intelligent rodent but the intelligence that rivaled that of Wan Shi Tong, the All-Knowing Spirit of Wisdom and Knowledge…

… that she was beginning to learn how to shoot lightning through her fingers though the training had left her injured and she did not care about it, that she was stubborn like that, that she was proud of her firebending and would not hesitate to let anyone know it, that she was really really good at firebending and had learnt more firebending from his clan secret style than anyone outside the family had in history…

…that she sno— _purred_ in her sleep sometimes and she would beat Lin up whenever he brought that up, that she disliked the idea of Lin sleeping on the floor so much she willingly let him sleep in the bed by her side which sort of worried Lin because she would not tell him why, that she could pinch harder and more painfully than an adult pincher-crab and leave bruises of deeper shade, that she was missing a lot of people in her life but her pride would not allow her to show it, that she disliked being called 'Zula' because it was a boy's name, that she disliked being nicknamed…

…that she hated him for leaving her because she hated it when people left her and people left her a lot, that she hated it when he lied to her, that she hated it when he patted her on the head though she had not shown any signs of disliking the gesture prior to him leaving, that she hated it when Lin answered her question with cryptic vague answers, that she did not forget things, that she hated it when Lin twisted his words around, that she hated it too when Lin avert her questions or a conversation by changing the topic or answering her question with a question, that she probably hated it the most when Lin used her words against her…

…that she hated crying for she believed that crying is for the weak and that she could not afford to be weak for her father's sake, that she hated it when Lin made her angry or upset and then made her laugh and let things blow over and, while we're on the subject, she hated it too when Lin joked around about serious stuff and she hated it so much when Lin did not take her seriously…

…that they were engaged and she did not know it and she had expressed that she thought of Lin as unmarriageable because he was a trai—err, fugitive, a dummy, an idiot, a pervert, and a liar and apparently girls hate those qualities and find them unappealing.

Lin knew that she had just started wearing make-up, long nails, and perfume as a part of Fire Nation rite of passage for noble girls and he had missed that and would be missing out on more should he leave again,

Lin knew that he wanted to stay… with her.

He felt a tug in his chest that had nothing to do with her trembling and gripping the front of his garb tighter in her sleep. Lin knew all those about her but she was still quite a mystery to him. I mean, he did not even know what her hobby was, or if she even had one.

Lin wanted to stay… to keep her safe (another tug), to keep her company (another one), to make sure she would be okay (…yup, still there), to let her know that she would not be alone (whoa… a big one). Lin loved her… as deeply and as appropriately as any sifu of Azula and friend of Lu Ten would.

Nothing romantic… so, shut up, Serra!

Lin gulped a little at the prospect that they did enter wedlock one day… six years from now. Oh, the horror…

_Well, she's actually pret_—

"_Serra… shut up…"_

A part of Lin sort of regretted ever knowing Serra; every time a thought occurred to support the idea of seeing this engagement through, for some reason it would now appear in the voice of the Avatar.

Azula let out a low grunt and emerged from his chest with a deep frown and faint amber.

"Morning, sleepyhead", Lin greeted, looking down at her who was still very pale.

"Is it morning?" Azula whispered, rolling on her back with one hand on her forehead, the other still clutching the green jade flute.

"You barely slept for an hour", Lin said. "Go back to sleep", Lin took that hand on her forehead, brought it down and grasped it. "Come on", he said again.

Azula turned back to him and sleepily circled her arms around his neck and nuzzled into his neck, prompting him to tease. "Oh, are we snuggling again?" Lin teased, trying not to gulp too much.

"Shut up, dummy", she said weakly.

"Your head still hurts?" Lin asked, one hand tapping the back of her head softly.

"Yes", she sighed.

"You know", Lin cleared his throat, ignoring her breath on his neck. "Your dad choked me and slammed me to the wall."

"You probably deserved it", she huffed softly.

"My back still hurts", Lin muttered.

"Aw, poor baby", Lin could literally feel her grin. "Does it hurt here?" he felt her right hand rubbing his back.

"Yeah, right there."

—whack—

"Again", Lin said calmly with a strained voice. "That flute is considered a weapon in some provinces."

"Good", Azula said, yawning a little. "Stupid…"

"Am not", Lin smiled a bit.

"Idiot…"

"Not true."

"Dummy…"

"Okay."

She giggled slightly.

"Sleep, come on", Lin said again.

"No, you sleep first", she said, letting go of his neck. "You'll run out again."

"I won't", Lin promised. "I won't leave you like this."

"I don't trust you anymore", Azula muttered a little growly.

"Okay", Lin sat up and stretched. "In that case, can I borrow a hawk again?"

"What for?" Azula asked, folding her hands below her head.

"Gotta tell my Earth Kingdom girlfriend I'll be late for breakfast."

—whack—

"Wait", Azula called faintly, getting up slowly after him. "I wanna come to."

Lin pointed at her desk with such incredulity. "I'm just going to—"

"I don't care", she said flatly, lifting her arms a little.

Narrowing his eyes at the gesture, not knowing why the heat arising from his neck was bothering him so much, Lin said flatly. "You've got to be kidding me."

"My head hurts, I don't feel like walking", Azula grumbled; she too felt a little warm around the face.

"And if you dad comes in…" Lin begrudgingly closed in, allowing her to chain her arms on his neck while he held her on her back and behind her knees, and carried her up.

"…he'll think you're in the middle of kidnapping me", Azula said rather smugly, still weakly. "Ow… slowly… my head…"

"Sorry", Lin stifled a smile at the Princess in his arms as he added. "You're heavy."

"Am not", Azula huffed, still weakly, tapping the jade flute on Lin's head, also weakly.

Arriving at the desk, Lin sat down with Azula on his lap; the Princess did not want to unchain her arms from his neck. Reaching out to a pitcher of water and an empty goblet on a small desk at the left side of the study desk, Lin poured a little water on the goblet and dripped it slowly on a saucer of already dried ink on the table. Putting the goblet back, he picked up a small wooden ink stirrer to dilute the ink further. Dipping a penbrush in the ink with a paper ready in front of him, he began writing, not at all oblivious of Azula trying to peek while faking a sleep.

_Go on with the plan. Might be late. Won't return tomorrow_. He wrote the last part slowly and signed the letter, _44__th__ Head Security_.

Summoning a hawk with a wooden whistle, he secured the letter inside the hawk's tube and set it free, hoping to hell Spear would grow a brain and take the message this time.

"Who's that for?" he heard Azula asking, still sounding faint, as he poured her a goblet of water.

"I've told you: my secret Earth Kingdom girlfriend", the corner of his mouth curled up a little, just a little; Azula's trembling hand on the goblet he held up to her lips was a heart-wrenching sight.

"Dummy", she muttered, latching once more to his neck while Lin wiped the droplet of water on the corner of her mouth.

"You're still feverish", he wiped the thin layer of sweat on her pale forehead carefully. "I'll get some cold water and a towel for your head, okay?"

"No, I don't want it", she said, her usually alert amber eyes were droopy and tired.

"Okay", Lin sighed a little, propping his right leg up to support her back for better balance.

"Open the window", she said.

"Are you sure?" Lin asked. "Aren't you cold?"

"I am", she replied softly, almost whispered. "I don't care."

Lin mulled it over for a second and decided that fresh air might do her good. He reached out and pushed the window in front of her desk open. A draft of cool night breeze flew in, blowing her right bang across her face. Lin pulled it and tucked it behind her ear. Azula breathed deeply and did seem to enjoy the breeze; she had that faint smile on her and part of her hair flipping on her face did make her look like a delicate fairy from children's tale.

"This room needs a couch", Lin suggested; his back was pressing uncomfortably hard against the knob on the chair backrest.

"I have a couch in my spring and autumn chambers", she said; her trembling had subsided a little. She shifted a little for better position. "Hey…"

"Hey, who?"

"Hey, dummy?" she smirked wispily. "I'm not weak… am I…?"

Lin looked down, staring at her pale face.

"Look at the sky", he said, nudging her forehead with his chin. "It's a dark and cold winter night sky", Lin smiled. "But, behind it, there's a glorious sun waiting to rise."

Lin turned his gaze and gave her a faint smile. "Oh, yeah", he leaned and whispered. "I'm _deep_."

"Stupid", was her reply, looking down as much as she could to hide her blush and smile.

"Wanna go back to the bed?" Lin asked.

"Leave the window open", she said as her eyelids dropped closed. She felt him getting up and felt his light steps that barely made a sound. Azula opened her eyes and said again. "Sit there, on the floor."

He obeyed. He sat down carefully, back propped against the side of the bed, and sat her carefully on his folded left leg; his right leg were folded up to give her back support. Azula let go of his neck but still kept her head on his chest. Her head hurt her still and she curled up and shivered. He held her tight and he was warm.

"I'm really sorry", she heard him whispered.

"Dummy", she muttered, thought it would come out as a barest of whisper.

"You should try to sleep", he suggested again.

"I can sleep here", she said, clutching the flute to her chest.

"Here? On the floor like this?" she noticed mild confusion in his voice; she liked it as she had always liked playing with his head.

Azula did not answer and simply nuzzled deeper into his chest. He let up on his embrace; she felt his right hand on the side of her head, keeping it still so it would not slide over, and his left on her side, providing better support so she would not fall over.

"Aw", she heard him coo. "You're just looking for an excuse to snuggle."

"I wish I am taller", Azula opened her eyes slightly.

"Why?" he asked.

"So you won't have to lean down", she said, still fixing her gaze forward.

"Why would I lean down?" Azula smirked at the sound of curiosity in his voice.

"Lean down", she ordered.

He did. Azula looked up with that faint smirk of hers and pushed herself forward; she kissed him on the chin, the closest part she could reach. "Never happened", she declared tiredly; even such small action exhausted her and made her head hurt so much.

"I don't get you sometimes", in the darkness of her closed eyes, she felt his kiss on her forehead; naturally, she flicked the wrist of her flute-wielding hand and hit him.

"My dad kisses me there", she reminded him again, wiping her forehead.

"Sorry", he said but Azula felt his peck on her front cheek.

"You can't kiss me", she said. She did not hit him this time.

"How are you feeling?" at this, Azula opened her eyes and turned to him slightly.

"My head hurts", she griped, weak and faint. "Hey…"

"Hey, who?"

"Hey, stupid", _gosh, what's the big deal anyway_, she rolled her eyes. "Tell me a story. A funny story. I wanna laugh."

"Okay", he cleared his throat; Azula felt the corner of her mouth tingle. "An ostrich-horse, a Korkean shaman, and an earthbender enter a tavern—"

She hit him.

"Not that kind of funny", she huffed a little.

"What kind of funny do you want?" he asked.

"I don't know", she sniffed and it roused her up a little. "Hey…"

"Hey, _who_?"

"Hey, jerk", Azula growled flatly but she gulped and felt a little timid and insecure as she asked. "Are you afraid of me?"

"No", the lightness that blended well with certainty in his voice gave Azula comfort and she did not know why. "I've promised you, remember?"

"You were afraid of my fire", she said, feeling the hurt she still unknowingly clung to. "You said it was too dangerous."

"That's because I didn't know back then that it's a part of you", she felt his hand on her head pressing it to his chest gently and the lower part of his face landed on her forehead. "I was hasty and ignorant. I'm sorry."

Azula did not know if she was angry or upset or happy or grateful that he had accepted her blue flame; he was so confusing. She breathed and felt a force surging in her, a force she used to light a blue flame on the tip of her finger. Azula felt his chin grinding her forehead as he turned to the flame. "I'm not afraid anymore", he said.

Azula shifted, prompting him to lift his head from her. Turning to him a little, she brought the flame on the space between them. Breathing in, she turned to see his face basking in the bright blue light, he was staring at her serenely. Azula did not realize that she was smiling when she brought her flame to his face and touched the blue-colored fire to his cheek.

He did not even flinch.

The flame glazed over upon contact with his skin; it was warm but it did not burn.

It did not burn at all.

"Hey…"

"Hey, who?"

"Hey, dummy", her lips twitched as she traced her blue flame on his face. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For staying", Azula sniffed a little. "And… for that, I promise you that my blue flame will never hurt you anymore."

Fire Princess Azula had made many promises in her life and broken quite a lot of them. This was one of the very few that she would keep and never break until the day she died.

His eyes widened briefly. Azula severed her chi that fed her flame, extinguishing it, and leaned forward towards him, exhaling tiredly. She felt him embracing her slightly.

"What about your lightning?" Azula nearly chuckle at this.

"Doesn't count", she said, enjoying the sound of his groan.

"Please don't ever zap me again", she chuckled at this.

"That depends", Azula emerged from his chest and rested her head on his knee, narrowing her eyes somewhat at her dummy sifu. "Do you really have an Earth Kingdom girlfriend?"

"Of course not", she felt his knee shook as he scoffed. "Why, jealous?"

She pinched his thigh below her hard. "You might be a stupid lying idiotic perverted jerk…"

"Dummy?"

"…dummy", she twisted her pinching clutch. "But, you're still a noble born. As your Princess, I forbid you from dating any Earth Kingdom savage. It is unseemly and will bring shame to our Nation."

"Aw… you _are_ jealous."

For this, Azula went for his side that he had claimed to be sensitive.

"Stupid", she grumbled, not caring even if her sifu had begun making the painful noise that resembled a strangled puppy.

"Ow", she watched him groaned as she let go. "Oh, and speaking of Earth Kingdom girlfriend", Azula felt a jolt in her stomach that spread far too quickly to her chest, nearly giving her the hiccup. "I just found out that Bob's a girl", that settled into a chuckle.

Azula laughed silently, looking away quickly to hide her grin.

"You _knew_", he accused. Azula cleared her throat and turned to his flat unamused face. "Why didn't you tell me? How did you find out?"

Smugly, she asked back. "How did _you_ find out?" crossing her arms, she added. "And how exactly is it that it took you this long to notice?"

"She's really really good at hiding it", Lin seemed painfully defensive.

"I knew she was a girl at the first glance", Azula smirked; suddenly, her head did not bother her so much anymore. "You're just too stupid to see it."

"Am not", he growled, which made Azula scoff.

"Stupid", she mouthed slowly.

"Am not", he mouthed back, reaching out to her face and cupped his hand on her cheek; Azula closed her eyes and let that hand moved to her forehead. "You still have the fever."

"Your fault", she said, collapsing towards him. Feeling his face on top of her head, she said, rather sheepishly. "Don't sniff me. I smell sweaty."

"Not really", she did feel him leaving her head. "And besides, I don't mind that. I used to teach you firebending, remember?"

"Stupid", she said, smiling a bit, still feeling a little warm inside.

"Hey…"

Azula smirked at this, she returned it with. "Hey, who?"

"Hey, Azzie?"

—whack—

"Hey, Zula?"

—whack—

"So, I've been thinking about this", Azula could feel him wince even with her eyes closed.

"About what?" she asked tiredly.

"About this hugging and snuggling and kissing thing", her ears heated up at this; her chest felt a tug at: "Does it mean we're dating?"

"What?!" she gasped, cleared her throat a little for her earlier 'what' had been too high-pitched. "Ehem… I mean, _what?!_" still higher than she would like.

"Ah, good", he grinned instead. "I can see color returning to your face", and at his hand on her forehead. "Huh, the fever's still there though. Put that flute down, please. Violence is so unladylike."

"I still hate you", she said, turning her back at him and slouched using him as a cushion rather roughly.

Aside from Lin's right arm resting on his knee, his hand twirling her ponytail a little, he did not hug her as she was sure he would. Before she could stop herself, she said. "I'm cold", which was not true.

"Hey, I've been thinking", she could literally feel his heartbeat on her back as he circled his free arm around her neck gently.

"What?" she said, one hand tugging on that arm. "Careful, don't overwork your brain."

Time is a fickle thing. It flows onward, never ceasing, never stopping. And yet, for the Princess… time seemingly stopped suddenly as her sifu leaned forward, aligning his face next to hers, and delivered his next words: "Marry me…"

Azula felt breath leaving her lungs as she stiffened up at his proposal. "You know, when you turn sixteen", he added.

Time is a fickle thing, indeed. It flows onward, never ceasing, never stopping for anything at all. And yet, as Azula sat there on his lap, encased in his embrace, time had seemingly stopped for her.

Now, imagine the sound of a broken record as the flow of time returned once more along with Princess Azula's _oh_, so very dry, flat, bland, but plain and simple, also firm and bluntly conclusive. "No", as the main catalyst of the return of Balance.

"Why noooot?" it was not every day her sifu would whine like this.

"Why are you talking about marriage all of the sudden", she drawled suspiciously, shrugging her left shoulder lightly, nudging her sifu's chin. "That time too, when you were moping around about being unmarriageable."

"Well", he shifted behind her. "As you are well aware, I am the heir of the Lin Family, one of the oldest and most prestigious noble clans of our glorious Fire Nation—"

"Uh-huh."

"—and as the heir of such clan, I must have a very very very very very high standard when it comes to girls; she must be intelligent, clever, smart—"

"Those are the same thing."

"—, well mannered, have good etiquette, good looks, and a firebender but that's optional."

Azula bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing.

"But… meh, you'd do."

She snorted, turned around with a stifled smile, and began beating that dummy sifu of hers again.

"Stupid!" she hit his cringing self. "Stupid", she hit him again. "Dummy!"

"How's the head?" he grinned his usual grin.

"Better, I think. Still hurts", Azula said, returning her back on his front. "Don't joke about that kind of thing. I told you that I hated it when you joked about serious things."

"Oh, so you take this kind of thing seriously?" and… he was back.

"Nope", she denied, crossing her arms, huffing. Then, she remembered that she should be mad about something that she now remembered due to this talk about dating and marriage. "You hugged me in front of people!" she turned and hit his arm with the flute.

"Ow!"

"Don't you ever do that again!" she hit him again.

"Ow!"

"Stupid!"

"Am not!"

"Jerk!"

"Says who!"

"Traitor!"

"Fugitive!"

"Idiot!

"Not true!"

"Dummy!"

"Okay!"

"You're doing that again!"

"Doing what?"

"Making me laugh when I'm mad at you."

"But, you said you wanted to laugh."

—whack—

"And using my words against me", she added still angrily.

"I can never win against you, can I?" Lin grimaced, rubbing his arm.

"You're so… _urgh_!"

"There there", Lin laughed as his (_who am I kidding…?_) student dropped her throbbing head his way; he held her forehead with his chin. "Your fever's gone a bit."

"Shut up, this doesn't change anything, still hate you", she proclaimed and Lin took comfort in the life that had returned to her voice.

"I know", Lin said solemnly. "You know that I don't want to leave, right? That I've never wanted to leave in the first place?"

Azula did not answer, she simply turned around and rested her back on him again.

"What are you going to do tomorrow?" her question got Lin thinking.

What was he going to do tomorrow? Zuko was pretty much done; he might still have to talk to Iroh; he might also need to see Fire Lord Ozai and try to find a chance to ask…

…ask to be allowed to stay…

Azula had offered to send guards to arrest Bob and Spear, and Lin, for better or worse, did not want that to happen. Fire Lord Ozai and his vast network of spies must have known about those two Earth Kingdom in his Nation too; he might not be as hesitant in sending a contingent of guards to apprehend them.

On that note, Lin realized that he could not stay.

"I still haven't talk to your dad", he said this and decided to wing it from this. "You know, about allowing me to stay."

"I'll talk to him", Azula said; Lin smiled at her offer.

"No, you shouldn't get involved", Lin replied.

"Or we can go together", Azula offered again; Lin noticed her tone softened.

"I'll talk to him", Lin squeezed her a little. "If nothing, maybe I can get him to cut my job shorter."

"How long do you have to do this job", she looked up a bit.

"I don't know", it got Lin thinking too. Yeah… Bara and Taka had said that Byakko's initiation could take years; they were spies and the longer a spy could stay undercover, the better. "I really don't know."

"What are you going to say to him?" and it hit him. What was he gonna say to Fire Lord Ozai? Please let me stay? _Zap_!

"You can't go empty-handed", Azula warned him. "You must have something to offer. My dad only shows generosity to those who earns it."

Lin sighed deeply. He got nothing…

All this… it had started to drain him. The camp, the Earth Kingdom Army, the war, Ba Sing Se, Zhao and Hongmen Convention, spy stuff, Azula and Zuko…

His head shot up abruptly.

The camp… Hongmen Convention… the war…

Ba Sing Se…

"Oh, crikey in heaven…"

"You don't say 'crikey'", Azula commented but Lin was only half listening. "Lu Ten said 'crikey'. You say 'crapster'."

"I need to hit the library", Lin muttered.

"Already planning to leave me, I see", Azula's growl snapped his thought.

"What? No, of course not", Lin shook his head a little. "Um… hey, you said something about studying the Earth Kingdom Army Field Hospital?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Azula sighed tiredly, letting her head fall sideway to Lin's chin.

"Do you have a map of them or something?" Lin asked hopefully and baited with. "I won't need the library if you do~"

"There, on the desk", she said flatly. "One of the scrolls."

"Okay", Lin got up with Azula in his arms, much to her protest.

"Wait, now?" she frowned as she was being carried to the desk.

"I need to check something before I forget", Lin said urgently as he sat down, secured his (_fiancée_) student on his lap, and began browsing the stack of scrolls on her desk. "I have a map detailing the locations of each and every hospital units but I left it in the camp."

"I might want a copy of that map. Why do you want to check the map all of the sudden?" she asked interestedly; Lin barely heard her as his eyes scrutinized the opened map of Earth Kingdom in front of him that had spots of Earth Kingdom medic insignias dotting the map and formed some sort of line along the northern coast down to the southern provinces. "I was right", he muttered finally.

"About what?" Azula asked, peeking on the map; Lin was ignoring her still.

"No wonder Sairen How quitted the Army", Lin smiled bitterly at himself. "Look. Don't you see it?"

"See what?" Azula asked.

"Here's a hint: Hongmen Convention", Lin grinned. Azula turned back to the map and assessed it for a second or two.

"Oh, my", she commented finally. "They _are_ savages, although I do respect their brazen cunningness. No wonder we still can't pave our way back to Ba Sing Se."

"Your uncle was lucky", Lin surmised. "These units…" he pointed at several dots on middle of the line, including the 44th. "…must be newer that the rest. The three-pronged advance I put forth passed through here, here, and here", his finger traced three lines from the west to east. "The northern advance was almost entirely naval. I was with the middle one myself. The southern went through uninhabited mountain passes and Si Wong Desert", he let out an exasperated sigh. "How very Earth Kingdom", he commented bitterly at the map.

"I still don't get where you are going with this", Azula said at her sifu's slight smirk as he got up again. "Floor", she added.

"You hungry?" Lin asked instead, stopping his pace back.

"Nope", Azula replied. "Don't change the subject. I hate that."

"I heard your stomach growl", Lin snickered.

"Insensitive jerk", he suffered a pleasant flute tap in the head for that.

"Want something from the cookies tray", that Azula had prepared for Lin.

"No", the Princess nuzzled back to his chest as they sat back down on the floor. "My head hurts."

"Sleep", Lin was about to get up but she whined.

"I wanna sleep here", she said with a pout.

"Here?" Lin asked incredulously.

"Yeah. What about it?" she shifted for a more comfortable position. "I've never slept on the floor before. I wanna know how it feels like."

"You're so strange sometimes", Lin could not help but comment.

"I'm not strange", Lin felt a little wary at her slight frown.

"Night", Lin said, tucking his (_fiancée's_) head below his chin. "Sleep tight, don't let the bedbug bite."

"I'm not in bed", Lin smiled a little at this. "Hey…"

"Hey, who?" he muttered back.

"Hey, dummy", Lin felt her sigh, snickering himself. "Why do you hug me?"

"I've told you why I hug you", the corner of Lin's mouth tingled.

"No, you haven't", she appeared from Lin's arms and Lin did not like how pale she had become again. "You just made a joke about it. You called me a pillow."

"Well, I was being completely honest", he reached to her forehead and wiped beads of cold sweat forming there.

"Tell me why you hug me", she demanded; Lin did not like how faint she sounded.

"Sleep", he repeated, pulling down Azula's quilt from the bed and wrapped her with it.

"Tell me", she asked again, eyes shutting closed and head resting against the side of Lin's knee.

"I'll tell you after you wake up", Lin said, pulling the bundle of Princess into his arms. "Sleep now."

"My head hurts again", she whined. "Can I blame you for it?"

"Nope", Lin pressed his cheek on her forehead lightly, stroking her hair.

"You can't kiss me there. My dad kisses me there. You can't kiss me at all", and she concluded with. "Stupid."

Smiling weakly, Lin replied them with. "I'm not kissing you. You said that already. Not fair, you kissed me—"

"Never happened."

"—and, stupid? Not dummy?"

"Dummy."

"Sleep", Lin said again, nudging her forehead with his chin. "And besides, it's your fault for being short. I can't reach lower."

"You're a dummy", she said before sliding down to his chest. Lin gathered the rest of the quilt into a puffy bundle and set Azula down there. She was shivering rather badly.

"I'm cold", she cried quietly.

"No, you're not", he lied down and held her tight anyway. "You're just looking for an excuse to snuggle."

"You're stupid", she whispered and sobbed.

"Not dummy?"

"Dummy", she corrected. "Dummy. Dummydummydummydummydummy…*_sob_*… dummydummydummy…"

"Shh, sleep", Lin said again, hugging her, his heart rending and breaking at rapid pace.

"Why do you hug me?" she whispered again.

"Why do you want me to stay?" as soon as he let those words loose, Lin winced; Azula tapped him weakly with the flute. "Yeah, yeah, I know: answering a question with a question."

"Answer it", Lin let her hug his neck.

"I don't know", Lin said, rubbing her back. "I guess, I'm hugging you because you're cold?"

She whined.

"I don't know what else to say", he admitted, realizing suddenly that he _did_ use her words on her a lot. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts again", she complained and sniffed once. "Tell me."

"I don't know", Lin said again. "It just feels right. It feels like the right thing to do."

"It's a crime against the Royal Family", she looked up and narrowed her wet eyes suspiciously at him. "And why do you say it like you have some point of reference?"

"Run that by me again?" Lin could not help but grin.

"Exactly how many girls have you hugged?" she asked still suspiciously despite her still damp eyes.

"You sound jealous", Lin teased.

"I sound intrigued, learn to know the difference", she pinched his gut and sniffed back her leftover tears. "And you're changing the topic again. I've told you I hated that. Answer me."

"Okay", Lin sighed. "Do we count relatives?"

"Nope."

"Okay… let's see", Lin counted in his mind. "Two", Bara and Rain. "Three", Megumi. "Four, five", very scared Nurses Huang Mei and Xiao Li after Lin saved them from a squidrat that infiltrated their tent. "Six", Yoku when they had met again in the camp. Oh, Ty lee. "Seven", he shrugged. "And you, that's eight. Hey, lucky number eight."

"You're a dummy", she huffed. "Stupid."

"Am not", Lin smiled a little at her turning around and flipping her ponytail at his face. "Face this way, please."

"No", she snuggled her back closer to him for warmth. "You're a dummy."

"Not dumb-dumb?" Lin laughed a little despite the heavy lead that was his heart. "You're acting like a spoiled child."

"I don't care. I'm a Princess. I'm allowed to be spoiled", she finished with. "Dummy."

"Sleep", he whispered at her. "Night."

"Night", she yawned and tugged onto his arm that embraced her around her neck.

"Hey…"

"Hey, who?"

"Hey, Zula", she hit his embracing elbow with the flute for that.

"Hmm?"

"Get well soon."

"No, I don't want to. Dummy."

Lin felt both touched and hurt when she added. "If I get well, you'll leave."

"You can't practice firebending if you're unwell", he argued.

"I hate you", she replied.

"No, you don't", Lin sniveled. "You like me."

"No, you're icky", she elbowed him and yawned. "Night."

"Night", Lin said, pecking the top of her head. "Get well, okay. I might want to teach you something."

"Liar", she said before falling asleep.

Lin waited until her grip weakened, signifying she was deep in slumber. Head Physician Azaya had told him that Azula's medication was only to help her sleep. She needed the rest.

Peeking over Azula's shoulder a little to make sure she really was asleep, Lin reached out to the bed and grabbed a pillow. Slowly and carefully, he replaced his arms under his (_fiancée's_) student's head with the pillow. He slowly sat up and rested his back on the nightstand above their heads.

Lin felt a grip in his heart thinking about what had become of her. Azula had never been weak. Azula had the tendency to push herself to the limit, sure, but she was stubborn and driven like that; that was just the way she was. However, Azula had always seemed to be able to bounce back, to… recharge, get back to normal the next day.

Never before Lin thought that Azula could crumble like this.

He naturally suspected Lightning Generation to play a role in it. He remembered when he first witnessed Lightning Generation up close; he was a child with Lu Ten watching Iroh showing them the technique. He remembered feeling of the lightning charging the air around him, making every hair on his neck stand. It was such an intense powerful force that even adults had problem controlling.

Azula grunted a little and rolled around; Lin turned to her.

Such small delicate creature she looked like when she was asleep.

Lin slid down and lied sideways next to her facing her, resting his head on his propped hand. He tucked her left bang behind her ear. She looked so… just like any regular girl. Not that Lin had found himself in this kind of predicament often, and he was using his numerous nieces and grandnieces as references. Whoever knows that this peaceful looking sleeping girl had tamed the blue flame. Azula whimpered a little and let out a sharp gasp; Lin put his arm around her to comfort her. A part of him felt a little apprehensive that hugging her did not feel so wrong or weird anymore.

He was not sure if it was a good thing.

Lin felt her shiver a little; he fixed her blanket tighter around her. When he held her again, she settled down a little. Lin dared not move his arm. He did not want to wake her. The Princess needed her sleep.

They had never hugged before. Just a pat on the head when she behaved or did well in training, and that one time holding hands in the Fire Festival… which, now that Lin thought about how he worded it, sort of made Azula sound like a pet labradillo. _Urgh_! He mentally groaned and physically chuckled.

_Shut up, Serra_… he could literally hear that idiot Avatar laughing hard in his head.

Azula moved a little and curled herself into a tight ball, shivering. She had kept complaining that she was cold. Lin grabbed part of the blanket in front of her lightly and dabbed her sweaty forehead with it. She began heaving and whimpering; Lin was sure the drops of water near the corner of her eye was not sweat. He wiped it gently with the back of his fingers.

She cried soundlessly, rolled around, and curled tighter; her back pressed onto Lin and she turned again in her sleep and held onto him. Lin felt a sting in his chest at her snivel. Azula was never weak. Azula had always been a ball of energy that ran around shooting fire that even Lin had a hard time to keep up with sometimes; after the dark lawn where the bracelet currently on her left wrist became hers, of course. Before that, she was that little princess who had always been half-hidden behind Ursa or a nanny, or that flash of red that bolted away after a formal exchange of greetings.

Lu Ten and Zuko rarely spoke of her to Lin; Lu Ten might have his own reason, Zuko was simply following Lu Ten's example. Even if Lu Ten did speak of her, it was usually when he had to cancel on something because his 'baby cousin' needed him. Like when Lu Ten sent a hawk to cancel firebending training in Lin Family Estate because he had to teach his 'baby cousin' how to brush her teeth or when Lu Ten asked Lin for a favor in the form of a basket of ruby cherries from one of the Lin Family plantations for his sick 'baby cousin'.

Lin himself had been… well, he had been like all boys at that age: disinterested in any way when it comes to girls.

Lin put his head down, pressing his forehead to Azula's.

Azula heaved heavily once and settled down.

Lin felt a pain that he had never experienced before.

Nothing romantic, he told himself again. Azula and Zuko were like… like a connection that linked him to the memory of Lu Ten. He could not save Lu Ten. He felt like he owed it to his departed friend to keep his two cousins safe. Especially Azula.

_Why_?

"_I don't know, Serra"._ Lin thought to himself. _"Because… she's a girl?"_

_Who zapped your butt with lightning._

"_I wasn't ready that time."_

"Oh, great. I'm arguing with myself", Lin muttered.

Azula's eyes slowly fluttered open. Her tired ragged voice tried to speak. She cleared her throat slightly.

"Hey, sleepyhead", Lin greeted.

"Why are you so close to me?" she whispered, closing her eyes again.

"Because you're hugging me", Lin whispered back.

"Oh", she said, taking her forehead off Lin's and her arms off Lin's torso. "Why am I hugging you?"

"You like me", Lin joked.

"Dummy", she said before turning her back on Lin. Sure enough, a minute later, she muttered. "I'm cold."

"And I'm the pervert", Lin sniggered as he complied.

"What are you implying?" Azula asked huffily.

"Azula, you're burning up", Lin pointed out.

"So?" Azula grumbled. "It's not like I want to be sick."

"You said you didn't want to get well", Lin pointed out again.

"And?" she sniveled.

"Well, it's— ah, of course", Lin rolled his eyes. "I really don't get you sometimes."

"That's because you're a dummy", she sniveled again.

"Did you catch a cold now?" he asked, concerned of how wet her sniveling sounded.

"Maybe", she said, coughing a little.

"I'll get you some water, okay", Lin sat up; he was startled by Azula turning to him and gripping his garb swiftly. Before he could respond, however, she turned around, lied back down, and pulled her blanket up to her nose. "I'll just go over there. I won't run away", he reassured the Princess lightly.

"I don't care", her muffled voice came from under the blanket.

Nonetheless, when Lin got up and walked to fetch her pitcher of water and goblet, he felt Azula's eyes on the back of his head. When he turned around, the Princess quickly threw her glance on her desk.

Azula cleared her throat awkwardly. "Hey", she called from the floor.

"Hey, who?" Lin stopped his pace back.

"Hey, jerk", she said flatly. "Tear the calendar for me?"

"Oh, yeah", Lin sniggered his way to the desk. "This is tomorrow already", he tore the 22nd in favor of the 23rd beneath it. 23rd… He had only been back for three days. He dismissed this and went back with the water for the sick princess.

"Here", he said, helping the girl sit up against the nightstand. In the middle of pouring her water, Azula unexpectedly glommed onto his arm, nearly making him spill some water on the blanket. "See? _You_ hug _me_", he laughed a little.

"I still hate you", Azula muttered, resting her head on his shoulder with sleepy eyes. "Dummy."

"How are you feeling?" he offered her the goblet but she just gave him the puppy-dog eyes. "You're so clingy and spoiled lately."

"I'm not clingy", Azula argued, letting her sifu readjusted her in his arms. "And I'm allowed to be spoiled."

"Not true", Lin argued back lightly, tipping the goblet slowly to her mouth; her hand on the goblet handle brushed his and Lin felt how cold her fingertips were. "How are you feeling?" he asked again.

"Better", Azula said, taking another sip of water. "My head doesn't hurt so much anymore."

"Want something to eat?" Lin asked, putting the goblet away.

"Okay", Azula said, taking the piece of paper from the calendar Lin ripped. She flattened the paper and folded it into some origami while covertly keeping an eye on her sifu. He returned shortly with a tray of pastries and set in on the floor near her. Azula threw a lazy glance at it and leaned sideways to Lin, lazily draping on him.

"I am _not_ feeding you cookies", he declared after a few minutes, much to Azula's delight.

Sniffing, Azula griped not very convincingly. "Oh… my head… it hurts…"

"Oh, Agni", Lin sighed, slinging one arm on Azula's shoulder. "You said your head didn't hurt anymore."

"I said it didn't hurt _so much_ anymore", she said with puppy-dog eyes. "Pay attention."

She held her sad sad oh, so sad puppy-dog eyes against her sifu's narrowed amber until they crumbled. "Only because you're sick", he said, picking up a random pastry. "Say 'aaah'."

"No", Azula said to the fire pie, folding her paper.

"Say 'aaah'."

"No", she was not in the mood for lava tart.

"Say 'aaah."

"No", or sweet-pepper puff.

"Say 'aah'."

"Ng…" the very thought of cinnamon rod made her nauseous.

"Say 'aahh'."

"Too big", she said on the cherry cookie.

"You're picky", her sifu said, breaking the cookie into small pieces.

"I'm a Princess. I'm allowed to be picky", she huffed slightly, allowing the boy to shove a piece of cookie into her mouth; she sniffed once, realizing that she might have indeed caught a cold.

"Are you really feeling okay?" he asked; Azula noticed concern in his voice. It made her feel awkward.

She sat up straight and leaned back on the bedside, pretending to be preoccupied with her origami while she chewed the already mushed cookie in her mouth slowly.

"Say 'aah'", he sang, snapping Azula off her thought. Azula took the second piece of cookie and went back to putting her finishing touches on the origami. Done, she tucked the paper Fire Nation insignia on the ribbon holding Lin's ponytail together. Taking the rest of the cookie from his hand, she ate by herself.

"Are you sure you're feeling better?" he asked again.

"Why are you asking?" Azula asked suspiciously, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt despite the voice in her head telling her he was looking for an excuse to leave.

"I'm concerned", he reached out to her forehead.

"Liar", Azula muttered, throwing her gaze to her desk.

"Am not", Azula felt his hand on the top of her head. She let it slide this once.

"Tell me your name", she picked the flute she had put on her lap and took a sip of water from her goblet.

"Admit that you kissed me", he teased.

Of course, Azula rolled her eyes. "Okay, alright. I kissed you", she looked away, trying to ignore the heat on her face and flutter in her chest.

"Okay", he laughed… suspiciously gleefully. "My name—"

"Wait, I meant—"

"—is Lin, the twenty sixth", he raised his voice to engulf Azula's; Azula tried to hit him but he caught the flute. "Son of Jiang and Lian, the Dragon of the freaking Deep Forest!"

—whack—

"I win", he hissed triumphantly despite his sore head.

"Not fair", Azula pouted. "You tricked me."

"I did not trick you", he grinned. "You let your guard down."

"And you took advantage of it", Azula countered. "Your own student… And you call yourself a sifu."

She felt herself being encased in his arms.

"Hugging won't change anything", she said blandly.

"I know, I know", he said with that usual carefree voice of his.

"Why do you hug me?" Azula asked before she could stop herself.

"Do you ever miss me when I was gone?" he asked back.

"Answering a question with—"

"—a question, I know", he said in tandem. "Sorry."

Azula felt a peck on the top of her head.

"I said you can't kiss me there, dummy", she protested. "Answer me."

"Answer me first."

"I asked first."

"Ladies first", he said, then he hesitated. "Oh, right… it doesn't really apply here…"

—WHACK—

And when Azula realized that he was joking around.

—WHACK—

"Answer me", she said, blowing her weapon like one would a smoking gun.

"I think you broke my arm", the pathetic mass of crumbling sifu on her lap writhed.

"Good", she commented, lifting her arms over her head and stretched.

Lin sat up and, taking her left arm gently, he pulled her sleeve up. Azula followed her gaze on the bruises on her forearm.

"See what you did?" she said almost automatically with her guilt-attack.

"I wasn't gripping that hard, you know", he ran his hand on the bruises, radiating warmth that Azula found comfortable on her skin. "You really need to train your physique."

"You mean like weight training or something?" Azula asked, her eyes were following the hand that was going back on forth on her arm, radiating warmth.

"If you want to get all brawny", she smiled at this and chuckled a little at him adding. "Like your uncle."

"No", Lin said firmly. "I was thinking more about athletic training."

"Like what Ty Lee did at home?" Azula asked interestedly.

"No… well, yes, but you know, less", then he shuddered. "That girl is a freak –and I'm saying this as lovingly and endearingly as possible-. She can do handstand on her fingers!"

"Can you?" Azula asked, smirking. "Oh, hey, that's better", she said, inspecting the bruises on her arm that had all but gone.

"Of course, I can't", he frowned. "She wouldn't teach me."

"Ha ha~", Azula sang as she fixed her sleeve. "She taught me how~"

"Teach me?"

"Teach me Fire Compression", Azula smirked smugly. "And don't look at me like that. You can't pull puppy-dog eyes. You looked creepy, like a badgerfrog."

"You have to eat something else", he said. "I can go to the kitchen and—"

"No", again, Azula was unable to stop herself. "You'll run away."

"I won't", he chuckled. "Come on. Is there any way I can regain your trust?"

"No", still could not stop herself. "Trust is for fools."

_Trust is for fools_… the voice agreed.

"No, it's not", he said kindly.

"I don't wanna talk about this", Azula sniffed. When Lin showed a sign of pursuing this topic, she dropped her head on his shoulder. As Azula had expected, that stopped him.

"Are you okay?" she heard him asking.

"Stop asking me that. It's annoying", she whined.

"Give me my flute back?"

"No", she pulled the jade flute closer to her.

"You can keep my emblem again", he offered.

"No", Azula stood her ground. "I like this better. I can hit you with it."

"I'm concerned about you. I really am", he sighed.

"Stupid", she sniffed.

"You really have the cold?" he asked.

"No, I just like breathing funny. Of course I have the cold, dummy", she huffed.

"Okay", he laughed. "Come on. Let's get you warm", he wrapped the blanket around her.

"You're just looking for an excuse to hug me", she smirked, lying down. He did not hug her. "Lie down", she ordered.

"No, you're icky."

—WHACK—

"I'm not icky", she snuggled into his arms, pressing her back into his chest, shivering a little. "_You're_ icky."

"You still have the fever", he said, placing a warm palm on her forehead.

"I'm cold", Azula sniffed again. "Urgh… my nose feels weird and all clogged up. I think I really have the cold."

"You know", Azula felt him tugging her shoulder; she turned around to face him. He looked serious. "You shouldn't skip meal just to make your dad come and check on you."

"What?" Azula felt a pang in her chest. "What are you talking about?" she frowned, not knowing why she felt chill down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold or the opened window.

"Azu—"

"I don't want to talk about this", she interrupted his incoming lecture. "Shut up. I want to sleep again."

"Azula, I'm serious", he said again; Azula tried to ignore him but he held her before she could turn her back on him again.

"I said I don't want to talk about this", Azula retorted crossly, barring her ears with her hands. "Why won't you ever listen to me?!"

"I know, I know", he sighed tiredly. Azula noticed how terribly exhausted he looked.

"Sleep", she said to him, unexpectedly soft. "You look like you're about to faint."

"It's sunrise soon", he said. "Your dad might come in."

"So? Lock the door", Azula said but her hand gripped the front of his robe the moment he tried to get up. _Sending him to the door? What if he runs away?_

It must have shown in her face because he asked. "What is it?"

"Nothing", Azula fixed her gaze on her hand gripping his garb, trying not to listen to the voices; her head slowly began to hurtagain. "He won't be mad. He told you to stay, remember?"

"Yea, but he", Azula knew he made the air-quote. "…_'warned'_ me. I don't think he'd appreciate it if he found out that… um…"

"'That… um' what?" Azula felt glee returning to her mouth.

"That you've been hugging and kissing me", he said uncomfortably.

"You hugged and kissed me more", Azula sniffed, stifling a smile. "Hey…"

"Hey, _who_?" he asked back pointedly. "Say my name."

"Hey, dummy", Azula sang. "What happened to your foot? You said it was injured."

"I got caught in an explosion", Azula's brows twitched at this.

"And you're still alive?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, it was a low-powered grenade, thank the spirits for that, and your concern is felt, Princess", he said quaintly. "Somebody stole it from the camp armory, from what I gathered."

"Aw, does it still hurt?" she cooed, feeling his foot with her toes. "Here?"

"No, the other foot."

"Here?"

"Yeah, there."

She kicked it.

"Liar", Azula narrowed her eyes at the lack of response. "You said it was injured."

"Well, yeah, a couple of months ago", he smirked. "It just sores or itches a little occasionally."

"How did it happen?" Azula asked interestedly.

"Well… I'm not sure", he pressed his palm on her forehead; Azula looked up and had the chance to witness his rare confused frown. "It was some sort of a … freak accident, I think. Some crazy soldier, idiotic surgeon, I was in the supply tent, and then suddenly… boom."

"You probably deserved it", Azula commented dryly.

"Still hate me?" he grinned.

"Yeah", Azula replied sweetly.

"You know, I just realized something: you're actually pretty cute", he smiled.

"Not working, I still hate you", Azula shot it down. "Are you flirting with me now?"

"Maybe. I mean, why not?" he shrugged lightly. "We're dating right?"

"What?! Eww", Azula tried so hard, oh, so hard to ignore that flutter in her chest. "You're icky. Gross… it's like… _Eww_!"

He just laughed.

"You can't keep doing that", Azula scowled, hoping that the heat in her face did not show as a blush. "You can't keep making joke about… things."

"They say laughter is the best medicine", he quipped. "How's your head?"

"The same", Azula sniffed. "You're really in the Earth Kingdom Army?"

"You still don't believe me?" he chuckled. "I can show you my badge. Actually, I can't… I left it with my stuff back in the inn."

"Dummy", she muttered. "Have you ever… you know, when you're in the warfront, have you ever…" her throat felt dry. "… killed someone?"

Azula bit her lip in the ensuing awkward silence, keeping her gaze steady on his chest.

"Once", he said solemnly. "At least. The one that I know of, or rather the one I'm responsible for directly. There are some, hundreds maybe, who died because of me; because of the orders I issued, the strategy I came up with, the charge I led. You know…"

"Oh", Azula simply said.

"It's not a good thing", he resumed. "Not a good feeling."

Azula braced herself to look up to his face. "Is that why you don't want me to join the military?"

"I've never actually said that… have I?" he frowned. "Well, maybe I do feel that way. Azula, you don't have to—"

"I know", Azula concurred quietly. "I'm already helping around with my dad's job but…" she scowled a little. "Doing paperwork won't get us Ba Sing Se, will it?"

"I can do that by myself", he said as Azula knew he would.

He always did that.

"You always do that", yes, he did. "Taking all the burden by yourself."

"Aren't you doing the same thing?" yes, Azula anticipated this too.

It was different for her.

"It's different", yes, it was. "I don't have a choice. My dad can only count me."

"There's Zuko."

So obvious of him.

"Zuko's a failure", Azula growled hatefully. "He's stupid, weak, and a failure. He's an embarrassment."

"You're being too harsh", he said.

"Am I?" Azula asked coldly. "You're his sifu too. You should know."

"He's actually better than anyone his age", Lin said fairly.

"Not good enough", Azula decided cruelly. "I don't wanna talk about him."

"What do you want to talk about?"

Typical of him.

"You", Azula said. "Tell me your name."

"Something else", he smirked. "And how can you forget my name? That, young lady, hurts my feelings."

"You are incapable of feeling", Azula muttered blandly.

A messenger hawk flew in from the window, startling the both of them.

"Oh, look", Lin quipped. "My secret Earth Kingdom girlfriend wrote back."

"Stupid", Azula hit him on his way to fetch the bird.

Lin extracted the letter from the tube on the bird's back, half expecting Spear's doctor handwriting on it. He was surprised to see an unfamiliar writing of Head Physician Azaya announcing her incoming arrival to check on Azula's condition.

"Come on, up in the bed", Lin walked back to her, yawning. "Head Physician Azaya is coming with your breakfast."

"Isn't it a bit early?" Azula asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "It's still dark out there."

"It's six something, according to your hourglass", Lin said; at his Princess lifting her arms slightly and pouting, he said flatly. "Lazy bum."

"My head…" she whined. Would be convincing if she were not smirking that much. "Oh… my head… oh, the pain, the agony…"

"And exactly _why_ am I the pervert?" Lin groused as he picked the Princess up.

"Mostly by default", Azula replied flippantly as her sifu set her down gently on the bed and tugged her in her blanket. "Pervert."

"Am not", he said, sitting down on the floor by the bed.

"You kissed me", Azula pointed out.

"You kissed me first", Lin retorted.

"When? I don't remember ever kissing you", Azula asked ever so innocently.

"You just admitted that you kissed me", Lin said again.

"How could I when I've never done such an icky thing", Azula frowned so convincingly.

Lin narrowed his eyes at her. "Admit it", he said. "Sifu's order."

"Admit what?" Azula asked, still innocently. "And Princess doesn't care. Sifu's a dummy."

"Admit that you kissed me", Lin said. "At least that first one."

"What first one? I don't remember anything like that", Azula shrugged. "Aw, you must be exhausted from lack of sleep."

Lin opened his mouth but closed it again, deciding not to reply.

"Come closer", Azula ordered, smirking a bit.

"What?" Lin leaned in.

She kissed him on the cheek.

"You're just trying to pass on your cold to me", he said suspiciously.

"No", Azula drawled far too innocently. "I would never do such a horrible thing to my sifu."

"Why did you kiss me just now?"

"Kiss you? When did I ever do that?"

"…My god, you're winning."

"Yeeess!"

"I really need some sleep", Lin muttered, slumping his head on the bed.

"I win", Azula gloated, taking off the paper insignia Lin was still wearing on his hair and poked her sifu's head with it. "Hey…" she called more cheerfully than ever. A voice in her head begged her not to.

"Hey, _who_?" he asked more sharply.

"Hey, dummy", Azula smirked. "Come here."

"Head Physician Azaya is coming", Lin's chin dropped on the edge of the bed. "It'd be awkward if—"

That voice told her not to, but she pecked him again on the cheek. Appreciatively this time.

"If you want to pass your cold on me, it has to be on the mouth", Lin muttered flatly, too tired to even blush.

"Oh?" Azula smirked impishly at him. "Kiss me on the mouth? You wouldn't dare."

Yes, despite the voice in her head yelling at her to stop, Azula leaned closer… and closer… smirking as she usually would. Closer…

When Lin pursed his lips playfully, Azula yelped, covered her mouth quickly, and turned around. She went back armed with a pillow.

"Pervert", she hit him, not knowing why she was grinning.

"I'm tired", Lin closed his eyes, still with his head on the bed, smiling a bit.

"Dummy", she said, poking Lin's head with the paper Fire Nation insignia. "Dummydummydummydummydummy."

"How are you feeling?" he asked without opening his eyes.

"I'm fine, stop asking. _Dummydummydummydummydummy_."

Lin opened his eyes, smiling a little at Azula's ongoing '_dummydummydummy'_, taking comfort in the fact that she did look better than the previous night; still pale and trembling slightly but her spirit seemed to have returned.

"When are you going to talk to my dad? _Dummydummydummydummy_."

"I don't know? Today?" Lin shrugged, tapping her nose a little when she broke her '_dummydummydummy'_ for a little sniff.

"I forbid it", she said, narrowing her eyes sharply. "Yeah, that's right: I forbid it. I'm your Princess, I get to forbid things."

Lin snorted a little, reaching out to her hand. She winced at his touch.

"Your fingers still hurt?" he asked, reaching to her hand more gently.

She pulled away, blushing.

"Hugging is one thing", Azula said, eyes wandering away. "But, we're not going to hold hands."

Lin blinked. "Let me get this straight", he drawled. "To you, holding hands is higher in magnitude than hugging?"

Azula paused, whimpered, and pulled her blanket over her head. "I don't wanna talk about this!" she said from inside her cocoon.

Lin laughed a little. Suddenly, he felt lighter and… happier?

There was a series of soft knock on the door, announcing the arrival of Head Physician Azaya. Lin got up, Azula emerged from her blanket and sat up; her tiny tug on his sash, Lin peeled gently and replied with a calming smile.

He went to the door walking backward almost all the way, Azula never took her eyes that were no longer cheerful off him. Lin opened the door and bowed to the old woman who was accompanied by a pair of maids. Leading the Head Physician to the bed, Lin sat on Azula's desk while the old woman delivered a pleasant, if not slightly patronizing greeting to the Princess, while the two maids set down a tray bearing a steaming bowl and prepared a new set of sleeping robe for the Princess.

Lin preoccupied himself with the map of Earth Kingdom they had studied the previous night while Head Physician Azaya checked Azula's pulse and temperature. He was in the middle of counting the numbers of the hospital units, just to kill time, when the old woman called his name.

"Young Master", her motherly smile clashed with her awkward frown. "Would you mind leaving the room for a little while?"

Lin was sleep deprived. It took two full seconds to comprehend this.

"Oh", now, he felt awkward. He got up… closed the window in front of the desk, and walked, almost strode, out and closed the door behind him, all the while avoiding to glance at the Princess. He forgot to wear his boots.

Sighing, Lin went to the railing on the hallway, putting his elbows there and his head on his propped arms. The sky was murky dark blue. Winter morning air hit his face. He was too tired to think of anything… to want to think of anything.

He just wanted Azula to get better.

Lin scoffed to himself as his mind replayed the event when he had asked Azula to marry him.

_Yeah, not gonna tell her…_

What an interesting reaction, he thought. Azula had suspected something almost immediately. That was one of the things he liked about her; her keen mind… that had made firebending training with Azula both stunningly easy and impossibly difficult.

Ten minutes later, Lin did not even hear the door opening when the pair of maids that came with Head Physician Azaya exited the room, bowed to him while fearfully avoiding eye contact, and walked away with the most appropriate fast walk they could do, leaving the door ajar. Lin took this as a sign he was allowed entry.

He reentered the room and closed the door. Azula was sitting on the bed, describing her headache to the Head Physician who was nodding as she listened.

"You need to rest, Princess", the old woman advised. "And eat."

"I'm not hungry", the Princess said curtly.

Head Physician Azaya turned to Lin rather desperately. Lin knew that she could not really make a Fire Princess do anything. On normal circumstances, Lin would do or say something so very well thought-out, he would make Azula eat while not appearing overly suspicious in front of the old Head Physician. Alas, he was tired.

"Come on, Princess", Lin sighed tiredly, taking the bowl from Head Physician Azaya's hand and sat by the bedside. "Eat."

"No", Azula crossed her arms, huffing.

"Come on", Lin said, scooping a spoonful. "Here comes the train. Chuut chuutt…"

—WHACK!—

"What am I, five?" the Princess barked, armed with the flute that had once stood its ground against an Earth Kingdom spear. "And trains don't run on the Main Island!"

"Come on, just eat", Lin said desperately, head throbbing from both the previously established desperation and the aforementioned head blow.

"No", Azula scowled at him and the bowl. "It's purple. I don't like purple."

"It's black rice porridge. You'd like this, it's sweet", Lin showed her the content of the bowl. "You like sweet."

"I don't like sweet. I'm not a child!" she denied tersely.

"Azula, you keep candies in your nightgown pocket", Lin countered flatly. "Eat!"

"No!" the Princess scowled again.

"Eat!"

"No!"

"If you don't eat, I'll tell Head Physician Azaya you snore in your sleep", Lin said.

"I do _not_ snore! I do NOT snore!" she kicked her feet angrily and a little childishly. "And it's not like you don't have any embarrassing habit!"

"Oh, I—", Lin scoffed. "I have an embarrass—"

"Yeah!"

"I have embarrassing habits?"

"Yeah, you do!"

"I have embarrassing habits? Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, name one", he challenged, smirking smugly when Azula suddenly fumbled. "I dare you."

Head Physician Azaya cleared her throat audibly and was suddenly mesmerized by one of Azula's four-poster bed beams. Lin and Azula turned to her, then to each other, and then blushed.

"Eat", Lin muttered flatly. "Your dad needs you healthy, right? You said so yourself."

"I don't want it", Azula said stubbornly.

"What do you want to eat then?" Lin asked lethargically.

"I don't know. Puffed rice?" she said hopefully but begrudgingly.

"Puffed rice is a snack", Lin replied blandly. "Eat this."

"No", Azula turned away, pouting. "And puffed rice is not a snack."

"How is puffed rice not a snack?" Lin asked incredulously.

"Well, people can eat puffed rice—"

"You make puffed rice with honey and syrup—"

"—in a bowl with milk, like cereal—"

"—with peanut and stuff; it's basically candy—"

"—and people eat it for breakfast!" Azula exclaimed while Lin finished with. "—bar like caramel or chocolate!"

They both inhaled deeply.

"I'll get you puffed rice later", Lin said calmly, then he broke down pleading. "Come on… please, I'm begging here…"

Azula narrowed her eyes sharply and growled a little. Opening her mouth, she took that spoon her sifu fed her and clenched her jaw shut. Lin tried to retrieve the spoon but was unsuccessful.

"Azula, release!" he commanded. When she did, Lin put the spoon in the bowl, and, smirking, patted her head quickly while she was busy chewing. "Good girl."

She hit that hand.

"Ow! Bad Azula!"

She hit his head.

"I'm not a dog", she protested.

"What?"

"I'm—"

"Speak!"

"—not a …"

He smirked triumphantly.

"Arf! Arf!"

"Down, girl", Lin smirked, feeding more porridge.

Head Physician Azaya was caught in between fondness at the antics of those two and wanting to get out because she was too old for this thing.

"See, this not so bad", Lin said cheerfully after feeding half the bowl to the Princess. "And why can't you eat by yourself? You're never this spoiled."

"I don't care", she huffed.

"Don't eat with your mouth full", he chided.

"I'm not, my mou— what did you say?" Azula frowned then smirked.

"Don't _eat_ with your mouth…" Lin winced. "Urgh… full."

Now, it was Azula who smirked victoriously. "Ha ha~"

"I need to sleep", Lin complained.

"You lose~", she gloated after she swallowed another spoonful.

"I'm tired", he reasoned.

"I'm sick", she countered. "And so what if I'm spoiled. I'm sick, I get to be spoiled."

"Not true", Lin sighed tiredly, scooping the last few scoops of the porridge.

"I'm full", Azula declared, turning away from the spoon.

Lin turned to Head Physician Azaya who tilted her head slightly. Retuning the bowl to the tray on the nightstand, Lin got up and so did the Head Physician. The woman once more made Azula promise that she would rest; Azula begrudgingly complied under Lin's stern stare. Bowing, the Head Physician took the tray and turned to the door. Lin called out to her.

"You know", he said. "For your upcoming Pai Sho match with Master Jian Wu, you should try the Rock Turtle gambit", which is one of the most defensive of all gambits, so defensive it takes five turns of inactive maneuvers to execute perfectly. "If you wait it out, his defense is bound to crack."

The Head Physician smiled meaningfully. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Master Jian Wu plays Pai Sho?" Azula asked confusedly.

"Of course, he does", Lin scoffed. "He's old. Old people play Pai Sho."

Head Physician Azaya was not really out of the room (and hearing range) just yet.

"A-and by old, I meant… um, chronologically… advanced?"

Even Azula winced at this.

"Have a pleasant day, Princess", the old woman smiled kindly at the girl, scowled pleasantly at the boy before she closed the door behind her.

Azula burst out laughing.

"It's not funny", Lin growled. But… aw, how could he be mad. It had been awhile since he heard her laugh so freely like this.

"Not funny", he repeated, pouring a goblet of water. When Azula showed no sign of wanting to reach out for the cup and just sat there with those puppy-dog eyes of hers, Lin griped again. "You're spoiled."

"I'm a Princess. I'm sick. I get to be spoiled. I get to be _doubly_ spoiled", she argued flatly.

"No, you don't", Lin argued back. Her hand that held to his on the goblet was trembling and cold. "So, how was it?" he asked, trying to sound cheerful and casual.

"You heard her, I need more rest", Azula pouted for some reason. "I don't like this. I have a lot of work to do."

"You need to rest", Lin said, drinking the rest of the goblet himself and putting the empty container down on the nightstand. "Come on. Lie down."

Azula complied and let her sifu tugged her in her blanket.

"Get up here", she said quietly to her sifu who sat on the floor by the bed.

"You need to sleep", he repeated.

"I'm not sleepy", she said despite her yawn. "Hey…"

"Hey, who?"

"Hey, stupid", she tapped his head with the flute, then she smirked impishly. "Head Physician Azaya gave me a sponge bath."

"Yeah, so?" Lin muttered, gulping subtly for his throat felt funny all of the sudden.

"You didn't peek, did you?" Azula asked still impishly but also suspiciously.

"Of course not", Lin yawned casually. "What is there to peek anyway?"

* * *

Across the continent, in an encampment near Senlin Village.

"*gasp*"

"Brother?"

"Oh, Agni… Kang…" Jiang gulped roughly, gripping his heart, feeling a chill of the artic kind down his spine; oh, the premonition, dear boys and girls… the premonition. "I think my son is in grave danger."

* * *

"I think I'm bleeding", Lin writhed and twitched on the floor, gripping his head.

"No", Azula's head hung above the dummy sifu, inspecting her handiwork, poking the twitching mass of stupid sifu with the flute (aka murder weapon). "I don't see blood."

"You're mean…" her sifu groaned.

"You're stupid", she returned it with a huff. Plopping back down on her pillow, she felt tired all of the sudden.

She closed her eyes and nearly dozed off; her consciousness dragged her back to her room. She tried to get up but she felt so heavy all of the sudden. And warm…

Like when her father hugged her…

Like when a certain dummy hugged her…

Azula rolled to her side; the aforementioned dummy was still sitting there on the floor with his face lying sideways on the bed, eyes closed like he was sleeping.

"Hey…" Azula tried to speak but she could only whisper.

"Hey, who?" he whispered back.

"Hey, dummy", she too closed her eyes. And before slumber embraced her. "Night."

"Night", she heard him, felt him kissing her in her front cheek.

She would let this one slide…

Lin waited, staring a little sadly at his sleeping Princess. He did not know what he should do, what he could do. Perhaps, this was how his father had felt about his mother; he knew that her mother had been born with a weak constitution and had been physically dying a little each day. Lin took a little comfort in the fact that Azula would recover with enough rest.

But, he felt so useless, so powerless…

Lin found the whole experience terrible and painful. Terribly painful. Painfully terrible.

It is a pain unlike any other when someone you care about is hurting you can do nothing to help. Lin would not even wish such pain upon his worst enemies.

Yeah… that was a lie. In the years to come, Lin the twenty sixth would come to be known as a force of reckon, employing both his tremendous combat abilities and vast resources, as well as his craftiness and expertise in shadow warfare and psychological assault. There would be rumors that, at some point, he was not above threatening his opponents with their families. There would come time that, in some circles of society, his name would be spoken only in whisper for the terrible deeds he would do.

But, well… that is for later, I suppose.

Lin waited for another ten minutes. He was not in a hurry. And he waited for ten more minutes after Azula's soft purr lulled her deeper into sleep. He smiled a little at her. He leaned down and kissed her softly on her front cheek where, he dared to assume, he had earned a place.

Lin got up, put on his boots and robe, and walked out. He left everything else in Azula's room; he even propped Nightshade on the nightstand right in front of her just in case she woke up and could not find him. Lin walked as silently as possible to the door, opening it, winced heavily at the sharp creaking the door made, and slipped out while leaving the door slightly ajar.

Head Physician Azaya was leaning against the railing on the hallway, looking down at the lower ground.

"Auntie", Lin bowed respectfully; the woman sighed and nodded.

"How is she?" she asked.

"She complained that she was cold. She has a fever and she was sweating a lot", Lin reported quietly.

"That's just her body fighting the fever", the woman said.

"I think she also has a cold", Lin added. "She's been sniveling a lot since she woke up last night."

"This is winter", the woman reasoned. "And it's highly likely when she's been like this. I'll prepare some timgeung for her, to warm her from the inside."

Lin swallowed hard, the pit of his stomach felt cold. "Auntie", he said uneasily. "Do you think this has something to do with firebending?"

Head Physician Azaya looked at the boy impassively for a brief moment. "There are some signs of chi imbalance", she said. "How— what do you have in mind?" she asked interestedly.

"I'm thinking her body is not strong enough to contain her bending", Lin shrugged. "But, I'm no doctor."

"You should think of becoming one", the woman smiled warmly. "You have a good instinct."

"I learnt a lot while I'm away", Lin smiled back weakly. "Can you keep her company for a while, Auntie?"

"Of course", the woman stood up straighter. "So… you and Princess Azula are really…"

"Don't ask, I'm still confused myself", Lin shuddered. "Oh, and don't tell her!" he added urgently. "She, um… she doesn't really know yet."

Head Physician Azaya had the flattest of face when she said. "And I thought Jeong Jeong and Umma were complicated. Must be a family trait", she sighed as she entered the room, muttering. "Classified information, alright."

"Thanks, Auntie", Lin grinned a little. "How long will she be asleep?"

"A couple of hours, at least", the woman shrugged from the threshold.

"If she wakes up, tell her I'm with the Fire Lord", Lin bowed.

Auntie Azaya waved slightly before she closed the door.

* * *

Fire Lord Ozai stood tall in the Astronomy Tower, looking out the window to the rising sun that shed a veil of light to his face. Him coming here when he should have been busy with morning period… wait, that sounds… I mean, with his morning session of daily audience and stuff, not that he would need to do much this far in winter, had as much to do with mild interest with the place where his brother had been found as with Ozai just wanting to be away from…

…everything.

Just for a while.

Life, however, had an uncanny way of bugging him.

Constantly.

It comes with being a Fire Lord.

"My Lord", his (Ozai mentally winced) future son-in-law greeted, bowing behind him.

"How is Azula?" Ozai growled through his clenched jaw.

"Resting, My Lord", Lin replied, standing up straight. "My Lord, there is something I need—"

"I assume you are about to ask for leniency regarding your duty", Ozai interjected coldly. "Perhaps even a discharge?"

He waited for the boy's answer. Ozai could almost hear the brat's brain ticking.

"Fine", Ozai decided, clasping his hands on his back. "I will allow you to stay longer. Head Physician Azaya has told me that your presence around my daughter might have a good impact on her wellbeing."

"My Lord", the force in the boy's voice made Ozai turn around. The brat was kneeling and offering an opened map for him to see. "My Lord, please hear me out."

"What is it?" Ozai hissed. He was undecided of this brat was courageous or simply ungrateful.

"A way to Ba Sing Se, My Lord."

* * *

An hour later, Lin emerged from his bathroom dripping wet. Master Piandao sat at the table brewing his special cup of tea that tasted like the juice of an ancient tree root but could get someone as alert as a night bat-owl.

"Lady Azaya was called to Princess Azula's room last night", the swordmaster started as his student approached with sash unfixed.

"I was there", Lin muttered, confirming with his master's incoming question right before gulping the scalding hot, foul tasting tea in one gulp. He felt like he deserved some kind of punishment.

"I know that it's not any of my business but", Piandao tried to remain neutral. "I may need you to elaborate more. Because, from the sound of it, you have been—"

Lin's look of pain was a confirmation enough.

"Ah, I see", Piandao took a sip from his cup, not as successful at hiding his disapproval as he would like. "I do hope you conducted yourself with honor."

Now, it was Lin who frowned. "Of course. I think. What are you talking about?"

"Lin, listen to me", Piandao set his cup down, steeling himself; of course, _he_ had to draw the short stick. "You see, I know that you are at the age where—"

"Oh, spirits", the boy cringed in the middle of eating his meat bun. "I hope this is not the '_when a boy and a girl love each other_' kind of lecture. The one with my grandpa was weird enough."

"Oh, good", the swordmaster sighed a relief. "So, you did have the talk already."

"What talk?"

"The '_when a boy and a girl love each other_' talk."

"Well, yeah, but", Lin scratched his head confusedly. "I don't know. My grandpa, Agni rests his soul—"

"He's not dead", Piandao interrupted.

"We don't know that", Lin bit his food rather fiercely. "He started the lecture, and then he went on and on and on about… dating?" Piandao shrugged at his frown. "And then, he said something about marriage. And when I asked him about marriage and what comes after, he sort of stuffed me with candies and ran away."

"Of course", Piandao mused aloud. "To avoid future confusion, when people ask, tell them you've never had _the talk_."

"Seriously, what is this _talk_?"

"… Ask your father."

* * *

When Azula woke up from her sleep, the first thing she saw was the head of her dummy sifu with closed eyes, sitting on the floor by her side. Naturally, Azula raised the flute she was holding on to the whole time she was asleep and swung it to that head.

He caught it.

"I'm not asleep", he said with his eyes closed.

"Get up", she rasped and coughed a little as she wrenched the flute free. "You can't sleep down there."

"I'm not going to sleep", he argued.

"Of course, you are", Azula said, sitting up while being helped to a drink of water by her sifu. "You barely slept last night. I know."

"How are you feeling?" he asked, pressing his palm on her forehead.

"I hate this", Azula muttered, closing her eyes. "I hate being weak."

"That's okay", Lin got up on the bed, sitting on the bedside. "I'm your (_fiancé_!) sifu, remember? You can be weak around me. It's my job to make you stronger."

Azula kept her eyes closed.

"I don't want to be weak at all", she muttered quietly.

"There's nothing wrong with being weak from time to time", she heard him say, felt him leaning back on the headrest by her side. "It's good for the soul."

"It won't get us Ba Sing Se", Azula argued coldly.

"You will do the training I suggested, right?" he nudged her.

"No, it's stupid", Azula huffed.

"No, it's not", he scoffed. "Azula, look at Zuko. He might not be able to beat you in firebending but in a real fight where only survival matters, he'd kick your butt."

"Oh, really?" she whispered, gripping her fist that had been _covered by her perfect blue flame as she delivered the punch to silence that failure brother of hers. He had caught her wrist, spun as he dragged her, and pushed her to through the opened door to the floor. _

"I'm serious", Lin repeated. "Or, at least learn something else. Some other form of combat art while your fingers recover", the sight of Scarlet lying on the desk near the window gave him an idea. "You can learn sword. Master Jian Wu is an excellent teacher."

"I'm sure", she inhaled and opened her eyes. "Why don't you stay and teach me?"

He did not answer, only turned to her and smiled. He looked awfully tired.

"You look terrible", Azula commented bluntly.

"I know", he dropped her head down on her shoulder.

"No", she whined, as he wrapped his arms around her. "You can't hug me."

"Why not?" he chuckled, snuggling closer despite her protest.

"Because you won't tell me why you hug me", she tried to break free but his arms held strong. "And you're a pervert."

"I'm not a pervert", his head rose up and Azula let him tug her head gently under his chin. "And why I hug you, I've told you: you're like a pillow."

Azula thrashed around once, sulking, and settled down. She dropped down to his lap and snuggled there, pulling her blanket closer to her. Her eyelids felt heavy; she found closing them to be naturally comfortable. She felt his hand picking her hair off her forehead and placing his warm palm there but she did not care. She would not let him get away with it so easily this time.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Stop asking", she groused. "It's annoying. I'm fine, it's just a cold."

"I'm worried."

Azula opened her eyes and rolled around to her back, staring at him. "Liar", she said.

"Am not", he smiled weakly.

Azula narrowed her eyes at him; he had that smirk on his face, the one he usually had when he was withholding firebending training from her, or a secret, or something. It used to annoy her to no end.

"You should sleep", she said, reaching out to his face and dragged her palm down across his face.

"I'd rather not", he scoffed, checking her forehead again.

"Why not?" she asked. "You can't take care of me if you're half awake."

"I'm not half awake—"

"Less than half?"

"Around a quarter", Lin nodded. "And what if your dad walks in? I'm dead."

"I'll handle my dad", Azula shrugged.

Lin scoffed. Leaning down, he hissed. "Liar."

"Am not", Azula hissed back, smirking.

"When you lie, Azula", Lin sat straight. "You have some kind of smirk going on."

"What smirk?" she asked.

"Yeah, there! You see", he hovered his finger above the Princess' mouth. "Lie to me. Come on."

"You're the most amazing firebender in our generation", the Princess declared. Few seconds later, she giggled.

"See", Lin said.

"I'm sorry. It's the lie; just so absolutely unbelievable. Here, let me try something else", Azula cleared her throat. "Mai once told me that she thought you were kinda cute."

"Oh, come on!" he exclaimed; Azula put her hands across her mouth so she would not laugh so hard. "That is insultingly easy. Ty Lee said it."

"How'd you know?" she asked impishly.

"It's _Ty Lee_", Lin sighed. "She thinks everyone is cute. She once told me she thinks my Cousin Shi was cute."

Azula rose and sat up, slouching on her sifu's shoulder. "Which cousin is that?"

"The quiet one", Lin informed.

"Oh", Azula said.

She did not realize that she was glomping onto his arm until he stretched a little.

"So", he cleared his throat. "How are you feeling?"

Something ticked inside Azula's head. She picked her head up, turned to him, and scowled. "That's another thing you do."

"What?" he frowned, scoffing.

"You would ask something; something I don't want to talk about, or I don't wanna do", Azula gave his arm a little smack. "Then, you'd start talking about something else, get my guard down, and you'd bring that first subject up again. I hate that. It's like what I think or feel doesn't matter to you."

"Okay", he turned to her as well. "First of all, what you think and feel matters to me. Seco—"

"And here's another thing!" Azula exclaimed, throwing her arms up a little, suddenly angry.

"Let me finish", Lin held up a hand. "Second of all, I'm only doing that _only _when I think it's necessary. Like when we're talking about firebending, or making Zuko's life miserable, or, in this case, your health."

Azula waited. "Are you done?"

"Yes", Lin replied. "What's that other thing?"

"You argue", she barked. "A lot! It's annoying. I hate that."

Lin scoffed incredulously. "What? Me? I argue…" he scoffed again. "I _argue_ with you."

"Yeah", Azula said tersely.

"I argue", Lin repeated.

"Yeah, you do!"

"I don't argue—"

"Oh, my god! See! You're arguing about not arguing!"

"I don— _I'm not_!"

"Yeah, you are!"

"Okay", Lin started rather heatedly. "How is it arguing when—"

"Well, it's arguing because—", Azula too was hot on the case.

"—you say something wrong—"

"—whenever I say something, anything—"

"—and I corrected you, _corrected_, and—"

"—whatever I say, you always shoot it down—"

"—I'm doing it out of obligation as you sifu—"

"—like my opinion doesn't matter to you at all—"

"—to make sure that you get all the right information!"

"—and you always have to be right!"

…

"Are we fighting?" Lin whispered while Azula hissed. "We're not fighting."

"Okay", Lin just could not take it. "How are we not fighting when—"

"See! You're arguing again!" Azula raised her voice.

"I am not—"

"And AGAIN!"

They stared at each other rather furiously, both inhaled deeply and exhaled vapor.

"Okay", the bigger man, Lin suggested calmly. "Let's just drop it."

"I still hate you", Azula declared coldly.

"Sleep, come on", Lin got her some water. "You still looked tired."

"I don't wanna sleep", Azula replied after he helped her with the water, slumping down to his lap. "And we were _not_ fighting", she growled, already anticipating her sifu to reopen the case for she knew how headstrong he was sometimes.

"If you say so", he sighed.

With her back on the dummy sifu, she reached back and grabbed his garb, dragging him down a little. "Sleep", she said. "I know you're tired."

"Your dad might come in. He's huge, he's scary, he can shoot lightning, and he's the Fire Lord", Lin said matter-of-factly.

Azula turned to him with that smirk of hers; it gradually disappeared, she felt it, as she stared into the exhausted humorless face of her sifu. She did not know why she did, she that she shouldn't but… maybe, just this once. He did take care of her the whole night. Just to even the score. Princess Azula did not like being in anybody's debt; it made her feel like they had leverage on her.

Azula rose, cleared her throat slightly, and lied down on a pillow, purposely turning her back on her dummy sifu. She waited for a minute or two; her sifu did not move or speak. So, she said. "I'm cold", which was not true but she did not know it.

Lin pulled the blanket over Azula's shoulder, like the Princess had anticipated. Azula kicked the blanket to her feet and crossed her arms, sulking. She felt the bed shifting and, sure enough, the blanket returned with an arm that did not leave her shoulder.

She pulled herself back to his warm chest, and that arm over her; she let the other folded arm slip below her head. "Sleep", she repeated, yawning herself.

"Are you okay?" yes, Azula knew he would ask this too.

Sighing exasperatedly, Azula turned around to face him. "Stop asking, I'm fine", she said sleepily, linking her arms around his neck.

"Oh, you're hugging me", he teased.

"Shut up", Azula bit her lip a little to stop herself from smiling as she buried her face into his neck; he led his chin onto her forehead. "I'm a Princess. I can hug whoever I want."

"Under normal circumstances, you know, when people are not courting you, I wouldn't think too much of it", such discomfort in his voice.

"Why, jealous?" Azula smirked mischievously, returning his remark.

"Maybe", he evaded.

Azula frowned, not knowing how she should feel about the discomfort in his voice; she looked up to his face. He was stumbling with his words.

"Well, it's just that… uh, you know", he cleared his throat awkwardly; Azula did not realize she was smirking. "Well, the thought of my favorite student being courted by losers like that one from before; it… uh, it worries me."

She chuckled.

"Don't worry, dummy", she returned her forehead to his chin, hoping the warmth on her cheek did not show. "My dad has declared that I am not to be courted. Some losers like that one from before might be foolish enough to risk the Fire Lord's wrath, but I'm not."

"Oh, good", the effect was not as much as Azula had hoped. "But, others might still come."

"You've seen me", Azula yawned a little. "I can handle them."

"I know", he laughed a little; this was what Azula aimed for. She too laughed a little.

"Don't go", she said even though she had secretly promised herself that she would not ask of this anymore. "Please", it felt so liberating.

She felt him stroking the back of her head.

"Are you hungry?"

Of course…

"You're doing it again", she grumbled, feeling more hurt than angry. "Changing the topic."

"It's past lunchtime", he said. "Want me to get you something?"

"I'm not hungry", Azula said. "And you're just looking for an excuse to run away."

"Am not", he said.

"I gotta pee", Azula whimpered suddenly.

"You can go on your own…. right?"

"Yeah, but…"

They both turned to the broken bathroom door with a gaping hole where the door handle should be.

They turned to each other, each trying to read what was on the other's mind. Mostly Lin trying to read what was on Azula's mind.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"

She was not kidding.

"This is highly unnecessary!" he yelled from the far side of the bed where one of his arms was currently being tied up to the beam with the cord that was holding the bed's curtain in place.

"Shut up and cover your ears!" the Princess yelled back from behind the door.

"Okay", Lin shouted back. Oh, Princesses and their whims! He dully did what he was told but seconds later, another decree aired through the door.

"Hum!"

"What?"

"I said _hum_!"

"Wha— _why_ in the name of—"

"Just do it!"

"Okay! Sheesh!" growling, Lin obeyed half-heartedly. "Huuuuuuuuummmmmm…."

"Don't stop!"

"Okay! Hummmmmmmm…."

"Louder!"

"What?"

"Louder! You can obviously still hear me, dummy!"

"That's because you're YELLING!"

"I'M NOT YELLING!"

Their screams of frustration came out in tandem and a perfect harmony, timing and volume; not something that happens often.

A very bossy, "Now!" came from behind the door.

"Okay!" was the very defiant reply. "HUUUUUUMMMMM!"

It was pure torture both the both of them.

When Azula got back, pink around the cheeks, she climbed up the bed and sat in the middle, a few scooch away from her sifu. "Can I untie myself now?" Lin asked. She nodded. Free at last, Lin crept closer and was about to place one hand on his (_fiancée's_) Princess' shoulder; Azula cringed and he halted his hand.

"Look", Lin withdrew his hand. "Whatever happened", Azula whimpered, he continued anyway. "Whatever happened, you're still my favorite student."

Azula whimpered louder and slumped down on a pillow, bury her head with a second pillow, and, to complete her fortification, pulled her blanket over her head.

"Come on", Lin laughed a little. "It's not a big deal. Every—"

"Shutupshutupshutup", came rapidly from under the blanket. "I'm not talking to you ever again!"

Lin snickered. "Night", he said.

"Night", came out muffled.

Lin pulled down the blanket, took the pillow, and patted the head under it before returning the pillow there. Naturally, Azula threw that pillow to his face.

"There's something I need to ask you", the Princess said without turning back.

"Ask away", Lin netted his fingers behind his head as he rested back and stretched his legs.

"But, I don't remember", Azula admitted.

"Sleep", she felt his hand patting her head again. "Maybe you'll remember it after you wake up."

Azula turned around, crossing her arms, and looked all around upset. "I've told you I hated that. I'm not a kid anymore."

He simply smiled patronizingly.

"I hate you", she declared quietly. "You've never listened to me. And you said you cared about me."

He did not respond.

"Tell me your name", Azula ordered again. To this, he scoffed lightly.

"My name, the one that I'm using", he started. "Is the only thing of my family I have left. Please, Princess, at least let me have this."

Azula felt a tiny guilt she immediately ignored.

"I still hate you", she said again. "Lie down."

"No", he crossed his arms, smirking smugly. "You hate me remember?"

Azula still had the flute in her hand, by the way.

"Can I have my flute back?" Lin asked, rubbing his sore arm.

"Nope", Azula held the flute closer to her. "Play something for me?"

"Only if you sing along", he replied, earning him another smack. "What? I like hearing you sing."

"You've promised me you'd forget that—", Azula paused, blushing from both anger and mortification.

"Aw, come on", Lin laughed a little; the consequent hit he endured was worth it. "You have a beautiful voice."

"I hate singing!" she groused. "And I'm only doing that because my mom made me! And because it was my party! I hate parties! I hate it when you guys throw me a party without telling me!"

"Uh, it was a surprise party", Lin shrugged. "That's kind of the whole point of a surprise party."

"Well, I hate it! I hate you! Stupid!" Azula huffed, crossing her arms miffily.

He just smiled. It was the gentle and patient kind of smile that… _well, it doesn't matter_! Azula turned her back on him angrily. He always did that. He never did what she told him to do.

She hated that.

_He never listens_. She told herself. To prove that… "Lie down", she said.

"Nope."

_See!_

"Why not?"

"I don't want to catch your cold."

She could not hold her giggle so she settled with turning to him and hitting him once. Her smile melted as she realized that. "You're doing it again. You made me angry and then you made me laugh to forget about it", she said. "I hate that."

He did not say anything in return.

"You're tired, aren't you?" Azula guessed.

"Yes", Lin said.

"So, lie down", she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole world. "Sleep."

"Not before you eat", he bargained. "Come on, you have to eat something."

"No", Azula turned on her back. "I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat", he said again. So typical of him, thought Azula.

"No", she refused flatly.

"You have to eat if you want to get well", he reasoned.

"I don't want to get well", Azula huffed. "You'll leave."

For everything Azula knew about him, for everything she had discern about his pattern, his habits, his moves, Lin had always been equally mysterious and unpredictable to her. Him hugging her tenderly, it was unexpected.

"Please", he said quietly. "Please, Azula… eat something. I know that it's going to sound cheesy and like I'm flirting or something", he chuckled dryly. "But, I really can't bear seeing you like this. It hurt too much."

Azula bit her lip slightly. She hated this too: the fact that he could always, _always_, made her do things that she did not want to do.

"I don't want you to leave", she said, her eyes felt moist again, all of the sudden. "What if you run away?"

"I won't", he said. "And I'm not going to leave you. I was thinking I'd write Auntie Azaya and ask her to bring something for you."

Azula snickered. "_Auntie_… Azaya?"

Lin grunted. "I need to sleep", he redressed. "Head Physician Aza— I call her Auntie, okay!" he exclaimed. "She's one of my grandma's closest friends, she's known me since I was born; she even helped my mom giving birth to me and changed my diapers when I was a baby. Happy now?!"

Azula was positively giggling.

"What do you want to eat?" Lin asked, not letting go of his hug.

"I don't know", Azula sniffed. "I can't think of anything. Help me think."

"Black rice porridge again?" Lin suggested.

"No. I told you I hate purple", Azula yawned a little, not realizing that she was snuggling closer to her sifu. "And I don't want rice or anything dry. My throat hurts."

"Well… uh, simple porridge?" Lin suggested again.

"Nope. I hate porridge. It smells weird."

"Soup?"

"Not in the mood."

"…Yeah, I'm out. I can't think too."

"What wrong with you?" Azula smirked a little. "You used to be smarter than this."

"I don't know", he whimpered a bit. "Something must have happened when you zapped me. And no—", Lin growled. "—you are _not_ going to zap me again to try to change me back or something."

"Aw, why not?" Azula whined, pouting too cutely. "I wanna zap you again. It was so much fun. And besides, it's for your own good. I'm just trying to be a good student…"

"… I am _really_ concerned about you", Lin muttered with sharp narrowed eyes.

"Fruit platter", the Princess exclaimed suddenly.

"Okay, fruit platter", Lin smiled a little. "Any preference?"

"Anything's fine", she said. "But, no melons or papayas; I don't like the smell."

"Extra cherries?" Lin asked.

"Good call", the Princess concurred. "And spiced honey dip."

"You can't eat honey; you have sore throat", Lin argued.

"Cinnamon sprinkle?"

"Why do I get feeling you're going to force-feed me some of those?"

"Because you're a dummy", Azula pinched his gut lightly.

"No cinnamon", Lin declared.

"But, I want cinnamon", again, with the pout.

"You don't like cinnamon."

"True. But, I don't dislike it."

"No cinnamon! Cinnamon is bad for your… kidney."

She giggled a little.

"Stupid", she said.

"Okay, one fruit platter, coming up!"

Lin got up and got down from the bed. He stood up but sat back down again as a tug on the back of his sash held him down.

"Azula", he turned and said patiently. "I'm just going to the desk, okay."

"I don't care", Azula breathed, not knowing why she could care about this, or why her heart was pounding so hard it hurt. And, for Agni's sake, she did not know why she felt relieved… happy even, when the dummy came in and lifted her up, and carried her like he had done to the desk.

"You're stupid", she said from his lap on the desk, arms linked around his neck so she would not fall.

"Am not", he scoffed lightly, writing his letter and sending it with a hawk in the matter of seconds.

"You're afraid of me, aren't you?" Azula asked quietly, unable to bring herself to look her sifu in the eye. "Deep down. Deep down, you're afraid of my fire."

"I've told you, it was a mistake", Azula felt his nose nudging her cheek a little; she could even feel him smiling. "I'm not afraid anymore."

"Liar", she mumbled, absentmindedly lit a small blue flame on her palm.

She reveled in the warmth her fire provided.

"Hey…" he called.

"Hey, who?" Azula asked back.

"Hey, Azzie", he joked.

"You can't call me that, dummy", Azula groused.

"I know what my favorite color is now", he said, grasping her flame holding hand, letting the blue element glazed over their joined hands harmlessly.

"What?"

"Blue."

For everything Azula knew about him, there was so much more she did not.

He was confusing and different. He could always make her feel or do things she normally would not.

Azula was infinitely puzzled by him. Constantly. And equally puzzled was she with the things she did around him, to him, and because of him.

She looked up to him, smiled a little, and she kissed him on the cheek.

Or not.

Because she declared it as: "Never happened."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Sorry for the very long update. I was busy with work and is currently enjoying a period of cold. My vision is a bit red. It's quite interesting, actually.

Anyway, as usual, the next update will be a bit late. In this chapter, Azula and Lin were confined in the room but the next one (first draft finished!), and the one after that (still in progress), and the one after the one after that (ideas are all formed up) will have them getting out somewhere. Still centered around the room though, for various reasons.

You may have noticed that in this chapter it was said that Iroh gave Lin a pass when he went to Tyro's village but one of the crimes listed against Lin was traveling abroad without proper document. It was logical, of course. Disrupting a military campaign is, I'm pretty sure, a serious crime. If they found out that Iroh was enabling Lin to do so in any way, it would be more than awkward.

To war sage, thanks for the review and sorry for the late update!

To OwlFeather13, thanks for the review, snowman! Yes, happy belated Thanksgiving and an early Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Ah, yes, Good Ozai. I've posted a new fic called '_Common Enemy'_ (title _will_ change!) that sort of work as a repository of all my Good Ozai idea and the future relationship between characters of this fic. Give it a peek if you have the time. :)

And good luck with your writing!

The next update will be late. I have lots of work to do over the holiday; assessing the textbooks, translating and editing some documents, planning the lessons for the next semester, and they're planning of adding my classes, too. I swear, I might be a part-timer but they're working me harder than the full-timers! On the plus side, the little cretins— err, I mean, _my students_ are wonderful.

Merry Christmas, everyone! May the holiday bring joy and various kinds of cakes!


	94. Chapter 93

**Chapter 93 – Turtle-ducks**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

_She looks different_.

The thought crossed Lin's mind yet again as he stared into the face of the sleeping Princess in the bed. Not just the makeup; she was not wearing any now and still she looked different. The young Dragon sat on the floor by the bed, his hand captured by the Princess who was sleeping soundly in the bed.

Disentangling himself from Azula had been a rather daunting task. Twice he nearly woke her up as he pried her hands from the front of his garb. And even after he had successfully peeled himself away from the weakening grip of the slumbering Princess, Azula had whined in her sleep and caught his hand in her clutch.

Sitting now on the floor with his arm outstretched on the bed, Lin stared into the sleeping face of the Princess, pondering upon how much things had changed… upon how much she had changed.

"_I'm not a kid anymore"_, she had vehemently declared on several occasions.

_True_, Lin thought. _She has changed._

She had gotten taller, which had been the first thing that had hit him the moment he jumped through the window and crash-landed on the floor; the second thing was how different she looked. For a fraction of second, Lin had actually thought he had entered the wrong room and ended up in somebody else's chamber, although the idea seemed ridiculously improbable now that he thought about it; even since Lady Ursa… um, well, Azula was the only one occupying the Royal Female Quarters now. Also, now that he thought about it, the maids occupied shared bedrooms in their dormitories; even the senior maids shared rooms. None of them had the luxury of personal chamber.

And of course, to further prove he had crash-landed into the right chamber was her blue flame.

_She looks different_, Lin found himself thinking again, staring deep into the sleeping Princess' face, studying every feature of her face. Her hair, tied into a simple ponytail like it usually was when she was sleeping, raven and slightly disheveled at this point; her usual twin bangs, the left one was lying limply on the bed, the right one draped over the side of her face as she lay on her side; her face, her forehead and brows, her closed almond-shaped eyes, her prim nose, elegant and gentle but currently pale lips, her soft cheeks, her smooth heart-shaped jaw, delicately carved by Agni.

Lin's nobleman upbringing and righteousness of mind kept the confines of his observation from anything but the Princess' face.

_She looks different…_

"_I'm not a kid anymore!"_

She was not that little girl from that dark lawn with bandages and bracelet anymore…

"_I'm pretty sure she will grow into a beautiful young lady one day"_, said Aunt Bing.

And Lin caught a part of him silently agreeing with his aunt despite himself.

They were engaged…

Had been so for the last three years.

Due to be wed the moment she turned sixteen.

Lin let out a deep but controlled and silent breath; he did not want to disturb her sleep. He sat motionless on the floor with one hand clutched in her hand; Azula's other hand was still holding on to the green jade flute. Lin rubbed the surface of the skin of the hand he was holding with his thumb. To his surprise, Azula squeezed back and whined a little in her sleep. Her grip persisted and, thank be Agni, so did her slumber.

She needed to rest.

"_I'm not a kid anymore!"_

_True_, Lin thought again. Traces of her childhood were… well, nothing but traces now. She looked different. _Especially around the… cheeks?_ Lin pondered upon the Princess' sleeping face. It was almost like she… her face shrunk, sharpened? Maybe…

And she had gotten taller.

Lin mentally grunted. He could see it, the change, but he found it hard to describe it.

Lin reached out to her face, tucking her bang behind her ear carefully as to not wake her up.

She needed her rest.

"_I'm not a kid anymore!"_

She was not a kid anymore…

And yet, all Lin could see was that little girl from the lawn, with bandages and a bracelet. The young Dragon missed that life greatly. When he was an heir and she was that little girl from the lawn with bandages and a bracelet. Life had been so simple, so clear, so right.

Honorable…

He was now but a liar.

"_You're right",_ Lin silently agreed. _"I'm a liar."_

His pride, however, compelled him to rise to his own defense: _"But, I've never lied to you."_

He just never told her the truth.

"_Not the whole truth, anyway"_, Lin grasped her fingers lightly.

Not the important, pertinent part.

He missed that life, his old life. When he was an heir and she was the little girl from the lawn with bandages and a bracelet.

Life had been so simple, so clear, so right.

Life had been honorable.

"We're engaged, you know", he told her in soft whisper; so soft he could barely hear himself. "You obviously don't want to marry me; you hate me, think I'm icky, and won't even admit that you kissed me."

He smiled rather sadly.

"I don't think I want to marry you, either", Lin resumed his one-sided conversation. "I can't seem to see you that way."

Because to him, Azula was still that little girl from the lawn with bandages and a bracelet for the most part.

"And from the moment we got engaged", Lin added. "I admit I've been trying to find a way to get out of it. I still am."

Azula's right hand that was clutching the flute retreated deeper into her chest. Lin waited until she stopped stirring.

"No offense, of course", Lin grinned a little. "I just think that, you know, you being a Princess and all… you won't want anything to do with a fugitive like me, right?"

Yeah… a Princess and a criminal. How very… fairytale-like.

Yeah, fairytale. Unrealistic.

Lin replayed the memory of the raven-haired angel sleeping peacefully in his arms while they sat on a beautiful sandy beach… of the raven-haired angel playing by the beach, kicking sand and water, laughing with such innocent joy and childlike wonder at the breeze, the wave, the fluttering of her white robe.

Funny, Lin suddenly realized. He remembered the night the proposal was delivered and accepted. His father had asked him what they would do about it; Lin had said that he would go on with it since it had been accepted anyway. His argument to convince himself was that he was meant to be with that raven-haired angel.

And yet, ever since that day, his thought had been dedicated to wiggling his way out of the engagement.

"My god, you were right", Lin whispered in resignation. "I _am_ a hypocrite."

_What now…?_

"Good question", Lin conceded to her. "What now?"

_Will you go through with it? The engagement?_

"I don't know", Lin whispered tiredly. "You think I'm unmarriageable, remember?"

_Yeah, but… I might change my mind._

"Like hell you'd say that", Lin mentally scoffed.

_You don't know that. You don't me…_

"True", Lin nodded. "I don't even know your hobby."

I_ don't even know your name._

"You know my name."

_I don't remember it._

"That's rude. How could you forget your sifu's name? Bad student…"

_Stupid sifu!_

"Am not."

_Are so!_

"Am not."

_Tell me your name…_

"You know my name."

_Tell me!_

"No."

_Stupid!_

"Yeah…"

_Jerk!_

"Maybe…"

_Dummy… dummydummydummydummydummydum my!_

"*_snicker_* Not dumb-dumb?"

_No! You're worse!_

"I guess I am", Lin smiled sadly. "Sorry…?"

_Not sincere enough!_

"I know. Sorry…"

Azula's eyes slowly and faintly fluttered open. As her blurry vision sharpened, allowing her to visually perceive her sifu sitting on the floor, thus concurring with her other senses that were suspecting the resident dummy leaving her side despite their still joined hands, Azula naturally raised her flute wielding hand.

Lin found the meek timid force behind the flute blow heartbreaking.

"Hey", his whisper was ragged.

Azula blinked once slowly; eyes half-closed. Her dry pale lips parted as her mouth moved. No sound was heard, absolutely none. "_Hey, who?_" she mouthed.

"Hey, Zula?"

She narrowed her eyes sharply, pouting; he smiled back weakly.

"How are you feeling?" Lin asked, feeling a clog in his throat.

"Don… kno…" she managed a little before swallowing with such visible struggle.

She refused to let go of Lin's hand, making the latter's effort to pour the Princess a glass of water from the pitcher he had thoughtfully relocated to her nightstand increasingly difficult. With a half-filled goblet, Lin got up and sat on the bedside, gently tugging the girl up to his arms.

"Here, slowly", he said, lifting the cup to the girl's mouth and tipped it a little; Azula raised her free hand to touch the base of the goblet even if it did not help her drink. The gesture would suffice. Lin noticed that she did this a lot with him; when Lin helped him with something where he would do most of the heavy lifting, she would still want to do something, no matter how small or insignificant, just to pitch in. She was independent like that although she was clearly not above ordering servants to do stuff just for the heck of it.

Lin knew that she learnt that second trait from Mai. The first was from Ursa.

Azula coughed once as she swallowed. Whining, she snuggled tighter onto Lin's torso.

Putting the goblet back on the nightstand, Lin asked. "Are we snuggling now?"

Azula flicked the wrist of her flute wielding hand, scoring a weak blow on the boy's back.

"I've told you can't sleep down there", she muttered; only half of the sentence came out as something louder than a whisper.

"I wasn't sleeping", Lin argued, leaning back on the headrest with the Princess resting on his chest. "Why can't I sleep down there?"

Azula, whose arms had curled in front of his chest, hit him once on the gut. It was barely a tap…

"Stop asking stupid questions", she ordered with her still ragged whisper.

"How are you feeling?" Lin asked full of concern despite his lighthearted smile.

"I said stop asking stupid questions", Azula repeated with more force. A tad more force. Just… a tad more.

If Lin felt amused, even if just a little, he did not show it. Leaning down, pressing her chin to the top of Azula's head, his cheek grazed her ponytail's knot, he whispered. "I'm serious. How are you feeling?"

Azula took a few seconds to give him a still weak but rather flat. "I don't know. Weak?"

"How's your head?" Lin asked again, not moving his head from hers. "Does it still hurt?"

"A little", she grumbled at first but then redressed with a grunt. "A lot."

"Sleep, come on", Lin tried to sound commanding; he sounded like he was pleading instead. "Please", did not help at all.

Azula though showed no resistance to the idea. Sliding down, she found her way to her pillow. Lying sideways with her back turned on Lin, she grunted a little as she closed her eyes. When she felt a shift in her bed though, she reached out behind her without turning back. She caught Lin's sash as he was about to descend. She turned to him and found that he indeed was about to get down.

Azula's stare stayed a moment that lasted longer than it had.

"You're afraid of me, aren't you?" she asked, tone distant if not forlorn. At least her voice was back, even if she did sound tired.

He smiled, scoffed even.

Leaning closer to her, he set the back Azula's neck tingling. "Am not", he whispered in her ear before kissing her on the side of her cheek.

She hit him weakly with the flute.

"You can't kiss me there", her attempt at sounding furious was pathetic even for her; she wiped her cheek roughly. "In fact", she frowned. "You can't kiss me at all. You're getting too comfortable around my personal space."

"Yeah… look who's talking", he patted her arms circling his abdomen.

"Shut up", Azula did not seem to care as she snuggled tighter onto his warmth, resting her head on his slouching body. "I'm sick. I'm allowed."

"Again, I'm concerned", Lin restated, stroking her head. "What are you gonna do when I'm gone again?"

"Stay then", Azula said quietly. "That way, you won't have to find out, you won't have to be worried or concerned. It's simple, isn't it?"

Lin did not reply. He could not.

"Sleep", Azula said, literally feeling her sifu fading in his exhaustion. "And don't—" _leave me_… She stopped, unable to bring herself to finish her sentence. She concluded with the restatement of. "Just sleep."

Lin was tired. And lately, when he was tired, he did not think straight. A tiny voice in his head reminded him that should Fire Lord Ozai suddenly appear, he would be incinerated on the spot. But, _meh_… the boy surmised lazily as he slid down and leveled Azula's head to his chest. It was three in the morning and Head Physician Azaya might send a hawk before she arrived like the previous day; he would be forewarned. And besides, Lin was lying near the edge of the bed. Azula could just shove him over the edge should the need arise.

_And besides…_ Lin pressed his chin on top of the girl's head, stroking the back of her head gently. _She might be cold_. Even though he knew that she was not.

-0-0-0-0-0-

_She lied on the bed sideways on her left, raven hair slightly sticking out of her usually tidy ponytail, red sleeping robe disheveled and messily pulled down exposing the fair skin of her upper chest, her delicate-looking collarbone, and quite a generous amount of her cleavage that had spilt over from under her robe that her hand held together in front of her chest, and her bare cringing right shoulder. Quivering lower lip bitten as she sniffed her unreal sob and her dainty finger wiped her nonexistent tear. _

_Would have been flawlessly convincing if she was not smirking._

"_Molested by my own sifu…" she began her melancholic lamentation, lips tipping up and amber eyes shone with mischievous glint despite the sadness they portrayed. "I have brought dishonor to my family. *sniff* No one will want to marry me now…"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

… and Lin had not even closed his eyes completely yet. The universe hated him.

It was like a conspiracy against him, a cruel cruel conspiracy to deny him a few moments of rest.

He inhaled silently, firebending meditation reflex kicked in as he calmed his mind and empty his thought. The smell of Azula's hair and the warmth she radiated in his embrace did naught to ease his endeavor.

"What's wrong?" Azula asked curiously as her sifu squirmed to his back though she refused to abandon his folded arm underneath her head. Apparently, she too noticed the briefly flaring flame on the nearby torches.

"No… I just don't feel so good", Lin said nervously without establishing eye contact.

Azula had never seen him in this much discomfort; it intrigued her.

"What's wrong?" the Princess rose a little though she purposefully kept her hand on his folded arm lest that arm slip away. "You look… Why are you blushing?"

"Blushing? Blu-blushing? _Blushing_? Wh-who's blushing? I'm-I'm not blushing", Lin stuttered, tugging his collar a little; he could have sworn he felt a draft of steam rising up from inside his garb.

"You're blushing", Azula decided flatly though her tone tendered as she asked again. "What's wrong?"

"Just a headache…"

-0-0-0-0-0-

_He did not even notice that he had walked through the door; he was exhausted, physically and mentally. Iroh, walking past the corridor bearing a tray of dirty cups, halted his steps, startled by his unexpected entry through the backdoor. The old man smiled warmly, turned to the stairs, and nudged his head towards it, silently telling him that she was waiting on the second floor._

_He nodded his thanks at the old man as he took a step into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. Walking towards the staircases, he took off his sword from his back and carried it in his hand; his other hand tiredly reached to his hood, pushing the head covering off. _

_He ascended the staircases as silently as possible, grateful for the stone material on the construction. Wood would probably creak under his steps that felt so heavy._

_He found her on the other side of the living room on the second floor. _

_He walked slowly, he was not in a hurry. He propped his sword against the wall, took off his robe and draped it on the couch carelessly. Not a second he took his amber eyes off of her._

_The most beautiful thing he had ever seen._

_She sat on the couch beside the window, under a patch of morning sunlight. Oh, the way the light danced on her flawless pearl-white skin, on her raven haired that glowed brown under the white light, on her pale green and white robe…_

… _on her smile. _

_Oh, such bright smile._

_He walked as inconspicuously as possible. The little distance between him and her he paced through with no hurry at all. He drank in the sight of her beauty, reveling in the sound of her voice singing the song softly, the serene song she had hummed the first time they danced._

_Her gentle voice, her loving amber eyes, her hand tapping her swollen belly, the sunlight her firebender heritage and her unborn baby took comfort in._

_She had never looked more beautiful to him._

_He was actually disappointed when he arrived, finally, at her side; the sunlight cast their shadows away from the window, away from her and onto him. Shadows fell on him. The irony was not lost to the man. _

_He placed his hand gently on her shoulder to announce his arrival; he felt her muscle tensing and her song abruptly stopped. She turned to her; no glee or joy was left in her expression, in her eyes that did not truly look at him._

"_How are you doing?" he asked softly. Lovingly._

_Her jaw hardened, her empty gaze persisted at the floor beneath them. "We're doing fine", she said through her clenched teeth, seething slightly and hurting much by his mere presence. "So?" she asked, still sounding dry, flat, and distant; her hand caressed her stomach. "Will the father of my child come home to me?"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

"…that has suddenly developed into a migraine."

Oh, Agni in heaven….

_What is this… pain? Is this even pain? Pain shouldn't be this… painful. _

This was no mere pain; the word 'pain' could not even begin to describe what he felt inside his chest. Oh, like a gaping hole just ripped open and refused to close down. And somebody shot an arrow made of hot magma into that hole…

The last time Lin felt this way, but _not_ quite like this, was when Lu Ten died. This was no mere pain. This was more, oh, so much more than mere pain.

"Hey…"

"Hey, who?" Lin muttered despite… the pain.

"Hey, dummy", Azula said flatly, though her eyes showed more tender concern at her sifu who was suddenly gripping his forehead with his free hand while trying to squiggle away from her. "Seriously, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm—", Lin was not that good of a liar.

"_The future is not set on a slab of stone",_ Avatar Serra had reminded him.

"I'm fine", Lin breathed; turning to the Princess, he managed a weak smile. "I just have a little headache."

-0-0-0-0-0-

_In nothing but his trousers, he felt like he just sank back deeper into the bed; she was on top of him, straddling him. Her hair in her ponytail, her two bangs veiling the sides of her face, and her face was graced by her smile, that smile, the one he adored so much. _

_Gorgeous smile._

_Beautiful. _

_Angelic._

_Her eyes stayed on his; tender were they like he had never seen them before. Not in the longest of time…_

_She undid the knot of her nightgown delicately, letting the red silk garment flow down the smooth flawless snow-white skin of her shoulder… her arms… her chest… her firm breasts… her well-toned stomach. Muliebrity of the most perfect kind._

_She wore nothing underneath her robe._

_His heart thumped hard in his chest._

_She held her smile as air of gentle sheepishness seeped into the pink tint on her cheeks. But, she held her smile still. Beautiful gorgeous smile on her angelic complexion. _

_Serene smile… _

_Truly she was the child of war. War… when youth was cut short in favor for adulthood, when adulthood was kept and retained for as long as one could until one turned old and grey and frail._

_Truly she was the child of war. The Warrior Princess… at the age of adolescence possessing the body of a young woman and the keen mind of a fully matured female decades older than she really was._

_A warrior princess._

_A princess…_

_Now, she was only a princess. _His_ princess…_

_She bared it all for him, all but her womanhood hidden behind the clump of her nightgown she held below her waist though on one side she had unobstructed the view of the left side of her pelvis all the way down to her leg, tentatively offering him a sneak peek of her heaven she was offering him._

_She leaned down on him, her front touching onto his gently; skin met skin. _

_Warm… soft… gentle…_

_Tender…_

_She slithered almost seductively on him, leveling her face above his; their warm breaths mingling into one. He saw it in her… _

_The girl he thought he had lost long ago… the girl he thought he would never recognize anymore… _

_She was here, with him. On top of him._

_For a brief moment, she was her again. There, in those amber eyes of her that were gentle and tender like he had never seen before (not in the longest of time), in that shade of pink on her cheeks, in that smile on her soft lips._

_She circled her arms around his neck, touching his nose with hers briefly, sniffing a little as she raised her head temptingly to avoid his kiss. He could feel her, all of her; her warmth soft skin against his. All of her; her tender arms around him, her gentle fingers brushing hair off his forehead, her chest, her breasts pressing onto his body, her legs on his sides. More of her than he had before._

_All of her…_

_Even her heartbeat bouncing off his chest._

_She spoke; her voice was silk and warm breeze. "Your Princess is rewarding you with her innocence", she said with that seductive lilt of hers. "It's a great honor."_

"_I know", he said calmly, eyes never leaving hers._

_She leaned closer to his ear and whispered. "So, what are you waiting for? Take it…"_

_She gasped as he, with a surge of strength she did not anticipate, moved and flipped her to her back fast but gently, and now he was on top of her. His lips meeting hers was more compassionate than she thought it would be. His kisses tracing down to her chin and jaw, then to her neck and collarbone, were just as pleasant. His left hand found her shoulder; as did his kisses. His left hand was more adventurous, tracing down, all the way down to her side._

_The same hand ventured deeper onto her thighs that were clamped together to hide herself from the moment he had her on her back. _

_He took note of this, and of her legs tensing up and refusing to spread as his hand burrowed in between her inner thighs._

_He stopped kissing and nipping her neck. "You don't have to do this", he said, whispering to her ear._

"_I want to", she persisted, unable to hide a tiny strain in her voice. He took notice of this too…_

_He scoffed lightly, kindly. "No, you don't."_

"_Don't argue with me."_

"_I'm not."_

"_You're arguing."_

"_Am not."_

"_Are so."_

_He rose a little, face above hers. They stared into at each other. Tenderly…_

_His lips finding hers, hers receiving his… was gentle and tender for a brief moment before lust… carnality, passion, salacity… lust took control._

_Lust took control… _

…_of the Warrior and his Princess._

-0-0-0-0-0-

"…which might be a tumor… yes, a tumor! O-or a cancer! Either way, I'm pretty sure it's contagious so…" Lin griped incoherently. "The spirits hate me, the universe hates me… I don't know what's going on here. I don't know what's wrong with me… _and_ I'm rhyming again… Oh, god… Oh, Agni, I wanna die, I just wanna die…"

Azula was not very fond of being picked up and set down on a pillow the way he did; less than gentle and too hasty to her liking. Him squirming away from her without the courtesy of being subtle or avoiding to rock the bed so much hurt both her feelings and her head. Also, she still felt faint and weak.

Really, she did. So much so the speed of her clutch catching the dummy's sash surprised her. The word that she breathed, "Don't…" felt like it came from a distance, echoing in the darkness of a deep cave that was her throat.

"Azula", he sounded like he was begging as he freed himself from her feeble grip and sat down on the floor. "I'm not going to sleep, okay. I'm just sitting down here."

Her eyes shattered.

Azula turned around, giving him both the proverbial and literal cold shoulder. The Princess even dropped his flute over her shoulder, letting it go for the first time after more than a day clutching it. Lin did not take it, his uncomfortable gaze was fixed on her.

"Azula, come on", he reached out to her shoulder but Azula shrugged it off. It was the way her shoulder moved as she cringed; it sent an invisible blow to his heart. "Azula…"

"Shut up. I'm not talking to you", the Princess' voice was tainted by deep pain. So were her teary eyes. "Don't come near me", she added as she felt a shift on her bed, hearing his garb rubbing against the bedcover. "You can't keep doing this…"

"Azu—"

She cut him in. "Why do you always do that?" she sounded both angry and hurt, more hurt than angry.

"Azula, come on", Lin started uncomfortably as he sat back on the bed and leaned down over the Princess while half-meditating in the inside to keep his mind in the here and now. He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder but Azula cringed under his soft grip though he did not let go.

"I hate you, you know", Azula said with a voice that was too steady. "I really do. But… I don't want to. You're—", Azula bit her lip to stop herself. She did not want to finish the last sentence.

At his arm circling her shrinking self, she added with a tone of hurt. "You can't do this. You can't keep doing this to me."

"Sorry", she felt his sigh on the top of her head as she cringed tighter with her arms in front of her, trapped in his gentle embrace. His other hand maneuvered from above her head, bringing the green jade flute in front of her before settling folded under her head.

"Why are you doing this?" Azula asked; she wanted to be angry, she wanted to feel angry. She felt hurt instead and she did not know why.

"I don't know", Azula could feel his discomfort in the way his chest tightened on her back.

"I hate you", Azula said again, her arms folded on her chest cringed tighter, fists gripping the front of her robe below her chin as if to steady herself.

"Do you believe in destiny?" he asked instead.

Azula scoffed slightly, bitterly. "Why? Do you?"

"Maybe… I don't want to", he said with a tone Azula rarely heard from him, the tone of a deep thought, of resignation even… of defeat. "I've been trying to fight it, to prove that it doesn't have a hold on me, to prove that… it is not set on a slab of stone", Azula felt a certain kind of desperation in the last part. He resumed his words. "I'm tired, Azula. I really am."

"I know", Azula said before she could stop herself; she did not even know what made her say that. She kept her gaze on the flute in front of her just to steady her mind.

"I'm just…" he squeezed her a little. "… glad that you're doing okay. I care so much about you, you know."

"Liar", Azula argued tersely, coldly. "I don't believe you."

"Why not?" he still sounded tender, in that tone that Azula rarely heard from him.

"Because you keep doing… _this_", Azula practically spat the last word.

"Doing what?" he asked.

_Yeah, like you don't know!_ Azula nearly threw to his face. If only he was not sounding so somber and doleful himself, she really would, you know! Azula was mad, angry… don't let her silent tears fool you. "You…" Azula let out a short sharp gasp, wiping her tears swiftly as her sob nearly broke free. She did not want to cry out loud. Not again… "You always do this. You make mad, you hurt me. You leave me… and then— then… you know…"

"Then what?" he encouraged.

Azula turned to him and gave him the stare.

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know", he smiled weakly.

Azula fixed her furious gaze lower, on his chin. "Next time, just skip the '_drive Azula up the wall_' part and just go right to the part where—", she bit her lip again, almost blurting out the words she did not want to say.

"Yeah…?" he drawled and Azula saw his smirk. She slapped him on the chest.

"Shut up", the Princess grumbled, not knowing why the corner of her mouth tingled and only grateful that she decided to roll around again so he would not see her rebellious smile breaking free despite her still glistening eyes.

"Hey…" he called, squeezing her slightly.

"Hey, _who_?" Azula muttered, sniffing her leftover sob as silently as possible.

"Hey, Azzie?"

She elbowed him.

"The part where…" he restated her hanging sentence. "…where…?"

"Shut up", Azula grumbled, eyes fixed on the green jade flute in front of her.

"…wheeere?"

"I said shut up", Azula half-whined, half-giggled. "Shut up. Shutupshutupshutup!"

He laughed a little. "Say it", he whispered.

"No. You're stupid", Azula huffed, trying to elbow his but he held her tightly.

"Tell me why you want me to stay", he said.

"Tell me your name", she countered.

"Tell me your hobby."

"Tell why you hug me."

"Tell me what you want for your birthdays I missed."

"You staying."

He had no comeback. Azula's sincere hopeful eyes had that effect on him as Lin would find out years from now.

Lin hated himself that the only thing he could say was: "What about Ba Sing Se?"

A guilt attack…

Azula was stunned for a brief moment before her gaze turned hazy and distant and then fluttered away as she slowly rolled to her back.

"I hate you, you know", she repeated quietly, eyes fixed upon the upper panel of her bed. "But, I don't want to. You're… you're different", she turned her head to him but kept her gaze low so she would not meet his eyes. "You're special to me", Azula heard herself say, feeling both light and a little embarrassed by the confession that she, under normal circumstances, was more than happy to keep to herself and bring to her grave. "You're the first friend I've ever had."

She braved herself to look into his eyes.

"I don't want to hate you", she said and she repeated it again. "I don't want to hate you."

"I'm really sorry", Azula heard him say, felt his gentle touch tucking her left bang behind her ear. "I-I never knew", he sounded serious and apologetic. "I never knew you feel that way."

"Now you do", Azula muttered, back to staring straight at his chin with unfocused gaze. "So, don't do that again."

"I'll try", he said. Azula felt him tapping her nose; her mouth nearly instinctively curved up into a smile.

"And I know what you're trying to do", she said instead, tersely. "You're trying to make me laugh again. And you were also trying to change the topic. Two at the same time; you're getting better at annoying me."

"It was unintentional", he said; Azula naturally did not trust that smirk of his.

"I want to hit you", she growled. "Can I?"

"No", he said, trying to catch the Princess' flighty fists. "Azula, come on", he laughed, catching her wrists; she too was smirking despite her sulking. "Stop that… my head hurts now."

"Good", Azula shoved him once, still smirking but she knew it. This time, she did not care. "Now, you know how I feel… your whole existence is a headache!"

"Oh, what an awful thing to say about your boyfriend…"

"YOU'RE NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"

"Why noooot?" Lin asked, succeeding to sound both whiny and disappointed; his grin was set on teasing mode though.

"Shut up!" Azula's scream fit strangely well with her beet red cheeks. "We are _not_ dating, we will never _ever_ be! You're icky!"

"I am?" Lin asked, sounding utterly perplexed as he defended himself from the barrage of pillow strikes. "Oh, well… Earth Kingdom girlfriend, here I come…"

"I said you can't date any Earth Kingdom girls! Were you even listening to me?!" Azula barked, still red. "I'm still your Princess, you know. I get to order you around!"

"Yeah…" he drawled, still ginning so annoyingly. "But, you seem to have forgotten one thing: I'm a fugitive—"

"_Traitor_!"

"—I am not bound by the law anymore", Lin grinned triumphantly. "So, Princess or not, you don't get to order me around. … And now, please stop looking at me with those… *_whimper_*… Azula… _stop that_…"

"…*_sniff_*…"

Closing his eyes had never been so heartbreaking for Lin. "I'm not looking. I'm going to sleep now", he declared. "And I'm still gonna find an Earth Kingdom girlfriend!"

He heard Azula's low giggle, smiling himself at the sound; it was nice sound to him. Next, he felt himself smothered briefly by her and her arms circling his neck before she let up. "Night", she said.

At the warmth radiating from her on his face, the thumping of her heart he felt in front of his face, Lin dared not breathe. "You know that hugging me like this in inappropriate, right?"

…or move away….

"You hug me like this", Azula countered, pressing her chin to the top of Lin's head, trying to ignore the flutter inside her chest, hoping to Agni he would not notice it himself.

"Yeah, because it's okay if… _urgh_… Azula…" Lin sighed when she merely giggled again.

"Just sleep", she said, patting his head like he would hers.

"This is still wrong", Lin argued again.

"Why?" Azula asked, giving his head a tiny squeeze.

"You're a girl", she heard his slightly muffled but very tired voice came from her chest. "I'm a guy."

"I don't care", Azula smiled a little; smiled not smirked. "You're… _you_. You're different."

"Am not."

"Are too. Stop arguing."

He snickered but Azula felt bitterness in it. This was one of the things that baffled her about her dummy sifu: as difficult and complicated he was for her to read, Azula seemed to have an uncanny knack to know what he was truly feeling from time to time, usually when he was being like this… when he was tired and… real. More real than usual. When all pretenses were gone, tucked away somewhere where they would not matter.

"What if I am a bad person?" he said quietly but still not moving away. "What if I am an evil person? You'll be hugging an evil person in your chest right now."

"You're not evil", Azula argued just as quietly.

"You don't know that" came from him, still with his earlier tone.

"I know you", Azula said in all sincerity.

"I've killed someone, Azula", his tone went darker. "What am I but evil?"

Fire Princess Azula had but one answer: "A hero."

Azula was proud of her unwavering voice. Lin did not know what to feel, torn between dark guilt and sickening pride. He just hugged her tighter and it felt so right.

"Your dad might come in", Lin argued again though he still could not seem to bring himself to move away.

"Not this early. It's still three something", Azula rebutted. "Come on. Sleep", she said again with a tone of tender and caring that Lin had not heard of her in the longest of time.

Not since the night in the lawn with bandages and bracelet.

"Sing for me?" Lin grinned.

"Only if I get to zap your ears afterwards", Azula replied threateningly, feeling him scoff in her chest and the brief flutter that ensued.

"Night, Princess", he said and she replied that with. "Night, dummy."

Smiling to herself, Azula too closed her eyes; the moment she did, she actually became more alert. Deciding that she had slept enough, she opened her eyes and let her mind wander.

… to that day… so long ago it seemed.

It was summer, unlike this.

A guard coming home from his two-week summer leave had contracted sun-fever: a strand of highly contagious Fire Nation fever that is borne of over-exposure to scorching summer sun that strangely only affects male firebenders; it has something to do with the chi of the sun overloading a person's inner fire and Yang Element, and males and masculinity being the representation of Yang Element (which is why female firebenders do not get them).

Anyway, Lin and Zuko caught them. Lin had planned a little special extra training for Zuko that time; Azula snickered under her breath as she remembered Lin confessing to her sheepishly that it had been more like him getting rid of Zuko for a day so he could train Azula alone by setting Zuko and a couple of Imperial Firebenders on a sparring session.

Azula's smug light mood had been wiped off completely by her dummy sifu addressing each and every bits of imperfection in her forms that day; the thing that he usually did not get to do much with Zuko around the vicinity. After their training was over, Zuko arrived so Lin could 'check on his progress'.

Lin beat Zuko up so baaaadd…

The next day firebending training, both boys showed some signs of fatigue. While Lin had been successful at hiding most of it all through the session, Zuko had been whining all the way. Right after the after-training tea (_after… after-training…?_), which the sifu would usually use to cool off while delivering lectures and assessment regarding their performances, Zuko dragged himself away to his quarters while Azula hung behind as usual. Azula never neglected to hang around after training to ask for more Zuko-free firebending training or to simply watch her sifu practice his own firebending.

Her sifu had slumped back to the bench they occupied and collapsed sideways to her shoulder. Azula thought he was joking around as usual. It was not until some servants came running in the hallway in front of them, yelling something about Prince Zuko collapsing in the corridor that Azula knew something was wrong.

The next day, Ursa had been hovering around the rooms of both boys; a very daunting task since Zuko and Lin's rooms were on separate wings and had about fifteen minutes walk -ten if you stride and five if you sprint and a palanquin takes twice the usual time- through the conventional route between them. For some reason, Ursa had been reluctant to leave the duty of taking care of Lin to some servants.

Azula, who was not some servant, had volunteered for the task.

She did not think her mother would agree, a Princess hanging around in a boy's room, but the Lady did just that in a heartbeat. Well, Azula got her wish: spending time alone with her firebending sifu in an enclosed space… where she was planning to extract more firebending tutelage in the art of his family, so keep your mind off the gutter, please.

Would have worked if he had not been sleeping nearly the whole time.

She had been looking forward to a boring day filled with nothing to do but applying cold damp towels on the boy's forehead. She had never told a soul, and swore she never would, that it had been… not boring.

That day, she realized that she loved watching him sleep.

He had a peaceful sleeping face. Usually, when he was awake, he looked alert and either stern or all grinning depending on the mood Azula and Zuko plunged him into during their training. When he was helping around with Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee's schoolwork, he would have this 'smarter-than-thou' smug annoying look. When he was having an evening tea with Ursa, he would actually look childish but that might just be Ursa; the Lady's presence had that effect on people.

Sometimes though, when he was alone (or thought he was alone), he would zone off, lost in his thought, he would have this distant solemn look of someone who bear the burden of the world on his face.

He would look so… tired… lethargic, exhausted… old.

Not like this, Azula thought to himself as she had all those years ago as she watched his sleeping face. As soon as she felt his breath going on steady pace, Azula let him go and slid down to level her face along his. He looked peaceful, like he had been that day. Minus a damp towel over his forehead, of course. The irony that their roles had been reversed –now, with Azula being sick and him taking care of her- was not lost to the Princess.

Azula sucked in her lips when she realized that she was smiling, and sheepishly pressed her knuckle in front of her mouth to better discourage such rebellious reaction from her face. She should not be smiling; that would be… weird.

With her free hand, she pushed the hair off her dummy sifu's forehead; he twitched at her touch but did not wake up. That would be another thing Azula liked about him; he was a born warrior. Everything he did, every little thing he did, every habit, every trait, every mannerism showcased his upbringing, a sign that he was a real born and bred warrior and not just some pompous noble boys all of her suitors had been.

Suitors… marriage…

"_Marry me."_

Azula squeezed her eyes shut, trying to banish such… such _thoughts_ as far away as possible!

The Princess shuddered briefly, especially since a very very rational voice in her head, one that strangely resembled Mai's, delivered a rather plausible argument that chilled her spine.

_To be fair, he's not such a ba—_

"_No! Stop it!"_

_He's a great firebender, a Dragon, a war hero…_

"_He's a traitor!"_

_Fugitive… but, point taken. Not! He's working undercover for dad, remember?_

"_I don't care!"_

_Father must have something prepared, some documents or decree or something, to clear his name._

"_I know _that_! But, I don't care! He's— he's… ewww!"_

_He's the heir of the Lin Family, one of the oldest and most powerful clans in our Nation._

"I don't care! He… he left me! He's a traitor!"

_Imagine the possibility. The Royal Family and the Lin Family have bad blood in the past._

"_I know, I know! Fire Lord Hizen and Yi, the Great, dueling each other in an Agni Kai; Yi, the Great, won. It was the first time ever someone beat a member of the Royal Family in an Agni Kai."_

_Exactly. There's a reason why even after Agni-knows-how-many centuries passed, the two families have never been united by marriage, you know._

"_Yeah! So, why not keep it that way?! It certainly works!"_

_Simple: think of the possibility. The Dragon of the Deep Forest and the Princess of the Blue Flame. Fire Nation will benefit greatly from such union._

"_I don't care! I don't want to!"_

… _You don't care about our Nation…?_

Azula could not answer. She was the daughter of the Fire Lord; how could her answer be anything but that she cared. She had to care; it was her duty. Duty that comes with her birthright; the duty to her Nation.

The Princess took a deep breath to calm her mind; she was silently and begrudgingly grateful for the dummy for teaching her those boring meditation exercises. It helped her calm her raging mind, quell those… voices. Especially the mean ones.

And, again, Fire Princess Azula would never ever admit it, but… staring at his sleeping face helped too. There was something about him, there must be. Azula indulged herself in the rare moment where she would let her mind wander off completely, the rare moment where her thought she let slip off her control.

She loved watching him sleep.

She must have indeed because when the knocking on her closed window snapped her off her thought, she instinctively looked up to her hourglass and found that it was now six in the morning. When Azula settled down again, Lin stirred slowly and woke up. The knocking from the window continued.

Sleepily but dutifully, Lin rose and, rubbing his eyes and yawning, walked towards the noise. Azula watched his back as he opened the window and received the messenger hawk outside. Extracting the letter and setting the bird free, he closed the window and walked back to the bed and simply collapsed face first with his hand holding the rolled up letter extended, writhing as if dying.

Azula chuckled slightly as she picked up the flute, suddenly realizing that she had not reclaimed it all night after she had let it go, and tapped his head lightly with it. "Dummy", she said.

It sort of scared her how perfectly natural it felt when, after taking the letter, she lied on her stomach with their heads side by side and pointing at opposite directions, and, after pushing his hair off the side of his face, she pecked his cheek briefly.

Azula rolled on her back and unrolled the letter. Lin's tired face turned to her and asked. "How are we not dating?" which Azula had expected of him.

"We're just not. Stop talking about it. You're icky", she replied without taking her eyes off of the letter bearing the news of Head Physician Azaya's arrival in half an hour.

He scoffed. Yawning and squirming, he got on his back and exhaled deeply. Turning to Azula, who was still eying him with a slight smirk on her face, Lin reached to the girl's upside down face and pushed her messy hair off her forehead.

"Don't ask", Azula muttered flatly the moment Lin's lips parted.

"I'm worried about you", Lin said.

"Liar", she retorted.

"When?" Lin asked instead, exhaling tiredly.

"At six", Azula replied and added after she took a peek at her hourglass. "In half an hour."

"How are you feeling?" his muffled question came.

Azula sighed. "I've told you to stop asking me stupid questions."

He turned to her; Azula saw his bloodshot eyes filled with concern and lethargy.

Something stirred inside the Princess at the sight.

Azula decided, using her sickness and sudden feeling of exhaustion as justification, to do the first thing that came to her mind, knowing full well how she would not even consider pressing her forehead onto his under normal circumstances; not willingly anyway. Her forehead was warm; his was cold.

She closed her eyes.

"Marry me?"

"No", she mentally rolled her eyes.

"Date me?"

"No", the corner of her mouth twitched amusedly.

"Please?"

"No."

"I'll buy you candies."

"You're stupid", she was positively smiling.

His forehead left hers as he rolled to his back, stretched and sat up. Azula watched him with interest as he redid his messy ponytail into a more dignified form, moved to the edge of his bed and put on his boots. He reached to the pitcher and goblet and poured some water. Azula put on her adorable puppy-dog eyes which made him narrow his eyes and help her sit up and drink some water.

"You're spoiled", he commented.

"You're a dummy", Azula retorted flatly as she leaned back on the headboard. Smirking she was as she watched her dummy sifu drained the rest of her goblet she had intentionally drank only a few mouthful. "Ha ha~"

Lin turned to her with arched brows as he put down the empty goblet and sat on the bedside. "Hmm?"

"You drank my water~", she sang.

"And?" Lin drawled.

"You'll catch my co~ld", Azula sang again, smirking triumphantly at his pained groan.

"I need to sleep", he groused. "I really need to sleep."

"Aw, is sifu unwell?" Azula cooed, patting _his_ head.

"My head hurts", Lin said. "Is it just me or have I caught whatever it is you have?"

"It's just you; your entire existence is a giant headache", Azula retorted snidely.

Lin snorted. "You're mean", he said.

"You're stupid", Azula yawned and sniffed a little. "What are you going to do today?"

"Staying with you", Lin replied quickly with no shred of hesitation. "I don't care what people say, I don't care what your dad says: I'm staying with you until you get better."

Azula blinked once; for a moment there, she could not believe her ears. Looking back at the firm amber of her sifu, she snickered. "Not working, still hate you", and added a punch on his chest. A tiny punch. And not because she was too weak to punch hard, mind you.

Lin simply scoffed.

"When Head Physician Azaya gets here", Lin started but the glint in Azula's eyes made him halt and sigh before he rephrased his earlier sentence. "When _Auntie_ Azaya gets here", he took a measure of comfort in the sound of her chuckle. "She's going to stay with you for a while, okay. I need to go back to my room for… eh, a couple of hours?"

"Why?" Azula asked, trying to ignore her suddenly tightening chest and the flaring pain in her head.

"I need to take care of something", Lin said lightly, treading carefully. "I'll be back before long. I promise."

Azula bit her lower lip a little; a childhood trait that she had actually truly controlled but not repressed. It sometimes still came out when she was around people she felt comfortable with. Lin gently reached out to the side of her face, tucked her bang away and placed her palm on her cheek. She felt warmer than she should; Lin took mental note of this.

"Okay?" he asked, smiling brightly.

Azula managed a weak smile that, by the love of Agni, grew just as bright as his. "Okay", she said. "But", she narrowed her eyes, scowling a little. "I'm keeping this hostage"

"And here, if you want", Lin smiled a little as he offered his emblem and even Nightshade in addition to his flute.

At her slightly arched brows, Lin added. "What? I've told you I won't run away, right?"

"I don't care", Azula denied weakly, looking away sheepishly. When Lin, just for the heck of it, tried to reclaim one of the items though, she hit his hand.

"Liar", he hissed, smirking. Azula narrowed her eyes threateningly at him.

"So, what do you want for your birthday, I'm serious?" Lin sat on the floor, stretching.

"You staying", Azula said, lying straighter and pulling her blanket tighter to her chest.

"Something else?" Lin thought aloud, frowning. "Seriously… most girls would be content with something shiny or… a doll or something. I really don't know what to get you."

"Fire Compression?" Azula asked hopefully.

"Nope", Lin replied flatly. "Come on… how about a new doll? _Don't hit me!_"

"I'm not a kid! I don't play with dolls!" Azula barked, trying to wrench the flute from his clutch.

"You know", Lin grinned a little guiltily. "You never did answer me when I asked you about the panda."

"I don't care", Azula huffed and yanked the flute hard, freeing it. Turning around, she said rather coldly. "I don't want to talk about it", while trying to banish the feeling of guilt in her heart. "And don't do that", she added rather grumpily at the feeling of his hand gently stroking the back of her head.

She felt a shift in the bed before his hand found its way back to her head. "Why not?" his voice came closer from behind her. "I'm really worried about you."

Azula turned to him and Lin noticed a certain lethargy, sadness even, in her tired amber. "I'm not a kid anymore", she said quietly. "Stop treating me like a kid", she added, eyes darting up to her sifu who was slouching against the headboard and thoughtfully keeping his feet away from her bed. Even Princess Azula had some pet peeves; the biggest one was when someone wears footwear in her bed.

One time, Zuko and Lu Ten were playing tag-and-explode and the two royal boys had seen it fit to burst into the five-year-old Princess' chamber and started running around, climbing the shrieking girl's bed twice without the courtesy of removing their boots. Azula had given them the silent treatment for nearly two weeks; Zuko had been elated, Lu Ten had been reduced to a kowtowing wreck.

On the plus side, this incident earned Azula the full volumes of '_Firelight'_ -a very popular Fire Nation novel series about a travelling firebending warrior who travelled the world and right the wrongs- that were currently reigning supreme on top of the Princess' bookrack. Lu Ten had spent nearly all his savings to get the ten volumes of the hardcover books to appease his baby cousin and buy his way back to her good graces.

"Don't leave me", Azula whispered. Rising up, she put her head on her sifu's stomach. Lin gently stroke her head; this, Azula tolerated. _Patting_ is one thing, _stroking_ is another. Besides, though Azula would never admit it, she enjoyed having her head stroked.

"But, you said I can go for a while", Lin smiled.

"I mean, don't leave me for Earth Kingdom", Azula said. In the back of her head, a voice was condemning her for her 'weakness'; the Princess' head was hurting too much for her to care. "Don't go. Please…"

He kept stroking her head, gently. Gentler.

"I'm unwell", Azula resumed her lamentation. "Would you really be so cruel as to leave me like this? Jerk…"

This time, Lin provided a verbal response. "I'll stay until you get better", he said, stroking her hair still, taking a strange sense of comfort in her weight on his stomach.

"But, that's just the thing", Azula said with that characteristic tone of hers, dripping with condescension and moist with sound of logic. "I don't think I'm ever getting better. You have to stay forever."

Azula felt a jolt on his stomach as he snickered. "Seriously", he said. "We're not dating?"

"We're not", Azula growled, pinching the nearest surface she could reach. "Stop talking about this kind of thing. You're ruining the moment."

He chuckled. "You know what", Azula heard him through her half-closed eyes. "You've been swamped with firebending, school, and now you're helping your dad with paperwork. You need a vacation."

The Princess winced. "Don't ever use that word in my presence again", she said in a tone dripping with venom.

Lin did not seem to notice.

"Ember Island?" he asked. "Warm sun, warm air; it'll be good for your cold."

"I don't want to go anywhere", Azula huffed, sniffing her clogged up nose hard.

"Nowhere at all?" he stopped stroking her head briefly.

"Well…" Azula trailed off, pondering while feeling his stroking continue. "Maybe, later on in the afternoon, I might want to go outside. A garden or somewhere; fresh air."

"Oh", came from him with a hint of doubt. Azula, being smart, knew instantly what was troubling him.

"You have to come with me", she decided firmly but added more softly. "We can go to the private wings or we can stay inside the Female Quarters. There'll be no guards or servants around."

"Any specific place in mind?" Lin asked.

"Um…" Azula started but she quickly squeezed her eyes shut, hard. Regulating her thought and braving through the sharp but subtle pain in her head, she tried not to wheeze as she said. "What about…" she halted, overwhelmed briefly by her pain. "What about the turtle-duck pond?"

"Want to feed them?" Lin offered, completely oblivious to the pain his (fiancée) Princess was braving through.

"No", Azula sighed. "The place is in the open with lots of shades. If someone happens to show up, though I don't see why they would, seeing that the ground is private, you can have plenty of spots to hide in. Or I can just incinerate them on the spot for infiltrating the private grounds."

"Aw…" he cooed, patting her head slightly. "You do care about me."

Azula huffed a little. "I still have use of you."

"Meanie…"

"Dummy…"

* * *

Ozai dressed himself that morning. Sure, it was unseemly for the most powerful man in the Four Nations to dress himself while he had a contingent of servants trained and ready for exactly that purpose. No matter, Ozai thought. While the servants did guarantee a well-done job –else their heads would start rolling-, they took too much time accomplishing the chore, mostly because it was customary for those lowlifes to avoid touching the figure of the exalted Fire Lord with their hands. That fact, of course, made the chore of dressing the monarch exceedingly complicated and demanded a high level of perfection, caution, and slow meticulous steady hands. Also, according to the ancient tradition, there would be a lot bowing.

Putting his Fire Crown on his top-knot, the Fire Lord exited his chamber. A group of four servants carrying what appeared to be half the content of a toy store and florist shop, and Head Physician Azaya stood in waiting. They bowed and Head Physician Azaya delivered a polite greeting despite the bags under her amber eyes. This somehow pleased Ozai. The Fire Lord took this as a sign that the old lady was showing dedication to his dearest daughter's wellbeing to the point that she would forgo sleep to concoct medicine for the Princess or something.

Ozai led the procession. Head Physician Azaya walked a step behind at his side, answering his every questions regarding Azula's wellbeing as carefully as Ozai worded his questions. The servants at their tail were convinced that Princess Azula had come down with a rather bad case of cold.

After all, it was winter.

Getting out of the Royal Wing, a royal palanquin sat in waiting. Ozai waved them off and opted to travel by foot; the palanquin bearers wisely kept their silence and bowed. Ozai walked fast, completely indifferent to the short breaths of vapor coming from the Head Physician who stood a head shorter than him and the servants, and later a couple of maids joining them once they entered the Royal Female Quarters, who were struggling with their loads. The maids were carrying trays of breakfast and medicinal soup they had no intention to spill with the exalted Fire Lord around the vicinity; they had heard the rumor of the severity of punishment some servants had endured for accidentally spilling things around Fire Lord Ozai.

Arriving at the red door leading to his dearest daughter's chamber, Ozai glared at the servants and snarled his order to wait. Head Physician Azaya, at Ozai straightening his posture, took the hint and knocked on the door. Without waiting for a reply, she pushed the door open.

Azula was sitting in her bed, back leaning against her headboard, staring out to her opened window. She did not seem to register their presence as her puffy tired amber eyes gazed unfocused at the muddy cloudy indigo colored sky.

When Ozai caressed the side of her face with his finger, the girl jerked her head to his direction furiously before astonishment flashed briefly and gave way to milder amazement.

"F-father", Azula called, gulping a little. Ozai noticed how pale her lips were. "I d-didn't know you were coming."

"How are you today, Azula?" Ozai asked, sitting carefully on the bedside, carefully avoiding stepping a pile of pillows on the floor at his feet; he surmised the brat Lin had been sleeping on the floor down there. Azula sat up straighter, seemingly shrunken; Ozai felt a tug in his chest at the sight.

"I'm… doing better, Father", the Princess answered slowly, looking down to her hands grasping the quilt that covered her from waist down.

"That's good to hear", Ozai replied, gesturing Head Physician Azaya for the bowl of gruel she was preparing.

"I'll be—", the Princess halted for a moment, swallowing hard for her throat felt dry. "I'll be good as new in day or two. I promise. Then, I-I can go back to school and firebending and—"

"I've told you, it's okay", Ozai interjected more sharply than he intended. Clearing his throat, while absentmindedly stirring the content of the bowl in his hand to evade the sight of his cringing daughter, he added softly. "You just have to be well again, understand? Azula?"

"Yes, Father", the girl answered quietly. "I understand."

"Good", Ozai scoop a spoonful of gruel, blew on it to cool it down, and offered it to his dearest daughter. Azula swallowed it and sniffed once; it sounded wet and hard to Ozai. Putting the spoon back, he frowned as he pressed the back of his fingers to the girl's neck and forehead. "Do you have the cold?"

Azula swallowed her food and nodded slightly. Ozai turned to the Head Physician who also nodded, signaling that she was aware and had taken measure to deal with it. "I see", Ozai simply said, resuming with spoon-feeding his dearest daughter. "Perhaps we should close the window."

"Yes, perhaps we should", Azula agreed absentmindedly.

"And turn the heating up?" Ozai asked, nudging his chin at the window, wordlessly ordering one of the maids to do the job.

"No", Azula shook her head a little. "It's fine. I'm fine."

"If you say so", Ozai failed to smile; his face had been as stiff as it had been since he entered.

The rest of the Princess' breakfast resumed in silence. Next was a lidded bowl containing clear reddish soup with aroma that was both sharp and spicy to Azula as her father lifted the lid and fanned the steam. Azula felt her sinus cleared up just by smelling it.

"Father", she started with a tone of borderline whiny. "I'm full."

"This is your medicine", Ozai said unflinchingly, turning to Head Physician Azaya standing faithfully at a proper distance mouthing the word '_for the cold'_, which the Fire Lord repeated with more integrity. "This is for your cold."

Azula made a face at the soup. "Do I really have to?" she asked distastefully. Ozai simply stared at her firmly until a sniff she had been holding on gave way. Huffing, the Princess slouched back to the headboard, pouting with crossed arms.

Ozai smiled.

Yes, smiled… like a real person. Like a real father.

Ozai remembered a time much like this. Years ago… seven years ago; his dearest daughter had been three. Yes, three… it was barely a day after her birthday. They were planning a nice summer vacation to Ember Island to celebrate her birthday along with Zuko's achieving passable grades for his formal education and Lu Ten completing his advanced level of firebending at the age of ten; also complementing the list was Iroh's success in reconquering the vast Huxin Province after nearly five years of military campaign. So much to celebrate!

Alas, two days before the departure, the Princess came down with a fever. When Ozai and Ursa broke the news of their daughter that they had to cancel the trip, the girl went on whining and begging for them not to do so. She had promised anything, from trying harder at her study, to being willing to pack her own stuff though she did not even know where her bags were, to reassuring them rather childishly and desperately that she was healthy enough to travel.

When all failed, she went on pouting like this for the whole day; arms crossed, jaw hardened, cheeks slightly puffed, lips pursed. That time, Ozai nearly broke. Luckily, Ursa was better with their children. She always had been.

"Azula", Ozai said patiently, returning the soup spoon back to the bowl and sighed. "You have to take your medicine. Come on", Ozai lifted up a spoonful of soup and added with authority and enough dose of tenderness. "For your father."

Azula eyed the muddy brown liquid in the spoon for a moment before she sat straight and opened her mouth, allowing the smiling father to feed her the unflattering tasting medicinal soup. Though, she begrudgingly admitted that her throat felt comfortably cleansed the moment she swallowed her first spoon of the spiced soup. The second spoon cleared her sinus and she breathed the smell of morning air again.

She took the rest of her medicine still rather begrudgingly though. The aftertaste the last of her soup left did make her regret her decision a little. "Father, can I brush my teeth?"

Ozai did not answer immediately; Head Physician Azaya shook her head covertly while scratching her nose from where she stood. "No", Ozai decided, smirking a little at the renewed pout of her dearest daughter. "You have a fever. You can't play around with water."

"I won't play around with water", Azula whined a little; abruptly, her expression changed to that of astonishment before a flash of fear set in, settling into an awkwardness. Ozai did not know how he should deal with this.

His dearest daughter was afraid of him.

He would hate himself for a long long time, he knew, but he decided to give in to his fatherly instinct that dictated him to pull that dearest daughter of his to his warm embrace. He even channeled his bending to warm her up.

It took Ozai quite a deal of mental strength to keep the memory of another sick girl he had held like this, he had warmed with his bending like this, far away from his consciousness. The sight of a single snow peony on his daughter's nightstand conspired against his effort.

"You must get well soon", he said softly, arms around the small girl's shoulder; Azula tugged onto the front of his robe almost childishly and he buried his face on top of her head.

"Can I still…" she trailed off; Ozai could see her painfully obvious effort to stand strong. "C-can I still help you with… w-with your work?"

What little kindness left sill in him experienced both guilt and pride.

"You have to rest", the kindness enabled him to be and sound like a father. "So, no."

"I don't like sitting around doing nothing", Azula muttered, looking down.

"I know", Ozai chuckled, his memory went on involuntary replay of many fond memory of his little princess running around the palace pulling pranks, escaping her annoyed brother, or building things, usually traps, in her room. "You are always a little ball of energy."

"I'm not", she huffed, Ozai chuckled again. After a while, Azula said again. "I don't like not doing anything."

"I know, Azula, I know", Ozai rubbed her upper arm gently.

"My mouth tastes weird", Azula griped. "I want to brush my teeth."

"You're allowed to gurgle", Ozai said; as if on cue, the pair of maids from before appeared before them bearing a goblet of water and an empty ceramic basin.

Azula inhaled sharply, seemingly in the process of suppressing an annoyance. Better than nothing, she thought. Gurgling three times did little to help. "I still taste the soup", she complained.

"Peppermint will help", Ozai gestured one of the maids with his chin; the said maid bowed and hurried her way to the kitchen. "It can help with your throat and nose too."

Azula did not give any verbal answer, choosing to believe in the man; her father knew best.

"My Lord?" Head Physician Azaya stepped closer as the remaining maid came to her bearing a basin of warm water and some red towels. Ozai, understanding their intention nodded and let go of his daughter. He stood up and walked towards Azula's desk and stood there; Head Physician Azaya and the maid exchanged a look of discomfort but Azula was the one who took action.

"Father, leave!"

"Why?" Ozai frowned, utterly perplexed. "I'm your father."

With pink cheeks, Azula threw a pillow at the man. Ozai chuckled as he exited the room and closed the door behind him with the realization that ten years old girls has started to be shy around their fathers. Being raised in a family devoid of female touch early in his childhood, Ozai knew not the way females… um, work? Operate? You know what I mean.

Sozin's line was the only surviving line of the Royal Family and Azulon had been an only child (according to surviving records); Iroh and Ozai did not have sisters or any other extended family. Ozai's courting Ursa had been akin to a blind man groping in the dark for a specifically colored object: he was in over his head. Sure, there was a certain little prick who had been a great help in the courting of Ursa but that only upped the number of females Ozai knew personally by one. Even years of marriage to Ursa revealed little about females to Ozai.

Believe it or not, sometimes, very very rarely, Ozai regretted his decision regarding Ursa when it comes to child rearing. He knew that he could raise this Nation, _his_ Nation, into greatness far greater and more glorious than now. But, when it comes to raising his children, he had to give it to Ursa: the woman was better than him.

Or maybe not…

Zuko was weak because of Ursa's coddling. Ursa was not exactly better, at least not in every aspect of raising their children. When it comes to understanding them, understanding their needs, and always knowing a way to respond to them that elicited good results -you know, the touchy-feely stuff-, Ursa took the cake. But, when it comes to raising Zuko and Azula to the standard demanded of them by the Royal Family and the Fire Nation, Ozai believed himself to be superior.

Fire Nation is a race of warrior, its Element represents Power. Their Prince and Princess must not be weak! They could not afford to be. Ozai merely wanted his children to be strong. Is that a sin?

Azula's door opened by a maid bearing the Princess' dirty clothes and a basin of water snapped Ozai off his contemplation. Ozai watched the woman bowed to him and left through the corridor, his gaze fell upon the two servants still faithfully waiting in the corridor with their loads of gifts and flowers, also a maid bearing a bowl of peppermint candy. Ozai ordered the servants to stay with his stare alone, the maid followed him in.

Ozai walked towards his dearest daughter's bedside. He sat down with Azula resting her head on his chest. He put his arm around the girl while listening to Head Physician Azaya briefing him about Azula's condition, still carefully worded; Azula could only discern that she had overworked and additionally been suffering from normal cold, and that she needed to rest a lot. Truthfully, Ozai got pretty much the same thing: Azula's mental exhaustion demanded rest and relaxation still. And then, there was the cold.

"I want to brush my teeth", Azula complained again after Head Physician Azaya and the maids bowed and got out. "My mouth tastes weird."

Ozai smiled as he unwrapped a peppermint candy from the bowl. "Open up", he put it in her mouth, smiling fondly at her childish pout. Squeezing the girl briefly and planting a kiss on her forehead, he straightened up. "I'll try to come and check on you before dinner."

Before Ozai could get up, and before Azula could stop herself, the Princess tugged on the Fire Lord's garb; as fast as her hand shot up, it retreated back. Azula looked lost. She sounded lost.

"Would you stay with me… for a while…?" she asked wistfully. "I-I know that you're busy with work, b-but… um… M-maybe…"

Ozai shifted and rested his back on the headboard; Azula promptly glommed onto his broad chest. Ozai was once again reminded of times like this. He stroked the hair of his daughter, thinking back to the time when his three year old little girl burst into his chamber in the middle of the night carrying a pillow with big wet eyes, blurting something about nightmare and not being able to find either Ursa or Lu Ten as she dived into his chest.

Ozai pressed his face onto the girl's head; Azula whined as she shook her head. "My hair smells sweaty", she complained, Ozai chuckled. "I want to take a bath, a real bath."

"Nonsense", Ozai dismissed it. "You smell fine."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better", Azula huffed, sniffing hard and coughed once.

"Are you doubting me?" Ozai scoffed.

Azula went silent for a few seconds. "No", she said quietly. "My father won't lie to me."

"That's right", Ozai pecked the top of her head and sniffed hard; Azula groaned and hit him, making him laugh. Her father shifting and lifting his leg up the bed, boot still on, pricked her a little. But, then again, her father held a special pedestal in her heart; she let this slide.

"You should try to get some rest", the man said; like magic, Azula felt herself waning. "You need to rest. Take it easy for a while, for this week at least."

"I don't like sitting around doing nothing", Azula said dryly. "Can I at least go outside to get some fresh air?"

Ozai pondered upon this for exactly one second. "No", he decided. "It's cold out there."

"Please", Azula pleaded, still not looking up though. With her sifu, she would doubtlessly and shamelessly use her puppy-dog eyes; with her father…? Even encased in the man's warm hug, she would never even consider displaying such weakness. "I really am…" her vision went blurred for a second. "…bored."

"I know, Azula", Ozai patted her back when she coughed a little. "We'll talk later about this, after you have rested."

"Will you come to have lunch with me?" Azula asked hopefully, sleepily.

"I will be busy today", Ozai said, feeling a tug in his chest that he barely recognized. "I will try to come for dinner though. I will make sure they make your favorite scarlet bird soup. The spice should help clear your sinus."

"Okay", Azula yawned.

Ozai stayed unmoving. He thought he should… stroke her head or pat her back or something, but somehow he chose not to.

"Father?" Azula spoke again, voice waning even more.

"Yes, Azula?" Ozai replied.

"Can I use the Royal…" she paused for a tiny yawn. "…the Royal Playhouse tomorrow?"

Ozai mulled this over for a minute. "I don't see why not", he drawled. "But, why?"

"I'm bored, it's indoor", Azula shrugged.

"Ah", Ozai grinned. "I do admire your intelligence."

"Thank you."

"Anything you have in mind?"

Azula shifted a little and exhaled tiredly. "Not yet", she said. "Don't worry about it. I'll notify the players with a letter or something later. I, of course, need you to clarify with them first."

"My adjutant will take care of it", Ozai said. "Is there anything else?"

"No", Azula replied.

"Sleep then", Ozai squeezed her shoulder lightly.

Azula closed her eyes but not because she had any desire to sleep despite her drowsiness. She wanted to stay awake, she wanted to talk, she wanted to ask. Oh, so many things she wanted to ask and her father, she was sure, had all the answer. Even so, even without this sudden need to shut her eyes and drift away to slumber, she still could never bring herself to ask about her sifu, to verify whether or not he had been lying to her about being an imperial agent, to ask what the deal was with him. Her father had all the answer.

But, to ask her father about Lin would be… awkward, to say the least; although, Azula had to admit that calling it 'awkward' is the equivalent of calling the bubbling lava in the crater of Tratakoa Volcano a tad lukewarm. Her father would turn the issue against her, she would be found wanting, weak, hopeless… _useless_.

Unworthy…

Agni has mercy, indeed, for the Princess drifted away into sleep before she could finish that thought.

* * *

Lin finished his letter carefully; his fifth attempt he deemed satisfactory. He rolled the parchment and approached the messenger hawk perching on Master Piandao's shoulder; the swordmaster was sitting on the small round dining table with a cup of hot tea and occasionally attempting to feed the bird bits of his meat bun. He failed on each attempt so he decided to give up.

"Palace birds are quite interesting, aren't they?" Piandao smiled as Lin inserted his letter on the bird's message tube.

"They're arrogant", Lin said less diplomatically. He could have sworn the bird gave him the stare and whipped its feathery butt his way before flying away.

Piandao had come this morning with tea and meal, something that had seemed to grow into a habit; Lin was convinced Head Physician Azaya was behind this arrangement. He was wrong; it was Iroh but Piandao would never tell him that.

Recent development regarding Azula had mightily rattled his conviction regarding his duty in the Earth Kingdom. Oh, dear Agni, he wanted to stay. Fire Lord Ozai would not have it. Lin could not afford to either. He was still a criminal in the eye of the Nation and he was in too deep with the 44th. For his plan that he had delivered to the Fire Lord to work, he needed to go back, to avoid any and all suspicion. Spear and Bob had said that they would keep Lin's Fire Nation heritage between them but if he did not come back, Senshi would surely suspect something. Senshi might be and idiot but he was still a ranking officer with connection to the central power of the Medic Regiment. Senshi, armed with such connection, could ruin everything.

Lin decided that he would ponder upon this later.

By now, Spear and Bob should have been on the way to their rendezvous point. He did say that he would be joining them today but… yeah, like hell he was leaving now! Piandao had procured for him the bird via Jian Wu. For palace dwellers, the protocol for using messenger hawks was rather strict in order to avoid espionage. They were not even allowed to own private hawks.

To use a hawk, they must requisitioned one from the Palace Hawks Keeper, stating clearly the intention and destination of their message. Even after that, once the bird was set free, it would fly to the Imperial Intelligence Division, or as Lu Ten once called them, the '_snoopers'_. With them, any and all message would be under visual scrutiny before the bird was re-released with the message to the intended target.

The members of the Royal Family, of course, were the exceptions for this rule. They had the wooden flute thingy to summon a specially-trained flock of birds at will. So, when the bird arrived at the snoopers' building, they would know that it was sent by the Royal Family and would not even dare to touch the message tubes.

Jian Wu had said something about Piandao needing to send an urgent message to Shu Jing; Lin's penance was writing the letter for Piandao: Fat was to travel to Imperial City as soon as possible with Prince Zuko's dual sabers, the real ones that the Prince had brought with him and Piandao had promptly confiscated upon the Prince's arrival at Shu Jing.

"I thought you'd be gone by now", Piandao commented.

Lin refilled the master's cup. "I was planning to", Lin confessed. "But, I suppose I'll stick around for a little longer."

He put the teapot down and picked up a bun. "I'm crazy, aren't I?"

Piandao smiled serenely. "Who knows?" he said. "The line between insanity and the most righteous of virtues is often indiscernible. Have anyone ever told you about a certain bonker called King Bumi of Omashu?"

* * *

Crown Prince Zuko woke up with a start; his Uncle Iroh's bombastic snoring had that effect on him. Grunting, he sat up groggily, throwing a dagger of a glance at the old man lying sprawled across the bed on the other side. Grumbling and feeling a little crossed, but a lot sympathetic, Zuko pulled the blanket up his uncle's belly and chest, tugging the old man inside the warmth of the thick winter quilt.

The old man quieted down a little.

Yawning softly, Zuko scooted back to his side of the bed, tugged himself in, and, as luck –or karma- would have it, fifteen minutes later when both Princes were deep in slumber, General Iroh was woken up unceremoniously, not to mention rudely, by his nephew's flailing fist crashing down the front of his face.

Grunting, he picked up the boy's solid knuckle off his nose –Iroh could have sworn he smelt blood inside his nose-, and struggled up. His head was muddy.

The old general breathed in deep breath and exhaled slowly. He repeated the exercise several times after his mind cleared up enough for him to feel nothing. In a good way. Not numbness of mind, mind you, but a state of contemplation where the absence of thought was achieved. Some practices meditation for decades and can only scratch the surface of such state. Even Iroh could only maintain such state for no more than three seconds.

The messenger hawk flying through his opened window and going kamikaze on his head, as you might have guessed, did nothing to help him maintain his focus.

Grunting, Iroh extracted from the ditzy tiny bird a slender scroll bearing the usual Fire Nation insignia on the spines. With the bird flying away as soon as he retrieved the message, Iroh was about to unlatched the lace tying the thin red scroll and read the message when she caught the name of the sender written in a perfect thin calligraphy with sharp edges that characterized the handwriting of a young and female sender. Iroh was sure Young Lady Mai who lived across the street had no reason to send the old weary him a message.

His mind took a swim across a moat of burning acid and arrived at the thought of his niece.

It was not until he reminded himself of their most recent trip to Shu Jing that the idea of the letter being intended for the grunting boy who had just kicked his thigh, muttering something about, "…Zzzz… roaches…Zzzz…", hit his mind.

Now… in Iroh's defense, kids nowadays are so… shall we say, _advanced_ in their… um, ways. Does it make any sense? Iroh had the duty to keep Zuko in the right path. Just look at Lin and Lu Ten: when they both had been still five and eight respectively, they had exchanged letters bearing blueprints for prank devices, some of them required the use of explosives that Lu Ten had nicked from the palace arsenal! That was two boys, two kids, playing pranks. Zuko and the Young Lady who lived next door? Two _preteens_ involved with what appeared to be -Iroh shuddered- _romance_.

It felt weird using the name of his nephew and the word 'romance' in the same sentence. Still, Iroh had a duty to protect his nephew.

Iroh was halfway undoing the knot of the purple velvet lace that held the scroll from unrolling when his door was opened without the gentleness a door that belonged to a Fire Prince deserved.

The sun was shining rather brightly in that cloudy winter morning, the tall figure in thick robe at the doorstep was but a dark shadow. However, there was mistaking the five-pronged hair ornament on top of that long-haired head.

Zuko's weak mumble, "F-father…?" made Iroh jumped a little. The younger Prince sat up and rubbed his eyes; Iroh glanced back at him but never truly took his eyes off of the Fire Lord; Ozai look at them with cold steely amber and walked away, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Fire Princess Azula cast a glance at the opened window of her room; a rare warm sunlight of gentle bright white entered her room, casting a warm almost celestial light on her desk and chair. Her eyes fell upon a spot of light bouncing off her burgundy red varnished chair backrest, a wonderfully bright ball of light with iridescent circle around it.

Azula closed her eyes, the light burnt into her eyes. She opened her eyes again, looking down at the opened book on her lap. Black spot where the light had been in her range of vision blurred gradually. She squirmed up a little, readjusting her back on the headrest of her bed. She tugged her blanket covering her legs and waist tighter to her abdomen. The sun might cast a highly welcomed warmth but winter air is a force to be reckoned with.

"Hold still", Lin's voice reached her as if from far away.

Azula bit down a smirk she felt creeping on her mouth. Clearing her throat, she sat straighter slightly, and held her book in a more dignified manner on her lap. "Better?" she asked without turning.

"Yep", Lin chirped, sitting on a chair beside the bed with a wide sketchpad he borrowed from Azula's art supply. He glanced every now and then, eyes darting from his work and his object, the Princess on the bed and the drawing of her on his sketch paper; a piece of compressed charcoal never leaving his hand. "Chin up. Not too much, down a bit. Smile… I said smile, not… whatever that is. Um… d-don't eat me…?"

Azula shot him a sharp look before returning to her book. Clearing the phlegm in her throat, caused by her persistent cold, she returned to the pages of her history textbook.

"Where was I?" the Princess asked.

"The conspirators are being investigated", Lin said without breaking his concentration from his work.

"Right", Azula found the passage. She sniveled once and began reading in a tone as if she was reading a tale about a bunny-rat and a turtle-duck going to a picnic to a little child. "And then, General Mori ordered Colonel Jiandie to employ his vast network of spies to gather information on names of the conspirators behind the death of Minister Kwan aaaand the tragedy of the Red Blight Fleet during the Incursion of Mo Ce Sea. Pressure from the Earth Kingdom, caused by Fire Lord Shanzi's previous accusation, to bring this matter to light and to uproot the source of such affair had caused more than slight booboo on the Fire Nation's honor and the aging Fire Lord's health. Two months after the capture of…" she coughed a little, feeling how dry her throat was despite the moist in her mouth. "… despite the capture of Lord Ruza of the House of Kokatsu, lack of evidence forced Colonel Jiandie to release the Lord of Kokatsu although several sources and complaints sent to the Royal Court indicated that Colonel Jiandie did not heed General Mori's order and still had his Imperial Agents— Are you nearly done? My neck's going stiff."

"So…" Lin drawled rather cheerfully, still putting more focus on his work than his (_fiancée_) student. "I must ask—"

"Don't ask", Azula grumbled a bit.

That earned her the sifu's full attention. "Azula", Lin started patiently but seriously. "When one finds a burning pyre inside the chamber of the Princess of the Nation, it is considered the matter of national security", he pointed at the pile of ash and unrecognizable burnt remain that was still smoking a little. "_What_ was that about?"

Azula gave a nonchalant shrug. "Gifts from the suitors", she said.

Lin's stare held for a brief gut-wrenching, chest-puncturing moment before he forced himself back to his drawing. The pit of his stomach where his inner fire originated flared to life, it physically hurt him. _This is not jealousy_, he yelled at himself. Suitors, of course. Fire Lord wrote a sick letter to school, Azula's class noticed her absence, Azula's classmates told the rest of the school, the cacophony of noble daughters told their parents, their parents told their relatives, the horde of noble houses had their sons put some efforts to get into the Princess' good side.

"I'm keeping these, though", Azula's voice broke Lin of his contemplation. He looked up to the girl who glanced up several objects Lin had noticed stacked neatly on her nightstand. With a smirk Lin knew so well, she picked up a box of wooden warship model. "I've always wanted one of these. Mom said I can't play around with war machine toys", she concluded with a tiny poke of tongue. A little habit of hers to show distaste that she never displayed in front of anyone outside family.

Azula was halfway opening the box and lining up the numerous tiny pieces of wood with knobs and notches on her bed rather tidily. She was inspecting several small bottles of glue and paint when she remembered that she was being sketched and had to keep her posture still.

"Are you done?" she asked again; her sifu seemed to still ignoring her.

"Aaand… done!" Lin declared, blowing off some lint from his sketch. "Why don't you take up sketching or painting? You have all that stuff lying around."

"Because I'm in the drama class", Azula replied. "And I don't like getting all dirty", she added, glancing at Lin's dirty right hand. "And those art supplies were from the time my mom tried to teach me how to draw."

"You're quite good", Lin smirked a bit as he ripped the sketch he had been working on from the pad. "Your mom showed me that ink painting of Caldera you drew", he snickered at Azula's groan. "What? It's a good piece. She hung it on her wall."

"I hate painting", Azula grumbled as she leaned to Lin's direction and reached for the paper. Judging from the subsequent plume of blue flame that hit the boy on the face, though it did not burn –Lin found the sensation akin to hot air grazing his skin-, Fire Princess Azula did not appreciate being personified in a sketch as a stick figure even though the said stick figure had her ponytail and twin bangs.

Lin grinned as he put the red-varnished wooden pad on the bed and headed for the bathroom where he would wash the charcoal off his hands. When he returned, Azula was holding the sketchpad on her lap, admiring the sketch of herself, the _real_ one, with a thin wispy smirk she sometimes had. In his mind, Lin called this 'the cute smirk'.

One word Lin would readily associate with Azula's behavior and mannerism: control. Or rather, _controlled_.

Everything was so controlled, so precise; Lin would not be surprised if the Princess actually rehearsed every words, every gestures, every details of her action each day before she went to have breakfast. Only rarely did Azula ever let her true emotion, true feeling, true _self_ show and each time she did, Lin would count himself lucky for being around to witness it.

It was a wonder to behold. A soft, gentle, tender feeling in his chest whenever he saw her.

She had that now. That… 'cute smirk'. The light falling on her in the way it brought out the deep red color of her blanket, bed sheet, and robe, the golden rim of her sleeves, and the way the light danced on her pearl-white skin and raven hair heavily complemented the cute smirk.

"What?" Azula asked, turning to him. Lin shook his head a little, quickly recomposing himself as he ignored… _her back that was turned to him as she lied on her side in the bed. He climbed into the bed as carefully as possible and aligned himself close to her. He could feel her warmth, telling him that he was truly home. He pressed his face to the back of her head and sniffed gently; he loved the smell of her hair. He put his hand on her shoulder and she slowly stirred. She turned to him and smiled. He pecked her on her lips. _

"_Hey, look who's here", she said as she turned to the bundle lying close to her chest. "Daddy's home."_

"Somebody should fix that door", Lin pointing hand shot out rather quickly there but, fortunately, Azula did not notice how… oh, _so_ awkward he felt inside.

"Hmm, yeah", Azula glanced at her busted bathroom door; the hole formed on the spot where the door handle was and the part of the door frame it used to be attached to was big enough to fit a kuai ball through. "I forgot to tell my dad. But, I'm sure he notices it, he was the one who broke the door, and I'm sure he has something planned about it."

Lin climbed up the bed; him coming from the side where the sunlight fell cast shadow on the Princess. For a while there, he regretted it; she looked wonderful with golden sunlight cascading on her. Though, as he sat by her side, allowing Azula to lean to him and rest her head on his shoulder, he felt better.

"Can I keep this?" Azula asked, not taking her eyes off the sketch of her sitting on her bed with a book on her lap. She liked how Lin had manipulated the strokes of charcoal on the surrounding but the window and a fanning area in front of it to make it brighter, as if light really shines on that area.

"Nope", Lin yawned. "I'm bringing it with me to Earth Kingdom. That way, I'll have something to remember you by."

"Here, you can have this one", Azula handed him the stick figure one. "You're pretty good at this", she said, back to admiring the sketch; Azula gave credit where credit is due.

"My grandma taught me", Lin said, thinking of the fond and slightly pricky memory of her grandmother. Oh, so many secrets she had kept from him. It did make Lin wonder why he did not harbor the same resentment he held for Iroh regarding this secret he was not privy in. A secret that had everything to do with these dreams and visions.

A secret that might safe Azula…

Lin leaned down and pressed his face on top of Azula's head, taking comfort in her warmth.

"Don't sniff me", Azula grumbled, nudging him a little with her elbow. "I smell sweaty. I haven't taken a real bath or wash my hair in two days."

Lin smiled but did not heed her. He took a slow deep breath and found the smell of her hair rather pleasant. Though not similar, the smell of Azula's hair reminded him of the smell in the air right before a rainfall in an autumn afternoon. "I don't care", he said. "How are you feeling now?"

"Stop asking me that", Azula said. She put the sketch on her nightstand, far from Lin's reach and went back to her book. Her model ship components were piled up in the box at her side.

"Read me something", Lin said, already sliding down and resting his head on her shoulder.

"You've been coughing a little", Azula smirked as she returned to her book, circling one arm around Lin's neck.

"I think I caught your cold", Lin said, holding her by the waist tighter.

"Good", Azula smirked and cleared her throat before she began reading. "_'The Battle of the Western Shore'_. Once upon a time, a few years ago…" Lin groaned but Azula continued anyways. "…lived a certain dummy."

"Read me something funny; you know I like comedy", Lin said.

"Hmm, yeah, probably because you're whole existence is a joke", Azula quipped.

"I thought my whole existence is a headache", Lin retorted.

"That's the joke", Azula put the book away and unlatched herself from Lin. "My turn", she said, going now into his embrace, using his chest as a pillow.

"It's lunchtime", Lin stated as he readjusted the girl on his chest. "I'll get you something from the kitchen, okay."

"No, I want to sleep", Azula said, snuggling closer. "For an hour or so?"

"My sixths sense is tingling", Lin muttered suspiciously.

Azula smirked. "I wanna go out after. Get some fresh air."

"Are you _really_ allowed to?" Lin asked, drawing back a bit so he could look into her face.

"Of course", Azula said. "We can stop by the kitchen on the way out."

"Okay", Lin shrugged and pulled her head back to his chest. "Night, Princess."

"Are you going to sleep too?" Azula asked.

"Nope", Lin said despite his yawn. "I'll wake you up in an hour."

Azula shifted and turned. Lying sideways on her left side, she put her head on Lin's chest and stared at his face for a brief moment, as if trying to discern any signs of lying. She felt the corner of her mouth tingled but her expression remained unchanged. She closed her eyes instead and said. "Night, dummy."

The door was opened without so much as a warning or a courtesy knock. Fire Lord Ozai stepped in. His reaction at the sight of the two kids sleeping in the bed on top of each other was minimal to say the least. The man stepped towards the bed where the two kids slept peacefully; he had no intention to deprive his dearest dearest daughter of the rest she badly needed. The way she was lying horizontally, to Ozai who had been brought up by a strict father and his demand for everything to be done _properly,_ was a bit of a nudge in the back of his mind. People should sleep on a proper position.

Then again, as long as she was resting…

He arrived at the bedside, standing with towering height on the side where the sunlight cast his shadow away from them. He had to admit, his daughter looked so peaceful in her sleep, pale and with a thin layer of sweat on her forehead though she was. Must be the sunlight on her and her fever.

Ozai reached down with his sleeve, gently dabbing her forehead dry. He tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her on the temple. Azula grunted and, to Ozai's horror of the absence of…well, _horror_ in his mind, she slid closer to the brat and nuzzled into his neck, her hand gripping the boy's garb tightly.

Azula did that with people she considered special; when she hugged them, she would tugged onto their clothes like she would not let go. Ozai himself prided himself as being one of such people on the very short list. Ozai did not know what he felt; he was pretty sure _this_ was called 'numb'.

He did recognize 'slight anger' as he mentally berated the brat's shortsightedness of not covering his dearest daughter in blanket though. Azula had a cold, for Agni's sake! She needed to be kept warm! And so, Ozai did exactly that. He pulled the thick red quilt over the girl's shoulder and tugged her in it.

One last look at the two, and the cup of herbal tea he had put on the nightstand, the Fire Lord turned and left, closing the door behind him with more grace and less noise. He took a few brave steps of even and steady pace forward. Halfway through the corridor, his cloudy, muddy, heavy-laden mind remembered that the Royal Female Quarters had been vacated of every guards, servants, and assassin's safe for a pair of maid and the senior head maid whom he could trust for their discretion.

The three women had been instructed to stay in their post in the kitchen and must never enter the Princess' chamber without order. They were to still prepare meals for Azula but must not, under any circumstances, enter the Princess' chamber without at least reporting to Ozai and receiving his express permission.

In conclusion, no one would see him collapsing to his knees on the corridor. Oh, even the Majestic Phoenix must assume the form of a weak chick from time to time; even one such as Ozai was not completely invulnerable.

His daughter… in a bed… with a boy… a-and she was lying on top of him. _She_ was lying on top of _him_! Azula would appear to be the one initiating the… hugging. Oh, how wrecked the Fire Lord was.

His dearest daughter, the only source of joy and pride in his life… with a boy!

Ozai gripped his thumping cold chest, tormented by his fiery gut; oh, perfect harmony of paradox: a lump of burning coal in the pit of his stomach and a chunk of ice encasing his heart it hurt so much when the organ beats. He was hyperventilating again.

Behind the door, both the Princess and her sifu dared not move a muscle. Azula's breath on his neck was warm and moist, but Lin moved not an inch; Lin's wrist resting on her ticklish spot on her waist as he had his arm around her, Azula showed no sign of moving.

Stirring in his sleep, Lin moved his hand to her waist and began rubbing with one finger a series of tap and rub; a military code of on-off tones that heavily resembled modern-day Morse code. Lin was raised in a military family, a son of a general who was a brother of two army commanders, one army major, and a naval captain, so naturally he was familiar with the code. Lu Ten was the son of Iroh and, during the earlier part of his military career, had been working as the general's right-hand man whose main duty was doing paperwork for nearly three months before he was allowed some real action; for this purpose, Iroh had educated Lu Ten in the more academic side of the art of war since he was a kid, including the skill in using military codes and ciphers, and Azula was Lu Ten's baby cousin, enough said.

_Tap-tap-rub-rub_…

"_Is it safe?"_

Azula grunted and stirred; her hand that was gripping his garb dug deeper until her sharp pointy nail pressed against his flesh. _Poke-poke-scratch-scratch_…

"_I'll check."_

Azula grunted and rolled to her back; her gripping hand let go of Lin's garb and this loss of contact somehow made the latter feel uneasy. Azula stayed still for a while before she rolled again, lying now on her right, head facing away from Lin and towards the door. Azula opened her eyes slightly, only a slit of a millimeter width. She lifted her eyelids a bit more and scanned around the best she could.

When she was sure they were alone, she sat up and turned to Lin who had also let go of all pretenses. Azula inhaled and delivered a, "You're dead", that came in tandem with Lin's own. "I'm dead."

Biting back her laughter, the Princess carefully rested her head back on her sifu's chest. "Still don't want me to talk to my dad? Wow… you are afraid of him", she added at how wildly the sifu's heart was thumping on the side of her face.

"Of course, I'm afraid! He's the Fire Lord! And he's huge. I mean, look at the guy; he's all muscle!" Lin snapped and then he groaned. "I'm dead."

"I'll talk to him", Azula offered again as she rubbed her temple where the Fire Lord kissed him with her sleeve, feeling strangely light despite the fear she also had at the back of her head. She still did not know why but she had come to term that she did not want Lin to be killed or something. Though she would never admit it, that was the reason why she tried to protect Lin earlier by snuggling to him: to show that she was the one who started the whole hugging thing. Her father would not do to her anything worse than a stern scolding; sadly, Lin was not the Fire Lord's dearest daughter.

"No", Lin sighed. "Let's just pretend this has never happened, that your dad has never entered this room."

"My dad is not someone you can distract by acting like an ignorant fool", Azula said rather sharply.

Lin shrugged but replied rather seriously. "Works for me. Remember the audience I had with him? I didn't mention anything about me sneaking into your room. He was the one who brought it up first."

Azula narrowed her eyes sharply, keen mind triumphed upon her slightly throbbing head as she pieced the information and conjecture together. "You made it as if you were trying to fool him, like you think such simple deception could work. Interesting…" she smirked rather cunningly.

"I'm just showing that I'm inferior to him and that I know it; with feeble attempts to pull a wool over his eyes and all", Lin said. "You know, as a great sage once said: _'sometimes, the best way to avoid a confrontation with a superior opponent is to throw the first blow; your weakness might amuse him and make him lower his guard'_."

Azula gave a condescending sigh. "Sun Tzu was not a sage, he was a war strategist."

"Really? Sun Tzu said that? I thought it was— oh, never mind", Lin sat up, Azula slid down to the bed. "Time for your tea."

"I don't want any tea", Azula said, taking a peppermint candy from her pocket and unwrapping it.

"It's for your cold", Lin argued, taking the cup from the nightstand.

"I'm eating candy", Azula said, chewing audibly. "I'll drink that later."

"You're so childish sometimes", Lin commented, putting down the cup; Azula crumpled her candy wrapper and flicked it to his forehead. Snickering, Lin picked the wrapper up and, after checking the Princess' temperature, absentmindedly flattened the wrapper while watching Azula busying herself with her new prebuilt model ship. "Peppermint?"

Azula bristled a bit in the middle of studying the ship's schematic. Blushing a little, she said rather grumpily. "What? My mouth tastes weird", she said and added somewhat more quietly. "And I haven't… brush my teeth in two days."

Lin stifled his smile the best he could. "You're getting weirder since I left you. You were never this self-conscious around me", he snickered. "I mean, remember the time when you accidentally f—"

"AARRGGGHHH!"

"— in front of me?" he quickly raised a pillow in his defense. "I didn't—"

"You said you'd forget that!"

"Yeah… I've said a lot of things", he quickly grabbed the crimson-faced girl's wrists. "Stop that", he said lightly.

"I hate you!" Azula shoved him mightily; had Lin been on the edge of the bed, he would have fallen over for sure. Huffing, the Princess turned her back coldly and furiously at the sifu, busying herself with building her ship.

Lin slid down to his back and let himself take comfort in the softness and soothing flowery scent of Azula's bed. Netting his fingers of his chest, he closed his eyes and pondered upon his situation with no intention of falling asleep. Bob and Spear, the letter, Zuko and Azula, Fire Lord Ozai. Funny… none of that matter now he was here with Azula.

This must be something, he thought to himself.

"Hey…?" he called.

"Hey, _who_?" Azula grumbled.

Lin opened his eyes and snickered. "Hey, Azzie?"

Azula growled indistinctively at him.

"Did you ever miss me while I'm gone?" he asked.

"No, why should I?" Azula huffed as she struggled a bit with a small bottle that came with the model. "You're a dummy. I've told you I hated you when you left."

"I missed you, you know", Lin said earnestly, turning to her and poking her side a little; Azula tensed up but did not turn back. "I thought about you a lot. Why am I smelling turpentine?" he rose up and peeked over Azula's shoulder. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!?"

"What?" Azula whined a bit, turning around a little to face him with a frown while still holding her ship that already had its hull fully constructed despite only having been taken out of its box less than half an hour ago.

"Really?" Lin commented, half amused, half perplexed; he took the wooden object while Azula prepared her brush and paint. "Is there anything you can't do?"

The Princess halted her action, eyes darting up as if searching her mind. "Well, I can't do archery", she said. "Lu Ten tried to teach me when I was…I don't know, four or five? I shot him on the foot. He nearly lost a toe."

"How did you shoot someone on the foot with a bow?" Lin asked incredulously. It is rather impossible unless it was no accident. Think about it; we're talking archery.

"Who knows", Azula shrugged as she began painting the hull of the ship with a tiny disposable brush in a dark-red shade. "It was frightening. I don't remember much", she halted again, thinking hard. "I think I might have repressed most of the memory. Don't hug meeeee!"

And yet she positioned herself willingly on his chest, resting her back gratefully in his warmth.

"See what you did?" Azula grumbled, lifting her ship that now had a streak of curly stroke of paint on it.

"You can paint over it", Lin said, resting his head on her shoulder, arms around her waist.

"It won't be perfect", Azula complained.

"Perfection is overrated", Lin countered.

Azula did not respond immediately. She brushed her paint over the streak, disguising the imperfection the best she could. "You clearly don't know my father", she said glumly. Sadly.

"Need help?" Lin offered instead.

"Nope", Azula said. "I want to do this by myself."

"You sure?" Lin asked again, watching her hand delicately painted the side of the ship.

"I'm sure", Azula said; somehow, she found her sifu's arms around her, the warmth of his chest on her back, his cheek brushing against hers, and the weight of his head on her shoulder strangely comforting. Must be winter and her fever, she thought. Also, her window was opened; sunlight might be in but so was chilly winter breeze. "Hey?"

"Hey, who?"

"Hey, stupid", Azula said. "Do you think we can…" she coughed a little. "Do you think we can win this war?"

"Well", Lin thought lightly. "From what I've seen, the possibility exists. Your dad thinks we can."

"He's the Fire Lord; he has to", Azula said sharply.

"He said Sozin's Comet is coming again", Lin added.

"What?" Azula turned around a little; Lin was a little startled at her sudden movement. "Really? When?"

"I don't know", Lin somehow found the smell of peppermint in her breath pleasant and he was not sure if he should feel comfortable about it. "He didn't specify but…"

"_We don't have much time!"_ Fire Lord Ozai had sounded more than simply furious. _"Sozin's Comet is returning and I will have both my son and daughter stand by my side as I conquer the Four Nations!"_

"… he did give an impression that the Comet is coming pretty soon", Lin pondered aloud.

"The Royal Astronomers don't work in winter", Azula muttered then she shrugged and went back to her ship. "My dad would tell me if he has a definite answer."

"The Earth Kingdom people are proud and they can endure anything", Lin assessed. "If we keep doing this push-and-push game, they will outlast us eventually."

"That's sedition you're sprouting", Azula pointed out. "We have Sozin's Comet. We can overpower them and we'll win the war. Right?"

Lin did not reply. He put his head back to her shoulder, watching the Princess holding the ship upside-down while painting it carefully. "Not bad", he commented as Azula finished her work and put the hull on her nightstand under a patch of sunlight next to her tea.

"By the way", Lin started. "Weren't you going to sleep?"

Azula paused, then she grunted. "I hate being like this", her shoulders slumped and her hands holding her next parts of the ship collapsed. "Being sick messes up my mind."

"Come on", Lin let go of her and reached for the cup again. "Drink your tea and go to sleep."

"I'm not sleepy anymore", she said with a whiny voice. "And I don't want that tea."

"You have to drink this", Lin picked up the lid of the cup and the strong smell of the herb stung his nose. "It's for your own good", he convinced himself more than he tried to convince Azula.

Azula eyed the cup with a glare that, now that Lin thought about it, resembled the way Fire Lord Ozai looked at him sometimes; he naturally waved it off as a trick of the light or something. Azula slumped shoulder first to his chest. Carefully, Lin lifted the cup to her lips. Azula took a sip and made a face.

"You're so spoiled and clingy lately", Lin commented.

"I'm not clingy", Azula argued crossly, piecing two pieces of wooden ship components together. "And I'm allowed to be spoiled. At least with you."

"Says who?" Lin laughed a little, lowering the cup.

"Says me", Azula said, lifting up the two pieces of wood, inspected them, and, deciding they were supposed to be attached to each other, glued them together. "I'm done", she declared, putting what appeared to be a tiny flagpole on her nightstand, along with her ship hull, deck, command tower, and a trebuchet; all painted and drying.

"Seriously", Lin gaped; he did not even remember seeing Azula pull those parts out of the box. "You just got that today. Even you shouldn't be _this_ good."

"Oh, but I am", Azula smirked none too humbly. She tried to get up, wobbled a bit and she caught the beam of her four-poster bed for balance. Trying not to show it too much, fighting an urge to touch her head, Azula regulated her breathing, ignoring the cold lump that she loosely associated with fear, and took a step forward. A tiny step and she collapsed to the floor.

"Hey", Lin quickly floated to her side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine", Azula managed a weak smile as Lin lifted her up gently to the bedside. She sat and breathed calmly, turning her head away from Lin who was pushing messy hair off her forehead. "I'm fine", she said again. "You worry too much."

"Yeah, well, it's allowed", Lin quipped. "Get some sleep, okay. We'll go to the pond tomorrow."

"But, it's sunny today", Azula argued with that whiny voice again, one that she had never used before Lin's departure last year. For some reason, Lin found it fitting; she sounded like a child she should be. "Who knows when we're going to have another sunny day in the middle of winter. And besides…" she trailed off sullenly, voice went quiet. "What if…" she forced herself to look up to him, Lin knew. "Who knows when my dad will finally decide that you've overstayed your welcome. What if he decides to send you back to the Earth Kingdom?"

Lin scoffed and dropped his forehead on her shoulder; his words felt earnest. "I'll stay anyway."

"You can't do that", Azula withdrew; Lin sat up. "He's the Fire Lord. You can't defy him."

"Yeah?" Lin raised his hand and gently tucked her hair away from her face. "Watch me. For you, I can."

Azula's response was slug in his chest. "Not working, still hate you", she said despite the fluttering in her chest. Leaning sideways to the headrest, she added. "Get me a wheelchair?"

"Wheelchair?" Lin frowned.

"Unless you want to carry me all the way out and back", she said. "You used to be smarter than this, you know."

"I know", Lin sighed. "Only if you drink your tea."

Azula shot him a look. "Okay", she gave up and reached for her cup. Smiling, Lin went to Azula's desk and wrote a quick letter for Head Physician Azaya. After sending it, he put on his boots and got out.

Lin returned from the hallway around fifteen minutes later, after heeding a warning from the Head Physician that, despite her own agreement of the fact that Azula could use some sunlight and fresh air, Fire Lord Ozai had forbidden her to leave her room; naturally, the old woman wanted no part in this escapade and wished not to be mentioned at all should things go south.

Azula was sitting on her bed, clutching her fully assembled Fire Nation Navy Interceptor class battleship while dazing away at the pillar of light shining from her window. The creaking of the wheelchair drew her back to reality. Smirking a bit, she lifted her arms; Lin moved in and helped her onto the chair.

They went on their way, but not before Lin made Azula wear her coat.

"I'm not a kid", Azula said for the umpteenth time though she was grateful for the protection her coat provided against the cold winter air. Suddenly, she felt aware of the ship model she was holding on her lap.

"I know", Lin said lightly. "Did you drink you tea?"

"Yes. I hate it; it tasted bitter", Azula groused as she unwrapped yet another candy from her pocket. "Why are going to the kitchen?"

"We've discussed this; we're getting you some food on our way out", Lin reminded her.

"I'm not hungry", true, the very mention of food seemed to have sapped her very life away. "Can we just go, please?"

The wheelchair stopped. Azula turned around only to catch the fluttering of her sifu's black robe on her side moving forward as he knelt at her side and asked with concern in his tone. "Azula", he said. "You have to eat something. It's past lunchtime."

"I don't feel like eating anything", Azula could taste bile in her throat. "Please, can we just go now?"

Under the shadow cast by his hood, Azula could see concern in his amber orbs. "Okay", he decided. "But—"

"I know", Azula interjected. "I won't complain about my tea and medicine anymore."

"And meal", Lin added before he stood up and went back to the back of the chair.

The wheelchair spun around and carried the Princess away from the corridor and, in several minutes through the empty corridors, they arrived at an indoor garden. Stone circular steps through short moist green grass leading to a quaint Fire Nation style gazebo, a large bricks-framed pond was right in the middle with a thick hibernating tree standing tall on the side. Lin pushed the wheelchair forward carefully; the grass made it hard for the wheels to move.

He stopped the wheelchair at the side of the pond. The wheelchair was parked close to the rim of the pond; Azula looked down to the surface of the water and entertained the silly thought that she might fall down. Dismissing it, she looked down to the flock of quacking turtle-ducks that promptly swam away to the other side.

"They're afraid of me", Azula said, trying to sound casual. Lin knew her enough to notice a thin layer of hurt hiding so very discreetly behind the faint smile of hers that did not reach her distant eyes.

"No, they're not", Lin went to her side and knelt down.

"You're arguing with me again", Azula pointed out, slumping back to her chair deeper.

"It's winter", Lin too aimed his eyes at the flock of turtle-ducks quacking busily on the far side of the pond. "They're huddling up for warmth."

Azula did not say anything back; she found comfort in Lin's argument despite herself. She was lost in her thought under the warm sunlight that provided a small measure of comfort from the wet and cold winter air. She was a little startled when Lin draped his robe on her front like a blanket. Azula turned to him, noticing that his expression was less than gleeful. Folding her arms on the armrest, she put her head on her arms, looked at him who was so close to her, and asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing", he muttered.

"You're lying", Azula stated plainly. "When you're lying, you do this", she furrowed her brows briefly twice. "You frown a bit."

"I do not", he argued as Azula knew he would.

She did not push further though. The sunlight on her was a very welcomed sensation. She turned her head to the direction of the pond, distracting her thought. However, her thought was not something she could dismiss so easily, especially with that pain in her head.

The quacking did not help.

"They're so noisy", Azula started, watching the mother turtle-duck swimming around its ducklings as if trying to keep them in one tight group. "So noisy…" she repeated. "…quack… quack…"

_Mom_…

Before she knew it, she was sobbing.

"W-what's wrong with me?" she sniffed, letting tears fall down to her sleeves.

"I don't know", Lin said, a pang in his chest he tried to ignore.

"Liar…" the Princess sobbed, letting her sifu wipe her tears away. "You _must_ know. My dad let you stay with me; he must have told you something."

"He didn't", Lin said; half-lie: Fire Lord Ozai really did not tell him anything, Head Physician Azaya did. "Didn't he tell you anything?"

"He said this is just some cold and stress from work and study", Azula bit her lip. "I know he's holding back."

"You can try asking him", Lin suggested, wiping her renewed tears.

"I can't", Azula sobbed again. "I'm… afraid…" her tears fell down even more. "He hates weakness… he'll hate me…"

Lin was rendered speechless for a moment. "He's your father", he said quietly.

"He hates weakness", Azula hiccupped, tears rolling down even more.

"You are not weak", Lin said with gentle sternness. "You're just tired."

Azula did not reply; she simply turned away to the pond again. Lin waited for a moment but decided to let her find solace in the silence of the moment. He waited patiently until her sobs subsides. When Azula sat straight again, Lin leaned towards the pond and, employing the trick Lady Ursa had taught him once upon a time, touched his finger lightly on the water and made a calm ripple.

A turtle-duckling swam slowly and hesitantly towards his receiving hand. It waited, sniffed his fingers, and finally grazed it's tiny head on his hand. Lin gingerly picked the tiny creature up by the shell and put it carefully on Azula's lap.

The Princess moved to touch its furry head and chuckled serenely at the turtle-duckling pecking her dainty finger gently.

"See", Lin said with a grin. "They're not afraid of you."

Azula sniffed back her sobs, with her free hand she wiped the remainder of her tears. She looked down to the tiny creature on her lap and, when she turned to Lin, her smile was as bright as the sun shining behind her. "You're a dummy", she said; she felt tired and, at the same time, _free_. Light.

Unburdened.

Lin smiled back. "You know", his smiled persisted but Azula notice a familiar Lu Ten-esque mischievous teasing glint in his eyes. "In this light, you have brown hair."

The Princess snorted.

"You don't look so bad with brown hair", he added.

"You're stupid", Azula said, smiling but she did not care. She liked not having to care when he was around.

Lin noticed the 'cute smirk' on her face again as she patted the tiny quacking creature on the head with a finger, stroking its furry head forward and ruffled the head feather; the turtle-duckling shook its head to readjust its feather and quacked once at Azula, the Princess giggled briefly.

"Here", Azula turned to Lin and handed him the duckling. "Attack", she ordered the duck, pointing at Lin.

Snickering, Lin put the turtle-duck back to the pond. When he turned to Azula again, the princess had once again rested her head on her folded arms on the armrest; she reached out with the hand that was holding the turtle duck and rubbed it clean on Lin's garb with a very characteristic impish smirk.

Smiling herself, Lin asked her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine", she sulked as Lin pushed her hair off her face. "Stop asking me that."

His response was a kind, if not slightly patronizing smile, and a kiss on her forehead. Azula grunted and wiped the spot where he kissed her. "You can't kiss me there; my dad kisses me there."

Yet he leaned in and embraced her gently, tucking her head in the crook of his neck; the combination of sunlight, cool breeze, and his warmth was comfortable to say the least, Azula thought.

"Can I, though?" she heard him spoke with a tiny barely noticeable crack in his voice. "I'm really worried about you. And now, you're…" he stopped.

"I'm what?" Azula asked, withdrawing a little. His face met hers by the forehead, the tip of his nose touched her philtrum; such physical proximity was inappropriate –_illegal_, even, considering that they were a princess and a criminal!- and yet Azula could not care. Azula felt his frown as he kept his eyes closed. She noticed pain in his face.

He withdrew a little. "Unwell", he said tactfully. "I feel useless", he continued bitterly. "I feel so… I can't do much for you, Azula", he grazed his fingers on her forehead lightly, smiling both serenely and sadly. "I'm sorry."

Azula was at lost at how she should response; not many would show such sincerity towards her. She simply averted her eyes down to her arms. He leaned to her and Azula felt his kiss, warm and real, on her forehead.

"Kissing a Princess is a crime", she said; her arm twitched but she did not move. "Punishable by death."

"Oh?" his smirk return but a trace of sadness still lingered. "In that case, goodbye cruel world."

He leaned and kissed her on her front cheek. Azula narrowed her eyes at him as they parted but he did not seem to notice. "You know what", he frowned. "Seems like such a waste of a death penalty, kissing you on the cheek. Better make it on the mouth."

When he drew closer, Azula flicked him on the nose. "Bad sifu!"

* * *

"—Lord?"

_That can't be right_, Ozai told himself again. His mind replayed the sight that had greeted him when he entered his dearest daughter's chamber with her tea. They were… in the bed… sleeping.

Sleeping on top of each other…

"—it hardly matters. Don't you agree, Gen—"

Ozai took a deep breath; the flame around his throne flared up. _That can't be right_, he screamed to himself again. Oh, the horror of watching your own daughter… despite the warmth of his fire, Ozai shuddered.

Oh, those two did not do anything, Ozai was sure. Azula knew how to carry herself with dignity and the brat Lin was not stupid enough to risk Ozai's wrath. There was no doubt in Ozai's mind that those two kids did not do anything improper.

Maybe…

"—fact is, we must—"

_But, I can't be right!_

Ozai squeezed his eyes hard. Those two did not do anything wr—, well, _overly_ wrong. They were engaged, yes, but… that _can't_ be right!

Children nowadays grow up so fast, Ozai lamented mentally.

"My Lord?" Colonel Zhu Ruo called. "Fire Lord Ozai?"

"What time is it?" Ozai asked instead. A simple question, was it not? And yet, such simple question stunned a room full of high ranking military officers before Ozai repeated his question, but with an angry roar, and then they had the sanity to scramble up and looked around for an hourglass, a sundial, or anything.

"It's around three in the afternoon, My Lord", Admiral Chan stammered.

Ozai got up and left the war meeting room without as much as a passing glance to the kneeling lot.

_Something must be done!_

* * *

Azula watched the turtle-ducks swimming around in line; the mother turtle-duck quacking distinctly as it led the formation of eight turtle-ducklings behind it. The quacking, the swaying side by side as they swam forward, the overall cuteness of such species; Azula found them rather appealing though she was fully aware that, under normal circumstances, she would not.

She remembered the first time she was here, feeding turtle-ducks. She must have been two or three years old. It was with Lu Ten and Zuko. She remembered little of how it went but she did remember faintly how Lu Ten kept his grip the back of her and Zuko's sashes to prevent them from falling over the pond; Lu Ten had always been rather overprotective of them, especially of her.

Funnily enough, Lin was also thinking about the first time he was here in this garden. He was a toddler and Azula was wrong because she had been there too. Ursa, Zuko, and baby Azula. Lin had visited the Palace with his grandfather and, while his grandfather was being entertained by Iroh with a game of Pai Sho over a cup of tea and Lu Ten was in the middle of being imprisoned in the dungeon by the order of Fire Lord Azulon for endangering himself by climbing the palace, Ursa had come and saved Lin from boredom. That day, Ursa taught him how to bait turtle-ducks.

While Lin smiled to himself of the memory of the happy days, Azula let herself enjoy the sight of the turtle-ducks, the sound of the quacking, the warmth the sunlight cast over her, the contrast the cold air offered. She lifted the black robe in front of her to her face, covering her mouth and nose behind the fabric. She felt how cold the tip of her nose was. She sniveled and tried to breathe through her clogged nose. She smelt his lingering scent on the black robe; it made her imagine… tea. Tea leaves…

…chrysanthemum.

Azula was very young when her Uncle Iroh introduced her to tea for the first time. Uncle Iroh brewed her a cup of simple oolong tea and, after her first sip, she gave the old man the silent treatment and made a point to kick him in the shin every time they ran into each other after that.

Lu Ten, an avid tea drinker like his father, of course could not let his favorite cousin hate tea that much; he had given up on Zuko, but Azula? His baby cousin? Nay! He cornered the flighty Princess in the Royal Game House under a ping-pong table with a cup of chrysanthemum tea. Azula was a bit skeptical about the light pee-colored colored tea at first but Lu Ten apparently had the sense his father lacked; Azula did respond better to the milder-tasting and -smelling chrysanthemum tea. Then again, Lu Ten adding honey to the tea might have something to do with it.

Ever since then, every night before she went to bed, Azula developed a habit to have a cup of tea with her cousin in the latter's room. Until Azula started to take more load of her study, effectively taking a chunk of her free time at night; even so, Lu Ten would still visit her during her study at night with a cup of tea whenever he could.

The tea stopped after one spring when Lu Ten and Iroh were away on one of their camping trip to Shu Jing and Azula got food poisoning. Ursa, with the best of intention, tried to cheer the girl up by making her a cup of chrysanthemum tea the way Lu Ten did and, after hopefully thinking that her cousin had come home only to be crushed by the truth, the little girl refused to drink the rest of her tea while she sobbed quietly all day. Azula lost interest in chrysanthemum tea ever since then.

She took another deep breath of the robe. She remembered the dried chrysanthemum Lu Ten had used to make the tea; it struck her as odd since the dried up part of the plant was the flower and not the leaves like most tea she knew. Also, she had noticed how the scent of the dried flower was actually stronger than after the tea was brewed. The scent she registered from the robe made her thought of the scent of dried chrysanthemum flower.

Oddly enough, with all that thought going on, an impertinent question popped in the Princess' head and that impertinent question was. "Hey, do people eat turtle-ducks?"

"I heard people in Hing Wa Island made a soup out of them; with onions, garlic, fire salt, and ginger. It's a local delicacy", Lin shrugged; turning to her, he added. "You are one strange little girl."

"Ever tried it", Azula grinned.

"Nah, I don't eat cute animals. It's against my religion", Lin retorted casually. Sitting on the ground with legs outstretched, he leaned back on his hands and looked up to sunny sky. "Wanna go back? I think it's five already."

"No", Azula slumped back and stretched her numb legs. "I want to enjoy the sunlight as much as I can."

She got up and stretched her arms and back. Lin found solace in the fact the she could stand on her own.

"Yes, I can understand that", Lin sighed as Azula crouched down and lowered her model ship slowly into the pond; the ship capsized as soon as she let go. Snickering, earning him a glare from the Princess, Lin closed his eyes to allow more focus on his skin; warm sunlight is the best firebenders' pick-me-up. "It'd be nice if it's this sunny until sunset."

He could have sworn the sudden rain fell not in droplets but in splashes. Two seconds of the sudden rainfall, Lin was drenched. He scampered up and grabbed Azula's wrist and pulled her to her feet. Azula tried to save her ship but Lin had already pulled her away towards the gazebo. Azula, however, pulled back and stood her ground. "The universe hates me!" he cursed. "Let's get out of this rain!"

"You know what", she shouted over the roar of rain, grinning she knew. "I don't care."

Lin looked desperate as he tugged her closer again. "Come on. You have fever! You can't get wet."

Azula, however, had such a radiant smile as she looked up to the now cloudy sky. With her free hand, she wiped water and hair off her face. When she looked into Lin's eyes, he saw in her the Princess from four years ago, the girl from the lawn with bandages and bracelet.

"I don't care", she smiled so brightly.

Lin felt his defense crumble; he really did have a soft spot for her. He stepped closer to her and embraced her; she hugged back. "But, I do. I care", he kissed her on the forehead and hugged her again. "You're dad's scary."

In the meantime, Fire Lord Ozai was walking down the corridor leading away from his daughter's empty chamber, leading a group of servants and maids. He felt a pang in his heart when he noticed a pile of burnt stuff in the room and found a badly immolated head of a stuffed wolf-husky. Perhaps he should have explicitly told Azula that the gifts were from him instead of just dumping them in the room without any explanation.

And in his room, General Iroh and his fellow White Lotus were sitting around a dining table with a cup of tea. Like himself, Head Physician Azaya, Masters Jian Wu, Kaji, and Piandao, Commanders Kuva, Wey, and Ping, Head Librarian Nazak, retired General and current Military Advisor Zhu, Fire Sages Shyu and Hu Zang, Minister Dai-Zin, and Tutor Ma Kun had their eyes closed as they offered to the heavens a silent prayer.

Iroh was the first open his eyes. He stood up and the sound of his chair grinding the floor prompted everybody else to do the same. The Grand Lotus raised his cup; the others followed his gesture. "To Mother Ma of Earth Kingdom Oya Abbey", he exclaimed; the other murmured those words after him. "May she rest in peace."

* * *

"—_kind of sloppy horse-arsery that I—"_

Azula winced as her father's angry roar echoed two doors away from the corridor outside her room. She should have been afraid but the urge she felt was for a smirk; the cold in the pit of her gut was there, true, but so was her amused smirk.

Sighing, she leaned back and slid down a little in her bathtub, scooping more hot water onto her face appreciatively. She promised herself that she would never take hot water for granted again. Thunder roared loudly outside, making a noise as if the sky had split open; pellets of raindrops drummed the walls around her. None of those could drown the angry shouting of the exalted Fire Lord.

"—_more from you! You are supposed to be—"_

Azula jumped a little as a very loud thunder crashed the sky; by the will of Agni, it prevented her from hearing the next two words: _her fiancé_.

"—_supposed to take care of her! And yet, you show such incomp—"_

Azula brought her hands together in a Fire Nation hand gesture and breathed out steam to reheat her water. She did not know why people who had cold and fever were often discouraged from taking a bath; she herself had never felt this comfortable ever since she got sick.

She was about to submerge herself and was making a plan to try her ship, that she had put on the floor near her, again when the door of her bathroom rattled and she shriek. Furiously, she barked at her dummy sifu. "I'm still in he—"

"Azula", the door was knocked by Fire Lord Ozai. "Don't take too long. You're still sick."

"I know, Father. I was just about to get out", Azula lied, gulping her shudder down. Then, quickly she added at the door knob twisting. "Don't come in! I'm not dressed!"

Really, she loved her father. But, the man was so thick sometimes.

Quickly, the Princess got out, sending splashes of water around, dried herself and got dressed. She picked up her ship and stored it away in the drawer under her sink; Azula had no intention to show any childish side of her to her father.

The moment she unlocked her door and stepped out with damp hair, she was promptly crushed by a man twice her size and five times her weight. Grunting and slightly hurting, she tapped her father's back frantically. Ozai let go, scanned the girl from top to bottom. "Your hair is wet! Come here."

He dragged the girl to the bedside where he quickly dry her hair with steam he bended out of his palm; like the water the Fire Lord had prepared for her, Azula found the steam a little too hot to her liking but she did not complain. Her father had a tendency to go overboard when he was doing something for her. Like the time when she forgot her book and he sent the Dragon of the Deep Forest and around two hundreds elite Royal Procession to get the book to her school; Azula had sent Ty Lee to fetch the book for her while she hid in the bathroom, whimpering on Mai's shoulder.

Her father got up suddenly, looking around the room as if searching something. The man strode to Azula's vanity, pulled out several drawers rather sloppily only to find the object he was looking for lying around neatly on the surface of the desk all along. He returned to his dearest daughter's side with a golden engraved hairbrush.

"Father, I can do this myself", Azula protested as the Fire Lord reached for her shoulders and turned her around. The man simply mumbled out incoherent words like 'nonsense' and 'dearest'.

"Ow!"

"I'm s— Am I hurting you?" Fire Lord Ozai blurted out. Azula turned around and shot her an annoyed look. Ozai went back to brushing her hair but more gently this time.

Azula twiddled her thumbs, she was conflicted inside. There was this issue about her sifu and her fear that her father might choose to confront her with it. There was also her being sick and all…

_Being a useless deadweight…_

… and the fact that her father had shown nothing but kindness and understanding through all these ordeals. It made her feel guilty.

"Am I hurting you that much?" Ozai asked uneasily as the girl dived into his chest, trembling.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that it was going to rain", Azula's muffled sob emerged. She felt her father's chest rose and settled as the man sighed deeply.

"You shouldn't worry me like this", Ozai said.

Azul bit her lip guiltily. She was about to apologize but her father beat her to it.

"I'm not good at this", Ozai said, gasped actually; this was the best he could do as his soul had almost forgotten how to feel and his body had completely forgotten how to cry. "I admit, when it comes to… brushing your hair or picking up clothes, your mother was much better than me."

"That is not true!" Azula argued defensively. She shot her father a furious look. "Mom's gone. She left us", she dived back to the man's embrace and her tone turned lower. "I don't care about her anymore."

Ozai leaned down and landed a warm kiss on her dearest daughter's head, wishing he could say the same. For a man is not a man unless he feels; and no man is numb completely. Ozai felt still for Ursa and more and more each day he saw her in their daughter. In the deepest corner of his heart he knew it was the reason why he drove her more than Zuko. He could not afford to let his daughter be weak like Ursa.

"Your mother is gone", he said as he pressed his face against the top of the girl's head. "Don't concern yourself with her anymore."

Ozai turned and rested his cheek on his daughter's head; Azula did not say anything. She was too caught up in her father's warmth, the safety it provided her, the smell of rose charcoal incense that was mixed in the Fire Throne fuel that stuck to the Fire Lord's robe. Azula breathed in and, as she exhaled, she felt herself slumping, crumbling, melting onto her father. She felt like a child once more.

Ozai kissed her again on the head and spoke with a voice of distant almost remorseful tone. "I know that…" he swallowed thorn and barb before continuing, dragging his words out with a prick in his chest like you wouldn't believe. "…things have not been the same since your mother's gone and…" even Azula felt the man's chest tightened. "…it hasn't been easy. I have not been a very good father—"

"That's not true", Azula failed to hold her tongue; she felt warmth resurging forward from her face, pushing tears to her eyes.

"Everything I did, I did for you", Ozai put a hand on the back of the girl's head and pressed it gently to his chest. Spreading from his palm on her head was the memory of the many times this happened when his daughter was but a tiny child; she had grown so much, said his palm to his mind. "I can be tough sometimes, I can even be cruel and—"

"It's not true", Azula nearly screamed, definitely cried. "It's not true…"

Ozai snickered under his breath; not of malice of contempt. It could not be for what he was father who was being defended by his dearest daughter. "I am proud of you; never forget that."

Forgotten on the dark corner of the room, Lin crept his way out of the room to allow them the much needed privacy.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Yes! I am (barely) aliiiiivvveee!

Sorry for the super late update. Work is getting crazy. My writing time has been effectively cut down to one day a week. NOOOO!

Names:

1. Ruza, an Esperanto word that means 'sly'

2. Jiandie (间谍) from Mandarin word for 'spy'

3. Kokatsu, a Japanese word that means 'cunning'

Song of the Chapter: '_Innocence'_ by Avril Lavigne. As I wrote the scene at the turtle-duck pond, the song kept playing in my head. And, no, there was nothing wrong with my coffee or snack peanut; I made the coffee myself and checked and tested the peanut on my dog. He seemed to like it. :)

To war sage, thanks for the review!

To OwlFeather13, thanks for the review, Snowman! Wait a minute, some people really do not like Christmas?! I thought it was just some myth propagated by the Hollywood filmmakers so that they could have some villain characters when they're making a Christmas movie. And… porcine…? Yikes! Though, I do see your point. People are weird, aren't they? Too many unknown variables involved when you're dealing with people.

Again, the next update is still unknown. We're a bit shorthanded at work and even part-timers like me are given extra duties.

Pray for me… T_T


	95. Chapter 94

**Chapter 94 – What We Do Tonight**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender

* * *

The Fire Princess stirred in her sleep.

Their screams still echoed in her head.

"_I'm making her strong!"_ her father had spat; she had barred her ears with her hands at his angry roar, sitting and curling tight with her legs drawn to her chest on the floor at the corner of the hallway, hidden.

"_You're turning her into a monster!"_ her mother's scream had pierced through the barricade and her heart deeper.

Like a poisoned dart, a flaming arrow, a thunder bolt. Inescapable… inconsolable pain. A pain that would never heal…

Azula woke up with a start and a pain that would never heal. She instinctively reached to her side, as she often would these past few days, and found herself alone in the bed. The subsequent chilling, blood-curdling hollow erupting from her chest and spreading all over her insides felt strangely familiar. But, she did not like it.

Familiar, but it was not something she found welcoming. Like the chill that brings about a high fever.

It was not until her eyes caught the pillars of moonlight coming from the transoms above her window that fell on a mass of black and red that she realized she was not alone. The chill settled into a rush. Only when she reached the chaise longue a foot away by her bed, rather desperately, she had to admit, the rush settled into a washing wave of warmth, comfortable warmth, and the lighting turned from bright somber blue to the original dim orange flame.

She stepped down from her bed and literally flung herself to the chaise; her footsteps eerily echoed in the dead of night, making a dull thumping sound on the carpeted floor that mimicked her beating heart. She climbed up to the cramped narrow space of the furniture, barely wide enough to support two of him lying on his back. He was lying on his side, sleeping. Azula burrowed into his blanket and nuzzled into his chest like a scared kitten.

When she saw the wet stain she left on his garb, she realized that she was crying. Again.

She felt him move. He was lying on his left, facing her; she felt his left arm slide below her head, his right hand gently stroking her head. She felt his breathing coming to life before it settled into a rhythmic lulling symphony that she found calming and soothing.

She had no intention of admitting it but she liked it when he stroked her head like that.

He did not say anything; Azula did not feel like talking about it. Not now. She wanted to stay like this for a while. He knew it.

He always did; Azula considered it one of his best and the most annoying traits.

When they came back from their day at the pond, they had found the chaise longue Lin was currently sleeping on there and Azula's bathroom door fixed. And the Fire Lord was waiting inside, looking furious at the two drenched kids. While Azula was promptly shoved into her bathroom where she was ordered to get into some hot water the Fire Lord had prepared, Lin was scolded for such carelessness.

Azula had never seen her father that angry with anyone before. _Angrier_, yes; with some insolent nobles and they all ended in an Agni Kai. But, never that angry. Angrier than he was with servants who spilled his tea or dropped his books or scrolls; not as angry as to challenge Lin to a dead match of Agni Kai. It was somewhere in between.

The chaise had been put rather far away from her bed, nearly all the way on the other side of the room, but after much pestering from the Princess, Lin had moved it closer to her bed, aligning it by its side only foot away.

"_I really don't wanna push this all the way there in the morning"_, Lin had complained. _"I think your dad really hates me now. Especially after I let you get soaked in the rain."_

"_What am I, a dried fish?"_ she had hit him for that. _"And besides, we're playing dumb, remember?"_ which, they had agreed, would be their game plan regarding the Fire Lord walking in on them hugging each other in the bed.

"_True, but there is a big difference between playing dumb and being rebellious"_, he had said.

A part of Azula agreed; her father was not someone they could fool this way, not this easily. Though, she did say. _"Hmm, well, _you're_ the one who's going to get punished. Not my problem."_

Azula lifted up her face to see his; his eyes were closed and, had his hand not stroking her head still, Azula would have thought he was still sleeping. The Princess wiped her eyes dry; it made her realized that Lin was probably the only one who had ever seen her cry this much. She buried her face back to his chest. Azula felt his warm breath on the top of her head, telling her she was safe.

"Morning, sleepyhead", he croaked, then he cleared his dry throat; Azula felt the shift in his chest from him swallowing.

"Is it?" Azula muttered.

"Hmm… no, not really. It's still a little past midnight", he said. Azula simply grunted a little and gripped his garb tighter, pulling herself closer to him. He moved and the space parting between them told Azula it was to give her more room. She scooted closer to him and he held her again, squeezing her a little briefly, almost like what her cousin used to do. Azula chuckled under her breath; sometimes, it was uncanny how similar he was to Lu Ten. And how he did what he did in such a way that Azula could not even bring herself to suspect that he was doing it on purpose.

"You haven't slept for long", he said; Azula felt the incoming probing. "What's wrong?"

"I had a nightmare", Azula whispered, feeling sleepy again though she willed herself to stay awake.

"It's just a dream", he said reassuringly.

"I don't care", Azula sighed deeply, suddenly feeling moist surging from her eyes. "See. You can't leave. What if I have nightmares again? Who should I go to?"

Who would she go to, indeed…?

"I can't go to my dad", _for many reasons_. "He hates weakness."

"Having nightmares doesn't make you weak", he said kindly, rubbing her back.

"I know my dad loves me but… he's…" …_so_… "He's so… far away sometimes."

_So far away…_

"I mean… it takes twenty minutes to walk to his room from here, you know. Even though we live under the same roof", she exhaled slowly, tearing up.

"I live in the North Wing", he pointed out.

"Yeah, so? It's only a ten-minute walk there", Azula huffed slightly. "You have to stay."

Azula could feel him sigh from the rising and falling of his chest.

"What?" Azula asked a little crossly. "Don't you like living here? It's terrible at the Earth Kingdom camp. You said so yourself."

"True", Lin sighed, hand reaching up to the head that was resting under his chin and on his other folded arm. "But, it's my duty."

"So, you're really planning to leave again", Azula accused.

"I'm still here", Lin said firmly. Evasively.

Azula did not pursue this matter as he knew she would not. Avoidance and denial were two of her main weapons in her arsenal, Lin knew.

"I'm tired", Azula said and felt… "Don't let me fall?" she said.

"Of course, I won't", Lin said, tugging her closer. "Wanna go back to your bed?"

"Nope", the Princess said as she rolled around, turning her back on the sifu so he would not see her cry. "Don't let me fall", she added as she lay precariously on the edge of the lounge.

"Of course, I won't", Lin yawned. "Come closer."

Azula snuggled as close as possible, pressing her back on Lin's front, smirking a bit. "Pervert", she said in tandem with Lin's "Not a pervert."

"You started this", Lin pointed out dryly. "Why am I the pervert?"

"So, I'm the pervert?" Azula retorted, elbowing him sharply.

"Yeah", Lin heaved through the dull ache on his ribs. Smiling though he was when he buried his face in the back of Azula head, and breathed. He decided that he liked the scent of her hair. "Pervert…"

"You're the pervert", Azula elbowed him again.

"Whyyyyy meeeee?" Lin faked a whine, Azula giggled.

"By default", she said, rolling around to face him.

Lin suddenly realized that she… well, he decided that he would not mind spending one whole day staring at her face too.

"You look different", Lin said out loud without the intention to do so.

"Hmm? How so?" Azula asked, linking her arms around Lin's neck for support.

"I don't know", Lin confessed softly. "You just look different. Around here", he traced his finger gently along the Princess' cheek and cheekbone. "You're not chubby anymore_. Ow, ow, ow!_ What did I say?"

"I'm not chubby!" Azula barked, pinching the dummy's gut even harder.

"I didn't mean that!" Lin said with a strained painful voice. "I mean, _ow_, you know… no more… baby fat—"

"_Fat?!_"

"No, no! It's… arggh…" at this point in realized just how deep his foot was stuck in his mouth. "I'm sorry! _Sorry_!"

Azula concluded his punishment with a mean punch on his chest that nearly sent her over the edge; Lin held her quickly.

"It's not a bad— it's a _compliment_, you know", Lin said as they rearranged their snuggling position. "Now, you look… well…"

Azula sucked in her lips briefly to hide her glee but Lin could see the ghost of a mirthful smile in her mouth anyway.

He decided he liked this faint strained smile she was currently showing.

"I look what?" she demanded casually, sniffing hard to clear her clogged up nose.

"Well, you know…" Lin squirmed a bit, looking away, feeling some sort of glee creeping up his mouth that he was sure he caught from Azula.

"No, I don't", Azula said, still holding a smile. "Enlighten me."

"Well… nah, I'd rather—"

"The Princess of your Nation commands you."

"Well, um… you're…" it felt like Agni, the Fire God, himself sparked his inner fire back to life but put it on his face instead of his gut. "You're… uh…" Lin gulped, still unable to look straight at his (_fiancée_) student. Clearing his throat, he said sheepishly, as sheepish as an adoring boy caught writing love poems to a fairy."…pretty…"

Azula had promised herself she would not, under any condition or circumstance, no matter what Lin would do or say or insinuate, _blush_.

She sniffed once hard and looked down, fixing her gaze on the fold of Lin's garb to distract herself from the burning sensation on her face. "Oh", she said nonchalantly as if Lin had just told her that her robe was red. Azula decided to go on the offensive. "Don't flirt with me", and yet she felt that fluttering in her chest that made her breathing feel so hard and tight she nearly gasp out loud.

"I'm not flirting", Lin said. "I'm… commenting. Big difference here."

"Dummy", Azula said, looking down so Lin would not see her smile and blush. "Are we going somewhere today?"

"No" Lin answered rather quickly there. "Your sniffles got worse. And…" he pressed his chin and mouth on the girl's forehead; Azula suddenly realized how small she was compared to him. "…your fever's back."

"But, I want to go out", Azula jutted out her lower lip. "It's boring here."

"You can't go out", Lin said firmly, as firmly as his drowsy state permitted. "What if you get worse? When your dad was chewing me out, Azula, _fire_ came out of his ears. I'm serious."

"Good", Azula huffed, nipping his chest with her pinch. "I hope it burnt you. You deserve it."

"You're so mean to me", Lin sighed in her forehead; Azula could not bring herself to dislike it.

"You're a jerk", she said and yet she drew closer to him, tucking her head into the crook of his neck, reveling in the warmth he was radiating. She did not know why she did not mind at all when he pressed his face on top of her head and breathed hard, or that she found his breath gushing through her hair pleasant.

Like being patted in the head. Azula still liked it, if she was allowed to be honest. She just did not like how childish it made her look.

She was not a child anymore and honesty really was not her strong point.

"I wanna go somewhere", Azula said, pouting though she had no intention to do so. "I'm bored."

"We'll find something for you to do", Lin said. "Some higher level meditation exercises?"

"I can't meditate like this", Azula said; Lin was suddenly aware of how nasal she sounded on account of her cold. "My nose's runny, my head hurts, my back is a bit sore, I'm cold… I wanna die…"

"Don't say that", Lin squeezed her a bit. "We still have to get married and… ow, live a long happy married life together."

"I don't want to marry you", Azula said, not relenting on her mean pinching and knowing why she felt a sudden rush of heat on her face that made her feel relief that she was burying her face on Lin's chest. "Stupid…" she meant it as something mean and yet she smiled. It was a defiant smile she had no intention to let out and yet… there it was, across her face, reigning supreme even as she sniffed hard almost instinctively to suppress her smile by masking it as a sniffle.

"Why not?" Lin asked lightly. He did feel the sense of wariness that, unbeknownst to him, Azula felt as well regarding how… _normal_ and natural hugging and kissing her had become.

He banished that wariness easily by reminding himself that she was his fiancée.

Instead of answering, Azula climbed on top of him; Lin lay on his back feeling every bit of weight the Princess on top of him. _She's so small_, he thought. Even after she had changed so much, there were times when Azula would still appear to be that little girl from the lawn with bracelet and bandages, Lin pondered.

Resting her head on Lin's chest, Azula simply exhaled deeply, clearly dismissing Lin's words as another one of his jokes. Lin, on the other hand, could not help himself as he delivered a teasing remark. "This can't be appropriate."

"Shut up. I don't wanna fall. This thing is small", Azula stated a bit gruffly.

Snickering, Lin pulled his blanket over the girl's shoulder, hugging her tight so she would not fall. She felt so light to him. "So?" cleared his throat.

"So what?" Azula grumbled tiredly.

"Marry me?" Lin shrugged.

Azula tensed up and raised her head a little, staring at Lin in the eye with an expression that was hard to read. "Why are you talking about this again? I've told you, I don't like joking about this kind of thing."

"Well…" Lin gulped a little, bracing himself for he was not completely sure if he should say… "What if I'm not joking? What if… well, what if I really want to… marry you?"

Azula's stare persisted.

A messenger hawk flew in from the opened window and landed on the chaise lounge backrest, totally ruining the moment.

They ignored the bird.

Azula turned to the red feathered avian, chewing her lip. Then, she turned back to Lin with steely glint in her amber eyes that might be a thin film of tear. "Why do you want to marry me?" she asked quietly.

"Let's see", Lin sighed, raking his brain for words; he was sure Azula would not take kindly to _'because your grandfather fixed us up before he died'_. His default thought paradigm, it seemed, when he was tired, was to say the first thing that popped into his head and wing it from there. "Well, you may notice that I have few female acquaintances aside from you, Mai, and Ty Lee; Mai's creepy and, if my dad and Ty Lee's aunt get through, me and Ty Lee will be borderline incest. So, I suppose, that leaves… you."

Azula did not speak for five full seconds.

"You really don't have any other female acquaintances?" she asked with her earlier distant tone.

Lin opened his mouth but halted his speech, frowning; Azula dropped her chin on his chest but kept her stare at him as Lin pondered upon his answer. "It's a bit… complicated I think. You three are my only girl— _female_ friends, you know, the ones that I really know. All the others are just… faces. And names", and girls some family friends had brought to his house for a little play date shortly after he gained fame as the Dragon of the Deep Forest, hoping they could earn his and his father's favor.

"And…" Azula drawled. "You want to marry me because Mai scares you and the odds of Ty Lee becoming your cousin are getting higher by the day."

"Well", a little voice in Lin's head was practically yelling _'Danger! Danger! Danger!'_; he stupidly chose to ignore it. "I suppose. But, not only that."

"Uh-huh?" Azula narrowed her eyes sharply, tone unchanged. "What else?"

"You're… um, well, you know…" Lin cleared his throat yet again, he suddenly felt how raw his throat felt like and how bitter the inside of his mouth felt. "I don't know. I mean, why not?" he smiled and grimaced at the same time.

Azula's stare stayed steely and cold until, for a brief moment, it flashed furious and she slammed her fist on Lin's chest and angrily stepped down, ignoring her hurting sifu, and went back to her bed. She gave him the cold shoulder, literally, lying on her left side, facing away, and her gaze fell upon the green jade on the other side of the bed. She ignored that too.

And she also ignored the silent tears flooding her face.

And, Agni, she did not even want to think about his shadow falling upon her. His weight shifting the bed on her back. His warm arm sneaking beneath her head and the other arm enveloping her around her waist. His face behind her head, breathing in.

"I'm not finished, you know", Lin said softly. "I… your hair smells nice. Lavender?"

Azula scowled though she knew he could not see it; she would not let this one slide. "Don't joke", she tried to say but her phlegmy throat permitted only vague gurgling sound. She cleared her throat and said. "Rose", begrudgingly so. "Don't joke around."

"Sorry", Lin said. "Well, you're… smart. You're…"

Frowning, Azula turned her head to him.

"You're funny… and witty."

The Princess rolled and lay on her back; Lin rose and rested his head on his propped hand, looking down at the girl. "You're a great firebender", he pushed Azula's hair off of her face gently with a finger. "You're…" he chuckled softly. "You're weird."

"I'm not weird", Azula groused, letting her sifu dabbed her tears dry.

"Good weird", Lin said. "You're… um, pretty", he mumbled the last part; Azula bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing. Or smiling.

"And you're…" Lin halted, trying to think up the perfect word. "_You_", he said finally. And, by Agni, it was the _perfect_ word.

Azula still did not buy it though.

"Do you even like me?" she asked curtly, reaching out subconsciously to Lin's garb and rubbed the fabric of the garment.

"Maybe", Lin smiled almost slyly, leaning in despite Azula's groan and feeble attempt at pushing him, and landed a peck on her forehead which she did not resist much. In fact, as the sifu rained down light kisses on his (fiancée's) forehead, the part between her brows, her brow, the bridge of her nose, her front cheek, the tip of her nose, her front cheek again, the said (_fiancée_) student actually giggled and smiled. A light tender adorable smile Lin had rarely seen of her. Not often since the night in the dark lawn with the bandages and bracelet.

"Stop", she whined, slapping him on the chest. Lin feigned a mortal wound and curled; Azula caught his head in her surprisingly gentle arms, surprising even to herself, and rested her sifu's head on her neck and upper chest. She felt a different kind of tingling that made her cringe but she braved through it. "Are you flirting with me?" she asked, faking a sour tone as Lin's head went limp on top of her.

"How dare you!" his admonition came out muffled as he put his right arm over his (fiancée) student. He emerged and said with all fake seriousness. "I'm being honest!"

Azula sniffed and wiped her remaining tears; she reached out and pushed the hair off her sifu's face and held it in place. "You're stupid."

"Am I?" Lin arched a brow; Azula let out a cute pout and nodded childishly. "Need I remind you…" Lin said, plopping down on his side, never taking an eye off of the Princess. "…that I have finished my secondary education long ago? You're still in secondary. So, I'm smarter than you."

"Not true", Azula argued, crossing her arms. "I'm still in secondary by choice. Mai and I were waiting for Ty Lee to catch up so we can take the National Test together. After she left, we just decided to stay because we just feel like… like… li— ACHOOO!"

Lin stifled a smile as he turned to the nightstand behind him and picked up a box of tissue he had put on it and offered it to Azula.

Azula pulled two sheets of tissue and blew her nose noisily.

Leering at Lin, she blew out once more. "Still want to marry me?" she asked still with face hidden behind the tissue.

Lin simply scoffed and offered her more tissue.

"Well?" Azula pressed on, leaning on Lin's chest as the latter sat straight in the bed, resting against the headboard.

"Why not?" Lin said, hugging the girl snuggly in his arms; Azula wiped her nose clean and simply threw her tissue over the foot of her bed. "Yeah", Lin rephrased with more certainty. "Yes, I do."

"Do you like me that way?" Azula asked directly, tired of beating around the bush.

"Maybe", Lin smiled as he pressed his mouth on the top of the Princess' head on his chest. "I mean, why not?"

"Stop sniffing meeeee!" Azula whined, kicking her feet. "Stupid", she said, pouting as Lin regarded her protest with only a snicker. Azula pouted again, but gave way to a tiny smile.

She had been called many good things: smart, intelligent, a genius, a prodigy, beautiful.

But, he was the first to call her 'pretty'.

Sucking in her lips to hide her smile, though her lower cheek muscle tightened nonetheless, she looked down to hide her face, flicking her twin bangs to cover more of her face. She felt Lin easing up on his embrace, probably thinking that Azula wanted to move away. Azula simply rested herself back on him and, as she knew they would, the pair of arms circled around her again.

And he squeezed her slightly and briefly, making her simper.

"How are you feeling?" he asked; Azula groaned and rammed her tiny but mean fist on his thigh. "Ow!" Lin grunted. "I'm sorry, I just have to ask. You're all warm again; I think your fever's back."

"Stop asking me that! It's annoying!" Azula grumbled, thrashing around a bit for good measure.

"Okay", Lin said fondly, lowering his head to Azula's, pressing his nose against the left side of the girl's warm face. "How about a deal? I get to ask you… say… five times a day."

"Three", Azula bargained.

"Five."

"Three."

"Four."

"Three."

"…Five."

"Two."

"Three! Three! Okay!"

"Deal", Azula smirked smugly; smugger when Lin quickly added. "But, you have to answer!"

Azula muttered some incomprehensible sound that sounded a lot like '_busted'_ before she turned to her left and said. "Okay", grumbled, actually. But, she did lean forward and planted one on her sifu's face, near his nose. She rested back comfortably in the boy's arm and, noticing the raising on his chest that preceded his speech, she quickly said. "Never happened."

Lin said nothing this time, which was just what Azula wanted. She was confused by him still, at how little things about him, little things with him, could… _feel_ so right. _So_ what she wanted from him. About him. In him.

With him.

Huh… maybe that was why Azula wanted him around.

Besides, the Princess thought to herself, he makes a good cushion. If only he would stop squirming so much.

Azula looked up and saw her sifu cracking his neck. Lin caught her eyes and said, "That thing is not suited for a good night's sleep."

"Good, you deserve the pain", Azula huffed. She rammed her back on her sifu, pulling her blanket over her chest and crossing her arms, with the full intention of going to sleep until sunrise pulled her up from her slumber. But, Lin simply would not stop squirming though he did try to be subtle. Sighing, she sat up. Turning to the boy, she said. "Lie on your back."

"What?" Lin frowned.

"Lie on your ba— _stomach_, sorry", Azula redressed, forcing down an amused smile.

Lin was still confused.

"Lie down", Azula hit him on the leg again; something felt off and suddenly she remembered the flute. She had let it go in her sleep and it was lying on the bed near her. She reached to it and raised it threateningly; Lin cringed and obeyed but still looking lost. Azula scooted closer to his side and grabbed his shoulder muscles, feeling a bit uncomfortable herself with her left hand extended more than her right. She climbed to Lin's back, straddling him, and began rubbing his stiff shoulders.

"Uh…" Lin began awkwardly. "This can't be proper."

"What?" Azula asked innocently. "Ty Lee taught me this. Mai and I often made her rub our backs and shoulders when we do her homework for her. Ty Lee said her chi blocking technique could be used for this too."

"No, I meant… Azula, the bird's watching", Lin's voice dropped to a whisper; when he noticed a hue of blue washing over his bang in front of his face and the bed below him, he reached up quick before it was too late. "No!"

"Whaaaat?" Azula asked whiningly, jerking her blue flame holding wrist free. "I'm just going to scare it."

"Don't do that!" Lin chided. "It still has the letter", his head rose a bit and he (tried to) whistle.

Lin had been born to a then-cranky father who was the eldest son in a traditional family. Lin's male influence growing up came predominantly from his grandfather and his uncles who all, being part of the said traditional family, taught Lin little about the miscellaneous skills of life in respect for his father who wanted Lin to learn nothing but the skills and knowledge that would groom him into the warrior his heir should be. As for skills and knowledge like how to pick up girls, how to fish (the first time Lin went fishing was shortly after he turned eleven), even the tiny stuff like how to snap his fingers (Lin still hurt his middle finger doing it), how to click his tongue (he had tried before, from watching his cousins; he shot a fast spittle on Biao's eye), and how to whistle, Lin had never actually learnt.

Little things that we often take for granted.

All that rambling lead up to the fact that Lin could not whistle. He made this weird spitting sound instead.

Azula sucked in her lower lip and let out a loud sharp whistle and the messenger hawk flew towards them, perching on top of Lin's scowling head. "Ha ha~", Azula mocked as she extricated the letter from the tube.

"Okay, now you can scare it", Lin said. The bird, as if understanding his speech quickly flew away, but not before grasping Lin's scalp with its talon; Lin could feel the sharp sensation on his head, fairly certain that he was chafing a little. Even so, with his (fiancée) student draping down on him, resting her cheek on the side of his as she unrolled the paper in front of them, burrowing her other arm around his neck and hugged him, he found himself not caring for his scalp.

"This can't be right", he commented as he found himself unable to concentrate on Head Physician Azaya's sleek thin handwriting on the parchment. "What if your dad comes in and sees us like this. He'll think you're molesting me."

Azula giggled. "You're stupid", she said, landing a small kiss on the boy's cheek. Even if Lin could not see her face as his neck could not turn that much, he felt her weight almost doubling on his back. Her tone was deep and sad. "Don't go", she said.

"I'm still here", Lin said.

"Don't say that. You're not answering me", Azula replied still with her earlier tone. "You're trying to change the topic again. I hate that."

Lin chose to hold his tongue.

"You're planning to leave again, aren't you?" Azula accused softly. "You're going to leave me again."

Lin reached to the hand of her right arm that was circling his neck, grasping her tight fist gently.

"If you leave, I won't have—"…—_anyone to_—… Azula felt her breath hitch in her throat, a dry sob catching her unaware. "Don't go", she squeezed tighter. "And you're wearing thin clothes."

Lin chuckled, finally succeeded in unfurling her fist and gratefully he grasped her smaller hand. "I'm wearing my summer garb; they're baggy. My old winter clothes don't fit anymore."

"Oh", Azula said, sniffing wetly. She was sure there was a sob there somewhere; a suspicion further emboldened by the stringy feeling under the skin of her face and her lip quivering without her consent. "Don't go", she said as calmly as she could, only to crumble as she practically pleaded. "Please…"

Lin felt a thick ball of breath expanding in his chest. He exhaled it slowly and the tightness in his chest dissipated slowly. Azula turned to him and pressed her cheek on him as much as she could; Lin could feel her warm breath on the side of his face. He patted the bed in front of him and said. "Get down here."

"No", Azula squeezed tighter. "I like it up here."

"Come on, Azula", Lin said, feeling a fondness he could barely feel negatively on. "Come down."

Azula did but to the part of the bed behind him. Lin turned his head towards her and saw her steely distant expression again. She almost look like she was daydreaming had her eyes not trained closely on his own. Also, Lin knew that Azula never daydreamt. Her mind was an active mechanism, never ceasing to operate. Even during one of her docile episodes when she would just sit and be as calm as a koala-lamb, Lin knew her mind would rehearse firebending forms or recite classical poetries or historical account as a default function. When she was younger, she would twitch during this period, as if she was rehearsing a firebending form in her mind so vividly, her muscles reacted.

"How are you feeling?" he asked and regretted it immediately. Azula's jaw hardened and her brows furrowed for a brief moment.

"I'm fine", she muttered quietly before turning around.

Lin, feeling the sensation akin to guilt (oh, heck, it _was_ guilt), rolled to his side and moved closer. The solid thing that his knee pressed upon halted him. He reached down and pulled out his flute; he had not even noticed Azula putting it down. He remembered the last couple of days when Azula simply refused to let go of the jade flute. She even brought it with her to the bathroom and held on to it during Head physician Azaya's daily morning visit and kept her grip on it when she slept.

Lin knew he should have felt… I don't know, good, relief, or something along that line now that Azula had grown less attached to the flute. But, he did not. He felt lost somehow. Maybe…

It was a feeling Lin did not really recognize. Like…

Like… separation. Saying goodbye to your loved ones, knowing you might not have a chance to be with them again. It carried a certain kind of emptiness like the aftertaste of the last goodbye. But there was also the cold on his stomach that chilled him to the core. And a shiver up his spine to his face that he knew banished any trace of color from his face.

Agni, it was not good…

A loud more welcomed voice in his head commanded him to hold his (fiancée) Princess tight. However, Lin obeyed the smaller weaker voice that was telling him to go back to the lounge chaise.

He lied down and pulled his blanket over his shoulder. He turned to Azula's back and held down an urge to sigh. Girls are so… complicated. After being alive for fourteen years, Lin finally realized that. He turned around and lay on his back, staring up to the ceiling. He felt weird for a second or two, realizing that he had never actually seen Azula's ceiling before. Azula's four-poster bed had an upper canopy and the night before had been a lot darker.

It was high, so high the dim lightning and early sunlight shed no light upon them although Lin could make out several horizontal beams and the butt of numerous small tall chandeliers hanging up there. Azula coughed loudly and Lin turned to her. The Princess was facing him now, gripping her blanket in her chest. She did not pay attention to the flute lying on the pillow in front of her as her amber eyes stared feebly at Lin; from time to time, those slightly moist and tired-looking orbs that bore the color of evening sunlight trailed away.

It made her look rather… skittish.

Lin was suddenly brought back to the time, so long ago it seemed, when the two-year-old Princess was being coaxed by Lady Ursa to stop hiding behind the latter's legs so she could properly greet Admiral Jeong Jeong and his grandson who had been visiting the palace. Lin remembered how Azula had squeaked and run into Lu Ten, hugging the Fire Prince tight on the waist and buried her face in his gut, whimpering slightly.

Jeong Jeong had laughed, Ursa had apologized for Azula's rudeness with a fond smile on her face, Lu Ten had playfully scolded Azula for it. Lin did not remember much about he did.

Now that he thought about it… he did not remember ever being introduced to Azula. Not… well, not formally. He must have been very young when Lady Ursa showed him the bundle that held her baby girl; Lu Ten and Zuko, when Lin was around, could always detached themselves from the baby and distract him with something. Sometimes though, Lady Ursa would bring baby Azula to the Lin Family Estate as she visited Aunt Bing (_now_ Lin knew why Lady Ursa visited Aunt Bing), and there was actually one time, Lin recalled, when he and Biao had been given the task to babysit the one-year-old toddler Azula while Lady Ursa, despite everybody's protest, helped Umma prepare some medicinal soup for Aunt Bing.

Azula had bitten Biao. And then she had laughed and spent most of the day sleeping.

Now, the no-longer-a-child Azula was looking at him with that faint doe-eyed pout of hers.

"I'm cold", she said.

Lin sighed. "Head Physician Azaya's coming in a few minutes."

Azula simply switched to her puppy-dog eyes. When Lin made no move, turning away to avoid her sad sad gaze, she brought her blanket to her mouth and made a cat mewling sound.

Azula kept her blanket on her mouth in her adorable display as Lin practically leaped to her side and held her tight, patting her back rapidly as if he was pacifying a child. Sniffing her clogged up nose, Azula simply pushed him down on his back gently and rested her head tiredly on his chest. No traces of woe in her smug presence.

"Dummy", she said, hugging tight. Azula tried to find that thought inside her that had made this hugging thing felt wrong in the first place and found that it had vanished without a trace. Her left foot reached up and the leg bent slightly on top of Lin's legs, her right foot began playing footsie with Lin's; the tip of Lin's toes felt icily cold to her.

"I just realized something", Lin said, shifting for a more comfortable position, pinching Azula's foot back with his toes. "I've been back for what… three, four days?"

Azula gave a noncommittal shrug.

"I made you cry… like, _everyday_, didn't I?" Lin asked quietly. Something ticked in Azula's mind as realization sparked to existence.

She had been crying the night she shot him with lightning.

She had been crying the night she tricked Lin into going through the garbage compound for his emblem.

She had been crying when she woke up from her nap and found only the jade flute in her room, not the owner.

And she had been crying ever since…

…when he tried to get down from the bed (out of sight), muttering some nonsense about brain tumor.

…when they were out at the turtle-duck pond.

…when she ran to him after her nightmare just few moments ago.

She wanted to cry now.

"You're a jerk", she sniffed and felt tears mixed up in it. "Don't make me cry anymore. I hate crying."

"I'll try", Lin whispered and Azula felt him pecking her on the head.

"You can't kiss me, you kn—_eeek_!"

Lin instinctively threw himself over Azula as the flash of red dived and landed on the bed near them. Carefully, they took a peek –Azula was armed with a pillow- and they saw a messenger hawk, smaller than the one from before, perching on the edge of the bed, eyeing them with a titled head as if confused on such unnecessary vigilance.

After fending off Azula's attempt to flatten the (not so) innocent bird with her pillow, Lin reached out to the bird and extracted the rolled up letter. Lin was surprised to see Spear's doctor handwriting that promptly hurt his eyes. Only two words: the first one could be '_well'_, or '_will'_, '_wheel'_, '_wind'_, and the second one might have been '_do'_ or '_dude'_, nearly indecipherable as it was, not to mention smeared by some red stain Lin believed was blood. Spear must have been bitten by the bird, he surmised, surprising himself that he was not even entertaining the suspicion that Spear had written this letter under duress. Their cover might have been blown, they might have been captured and/or tortured.

Suddenly, Lin knew what he was going to do today.

"Aren't you cold?" Azula's question broke him off his daze; he did not even realize that he was lying down and Azula was resting her head on his chest again. When Lin did not answer, Azula added. "You're wearing your summer clothes. They're thin."

"I'm wearing my winter armband", Lin raised his right arm a bit. "And I'm wearing two layers of summer garb."

"Oh", Azula simply said. She let out a deep sigh and settled down docilely. "Hey?"

"Hey, who?" Lin hissed back, feeling the much welcomed tingling on the corner of his mouth.

"Hey, dummy", Azula tapped his stomach lightly; it made Lin realize that she was not holding onto his flute anymore and suddenly Lin realized that the said object was lying on the same pillow his head was. "When your Auntie Azaya comes, go back to your room and freshen up. And then, come back here. Okay? You're having breakfast with me."

Lin inclined his head pressed his mouth and nose on the girl's head and breathed the scent of Azula's hair. "Okay", he said.

Azula was not finished.

"…and my dad."

"I'm dead."

* * *

Bob was sitting on the chest in the ship's command room; she was hoping she could do something else other than stare at the back of the surgeon standing behind the steering wheel with his back turned to him. Bob had been sensing something rather dark about him ever since he ran into Spear in the town few nights ago. The surgeon had been brooding despite his perpetual good nature and humor; Bob was good enough in the sensitivity department to sense it.

The view on Spear's lopsided top-knot –yeah, Bob saw it, told him about it, had been scoffed at because of it- did not make it easier. How Bob wished Lieutenant Lin was there with them. Not only having the half-Fire Nation would be an enormous morale support and provide a sense of relief and security now that they were treading the enemy's waters, Bob sort of noticed that Lieutenant Lin and Captain Sho (wow, Bob suddenly realized how he missed that whacky green-eyed 'earthbending' surgeon) were the closest to Captain Spear. Captain Sho more than anyone.

When Bob first arrived, he and the three other interns had been picked up by Captain Spear and Lieutenant Lin. He quickly surmised from the way they bantered with each other, especially after a small roadside accident in which Captain Spear nearly ran over a tusked cow (Captain Spear had spent nearly twenty hours nonstop in the OR and was, simply put, sleeping on his butt), that the two officers were good inseparable friends. Bob could certainly sense a strong feel of camaraderie -or to use a more contemporary term: bro-hood- between the two.

Boy, was she wrong…

She quickly learnt that Lieutenant Lin was, to use the term Nurse Huang Mei had used during the fried noodle feast, in which the guys made Lieutenant Lin pay (literally), a bit of a lone wolf. Captain Spear was close and inseparable friend with Captain Sho. Lieutenant Lin was often alone in his tent or on top of the nearby hill overlooking the camp.

Much like the lone wolf Kisa had described: looking over the herd unnoticed and unmentioned, a silent sentinel.

It always irked Bob whenever some camp members complained about the lack of security in the camp when a personal belonging, usually female articles of clothing, got stolen. It was like they did not even see what Lieutenant Lin had done for them. He would perched high on the hill all day and even sometimes walked around the camp at night. He did a lot for them and never made a fuss about it. And still people complained.

Bob gasped a little as she realized that her mind had wandered off and Song blushed a bit. She cleared her throat uncomfortably, trying to banish certain… err, view of the bare-chested lieutenant she had had the fortunate opportunity to glimpse upon a day before her world was turned upside down.

Song went a deeper shade of scarlet when she remembered of the glimpse of her the lieutenant had had the unfortunate (for her) chance to view. She mentally squeaked as she drew her legs together and hugged them, burying her hot face on the knees.

To distract herself, she thought about the Fire Nation people she had encountered so far. The kind family who had invited her to dinner was nothing short of nice. Growing up on the Western Shore, Song had been taught since she was a little girl that Fire Nation people were monsters that could sail across the vast Mo Ce Sea right to their homes and burnt them all the ground at any time. During the one-day briefing before Bob's departure to the warfront, she and many other interns were taught several interesting facts about Fire Nation customs that amplified the fear and hatred towards them.

Now that Bob thought about it, Fire Nation people _don't_ wear only red, they _don't_ always settle dispute with fire blast to the other party's face, they _don't_ only fry and grill their food, and they are _not_ all monsters.

The grandmother of the family (Bob did not ask their names because she was too confused and nervous at the moment) wore dark brown, as did many civilians she had encountered so far; the two gentlemen she had witnessed bumping into each other accidentally when she was wandering around the town looking for Captain Spear had straightened up, brushed off each other's dirtied clothes, laughed about the accident, and ended up introducing themselves to each other and inviting one another to tea; the restaurant below the inn they were staying at served a delicious tangy and spicy red soup and the strawberry cake the grandmother had given her was delicious; and most people she had met –the grandmother and her family, the innkeeper and the other patrons, the vendors and random citizens who had greeted her, and Ty Lee- were all quite nice.

Sure, the guards were a bit uptight but they were kind enough to provide her with directions when she had gotten lost in the city; and Ty Lee was a little intimidating and pushy when she had invited her for a cup of that sweet ginger juice but, they were all… nice. So not like the image of the armor-clad, red-horned, skull-faced, fire-breathing monsters her mind had shaped since she was a child and strengthened after her leg was terribly marred by the fire that had taken her uncle from her. Song absentmindedly gripped her right leg.

Ty Lee… Lieutenant Lin had not been joking when he said she was as pretty as a princess. She was certainly younger than Lieutenant Lin, perhaps by two or three years; using her own years of thirteen as a measurement point, Song surmised that Ty Lee was no older than twelve. But, Song noted that, for all she knew, Ty Lee could be as old as she was and the fact that her lady parts had not developed yet might be due to her being a late bloomer.

There was something about Ty Lee that intrigued Song. Ty Lee had confidence, that much was true. She had that commanding atmosphere and the way she carried herself around was distinct and unique; the way Ty Lee marched them down the streets, getting themselves lost twice before Lieutenant Lin grabbed her wrist and led them to the correct path despite her protest, that headstrong personality of hers in which she held her stubbornness up high during the whole ordeal; the way Ty Lee pushed open the tavern door and sat herself down the most comfortable booth around, ignoring the hostess who was certainly responsible for seating (and the '_please wait to be seated_' sign); and, of course, her blossoming overpowering beauty.

The shiny soft-looking raven hair, her pair of bright amber eyes that bore the color of twilight sky, her fair flawlessly creamy-white skin, her delicate features of face and the way her red lipstick complimented her look, the sound of her voice that was like a clear wind chime, and the fresh smell of vanilla that lingered in the air where she had been. Visual, olfactory, auditory; she was pleasing in every way.

Song could see why Lieutenant Lin would fall for someone like Ty Lee.

There was no way Lieutenant Lin would even look at the tomboyish old Song who had the figure that was still in progress, whose hair and eyes were boringly brown, whose skin was common ivory, whose face was common enough to be mistaken for Random Earth Kingdom Girl #14, who was meek and lacking in self-esteem, who smelt like baby powder, whose leg was marred by fire beyond repair.

Song felt horrified as she realized that she was entertaining such thoughts. Oh, spirits! She did not even feel _that_ way towards the lieutenant. She could not afford to, really. She knew that she was putting a lot at risk being at the camp as Bob and she had promised herself that she would make every moment count, that she would learn as much as she could and let nothing stand in her quest for knowledge and learning.

Besides, Lieutenant Lin was… unreachable. The lone wolf who preferred to stray away from the pack. Song had heard how some nurses had talked about Lieutenant Lin sometimes, about how cute he was and how he was going to grow into a handsome young man one day but they had always done so in such an endearing and fond way, like they were talking about their son or little brother. Or a puppy. And Song, as a girl, found herself thinking of the lieutenant in such a way also.

Like a brother. Or a puppy.

Which, now that she thought of it, was a little off considering that Lieutenant Lin was around her age. Well, older than her. By only a year, yes, but still.

Bob groaned weakly and dropped her head on the wall behind her, hoping it would stop her from thinking of such thing. She looked up to the window on her left, suddenly aware of the deafening sound of the water being parted below their ship, of the flapping of the wind ramming on the ship's metal exterior. The sky was dark still as Captain Spear decided that they should check out of their inn almost as soon as they had received Lieutenant Lin's letter that he would not be joining in their journey to the island.

Bob was curious of what had happened to Captain Spear. First, she had found him wandering the street reeking of alcohol with an apple held in his hand. The next few days, the man had spent wandering around day and night as if he was looking for something. More often than not, he would arrive somewhere after lunchtime and collapsed on his bed, napping; he would then be up after short moment of rest and, after dinner, went out again and returned at midnight smelling like the inside of his tent back in the 44th after a night of their regular monthly debauchery.

Bob had asked and had not been given a satisfactory answer. After the first two times, she had decided not to ask at all; like the other interns, Bob had learnt to put her trust (rather blindly) in Captain Spear. Well, Captains Spear and Sho, and Lieutenant Lin. Their CO Colonel Haoqi (spirits rest his soul) had been a bit on the ditzy side; Major Megumi, while a nice person inside, was a bit stiff and very strict outside; and Major Mor was just a plain old poophead.

But, still, Captain Spear was unanimously considered to be the gang leader of the trio. Captain Sho simply lacked the other two's ability to act all serious-like, plus he had 'sidekick' written all over his face, and Lieutenant Lin sometimes lacked the other two's ability to show kindness openly.

And, before Bob realized what she was doing, she heard herself calling for the captain.

Spear's head turned around only a fraction; Bob could see the dark outline of his ear pronouncing itself under the dim lantern light.

"Um…" Bob gulped, feeling herself shrinking; it felt cold all of the sudden.

"What is it, Bob?" Spear sounded tired. Empty. "Seasick?" he would tease, usually. He did not.

"A-are you sure we should… um, we should leave so soon?" Bob squeaked; the image of the Fire Nation family sparked into her mind and she said the first thing that came rolling into her loosened tongue. "I-it's just that, I would've liked to say goodbye to… um, some people…?"

Spear made a noncommittal grunt –or was it a growl?- and turned back to look ahead at the ocean. He did not reply. Bob lost her nerve all of a sudden and tried to make herself small. Spear turned the wheel sharply, probably with more force than necessary, and, as the ship set its course, he returned the wheel to the neutral lining and pressed several knobs and pushed a lever. He turned around and bob winced at the sight of his bandaged broken nose.

The bird Lieutenant Lin had sent them brought about quite a disaster. Extracting the message was quite tricky, considering that it consisted of Bob being forced to deal with the bird while the captain held his spear to the bird defensively. Putting their reply to the tube strapped behind the bird's back was nothing short of a fisaco. Bob had refused to go anywhere near the scary bird the second time and it resulted in an odd event of her being chased around the room by the irate captain.

Spear tripped on the carpet and slammed his face on the bedframe. Blood was everywhere.

* * *

Speaking of blood, it really did start to get into Lin's nerve.

He took the letter and examined it again. Bara and Taka had trained him in the various spy-crafts of their trade; one thing that they would always repeat in every one of their lessons was the importance of details. _Always pay attention to the details_, they had said over and over again, sometimes accompanying a smack in the head when Lin failed to notice how Taka tied his sash differently or Bara using differently colored ribbon than her usual.

And so, he did that.

The blood was droplets on the lower right edge of the parchment, and there was print, a thumb print on it. It told Lin nothing.

He groaned and leaned back to the headrest at his right; sitting on the left bedside of Azula's bed, he looked up to the sky through the window. As the sound of Azula flushing her toilet came to his ears, he folded the letter and shoved it into his chest pocket. He straightened up and, a moment later, the Princess came out of her bathroom.

Azula walked, staggered really, to Lin's side and climbed up to her bed, slumping on her bent legs and back turned to the dark sky on the window. She turned to her sifu who seemed to be daydreaming as he gazed out the window. Playfully, she rammed her shoulder to his to gain the latter's attention. The response she got was a tiny crack on the corner of his mouth.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Lin sighed deeply and rested his back on the headrest, picking his feet up. Azula, almost automatically, scooted closer and draped herself on him, letting his embrace claim her.

"You've been acting weird since that letter arrived", she said, tilting her head in Lin's chest up a bit. "What is it about?"

"Nothing", Lin said, leaning down and nudged the Princess' forehead gently with his mouth. "Head Physician—"

Azula cleared her throat loudly.

"_Auntie_ Azaya's coming in a minute", he said, smiling a bit.

Azula simply shrugged and made no move to detach herself.

"She'll knock", Azula said as soon as she felt the stiffness on the chest she was resting in that she knew preceded Lin's speech. "You worry too much. Why are you hugging me?"

"You're a pillow", Lin said lightly, squeezing her a bit.

"Is your neck still stiff?" Azula asked with a touch of concern in her voice.

"Yeah, a bit", Lin sighed.

"Good", Azula replied sweetly. "You deserve pain."

"You're mean", Lin countered.

"Am not", Azula retorted. She squirmed and returned her head to Lin's chest. She felt the gentle weight of his head on top of her head and it made her feel all warm inside.

"Hey", she called softly; she felt like sleeping again. She remembered this, a long time ago; when she was a child and plagued by nightmares, she would run to her father. To Lu Ten…

Zuko…

Azula squeezed her eyes shut.

…Uncle…

She cringed tighter, gripping the front of Lin's garb so hard she felt the fabric twist around her finger, hurting her injured index and middle fingers.

"Hey, who?" she heard her sifu whisper and she bit her lips to discourage the smile that was gradually creeping into existence.

Sniffing, Azula quickly dried the tears at the edge of her eyes. He _always_ knew what to say.

"Hey, dummy", she whispered. "_Dummydummydummydummydummy_."

"What's that for?" Lin snickered.

"You called me a pillow."

* * *

Taking his cup of tea to his lips, Lin scrutinized the letter once more. "Has Fat sent words?" he asked his master who was sitting on the other side of the table, calmly breaking a piece of meat bun.

"No", Piandao replied calmly, popping a piece of bun into his mouth and chewed slowly. "And I don't expect any correspondence before he gets back to Shu Jing", he added after he swallowed. "You are worried", he guessed after witnessing the boy groaning and slumping face first onto the table. "And something tells me it's not about the letter."

Sighing, Lin looked up, resting his chin on the table still. "Master", he said, gazing into nothingness. "Have ever…" _been in love (NO, not that!)._ "I mean, you're obviously…" _old_ _(yikes!)._ "…more experience. Have you ever… had any problem with… um, you know", the boy blushed. "…girls problem?"

Piandao successfully kept his mouth neutral despite the twitch on the corner of his bearded mouth. "I see", the swordmaster cleared his throat but his former pupil interrupted him.

"Don't get the wrong idea!" Lin shot up. "I'm not…" _in love with— (GAAH!)._ "I-I mean…" he gulped audibly. "Well…um…" a good battle strategist knows a losing battle when he sees one. "Never mind."

Piandao smiled faintly. "Lin", he started patiently; oh, to be a sifu… never easy. "Girls are… complicated", he sounded dark at the last word. "They would tell you to go east when they want you to go west. They would tell you they hated you while their hearts ache for you."

"_I hate you!" …and yet, she cried and crumbled when she thought he was gone._

Lin gulped.

"They would chase you away even though they relish your very presence."

"_I don't care. Just go away." …and yet, she asked, begged, pleaded him to stay._

Lin could literally hear his bran spark.

"Their lips would loose mean words even if their hearts flutter with admiration."

"_Dummy! Dummydummydummydummy!"…but she craved his council still, in firebending._

Lin's breath hitched in his throat.

"They would tell you one thing while they mean the other."

"_I hate you so much!" …and yet, she held him close as she slept, afraid he would disappear._

Lin spluttered his tea all over the table.

Piandao was rather fascinated by such unexpected reaction. The Lin he knew was a levelheaded fighter who had quite a control of his emotion (not as in he was a level-headed person); such fine control over his emotion, he could switch from calm stance to and anger-fueled blow in a blink of an eye. Piandao truly did not expect the boy to lose it, pacing back and forth in the room, muttering something inaudible under his breath, completely losing his marbles.

"Not the time for _the talk_", Piandao muttered into his teacup.

* * *

Awkward…

No other word to explain it. No other word could explain it better.

Ozai sat at the head of the small square dining table. His dearest daughter Azula was at his left, the traditional place of a daughter. By right and status as Azula's fiancé, Lin should have been seated by Azula's side but he was sitting across from Ozai instead; the table was small, just as Ozai intended. No room for courtesy and tradition; only practicality.

Awkward, indeed, when Lin and Ozai both, at the same time, picked the same piece of meat dish from the same plate. Doing their best to ignore each other, both males picked a different piece from a different plate but their dropping the meat onto Azula's bowl did nothing to defuse the awkwardness.

"Why, thank you, Father", Azula said sweetly at her father who was staring at his own bowl intently (like an angry dragon). She turned to Lin, who was also staring at his bowl, and something clicked in Lin's mind. He tried so hard not to smirk. _Saymynamesaymynamesaymyname! _

"And… you, too."

_Bummer!_

"Of course… _Princess_", Lin replied flatly.

Azula smirked a bit as she put the piece of meat into her mouth.

The morning sunlight cast its glorious ray into the room, chilly air reigned free undeterred by it. Upon Ozai's insistence, Azula had put on a warmer heavier silk. Lin himself was wearing a set of winter garb that suspiciously fitted him that he had found in his room when he entered it earlier that morning.

"Don't forget your tea, Azula", Ozai said firmly; he was gunning for a kind fatherly tone he was sure he could pull off. The brat sitting in front of him was, sadly, a distraction. And, no, it was not because Ozai felt… _embarrassed_ of his kind fatherly tone. It wasn't. Stop accusing.

"Yes, Father", Azula grumbled as she took a sip from her cup. She made a face as she set the cup back down, and took a spiced fish fillet into her mouth quickly to combat the foul bitter taste.

"Father", Azula called after she swallowed. "I just remembered that I asked for a specific document from the Imperial Agent. They haven't sent it to me yet."

"They have", Ozai said. "To me. I asked them to send it to me instead. You're sick and you should not work yourself too much."

"But, I asked them to send it a couple of days before I got sick", Azula narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, they did apologize for their tardiness", Ozai said, scooping a mouthful of rice. "Apparently, they are having a complication in their archives. Rest assured, I have taken measure to find and punish whoever responsible for such misconduct."

"Father, can I still help?" Azula asked quietly, setting her hands down on the table, averting her glance, looking sad. "I… I want to. I'm better now. I can read", she added hopefully.

Ozai seemed to mull this in his mind. "I… don't see why not", Agni, that felt so good. "But, not too much. You must have plenty of rest."

"Yes, Father", Azula turned and smiled brightly.

Ozai seemed pleased with himself. He reached out to the teapot, sadly at the same time as Lin did. The Fire Lord hid his scowl well. Lin evaded any form of eye contact and poured the Fire Lord a cup full of ginseng tea. This eased Ozai's miffed self a bit. At least the brat has manner, he thought.

Azula held out her hand a little, refusing the tea on her other cup that was still empty. Ozai noticed a… _something_ between them; the way Azula hid her simper by scooping as much rice as possible into her mouth while keeping it feminine and girly-like and the ghost of a smirk the brat had lingering on his face. Ozai had agreed to this breakfast thing despite his better judgment. He had almost turned the request from his dearest daughter down, using work as an excuse; alas, his morning was clear that day. His adjutant, the thoughtful idiot, had apparently cleared the Fire Lord's mornings as much as possible so he could make time for his sick daughter every morning.

Ozai was not sure if he should reward or punish that man.

Lin, though he kept his gaze down on his rice bowl, was not sure what he had done to earn the Fire Lord's glare. Well, he did, actually: showing up, messing around, staying at Azula's room for three nights in a row, plus the two nights prior that were (hopefully) unknown to the Fire Lord.

Azula tapped her bare left foot on Lin's right boot, silently trying to calm him down. She did feel a bit guilty for the awkwardness the breakfast she proposed had caused the two males, even more so since she drew quite an amount of pleasure watching the two squirm. It was funny.

"Well, this is fun", Azula put down her empty rice bowl and put her chopstick on top of it, reaching for her teacup half-filled with her medicinal tea. She squeezed the top of Lin's boot and felt the boy's foot tapping the floor a bit, jostling her feet on top of it a little. It brought a sense of reassurance to the girl. From the corner of her eye, she could see Lin chewing faster, as if trying to get out of the breakfast as soon as possible.

"Yes, it is", Ozai muttered, his bowl still almost untouched. When the brat put down his empty bowl, Ozai felt like he had lost a race or something.

Ozai hated losing.

Azula was stifling a smirk when she took her chopsticks and picked up a bunch of braised spinach to Lin's bowl; the latter made a little face and his eyes narrowed at Azula's direction as he drank from his cup. He ate it anyway.

Lin retaliated by transferring a pinch of pickled bean sprouts into Azula's bowl. Ozai scowled along with his dearest daughter. What a stupid brat, he thought. Azula did not like bean sprouts; it was her nemesis. It was the worst kept national secret. According to popular belief, the Royal Fire Academy for Girls had taken out any bean sprouts related dish from their lunch menu due to Azula's intense dislike for the vegetable.

Ozai remembered how difficult Azula was when she was younger. Any attempt by Ursa to make the little girl eat her bean sprouts would always end up in screaming and tears. Ozai was not even sure _he_ could make Azula eat bean sprouts.

Still scowling, Azula picked on her bean sprouts and ate it demurely.

Ozai did not like losing.

His chest flared up with fire he could not eat another bite. He was sure that should he open his mouth, fire would burst out and the brat was _so_ conveniently sitting right in front of him.

Lin gulped subtly at the renewed intensity of Fire Lord Ozai's glare and he seriously did not know what he had done wrong this time. He did know though that he should get away as soon as possible. He had a nagging feeling that somewhere in the vast firebending prowess of the Fire Lord's, a fireball with his name on it was being molded.

Lin drained the rest of his teacup and nudged Azula's foot; Azula nudged back and Lin cleared his throat. "I think I will excuse myself now", he said to the table. "There are some matters that I have to take care of."

"Okay", Azula was the one who replied. "Bye", she said almost too cheerfully.

Lin narrowed his eyes at her. "Azula", he said sternly but calmly. "Finish your tea."

Azula pursed her lips and looked away.

"Azula", Lin called again patiently, picking up the teacup. "You know you have to get well _soon_", Lin brought the cup closer to her, eyeing her meaningfully. "Drink this."

The Princess turned to her sifu and, after titling her head and making sure that her father could not see her face, she mouthed. "_Dummy_", and took the cup and drank it quickly. She swallowed and her face showed disgust. Lin snickered as he took her chopsticks and picked up a piece of honey-glazed meat and fed the piece to her.

In front of her father…

Ozai _really_ hated losing. He willed himself to ease up on his grip, lest he snapped another pair of chopsticks like the other day.

"I'll see you later, okay", he said, putting the chopsticks down.

Azula turned around to her desk and Ozai followed the direction of her gaze; as her father's attention was diverted, she turned to Lin quickly and mouthed. "_Promise_?" and coughed a little, pretending to get choked.

"_Promise_", Lin mouthed back as Fire Lord Ozai busied himself with pouring Azula more juice, rubbing the girl's back all the while.

Azula drank her juice to hide her smile as Lin got up and bowed to the Fire Lord. Azula suddenly gazed up the window and frowned at what she saw out there. Ozai turned around in his seat and followed Azula's faze, completely missing Lin diving quick for a quick kiss on Azula's willing front cheek.

By the time Ozai spun around back to the table, Lin was already walking away and Azula was picking on her food, eyeing her father with an innocent light in her eyes.

* * *

Piandao was meditating in his room when the simple hand chop nearly scored a hit on his head. Lin was good at stealth but, like many firebenders out there, he was oozing out strength and power. His inner fire made Piandao's senses tingle and his skin crawl when he was sneaking up on him. Lin retracted his hand from his master's simple defense of a raised arm and bowed politely at the man. Piandao inclined his head and gestured to the cushion across the tea table he was sitting at.

A steaming teapot was between them and Piandao, out of sympathy for he could almost literally see black cloud forming on his student's face, poured the tea. The strong scent of spiced oolong tickled his nose; Lin fought the urge to slam his head on the table.

"Master", he began, wrapping his fingers around the hot cup. "Have you ever been married?"

Piandao mentally winced; no good conversation could come out from an opening like this. "No, I'm afraid not. I spent a good portion of my life travelling. As a soldier, a deserter, a traveller, and a student. I could never find time for romance."

"You don't have to love someone to marry them", Lin shrugged and ended with a grimace. "…do you?"

"Lin", Piandao put down his cup and tugged his hands into his sleeves. "Do you…" the words got caught in his throat. Being a swordmaster should mean that he would never ever have to talk about this kind of thing. "Do you have any feeling of… love towards Princess Azula?"

Lin gave the swordmaster a dry look. "Master, she's ten."

"Is she?" Piandao was taken aback. "She looks older. I was convinced that she was twelve or thirteen. Only a year or two your junior", then, it clicked in Piandao's mind. "_Now_, I see your dilemma. You're basically engaged to a lil—"

"Don't say it", Lin hissed gravely.

Piandao sympathized with him, truly.

And he was secretly hoping to be kept in the loop in this matter. He had a hunch this would be interesting.

* * *

Zuko advanced his Rose tile to counter his uncle's Southern Arrow Gambit; the younger Prince's feeble White Tiger Gambit was crushed by but one single drop of the elder's Rock Turtle tile. Zuko groaned and hung his head. Iroh laughed and slapped his thigh. Zuko grumbled and leaped down from his bed. He walked to the dining table and poured his uncle a cup of tea.

Lying in his bed under his covers, Iroh was not complaining about the pampering he had been enjoying at the hand of such considerate nephew. He had not the will to tell the boy that he was feeling a lot better.

"Another game, Uncle?" Zuko asked, hoping the old man would say no.

"Perhaps later, Zuko", Iroh sighed and sunk back onto his bed. Zuko was guiltily jumping up and down inside. "Master Piandao is still with us", Iroh added. "You should take this opportunity to further your training."

"Yes, Uncle", Zuko stood up. "Will you be alright on your own?"

"Don't worry about me", Iroh yawned wide. "I just need some rest."

And so Iroh let himself slip back to slumber while Zuko, after tucking the old man in, tidied up the Pai Sho board and got out. He had stayed there for the whole morning, accompanying the old man at breakfast, rubbing his shoulders and feet afterwards, reading him newspaper, and playing Pai Sho.

The next thing on his list was to get his training for the day was done. He reckoned he could finish a few hours before evening tea; that's a whole three undisturbed hours he could be spending writing in his room.

Iroh quite enjoyed Zuko's company, really. But, Azaya had taken to a habit of spending her lunch break there with him. They often indulged themselves down the road of reminiscence and the life of soldiers back then was not for the tender ears of a twelve-year-old.

Not a fraction of second either royal males spent thinking of Azula.

* * *

Piandao parried without moving a step; Lin had not changed much in term of style, Piandao assessed. The boy's sword style was still fast and precise, like a lightning bolt. Piandao noticed the influence of firebending in the boy's style. Aggressive like a viper-bat.

Piandao brought his sword down in a vertical slash, disrupting Lin's assault and forced him to a defensive stance. Lin twisted his wrist and let the master's sword slide down. The boy slashed his sword fast to the master's throat; Piandao merely pulled back a bit and let the sword sail past him.

He flicked his wrist and his sword threatened Lin's exposed side.

Lin eased up, conceding defeat. He held his sword in reverse grip, a non-violent hold, and bowed. Piandao inclined his head and led the way to the nearby bench where they put their sheaths.

"I'm getting rusty, am I?" Lin asked.

Piandao took Nightshade and inspected it. "Your technique, yes. Your form, on the contrary, has gotten sharper. You have fought real battle. I can tell."

"How?" Lin asked again, frowning.

Piandao simply smirked. "What happened to the dragon?" he asked instead.

"It cracked and fell off. Firebending", Lin explained. "How long are you staying here, Master?"

"After consulting with General Iroh and Master Jian Wu, as long as you're here", Piandao said. "Just in case. I will depart for Shu Jing after you leave."

Lin looked down in guilt, suddenly realizing how his appearance had brought trouble to the White Lotus. "I'm sorry", he said.

"Don't be", Piandao said, suddenly stern. "If you hadn't showed up when you did, who knows what would have happened to General Iroh."

Piandao did not miss Lin suddenly tensing up; he felt that he had struck a nerve. "Perhaps we should adjourn for the day. You have trained enough and there is little left I can teach you."

Lin turned and looked at the older man hopefully.

"You're still not a master", Piandao pointed out plainly; Lin's shoulders slumped. Chuckling slightly, the swordmaster placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Your path to true mastery now lies in your hand. Seek experience and learn from those greater than myself; perhaps one day, you too will join the ranks that few have ever achieved in a lifetime."

"Have you, Master?" Lin asked. Piandao chuckled.

"There is a saying in the military: it takes one hundred days to master the stick, one thousand to master the spear, ten thousand to master the saber, and one lifetime to master the sword", Piandao explained sagely. "The Way of the Sword is a never-ending journey."

"I knew it", Lin quipped. "I should've picked up spear."

* * *

Azula read the scroll she had spread on her bed intently, lying on her stomach, resting her chin in her hand, her feet rubbing each other for warmth. Her nose felt clogged and her throat sore but she felt a lot better now that they had sunlight in the room. She looked up to her window and winced at the bright light entering her eyes. Her vision adjusted and she felt her very core recharging her physique. The Princess felt Life and Energy entering her muscles, her bloodstream. She felt great. Alive…

Lin entered her room without as much as knocking; the Princess sent her frown his way. He had really grown too comfortable around her. Azula felt that she needed to remedy that soon. But, first thing first, she picked up her scroll and slouched down into his arms as Lin settled in her bed, sitting and resting his back on the headboard. He made a good cushion, Azula argued mentally.

"Wow… I think you're the only person in the Four Nations who could make a Fire Lord do as you say", Lin commented, glancing at the scroll over the Princess' head tucked nicely in the crook of his neck. "Is that about me?"

"'…unknown origin, sent from Ba Sing Se… known to have foiled a crucial ambush mission against General How of the Council of Five General, costing a significant victory…'", Azula read. "Yup, it's about you alright. You cost us a significant victory."

"And earned us a mole deep in the heart of Ba Sing Se… at first", Lin sighed, circling his arms around the Princess, squeezing her a little. "I sometimes wish I have never been sent to the warfront."

"And yet, you were so eager to leave", Azula huffed, losing focus on her scroll. "You just left, leaving me with a stinkin' cotton seed."

"No, I meant sent to the warfront by the Earth Kingdom Army", Lin corrected her.

"…Oh", Azula simply said, clearing her throat and returning her gaze to the scroll.

"You should rest", Lin said, dropping down to his right with the Princess in his arms.

"I've slept enough", Azula said, still reading.

"You need a lot of rest", Lin said, brushing the girl's hair back so he could see the side of her face as his head hovered above hers. "And what do you mean 'stinkin' cotton seed'? It's an ancient training method, handed down from generations to generations, taught to me by my nanny; she used to be in the Army."

"There, you said it", Azula smirked, not taking her eyes off of her scroll. "Ancient. There must be a reason why people don't do it anymore. Besides, it's dumb."

"People _do_ still do it", Lin argued; Azula turned to him a bit.

"Really? Name one person who still does it", Azula challenged.

Lin scoffed. "Zuko", he said. Azula gave him a withering stare.

"You're a dummy", she said, returning to her reading. "Do you still do it?"

"Nah, it's dumb", Lin snickered, earning himself a sharp elbow.

They settled down, Azula back to her reading and Lin back to holding her gently and letting her use her other folded arm as a pillow, the hand of said arm gently twirled a flocked of her smooth raven hair, annoying her by ticking the sole of her foot with his toes.

Sighing, Lin felt himself smiling as he nudged the back of the raven haired head with his face, his nose and mouth, sniffing and pursing his lips. "Night", he said with a ghost of yawn escaping his throat.

"You're sleeping?" Azula craned her neck to him as much as she could.

"Yeah", Lin let out a full-fledged yawn to Azula's hair. "We have something to do tonight, remember?"

Azula turned around a bit to address her sifu more. "Promise?"

"Promise", Lin replied tiredly. "But…" he drawled.

Azula exasperated. "Fine", she grumbled.

"Go drink your tea", Lin smirked.

"Later", Azula whined, turning to him completely and nuzzled into his chest like a kitten.

"And remember to stay under the sun, okay?" Lin added, hugging her head and pressing it into his chest, snuggling closer to her. Azula felt warm to him, good kind of warm. Her nasal voice had gone away for the most part, especially since the morning; her cold had gotten worse due to being soaked in the rain the previous day but the warm rare winter sunlight showering them through the window in the bed was a lot of help for the girl. "Wake me up if your dad shows up with an axe?"

"Dummy", Azula chuckled, pressing her forehead onto Lin's chest, suddenly feeling sleepy herself.

"Remember your promise", Lin reminded her. "Tea, medicine, rest, sunlight."

"Okay", Azula grumbled.

"Atta girl", Lin patted her head a little. "You sure you wanna do this tonight?"

"Yes", Azula replied firmly. "You've promised. I ate my breakfast and after breakfast snack!" she huffed. "And I already drank half my tea."

"And you should be nicer to me", Lin added slyly.

"I never promised that, dummy!" Azula huffed again, pinching his gut.

"Aw, come on", Lin groaned. "My shoulder is a bit stiff. I can use some backrub."

"Stupid sifu", Azula pinched him harder.

"Why won't you marry me?" Lin asked with a sleepy voice.

"Because I don't wanna be a simple housewife who only sits around at home and coddles her children", she said the first things that came to her mind; the last word left her mortified…

Azula was expecting a scoff, a snicker, a full blown guffaw; instead, she felt the ticklish feeling of Lin scratching her cheek lightly to gain her attention. Azula looked up and Lin looked at her with half-opened eyes. "You don't know my family, do you?" he said.

The Fire Princess stared at the boy for two more seconds before returning herself into his chest. "Dummy", she muttered. "Dummydummydummydummydummy…"

"Shh…" Lin smiled as he stroked the girl's head; Azula's '_dummydummydummy_…' faded slowly.

For the next two or three minutes Lin lay awake in the bed, holding his (fiancée) Princess in his arms, he let himself enjoyed the warmth of her small self in his arms, the soft purr of her breathing, and the sweet flowery scent of her hair. He himself fell asleep soon after.

* * *

"'_What do you mean you don't know?'_" Mai recited her letter in her head as she wrote; poised was her posture, sitting in her chair, at her study. She dipped her penbrush on a saucer of ink and wrote the next sentences. "_'She's your sister. Shouldn't you know what got her down? Azula doesn't get sick easily'_."

Sometimes, Mai was sure she was the lucky one.

Ty Lee had six sisters and had the misfortune of being one of the five middle kids; not the leader, the oldest, the one everyone looked up to and certainly not the baby, the youngest, the one everyone adored. For all they cared, there were five Ty Lee's.

Zuko and Azula were constantly at each other throats. They cared for each other, Mai knew, and everyone who knew them sufficiently enough, or at least since the day Azula was flameless or Lu Ten was alive, could see it. Yet, showing that they cared was akin to heresy and taboo to the royal siblings. Taunting, jeering, and putting down each other were more natural for them and it scared Mai inside how natural they looked when they were doing it, like a sick twisted parody of sibling love.

Lin had no siblings but numerous cousins and a large extended family. They were good people, Mai knew. Mai had some experience with the warmth of the Lin Family. After Lin won the Western Earth Base for the Fire Nation, marking his first entry in the history, numerous houses of nobility became interested in him; they often paid courtesy visit to the clan estate with their young daughters to curry favor. They thought Lin was a more viable option to secure an alliance with the old and powerful Lin Family since Jiang was, despite being single and available, both a difficult person to court and apparently was in a relationship with a member of the House of Liang.

Mai, thought she would rather not remember it, had been one of those young daughters. Foolishness, really. Feelings aside (since the society seemed to think that since the noblemen have money, they should not have love too), everybody knew of General Jiang and Lord Ty Fu's friendship; people, according to the gossips among the noble ladies who often frequented their house and her mother, General Jiang's boy would most definitely ended up with one of Ty daughters. Lady Ming seemed to think that it would be Ty Ren, on the middle daughters who, according to Lady Juren, would turn sixteen the year the Comet came…

"_What an auspicious time for a war hero to have a wedding!" _the ladies giggled.

…or perhaps Ty Wen, another of the middle Ty daughters, who, according to Lady Juren, was the same age as Lin…

"_Same age. That's a start",_ the other ladies nodded in agreement, nibbling on ginger cookies and sipping tea as they did.

…or even, to Mai's horror, Ty Lee herself, the odd one. The one who, as Lady Juren insisted, a bit touched in the head, a bit of a wild fire herself, dressed in bright pink and defiantly practiced acrobatics and gymnastics from one of their equally wayward aunts instead of practicing calligraphy, tea ceremony, and painting from her mother. And, the young Ty daughter knew the young Lin heir herself, being counted as one of his few personal friends.

"_But",_ Lady Zhu had spoken louder to quell the peal of laughter. _"Lady Lian, General Jiang's deceased wife, was much the same; so bubbly and cheerful. Oh, how romantic it will be if those two kids get together!"_

Yeah, how romantic, Mai thought sarcastically as she released the messenger hawk and sat back into her chair.

Mai suddenly thought of the exchanged smiles Lin and Azula sent to each other near the golden sundial; a rare smirk graced her face. What a pair those two would make if only not for the sheer impossibility of the pairing. A Fire Princess and a known criminal.

A chuckle slipped out. So rare indeed a chuckle was, Mai almost did not believe it was her who did it. Still, Azula… a little fire, alive and kicking.

Unlike Mai, a lump of ice under a layer of boring ash.

Or Ty Lee, an untamable breeze that flowed wherever she liked.

Definitely Azula, the tiny flame that radiated warmth and strength that (used to) inspired and spread Life and Energy of her Element wherever she went. Azula and Lin would definitely make a good couple, assessed Mai. Dignified, graceful, but powerful and intelligent Princess, and a determined and consummate warrior with cooler head and even temper.

They complete each other, Mai thought. Azula was steady and calm, precise, calculative; Lin was fiery, temperamental, almost like Zuko in that regard, but with keen intellect and powerful bending to match. A graceful Phoenix and a mighty Dragon.

Unlike Mai and Zuko, who were exact opposites, Yin and Yang, attracted to each other to form something _whole_, something that is supposed to be, something _normal_, Azula and Lin were like fire roses and sun chrysanthemum, beautiful on their own and came together to make something even more beautiful.

Almost sickeningly romantic; Ty Lee would love this sort of things.

But, yeah, Mai believed she was the lucky one.

No siblings to drive her crazy… no insanely high reputation as a war hero to uphold…

It was almost nice.

The messenger hawk landed gracefully on the table in front of her; the red bird hopped around and turned its back on the young lady. Mai took out the reply from Zuko and read it; she sighed and pulled her amber eyes away briefly, rubbing her eyes a little before returning to her effort to decipher her… _boyfriend's?_... unimpressive penmanship.

She folded the parchment and put it in a small wicker basket on her table that held her pile of scrap paper that she used to clean her knives and penbrushes; Zuko's penmanship was so bad she did not even want to keep his letters.

Sighing, she prepared a piece of parchment and wrote down her reply, picking her penbrush and dipping it in the ink saucer.

* * *

Azula dipped her white jade penbrush in the saucer and her face cringed in slight disgust. The color… and the weight just felt off…

"I want my pen back", Azula whined, looking up to her sifu who simply smirked as he fed her a piece of red grape.

"That _is_ your pen", Lin snickered, popping a grape into his own mouth, leaning back on his chair next to Azula's.

"I want my old pen", Azula pouted. Lin scoffed and fed her one more grape before he got up and reached for the pen that he had put on top of a tall bookrack where Azula could not reach.

"You never use the stuff that I gave you", Lin said as he gave back Azula's old penbrush. Azula grabbed his wrist instead and stood up, sitting him down in her chair and sat on his lap. "You're clingy", Lin smirked, peering over the girl's shoulder to see her nonchalant face.

"Am not", Azula huffed, shifting for a better position, sitting sideways across Lin's lap and turning to her right to the table, continuing writing. "My chair cushion is worn."

Lin pressed his mouth the girl's shoulder as Azula continued writing. "You should rest. Can't this wait?"

"No", Azula muttered. "It's Mai's school notes. I nearly forgot about it completely."

"Ask her to make you a copy", Lin suggested.

"And what would that accomplish?" Azula muttered again. "I'm memorizing as I write."

Lin sighed. "You're stubborn", he said.

"Am not", Azula smirked a bit.

"When do you want to have your lunch?" Lin asked, reaching for a few grapes from the bowl on the table and fed them to the Princess.

"I'm not having lunch?" Azula frowned at him as she chewed.

"No, you're having some grapes as snacks", Lin tugged her up a little by the waist, getting up and sitting the girl down. "I'm getting you some real meal, _don't whine_!"

"I'm not hungry", Azula grumbled, reaching for more grapes.

"You need to eat real food", Lin said, stretching his back. "You're still sick."

"I ate real food at breakfast", Azula pouted. "You were there."

"Alright", Lin sighed. "Dinner, then."

"But, I thought… we're really doing it tonight, right? You promised", Azula suddenly felt her eyes grew warm.

"I know", Lin scratched his chin, completely oblivious of Azula's conflict inside. "No other choice, then. Lunch. What do you want?"

Huffing a bit, Azula returned her gaze to her work. "Something with taste", she said. "My mouth tastes weird."

"Rice?" Lin asked.

"No", Azula fought the urged to sniff; she inhaled a shuddered breath instead. "I want something easier to swallow. Soup?"

"Gotcha", Lin patted her head on his way out; Azula hit him on the side, chuckling.

She waited until the door closed with a soft thud and she let a single dry sob out, wiping her moist eyes.

Lin wandered the hallway, suddenly aware that he had never been to the kitchen on the fifth floor before. Maybe once, he corrected himself, a distinct memory of so long ago played in his mind, of the little him and Zuko, and Lu Ten, huddling together around a pot of soup in winter, with Lady Ursa behind them, enveloping the three boys in her wide arms as they waited for the soup to cook. But, it must have been so long ago; Lin remembered, for some reason, that Azula had not been born yet at the time.

He knew that each floor of the Royal Wing had its own kitchen; he had visited and lived in the palace long enough to know as much. In the North Wing, where Lin and the Imperial Instructors lived, they had two kitchen; one in the dining hall where the Instructors ate, and an outdoor kitchen at the corner of the Wing somewhere, a simple traditional kitchen that did not even have plumbing, roofless and with four sets of wall to protect the place from wind and view of others. When it rained, the guards would have to set up a canvas flab above it. The small kitchen was intended to be used by any dwellers who wished to cook for themselves. It was designed that way to minimize fire hazard. According to General Iroh, Tutor Ma Kun frequented the place often.

There, that must be it, Lin thought as he arrived at some sort of an outhouse, separated from the main building and connected by a roofed hallway. The smell of cooking meat was unmistakable and through the open door he could see a team of four maids scurrying around inside the room. Also, up on the doorway was a signboard saying: '厨房' (kitchen).

The boy entered and the maids, eight of them, promptly stopped what they were doing and bowed to him; one of them was in the middle of bludgeoning a live fish, causing the fish to flipped and smacked the maid on the head before falling back to a nearby water drum.

The kitchen was packed, with windows and transoms lining non-endingly around the walls, numerous stone stoves lined up below them, nearly all of them were occupied. On one wall, the middle wall right in front of the door, was a large tall rack holding jars and baskets of spices, condiments, and other cooking ingredients, and numerous cooking utensils. At the wall where the door was, hooks on the wall held aprons and bandanas.

Lin waited until the maids straightened up; the battle strategist in him called for information gathering. These maids must be the ones who had been taking care of Azula all these years. They would know something, Lin thought… desperately.

But, the choker of red silk and dark two-pronged Fire Nation insignia pin on the middle of the strips of silk made him gasp slightly.

"You…" Lin turned and faced them one by one, all of them were wearing the same accessory. "You don't talk… do you?"

The maids looked at each other, one of them who had been chopping vegetable made a faint gesture at her mouth to the maid who had been tasked with preparing the live fish. Comprehension dawned on the fish maid's face and she turned to Lin, shrinking suddenly as she realized that she was looking at someone above her station directly. The fish maid looked at the floor and, after stealing glances to the other maids, nodded timidly.

"You guys are the Silent Serfs, aren't you?" Lin asked quietly. The maids huddled together at the fish maid and one of them nodded.

Fire Nation boasted the most advanced culture. They had the best organized regimen of bending art, highly sophisticated culture that was appreciated all over the Nation, even outside the Nation, and, though they were still under the traditional absolute monarchy form of government, the Fire Lord in the past and present had been known to be able to go in and out of the Nation without risking the government to crumble without their presence (Fire Nation had the most capable government officials).

But, with all those achievement and advancement, Fire Nation still retained some of the most archaic practices from the past. Castration of male servants was still commonplace and, while they normally accepted young girls with the defect of speech and hearing to serve in the inner sanctum of the Royal Palace, their defects would ensure their discretion, they used to be a practice of castrating boys and cutting of girls' tongue among the poor families so that their children could escape poverty and be accepted to serve in the Palace.

The practice had been outlawed –castration must be conducted by Palace officials on willing boys of age and they recruited the girls who had the defect from birth- but the rumor circulating the bored upper classes of Earth Kingdom persisted that in any Fire Nation city, every fourth month of the year, the first month of summer, they would round up boys and girls from the ghetto and mutilate them. Nothing but an empty propaganda.

Still, the Silent Serfs unnerved Lin. He did not know what this feeling is called. Pity? Disgust…? No, not that.

"Um… Could you prepare some soup and meal for the Princess?" he requested, forcing himself to look at them. The bright smile they sent his way before they bowed and sprung into work tugged a heartstring.

Lin looked around a bit, feeling that he should help; he felt weird and got out. He waited at the door outside, sitting on the floor while he waited. Out of boredom, he brought his palm up to his chest level and, regulating his breath, he tried to summon his fire; calm mind yielded a spark and recalling the anger he felt towards General Iroh brought forth a plume of angry flickering orange fire. He noticed the shade was a bit darker than his usual orange, not the usual bright cheerful orange but the thick, almost syrupy, orange.

He tried to summon his flame the usual way, the right way, as he waited. A couple of maids walked out, their heels clicking on the floor; the Silent Serfs had a plate of metal fixed on the heel of their shoes and it clicked against the floor as they walked. Lin got up and dusted his pants; the maids looked down and avoided eye contact. Still feeling uneasy, Lin led the way back to Azula's room.

It was different here, Lin reminded himself. Servants in his family estate were quite few considering the number of the occupants. Most of the family did their chores on their own. The Lin Family was a family of warriors; they did not indulge too much in the privilege of their status. Servants in their family, like Ning Ma, had a close relationship with the members of the family, often regarded as extended family themselves. Most of the servants there served for generations, with their sons and daughters serving them alongside their parents before they got married off; and even in they did, more often than not they continued their servitude.

Lin reminisced on his childhood as they walked down the hallway. He remembered Ning Ma holding down her smile as she rubbed Umma's back when the old woman was supervising Lin's punishment of a time-out in the corner for setting a stink bomb in Yan's room; Ning Ma had teased the boy a bit about it when Umma left for the bathroom, pinching his pouty cheek, sneaking a piece of sweet candied plum into his mouth, and acted all nonchalant when Umma returned.

Like a big sister… not averting her eyes in fear and reverence, keeping silent out of respect.

Or Old Man Chu Shi, the cook, who would not hesitate to scold Lin or the other children who snuck into the kitchen to steal some cookies or cakes, who, when good mood struck, usually when he received a letter from his sons from the war, would sit the children on his lap as the children took turn reading the letter out loud for him –Old Man Chu Shi was illiterate-, and rewarded them with his to-die-for sugar date cake.

Like an uncle to the kids… not a scared servant, to whom the children could do no wrong.

Lin opened the door for them and heard a soft gasp escaping the maids' mouth and, though he walked five full steps ahead of them, felt them hold a step back at the gesture. Azula was still in the middle of copying down notes from Mai and largely ignored them as she concentrated at the task ahead, a driven nature she and Zuko shared.

The maid set the meal down on the small dining table they used for breakfast and, bowing to Lin, got out and closed the door behind them. Azula looked up from her notes finally and turned to Lin, frowning. "Hey, is that true that you let your men raid a farming village near the Earth Kingdom Town of Hagane?"

"No", Lin frowned in the middle of lifting up the lid on the two bowls of soup. "I let the soldiers raid the town itself; it's an industrial town, the Earth Kingdom produced their tanks there", the boy sat down and reminisced. "We evacuated the citizens out first. The town was empty when our soldiers raided it."

"Preventing unnecessary citizen casualty and keeping our soldiers morale up by letting them loose to prevent mutiny. Clever", Azula commented, writing a few more lines. "It says here you let your soldiers raid an innocent village.

"I'd never do that", Lin said tersely. "And besides, they were not my soldiers. I had my riders with me and they stayed with me the whole time. I was tasked to aid the joint forces of General Wu and General Ma; their soldiers were getting restless after we captured the city and I had no choice but to let them loot."

"You shouldn't have let soldiers dictate your action. You are their leader and should show that you are stronger than them", Azula criticized, setting her pen down and getting up, stretching.

Lin smiled weakly at the naiveté of the Princess's way of thinking. "That's not how soldiers work, Princess", he said as Azula arrived by the table and sat down on the chair at his left.

"I gotta pee", Azula said suddenly.

Lin snickered. "Need help?" that earned him a large blast of harmless but slightly concussive blue flame to the face, knocking him down to the floor. "I'm just trying to be helpful", he ducked under the table in time to avoid Azula's second blast of flame.

Their lunch, late lunch, went more pleasantly than Lin thought it would be. It was funny dealing with Azula. Lin would ask her to promise something, she would refuse out flat, Lin would push, prod, trick even, to get her to say yes, and she would be all grumbly and grumpy about it but she would do it anyway. Like a cranky kitten, Lin thought again as Azula, smirking impishly, fed him a piece of bread dipped in her Scarlet Bird soup.

"Chili don't scare me, lil' girl", Lin munched the food in his mouth obnoxiously at Azula's direction.

"Dummy", she tried to hold her chuckle, sipping her soup on her spoon. She breathed in and felt her sinus clearing up due to the spice. She swallowed with quite a difficulty despite her fondness for the soup. "I'm not in the mood to eat", she said.

"Try, okay", Lin said kindly, getting up and pushing his chair closer to her. He gently took the bread from Azula's hand. "You're still sick. Your need to…" Azula slumped to his direction, into his chest. "… eat something. You can't skip meal."

"I already ate a bunch of grapes", Azula argued.

"You need to eat something nutritious", Lin said, dipping a piece of bread into the soup.

"Grapes are nutritious", Azula argued with that childish whiny voice of hers.

"Something more", Lin added, feeding the bread to the Princess.

Azula, still looking grumpy, ate her food. "I'm not a kid anymore", she muttered softly.

"I know", Lin could not help but smile.

They ate in silence. By the time they finished, Azula went back to her writing, chewing a mint candy, while Lin cleared their table and brought the trays out, putting them on the floor outside the door.

"You should get some rest", Lin arrived by her side, gently taking her penbrush away. "Come on", he bent down and picked the whining girl up, holding her at her back and behind the bend of her knees.

"I still have a few pages left", Azula grumbled, one arm holding on to Lin's shoulder and the other hand gripped the front of his garb. "I need to return those notes to Mai."

"Tomorrow", Lin said, putting Azula in her bed and tucking her in her blanket. "Night, Princess", he smiled, pecking her forehead.

"But, I thought we're really doing it tonight", Azula said quietly, looking at Lin, who settled down on the chaise lounge, with those amber eyes of hers.

"Which is why we must rest", Lin said, lying down, pulling his blanket over his shoulder. "Come on, sleep."

Azula stayed still for a moment, looking at his close-eyed sifu whose faint smile somehow irked her. She did not like it when people did not take her seriously indeed. The Fire Princess reached out to her sifu's garb and tugged at it, shaking him.

"Hmm?" Lin grunted, smile growing wider, eyes not opening.

"Promise?" Azula bit her lip, twisting her hand into Lin's garb, locking her fingers there.

"Promise", Lin said, tapping Azula's hand. "Now sleep."

"Night", Azula said, yawning.

"Night", Lin replied.

Five minutes later, he fell asleep in his couch, holding the girl in his arms safely so she would not fall, nuzzling close in his chest, gripping his garb. Like a kitten, alright.

* * *

Lin groaned and rolled to his side, ignoring Azula who rocked the bed and shook his shoulder, trying to wake him up. Well, he was awake now, not so much wanting to get up. Azula's bed just felt so nice and fluffy and warm and it smelt nice too. He was still tired from his training with Master Piandao and his back felt a bit stiff. Plus, his inner fire had felt strange since he woke up, but it could be just anxiety, fire-butterflies in his stomach due to the things he had agreed he would do with Azula that night.

He had blatantly refused when Azula suggested it. As if getting her all soaked up in the rain was not bad enough, if Fire Lord Ozai found out, Lin would hang for sure. But, Azula was… well, Azula; irresistible when she wanted to be, with those puppy-dog eyes of hers. He just knew that when those eyes glistened and those lips quivered, he was hers. Lin really should start numbing himself to those eyes.

"Come ooooon!" Azula shook him harder. "You promised."

"Five more minutes", Lin grunted, not wanting to get up. "Besides, you promised you'd be nicer to me. Lemme sleep a bit more."

"But, it's night already", Azula did not relent, adding small slaps on the back and arm to her shaking. "What if my dad suddenly comes to check on me?"

"Stuff me under your bed like the other day and say you sent me somewhere to get you more candies or something", Lin muttered lazily. He rolled to his back, squirmed and stretched, yawning, and, without warning, pulled the yelping girl into his arms, snickering while he did so.

Azula grunted in annoyance, shifting for better position in Lin's arms. Grumbling, she settled down on the boy's chest, while Lin sighed and pecked the top of her head.

"Let's have dinner first", Lin suggested.

"No", Azula replied flatly. "I don't want to waste time."

"Okay, but you must drink some water", Lin bargained. Azula begrudgingly rose and reached for her goblet on the nightstand. Lin sat up and rested his back on the headboard; Azula slumped into his arms and drank her water in small sip.

"Do I at least get to brush my teeth before we…" he trailed off as Azula squirmed and reached to her pocket. She unwrapped a mint candy and popped it into Lin's mouth. "Take a quick shower?"

Azula slowly drew away, giving him a dry look from her half-closed eyes. "Really?" she said, tapping her goblet with a finger of the hand that was holding it.

"I change my mind", Lin pushed himself away from the headboard, feeling heavy all over, like his whole body is made of lead.

"Go", Azula commanded, pushing Lin's back.

"I'm going, I'm going", Lin yawned wide, sitting on the bedside, putting on his boots. "I'm taking a quicker shower, okay. I'm still a bit sleepy."

"Whatever, just be quick", Azula grinned.

"Before that", Lin turned to the girl and placed a palm on her forehead. "Drats", he cursed softly, Azula smiled smugly at him. "Fine, you win. We're doing it."

The Princess squealed triumphantly, Lin could not help but smile. This is how she should look like, he thought to himself. Happy…

"I think I'm going to brush my teeth too", Azula said. "My mouth tastes bitter."

"Don't play around with water", Lin reminded her as Azula bounced to the bedside, putting her feet dangling down a few centimeters above the floor. "You're still sick."

"I don't have the fever anymore", Azula said in her whiny voice.

"Lin gave her a hard stare. "No", he said firmly. "You still can't take a shower. You have to wait until Head Physicia—"

Azula cleared her throat.

"…_Auntie_… Azaya", Lin growled a bit. "…okay you for it."

Smirking impishly, Lin leaned down and pressed his mouth and nose on top of the girl's head, and breathed in audibly. "But, then again…"

Azula gasped offendedly and kicked his shin, throwing burst of her blue flame, unburning but quite concussive, at the boy who scampered out of the room. Lin slammed the door behind him, hissing from the patches of dull pain on his back; felt like being pelted by stones, stones that stung.

Sighing, he straightened up and started walking to his room, rubbing his back. "My lovely fiancée", he muttered under his breath, smiling.

He raced back to his room, dodging anyone and everyone –Master Qiang, one of the Imperial Spear Instructors, and Lady Cu, the Imperial Flute Tutor, two of Lin's neighbors who occupied the same block, were dating again in the lawn in front of their rooms so Lin had to sneak into his room through the window-, and he took a quick bath in record time. Lin was in the middle of choosing between his old darker clothes of black with red trim, the color of his clan, that barely fit anymore, or the new sets of clothes somebody (under General Iroh's order) had put in his room, the regular red and yellow.

Lin finally decided that blending in would be best. He put on a set of gold-trimmed red winter garb and took out a new dark heavy cotton coat from his closet. He retrieved Nightshade from his bed and, tying the strap around his chest, he opened his door and completely forgot about the two lovebirds and their moonlight picnic outside; his innocent eyes had to witness the deep passionate kiss the two shared. Lin quickly reentered his room and locked the door behind him.

He was a bit hungry before and now he was just queasy. He felt weird… bad sort of weird.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"_You're a dummy", the amber-eyed girl huffed, turning away, crossing her arms._

"_I know", he said, scooting closer to her in the couch they shared, pulling her face to him by the chin. He leaned in and kissed her—_

-0-0-0-0-0-

Lin literally smacked his head and forced his mind to go calm and empty. "Been awhile", he muttered.

Shivering, but not of cold, he strode across his room and climbed out the window, still completely shaken by the sight and the ghost of the soft pink lips on his lips and sweet kiss in his mouth, he stumbled and fell down rather noisily into the bush below his window. Cursing mentally, he lay still, waiting for murmur of Instructor Qiang and Lady Cu to die out before he got up as silently as possible and retraced his way back to Azula's room.

The Princess had changed into a simple garb and was sitting at her vanity table, looking blankly into her reflection in the mirror when Lin entered, lost in thought. Azula jumped a bit at Lin's hands touching her shoulders. She fumbled a bit and picked up her hairbrush but, suddenly realizing that her hair was still tied in her ponytail, she put it back on the table and untied her hair.

"You know", Lin squeezed Azula's shoulders a little. "I was kidding earlier", he breathed in the fragrance of the girl's perfume.

"I wanna do this right", Azula said, avoiding looking into Lin's reflection on the mirror. She retied her hair into a ponytail and stood up. Straightening up, she turned to Lin, beaming slightly. "We're really doing this, right?" she asked, feeling flushed in her chest.

Lin smiled and patted her head. "Yeah. Yeah, we are."

Smiling a little, Azula picked up a small red fabric draping on the back of her chair on top of her coat and handed it to Lin. "See", she huffed despite her smug smirk. "I use the stuff you gave me", her bracelet dangled and clicked around her wrist.

"Yeah", Lin scoffed, taking the scarf and wrapped it around the girl's neck; Azula held her hair up to allow him to do so.

"Turn around", Azula ordered. Lin complied. He felt Azula's hands tugging on his sash at his back. He reached there and felt the familiar smooth jade of his flute. "You look weird without it", Azula said.

* * *

Granny Rou always loved Winter Solstice Festival. Her family business of a small diner on the outskirts of the Capital City was a good livelihood for her and her three granddaughters; her sons and grandsons-in-law were in the Army. Every Winter Solstice Festival, Granny Rou would open up a stand in the town square, selling her diner specialty of meat strips and spiced cider, perfect for warding off the cold winter air.

The fourth day of the Festival and Granny Rou's wares were still in high demand. She was smiling fondly at the sight of the people milling around the cobblestoned square, mostly standing around the simple stage in the middle of the square, watching a band of musicians performing. The old plump woman shot fire from her palm, cooking a piece of meat rotating on a vertical skewer in her cart.

A cheerful giggle of a girl distracted Granny Rou in the middle of glazing the meat with spiced honey. A young girl around ten or eleven years of age by her estimation, came running and stopping a few meters in front of her cart, ignoring the crowd. The girl was wearing a bright red hooded coat and an impish but adorable smile, turning around to a boy who arrived by her side, catching her shoulders. Must be siblings, Granny Rou pondered, smiling at the girl and the boy. The boy's coat was also hooded but it was black. His garb though was of the similar color to the girls and we all know how parents like to dress their children in similar manner.

"You can't run around! What if you get lost in the crowd?!" the boy scolded the girl.

What a dutiful brother, Granny Rou thought to herself. Suddenly, Granny Rou did not feel so weird about the boy carrying a sword strapped on his back anymore. The Capital City was a relatively safe place with a very low crime rate, hence weapon possession and carrying in the public was quite unusual among civilians.

Could be a soldier, that boy, Granny Rou thought again as they two siblings argued, the boy looked miffed while the girl smug. The boy seemed to be of the right age, must be home on a leave or something. Besides, Granny Rou thought again as she cut up slices of meat and putting them on numerous containers, the boy had that presence about him. Something heavy and dark that Granny Rou had also seen in her sons and sons-in-law.

The girl suddenly turned to Granny Rou and her bright amber eyes found the old woman's dark brown ones. Instead of turning away, Granny Rou smiled brightly at her. The girl turned to her brother and cut the boy in the middle of his speech by grabbing her wrist and dragging him to the cart.

"What's that?" the girl asked the boy.

"Honey glazed meat", the boy answered before Granny Rou could. "It's really good. Biao and I always bought them whenever we go to a Solstice Festival."

"Nice hot meat for the beautiful lady", Granny Rou smiled warmly, preparing two sets of meat; Lin waved dismissively as Granny Rou prepared the second one. "Come on, boy. Take this for your sweet little sister", Granny Rou said as she received her money and handed a box of meat and spiced cider in a container made of a hollowed out coconut shell with a straw.

"Thanks", Azula said sweetly, one hand holding her drink, the other grabbing Lin's arm by the elbow.

Granny Rou had a bright motherly smile on her face as the two siblings walked away.

"First, I'm your cousin", Lin groused, holding the box of meat for Azula. "Now, I'm your brother."

Azula simply looked up at him, sipping her drink innocently.

"It's like the whole world is conspiring against our marriage", Lin switched to teasing mode, Azula bristled. "It would appear that ours would remain a forbidden love."

"Eww!" Azula half grimaced, half smiling, pushing Lin away and, giggling childishly, ran into the crowd ahead. Lin snickered and strode ahead after her.

It was a pleasant change to see the faint but rosy and healthy shade of pink on Azula's cheek as she took in the scenery of people and the merriment of the Festival around her, bright amber eyes crinkled with glee, like a child she was.

Lin finally caught up with Azula, just in time before she could light up the fuse, the main fuse, of a bunch of fireworks set up in a cart, one of the many that had been strategically put around the square. Lin quickly grabbed the girl's wrist and pulled her away; Azula, not feeling guilty at all, simply smirked impishly as she was dragged to the less than crowed alleyway.

"What?" she whined innocently. "I just want to liven up the Festival a bit. I have nothing but the best interest at heart."

"Of course, you do", Lin replied sarcastically. Suddenly, they were aware of the group of men squatting deeper in the alleyway, smoking some foul smelling herb from a long thin pipe, drinking alcohol from the stench of them.

"Well, well", the biggest of the four, a bald ragged looking man lit a flame on his palm, grinning at the two hungrily. "Look what we have here", his dark amber eyes scanned Lin and Azula's coats. "Rich kids coming to the Fire Fang Gang turf. Got any money, kids?"

Lin and Azula gave the man and empty stare and slowly turned to each other. "Are we being mug?" Azula asked as Lin said. "I think we're being mugged."

"What do we do?" Azula asked.

"I don't know. I've never been mugged before", Lin confessed.

"Hey, kids—"

Azula raised a hand to silence him.

"I thought you're the one who goes downtown often", Azula frowned at Lin. "You've really never been mugged before?"

Lin shrugged.

From the outside, one would see flashes of flame, feeble orange engulfed by bigger and brighter flashes of blue, and hear the sounds of blade swishing through the air and the cries of grown men succeeding loud meaty thuds and thumps.

Lin, after jabbing the last thugs on the solar plexus with the base of Nightshade hilt, kicked the man square in the jaw with a vertical kick; all those stretching and split resulted in a flawless high kick. "Hey, sis", Lin smirked at Azula who was poking a downed bandit with her boots, wielding her blue flame whip on her free hand, sipping her cider lazily as she did so. "Restraint."

Azula humph-ed indignantly, whipping her flame at the groaning thug one last time before she fixed her sleeves and hood, and stepped out of the alleyway. She turned and saw Lin cut off the leader's money purse with his sword and tossed it up high with his blade; Lin sheathed his sword and caught the money pouch as it fell. He stepped out, still holding the box of meat and the money pouch on each hand.

"You're not eating?" Azula asked, biting a strip of meat.

"I don't wanna get my hands greasy. Can't wield my sword if my hands greasy", Lin shrugged as they resumed their walk; Lin moved to the nearest beggar, a sickly looking skeleton-thin of an old man and put the money pouch on the man's begging bowl.

"Oh", Azula shrugged. After a brief moment of pondering, she shoved her half-eaten piece of meat to Lin's mouth. Lin smirked a bit as he ate it.

"So—"

"No", Azula interrupted curtly.

"How are we not dating?" Lin teased her again.

"I will hit you", Azula enunciated each words clearly, cheeks puffed slightly as her lips pursed.

"Meanie", Lin teased again.

"How long do we have to walk?" Azula asked.

"Well", Lin looked around the nearly abandoned dwelling area they were walking through. "Not far", he said. "Past the forest path ahead and across the field."

Azula grunted plainly in acknowledgement and followed closely, grabbing Lin's arms with one hand. By the time they entered the forest path, Azula gradually pressed closer to Lin, holding his arm with two hands as she finished her snack.

"What's wrong?" Lin asked, lips tingling with a strained smile. "You're not afraid of the dark, are you?"

"No!" Azula huffed. She pulled away and stomped ahead into the dark as if to prove her point but Lin caught her hand and pulled her back.

"Well, I am", he smirked, embracing the girl's shoulder; Azula huffed again but grabbed onto Lin's torso, circling her arms around him as they walked.

They crossed the moonlit dirt path on the hill across the vast arrays of fields in silence; open air and cold breeze caressed the Princess' face and chilled the tip of her nose, yet she breathed in the fresh air, smelt the moist ground and grass, and felt better than she did in the last few days. They arrived at their destination finally after walking past a small dwelling area, a street lined with simple huts and hovels, unlike which Azula had ever seen.

Strangely enough, the Festival was livelier in this outskirt of town. Ahead, they passed a small square where people were gathering around a bonfire, stalls and kiosks were open around it, selling festival food and drink and souvenirs, and a small band were playing in the middle of a ring of dancing people, trotting and laughing with arms linking together.

Azula pulled away the moment the scene and light hit her eyes. Like a child, truly, she ran ahead to the crowd; Lin would be worried had it not been the fact that he knew those people. He and Umma had passed this farming area often enough for him to know those families by name. Drawing his hood lower, Lin stepped calmly into the crowd, smiling politely as he refused Mei Mei, Old Man Chu's second daughter, whose job was apparently passing out winter roses.

Azula stopped by a cart selling hand puppets; animals and spirits, famous heroes and, to Lin's delight, the Royal Family. Fire Lord Ozai and Lady Ursa, Fire Prince Zuko and Fire Princess Azula. The real Fire Princess Azula picked up the puppet version of herself by the head, clearly noticing how different it was from the real her. Like Puppet Zuko, Puppet Azula simply looked like a scaled down version of their parents with different clothing. Puppet Azula had its hair in feminine top-knot, much like Lady Ursa.

"Ha ha~", Lin teased, Azula elbowed him so hard he doubled over and fell to his knees. Humph-ing, Azula stormed off. Lin strugglingly got up, groaning; with the full intent to annoy Azula later, he took out two silver pieces and gave it to the concerned vendor, picking up the puppet Azula had dropped and put it in his garb. He caught up to Azula and they resumed their journey through another dirt path across a hill.

They arrived finally after another ten minutes of walk.

"So", Lin straightened up as Azula let go on him as they stood before the gate. "Sure you wanna do this?"

"Yeah", Azula nodded slightly, pulling off her hood, following Lin's gesture. "How do I look?" she asked, patting her hair into place.

"Like my future wife", Lin joked, tucking one of her bangs behind her ear only to have the strand of hair fall back into place. Azula slugged him in the gut and pushed the gate open, running ahead.

Snickering over his smarting gut, Lin walked with steady pace towards the Princess who was waiting ahead. Reluctantly, Azula took his left hand and grabbed his elbow with her free hand, hugging his arm as he led her forward.

"What?" Azula growled. "I don't like cemetery, okay!"

"Yeah", Lin teased again as they walked across numerous headstones. "I don't like cemetery either. By the way, do you know that General Lin Chong, the Panther Head, is one of my ancestors?" the legendary Fire Nation general from the ancient days, most famous for his ferocity in battle and his regalia that included a hood made of a pelt of panther-ram he killed with his bare hands.

"Hmm", Azula simply grunted, shrugging.

"If you don't believe me, there he is. Hello, Great-Great-Great-So-Great-Grandfather!"

"Eeek!" Azula grabbed onto Lin's torso, burying her face in his chest.

Lin laughed, causing Azula to pinch him hard on the gut, safely tucked in his arms.

"Come on", Lin gave the girl one last squeeze before he pulled away, taking her hand once more as they walked towards the distinct headstone where the offerings from the last visit were still lying there neatly.

Finally there, Lin reverently pulled off his hood and knelt down; Azula knelt down beside him.

"Go on", Lin encouraged the Princess. Still unsure for this was the first time she had ever been in this situation, Azula reached into the inner pocket of her coat and pulled out a snow peony she had took from the stone dragon fountain earlier before they snuck out of the Royal Palace. Turning to Lin who nodded, Azula placed it on the base of the headstone, between a bowl of uncooked rice and a small plate dried fruit.

"Hi, Mom", Lin greeted casually. "So, this is Azula", he said simply, gesturing to the girl on his left. "Say something", he said to Azula.

"Say what?" Azula whispered behind her hand as if Lian was really there.

"Anything", Lin shrugged.

"Okay", Azula gulped nervously, tuning back to the headstone. "Um… hi, Mrs. Lin. Uh, well… your son's a no good liar."

"A second, Mom", Lin said quaintly to Lian's headstone and turned to Azula rather slightly upset. "Why would you say that to my mom?!"

"You said 'anything'", Azula whined.

"Yeah, but _must_ you say something so—"

"But, you said 'anything'! I've never—"

"—bad to my mother?! I've told you—

"—visited somebody's grave before, okay!—"

"—I've never lied to you! Not telling the whole truth—"

"—I don't know what people normally say in—"

"—is completely different!"

"—situations like this!"

They exhaled steam in tandem, eyeing each other sharply.

"Are we fighting again?" Lin asked; Azula huffed and turned to the headstone, evading his eyes. "We're not", she growled.

They spent a few silent seconds staring at Lian's headstone.

"I don't like it when we're fighting", Lin muttered.

"We're not fighting", Azula snapped, crossing her arms but letting them fall to her lap because it felt weird doing so while kneeling.

They stayed in silence; Lin waited. Azula inched closer to him as he knew she would, their arms brushing against each other, and she nudged him a little. Lin ignored her until her third nudge in which she literally pushed herself on him; Lin deftly evaded and caught the girl in his arms, giggling.

"Dummy", Azula huffed, trying to get up but Lin held her tight. She draped herself in Lin's arms, letting the boy embrace her, tugging on his arm for balance.

"Let's start over", Lin suggested. "Mom, this is Azula."

"Hi, Mrs. Lin."

"Your future daughter-in-law."

"See, no good liar."

"You're so mean to me", Lin sighed, pecking the top of Azula's head.

"Tell me about her", Azula sat down, leaning into Lin's warm embrace.

"Well, where to begin", Lin rubbed the girl's arm, tucking her head under his chin. "Let's see… she's… nice. Funny. She was a woman."

Azula giggled at the last one.

Lin went on. Smart… funny (he said this one several times, as reminded by Azula)… pretty… kind…

As he went on, the image of his mother morphed into that of Lady Ursa.

"My mom left me", Azula muttered quietly, head on Lin's chest as they lay on the ground, on Lin's robe that was spread below them, under Azula's robe that they used as a cover. She gripped Lin's garb, tried to loosen her hand, and unable to do so. She decided that it would be fine this one time.

"She loves you", Lin whispered, squeezing her a little, one hand under his head, the other arm circled around Azula's shoulder, keeping her close and warm.

"Tell me about the war", Azula said as Lin knew she would; avoidance would always be her first line of defense.

"No", Lin smiled warmly at the starry night sky above. "Not here."

"When's the firework?" Azula asked, shifting for a more comfortable position.

"In an hour or so", Lin guessed. "We should have waited a bit longer before sneaking out."

"Yeah, you're a dummy", Azula smiled.

"These past few days have been slow", Lin commented, playing with Azula's ponytail, pressing his lips to the top of her hair, taking in the sweet scent of her hair. "No war, no… anything. Just you and me", Lin smiled. "Not really a good story to tell our grandchildren but…" Azula whined and hit his chest a little. "But, I'm sure they would love to hear the story of how Grandpa braved the wrath of the Fire Lord to visit Grandma", Azula giggled despite her pinching Lin's gut as the latter told the story. "What do you think? Would it make a good story?"

"Don't joke about this thing", Azula huffed through her smile, smacking the spot she had been pinching and let her hand stayed there, rubbing the soft fabric of Lin's garb with her fingers.

"Why not, though?" Lin asked, rubbing Azula's upper arm.

"Do you really want to marry me?" Azula could not stop herself from asking, fixing her gaze at the headstone in front of her.

"Yeah… maybe", Lin said, stroking the Princess' head. "Would it be so bad?"

"I don't know", Azula muttered, suddenly feeling warm around the cheeks.

Lin did not say anything more; he simply held her, rubbing her arm. Azula felt so small in his arms, so small… weak and delicate. Lin could not deny how possessive he felt towards her and how the thought of Azula being courted by somebody else bothered him so much.

Oh, so much…

Azula squirmed a little and settled down, her breathing grew steady and a soft purr escaped her mouth. Lin did not stop stroking her head; he tentatively tried and Azula whined in her sleep.

Truly, he cared so much for this girl. The boy turned his head to his mother's headstone, almost imagining the woman sitting there, smiling softly at her son and future daughter-in-law. Mom would have liked Azula, Lin thought.

"_I don't know, Mom",_ Lin mentally sighed. _"I don't know if this is the same love you and Dad have, but I know for sure that I care so much for Azula. I want to make her happy and I want to keep her safe. That's good enough… right?"_

A distant whistled sounded through the air, a single bolt of red soared to the sky.

"Azula", Lin called shaking the girl a little; the red bolt of firework blossomed into a lotus shaped spark. "Azula, it's started."

"Hmm?" the Princess roused up rubbing her sleepy eyes. She looked to the sky where many more fireworks of red and gold soared, decorating the dark sky with colors and light.

"They look nice", Azula commented, light and color reflecting in her eyes.

Lin suddenly realized how lovely she was.

"Hey…"

"Hey, who?"

"Hey, Azzie", Lin smirked, Azula smacked him lightly. "Marry me? Now, before you said no, think about this", he added quickly before Azula could retort. "If you say yes, _this_ will be a hell of a story to tell our grandchildren: Grandma said yes to Grandpa in a cemetery."

Azula bit her lip to suppress her smile, her body shook a bit by the laughter she nearly let escape. Clearing her throat, she looked up to Lin with a faint smile gracing her face.

Lovely face…

"You're a dummy", she said before she pecked Lin on the corner of his mouth, the very first spot where she _did not_ kiss him for the very first time.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I'm back. Sort of. Anyway, I have about two weeks' holiday and hopefully will spend the time writing this fic. Sorry for the delay. My job and disappointment of the comics get in the way. Seriously, _the Search_ is messed up. It contradicts a lot of canon stuff; Zuko's not Ozai's blood (after Iroh made clear that Zuko's conflict is the result of the bloodline of Roku _and_ Sozin), Sokka being downgraded back to a clown after such significant growth along the three canon Books, and Azula got more messed up than ever. But, who knows, maybe it really doesn't contradict anything and it'll be cleared up in the nest two installments. Fingers crossed.

I don't remember if I've replied the reviews for the last chapter. My head is messed up bad from lack of sleep. Sorry…

Anyway, thanks to the Freewriter and Fred123. Yeah, this story does get dragged on longer than I thought it would be. I'll take the advice into consideration and see how it goes. No promises, though. :)

Enjoy the story!


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